France, Germany see surge in coronavirus cases as holidaymakers return home
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France and Germany have recorded their worst daily infection rates in months with concerns growing Thursday that coronavirus cases could spike in Europe just as holidaymakers return home and children go back to school.
France, one of Europe’s worst-hit countries, has been recording new coronavirus cases at the fastest daily rate since May.
Some 4,711 Covid-19 infections were confirmed in the past 24 hours, the French public health body said Thursday, a new post-lockdown high.
An additional 3,800 infections were announced a day earlier. “All indicators continue to climb and transmission of the virus is intensifying,” the DGS said in a statement Wednesday.
After lockdown ended the number of new infections per day dropped to a low of just 115 on May 24 and the seven-day moving average of new infections – which accounts for data reporting irregularities – dropped to 272 a few days later, according to health ministry data.
Since then, the number of new infections per day has crept up to about 1,000 by the end of July, with an acceleration from mid-August. The seven-day moving average now stands close to 3,000, a level last seen mid-April.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 1,427 to 230,048, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday.
The reported death toll rose by 7 to 9,260, the tally showed.
The country has fared better than many European neighbours in suppressing the virus so far but like elsewhere, the number of cases has jumped significantly over the summer holidays.
Much of the rise has been blamed on returning holidaymakers as well as parties and family gatherings. Schools already resumed last week in parts of Germany.
Faced with the surge in cases, Germany earlier this month introduced free, mandatory tests for anyone returning from areas deemed at high risk for Covid-19 infections.
And Chancellor Angela Merkel warned this week there could be no further relaxation of coronavirus restrictions.
On Wednesday, Spain recorded 6,700 new infections in 24 hours, bringing the country’s total to more than 370,000, the highest caseload in western Europe.
