Europe reels from virus as cases top 11m

Italian officials yesterday agreed to impose a night-time curfew, joining a slew of European nations in ramping up restrictions in the face of a dramatic surge in coronavirus cases.    

But the measure, which restricts Italians to their homes between 10:00 pm and 5:00 am, fell short of the kind of rules in force in countries including France, Belgium and Germany.

Governments in Europe are struggling to get a hold of a pandemic that has now infected more than 11 million on the continent.

Yesterday saw Russia announce a daily record for cases and deaths, upping pressure on the government only days after President Vladimir Putin said there were no plans for a lockdown.

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 1,215,957 people since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT yesterday. More than 47,520,750 cases of coronavirus have been registered.

On Tuesday, 8,649 new deaths and 544,664 new cases were recorded worldwide. Based on latest reports, the countries with the most new deaths were United States with 1,045, followed by France with 854 and India with 514.

The United States remains the worst-affected country with more than nine million cases and 230,000 deaths as Americans were on the edge to the know the winner after a divisive campaign. 

From Britain to Turkey, European countries have reimposed strict curbs this week, echoing their moves in spring when the virus first hit Europe following its emergence in China.

Many businesses are still struggling to recover from the damage of those earlier lockdowns –- particularly in the travel sector.

Although many of the measures imposed this week are not as draconian as those earlier lockdowns, they have been resisted by many business-owners, politicians particularly from the right, and large sections of the population.

"Make no mistake, this could be the final straw for thousands of pubs and brewers," said Emma McClarkin, of the British Beer and Pub Association, with English pubs ordered to close for a month from Wednesday night.

In Italy, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has struggled to build a coalition backing more stringent measures after sporadic protests broke out over an earlier decision to shut bars and restaurants early.

However, the curfew mixed with other restrictions such as the closure of shopping centres on weekends appeared to have struck the right compromise for regional leaders.

"We will continue to work to ensure that these provisions are observed by all Milanese," wrote Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala on Facebook, whose northern city is one of Italy's major hotspots.

Senior political figures, meanwhile, continue to fall victim to the virus. Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is "gradually recovering" from the illness in hospital in Germany, his office said on Tuesday.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and two thirds of her government went into self-isolation yesterday after the justice minister tested positive amid a new surge in cases.

Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto tested positive shortly after meeting Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen -- with pictures showing neither man wearing a mask.

Hungary itself has reimposed a state of emergency that allows the government to rule by decree -- despite Prime Minister Viktor Orban facing allegations of a power grab when he passed a similar measure earlier in the year.

"The time has come to take new steps so that we can protect hospitals' ability to function, and also protect the lives of the elderly," said Orban.

One global figure taking renewed care over virus measures was Pope Francis, who had been criticised for continuing to mix with his flock.

"Unfortunately, we are back to doing this audience in the library in order to protect ourselves from the infections of Covid," said the pope on Wednesday as he streamed his weekly general audience from the Vatican Library rather than in person.

"We offer to the Lord this distance between us for the good of everyone."