By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Spain recorded 1,418 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday alone, a resurgence of the pandemic that has killed 28,581 in the country, which has the highest figures for both categories in Europe.
In Germany, the latest official data showed a rise of more than 1,200 cases in the past 24 hours, the biggest daily increase in cases in more than three months.
The BBC reports that countries across the European Union (EU) are struggling to contain a surge in infections. France has cancelled its rescheduled marathon in November, shifting it to 2021.
Live updates by worldometers.info show the global figures as 747,003 deaths and 20,585,207 cases. The United States remains on the leader board in both categories with 167,789 deaths and 5,309,622 cases.
Spain has a total 28,581 deaths and 373,692 cases. Germany has recorded 9,268 deaths and 219,581 cases.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said the increase was due, in part, to people returning from holidays.
It came as Germany warned against non-essential trips to parts of Spain, the BBC added.
The foreign ministry said it had added a partial travel warning to the Spanish capital Madrid and the Basque region on Tuesday amid rising infections there. Warnings were already in place for the regions of Aragon, Catalonia and Navarra.
Critical condition in Spain
Spain is facing the worst coronavirus infection rate in Western Europe. Apart from the 1,418 new infections in its latest daily count, it said there were 675 “active outbreaks” in the country.
Salvador Macip, an expert in health sciences at Catalonia’s Open University, told AFP news agency the country was at a “critical moment”.
“We are right at a point where things can get better or worse. This means we have to pull out all the stops to curb outbreaks before they become more serious,” he said.
Brussels compels mask-wearing
Wearing a face mask became compulsory in all public areas in Brussels on Wednesday amid a rise in cases.
The order applies to those aged 12 and above. People were previously only required to wear masks in crowded public spaces and enclosed areas of the Belgian capital, such as shopping centres.
Authorities said the enhanced rules were introduced because of a rise in infections, with Brussels recording an average of 50 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants per day over the past week.
Police checks are being ramped up to ensure that people follow the new rules.
The mask-wearing regulation is one of the strictest currently in place in Europe.
Belgium has recorded more than 75,000 cases of coronavirus and more than 9,800 deaths, according to data collated by Johns Hopkins University.
Paris cancels marathon
This year’s Paris marathon has been cancelled as France battles a spike in coronavirus cases, organisers said on Wednesday.
The marathon was originally due to take place on 5 April but was then postponed to 15 November because of the pandemic.
Organisers said they had “tried everything to maintain the event” but felt “obliged” to call it off.
“There will be great disappointment among those who have sacrificed time training for what had become an autumn marathon,” they said.
Organisers are now working on the 2021 marathon.
The announcement came after Paris became the latest French city to make face masks compulsory in busy outdoor areas. Face masks were already compulsory nationwide in enclosed public spaces.
A government spokesman on Wednesday said France would gradually ramp up police checks to ensure that people were respecting social distancing and wearing masks where required.
“We’re at a tipping point …. We’re going to mobilise polices forces to make checks,” Gabriel Attal told journalists.