Can Europe Overcome The Next Wave OF THE PANDEMIC By Ka e Fisher
W
hether you dub it 'the coronavirus comeback' or the 'second wave', there is no denying that most of Europe is seeing a resurgence of coronavirus cases. In France and Spain, new COVID cases soared in August, and many other European countries are not far behind. Germany, Greece and Italy are seeing a slow but steady rise. We are now faced with many doubts: Are we ready for the next wave of the pandemic? Have we learned from experience? Will Europe be able to cope? In the EU and the UK, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland, 158,134 people have so far died from coronavirus according to ECDC data. The UK has seen the most deaths in Europe, with
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35,341, followed by Italy and France (32,169 and 28,022 respec vely). Back in January, the ECDC warned governments of the extremely contagious nature of the virus, advising that they strengthen the capacies of their health care services. The fear at the me was that health services would become overwhelmed by the surge in sick pa ents requiring a bed. Shortly a er, this fear became a reality, first in Northern Italy and then Spain. Despite seeing how the healthcare systems were suering, much of the rest of Europe failed to prepare for what was to come adequately. The hospital preparedness in the UK and France was not enough to face the return of skiing vaca oners in the first week of March, a catalyst for the spread of Covid-19 into Europe.
However hopeless the situation may have presented itself, Europe undoubtedly tackled it head-on. The initial success of Europe in dealing with the virus showed impressive resilience and adaptability. The capital of Italy's worst-hit Lombardy region, Bergamo, was ini ally overwhelmed by the eects of the virus. In March, the crematoria couldn't cope with the spike in deaths, and army trucks were called in for support, transporting the corpses to other ci es. However, the rapid responses untaken by the region proved triumphant - announcing on the 24th May, zero coronavirus deaths across the region. The success seemed to extend itself through the European Union, and some believed the ba le was nearly won. For comparison, The EU (including the United Kingdom) saw fewer than 5000 new
