Europe Braces for Grim Christmas as Germany, UK Tighten Coronavirus Lockdown
Italy, the Netherlands also head for a hard lockdown over the holiday season.
Europe is plunging into darkness ahead of this year’s Christmas season as Germany and the United Kingdom tighten their already harsh coronavirus lockdowns.
In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday announced the so-called “tier 4” restrictions for London and the south-east of England. “Tier 4 restrictions may spell an end to Christmas plans, with those living under the new top tier thought to be prevented from meeting other households over the holiday,” British newspaper The Guardian reported.
The announcement comes as the UK battles a new strain of the Wuhan virus, regarded to be “much more infectious,” media reports claim. “The spread is being driven by the new variant of the virus,” Prime Minister Johnson told the nation of Saturday. “It appears to spread more easily and may be up to 70% more transmissable [sic] than the earlier strain.”
This is a U-turn by Johnson. Just a few day ago he dubbed it “inhuman” to place restrictions on Christmas. “I want to be clear we don’t want to, as I say, to ban Christmas, to cancel it,” he said on Wednesday. “And I think that would be frankly inhuman and against the instincts of many people in this country.”
The restrictions come despite the UK rolling out a nationwide vaccination drive. More than 300,000 Britons have been vaccinated since December 8, government sources confirm.
The UK’s Sky News reported the latest measures to stem the spread of the Chinese pandemic:
Millions of people will no longer be allowed mix with other households at Christmas, with a new Tier 4 level of COVID restrictions now in force.
In a dramatic move, prompted by fears over a new strain of coronavirus, all of those areas previously in Tier 3 in the South East – including London – moved to the new Tier 4 on Sunday.
And, in further stark action across the rest of England, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday that the planned five-day easing of restrictions over the festive period will be limited to a single day.
“Given the early evidence we have on this new variant of the virus, and the potential risk it poses, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned,” he said at a Downing Street news conference. (…)
Mr Johnson ditched his previous plans for a five-day relaxation of COVID rules over Christmas and told people in Tier 4 areas they will no longer be allowed to form “Christmas bubbles” with other households.
Meanwhile, outside the South East, people will still be allowed to mix in private homes with up to two other households, but now only on Christmas Day.
“When the virus changes its method of attack, we must change our method of defence,” Mr Johnson said.
“As your prime minister, I sincerely believe there is no alternative open to me.”
Germany is also going into a “hard lockdown” over the Christmas season. Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday told Germans to see their loved ones on “Skype” instead of getting together during one of the holiest times of the year.
Germany recorded close to 10,000 coronavirus deaths so far this month, double last month’s fatalities. “The second wave is proving to be significantly more deadly than the first,” German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle noted. “Over the past few days, Germany has been reporting around 500 deaths a day, and over 30,000 new infections on certain days.”
Berlin is expected to kick off the nationwide coronavirus vaccination on December 27.
Reuters reported Merkel’s message to the Germans ahead of Christmas:
Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans on Saturday to avoid visiting family members over Christmas and to use video calls instead for greetings, the way service members stationed abroad do, as the country battles COVID-19.
Germany is struggling with a rise in coronavirus infections and deaths. Praise for Merkel for having tamed the first wave has turned to criticism of her perceived failure to tackle the second. (…)
Merkel has been making emotional appeals ahead of Christmas and the New Year, urging Germans to avoid unnecessary travel and to limit social contacts to an absolute mininum as health experts warn of a spike in infections over the holidays.
The surging numbers shatter the myth of German ‘exceptionalism’ in dealing with the Chinese pandemic. The mainstream media have long feted Merkel as model for the United States, whereas President Donald Trump was mocked and maligned at every step of the way since the outbreak.
“A German Exception? Why the Country’s Coronavirus Death Rate Is Low,” The New York Times wondered in July. “How Germany got coronavirus right,” London’s Financial Times asked around the same time. “From extensive testing to early track and trace, Germany is a model for tackling the disease,” the business daily declared.
With reality now overtaking the media narrative, Germany’s state-run Deutsche Welle admitted on Saturday: “The country, which received widespread praise for its handling of the first wave of the pandemic, has failed to curb the rapid spread of coronavirus during the second wave, despite implementing a nationwide lockdown.”
France, which is on a nationwide night-time curfew since December 15, is expected to ease the restriction on the Christmas eve. The measures will be in place on the New Year’s eve to prevent large gatherings, the BBC reported.
French President Emmanuel Macron became the latest world leader to contract the Chinese virus. He is recovering after testing positive on Thursday. “The medical condition of the president is stable compared with Friday,” the Elysee presidential palace confirmed Saturday.
Italy, one of Europe’s worst hit countries, will impose lockdowns over the Christmas and the New Year, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Friday. The Netherlands is also under a stricter lockdown since December 15.
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Coming soon to America following the stolen election and the Supreme Court’s complete abdication of responsibility for our nation.
The “good” point is that with the lockdown President Trump could invoke the Insurrection Act with less overhead. Martial Law in Detroit would mean less holiday shoplifting and in Chicongo, more lives saved. Plus, antifa and blm types would be scraped off the streets with rather longer lockdowns for them without early progressive release.
The overwhelming abrogation of Constitution vows and duties by so many elected and legal authorities demands the President to act.
I never knew the black robes the Justices wear are trimmed in yellow.
Postoperative wound infections and surgical face masks: a controlled study
Effectiveness of Adding a Mask Recommendation to Other Public Health Measures to Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Danish Mask Wearers
Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses
Don’t forget the Googles… goggles. The eyes are a window to contagion.
Well this virus is a pandemic. All pandemics will run their course no matter what. The question I still have is whether Covid 19 was lab enhanced to a bio weapon.
A bio weapon, maybe, or a vaccine prematurely released in the wild.
There is no evidence to suggest it was a bio weapon or such like.
All I want for Christmas is a portable petri dish and collector for all the boys and girls. That said, hands up, don’t touch, change often, and flip a coin.
Was getting mightily fucked off during yesterday’s briefing because of two things;
1. If you call a briefing at 4pm have the common curtesy to start the fucking briefing on time for fucks sakes! ? really gets on my tits when the PM basically keeps the country waiting amd is a complete lack ot basic common fucking decency.
2. Fuck the fucks in the fucking media!! Asking the same brain dead fucking question on after each other! All they were doing is trying to score petty points against the PM and not one of them asked a fucking relevant question!
Instead of asking how he sleeps at night because last week he said Christmas would not be cancelled while a couple days later it was being cancelled. I mean honestly who gives a fuck about scoring points!
I want to know what happens in a couple weeks time when the third lockdown doesn’t change anything?? Also I want to know what their plan is when numbers keep going up…more fucking lockdowns??
I want a fucking reporter to ask at what point do we use a different tactic in combating the Chinese Death Kooties? But no, the elites were for to busy getting their cheap shots in!
So fuck them all to fucking hell every god damn fucking one of them.
Sounds like you are going to be quite busy pretty soon. I wish I had your energy. Oh, use protection.
“Something for the weekend “, as they say.
Don´t hold back mailman.
It´s unhealthy. Tell us how you REALLY feel.
I couldn’t be bothered. Waste of time watching Boris in action. I’d rather read a synopsis afterwards. The writing has been on the wall for awhile but then I’m massively cynical
Which will do little but delay herd immunity acquisition even longer and lead to more cases (fake and real). Which will be used to justify more lockdowns.
Leftilibral policies don’t solve problems. They milk them for political leverage, and at best implement half-solutions which always leave the original problem with a starter crop.
Covid warnings are higher here in Sweden ATM, still no masks but there are plexiglass panels and notices up at the stores. My wife and I will be joining her sister, brother-in-law and the kids for Christmas eve. Her brother was planning on bringing his wife and kids up from southern Sweden but I do not think he could get an Airbnb rental and did not want to risk being in a hotel up here with the inherent covid risks associated with hotels. My Covid antibodies blood test came back negative last week. I was really hoping that was not the case as I would rather have had it already. My wife’s covid antibodies blood test should be back this week most probably negative also. My brother-in-law tested negative for covid but 2 of the 20 people tested were positive in the dept. in the defense contracting company where he works and they are not permitted to work from home. The wife’s sister’s covid self-test came back negative and she has been working from home.
The local clinic in our community here in Sweden seems to have been converted into a Covid testing center with those of us in multiple risk groups being permitted inside for blood tests and those just concerned being given and submitting covid self tests outside the clinic in a queue.
Still no wooden carts with barkers beckoning Bring Out Yer Dead. This Covid Global Pandemic does not stack up to my history lessons.
My brother had it and I can assure you that you don’t want it. It is not pleasant. He was out for the count for 3 weeks.
Assuming they aren’t lying about this, and I think that’s a big assumption, so what? Covid-19 isn’t a particularly dangerous virus to begin with, and generally speaking the more transmissible a virus is the less dangerous it is.
Its roughly 3x more deadly than the flu. It has and will kill many thousands in the USA and beyond. So yes it’s important to think about it’s impact
With each passing day I’m getting to the opinion that COVID was the start of the Great Reset…..there’s way too much happening that couldn’t have happened without there being COVID causing a world wide shutdown of the West at the same time.
I’m not usually into conspiracies, but COVID is the glue that binds all the restrictions and acceptance of those restrictions by people who normally would be screaming like stuck pigs.
Like with the Clintoons, there are no coincidences.
People are different in emergencies. They consider this a serious problem why don’t you?