New virus wave grips Europe as Austria begins second lockdown

Austria is moving from a night curfew and partial shutdown to a second national lockdown that will be in place for at least two and a half weeks. BBC reports

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has urged Austrians not to meet anyone from outside their household in an attempt to curb a rapid rise in Covid cases.

He said schools would close and students would learn from home when new measures come into force on Tuesday.

Austria reported a record number of 9,586 new daily infections on Friday.

That figure was nine times higher than at the peak of the initial wave earlier this year. The country has recorded more than 191,000 cases since the start of the pandemic, and 1,661 Covid-related deaths.

The new lockdown measures, which will see all non-essential shops and services - including hairdressers - close, will remain in place until 6 December. People have been told to work at home wherever possible.

Lockdowns and other measures are in force in several European countries experiencing a second wave of the virus. In other developments:

• Portugal has significantly expanded its overnight curfew. From Monday, three-quarters of the country will be under the government's toughest restrictions. On Saturday, hundreds of bar and restaurant staff took over a main square in Lisbon to demonstrate against the closure of businesses

• Germany reported a new record of 23,542 daily infections on Friday, dampening hopes that a national partial lockdown might be lifted soon

• Ukraine has also registered a record number of new Covid-19 cases. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is among those being treated in hospital for the disease

• There was better news from France, where new infections and hospital admissions dropped sharply at the end of the second week of its new national lockdown