France, Germany others tighten COVID-19 rules over rising resurgence

As the second wave of Coronavirus pandemic  becomes imminent in Europe, Germany, France and some other European countries have tightened COVID-19 infections rules, fueling serious speculations of imminent lockdowns.

For example, Wisconsin in the US reported its third highest one-day jump in new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. This comes just hours after a State Judge temporarily blocked an order from the Governor’s administration, limiting the number of people in bars or attending indoor gatherings, in an effort to curb the continued spread of coronavirus in the state.

To curb the second wave of COVID-19 infections in France, the French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a 9pm-6am curfew for Paris and 8 other big French cities from Saturday, in an attempt to curb the rising cases of coronavirus infections that threaten to overwhelm the country’s hospitals, citing that “Our intensive care wards are under unsustainable pressure.”

Italy has surpassed its daily record for newly diagnosed coronavirus cases. Data from the country’s Ministry of Health showed that the number of newly diagnosed daily cases rose to 7,332 on Wednesday, up from 5,901 on Tuesday and surpassing the highest levels seen at the start of the pandemic.

Portugal has declared a national state of emergency and banned groups of more than five from meeting in public, in order to combat what Prime Minister António Costa described as a serious increase in coronavirus infections.