Europe
has missed its chance to stop the third wave of the coronavirus epidemic before it got out of control. Now it's paying a high price for it, with new lockdowns being imposed across the continent. On Thursday night, France announced new restrictions on 16 regions, including Paris and Nice, though President Emmanuel Macron has refused to reimpose a national lockdown as cases soar.
On Monday, large parts of Italy including the cities of Rome and Milan once again entered a strict lockdown, while in Spain, all regions except for Madrid have decided to restrict travel over the upcoming Easter holidays. The German capital of Berlin has halted the planned easing of its lockdown too, quoting a rising number of Covid-19 cases.
Critics say the new restrictions have come too late and that Europe's current problems can be traced back to politicians too eager to start easing.
"The second wave did not end, the lockdown was interrupted too soon, to let people go shopping for Christmas," French epidemiologist Catherine Hill told CNN. She said infection levels remained at a high level. "Recently admission in intensive care units have [been increasing] regularly, and the situation is now critical in several parts of the country, including greater Paris."
