Even Europe's gold standard nations are struggling with Covid surges, and it's not winter yet
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Controls (ECDC), as of Wednesday, none of the 31 EU, EEA and UK countries it reports data on are reporting fewer than 20 cases per 100,000 people over the past 14 days, a threshold many experts recognize as cause for alarm.
The three worst-affected nations are the Czech Republic, which reported 346.1 cases per 100,000, Spain, which has 305 cases per 100,000 and the Netherlands, which recorded 270.2 per 100,000.
Ireland, another country which had been applauded for getting cases to near zero while infections soared elsewhere, was registering 112.8 cases per 100,000 as of Wednesday. This spike has been sudden, as reported cases have surged from around 100 a day to over 400 in less than a month.
Even Iceland -- which appeared over the summer to have almost eliminated the virus -- has introduced new measures that will see gyms, pubs, restaurants and nightclubs close. A recent surge has taken Iceland's cases per 100,000 to 185.4.