European govts say they are 'losing control' as Covid-19 numbers spike

Europe is seeing 200k new cases a day as the second wave grips the continent, says Rob Watts of Deutsche Welle Berlin.

Rob Watts of Deutsche Welle Berlin talks to presenter Jeremy van Wyk and presents an overview of how Covid-19 has regained a grip on Europe.

A lot of Europe is very much in the grip of a second wave.

Rob Watts - Deutsche Welle Berlin

Daily cases across Europe have doubled over the past ten days, says Watts.

We're getting over 200,000 new cases a day across the continent.

Rob Watts - Deutsche Welle Berlin

Individual countries are posting remarkable numbers.

These numbers are much higher than they were in the first wave. There is also a huge amount of more testing.

Rob Watts - Deutsche Welle Berlin

France posted 40,000 new cases on Thursday but also increases in countries like the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and more.

The Spanish government is also saying it is losing control.

Rob Watts - Deutsche Welle Berlin

He says smaller countries are posting higher numbers of daily cases.

In fact, the highest number of cases per 100,000 people, proportionate to that population, is coming from Belgium and the Czech Republic, Belgium saying it is losing control there.

Rob Watts - Deutsche Welle Berlin

Testing systems in some areas are not able to keep up, he adds.

The Czech Republic is seeing the highest number of cases per 100,000 in Europe currently.

Italy, which was so hard hit during the first wave, is less impacted, but it is seeing higher numbers at the moment.

Despite these high numbers, the death toll is much lower than the first round, notes Watts. However, hospitals are still being overwhelmed, he says as coronavirus is still making people very ill.

Listen to the interview with Rob Watts below:

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