Europe records 1 million new coronavirus cases last week, up 9%: WHO

Europe recorded 1 million new coronavirus cases last week, an increase of 9 per cent from the previous week and a reversal that ended a six-week decline, according to the World Health Organisation.

Among the hard-hit places is the Milan suburb of Bollate, where the virus swept through a nursery school and an adjacent elementary school with alarming speed. In a matter of just days, 45 children and 14 staff members tested positive.

Genetic analysis confirmed it was the highly contagious variant first identified in England late last year.

The surge is leading to new restrictions across the continent.

Dr Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, says the spread of variants is driving the increase, but so is the opening of society, when it is not done in a safe and a controlled manner.

The British variant is spreading significantly in 27 European countries monitored by WHO and is dominant in at least 10 by the agency's count: Britain, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Israel, Spain and Portugal.