Iran Press/ Europe: A fourth wave of infections has plunged Germany, Europe’s largest economy, into a national emergency, Health Minister Jens Spahn said.
Austria has said it will require the entire population to be vaccinated from February.
European stocks retreated from record highs, while government bond yields, oil prices and the euro fell as the specter of a new COVID-related lockdown in Germany and elsewhere other parts of Europe cast a new shadow on the world economy.
As cases rise again across Europe, a number of governments have started to reimpose limits on activity, ranging from a complete lockdown in Austria, to a partial lockdown in the Netherlands, to restrictions on unvaccinated people in parts of Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Hungary reported 11,289 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, its highest daily tally, and will make booster injections mandatory for all healthcare workers and require masks to be worn in most indoor locations from Saturday.
While the new measures across Europe don’t hit the economy as hard as the all-out lockdowns last year, analysts say they could weigh on the recovery in the last quarter of the year, especially if they are hitting the retail and hospitality sectors.
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