Prognosis
Europe’s Virus Stars Scramble After Declaring Victory Too Fast
- EU countries that were quick to lock down now see virus surge
- Leaders struggle to fight virus while avoiding economic damage
An employee sanitizes a railing at a CineStar s.r.o. cinema in Prague, Czech Republic on May 18, 2020.
Photographer: Milan Jaros/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
When more than 2,000 people gathered on Prague’s medieval Charles Bridge in a “farewell party” for Covid-19 in June, it was to celebrate one of Europe’s most effective efforts to halt the virus’s spread.
The Czech government, which had acted faster and more strictly than almost any other in the European Union, lifted rules on social distancing and mandatory masks wearing. Two months later, it’s trying to contain an explosion of new cases that has eclipsed numbers seen earlier this year when the virus raged across Europe.