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1 [1] (March 1, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govecky0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Europe, COVID-19, and U.S. Relations COVID-19 in Europe Like most of the rest of the world, European governments and the European Union (EU) have struggled to manage the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. European leaders havecharacterized thepandemic as Europe's biggest challenge sincethe Second World War, with potentially far-reaching political, social, and economic consequences beyond the public health imp act. Members of Congress may be interested in COVID-19's implications for U.S. relations with Europe, including in NATO and with the EU, and in how the pandemic might alter certain U.S.- European dynamics, especially vis -a-vis China. Statistics The first wave of the pandemic in Europe occurred in spring 2020 but subsided in the summer. A secondwave began in early fall 2020. As of early March 2021, about 27.2 million confirmed COVID-19 infections and roughly 679,000 deaths had been reported across the 27-member EU, the United Kingdom(UK), Norway, and Switzerland (out of a combined population ofroughly 527 million). Table I. COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in Europe: Top I 0 Affected Countries (by number of cases, as of March 1, 2021) Deaths Case Country Cases Deaths per Fatality 100,000 Rates UK 4,188,827 123,083 185.12 2.9% France 3,747,263 85,741 128.00 2.3% Spain 3,188,553 69,142 147.98 2.2% Italy 2,925,265 97,699 161.67 3.3% Germany 2,450,295 70,152 84.59 2.9% Poland 1,706,986 43,769 115.25 2.6% Czech Rep. 1,235,480 20,339 191.41 1.6% Netherlands 1,103,564 15,688 91.05 1.4% Romania 801,994 20,350 104.50 2.5% Belgium 771,511 22,077 193.28 2.9% Source: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Coronavirus Resource Center, March 1,2021, updated daily at https://coronavirus.jh u.edu/. As seen in Table 1, the UK, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany have experienced the largest number of infections. The second wave hit several Central and Eas tern European countries-including Poland and the Czech Republic-harder than the first wave. The second surge followed the relaxation of social and economic restrictions Updated March 1, 2021 in many European countries over the summer and theonset of colder weather. Some experts warn that a third wave is possible with the spread of more infectious virus variants. European Responses In March 2020, in response to the first wave of the pandemic, nearly all European governments imposed national lockdown restrictions and social-distancing measures-including banning large gatherings, closing schools and nonessential businesses, and restricting movement-although these measures varied by country in strictness and other aspects. Most European governments also enacted nationalborder controls. Swedentooka notably different approach that trusted citizens to practice s ocial dis tancing and imposed few mandatory restrictions, but many public health experts questioned this strategy. European governments began implementing phased reopeningplans in mid-Apriland early May 2020. Most European leaders stressed the need for continued social dis tancing, and many governments required the use of face masks, especially indoors. The pandemic has spurred serious economic difficulties throughout Europe. The EUestimates its total economy contractedby 6.3% in 2020 but will growby 3.7% in 2021. The speed of economic recovery, however, is expected to vary among member states.Measures enactedby European governments to mitigate the economic downturn include loan programs and credit guarantees for companies, income subsidies for affected workers, taxdeferrals, and debt repayment deferments. As COVID-19 cases began to increase again in early fall 2020, European governments attempted to avoid a second round ofnational lockdowns, opting instead for targeted restrictions onregionalorlocalvirus hot spots to preserve economic recovery andin light of growing pandemic fatigue and public protests. By late October, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and others hadreimposednationalrestrictions, although most countries kept schools open and measures in some were less stringent than during thefirst wave. By December, amid mounting infections andgrowing concerns about a faster-spreading variant of the virus first detectedin the UK, some European governments hadclosed schools and nonessential shops. EU and other European countries havebegun vaccination programs. Officials hope that, as vaccinations proceed, they will enable restrictions to be eased gradually in the coming months. According to Oxford University data, 4.8% of the total EU population and 29.6% of the UKpopulationhave received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine (as of February 28, 2021).

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