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France, locked out on October 30, has seen its daily rate of coronavirus infection drop from 730 per million people to 508 per million. Belgium’s “R” number was the highest in Europe when it imposed national restrictions on November 2, but saw its case rate drop from nearly 2,000 per million to 540 per million.
The Czech Republic has seen its cases per million drop from 1,400 to 734 since its lockdown on October 21.
The Netherlands has gone from 650 per million to 315 per million since the introduction of their second lockdown and Ireland has also seen a reduction from 260 per million to 78 per million have seen similar declines since the introduction of their second lock.
The numbers come from Our World in Data, which collects test statistics from around the world.
But despite falling infection rates, governments have urged people to follow the rules until restrictions are officially relaxed.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex has said there will be no easing of his country’s second lockdown for at least two weeks as the number of people hospitalized is now higher than at the peak of the first wave.
Mr Castex said one in four deaths in the country was due to the virus and that while the ‘R’ rate had now fallen below 1, it was too early to consider easing measures.
He said: “It would be irresponsible to ease the lockdown now. The gains we are seeing are fragile.”
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The prime minister said if the slowdown in the rate of new cases is sustained, France will pass the peak of the second wave early next week.
But he warned he would not hesitate to impose stricter measures if the spread of infections accelerated again.
Infection rates have not declined in countries that have resisted the imposition of a second lockdown, the data shows.
Massimo Galli, head of the infectious diseases department at Sacco Hospital in Milan, said: “I am afraid there is no doubt that the situation is largely out of control.
“Other diseases do not strike because COVID exists and we have to organize or the pandemic will end up wreaking havoc beyond the already very sad number of deaths.”
Spain had a daily infection rate of 1,120 per million when the data was released on November 9.
Sweden, which spoke out against a national lockdown at the start of the pandemic, recently introduced a 10 p.m. curfew at bars and restaurants due to rising infection rates.
Swedes have also been told not to mix with other households, as the daily rate there rose to 425 per million, from 80 last month.
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