Europe fast becoming coronavirus epicentre as cases continue to surge

Nurses and doctors treat a Covid-19 patient in the intensive care unit (ICU) at the Ambroise Pare Clinic in Paris, France

Credit:  Nathan Laine/Bloomberg

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Europe’s surging coronavirus wave is making the region the epicentre of the pandemic once again, with the daily case tally doubling in the past 10 days.

Daily infections topped more than 200,000 in the region for the first time on Thursday, surpassing the combined total of those in America, Brazil and India, according to a Reuters tally. 

Many Southern European countries reported their highest single-day cases this week and leaders have warned their health systems face the same overload.

Italy, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia all reported their highest single-day coronavirus cases on Thursday.

French authorities reported an all-time high of 41,622 new confirmed Covid-19 cases on Thursday, taking the nation’s seven-day average to 25,480 infections per day.

Europe v Americas

A senior scientific adviser to the French government said the virus is now spreading more quickly than during the spring outbreak.its initial outbreak in the spring. "The virus is circulating more quickly …The resurgence of the pandemic started in August," said Arnaud Fontanet.

France is expected to go over 1 million coronavirus cases on Friday, becoming the second Western European country to do so after Spain.

Like many other European countries facing a renewed spike in the number of cases since early September, France has ramped up restrictions to contain the disease, announcing Thursday a widening of a curfew, initially put in place in nine cities including Paris, to more than two thirds of its population. 

Mr Fontanet said French authorities had managed to bring the virus under control by the end of the June, adding the hospitalisations figure staying low until the end of August had given a false sense of security despite cases already going up at the time.

UK vs France and Spain on hospitalisations

Meanwhile, the Netherlands reported more than 9,000 in 24 hours, a new record, data released by the National Institute for Public Health (RIVM).

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 Italian regions including Rome.

And in Belgium, the government has tightened restrictions on social contacts, banning fans from sports matches, limiting the number of people in cultural spaces and closing theme parks.

The restrictions — running until November 19 — are intended to avoid crowding on public transport. A limit of 200 people in theatres, concert halls and cinemas will also be imposed. 

In the UK, 21,242 cases were reported on Thursday, an increase of 22 per cent on the seven day average. It comes as more regions are expected to go into Tier 3 restrictions from midnight Friday.