France President warns COVID crisis may last until next summer as Europe faces second wave

Europe has been hit by a second wave of COVID-19 pandemic as the continent has started to report thousands of cases on a daily basis again. The second wave of COVID-19 is affecting a large chunk of the population, including the political class of the region. Poland's President Andrzej Duda on Friday, October 23 tested positive for COVID-19 and so did Belgium’s foreign minister Sophie Wilmes, who is being treated in an intensive care unit since Wednesday.  According to Johns Hopkins University, the five most affected countries in Europe are the Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and France.

Read: Europe, US Watch Case Totals Grow, Debate New Restrictions

'May last until 2021'

French President Emmanuel Macron on October 23 said that people must learn to live with the virus in the long term, warning people that the pandemic could last until the summer of 2021. Macron, while speaking to the press on Friday said that he has spoken to scientists and the Scientific Council, who have told him that the virus will stay until next year. France, which has one of the highest rates of infection in the world, extended the curfew which it had imposed last week. The number of daily positive cases in France have drastically risen since early August, with the country recording its highest daily rise since the start of the pandemic. 

Read: Spain First In Western Europe To Hit 1 Million Virus Cases

Other countries in the region are also facing the wrath of the pandemic with Spain becoming the first European country to cross the 1 million threshold in terms of confirmed cases. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday said that the country needs to come together in order to fight the second wave of the pandemic, urging people to limit their movement to block the spread of the virus. According to CNN, Sanchez in a speech said the next few weeks, months are going to be very tough. Some regions in the country are planning to reimpose night curfew in order to prevent rapid spread. 

Read: COVID-19 Cases In Europe Could Reach '4 To 5 Times' Higher By January 2021, Warns WHO

Meanwhile, Poland and the Czech Republic on Friday also reported their highest daily infections since the pandemic began crossing the 10,000 mark. Italy also recorded over 16,000 confirmed cases and 136 COVID-related deaths on Thursday. The Governor of Campania, Vincenzo De Luca, has announced that he will shut down the region for at least a month and has also called for a nationwide lockdown. 

Read: COVID-19 Curfews, Lockdowns Reimposed In European Nations Amid Spike In New Cases