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Sunday, 18 October 2020 (YJC) _ France and Germany reported record daily coronavirus cases on Saturday.
France and Germany reported record daily coronavirus cases on Saturday, as new restrictions went into effect in several European countries in an effort to slow the second wave of infections.
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel urged people to come together like they did in the spring to slow the spread of the COVID-19.
"Difficult months are ahead of us,'' she said in her weekly video broadcast. "How winter will be, how our Christmas will be, that will all be decided in these coming days and weeks, and it will be decided by our behaviour.''
France reported a new record number of cases in 24 hours on Saturday, with 32,427 according to the public health agency.
In Paris and eight other French cities, restaurants, bars, cinemas and other establishments were being forced to close no later than 9pm to try to reduce contact among people. The country is deploying 12,000 extra police officers to enforce the new rules.
In Britain, a three-tier regional approach to battle the pandemic introduced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson went into effect, with each level bringing progressively tighter restrictions.
On Saturday, tier-2 cities like London and York were subject to a ban on socialising with people from other households indoors, while the county of Lancashire joined Liverpool in tier-3 with the tightest restrictions.
Among other things, that means pubs have closed and socialising with others is banned even in many outdoor settings.
In Northern Ireland a lockdown lasting four weeks came into force on Friday. All pubs and restaurants must close except for takeaway services, and schools will close for two weeks for an extended half-term holiday.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that intensive care units in a number of European cities could reach maximum capacity in the coming weeks if the number of infections doesn't slow.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg joined the list of top politicians who have tested positive for the virus, and was quarantined, although he showed no symptoms, his office told Austria's APA news agency.
The Vatican, meanwhile, said someone who lives in the same hotel as Pope Francis tested positive for the virus, adding to the 11 cases of COVID-19 among the Swiss Guards who protect him.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the country's head of state, was quarantined while awaiting the results of a coronavirus test after a bodyguard was infected, his office said.
Source: Euronews
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