Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - As the spread of the new coronavirus intensifies in Europe, governments are taking increasingly stringent quarantine measures.

According to WHO, about 4 million new cases of COVID-19 were registered in the world over the past week, 60 thousand people died. At the same time, 46% of all infections and 49% of all deaths were recorded in Europe.

As noted by the SBS News TV channel with reference to the WHO, since September in Europe, the number of daily cases of illness and death from COVID-19 has been growing, exceeding the "records" set in March and April of this year. The daily number of people infected in European countries has reached 247,000.

The sharpest increase was in Austria, where the number of new cases increased by 30% compared to the previous week. Great Britain became the first European country where more than 50 thousand deaths were registered, and France with the number of cases of more than 2 million came to the fourth position in the world after the USA, India and Brazil. At the same time, the number of deaths in France over the past day amounted to more than 1,200, becoming a new "world record".

Italy and Spain also record the highest daily coronavirus death rates (753 and 435, respectively).

Against this background, the governments of European countries are taking new measures to limit social contacts, aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus. World news agencies (Reuters, Guardian, Tagesschau, Associated Press, Deutsche Welle) indicate that only in November, new restrictions were adopted in Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Latvia and Austria.

For example, Germany and France have closed bars and restaurants and restricted travel. Italy and Spain have imposed similar restrictions as the wave of infections spread.

Austria from 17 November has established a strict quarantine for three weeks with the closure of stores, except for grocery and pharmacies, as well as sending employees of enterprises to work remotely.

Sweden has banned events with more than eight people. An emergency regime has been approved in Latvia, and the Hungarian authorities have extended the existing regime until 8 February 2021.

As stricter restrictions are imposed in response to the rise in COVID-19 cases across Europe, social unrest and protests against these measures intensify.

Deutsche Welle notes that in Germany over the past two weeks there have been demonstrations in Leipzig and Berlin with the participation of tens of thousands of protesters, accompanied by clashes with the police, attacks on journalists and citizens. In Slovakia, thousands of participants protested in the capital Bratislava and other cities against the government and restrictions on the fight against coronavirus. In Spain, November was marked by looting and vandalism during protests in several cities, including Madrid, where protesters set up temporary barricades and burned fires.

Observers for the Daily Mail point out that protests in the first decade of November led to fights with police and arrests throughout the city in London, in Slovenia to the use of water cannons against protesters, and student protests in France in the suburbs of Paris led to attacks on police officers.

Italy’s Corriere della Sera notes that new government restrictions have sparked demonstrations and clashes between police and protesters in many cities in Italy.

In Brussels, where the government announced the introduction of re-isolation, the police were forced to disperse an unsanctioned protest.

At the same time, Stratfor observers note that "this is not the first time that violent protests have been observed in response to the European antiquarian politics, but recently they have become more intense and widespread."

Politico observers attribute this to the fact that protests are fueled by a growing sense of vulnerability among those segments of the population that bear the brunt of the economic costs of the pandemic.

Experts from Western think tanks emphasize that while protest activity and unrest remain moderate, a prolonged lockdown or manifestations of public sympathy for the protesters may intensify the unrest.

Analysts at think tank Stratfor point out that the coming winter is likely to keep COVID-19 cases high, prompting governments to maintain or even expand existing restrictions.

Research has shown that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, survives better in the cool, dry conditions more typical of winter. Long-term presence of a person indoors also contributes to the transmission of the virus.

According to scientists from J. Hopkins University, in Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Spain and France, the number of infections has decreased compared to the peak values in early November by 10%. In this regard, the hopes of governments that temporary restrictions will help overcome the crisis in the medium term are justified.

However, the restrictions will have a severe effect on workers in the affected areas. Prolonged or extended restrictions will cause more discontent with the actions of governments and leaders of countries and support of protest movements by the main segments of the population.

The publication Politico cites the results of social studies, reflecting the growing sense of dissatisfaction of the population with their leaders. Thus, the actions of B. Johnson, who had 67% of popularity in April, are currently not approved by more than 55% of Britons. J. Conte’s popularity declined from 70% in March to just under 50% in September. A. Merkel maintains the support level of 51%, which is 8% lower than at the beginning of October.

In general, according to the estimates of most experts, in Europe we should expect the continuation of protests until the end of the year and, possibly, until 2021. At the same time, they believe that the increased level of social unrest associated with COVID-19 in Europe is an example of how look like the situation in other regions of the world. 

In their opinion, although the governments of various countries are not currently pursuing aggressive restrictive policies, the increase in the dynamics of the disease in the winter season may necessitate such measures. In this regard, experts recommend that governments consider additional measures to ensure social stability in the short term.