As coronavirus cases spiral upward, Europe begins 2021 by extending the blocks

Johnson again imposed measures seen during the first blockade last spring. Starting at midnight, local time, on Tuesday, people in England are allowed to leave their homes only for limited reasons, such as shopping for essentials, exercising and medical care.

Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon also said on Monday that most of the Scottish continent would go into blockade after midnight. Wales and Northern Ireland – the other two nations in the United Kingdom – were already blocked.

Elsewhere in Europe, the Italian government announced on Tuesday that most of the restrictions on coronavirus imposed in the country during the Christmas holiday would be extended until January 15.

People in Italy will be able to visit friends only once a day, in meetings limited to a maximum of two adults.

And according to a new government decree, travel between regions will be prohibited, except for health or work reasons. Restrictions were also imposed on the hospitality sector, with bars and restaurants authorized to provide take-away services.

The German government announced on Tuesday that it will extend the country’s national blockade – which was due to end on January 10 – until the end of the month and will increase restrictions on movement.

“We will have to tighten up the measures,” Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters after a meeting with 16 German regional leaders in Berlin, warning that hospitals across the country were already overburdened, especially intensive care units.

According to the new measures, all stores, restaurants, schools and non-essential daycare centers are expected to remain closed. People will only be able to meet someone else outside their home.

“We need to restrict contact more strictly … we ask all citizens to restrict contact to the absolute minimum,” said Merkel.

And in Greece, the government imposed a rigid – but brief – blockade from January 3 until 6 am on January 11.

“Covid-19 cases are still high and the pressure on the national health care system continues,” Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas told a news conference on Jan. 2.

“We stayed at home for a few days and on January 11 we returned to the current situation with our schools open”.

Schools close their doors

At the heart of many of Europe’s restrictions are the closure of schools.

The UK government was initially reluctant to close schools, drawing strong criticism from teachers’ unions when it insisted they would reopen as planned this week after the Christmas break.

But on Monday night, the prime minister announced that all primary and secondary schools would be closed, with students switching to remote education.

Johnson also said that GCSEs and A-Levels – the main standardized tests for 16 and 18 year olds – would not be able to proceed as planned at the end of the academic year.

Italy is taking a different approach. Its high schools will reopen on January 11, with 50% of students being taught in the classroom and 50% being taught remotely.

Kindergarten and elementary school students in Italy are expected to return to school as expected on January 7.

“It is useless to reopen schools just to close them again after a few days,” Sandra Zampa, Italy’s undersecretary of health, said in a radio interview on Tuesday.

In Germany, schools switched to distance learning in mid-December; the decision to continue with this is due on Tuesday.

In Ireland and Spain, teachers’ unions and some local leaders are asking the authorities to delay returning to school.

School closures are widely seen as the last resort in Europe and the pressure to close them highlights the scale of the challenge facing the continent.