Europe's spike stalls, but WHO warns of deaths rise: COVID-19 Bulletin

Thomas Wintle

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TOP STORIES

  • Spain is considering extending its nationwide furlough scheme, which guarantees workers part of their income while they are sidelined during the pandemic, into 2021 , Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz has announced.

  • Amid a spike in infections, France's interior minister Gerald Darmanin hit out at fans of French football team Olympique Marseille for their widespread, and for a large part not socially distanced, celebrations following the club's win against Paris Saint Germain .

  • New cases in France have dropped from a record 10,561 on Saturday to 7,183 one day later.

  • After five consecutive days of more than 1,000 daily infections, Czechia's new** cases dropped **to 792 on Sunday.

-** A failure by political leaders to heed warnings** over the threat of the pandemic has taken "a world at risk" to a "world in disorder," according to a report on international epidemic preparedness by the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board.

  • The UK has brought in new measures aimed at curbing a rise in cases, including restrictions of gatherings of more than six people. But there are differences between the legislation in the nations that make up the kingdom - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

  • Sweden has **taken the UK off its "red list" **of countries to which it advises citizens not to travel, despite a spike in new cases in the UK over the past week.

  • France's central bank predicts the economy will contract by less than previously expected in 2020, after revising the impact of the pandemic.

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  • **Thousands of health workers rallied in Brussels **on Sunday, criticizing cuts to Belgium's healthcare system and demanding more spending amid the coronavirus crisis.

  • The UK has secured access to up to 190 million doses of a potential vaccine from French-Austrian firm Valneva, a deal thought to be worth up to 1.37 billion euros ($1.6 billion).

  • The World Health Organization expects Europe's coronavirus death toll to rise in the coming months , with the body's Europe director Hans Kluge saying: "It's going to get tougher. In October, November, we are going to see more mortality."

  • Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will be **released from hospital **in Milan where he was being treated after testing positive for the virus two weeks ago.

  • Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra has warned that the survival of the Air France-KLM group was not guaranteed amid the knock-on effect of the pandemic on Europe's economy.

A woman wearing a face mask leaves a metro station in Prague. After five consecutive days of daily infections topping 1,000, Czechia's new cases dropped to 792 on Sunday. /Michal Cizek/AFP

AROUND EUROPE

Iolo ap Dafydd in London

From Monday, people in the UK face fines of up to $4,000 if they do not follow measures aimed at curbing a rise in cases. The restrictions are known as the "rule of six."

People can still mix at work, schools, universities, shops and on public transport,but there are differences within the UK's four nations.

While social gatherings of more than six people are now illegal across the UK – weddings and funerals are exempt – groups of up to 30 people can still meet outdoors in Wales, unlike in England and Scotland.

The rule of six includes all age groups in England, but in Wales and Scotland, the new rules will not include children under 11 and 12 respectively. In Northern Ireland, up to 15 people can meet in a garden or outdoors.

The authorities aren't clear how the regulations are to be fully policed. Police will have the power to disperse illegal gatherings and issue fines ranging from $100 to $4,000. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said"COVID-19-secure marshals" will operate in towns and cities.

The public are being urged to stick to the limits of what's now legal, in a more fluid lockdown than early summer, but one that still curbs individual freedoms. People are also being encouraged to report neighbors, colleagues or anyone else to the police, if they see anyone breaking the law.

Ross Cullen in Paris

Marseille and Bordeaux are set to announce new measures on Monday to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

The two cities, along with the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, were asked by Prime Minister Jean Castex on Friday to provide plans for the next steps to try to control the surge in numbers.

Marseille has a rate of infection of 275 people per 100,000 inhabitants, Bordeaux is at 272 per 100,000 and the national average is 70.

The three places are listed as "critical zones." Of France's 94 departments, 42 are "red zones." Additionally, 43 students at a university in Brittany have tested positive for the coronavirus after a night out in local bars, prompting the local health authority to call for an immediate end to students socializing in public or in private.

Mark Webster in Frankfurt

The number of recorded cases in Germany has topped 260,000, but medical authorities say they are reasonably confident the country's "second wave" is under control, with Sunday's death toll down to four.

However, the coronavirus pandemic has forced big changes to a major Sino-European summit that was to have taken place in the eastern German city of Leipzig. Instead, the summit is now taking place virtually.

The German government has said it is determined to avoid another complete lockdown, but urged German citizens to obey the rules to prevent the resurgence of the coronavirus.

Rahul Pathak in Madrid

Just one week after children returned to school in Spain, university students are following suit.

Unlike some countries with similarly high infection rates, almost every Spanish school is set to open its physical doors to students this month, all the way from pre-schools to universities.

When asked last week if the return to school and colleges would be safe, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said "yes," without hesitation.

"Zero risk doesn't exist in terms of epidemiology, but there is one risk we can remove – the risk of social exclusion due to unequal learning environments," he told the radio station SER.

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Source(s): AFP ,Reuters