The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is calling Europe the new “epicenter” of the coronavirus pandemic. He urged that all countries use aggressive measures, mobilize members of their communities and encourage “social distancing” that is now recognized as a nonpharmaceutical infection control strategy.

"Europe has now become the epicenter of the pandemic, with more reported cases and deaths than the rest of the world combined, apart from China," he said, adding that “More cases are now being reported every day than were reported in China at the height of the epidemic.”

Unlike the epicenter of an earthquake that is permanently located after a strong temblor, the novel coronavirus is more of a wave that began in a Wuhan wet market and radiated outward. The crest of the wave has passed China and is now in several Middle East and European locales.

Many countries are now taking actions to fight the virus that causes COVID-19:

  • Italy, already in second place behind China with 1,266 deaths, has imposed a nationwide lockdown.
  • Spain is in fourth place behind Iran, with 133 deaths and over 5,000 cases. The 50% jump in the numbers from last week prompted Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to announce a two-week state of alert Saturday. Sanchez said the government would "mobilize all the resources of (the) state to better protect the health of all of its citizens." The alert empowers authorities to limit movement, order evacuations, prohibit access to certain places and intervene in industry for up to 15 days.
  • Germany's Bundesliga, a European football (soccer) league, is to suspend games in the top two divisions from Tuesday. Germany has seen 3,062 cases and five deaths.
  • France, home to Paris's Louvre, the largest art museum in the world, announced it would close Friday. The Eiffel Tower will also be closed.
  • Austria put no restrictions on Austrian nationals, but it closed three land border crossings with Italy to all foreigners, except those with a recent medical certificate no more than four days old.
  • Other countries taking actions on their borders include Denmark, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Hungary and Poland.
  • Countries that announced school closings are Belgium, France, Switzerland and parts of Germany.
  • One non-European country worthy of notice is Iran where 514 people are confirmed dead due to COVID-19. Because of the secretive leadership in Iran, the true numbers are feared to be much higher.
European Commission and European Council presidents Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel discussed with other senior officials the continent's response to the coronavirus in a conference call, urging cooperation to combat a global crisis
European Commission and European Council presidents Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel discussed with other senior officials the continent's response to the coronavirus in a conference call, urging cooperation to combat a global crisis POOL / Stephanie LECOCQ

For China, the worst of the coronavirus seems to have passed and some are crediting the authoritarian government that was able to impose the biggest quarantine in human history with the 11 million people in Wuhan and the Hubei province. Also, the virus' origin was traced to one point, the market in Wuhan.

Europe will have to deal with several points of origin and, unlike China, is a continent with many different cultures making it difficult to put up a united front to fight the virus.

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