The covid-19 pandemic is worse than official figures show
But some things are improving, and it will not go on for ever
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AS THE AUTUMNAL equinox passed, Europe was battening down the hatches for a gruelling winter. Intensive-care wards and hospital beds were filling up in Madrid and Marseille—a city which, a few months ago, thought it had more or less eliminated covid-19. Governments were implementing new restrictions, sometimes, as in England, going back on changes made just a few months ago. The al-fresco life of summer was returning indoors. Talk of a second wave was everywhere.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline "Grim tallies"
From the September 26th 2020 edition
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