France & Italy set daily records for new coronavirus cases as Covid surge rolls on

The Covid-19 outbreak in Europe is deteriorating further. France has seen a record 30,621 new cases in the last 24 hours. Italy has also set its all-time daily high of 8,804 infections, with the Campania region shutting schools.

On Thursday, the number of new cases across France jumped by more than 8,000 compared to the previous day, with hospitalizations and fatalities also on the rise.

The country has recorded 809,684 positive cases and 33,125 deaths since the start of the pandemic. President Emmanuel Macron announced a nightly curfew in Paris and other major French coronavirus-hit cities on Wednesday, as part of increased measures to tackle the viral surge.

The German foreign ministry on Thursday warned its citizens against non-essential travel to France, as well as to the Netherlands, Malta and Slovakia, amid rising infection rates there.

Italy also registered a new daily high on Thursday, with 8,804 confirmed cases of the virus. While numbers are significantly lower than in France, the number of new infections still climbed steeply compared to Wednesday, when 7,332 cases were logged.

Coronavirus-related fatalities also doubled over the past 24 hours, from 43 to 83, with Italy's overall death toll now standing at 36,372.

The country was the hardest hit in Europe in March and April, seeing up to 900 daily deaths, but strict lockdown measures saw the infection rate significantly drop over the summer months.

With the virus resurging in recent weeks, however, the southern region of Campania has decided to reinstate some of those restrictions by shutting schools down until the end of October. Parties are also barred, except those in which members of the same family are participating.

Spain has added 13,300 new infections since Wednesday to its overall tally, which now stands at 921,374. The number of deaths has reached 33,553.

In Catalonia, home to the country's second largest city, Barcelona, a top regional court greenlighted the closure of bars and restaurants for 15 days, starting from Friday, in a bid to stem the spread of the virus.vsdsd

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