People dine at an outdoor table of a restaurant at Chinatown in London, Britain, on July 4, 2020. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)
-- UK COVID-19 deaths rise to 44,236 as another 16 patients die;
-- Coronavirus tests confirm 5.2 pct of Spaniards have antibodies;
-- Merkel rejects calls for abolishing face mask requirement in German shops;
-- Portugal requires COVID-19 test at airports for non-resident foreigners.
BRUSSELS, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries.
LONDON -- Another 16 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Sunday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 44,236, the British Department of Health and Social Care said Monday.
The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.
As of Monday morning, 285,768 people have tested positive for the disease in Britain, a daily increase of 352, according to the department.
A toy tiger wearing a mask is seen at the Teatre Grec in Barcelona, Spain, June 25, 2020. (City Hall of Barcelona/Handout via Xinhua)
MADRID -- Results from the third and final round of wide-ranging tests to assess how many people in Spain have been infected with the coronavirus show that just 5.2 percent of the population have developed antibodies to the virus.
The results differ very little from the first test, the findings of which were published by the Spanish Health Ministry on May 13. It showed that five percent of the population had developed antibodies.
The tests were carried out on a representative sample of almost 69,000 people in areas all over Spain.
A sign reminding people to observe social distancing is seen at the entrance to the Flea Market in Frankfurt, Germany, July 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Lu Yang)
BERLIN -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejects the idea of backing away from the face mask requirement in the country's shops, government spokesperson Steffen Seibert said here Monday.
"Wherever the minimum distance cannot be guaranteed in public life, masks are an important and, from today's perspective, still indispensable means," stressed Seibert. The wearing of masks is still necessary in order to "keep the number of infections low and to protect other people and ourselves."
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Minister for Economic Affairs Harry Glawe has triggered a debate about abolishing the requirement to cover the mouth and nose in shops. "If the incidence of infection remains so low, I see no reason to continue to make masks mandatory for retail," Glawe told the German newspaper Welt on Sunday.
People enjoy leisure time with their dogs at a pet-friendly beach in Oeiras, Portugal, on June 28, 2020. (Photo by Pedro Fiuza/Xinhua)
LISBON -- The Portuguese government on Monday started to demand body temperature checks and COVID-19 tests at the country's airports for foreigners without residence in Portugal or from outside the European Union (EU).
According to the decree, the measures apply to flights from all sources identified as having an epidemiological risk, including the Portuguese-speaking countries.
Only non-resident foreigners who already brought proof of the negative RT-PCR molecular test, or who agree to take the exam at the airports, will be allowed to enter Portugal. They would have to pay by themselves for the tests.■