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Saturday, 24 October 2020_The number of daily coronavirus cases in Europe has doubled in the space of 10 days and crossed 200,000 for the first time on Thursday with many countries setting new records.
The continent first reported 100,000 cases in a day on October 12, although the true figures in the spring were likely far higher than the official peak of 38,000 on April 4.
Cases have continued to climb exponentially with France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic and others setting new 24-hour records in recent days, the Daily Mail reported.
Europe as a whole is reporting more cases per capita than the United States for the first time since America's outbreak began to spiral out of control in March.
WHO figures say Europe is now accounting for nearly half of the world's new cases, partly because of mass testing.
Europe accounts for about 10 per cent of the world population but nearly 19 per cent of global cases and 22 per cent of deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Infections in Europe are also growing faster than in India and Brazil, which were the summer pace-setters along with the US but where cases are now falling.
Hospitals are coming under strain again in much of Europe, although in many places they are less badly hit than during the first wave.
Deaths in Western Europe are also lower than in the spring, but many countries in the eastern half of the continent are seeing record death tolls.
A WHO expert said on Monday that Europe and North America should follow the example of Asian countries by persevering with anti-COVID measures and quarantining anyone who comes into contact with infected people.
Spain this week became the first country in Western Europe to reach a million cases, while France is set to follow today after reaching 999,043 on Thursday.
France reported an all-time high of 41,622 new cases last night, a mark which few countries have ever surpassed.
French PM Jean Castex announced an extension of curfew rules to more than two-thirds of the population on Thursday as cases continue to spiral out of control.
Deaths in France have risen to more than 150 per day, taking the total past 34,000, while there are more people in intensive care than at any point since mid-May.
Germany, which reported more than 10,000 daily cases for the first time on Thursday, extended travel warnings for Switzerland, Ireland, Poland, most of Austria and some Italian regions including Rome.
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