UK and France record most daily cases since start of pandemic, as university outbreaks linked to parties

 

The United Kingdom and France both reported their highest rise in daily coronavirus case numbers Thursday with Europe in the grip of a second wave of infection.  It comes amid a flurry of outbreaks at universities across Europe, which has seen students in Scotland told "there must be no parties, and no socialising outside their households."
French health authorities reported 16,096 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours. A total of 31,511 people have died from coronavirus in France, and 497,237 cases have been reported.
The UK reported 6,634 new cases, bringing its total confirmed cases to 416,363, Public Health England (PHE) tweeted.

"This is the highest number recorded and a stark warning for us all. The signals are clear. Positivity rates are rising across all age groups and we're continuing to see spikes in rates of admission to hospital and critical care," said Public Health England medical director Yvonne Doyle.
Forty more deaths were reported in the UK Thursday and its death toll, according to PHE, now stands at 41,902 -- Europe's highest.
Spain's Ministry of Health reported 12,272 new Covid-19 cases Friday, bringing the total to 716,481. Madrid's region reported 213,709 cases, almost 30% of the country's total.
Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa said Friday his government has recommended a total lockdown in the capital. "I think we have difficult weeks to come for Madrid and we need to act decisively," Illa said.
The Czech Republic reported 2,913 new infections Friday, its second-highest daily increase. Germany's case number rose by 2,143 to 278,070 Thursday, according to data from the country's infectious disease agency, the Robert Koch institute. While this is well below its record of almost 7,000 daily cases in early April, case numbers are still on an upward trajectory -- and Germany was one of the few countries to have widespread testing early in the pandemic.