Europe’s Daily Coronavirus Cases Double in Ten Days

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.

Angela Merkel's health minister Jens Spahn, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, is quarantining at home.

The Netherlands also saw a new record on Thursday with more than 9,000 cases, according to the country's public health institute.

In Greece, people in the Athens area and other parts of the country with high infection rates were ordered to stay off the streets from 12.30am to 5am.

'The aim is to reduce general movement and evening gatherings, which favor the transmission of the virus,' Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a televised address.

'With a little less fun, for a short period of time, we will have better health for a long time.'

Greece also became the latest country to make masks mandatory outdoors as daily cases rose to a record 882 on Thursday, with 15 deaths.

A midnight curfew is also getting underway in Rome after an order by the governor of the Lazio region, Nicola Zingaretti.

The governor was seriously sickened with COVID-19 when Italy became the first European country to be overwhelmed by an outbreak early in the pandemic.

Disco operators staged a protest in Rome on Thursday to highlight the economic woes the late night curfews will deal them.

Naples residents have also been ordered to stay at home from 11pm while similar restrictions are returning in Lombardy after a surge in cases in Milan.

Eager to avoid another total lockdown, Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte has urged Italians to avoid 'unnecessary' movements.

But the Czech Republic's government on Thursday re-imposed exactly the same heavy restrictions it slapped on citizens in the spring.

Czech PM Andrej Babis apologised for the new measures after repeatedly saying that the lockdown would not be repeated.

The restrictions include limits on free movement and the closure of many stores, shopping malls and hotels until at least November 3.

Poland broke another record on Thursday with more than 12,100 new infections, and registered nearly 170 new deaths.

PM Mateusz Morawiecki said Poland could face tighter restrictions such as masks in all public spaces, limits on transport and closures of gyms and swimming pools.

Elsewhere, Portugal is banning people from traveling between counties on the upcoming Halloween and All Saints' Day weekend.

The move is aimed at discouraging family gatherings, which are blamed for most of the country's new infections.

Health minister Marta Temido said she expected cases to keep climbing in the coming days after a new record of 3,270 new infections.

In Belgium, foreign minister Sophie Wilmes - until recently the prime minister - has been hospitalised in intensive care with COVID-19.

However, foreign ministry spokeswoman Elke Pattyn said Wilmes is conscious and that her condition 'is not worrying.'

Spain is also mulling new restrictions as health minister Salvador Illa admitted that 'in some parts of our country, the epidemic is out of control'.

The Navarra region, with an infection rate three times higher than Spain's national average, has closed bars and restaurants and banned non-essential travel in and out of its regional borders.

Madrid, which was Europe's virus hotspot for weeks, has been under similar measures for nearly two weeks.

Although the Spanish capital has seen a recent stabilisation of contagion, Illa said more needed to be done there.

In Wales, a two-week 'firebreak' lockdown starting today will shutter all non-essential shops and ban most trips outside home.

Ireland's Prime Minister Michael Martin has announced that for the next six weeks all non-essential shops must close, restaurants can only offer takeout, and people must not travel further than three miles from their homes. Schools will stay open.