TOP HEADLINES

- The number of people in Ireland claiming temporary COVID-19-related jobless benefits has risen for the second week in a row, to 244,153.

- Wales has announced it will impose a two-week sharp "firebreak" lockdown from Friday, in which everybody apart from essential workers will have to stay at home.

- Shopper numbers at British retail destinations have fallen for a fourth straight week following tougher government measures to stem a second wave of COVID-19, according to research carried about by market researcher Springboard.

- Authorities in Spain's northern region of Castilla y Leon have announced they will seal off the city of Burgos and the nearby town of Aranda de Duero to all but essential travel from Tuesday night.

- Portugal's COVID-19 cases passed 100,000 on Monday, with nearly 2,000 new infections in the past 24 hours.

- Italy has announced a raft of new measures that will force bars and restaurants to shut at midnight and suspend conferences and festivals after another 11,705 cases of COVID-19 were recorded on Sunday.

- The UK economy shrank by 20 percent in the three months to June – the biggest fall of any of the world's most advanced economies – largely attributed to the impact of the pandemic.

- German biotech company Evotec has received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help identify and develop potential antibody (mAbS) drugs to prevent severe COVID-19.

- Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin says there are signs authorities are getting the outbreak under control and he doesn't want to impose tougher restrictions, despite a surge in cases.

- Ukraine has registered a further 4,766 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, taking its total number of confirmed cases to 303,638.

- A new survey has found more than half of Britain's small and medium-sized manufacturers have taken on debt to cope with reduced demand and disruption to supply chains during the pandemic.

- In Prague, police fired tear gas and a water cannon at anti-lockdown protesters after several thousand people gathered at Old Town Square on Sunday to vent their anger at restrictions.

- Austria is limiting gatherings to a maximum of six people indoors and 12 people outdoors, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Monday.

ACROSS EUROPE

Guy Henderson in London

Talks resume to end a stand-off between the UK government and regional authorities in Greater Manchester on Monday.

The government wants to place the area into the most strict "Tier Three" lockdown. This would force pubs and bars that aren't serving food to close. Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has refused to implement the measures, calling the government's assessment "exaggerated."

One UK minister said "extra resources" had been offered to the Greater Manchester area amid concerns about protecting jobs and suggested a deal could be close. Burnham, though, says "nothing's changed."

Ministers say they want a deal by Tuesday at the latest, to avoid a lockdown being imposed – against the wishes of city authorities.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he wants to avoid a national lockdown in England, preferring a more targeted approach to restrictions, which he hopes will limit economic damage as the UK – like much of Europe – suffers a second wave of the coronavirus this fall.

The UK's devolved nations have opted for blanket restrictions. Northern Ireland's schools started a two-week closure from Monday, as part of new measures that began on Friday evening. Wales, is expected to announce a two-week "circuit-breaker" lockdown on Monday.

Stefan de Vries in Amsterdam

Police have revealed there have been multiple incidents involving young people hosting parties in hotels after bars and restaurants were shut across the Netherlands on Thursday.

Hotels are still open and many are offering rooms at cheap prices, with young people using them to break COVID-19 rules and throw parties.

There has also been further controversy after King Willem-Alexander flew to Greece on holiday just hours after the new measures were announced. He returned to the country just one day later after his actions were widely condemned across the country.

"We can see people's reactions to media reports. And they are fierce, and they affect us," wrote the Dutch royal family in a statement. 

Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he knew the king would leave, but he didn't realize it would send out the wrong message. The Dutch PM is politically responsible for all actions by the king and will now have to face tough questions from Parliament.

Over the past seven days, there was an average of 7,661 positive tests per day in the Netherlands, compared with 5,537 a week earlier – an increase of 40 percent.

Ross Cullen in Paris

More than 60,000 new infections were recorded this weekend in France, as cases of COVID-19 continue to rise. Figures released by the country's health ministry on Saturday showed a record COVID-19-positive rate of 13.1 percent of people tested – up from nine percent at the start of October and 3.4 percent last month. 

Nine cities in France are on maximum alert for pressure on intensive care beds, the prevalence of the virus among the elderly and the prevalence in the general population. 

Those cities, including Paris, Marseille and Lyon, are all now under curfew, meaning citizens have to be home by 9 p.m. and are not permitted to leave before 6 a.m. without a valid reason to do so, such as visiting a sick relative or traveling to essential work.

Alex Fraser in Milan

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte urged Italians to protect the health system and economy on Sunday in a televised address to the nation.

He unveiled a new decree which included limits on bar and restaurant opening times and gave local government and mayors powers to shut down public squares during the evening to limit mass gatherings of people.

The government has put a stop to all amateur contact sports and is considering closing swimming pools and gyms next week following a review.

Italy recorded its third successive day of record case numbers, with 11,705 people testing positive for the virus on Sunday.

Toni Waterman in Brussels

Belgium

Strict new COVID-19 measures kick in on Monday, after Belgium's health minister warned of an impending "tsunami." All bars and restaurants across the country have been closed for a month, a mandatory work-from-home order is in place and a midnight to 5 a.m. curfew has been implemented. Social contacts outside the home have also been reduced to one. 

Belgium recorded a daily average of 7,876 new infections in the past week, 79 percent higher than the previous seven-day period. Brussels and Wallonia are the worst-hit areas not just in Belgium, but the whole of Europe.  

Hospital admissions have doubled in the past week, heightening concerns that the healthcare system will be quickly overwhelmed. "We are very close to a tsunami, where we are no longer in control of what is happening," Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke told a local TV show at the weekend. 

The EU

The Belgian and Austrian foreign ministers have both tested positive, a week after they attended an in-person meeting of the bloc's 27 foreign ministers in Luxembourg. A spokesperson for Austria's Alexander Schallenberg said he was showing no symptoms, but may have been infected at the meeting.

Belgium's Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes, who was also in attendance, played down the meeting, tweeting: "A contamination probably occurred within my family circle given the precautions taken outside my home." 

The number of infections among high ranking EU officials in recent weeks has raised questions about safety and the need for face-to-face meetings. 

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CGTN Europe has been providing in-depth coverage of the novel coronavirus story as it has unfolded. Here you can read the essential information about the crisis.