EU’s von der Leyen calls for gradual lifting of coronavirus lockdowns

LONDON – European governments should gradually lift coronavirus lockdowns and other social restrictions to prevent a third wave of infections, according to the president of the European Commission.

Europe is grappling with a second wave of Covid-19 infections since September, which has led to the reintroduction of lockdowns in some countries and a general intensification of restrictions in the region.

Despite a slowdown in cases in some countries in recent days, the numbers are still high and do not show clear signs of peaking yet. In the meantime, Europeans are wondering if they will be able to reunite with their families during the holiday period.

Speaking on Thursday evening, the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen said “expectations must be managed”.

“We have all learned from our summer experience that the exit of a wave, in this case the exit of the first wave, is very difficult and that the impact of too rapid lifting of the measures had a very bad impact on the epidemiological situation in summer and autumn, ”she said.

Health experts in Belgium explained that the significant increase in infections in late September and October came after the government relaxed many of the restrictions that were in place, such as reopening schools for a new term. and the return to work.

“We will make a proposal for a gradual and coordinated approach to lifting the containment measures. This will be very important to avoid the risk of a new wave,” von der Leyen said at a virtual press conference.

As of Thursday, there had been more than 11 million Covid-19 infections in Europe (which includes the EU, UK and other countries), according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. France, Spain and Italy remain the top three EU member states with the most infections. The Czech Republic, Austria, Luxembourg and Slovenia have the highest cumulative number of cases over 14 days per 100,000 population.

Von der Leyen’s comments follow positive news about the development of a Covid-19 vaccine. Pfizer and BioNtech as well as Moderna’s vaccines have shown high efficacy rates and the European Commission expects them to be approved by the second half of December.

EU leaders have also started to consider which parts of the population should be vaccinated first.

Nadia Calvino, Spain’s chief financial officer, told CNBC’s Karen Tso during a panel Thursday that there won’t be vaccines for everyone right away.

“We have to decide … which groups should be vaccinated first to have maximum impact,” she added.

However, they also need to tackle the problem that many citizens may be against vaccination. In this context, von der Leyen also said that the EU would launch an information campaign.