London citizens wear masks, July 24, 2020 (Photo: AFP/VNA)

People in north east England are now banned from visiting households and pubs will close as early as 10 pm. Millions of people in the UK are now living under tighter restrictions as coronavirus cases increase.

The Czech Health Ministry said that, starting Friday, bars and restaurants will close from midnight to 6am. Students must wear masks at schools.

Austria is limiting private indoor gatherings to 10 people, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Thursday, adding that restaurants and bars can only serve seated customers as of Monday, and the requirement to wear a face mask will be extended to other places, such as markets.

WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said that in the past two weeks the number of new cases has doubled in a majority of European countries. 

According to worldometers.info, as of Friday morning, there had been more than 30 million COVID-19 infections and over 950,000 fatalities. The US remains the world’s epicenter, followed by India and Brazil. Latin America is among the most affected regions with 8 million infections and 300,000 deaths.