COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
The global COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Europe with its first confirmed case in Bordeaux, France, on 24 January 2020, and subsequently spread widely across the continent. By 17 March 2020, every country in Europe had confirmed a case,[3] and all have reported at least one death, with the exception of Vatican City.
This article is about the pandemic on the continent. For the pandemic in the political and economic union, see European Union response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Italy was the first European country to experience a major outbreak in early 2020, becoming the first country worldwide to introduce a national lockdown.[4] By 13 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Europe the epicentre of the pandemic[5][6] and it remained so until the WHO announced it was overtaken by South America on 22 May.[7] By 18 March 2020, lockdowns introduced in Europe affected more than 250 million people.[8] Despite deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, Europe became the pandemic's epicentre once again in late 2021.[9] On 11 January 2022, Dr. Hans Kluge, the WHO Regional Director for Europe said, "more than 50 percent of the population in the region will be infected with Omicron in the next six to eight weeks".[10]
As the outbreak became a major crisis across Europe, national and European Union responses have led to debate over restrictions of civil liberties and the extent of European Union solidarity.
As of 20 May 2022, Europe is the most affected continent in the world. Most affected countries in Europe include France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Russia.
International comparisons[edit]
In March 2022, The Lancet published a study comparing excess mortality rates per 100,000 population, in 191 countries in the world, over the first two years of the pandemic (2020 and 2021). The study showed that amongst the major western European countries, those with the highest rates were Italy with 227, Portugal 202, Spain 187, Belgium 147, and the Netherlands 140. The average was 140 and below that were the United Kingdom at 127, France 124, and Germany 121 - the difference between these three was not statistically significant - and that Ireland (13) and the Scandinavian countries had lower rates.[11][12]
Economic activity decreased by almost 4% in the majority of sub-regions in Europe in 2020, which was similar to the global average of 3.2%. However, the variance between nations is prominent. The high infection and mortality rates of the pandemic in countries in the Western Balkans, the Eastern Neighbourhood, and Central and Eastern Europe meant they faced deeper recessions.[13][14]
From 2019 to 2020, there was also a difference in how EU countries were adapting to new COVID-19 regulations, one of them being work from home. The proportion of EU enterprises employing advanced digital technology in their operations expanded dramatically during that time. From 2020 to 2021, this percentage remained relatively stable, reaching 61% in 2021, compared to 63% in 2020 and 58% in 2019.[15][16]
Since the beginning of 2020, EU enterprises that embraced advanced digital technology and invested in becoming more digital during the pandemic have increased the number of employees they employ.[15][17][18] The number of non-digital enterprises that downsized was also greater than the share of non-digital firms that had positive job growth. Non-digital companies had a negative net employment balance.[15][19]
The Czech Republic was the top-performing EU country for the usage of advanced digital technologies during the pandemic.[15][20] Finland was the top performing EU country in terms of digital infrastructure and the use of formal strategic business monitoring. [15][21][20] Austria is leading digitalization adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic.[15][20] Cyprus is leading software and data investment.[15][20] Sweden is at the top for investing in digital training for their employees.[15][20]
Response and criticism[edit]
Immigrants and refugees[edit]
The European Union closed borders to non-nationals on 17 March. The next day, Greece imposed restrictions on refugees’ movement within camps.[442] Thousands of asylum seekers are living in crowded camps, and there are fears that pandemic could not be controlled under such conditions. The Greek prime minister K. Mitsotakis said that Europe should do more to help because Greece "cannot resolve this crisis instantly and alone".[443] Unnamed Greek officials have stated concerns that Turkey may send infected refugees and migrants towards the islands.[444][445][446] Early in April Malta and Italy closed their ports to vessels carrying asylum seekers from North Africa.[447]