EU asks countries to hold tight, Latvia limits alcohol, tobacco

The European Commission on Wednesday urged member states to maintain Covid-19 restrictions over the winter holiday period, something Italian authorities have already said they would do, reported EFE-EPA.

Latvian officials prohibited the sale of alcohol and tobacco during the weekend as part of their coronavirus plan while France asked neighboring Spain and Switzerland to join them in closing ski resorts over the winter break.

EUROPEAN UNION

The Commission offered its Covid-19 winter strategy, urging EU nations to retain strict health and safety protocols for the coming months until an ample section of the population has received a vaccine.

“Every 17 seconds a person loses their life due to COVID-19 in Europe,” said Stella Kyriakides, commissioner for health and food safety.

“The situation may be stabilising, but it remains delicate. Like everything else this year, end of the year festivities will be different. We cannot jeopardise the efforts made by us all in the recent weeks and months.

“This year, saving lives must come before celebrations. But with vaccines on the horizon, there is also hope. All Member States must now be ready to start vaccination campaigns and roll-out vaccines as quickly as possible once a safe and effective vaccine is available,” she added.

The European Medicines Agency is currently evaluating rapid authorization requests submitted by Pfizer/BioNTech, which was approved by the United Kingdom on Wednesday, and Moderna.

The UK is due to roll out its first batch of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines next week.

ITALY

Health minister Roberto Speranza said that current restrictions on leaving regions would stay in place during the month of December and that those limits would be tighter still — applying to municipalities — around Christmas and New Year to avoid large gatherings.

He added that during the holidays, "Italy will discourage international travel," but he did not speak of bans or possible quarantines on returning to the country.

In the last 24 hours, Italy has had 785 deaths from coronavirus and 19,350 new infections.

The minister's speech focused mainly on the vaccination plan. He said: "The purchase of the vaccine will be centralised and administered free of charge to all Italians" and that since "it is likely that two doses will be needed, Italy already had 202 million doses reserved.”

FRANCE

France wants to convince neighbouring authorities in Spain and Switzerland to follow their lead in closing ski resorts during the winter break, warning that failure to do so could result in border checks.

Jean Castex made the announcement during a televised interview.

France has already agreed to the measure with Germany and Italy, and hopes that all European nations will do the same to stop people from gathering and traveling abroad.

Austria, one of Europe’s ski hotspots, has been reluctant to adopt the rule.

LATVIA

The Latvian government has imposed limits on the sale of alcohol and tobacco and agreed to extend the state of alarm until 11 January.

The sale of alcohol and tobacco will be prohibited on weekends, and the measures also include the mandatory closure of all stores at 8 pm on weekends and the prohibition of private meetings except for people in the same household.

All cultural activities, exhibitions, markets and Christmas events will remain closed, according to a statement by the government, although museums will be allowed to remain open.

The limitation of alcohol and tobacco sales has been received with criticism on social networks with many citizens asking how this measure will contribute to the spread of Covid-19.