European nations mixed in their response to virus spikes

Countries across Europe are battling coronavirus infection spikes with new lockdowns, curfews, face mask orders and virus tracking smart phone apps.

In a small sign of success, Spain's government said it won't extend a state of emergency in the Madrid region when it expires Saturday, but will look to more local measures.

But as the second wave of the global pandemic sweeps across the continent, local and national governments also are facing swelling opposition to the new measures.

In The Hague, bar and restaurant owners launched a legal challenge Tuesday to an order to close their doors for at least four weeks. Bar owners in Berlin instigated a similar case last week. An outcry in Portugal has forced authorities to back away from a plan to make a tracing app mandatory nationwide.

Amid the public frustration, some countries are dangling a festive carrot in front of virus-weary populations, saying that tough action now could clear the way for an easing of measures before Christmas.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel invoked the holiday period over the weekend and other countries are following suit. Merkel told her country: “What winter will be like, what our Christmas will be like, will be decided in these coming days and weeks.”

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SPAIN

Health Minister Salvador Illa said Tuesday the government won’t extend the state of emergency in the Madrid region when it expires Saturday, but it may begin introducing curfews at COVID-19 hotspots around the country.

Illa said the partial lockdown in the Madrid area in recent weeks had helped put a lid on community transmission that made it one of Europe’s most significant coronavirus clusters.

He noted, however, that Madrid’s number of cases is still high. The region has reported more than 29,000 cases over the past two...