Europe is in turmoil! Many countries have restarted the "lockdown order", and British ports are full of containers...

Europe is about to enter a new round of blockade!

Europe and the United States are the main "battlefields" for sellers , but at the beginning of this year, snowstorms and port congestion in the United States brought a lot of troubles to sellers. Now the problems in the United States have not been properly resolved, and Europe has caused trouble again.

It is reported that due to the third wave of the epidemic, many European countries were forced to restart the blockade order. In addition to the epidemic, the riots that frightened sellers last year have re-enacted. In addition, logistics to Europe are not smooth. After Brexit, its logistics problems have continued to erupt. Now the congestion in major British ports is intensifying and spreading.

The third round of epidemic hits, and many European countries are forced to restart the blockade order

Since the end of last year, vaccines have been launched in many European countries, but Europeans who thought they could return to normal life soon have recently been hit hard: due to the slow progress of vaccination and the extremely rapid spread of the mutated new coronavirus, a third round of the epidemic has broken out.

Today, a third wave of the epidemic is spreading rapidly across much of Europe, with infection rates surging in Italy, France, Germany and Poland.

According to foreign media reports, the infection rate in the European Union is currently at its highest level since early February, and the spread of the mutated new coronavirus is considered to be the main reason for the recent increase in infection rates.

Several countries will impose strict new lockdown measures in the coming days.

In Italy , which recorded more than 27,000 new cases and 380 deaths on Friday , nearly three-quarters of the country has imposed a new round of lockdown measures since March 15 to combat the outbreak .

According to the Italian government website, from the 15th of this month to April 2, 11 regions across the country have been designated as red areas for epidemic prevention and control, and 9 regions have been included in orange areas for epidemic prevention and control. In addition, due to the upcoming Easter holiday, the epidemic prevention and control level throughout Italy will be upgraded to red from April 3 to 6.

In France , authorities reported a similarly dire situation, with Health Minister Olivier Veran describing the situation in the greater Paris area as tense and worrying. He revealed: "Every 12 minutes, a Parisian is admitted to an intensive care unit."

French President Emmanuel Macron has already imposed curfews and other social restrictions in several regions, and many doctors are now pressuring him to impose a national lockdown as a matter of urgency.

In Germany , 12,674 new cases of COVID-19 were reported last Saturday , an increase of 3,117 from the previous week. Germany announced last Friday that the third wave of the epidemic had begun.

Likewise, Poland reported 17,260 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday , its highest daily number since November, and government officials said new restrictions could be announced this week. Poland has already imposed strict limits on social gatherings, with most schools closed and restaurants restricted to takeout only.

In addition, both Hungary and the Czech Republic have reported high infection rates and deaths from the coronavirus, with health officials warning that the figures could get worse in the coming weeks.

Congestion in UK ports worsens, containers pile up

There is also bad news from the European logistics sector: due to Brexit, congestion and other reasons, there is a serious backlog of containers at British ports.

Disruptions to post-Brexit trade and continued congestion have led to a severe backlog of containers at UK ports , exceeding container supply problems experienced by other large European container ports, according to data from container trading platform Container Exchange .

Container xChange CEO said: "The UK's major container shipping ports have been congested for most of 2020, which has led shipping companies to reduce calls at some ports and instead transport goods from European hubs via the Channel Tunnel, ferry services and feeder services. "

“ Based on the accumulation of containers at ports in 2021, the situation appears to have worsened further. Box volumes are now reaching critical levels at Southampton and Felixstowe. The added complexity of post-Brexit cross-Channel transport under a dual customs system could be a factor in the logistical bottleneck.”

To avoid delays at two ports in the south of the UK, container shipping has switched services to Liverpool, which has also led to an increase in the container availability index as the Port of Liverpool has also struggled to cope with the increased volume. The report said that in Liverpool, the index for 40-foot containers has risen from an average of 0.59 in 2021 to 0.75 currently, and the index for 20-foot containers has seen a similar increase.

The first index shows that the average level of 40-foot containers in Felixstowe so far in 2021 is 0.95, up from 0.79 in 2020. Felixstowe has seen a similar increase in 20-foot containers. In Southampton, the 40-foot container index is 0.86 in 2021, up from an average of 0.71 last year.

The Container Exchange concluded that major UK ports are struggling to clear excess containers , with an already challenging situation in 2020 made worse by Brexit.

Riots broke out again, and people in many European countries took to the streets to protest again

In addition to the epidemic, another factor that gives sellers a headache is the riots.

Foreign media reported that last Sunday, the market in Liege, Belgium, called on people to remain calm because a protest that broke out in the city on Saturday turned into a riot.

The protest was reportedly aimed at highlighting dissatisfaction with police violence and racism. Police said about 12 people were arrested and dozens of police officers were injured in Saturday's violence . Rioters destroyed stores and fast food restaurants during the riot.

It is reported that the incident was caused by a video of a police officer pushing a black woman in a square in the city earlier this week, which sparked anger online.

According to Belgian media reports, 200 to 300 people participated in the riots, causing heavy material damage to local businesses and public property.

At the same time, British people took to the streets to protest after a woman was killed.

Sarah Everard disappeared on her way home on the evening of March 3rd local time , triggering a wave of complaints from women who believe it is dangerous to walk the streets alone at night and are frustrated that the police and the community have failed to address the problem.

By late Saturday, around 1,000 people, mostly women, had gathered in Clapham Common in the southwest to protest against how unsafe they felt when out alone, with some chanting "shame on you" at police .

On the 15th, a large number of British people continued to hold demonstrations in Parliament Square in London to protest against the British police's alleged kidnapping and murder of 33-year-old Everard and police violence. After nightfall, the protesters started to march from Parliament Square, and the police tried to disperse the protesters and clashed with them.

In recent days, protests have also broken out in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Liverpool and other places.

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Europe