European nations entering new lockdowns as Australia keeps virus out

Pictures from Australia and New Zealand are spreading around the world as nations in lockdown express shock at what they can’t have.

On a sunny day at a winery in New Zealand’s Queenstown, with Crowded House playing to 6000 fans, one could be mistaken for forgetting how the rest of the world is handling the pandemic.

The scenes that played out at the Gibbston Valley Winery were tame compared to concerts held there in recent years but there was no social distancing as the Neil Finn-led group launched into a rendition of Don’t Dream It’s Over.

It is as close to normal as it gets these days and a celebration of the success story Down Under where New Zealand and Australia continue to keep the virus away.

Crowded House shared footage from the show on social media. It was met by shock from punters around the world experiencing a spike in cases and renewed calls for lockdowns.

“New Zealand back doing normality,” one person wrote. “If only we had normal people steering our country back to normality.”

“I’m so envious of New Zealand. You got your lives back,” another wrote.

The comments flooded in from Canada, Sweden and Ireland.

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What a beautiful day, amazing crowd and epic scenery. Thanks Queenstown!! We played I Got You as a second encore at the @GibbstonValley winery yesterday. pic.twitter.com/lUMMS8xLCn

— Crowded House (@CrowdedHouseHQ) March 14, 2021

“New Zealand’s disastrous failed attempt at #zerocovid continues to be a warning message to the world,” one Swede wrote sarcastically.

“Would love to see Crowded House here in Canada one day when it’s safe,” another wrote.

The pictures are a stark contrast to the experience in Europe where a third wave is well and truly under way.

In Italy, authorities have announced a partial lockdown for much of the country following a fresh surge in infections.

Schools have been forced to close, as have restaurants, bars and museums after more than 27,000 new cases and 380 deaths were recorded on Friday.

The populous northern regions including Lombardy, which surrounds Milan, as well as others including Lazio, which surrounds Rome, will be designated “red zones”.

The lockdowns come one year after Italy became the first European country to face a major outbreak and are a reminder of the grim scenes at major Italian landmarks that were left deserted during previous harsh lockdowns.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi had earlier warned of a “new wave” of coronavirus infections.

A majority of regions – including those containing Rome and Milan – were classified by Health Minister Roberto Speranza as high-risk red zones from Monday, with all residents told to stay home except for work, health or other essential reasons.

The extra restrictions will last until Easter, according to Draghi’s office. During the Easter weekend of April 3-5, the whole of Italy will become a red zone.

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Large parts of Europe are closed as a third wave sets in.

“More than a year after the start of the health emergency, we are unfortunately facing a new wave of infections,” Mr Draghi said during a visit to a new vaccination centre at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport.

“The memory of what happened last spring is vivid, and we will do everything to prevent it from happening again.”

In German cities, coronavirus restrictions saw thousands take to the streets in protest despite warnings from the health authorities of a third wave of the virus.

The Guardian reports there were more than 12,000 new infections in Germany on Saturday, a rise of more than 3000 from the previous week.

Regions of France are in the grip of a new spike in cases. The situation there is so grave that one Parisian is admitted to an intensive care bed every 12 minutes, night or day, Health Minister Olivier Véran said.

French President Emmanuel Macron has imposed curfews on a number of regions facing a sharp spike in cases.

Late last year, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) special COVID-19 envoy warned of such an event, predicting Europe could face a third wave of the pandemic if governments repeated the mistakes that had led to the second.

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A homeless man sits in a deserted Via del Corso main street in central Rome during lockdown last year. Picture: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

“(Government’s) missed building up the necessary infrastructure during the summer months, after they brought the first wave under control,” WHO’s David Nabarro said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Solothurner Zeitung.

“Now we have the second wave. If they don’t build the necessary infrastructure, we’ll have a third wave early next year.”

The third wave is devastating for Europeans. Seeing Australia and New Zealand thrive makes it all the more difficult.

Despite fears of a new outbreak in NSW where a hotel quarantine security guard has just tested positive for COVID-19, there have been only a handful of locally acquired cases in recent months.

On Monday, Victoria reached its 17th day in a row with zero locally acquired cases after last year facing a second wave that claimed 800 lives and saw cases reach more than 700 a day.

– with AFP