New lockdowns in Europe have been imposed as Covid-19 cases throughout the region swell and pandemic fatigue seeps in.
Parisian videographer Joseph Savage, 34, told CNBC in an interview that people are tired of having lockdowns in Europe. “There was a kind of united front the last time around – people were excited to do this together."
"We know that we have to do it again, but the general consensus is that people are fed up and a bit sad to go through it again and not knowing when it’s going to end," he said.
Meanwhile, retired 70-year-old dental nurse Kathleen Williams, who lives in Lancashire, England, believes that people are breaking the rules a bit more.
“We just get on with it. But people who aren’t in a couple like us, I think they’re getting weary of it," she said.
The resurgence of Covid-19 cases in Europe has begun to strain hospital systems, which epidemiologists believe may happen in the U.S. in the coming weeks.
France posted an average of over 31,000 new infections a day on Tuesday following a record of 53,464 average new coronavirus cases on Sunday, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The United Kingdom has recorded an average of more than 22,347 new cases per day over the previous week, Johns Hopkins data reveals. Italy had a record 27,864 average new infections on Tuesday, up 58% from the previous week, according to the data.
Germany made a seven-day average of 17,048 new cases Monday, a record and up by 63% compared with a week ago, according to Johns Hopkins data. With this, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a new “partial lockdown” last week to save hospitals from being overwhelmed. Bars, theaters, and clubs will be shut down while restaurants could only do carryout and delivery service.
Pandemic fatigue
“There is fatigue and I actually characterize it as annoyance at the fact that this virus, which they cannot see, has intruded on their lives and upset us, economically, socially, culturally in every way,” said Dr. Bill Schaffner, an epidemiologist at Vanderbilt University whose son lives in Berlin. “They’re annoyed at the virus. They want it to just go away.”
Meanwhile, Lara-Maria Kullak-Ublick, a 33-year-old account manager in Berlin, said she only follows the rules and restrictions in public “out of respect and consideration for other people.”
“Personally, I am not very afraid of corona and therefore do not follow the rules for myself,” she said. “In my private life I am therefore not that strict and also meet more people than allowed and do not keep the desired safety distance from these people, unless they want to.”
Another resident interviewed by CNBC is David Cain, a senior management consultant for the U.K.’s National Health Service. He said that the public strictly observed the protocols there at the start of the outbreak, but that has changed.
“I don’t think people are adhering to lockdown like they were at the start,” he said. “They’re not staying in. I think people are now a little bit: this has gone on too long. That’s not our view, but people are weary with it; they’re not sure.”
