German, Czech, Italian virus records deepen Europe worries

BERLIN (AP) — Record daily infection figures in Germany, the Czech Republic and Italy added to fears on Thursday that Europe is running out of chances to control its latest coronavirus outbreak. France has set a 9 p.m. curfew for many of its biggest cities as governments across the continent take increasingly tough action.

New infections have surged across Europe over recent weeks as the fall kicks in, prompting authorities in many places to start reimposing restrictions that were relaxed over the summer. The Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Britain are among the countries causing particular concern.

While Germany, the European Union's most populous nation, is still in comparatively good shape, alarm bells have started ringing there too. On Thursday, the country's national disease control center reported 6,638 cases over 24 hours — exceeding the previous record of nearly 6,300 set in late March, although testing in the country of 83 million has expanded greatly since then.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany's 16 state governors agreed Wednesday night to tighten mask-wearing rules, make bars close early and limit the number of people who can gather in areas where coronavirus infection rates are high. Merkel, who stressed the importance of keeping contact-tracing efforts on track, said “we must stop this exponential rise, the quicker the better.”

Lothar Wieler, the head of the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's national disease control center, said "we can still repress the spread, the exponential growth” of the virus. But officials made clear that more efforts may be necessary.

“I think yesterday's decisions are an important step, but they probably won't be enough,” Merkel's chief of staff, Helge Braun, told ARD television. “So now it is up to the population that we don't...