Madrid firefighters break down doors of people dying alone

Before you start reading today’s edition of the Capitals, feel free to have a look at the article “Eurogroup fails to progress on economic response to pandemic“by Jorge Valero.

**To stay up-to-date on everything to do with the coronavirus across the capitals, feel free to check out EURACTIV’s comprehensive overview, which is regularly updated with the help of our network of offices and media partners.**

In today’s news from the Capitals:

MADRID. The coronavirus outbreak in Spain has completely changed the daily routine of Madrid firefighter José, who says “85% of call-outs are to break down doors after people die when they’re home alone.”

A recent government decree following a growing number of coronavirus cases in essential professional sectors like healthcare and emergency services means José, a specialist firefighter whose station is based in central Madrid, is on call around the clock. “There are no more accidents, there are no more mishaps,” he told Efe, adding that team recently responded to 20 such emergency calls within a day. EURACTIV’s partner EFE reports.

See here, for more details on the current coronavirus situation in Spain.

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BERLIN

EU should evacuate refugee children from Greek islands. German Development Minister Gerd Müller of the Christian Social Union (CSU) urged the EU on Tuesday (6 April) to rapidly evacuate refugee children from the Greek islands, stressing the need to rebuild the Moria camp and adapt it to UNHCR standards. Green Party leader, Annalena Baerbock, as well as several MPs from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), also criticised the German government for not bringing the children to Germany, as it had agreed to accept unaccompanied minors from the Greek islands at the beginning of March. (Christina Goßner | EURACTIV.de)

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PARIS

France hits 10,000-mark. As the number of deaths linked to coronavirus in France passed the 10,000-mark on Tuesday, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe warned that “containment will be a long time coming”. While the Academy of Medicine recommends deconfining certain regions before others and banning traffic between regions once a given territory sees a decline in new cases, the idea of keeping more fragile age groups confined for longer is gaining ground.

Meanwhile, the city of Paris has banned all outings for any individual physical activity between 10am and 7pm to prevent too many people from being outside at the same time. (EURACTIV.FR)

To stay in the loop about COVID-19 developments in France, click here.

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BRUSSELS

Coronavirus ‘bazooka’. Belgium’s finance minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) wants the guarantee system of €50 billion for companies to be approved by the weekend, after the government and the financial sector agreed ‘in principle’ two weeks ago. However, the green light from the European Commission is needed first. Alexandra Brzozowski has details.

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HELSINKI

Travel restrictions cause diplomatic issue. On Tuesday (7 April) the Finnish government tightened restrictions on cross-border traffic with Sweden and Norway. From now on, only travel to necessary work across the borders is allowed. Employees have to present an employer’s certificate to justify their travel. The new restrictions will continue until 13 May. EURACTIV’s Pekka Vänttinen has more.

EUROPE’S SOUTH

ROME

Italy prepares its phase two. On Tuesday, Italy’s PM Giuseppe Conte held a technical meeting to discuss the so-called ‘phase two’ of the battle against COVID-19, as the current restrictive measures will expire on 13 April. If the number of cases keeps declining in the next few days, some selected businesses could slowly resume their activities starting next Tuesday, while people could be allowed to get out of self-isolation from 4 May.

“But we have to be very careful with phase two: if we miss the timing, we go back to lockdown and start again,” said Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio in a TV interview. As of Tuesday (6 April), the total number of infected people reached 135,586, while the death toll climbed to 17,127, with a daily increase of 603. (Gerardo Fortuna | EURACTIV.com)

Click here for more information about the situation in Italy.

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LISBON

Confinement to be maintained in April. People will have to maintain confinement in April both in the school system and in economic and social activity to increase the chances of ending the lockdown in May, according to experts, Portugal’s president said on Tuesday (7 April). As Portugal continues to be in a state of emergency until 17 April, the country recorded 12,442 cases of confirmed cases of COVID-19 (712 more than Monday), as well as 345 deaths (34 more than Monday).

In other news, voice and data traffic respectively increased by 3% and 6% in the week between 30 March and 5 April compared to the previous one, and card purchases in physical and ‘online’ stores increased but remained below the average of the weeks before Portugal recorded its first COVID-19 case, according to the National Communications Authority known as Anacom. (Lusa.pt)

Read more about the situation, here.

VISEGRAD

WARSAW

Second leg of ‘anti-crisis’ bill introduced. The Polish government introduced the second leg of its “anticrisis shield” with an estimated value of about €2.5 billion, compared to the first one presented on 1 April worth €45 billion to which 340,000 entrepreneurs have so far applied. (Łukasz Gadzała | EURACTIV.pl)

EURACTIV Poland has more on the crisis situation.

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BRATISLAVA

‘Corona-test’ made in Slovakia. A team of Slovak scientists from private companies and Slovakia’s Academy of Sciences have developed a new, highly reliable test for the coronavirus. The first 100,000 tests will be provided to the state for free, while more could be sold at a favourable rate. Components will be produced in Slovakia and the protocol follows WHO guidelines. The test still needs to go through validation and certification, which should take another two to three weeks. (Zuzana Gabrižová | EURACTIV.sk)

To stay abreast with the situation in Slovakia, check here.

PRAGUE

State of emergency extended. According to consultancy firm Bisnode, 204,000 Czech entrepreneurs will be forced to close their businesses due to the strict measures adopted against the coronavirus, most of them working in the gastronomy sector. The pandemic has also paralysed 90% of the Czech Republic’s automotive industry.

For the latest in the Czech Republic, read on.

Meanwhile, the Czech Parliament voted on Tuesday (7 April) to extend the current state of emergency until 30 April. Opposition parties criticised the government for not having a clear coronavirus exit strategy.

Some of the measures were already relaxed but free movement remains limited. From 14 April, Czechs will be allowed to travel abroad for necessary travels. (Aneta Zachová | EURACTIV.cz)

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

BUCHAREST

The first country to host the rescEU stockpile, says Commission. Romania is the first country to build a stockpile of medical equipment on behalf of the EU, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Romania’s national television TVR in an interview.

”I am very glad and grateful that Romania volunteered to be the very first country to buy and host, on behalf of the European Union, ventilators. It already ordered 150 ventilators and, as soon as they reach Romania, we will send them rapidly to the countries that need them, including Spain and Italy,” said von der Leyen. A few weeks ago, the EU Commission announced the setup of a strategic rescEU stockpile of medical equipment such as ventilators and protective masks to help other EU countries face the pandemic.

To stay in-the-loop about the situation, click here.

Meanwhile, a team of 11 doctors and 6 nurses from Romania arrived on Tuesday (7 April) in Lombardia to help Italian medical staff fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. “European solidarity” was praised by the European Commission as Norway also sent medical staff to Italy, while Austria had offered the country over 3,000 litres of disinfectant via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, according to the Commission. (EURACTIV.ro)

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SOFIA

No trespassing. Bulgaria has banned all foreigners from entering its territory because of the COVID-19 pandemic following an order issued by Health Minister Kiril Ananiev on Monday night. “The entry into the territory of Bulgaria of all third-country nationals, through all border crossings, by air, sea, rail and road is temporarily prohibited,” the order writes. Read more.

For more, read on.

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LJUBLJANA

Government plans to build an ‘anti-migrant’ fence. The Slovenian government has confirmed that it plans to put up an additional 40 kilometres of “anti-migrant” fence along the border with Croatia but would not specify the locations, citing confidentiality reasons, the Ljubljana newspaper Delo said on Tuesday (7 April).

Though Slovenia already has a 196-km-long fence along the border with Croatia, about 1,800 migrants entered Slovenia in the first quarter of this year, the large majority of whom returned to Croatia as part of a readmission agreement, according to Delo. (Karla Junicic | EURACTIV.hr)

Slovenia gets first batch of aid from China. A Boeing 777-300 owned by Russian company Nordwind landed in Slovenia on Tuesday with 40 tonnes of medical aid from China, mostly face-protection masks. The Economy Ministry told STA agency it was a donation from “a person who wanted to stay anonymous”. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Janez Janša said the government might start relaxing some of the restriction measures right after Easter, next Tuesday, if the trend remains good and the health system is stable.

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ZAGREB

Opposition criticises COVID-19 surveillance bill. While the Government’s April package of measures to bail out the economy affected by the coronavirus crisis received strong support, a bill legalising the broader surveillance of mobile phones as a measure to fight the coronavirus was sent to a second reading following criticism by opposition parties. EURACTIV Croatia’s Karla Junicic takes a closer look.

To learn more about the COVID-19 situation in Croatia, check here.

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BELGRADE

Serbia is shifting direction, says Russian analyst. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s statement about Belgrade cherishing “the European myth” is highly important for the Balkan region as it implies a geopolitical shift, according to Russian political analyst and director of the Progressive Policy Foundation, Oleg Bondarenko. EURACTIV Serbia has more.

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In other news, migrants in Serbia have been held in complete isolation for more than three weeks and no coronavirus infections have been registered among them, the Serbian Commissariat for Refugees and Migration (SCRM) said on Tuesday (7 April). Commenting on the incident in the reception centre in Obrenovac, near Belgrade, which required the police to break up a brawl involving some 50 migrants, the SCRM said that increased tension and anxiety in these centres “were expected for the fact that the migrants have been quarantined”. (EURACTIV.rs betabriefing.com)

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Benjamin Fox]