A woman walks past the Apollo Theater wrapped with pink tapes in London, Britain, on July 7, 2020. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)
-- UK COVID-19 deaths rise to 44,650 as another 48 patients die;
-- Spain registers 2,944 cases of COVID-19 over past seven days;
-- Greece requests negative COVID-19 test result for arrivals from land border with Bulgaria;
-- Latvia toughens COVID-19 restrictions amid virus uptick.
BRUSSELS, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries.
LONDON -- Another 48 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Thursday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 44,650, the British Department of Health and Social Care said Friday.
The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.
As of Friday morning, 288,133 people have tested positive for the disease in Britain, a daily increase of 512, according to the department.
People wearing face masks walk on a street in Barcelona, Spain, July 9, 2020. (Barcelona City Hall/handout via Xinhua)
MADRID -- Spain detected 2,944 new cases of COVID-19 by PCR tests over the past seven days, while outbreaks registered throughout the country, the Spanish Ministry of Health said on Friday.
The outbreak in Segria in the northeastern autonomous community of Catalonia has badly affected many temporary fruit pickers in the area. A two-week quarantine were placed on the region six days ago with movement limits on its 210,000 inhabitants.
While the number of new infections increased, the number of deaths from the disease continued to fall.
A boy waves at a robot wearing a face mask and offering anti-COVID-19 information at Athens International Airport in Athens, Greece, June 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)
ATHENS -- Greece has decided to require a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours from travelers who want to enter the country for non-essential travel through the land border crossing with Bulgaria as of July 14, the government announced on Friday.
The decision to tighten restrictions for those arriving at the Promachonas border crossing was made during a video conference chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, government spokesperson Stelios Petsas said in an e-mailed press statement.
Currently most tourists visiting Greece by road enter through the Promachonas border crossing where in recent days dozens tested positive.
People visit a sand sculpture park in Jelgava, Latvia, July 4, 2020. (Photo by Janis/Xinhua)
RIGA -- At an extraordinary meeting on Friday, the Latvian government decided to toughen COVID-19 containment rules for cafes, bars and restaurants amid an increase in new coronavirus cases in the Baltic country, local media reported.
The number of people allowed to sit at one table is now limited to four indoors and eight outdoors, and all cafes and restaurants, which until now were allowed to stay open until 2 a.m., are now required to close by 12 midnight.
The ministers also agreed to relaunch a cross-sectoral coordination group tasked with drafting proposals for further coronavirus restrictions if warranted. The task force was dissolved after Latvia lifted a state of emergency in June.■
