Mon 19 October 2020:
Belgium imposed a nationwide overnight curfew as Switzerland made wearing face masks compulsory in indoor public spaces, the latest desperate measures by European governments to fight a powerful second wave.
More than 250,000 people have died of the virus in Europe but the deepening crisis there stands in contrast to Australia, where the nation’s second-biggest city began easing a lockdown that kept millions of people largely confined to their homes for months.
Cafes and restaurants across Belgium were shuttered for four weeks as the country tackled its own infection spike, part of a continent-wide surge that has seen a 44 percent increase in cases across Europe in the past week.
France on the weekend imposed its own overnight curfew in nine cities including Paris, affecting 20 million people, as it announced a record 32,400 new infections on Saturday.
UK offers Manchester money to impose tougher lockdown
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government hopes to reach an agreement shortly with local leaders in Manchester to impose a stricter virus lockdown, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said.
Jenrick said the government had offered Manchester more money. “This does now need to be brought to a conclusion,” he said.
The devolved Welsh government is due on Monday to announce a possible ‘fire break’ set of additional measures to control the virus. Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford is due to make a statement.
Total cases in Ukraine exceed 300,000
The total number of virus cases in Ukraine has reached 303,638, while the death toll is at 5,673, the country’s security council said.
Ukraine registered 4,766 new cases in the past 24 hours.
The country reported a record daily high of 6,410 new virus cases on Saturday.
The daily tally of virus infections spike prompted the government to extend lockdown measures until the end of 2020.
Poland to launch field hospital at national stadium in Warsaw
Poland plans to launch a field hospital at the national stadium in Warsaw, as it faces a spike in new virus cases and a health system overload, a government spokesman Piotr Muller told public television.
Muller added that the stadium’s conference rooms will be transformed into the hospital with around 500 beds for virus patients.
Germany reports 4,325 cases
The number of confirmed virus cases in Germany increased by 4,325 to 366,299, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.
The reported death toll rose by 12 to 9,789, the tally showed.
