Covid Pandemic in Europe: Surging cases force lockdowns

New cases have been spiralling across Europe and the governments are preparing to renew some lockdown measures as German health experts warned yesterday that the coronavirus could "spread uncontrollably" in the country.

Across the world, 36.2 million cases of the coronavirus have been officially diagnosed since it first emerged in China late last year, according to an AFP tally based on official sources yesterday.

Of those 1,057,084 have died.

The United States has the highest death toll, with 211,844, followed by Brazil with 148,228, India 105,526, Mexico 82,726 and Britain 42,515.

In Belgium, Brussels' crowded bars and cafes were shut for a month, a return to the stricter protocols imposed at the height of the epidemic in March and April.

And in France, officials were to apply tighter restrictions in several major cities, two days after a maximum alert protocol went into force in Paris.

Austria yesterday recorded its highest ever one-day total of infections despite measures taken in recent weeks to try to bring the pandemic under control.

Countries including Germany have warned against travel to parts of Austria, putting the tourism industry under pressure as the ski season approaches.

Poles will have to wear face masks in all public spaces from Saturday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said yesterday, after cases hit a new record daily high of 4,280.

"The second wave has reached us and we have to face it in a decisive way," Morawiecki told reporters, explaining that the entire EU country of 38 million would now be considered a "yellow zone".

Madrid's regional leader yesterday urged all residents to remain within the city limits despite a bombshell court ruling overturning a partial lockdown affecting 4.5 million people.

Germany's response to the crisis has been held up as a relative success, but officials are now raising the alarm over a "worrying jump" in coronavirus cases.

The number of new daily infections in Germany soared past 4,000 for the first time since early April.

"We don't know how the situation in Germany will develop in the coming weeks," warned Lothar Wieler, the head of Germany's Robert Koch Institute for disease control.

"It's possible that we will reach more than 10,000 cases a day. It's possible that the virus will spread uncontrollably. But I hope it doesn't."

PARTYING YOUTH

The alarming jump in cases coincided with autumn school holidays in many parts of Germany, prompting calls from Chancellor Angela Merkel's government for citizens to avoid travel abroad.

Health Minister Jens Spahn said many young people were "partying, travelling, thinking they are invincible".

"But they're not," he said, urging them to think of the risk they pose to elderly relatives.

The number of daily infections came in at 18,746 in France on Wednesday, a record since widespread testing began.

In Paris, bars and cafes were ordered to close on Tuesday for two weeks to slow the spread, just over a week after new restrictions were imposed on Marseille and the overseas region of Guadeloupe.

Health Minister Olivier Veran is expected to announce later that tighter rules will be imposed in other cities.

Bars were also ordered to close in the Belgian capital Brussels yesterday, home to the headquarters of the European Union and Nato.

Restaurants will remain open under strict social-distancing rules, but outdoor drinking and cafes will close after both new cases and hospitalisations surged to their highest levels since April.

Scotland imposed two-week ban on pubs in its main cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh on Wednesday, increasing pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's UK government to take similar steps in England.

But stark warnings from health experts about the rise in cases are balanced against rising opposition to lockdowns in many countries, from hard-pressed businesses and sceptical protesters.

COURT REJECTS LOCKDOWN

In Spain, Madrid's top regional court yesterday rejected a partial lockdown imposed on the capital's 4.5 million residents at the weekend.

The ruling stated that the order intruded on "the rights and fundamental freedoms" of Madrilenos.

Madrid's regional leader urged all residents to remain within the city limits despite the bombshell court ruling.

"We ask people once again not to leave Madrid and to follow all the health recommendations, especially in the next few days given that there is a long weekend," said regional president Isabel Diaz Ayuso, whose administration had strongly opposed the measures imposed on Friday night.

The restrictions had imposed a 14-day ban on people leaving the limits of the capital and nine other surrounding towns where instance of the virus is very high.