‘Light at the end of the tunnel’: Glimmers of hope as coronavirus outbreak slows in pockets of Europe

Worst-hit countries report fall in daily death rates as less-affected states consider easing containment restrictions in weeks ahead

Some of Europe’s worst-hit countries appear to be turning a corner in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, with the likes of Spain and Italy reporting a drop in their daily death rates – though authorities have called for caution and urged people not to become complacent.

Amid reports the spread of the disease is slowing in countries such as Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, governments have started to consider easing certain lockdown restrictions in the weeks to come.

Europe’s stocks markets, meanwhile, have started to rally in the face of rising hopes that the spread of the virus is gradually beginning to stabilise after weeks of devastation.

However, as the global number of confirmed cases and deaths continues to rise, it remains to be seen if Europe has emerged from the worst of the pandemic. More than 70,500 people have died since the outbreak of Covid-19, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Concerns have been also raised over the heightened vulnerability of Europe’s migrant populations, after positive tests were confirmed in a number of refugee camps across the continent. Calling for European governments to take action in supporting these individuals, the UN has said that “no one should be left behind in this global fight.”

In Spain, coronavirus-related fatalities and recorded infections dropped for the fourth consecutive day on Monday – although authorities warned of possible distortions by a slower reporting of figures over the weekend.

The country’s health ministry reported 637 new deaths for the previous 24 hours, the lowest fatality toll in 13 days. More than 13,000 people have died in Spain, more than any other country except Italy. New recorded infections were also the lowest in two weeks on Monday, with 4,273 further cases bringing the total of confirmed cases over 135,000.

Hospitals are also reporting that the pace of incoming patients to their emergency wards is slowing down, giving much-needed respite to overburdened medical workers.

“The pandemic’s growth rate is slowing down in almost every region,” said Maria Jose Sierra, deputy head of Spain’s health emergency committee.

Italian authorities have reported similar trends. On Sunday, the country reported its lowest daily death toll – 525 – since 19 March.

“This is good news but we should not let our guard down,” civil protection service chief Angelo Borrelli told reporters.

Silvio Brusaferro, head of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Italy’s top health institute, said that the country’s “curve has reached a plateau and begun to descend".

“It is a result that we have to achieve day after day,” he said on Sunday. “We need to start thinking about the second phase and keep down the spread of this disease.”

Experts have discussed ramping up testing in the months ahead, with the intention of allowing a gradual easing of restrictions.

Germany’s extensive testing programme is continuing to help the country tackle its outbreak. Although more than 100,000 cases have been confirmed to date, authorities have reported close to 1,600 deaths – one of the lowest death rate percentages in Europe.

Last week, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control reassured the country that “the spread of the virus is getting slower.”

Germany is conducting around 350,000 coronavirus tests a week, far more than any other European country. Widespread testing has allowed the authorities to isolate known cases while they are infectious and enable lifesaving treatment to be administered in a more timely way.

“The reason why we in Germany have so few deaths at the moment compared to the number of infected can be largely explained by the fact that we are doing an extremely large number of lab diagnoses,” said Dr Christian Drosten, chief virologist at Charité, one of Europe’s largest university hospitals.

Elsewhere, Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz said his government aims to start allowing some shops to reopen next week at the beginning of a long, phased return to normal life.

Nuns of the San Leandro convent in Seville make face masks and health coats to help with the national effort in fighting coronavirus (Getty Images)

Mr Kurz said the aim is to allow small shops and garden centres to reopen next Tuesday, with a limited number of customers who must wear masks. Restaurants and hotels will not be able to open until at least mid-May. Events will remain banned until the end of June.

The Czech government has hinted at following suit in gradually relaxing some of the restrictions it has imposed on the country.

Interior minister Jan Hamacek said he is proposing to cancel the ban for Czechs to travel abroad as of 14 April. However, all tough restrictions on movement within the country will not be relaxed for Easter, he added.

Europe’s markets have responded well to such developments, having rallied in early trading on Monday. The FTSE 100 added more than 3 per cent at the open, while Germany’s DAX surged 4.2 per cent and France’s CAC 40 increased by 3.5 per cent.

Other countries, such as the UK and Turkey, have yet to reach the "peak" in their fight against coronavirus.

Germany has developed one of the largest testing programmes seen in Europe (Getty Images)

Imperial College London has predicted that, under current modelling, Britain could see up to 20,000 deaths under the pandemic. And in Turkey, where more than 570 deaths have been reported, data suggests the country has the fastest rising number of confirmed cases in the world.

But while hope has emerged that some nations are “starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel” – as Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez said over the weekend – mounting concern is being raised over some of Europe’s most vulnerable communities.

In Greece, two refugee camps have been placed into lockdown after both facilities recorded a number of cases, while Malta announced on Monday that it had placed 1,000 people staying at a migrant centre in quarantine after eight individuals tested positive.

Calls have been made among aid groups to evacuate some of Europe’s major refugee camps, where conditions are cramped and unhygienic, with hundreds of residents forced to share toilets, showers and water taps.

Martin Baldwin-Edwards, the director of the Mediterranean Migration Observatory, told The Independent: “There needs to be political pressure to release people from these camps and remove those situations and conditions where the virus is allowed to spread among migrant communities. It has the potential to turn into a catastrophe.”

UN experts have urged governments to adopt urgent measures to protect migrants and trafficked persons in their response to Covid-19.

“States should also take steps towards the regularisation of undocumented migrants whenever necessary, in view of facilitating their access to health services during the fight against the pandemic,” said Felipe González Morales, the UN special rapporteurs on migrants.

“No one should be left behind in this global fight against the pandemic.”