COVID in Europe: Ukraine's record cases, Slovakia targets unvaccinated

COVID-19 cases are on the rise again in various parts of Europe as the cold weather has affected the spread of the virus.

Countries on the Old Continent are attempting to curb the spike through various means -- from introducing lockdowns for the unvaccinated to limiting access to certain services, or pushing for an increase in vaccination rates.

Here is a run-down of the latest situation in some of the European countries:

SlovakiaSlovakia is planning new restrictions on unvaccinated people in an effort to tame the latest surge of coronavirus infections that has caused a “critical” situation in the country's hospitals, the prime minister said Tuesday.

If approved the measures will then be effective for three weeks.

Among the proposed measures, people who have not been vaccinated will be banned from all non-essential stores, shopping malls, gyms, pools and hotels. They also won’t be allowed to attend any mass public gatherings like sports events.

Unvaccinated people will be able to get into their workplaces with negative virus tests.

If the situation doesn’t get any better in the next three weeks, the government is ready to impose even more restrictions, the prime minister said.

The number of COVID-10 patients needing hospital treatment rose to a total of 2,826, with 225 admitted on Monday alone, the Health Ministry said. Over 81% of the hospitalised have not been fully vaccinated.

Slovakia, one of the hardest-hit European Union countries, has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the 27-nation bloc. Only about 45% of its nearly 5.5 million have been fully vaccinated.

Italy has tightened its green pass rules in an attempt to slow down the infection rate before the December holiday season.

According to the new set of restrictions, trains can now be stopped in case any of the passengers appear to have covid symptoms, while all taxi drivers are required to have a valid green pass, with the limit of two passengers seated in the back also becoming mandatory.

Italy has already updated its international travel rules in late October. The five-grade system can effectively ban entry for anything except work and family reasons depending on the tier of the country of origin, but most European countries are still in the middle “C” tier. However, this might change by December 15, when the rules are supposed to be updated.

The country’s authorities reported 44 covid-related deaths on Monday, an uptick from 36 the day before. The number of infections went down, from 7,569 on Sunday to 5,144. Italy still has the second-highest overall death toll on the continent, with 132,819 deaths from covid placing it right after the UK.

As the daily death toll in the country reached a record-breaking 832 on Tuesday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that those who receive two jabs of the vaccine will be given a payment of 1,000 hryvnia, or about 33 euros in an attempt to alleviate vaccination reluctance.

The average nominal wage in Ukraine was around 13 thousand hryvnia earlier in 2021, while the minimum salary rests at six thousand, according to the country's State Statistics Service.

Statistics on how many people received both doses vary greatly, with reports claiming that it stands anywhere between 20 and 28 per cent. The country of 41 million has been in the throes of the latest wave for weeks, forcing a reintroduction of significant restrictions in several cities, including Kyiv.

On Monday, the Alpine country implemented a nationwide lockdown for its unvaccinated citizens. The rule, which took effect at midnight on November 15, prohibits people 12 years and older from going outside except for essential activities such as work, attending classes, grocery shopping, or for a walk.

The number of police patrols has been increased and those found breaking the rules can be fined up to €1,450.

"This is a dramatic step,” Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg told Austrian Oe1 radio, explaining the lockdown rule.

"In the long term, the way out of this vicious circle we are in — and it is a vicious circle, we are stumbling from wave to lockdown, and that can't carry on ad infinitum — is only vaccination."

About 64% of the population is fully vaccinated, a rate that Schallenberg described as "shamefully low."

Austria on Sunday recorded 849.2 new cases per 100,000 residents over the previous seven days.

Cases in Germany hit yet another record, with 303 new cases per 100,000 residents over seven days.

Brandenburg, which includes Berlin, became the latest of several of the country’s federal states to ban unvaccinated people -- even if they tested negative for COVID-19 -- from restaurants, museums and other public venues.

The country is experiencing a particularly harsh wave of infections after its traditional autumn holiday break.

Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a new appeal on Saturday for those still undecided to go and get vaccinated.

“If we stand together, if we think about protecting ourselves and caring for others, we can save our country a lot this winter,” Merkel said in her weekly podcast.

Still, the Chancellor warned that "these are very difficult weeks ahead of us.”

The country's disease control centre last week called for people to cancel or avoid large gatherings, while the possibility of returning to remote work is being considered as well.

Germany has struggled to bring new momentum to its vaccination campaign, with just over two-thirds of the population being fully vaccinated, and is trying to ramp up the percentage of booster shots.

In response to a spike in those testing positive for COVID-19 -- a record-breaking number of 16,364 infections were registered on Friday -- the Dutch caretaker government implemented a partial lockdown on Saturday night that is due to run for at least three weeks, forcing bars and restaurants to close at 8 pm.

The soaring number of cases in this nation of 17.5 million comes despite more than 84% of the Dutch adult population being fully vaccinated.

In the northern city of Leeuwarden, hundreds of young people gathered in a central square to protest against the measures, setting off fireworks and igniting flares in front of the riot police who had assembled to quash the protests.

Hospitals in the southern province of Limburg — the hardest-hit Dutch region — stated in a letter to the health ministry that they are ”heading straight for a healthcare blockage and the entire system is grinding to a standstill.”

Hospital admissions are going up at a rate of 30% per week. The Belgian government has moved its meeting on implementing tighter measures to control the spread of COVID-19 from Friday to Wednesday.

The number of patients in ICU has gone beyond 500, further straining the healthcare system in the country.

Belgium has been in the midst of a spike in cases since about a month ago, when the government reimposed some restrictions, only to relax them a few weeks earlier. However, the infections have continued to rise, with more than 10,000 reported each day over the past week.

After nearly 4,000 new cases were reported on Friday, Tanja Stadler, head of the country’s COVID-19 Task Force said that hospitals might have to admit up to 30,000 COVID patients this winter, according to the Swiss outlet Le Matin.

About 64.9% of the alpine country's population is fully vaccinated according to the latest figures. Meanwhile, anti-vaxxers demonstrated against a government-led vaccination drive, with riot police having to protect public vaccination sites in places like Zurich.

Bulgaria has topped the list of countries worldwide in the number of COVID-related deaths. With the latest figure reaching 283.68 deaths per one million inhabitants, the wave in this Balkan country has still not relented.

The grim situation has deteriorated to the point where hospitals in Bulgaria are forced to temporarily suspend all non-emergency surgeries so more doctors can treat the influx of COVID-19 patients. At the same time, parents across the country have protested a measure demanding that schoolchildren be tested once a week in order for in-person classes to resume. Protests against the Green Passes also entered their third week.