Fifth Covid wave hitting at ‘lightning’ speed

Fifth-wave coronavirus infections in France are rising at an alarming rate, the government reported yesterday, with new daily Covid cases close to doubling over the past week.

The seven-day average of new cases reached 17,153 on Saturday, up from 9,458 a week earlier, according to the health authorities, an increase of 81 percent. "The fifth wave is starting at lightning speed," government spokesman Gabrial Attal told media.

Europe is battling a fresh wave of infections and several countries including the Netherlands, Austria have tightened curbs.

Tens of thousands took to the streets in cities across Europe and Australia Saturday as anger mounted over fresh Covid restrictions imposed against the resurgent pandemic.

Dutch police said yesterday they have arrested 19 people over riots in The Hague after the country was rocked by a second night of violence over the government's coronavirus measures.

Around 10,000 marched in Sydney and there were also protests in other major cities against vaccine mandates applied to certain occupations by state authorities.

In France, the latest seven-day increase is three times the average rise of cases recorded over the previous three weeks, indicating an exponential acceleration of infections.

For now the spike in infections has not led to a massive influx of Covid patients into hospitals, with the authorities attributing the limited number of intensive care patients to France's high rate of vaccinations which appear highly effective against the most dangerous forms of Covid.

'INCREASE IN INFECTIONS'

On Saturday, hospitals in France reported a total of 7,974 Covid patients in their care, with 1,333 of them in intensive treatment.

This compares to 6,500 and 1,000, respectively, a month earlier.

"There is a very strong increase in infections, but we also know that in France we have a very large vaccination cover," he said. "We seem to be ahead of our neighbours concerning booster shots."

France's introduction of a health pass ahead of other countries in the summer was also helping to keep Covid in check, he said.

The health pass, required in French restaurants, cafes and many cultural venues, certifies that a person is fully vaccinated, has recently recovered from Covid, or has tested negative for the virus.

The government continues to stand by its choice to "bring the weight of restrictions to bear on non-vaccinated people rather than vaccinated people", Attal said.

The coronavirus has killed at least 5,144,573 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP yesterday.

COVID RIOTS

Five police officers were injured in the Netherlands and at least 40 people detained across three provinces as violent protests against Covid-19 restrictions continued for a second night into yesterday.

Dutch authorities used water canon, dogs and mounted police to stop rioting youths who set fires and threw fireworks in the worst disturbances since a full lockdown led to widespread disorder and more than 500 arrests in January, reports Reuters.

The latest unrest began on Friday night in Rotterdam, where police opened fire on a crowd that had swelled to hundreds during a protest the city's mayor said had turned into "an orgy of violence".

Three people believed to be hit by police bullets remained in hospital yesterday, a statement by the authorities said.

The protests were sparked by opposition to government plans to restrict use of a national corona pass to people who have either recovered from Covid-19 or have been vaccinated, excluding those with a negative test result.