Wales announces two-week lockdown to stop virus surge

19:46, October 19, 2020

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  Europe surges past 250,000 virus deaths as Israel lifts lockdown

  A man rides his skateboard past the deserted Lyon rue Merciere during the first night of curfew. (Photo: AFP)Europe passed the milestone of 250,000 deaths from Covid-19 on Sunday as Israel and Australias second-largest city of Melbourne began to gradually ease their strict lockdowns.European nations have ratcheted up restrictions on daily life to tackle soaring infections, with a 44 percent increase in cases this week.Nighttime curfews on millions came into force in France this weekend and Switzerland required all its citizens to wear masks in indoor public places.But Israel has managed to flatten its outbreak through draconian measures including a ban on travelling more than a kilometre from home.The government lifted that restriction on Sunday and reopened kindergartens, beaches and national parks.Israeli mother Talia Zinkin said she was initially unsure whether to send her son back to daycare. "But I felt he would enjoy being with other children," she told AFP. "We have to try to live normally."In Australia, Melbourne has managed to control its upsurge in cases and officials were able to allow the citys five million inhabitants to leave their homes for more than two hours a day for the first time in three months.While people will be allowed to travel up to 25 kilometres (15 miles) from home if they have valid reasons, restaurants and other businesses in Melbourne remain closed.In Europe however, the increase in cases is reaching alarming levels.Curfews respectedEuropes death toll makes it the second-hardest hit region after Latin America and the Caribbean, where fatalities have surpassed 350,000.The United Kingdom remains Europes worst-affected country in terms of deaths, accounting for almost one-fifth of fatalities on the continent.It continues to struggle against the virus, with local officials resisting attempts by ministers to impose restrictions by region.France counted nearly 30,000 new cases Sunday, close to Saturda...

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  Madrid hospital struggles with surge in virus cases

  At Severo Ochoa hospital in a Madrid suburb badly-hit during the pandemics first wave, the intensive care unit is once again full and exhausted medics dread a repeat of the same "horror".The Severo Ochoa hospital has created more space for coronavirus patients but healthcare workers still fear being overwhelmed. (Photo: AFP)"Were swamped," admits Ricardo Diaz Abad, head of intensive care at this hospital in Leganes, south-west of Madrid, standing in front of the units 12 beds, all filled with gravely ill Covid-19 patients."Unfortunately we lost two patients" overnight, he tells AFP as nurses tend to the patients, who range in age from 54 to nearly 80, through a glass window.Wearing white plastic suits, protective glasses, one or two masks, gloves and plastic shoe covers, the caregivers take turns to enter the unit.Inside, the heavy silence is broken only by the hiss of the ventilator machines that help the patients breathe, their vitals monitored on a host of glowing computer screens.Unlike the first wave when the hospital did not have enough beds for Covid patients, "we can now treat them because we have created space," said Diaz Abad.But staff fear once again being overwhelmed if infections continue to rise.- Even more tired -When the pandemic hit in March, "the corridors were full of patients with oxygen bottles sitting on chairs," said emergency doctor Luis Diaz Izquierdo, wearing a green gown and multicolour bandana, and with bags under his eyes."The first wave required a great physical and emotional effort... (now) were even more tired because we havent had time to completely recover."Madrid and the surrounding region has been the worst-hit area of Spain, where the virus has so far claimed nearly 34,000 lives.At the height of the first wave in March, hospitals were swamped and officials turned a Madrid ice rink into a temporary morgue to cope with the surge in deaths...

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  Leaders in US, Europe divided on response to surging virus

  Virus cases are surging across Europe and many U.S. states, but responses by leaders are miles apart, with officials in Ireland, France and elsewhere imposing curfews and restricting gatherings even as some U.S. governors resist mask mandates or more aggressive measures.In this Sept. 5, 2020, file photo, people gather during a "Trash Your Mask Protest" rally hosted by the Utah Business Revival at the Utah State Capitol in Salt lake City. (Photo: AP)The stark contrasts in efforts to contain infections come as outbreaks on both sides of the Atlantic raise similar alarms, including shrinking availability of hospital beds and rising deaths.Governors of states including Tennessee, Oklahoma, Nebraska and North Dakota are all facing calls from doctors and public health officials to require masks.In Utah, a spike in cases since school reopened has created a dynamic that Republican Gov. Gary Herbert has called "unsustainable."But Herbert, who has been pressured by an outspoken contingent of residents opposed to masks, has resisted a statewide mandate. Instead, he announced last week that they would be required only in six counties with the highest infection rates, while leaving it to others to make their own rules. Meanwhile, many hospitals are being pushed to the breaking point."We are not just managing COVID. We are also managing heart attacks and strokes and respiratory failure and all those other things that need ICU-level care," said Dr. Kencee Graves, chief medical officer for inpatient care at the University of Utah Health hospital in Salt Lake City. The hospitals intensive care unit was filled by the end of last week, forcing the reopening of a backup intensive care unit."The sooner we take care of each other, wear masks, physically distance, the sooner we can have some gatherings in a safe way," Graves said.In Oklahoma, where the number of people hospitalized for the virus has reached record levels, doctors have cal...