The global emergency: countermeasures in France, Spain, Germany, the UK, and the USA

No, the Coronavirus emergency no longer concerns only Italy, it has become a pandemic, and after the first resistances, conditioned by a worrying inaction - underlined on more than one occasion by the Oms - and by a certain reluctance to recognize Italy the goodness of the countermeasures decided, also the Governments of the other Western countries affected are taking precautions. There are those who do so following the Italian model, like Spain and France, and those who maintain a balance between a state of emergency and the impossibility or inability to impose draconian measures, like Great Britain and the United States.
Thus, beyond the Alps the French will stay at home for 15 days, with Macron declaring “war” on the virus: schools, universities, bars, restaurants closed and limited to what is strictly necessary. With one doubt, which will only be dissolved by the next law decrees: what will happen to the wine shops? The decree of March 14, 2020, requires the closure of “all places open to the public that are not indispensable to the life of the nation”, except food stores, “which are indispensable”. Wine shops, in French legislation - as well as in Italian legislation - are also included in the category, and for now French wine shops, following the indications of the Syndicat des Cavistes Professionnels, will decide autonomously what to do, based on the decree of 16 March that allows bars and restaurants take-away activities, provided they have a license. And if in the vineyard nature has no intention of being frightened, with the lock-out of museums, as we told you https://winenews.it/it/coronavirus-anche-la-francia-corre-ai-ripari-chiude-la-cite-du-vin-di-bordeaux_412706/, the Cité du Vin in Bordeaux, the largest museum dedicated to wine in the world, also closes its doors.
The worst situation in Europe, however, is that of Spain, where the epidemic is exactly following the evolution recorded in Italy, with the number of contagions exceeding 11,000 and 491 dead. In the measures taken by Prime Minister Pedro Sànchez, which will last only fifteen days, the closure of commercial activities - “except essential ones” - and the ban on any movement other than “to buy food or pharmaceutical products”. In line with the provisions of the Government of Madrid also the position of the wine cities of Spain gathered in the Asociación Española de Ciudades del Vino: “we want to join the call to the responsibility that arises from the state of emergency declared by the Government of Spain. We are aware that we are at an exceptional and extremely serious time that obliges us to take care of the health and safety of our customers and all the workers of the more than 2,000 companies in the wine tourism sector that are part of the Rutas del Vino de España. At these times - says the communiqué - we strongly advise not to travel in our cities and wine roads. Stopping the Coronavirus is the responsibility of everyone. If you protect yourself, you protect others. #EsteVirusLoParamosUnidos (we stop this virus together, ed)”.
And while in Germany the grip is getting harder and harder as contagions grow, with the latest measures by Chancellor Angela Merkel that have led to the closure of theatres, concert halls, fairs, museums, markets and gyms, with restaurants remaining open from 6 am to 6 pm, and the prohibition of masses and events (but the last word is up to the Lands), in Great Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson, after the contradictory line taken in recent weeks, now seems to descend to milder advice. And, in this sense, however, does not opt for the ban, but for the advice, not to travel, to avoid pubs, theaters, clubs and other meeting places, to work from home: soft line, perhaps too much.
More decisive, in Washington, Donald Trump, who has gone from denialism to confrontation with reality, that from the suspension of the NBA onwards has gone much faster than politics: he spoke of “a pandemic that could last until July or August: we are at a critical point in this country, we are where Italy was two weeks ago in terms of numbers. If you look at the projections, there is a good chance of becoming like Italy”. An alarm that has led the mayors of New York and Las Vegas, the city symbol of US vitality, to close cinemas, theatres, gyms, shops, bars and restaurants, the latter authorized to work only for take-away orders or home deliveries. In California, on the other hand, Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered the closure of bars and pubs, as well as the tasting rooms of the 4,000 wine producers in the state, between Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, Mendocino, Santa Clara. With a gaffe, on the part of the Governor, who in the decree - according to the Wine Institute - has written “wineries”, meaning, however, “tasting rooms”: a particularly serious vocabulary error, if you consider that Newsom is partner owner of the Cade Estate winery, in Napa Valley ...