Hard-hit countries step up virus measures as cases mount
Confirmed cases in France reached levels not seen since May.
LONDON (AFP) - Countries among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic unveiled further measures on Friday to battle rising infections, as the number of cases worldwide passed 21 million.
The US Department of Homeland Security said it was extending a ban on non-essential travel through border crossings with Canada and Mexico throughout most of September "to slow the spread" of the disease.
Meanwhile Britain added France to its list of countries hit with a mandatory two-week quarantine for returning holidaymakers from Saturday, as Paris confronts a resurgent second wave of infections.
Confirmed cases in France reached levels not seen since May on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, at over 2,500 new cases per day.
The rising threat prompted Paris police to announce Friday that compulsory mask-wearing outside would be extended to more areas of the French capital, including the famed Louvre museum and Champs-Elysee avenue.
"If the epidemiological situation deteriorates again, mask-wearing could become compulsory throughout the capital," Paris police warned, also banning gatherings and protests of more than 10 people which do not comply with distancing measures.
Neighbouring Spain said it would close all nightclubs and ban smoking in the street where people are unable to stay at a safe distance, after the country reported almost 3,000 cases in 24 hours on Thursday.
"Personally I think it’s stupid, it’s over the top," Madrid-based translator Julien Garcia told AFP about the smoking ban.
In Germany, the Robert Koch Institute for disease control added all of Spain except the Canary Islands to its list of regions where incoming travellers must show a negative test for COVID-19 or quarantine for 14 days.
Austria urged its citizens to return from popular Mediterranean destination Croatia before similar rules come into effect on Monday, while Serbia introduced mandatory testing for travellers from four neighbouring countries.
And thousands of Albanians queued in their cars at the Greek border, hoping to squeeze across and return to work before tougher entry requirements designed to brake mounting infections come into effect.
Some people had been waiting for three days in the 20-kilometre (12-mile), 4,000-car jam, an Albanian police source said.
Around the world, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases passed 21 million on Friday according to an AFP tally from official sources, with more than 755,000 fatalities.
The United States has suffered the most deaths at 168,318, followed by Brazil with 105,463, Mexico 55,293, and India with 48,040.
