Pandemic-hit countries face new restrictions amid surge

Europe, North America struggle with rising COVID-19 infections

COVID-19 cases continue to surge in Europe and North America, prompting nations to implement new restrictions, according to latest health figures.

At least three top aides to US Vice-President Mike Pence have tested positive for the coronavirus in the last few days, people briefed on the matter said, raising fresh questions about the safety protocols at the White House where masks are not routinely worn, The New York Times reported.

"Vice-President Pence and Mrs Pence both tested negative for COVID-19 today, and remain in good health," Devin O'Malley, a spokesman for Pence, was quoted by the newspaper as saying. Pence decided to continue campaigning for the ongoing presidential election, despite his proximity to his chief of staff, Marc Short, who had tested positive.

The coronavirus has now infected more than 8 million people in the United States, but some experts think the worst has yet to come.

Speaking to CNN on Friday, Michael Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, repeated his claim that the US is now entering the "darkest days of the pandemic" and that daily cases could easily top 100,000.

As more European nations see record death and infection tolls from the coronavirus, many are reimposing curfews, partial lockdowns and other restrictions on public life to slow a second wave of COVID-19.

Andrea Ammon, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, said the continent was facing a major threat to public health and a "highly concerning epidemiological situation", according to Agence France-Presse.

The ECDC said all EU countries except Cyprus, Estonia, Finland and Greece fell into a "serious concern "category, as did the United Kingdom, up from just seven a month ago.

After Spain became the first European country to officially record a million COVID-19 cases earlier last week, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday the real number of infections was likely more than triple that figure, according to AFP.

France, one of the European countries hit hardest by the first wave of the pandemic, imposed a curfew from midnight on Friday, which extends to more than two-thirds of the population, or 46 million people, according to German public international broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the country should expect to be living with COVID-19 until next summer.

Berlin implemented new mask-wearing requirements on busy streets, and Germany's death toll passed 10,000 on Saturday, the AFP reported.

The German Foreign Ministry also declared Switzerland and Poland to be risk areas, meaning that travelers must be tested and enter a mandatory quarantine upon their return to Germany.

On Friday, parts of Italy including the capital Rome went under curfew while Wales entered a full lockdown.

In Poland, a nationwide "red zone "lockdown required the partial closure of primary schools and restaurants. Polish President Andrzej Duda tested positive for coronavirus on Friday, according to Reuters. The 48-year-old president, who said in televised remarks that he was feeling fine, is now in isolation along with his wife and working remotely.

Behind only Latin America, Asia surpassed 10 million infections of the new coronavirus on Saturday, the second-heaviest regional toll in the world, according to a Reuters tally.

Asia accounts for about one-quarter of the global caseload of 42.1 million of the virus. With over 163,000 deaths, the region accounts for about 14 percent of the global COVID-19 toll.

Despite the numbers, the region overall has reported improvement in handling the pandemic in recent weeks, with daily caseloads slowing in places like India, Reuters reported.

Within the region, South Asia led by India is the worst affected, with nearly 21 percent of the reported global coronavirus cases and 12 percent of deaths.

India is the worst-hit country in the world after the US, although infections are slowing in the world's second-most populous country. India is reporting more than 57,000 cases of the virus a day, viewed on a weekly average, with 58 new cases per 10,000 people in Asia's third-largest economy, according to Reuters reports. COVID-19 deaths in India are averaging 764 a day, the worst in the world and accounting for one in every 13 global pandemic deaths.

Over recent months, Australia, China, Japan and South Korea have reduced the spread of the virus, using the tactic of detecting cases, isolating them and quarantining contacts.

Mike Ryan, head of the World Health Organization's emergencies program, has said that Europe and North America should follow the example of Asian states in persevering with anti-pandemic measures and quarantine restrictions for infected people.