“We do not know how the situation in Germany will develop in the coming weeks. It is possible that we see 10,000 new cases a day,” Lothar Wieler, president of the Robert Koch Institute, said. “It is possible that the virus spreads uncontrolled.”

With Europe topping six million coronavirus cases and almost 240,000 deaths, politicians at the national level are leaning on local authorities to take the lead in limiting late-night activity in cities and towns, as they fear the economic impact of more wide-ranging measures. That’s led to more severe restrictions in several European cities.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron’s government ordered bars in Paris to close for a two-week period and said more curbs would be announced. The Czech Republic was considering additional steps to prevent the disease from spreading.

Daily infections in France increased by 18,746, health authorities said on Wednesday, bringing the seven-day rolling average to the highest level yet. Spain reported a record 5,075 new cases.

The number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care in Paris hospitals has tripled since the start of September, similar to the situation in the Marseille region.

Like Paris, Berlin is fighting against a surge in infections and will close bars at 11pm, starting on Saturday.

Spain reports spike in deaths; Italy to make masks mandatory

The German capital has the worst outbreak among the country’s 16 states, with 40.5 cases per 100,000 people over the last seven days, according to the public health authority. The city’s residents would be restricted from domestic travel if the figure rises above 50 – some districts already exceed this threshold.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government and state leaders reaffirmed the rules during a conference call on Wednesday.

Across the border from Europe’s largest economy, the Czech Republic on Thursday posted a record 5,335 new cases for the previous day. The country’s 14-day cumulative number of cases per capita is now the highest in the EU, surpassing Spain.

The government will announce “more significant” measures to stem the outbreak at the end of the week, Health Minister Roman Prymula said, reaffirming a pledge not to impose another full-scale nationwide lockdown.

The virus’s resurgence in Italy – where numbers have been more contained than in some neighbouring countries – twice prevented parliamentary votes earlier this week on new measures to combat the pandemic, as a number of lawmakers were in quarantine.

Britain’s missing 16,000 cases thought linked to Excel spreadsheets for tracking

A cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte extended emergency powers to counter the pandemic to January 31. The government again made wearing face masks outdoors compulsory nationwide.

Elsewhere, Scotland and Brussels also introduced curbs on alcohol consumption.

A two-week pub closure in central Scotland, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, was designed as a “short, sharp action to arrest the worrying increase in infection,” First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.

In Brussels, bars and drinking alcohol in public places will be banned until November 8, the regional government said. An 11pm bar curfew had already been announced for the rest of the country.

In Switzerland, there were strong words from Health Minister Alain Berset as the country saw positive tests top 1,000 in 24 hours for the first time since April 1.

“Get a grip,” Berset told the public, urging respect for physical distancing and hand hygiene in private as well as public.

Reuters, Bloomberg, Agence France-Presse, DPA