Scotland and Belgium are the latest European countries to shut pubs and restaurants as the continent struggles to keep a lid on coronavirus infections.
It comes after Paris shut all of its bars, gyms and swimming pools for two weeks on Tuesday after the French Government raised the city's coronavirus alert to the maximum level.
Belgium also announced nationwide measures to shut all bars by 11:00pm on Tuesday, but due to a mores serious spike in the capital Brussels, all bars, cafes and event halls in the city must now shut for at least a month.
Belgian cases increased again over the week ending October 3, spiking 57 per cent compared to the previous week.
The daily average over that period went from 1,570 to 2,466 new infections a day.
Belgium has had a large number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths — over 10,000 — for its population of only 11.6 million people.
Scotland bans indoor drinking
Scotland's Government is banning indoor drinking in bars and forcing restaurants to close in the evening as it tries to halt a steep rise in virus infections.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the measures would last for 16 days, starting this Friday.
Cafes and restaurants can open between 6:00am and 6:00pm to sell food and non-alcoholic drinks.
Drinking alcohol is only allowed outdoors and until 10:00pm.
"The reason we are not closing indoor hospitality completely is that we know the benefits in terms of reducing loneliness and isolation, of giving people, particularly those who live alone somewhere they can meet a friend for a coffee and a chat," Ms Sturgeon told Scottish Parliament on Wednesday.
Five areas with high infection rates — Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Arran, Lothian and Forth Valley — face further measures including a recommendation to avoid public transport.
Ms Sturgeon acknowledged that not being able to visit family and friends was "incredibly hard for all of us" but stressed it was "the single most effective measure we can take to stop COVID passing from one household to another, so please stick with it".
Czech Republic tops Spain's infection rate
New coronavirus infections in the Czech Republic reached a daily record of 4,457 on Tuesday, the Health Ministry said, as separate data showed the country now has the highest number of cases per 100,000 people, in Europe, surpassing Spain.
Data published by the Health Ministry on Wednesday showed the rise in new cases during the previous 24 hours had exceeded the previous one-day record of 3,794, to bring the total number of cases in the country since March to 90,022.
Separate data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control showed that in the two weeks to October 6, the Czech Republic reported 326.8 cases per 100,000 people.
That compared with 302.4 cases per 100,000 in Spain, which has been one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic.
The Czech Government has already reimposed restrictions on businesses and public events after relaxing them during the summer, including banning outdoor gatherings of more than 20 people and shutting secondary schools from Monday.
More measures are expected to follow on Friday to prevent hospitals being overwhelmed by the spike in cases.
ABC/wires
