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(CNN) – Italian regions hardest hit by the second wave of coronavirus entered a new lockdown on Friday after the country recorded its highest daily number of infections and deaths the day before.
Italy has a nationwide curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., with bars and restaurants closing at 6 p.m., while certain areas face more severe restrictions.
Residents in the “red zone” regions – Lombardy, Piedmont, Valle d’Aosta and Calabria – can only leave home for necessities, health or work. Those in the “orange zones” are prohibited from leaving their cities, except for work or health reasons, and bars and restaurants are closed, except for home delivery and take-out.
Italy reported 35,505 new cases and 445 deaths on Thursday, bringing total cases to 824,879 and deaths to 40,192, according to data from the Health Ministry.
These figures “are not a good sign,” said Gianni Rezza, director of the ministry’s prevention department. “The virus is running and we have to stop it.”
In neighboring France, Paris also announced stricter measures, as the country reported a record 58,046 new cases on Thursday, according to the French health agency. The country has the highest number of cases in Europe, with 1.6 million infections.
As of Friday, food delivery, take-out food and the sale of alcohol are prohibited in Paris between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., police said.
“The second wave is already upon us, and it is brutal,” French health minister Olivier Véran told a news conference on Thursday. If the virus continues to spread at this rate, he said “the second wave could be worse and longer” than the first, and it could take “until mid-December” to stabilize.
Véran urged people to respect the national closure or face “a high risk of saturation” of hospitals in mid-November.
Fresh closures as an increase case
Greece will enter a three-week national lockdown starting Saturday after reporting nearly 10,000 new cases in five days, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Thursday.
People will need to text authorities before leaving home and high schools will close.
Denmark also announced new restrictions in seven municipalities after scientists identified a mutated strain of the coronavirus linked to the mink population. According to the government, the mutated form of the virus has been transmitted to humans from small mammals.
All minks in the country will be killed due to concerns about a mutation of the virus, the country’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Wednesday.
Danish cafes and pubs will close from Saturday, along with indoor sports facilities, cultural centers and public transport, and people should avoid traveling outside their area.
Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven are in quarantine after possible exposure to the coronavirus, it emerged on Thursday.
A UK government adviser told CNN that Raab was “informed that a person with whom he has been in close recent contact has tested positive” as England entered a second month-long national lockdown.
Löfven said that a person in his neighborhood came into contact with someone with Covid-19 but tested negative.
“Development is rapidly going in the wrong direction. More people are infected. More people are dying,” Löfven wrote on Facebook.
Earlier this week, Sweden announced that it will tighten restrictions in three additional regions, including limiting meetings in bars and restaurants to eight people.
Austria and Poland also reported record increases in cases on Thursday as Austria entered its second national shutdown this week, which includes an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and the closure of leisure facilities.
Norway, which has one of the lowest infection rates in Europe, has seen a “sharp increase” in cases, according to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
Norwegians were urged to “stay home as long as possible” starting Saturday, as restrictions were announced across the country, including bars and restaurants closing at midnight and more distance learning.
Prime Minister Erna Solberg warned of a “very serious” situation, adding that “we must act now to avoid a new closure as in March.”
Bent Høie, the Norwegian health minister, said that if current trends continue “it will create great challenges for our health service, as we see happening in country after country in Europe.”
This story was first published on CNN.com. Italian regions shut down and Paris tightens rules as Europe breaks virus records
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