UK to impose tougher restrictions on London.

The UK government will impose tougher Covid-19 restrictions on London from midnight on Friday.

The British capital is currently at the “medium” alert level and will be moved to “high”, meaning household mixing indoors will be banned and public transport use discouraged, but businesses will remain open.

Germany has recorded its highest daily coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic. It added 6,638 new infections on Thursday, eclipsing the 28 March figure of 6,294. It follows Chancellor Angela Merkel and the premiers of the country’s 16 federal states agreeing to a new rule whereby cities or regions where infection rates are rising rapidly will have to impose an 11pm curfew for bars and restaurants.

The Czech Republic has also set a new record for daily Covid cases, recording 9,544 new infections, the highest since the pandemic started, Health Ministry data showed.

The WHO’s chief scientist has said young, healthy people may have to wait until 2022 to be vaccinated for coronavirus, because health workers and vulnerable groups will likely be prioritised. Soumya Swaminathan indicated that, despite the many vaccine trials being undertaken, speedy, mass shots were unlikely, and organising who would given access first in the event of a safe vaccine being discovered was still being worked on.

Paris and eight other French cities will be subject to a curfew from Saturday. “We have to act. We need to put a brake on the spread of the virus,” President Emmanuel Macron said in a TV appearance, announcing the 9pm-6am curfew that will remain in force for at least four weeks, except for essential reasons. The curfew will also apply in Rouen, Lille, St Etienne, Lyon, Grenoble, Montpellier, Marseille and Toulouse.

Spain will close bars and restaurants across Catalonia for the next 15 days following a surge in cases, as the country tackles one of the highest rates of infection in Europe, with nearly 900,000 cases and more than 33,000 deaths. All bars and restaurants in the region will be limited to a takeaway and delivery service for two weeks from Thursday night. Shops and markets will operate at 30% capacity, gyms, cinemas and theatres at 50%, and children’s play areas will close at 8pm.The strict measure comes after the weekly total cases in Catalonia rose from 7,000 to 11,000 over the course of a few days.
Measures also came into force across the Netherlands, including restrictions on alcohol sales and new mask requirements.

Tough measures are to be introduced in Portugal from Thursday as the country reported a new record in cases. Gatherings will be limited to five people. Weddings and baptisms can be attended by a maximum of 50, but university parties will be banned. Fines for businesses which do not comply with the rules will be doubled from an upper limit of 5,000 to 10,000 euros. The prime minister, Antonio Costa, will also submit a proposal to parliament to make face masks compulsory in crowded outdoor spaces, and use of the government’s tracing app StayAway Covid compulsory for some workforces.

EU governments not yet prepared for new Covid-19 surge - Commission

The European Commission has warned that EU governments are unprepared for the new surge of Covid-19 infections and recommended common measures to roll out vaccines should they become available.

“While the evolution of the pandemic is getting back to March levels, our state of preparedness is not,” the EU executive’s vice-president Margaritis Schinas said.

He urged EU states to adopt a common strategy for the new phase of the pandemic and avoid the “cacophony” of different national measures that characterised the first months of the pandemic on the continent.

With new cases hitting about 100,000 daily, Europe has by a wide margin overtaken the US, where more than 51,000 Covid-19 infections are reported on average every day.

As trials of Covid-19 vaccines advance, with the first shots potentially available by the end of the year according to the World Health Organization, Brussels is urging EU governments to prepare vaccination plans.