Greek islands added to England quarantine list, limits on Danish public gatherings: COVID-19 daily bulletin
Updated 00:55, 08-Sep-2020
Andy Murray
Europe;Europe

TOP HEADLINES

- Travelers arriving in England from seven Greek islands will have to self-isolate for 14 days from 4 a.m. Wednesday morning, the UK's transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has said. The affected islands are Lesvos, Tinos, Serifos, Mykonos, Santorini, Crete and Zakynthos. Those returning from the remainder of Greece currently don't have to quarantine.

- The UK recorded 2,948 daily confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to government data published on Monday afternoon. The figure is down slightly from 2,988 a day earlier, which had been the biggest single-day rise since 22 May. The UK's health minister, Matt Hancock, said he was "concerned" about a rise in cases "predominantly among young people."

- AstraZeneca, in collaboration with researchers from Oxford University, has already begun production of the UK government's initial order of 30 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine. The vaccine is still undergoing trials in the UK, Brazil and South Africa.

- Denmark's limit on public gatherings will be lowered to 50 people from 100 in the capital Copenhagen and 17 other municipalities, after a recent spike in infections. Restaurants, bars and cafes will also have their opening hours limited to midnight.

- France's health body, Sante Publique France, has confirmed 15,621 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend after a record-breaking Friday of nearly 9,000 new infections. French authorities have also placed seven more departments on high alert, covering major cities such as Lille, Strasbourg and Dijon, where authorities will be able to impose exceptional measures to curb new cases. Of France's 101 mainland and overseas departments, 28 are now considered "red zones."

- The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 814 to 250,799, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Monday morning. No new deaths were reported, the country's death toll staying at 9,325.

- More than 27.1 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, along with 889,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

- Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's former prime minister, is responding well to treatment after he was taken to hospital with the coronavirus, his doctor says, but warns the 83-year-old's condition remains "delicate."

- Nearly half of Greeks (44 percent) would refuse to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to a poll of 1,000 respondents.

- Turkey recorded 1,578 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing its total to 279,806, according to the health ministry. A further 53 people died in the past 24 hours – the country's official death toll now stands at 6,673.

- Russia reported 5,185 new coronavirus cases on Monday, pushing its national tally to 1,030,690, the fourth largest in the world. Authorities confirmed 51 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 17,871.

- Researchers at the University Clinic in Innsbruck, Austria, have found hospitalized COVID-19 patients continue to experience lingering effects of the virus months after the initial infection has passed. Six weeks after leaving hospital, 88 percent of patients still showed lung damage in CT scans, with 47 percent experiencing breathlessness. After 12 weeks, the results were 56 percent and 39 percent respectively.

- Isabel Celaa, Spain's education minister, has urged parents to send their children back to school, as COVID-19 cases continue to soar in the country. "The safest place to be is in school and the benefits of being there are far greater than the possible risks," she told Spain's RNE public radio. Despite the threat of sanctions and heavy fines, many Spanish parents are refusing to return their children to class because of rising infections.

 

The city of Strasbourg has been placed on high alert after a rise of COVID-19 cases in France. /Patrick Hertzog/AFP

The city of Strasbourg has been placed on high alert after a rise of COVID-19 cases in France. /Patrick Hertzog/AFP

 

ACROSS EUROPE

Stefan de Vries in Amsterdam

The number of coronavirus infections in the Netherlands rose sharply yesterday. There were 925 new cases reported, the highest number since 19 April and an increase of 41 percent compared with the previous day.

In the first six months of this year, Dutch exports decreased by 9 percent or $27.2 billion, partly due to the knock-on effect of the pandemic. The trade with the UK suffered the biggest decline: 23 percent, mainly because of fewer oil and gas exports.

However, exports to China bucked the trend. From January to July, the Dutch exported products worth $6.5 billion, 17 percent more than last year. The Netherlands is the world's fourth-largest exporter, thanks in part to the Port of Rotterdam, Europe's biggest.

 

Ross Cullen in Paris

New coronavirus infections in France have risen above 7,000 for the third straight day. The record daily high of new cases for any point since the outbreak began in France was set on Friday 4 September, with 8,975 infections in 24 hours. The French health authorities have added seven more regions, including those covering the cities Lille, Strasbourg and Dijon, to the "red zone" list of places in the country, where the coronavirus is circulating particularly actively.

Despite this, the government is considering reducing the isolation period for people who have the coronavirus from 14 to seven days, saying it will consider the measure at cabinet meetings during the week.

Two more schools have also closed temporarily in France after teachers tested positive for the coronavirus, meaning at least 22 schools have now had to close since the start of the new academic year on 1 September.

 

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Isobel Ewing in Budapest

Hungary has moved to loosen its recently introduced travel restrictions, in order to ensure the continuation of the economy, the government says.

Business trips will now be exempt from the border closure, and coronavirus tests carried out in EU member states within the Schengen area are now considered equivalent to tests conducted in Hungary. This means travelers may bring two negative test results with them, rather than having to undergo the tests once in Hungary.

Foreign spectators of sports and cultural events will now be allowed to enter the country if they provide a negative test and undergo a health check upon entering. They must leave the country within three days after entering.

The number of registered infections in Hungary continues to climb, with 576 new cases recorded on Monday, the highest daily increase since the outbreak began.

There are more than 3,800 active cases in Hungary, which is a new record.

 

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Source(s): Reuters ,AFP