New cases of Covid-19 keep increasing. France even broke a new record for daily contaminations on Wednesday. The French public health agency has in fact identified 332,252 new patients and 246 deaths. Over the last seven days, the daily average covers 200,000 cases.
Elsewhere in Europe, Italy recorded 189,000 new cases on Wednesday. To “slow down the contaminations curve and encourage Italians who have not yet been vaccinated to do so”, the country has decided to introduce compulsory vaccination for those over 50, or almost half of the population, according to Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
In the United Kingdom, which recorded more than 194,000 cases on Wednesday, the government nevertheless announced an easing of restrictions on travelers arriving in England, a decision immediately welcomed by the transport sector. According to the National Statistics Office (ONS), one in 20 Britons was infected last week, and even one in 10 in London.
Curfew in Catalonia
Also on the mainland, in Spain, the courts extended the curfew by 14 days in much of Catalonia. In the Czech Republic, from January 17, anyone returning to work, vaccinated or not, will have to perform two antigenic tests per week. Finally in Romania, the mask has become mandatory outdoors, following a tripling of daily cases in a few days.