Europe slipping back into COVID-19 hold

By Burak Dag

ANKARA (AA) - Europe seems to be slipping back into the hold of coronavirus as several countries have registered rising cases in recent days.

A week after Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, COVID-19 infections in the UK rose by 43%.

The country's Health Ministry reported that a total of 6,401 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals as of June 23.

Though all coronavirus restrictions in the Netherlands were lifted in March, the number of daily cases rose by 36% last week compared to the previous week.

A surge in daily cases was also observed in Belgium, where daily figures of infections reached 2,756, climbing 46% on a weekly basis.

Germany recorded 119,360 COVID-19 cases on June 23. The daily number had been 48,502 on June 2.

This marked-rise forced German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach to consider bringing back some COVID-19 measures in the fall, according to local reports.

France also reported 79,852 daily coronavirus cases on Thursday.

Spain, like much of Europe, also experienced a significant increase in coronavirus infections in recent weeks. Spanish health authorities registered at least 50,235 coronavirus infections over the past week.

A total of 255,442 fresh coronavirus cases were registered from June 15 to 21 in Italy -- an increase of 58.9% compared to the previous week.

The new COVID-19 wave also hit Greece, which registered over 72,500 cases in the past 10 days.