Greece tightens restrictions, shuts cafes, cinemas, gyms, as coronavirus spreads – travel

Greece will shut down restaurants, bars, cafes, cinemas and gyms across a large part of the country, including the capital Athens, after a surge in coronavirus cases. Outlining the measures in a televised address, Prime Minister Kyriakos said the changes will take effect Tuesday morning and last for the whole of November. The areas affected are most of northern Greece and the Athens region.

Though closed for sitting customers, restaurants in these areas will be able to offer food for takeaway and deliveries. In other measures, Mitsotakis said masks will become mandatory across the whole of Greece and a curfew will come into force from midnight to 5 a.m. University classes across the country will have to be conducted online. In contrast to the spring lockdown, travel within the country will not be affected and retail shops will stay open.

Like other countries in Europe, Greece is in the grip of a resurgence of the virus. Daily infections surged over 1,000 this week, peaking at 1,690 Friday.

London coronavirus lockdown

In London, the British government is considering imposing a new national lockdown in England, after its scientific advisers warned that hospitalizations and deaths from the resurgence of the coronavirus could soon surpass the levels seen at the outbreak’s spring peak.

Epidemiologist John Edmunds, a member of the government’s scientific advisory group, said cases were running “significantly above” a reasonable worst-case scenario drawn up by modelers early this month.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has introduced a system of local restrictions for England based on levels of infection. But scientists say it has not been enough.

The Times of London says Johnson could announce a month-long lockdown as soon as Monday, though the government says no decisions have been made.

Any new lockdown would likely see non-essential businesses close and people told to stay mostly at home, though schools would remain open.

The U.K. is recording more than 20,000 new coronavirus infections a day, and government statisticians say the true figure is far higher. On Saturday the country is likely to surpass 1 million confirmed cases since the outbreak began.

The U.K. has Europe’s highest coronavirus death toll at more than 46,000.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

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