Italy police to enforce corona rules; Bremen protests stay peaceful

Italian will deploy tens of thousands of police officers to help enforce coronavirus measures ahead of and during the Christmas season, while a strong contingent of officers were on the streets in Bremen, Germany ahead of a planned demonstration against restrictions in place to help stem the spread of Covid-19, reported EFE-EPA.

ITALY

Some 70,000 police officers in Italy will ensure that citizens and tourists respect and comply with the infection prevention measures approved by the Italian government for the Christmas period, interior minister Luciana Lamorgese said Saturday.

The police presence will help enforce measures on social distancing, capacity and opening hours for restaurants, stores and other establishments.

"They will watch with a sense of balance because if we are keeping the stores open it is to safeguard a certain type of economy, but the owners must also take precautions not to let too many people in at the same time," she said in statements to the Sky television channel.

The minister admitted that this Christmas would be one of "sacrifices" and limitations, which will also affect travel between municipalities and regions.

Lamorgese also said that the country will make "more incisive controls at the borders and airports" for Italians and tourists to avoid a repeat of the loss of control of the rate of infection seen at the end of the summer.

The Italian government this week approved a decree with new restrictions that will apply from December 21 to January 6.

Travel between regions will be prohibited, while on December 25, 26 and January 1 it will not be possible to leave the municipality and there will be a curfew between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., except on New Year's Eve, when it will be extended to 7:00 a.m.

GERMANY

The city of Bremen deployed a large contingent of personnel and equipment - including water cannons - on Saturday to enforce a ban on a planned demonstration by the Querdenken (‘lateral thinkers’), a movement of Covid-19 skeptics from across the political spectrum.

Organisers had announced that thousands would attend, but only groups of a few hundred were seen, police told local media. Some counter-demonstrations also took place, but no clashes or violence were reported, a police spokeswoman said.

Germany recorded 483 deaths from coronavirus on Saturday in the last 24 hours, the second highest number since the start of the pandemic after the 487 fatalities reported on Wednesday.

On Saturday, German health authorities reported 23,318 new confirmed infections to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for virology, 1,600 more than a week ago.

The highest number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic was recorded on November 20, with 23,648.

The weekly incidence is currently 138.7 infections per 100,000 population. The RKi considers that one is in a critical situation when the weekly incidence exceeds 50 infections per 100,000 inhabitants.

The second wave of the pandemic has led to further restrictions in Germany. Currently, bars, restaurants, and cafes can only sell take-out food.

Social gatherings have been limited to five people from no more than two households, although the limit will increase to 10 people during the Christmas period.

PORTUGAL

Portugal passed 6,000 new infections after nine consecutive days below that level, while also recording 73 deaths from coronavirus in the last 24 hours.

The number of hospitalized patients decreased for the third day in a row, with 3,229 Covid patients remaining in the hospital, 66 fewer than the day before.

The region most affected by the pandemic in the last two months is the North, where half of the infections reported Saturday occurred, followed by Lisbon and Tagus Valley, with 32.5 percent of the infections, an increase compared to the last few days.

Portugal is in a state of emergency, the highest alert level in the country, until December 23, although the Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has already announced that he will propose extending it beyond that date to cover the Christmas period.

This weekend, the municipalities with an incidence of more than 480 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over 14 days, including Lisbon and Porto, are under curfew between 1 pm and 5 am the following day.

In addition, travel between municipalities is restricted to avoid unnecessary journeys during the long weekend, as Tuesday December 8 is a public holiday.