Covid surge ‘very serious’ in Germany and ‘out of control’ in Spain

European politicians and experts charged with combating the coronavirus pandemic are raising the alarm that nations across the continent are on the brink of an “out-of-control” resurgence of the disease.

As multiple countries experienced record rises in infections – including some previously praised for the effectiveness of their response – a chorus of increasingly grim warnings was matched by announcements of tightening restrictions.

Among those voices was the head of Germany’s Robert Koch Institute, Lothar Wieler, who said the country was facing a “very serious” rise in cases as it reported a record 11,287 infections.

The Czech Republic prime minister, Andrej Babiš, warned of an “enormous surge” as he apologised for reintroducing tough restrictions that Czechs had been told would not be needed again. He said that without the measures the country’s healthcare system faced an imminent “collapse”.

The Czech government is likely to ask parliament to extend state-of-emergency powers that are due to run out on 3 November. “I apologise even for the fact that I ruled out this option in the past because I was not able to imagine it might happen,” Babiš said. “Unfortunately it has happened and now, above all, we have to protect the lives of our citizens.”

Spain is first western European country to pass 1m Covid cases

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Spain’s health minister, Salvador Illa, added to the mounting sense of a region-wide crisis, saying “drastic” measures were necessary to combat a new wave of the pandemic. The government is considering fresh restrictions including curfews after Spain became the first country in western Europe to record more than 1m cases of the virus.

“The second wave is a reality. In many areas of our country, the epidemic is out of control,” Illa told Onda Cero radio.

In the Netherlands, more than 9,000 new cases were recorded in 24 hours, a new record. The Dutch hospital system, which has reported coming under increasing strain from coronavirus admissions, said it expected to begin transferring some patients to Germany for treatment within two days.