European countries are hard at work in preventing further coronavirus infections as death and new cases toll in some nations slightly decline.
Italy Extends Quarantine
Italian Health Minister Robert Speranza announced late Monday that the quarantine "would be extended at least until Easter," which is on April 12, The Local Italy reported.
The extension means all public gatherings will still be banned and most businesses will still be ordered to close. The news came after the government previously confirmed that the closure of schools will be extended.
Italy's quarantine was initially set to end on April 3. As of Monday, the country recorded at least 101,739 confirmed CoVID-19 cases and at least 11,591 deaths.
Spain Overtakes China in Most CoVID-19 Cases
China is no longer the country with the third highest number of coronavirus cases as Spain has overtaken the virus' origin country with 85,195 CoVID-19 cases in total as of Monday, Reuters reported.
China, on the other hand, reported 81,470 confirmed coronavirus as of Monday. Furthermore, Spain reported 812 new deaths from the novel virus, bringing the country's death toll to 7,340.
As part of the efforts to curb the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak in Spain, the government announced a 200-billion-euro ($220 billion) economic package to assist businesses and employees affected by the closure of operations.
Germany's Low CoVID-19 Death Rate Could Spike in the Coming Days
Germany has over 65,000 confirmed coronavirus cases but the country is the only European nation with 541 deaths so far from the highly-infectious strain.
However, virologist Christian Drosten of Berlin's Charité Hospital said in a podcast on Monday that the increasing number of confirmed CoVID-19 cases in German nursing homes could be an indication of a change in Germany's low death rate from the virus.
Drosten explained that Germany's low death toll can be attributed to widespread testing as well as the fact that most of the infected patients are among younger people. With clusters being detected in facilities for the elderly, the trend could change in the coming weeks.
Fear Starts to Rise in Sweden amid Lax Containment Measures
In Sweden, coronavirus containment and prevention measures remain largely lax as opposed to other European countries such as Italy that imposed an extension on the nationwide quarantine.
However, some people and health experts are starting to feel the threat of the CoVID-19 strain that has taken over 10,000 lives in Italy. According to The Guardian, a petition has been launched by a group of professors, scientists, and doctors who believe the government should implement stricter measures to prevent infections in the country.
Over 2,000 people have signed the said petition, including chairman of the Nobel Foundation, Prof. Carl-Henrik Heldin. Virus immunology researcher at the Karolinska Institute Prof. Cecilia Söderberg-Nauclér also said that the current prevention methods have "let the virus loose."
On the other hand, other experts believe the coronavirus outbreak in Sweden is not as extreme as other countries around the world and the prevention measures put in place by the Swedish government is at par with the current situation.
As of Monday, the country recorded at least 4,028 CoVID-19 cases and at least 145 deaths.
France Death Toll Passes 3,000
On Monday, the death toll in France surged past the 3,000-mark. The country now has a total of 3,024 lives lost to the novel coronavirus following the confirmation that 418 new deaths were reported on Monday.
French health chief Jerome Salomon said the country's health department is keeping its eyes on people who've been placed under intensive care as it will be the gauging factor in the developing coronavirus situation in France.
France has at least 44,550 confirmed CoVID-19 cases as of Monday evening.
Norwegian Hospitals Signal Effectivity of Lockdown
On Monday, hospitals in Norway reported that the surge in new coronavirus cases in the country has been dwindling down since strict quarantine measures were implemented by the government.
However, the said reports are just tentative so far, which could mean that there is a need to wait for a couple more weeks to ensure that the action plan laid out by the health department is working well.
As of Monday, Norway reported at least 4,445 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 159 deaths.
UK Social Distancing Measures Working, Expert Says
British chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said in a new conference on Monday that the social distancing measures are "making a difference," following reports suggesting that the local transmission rate in the United Kingdom is gradually decreasing.
According to BBC, the current data on hospital admissions suggest that new CoVID-19 cases across the United Kingdom are not as fast compared to other European countries.
Sir Patrick noted that the National Health Service's records of around 1,000 patients added into hospitals daily is still on a "stable" note. It remains to be seen if the same trend will be retained in the coming days or weeks.
As of Monday, the United Kingdom reported at least 22,141 confirmed CoVID-19 cases and at least 1,408 deaths.
