BOCHNIA, Poland (AP) – European countries scrambled Monday to stop a wave of COVID-19 cases and ramp up vaccinations, hoping hospitals would not be overwhelmed by the latest deadly wave of infections from the pandemic.
The crushing of coronavirus patients has been brutal for hospitals in Poland, where new infections daily hit a record number of more than 35,000 on two recent days and the government ordered new restrictions to prevent large gatherings over the long Easter weekend. The French Minister of Health warned that the number of patients in the intensive care unit could match the level of a year ago.
But as a sign of the country-to-country differences, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that barbers, gyms and outdoor bar and restaurant patios could open next week after the country reported progress with vaccines and its recent shutdown. Meanwhile, the US vaccination campaign continued to accelerate, with 40 percent of the country’s adult population receiving at least one dose.
On Sunday, coronavirus patients filled nearly all 120 beds at the County Hospital of Bochnia, 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the southern city of Krakow. One patient, 82-year-old Edward Szumanski, expressed concern that some people still refuse to see the virus that killed more than 2.8 million people worldwide as a threat. About 55,000 of those deaths have occurred in Poland.
“The disease is definitely there, and it is very serious. Those who haven’t experienced it, those who don’t have it in their families, may be kidding themselves, but the reality is different, ”he said.
The more contagious and aggressive virus variant identified in Britain is fueling much of the increase in Europe. Meanwhile, voters in many countries are angry with the European Union’s strategy, but also with the way their own governments are dealing with the pandemic and the inability to prevent repeated spikes in infections.
French Health Minister Olivier Veran warned Monday that the number of COVID-19 patients in the country’s intensive care units could rival the level of the first crisis a year ago. Speaking on TF1 television, he said the country could approach the ICU saturation levels of April 2020, when French ICUs detained more than 7,000 virus patients, many of whom were in temporary facilities as demand far exceeded the pre-pandemic ICU. capacity of the land.
Veran expressed the hope that new infections in France could peak this week thanks to new partial lockdown measures. After long resisting calls for a new lockdown, the French government closed schools and closed all non-essential stores across the country and imposed travel restrictions for four weeks.
“We’ll be fine,” said Veran.
The UK government announced on Monday that all adults and children will be able to undergo routine coronavirus testing twice a week to eradicate new outbreaks. The tests are introduced as Johnson announces next steps in the country’s roadmap after the three-month lockdown.
Britain has recorded nearly 127,000 deaths from the coronavirus, the highest toll in Europe. But both infections and deaths have fallen sharply during the lockdown and since the start of a vaccination campaign that has so far given a first dose to more than 31 million people, or 6 in 10 adults.
Authorities in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv introduced tighter lockdown restrictions following a recent spike in virus cases. All schools in the city of 3 million people will be closed for the next two weeks and only people with a special pass will be allowed on public transport.
“The hospitals are almost full. The situation is difficult, ”said Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Elsewhere, North Macedonia has delayed mass immunization due to vaccine shortages as hospitals fill up following the record of new COVID-19 infections and deaths last week.
In Greece, struggling to emerge from a deep recession, most stores were allowed to reopen Monday despite a sustained rise in COVID-19 infections. Lockdown measures have been in effect since early November, although stores opened briefly around the Christmas season. The ongoing closures are putting the economy under pressure.
Serbia has also relaxed measures against the coronavirus, despite the high number of infections and a delay in vaccinations. On Monday, the government allowed bars and restaurants to serve guests outside with a reduced capacity and respecting social distance rules.
In the US, a senior public health official said young people are driving the latest upsurge in COVID-19 cases, as increasing vaccination rates in older Americans prevent the most severe cases in seniors.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cited the increasing spread of variants and an increase in youth sports and extracurricular activities as factors that contributed to the steady increase in the number of cases over the past four weeks.
But Walensky pointed to positive developments among seniors, the most vulnerable age group. Deaths from higher viruses have fallen to their lowest levels since early fall. More than 75% of people 65 or older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine nationwide, and nearly 55% have been fully vaccinated.
“What we’re seeing is both a decrease in the number of emergency room visits and the number of hospital admissions associated with that demographics,” she said Monday.
According to the CDC, more than 23% of all adults in the US are fully vaccinated.
Many states make vaccines available to younger demographics. Starting Monday, every adult in Florida will be eligible for the vaccine. In addition, the state announced that 16- and 17-year-olds could also receive the vaccine with parental consent.
Charlton reported from Paris. Associated Press authors Michael Kunzelman in College Park, Maryland; Jill Lawless in London; Zeke Miller in Washington; Yuras Karmanau in Kiev, Ukraine; Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia; Konstantin Testorides in Skopje, North Macedonia; Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Greece; and Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki, Greece, contributed to this report.