More than 100,000 new Covid cases have been reported across Europe in one 24-hour period for the first time, as the continent struggles with the second wave of the virus and many nations record their highest-ever infection rates.
The second wave of the novel coronavirus appears to be hitting Europe harder than the first, at least when it comes to the spread of the virus. Statistics presented by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control on Friday suggest that the infection rates throughout the continent have been higher than at the spring peak in late March and April, since at least mid-September.
Several European nations are currently struggling to navigate their way through the pandemic, seeking to balance out the need to stem the spread of the disease while keeping economies up and running. Meanwhile, the infection rates throughout the continent are climbing up – and many countries only recently reported their worst infection-related data since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Russian authorities said on Friday the nation had just beaten its previous daily-cases record, which dates back to the spring lockdown, with more than 12,000 new cases reported over the previous 24 hours.
The UK similarly set a new unnerving record on Thursday, reporting over 17,000 new cases. The development prompted Health Secretary Matt Hancock to say that the country was at a “perilous moment,” as the UK is also witnessing a disturbing seven percent case-to-fatality rate – one of the highest in the world.
France, in turn, saw a whopping 34,000 new cases in a single day recorded on Monday. The number of new infections has since fallen almost by half over recent days, down to some 18,000 cases per day, but still remains higher than the peaks reported by London or Moscow, data collected by Johns Hopkins University shows. The developments have prompted the government to close bars and restaurants once again, much to the dismay of their owners and staff, while hospitals shifted to emergency mode.
Spain saw its record-high uptick surpassing 30,000 in late September. The situation in Madrid was considered grave enough for the government to impose a state of emergency in the city on Friday, after a local court overturned a previously introduced partial lockdown.
Europe currently accounts for some 16 percent of global coronavirus cases and for more than one fifth of Covid-19-reated deaths in the world. Out of the total 100,000 new cases reported in Europe, one third was recorded in Eastern Europe.
However, the US, India and Brazil remain the top three worst-affected nations. The number of cases reported in America alone over the last 24 hours was almost double that recorded throughout Europe, at 191,000.
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