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New COVID-19 restrictions in Europe as countries battle variants

15 March 2021
 Dan Ackermann

Europe continues to struggle with the rapidly evolving coronavirus as Germany's public health agency warns of a "third wave" of coronavirus infections and Italy prepares to enter another near-nationwide lockdown.

The big picture: Countries have attempted to lift restrictions as vaccination campaigns are deployed, but doing so too quickly could invite another wave of infections amid the spread of new variants.

  • Germany has gradually relaxed lockdown restrictions in recent weeks, but there are "clear signs" of a third wave that has already begun, Lothar Wieler, head of the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases, told CNBC on Monday.
  • Germany has over 2.5 million coronavirus cases and saw a spike in the number of daily cases in March, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
  • Noting that Germany was underprepared in vaccine distribution, Wieler added that "the virus is not going to disappear, but once we have a base level of immunity in the population, we can control it."
  • Italy's top officials are considering enforcing tougher health measures from March 15 through April 6, Italian news agency ANSA reports.
  • The government plans to place almost the entire country in its red zone, imposing the maximum level of restrictions from April 3 to April 5. This period includes Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.
  • Italy has topped 3.2 million coronavirus cases, with the number of daily cases rising steadily since February, per Johns Hopkins University.
  • The only region in Italy's white zone is Sardinia, an island in the Mediterranean Sea.
  • The new restrictions come after many European countries suspended AstraZeneca vaccinations amid reports of blood clots.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.