Like in the UK, coronavirus cases are on the rise across much of Europe.
On Thursday, Dr Hans Kluge, World Health Organisation Regional Director for Europe, said a "very serious situation is unfolding before us"
He added: "Weekly cases have now exceeded those reported when the pandemic first peaked in Europe in March.
"Last week, the region’s weekly tally exceeded 300,000 cases. More than half of European countries have reported a greater than 10 per cent increase in cases in the past two weeks. Of those, seven countries have seen newly-reported cases increase more than two-fold in the same period.
"In the spring and early summer we were able to see the impact of strict lockdown measures. Our efforts, our sacrifices, paid off. In June cases hit an all-time low.
"The September case numbers, however, should serve as a wake-up call for all of us."
Last week, Spain was the first EU state to record more than half-a-million cases since the beginning of the outbreak. It has the highest rate of infection in Europe, with the latest stats from September 16 show that the 14-day cumulative number of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 is 281.6.
That is compared to France at 162.8, and the UK in third with 55.6.
Almost 10% of Spaniards tested have come back positive, and the country had been reporting up to 10,000 new cases a day, similar to what they were recording at the peak of the pandemic in March and April.
Number of coronavirus deaths in Europe and the UK
As of 16 September 2020, 184 754 deaths have been reported in the EUand the UK:
United Kingdom - 41,664
Italy - 35,633
France - 30,999
Spain - 30,004
Belgium - 9,930
Germany - 9,368
Netherlands - 6,249
Sweden - 5,851
Romania - 4,236)
Poland - 2,227
Portugal - 1,875)
Ireland - 1,787
Austria - 757
Bulgaria - 736
Hungary - 654
Denmark - 633
Czechia - 476
Finland - 339
Greece - 313
Norway - 265
Croatia - 230
Slovenia - 131
Luxembourg - 124
Lithuania - 87
Estonia - 64
Slovakia - 38
Latvia - 35
Cyprus - 22
Malta - 16
Iceland - 10
Liechtenstein 1
But Spanish officials insist the figures are not comparable, arguing that in March only about one case in 10 was detected, compared to between 70-90 per cent now.
In France, authorities are hoping to have saliva tests for coronavirus that would have results in 15 minutes, rolled out by the end of September.
It came after the country's health agency announced on Saturday that the country crossed the threshold of 10,000 new cases nationwide in 24 hours.
There have been 30,999 deaths in France and 395,104 cases, compared to 41,664 deaths and 374,228 cases in the UK.
On Monday, tighter restrictions were placed on Marseille and Bordeaux after a surge in cases.
In Bordeaux, the top government official for the region announced a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people in public parks, along the city’s picturesque river and on beaches.
Also banned are fun fairs, antique fairs and neighborhood parties. The new rules also limit the size of large public gatherings to no more than 1,000 people, below the national benchmark of 5,000 people. That limit covers places like stadiums and concert halls, as well as demonstrations.
Bordeaux cafes and restaurants will also no longer be able to serve clients who are standing up and will not be able to play music outdoors. Dancing is forbidden in public venues, including at weddings. Drinking alcohol in public is also banned in Bordeaux, a center of the French wine industry.
The regional government also asked Bordeaux residents to limit private family gatherings, singling out weddings, to a maximum of 10 people.
The number of positive cases in Europe
As of 16 September 2020, 2, 675, 637 cases have been reported in the EU and the UK:
Spain - 603,167
France - 395,104
United Kingdom - 374,228
Italy - 289,990
Germany- 263, 663
Romania - 105 298
Belgium - 94 701
Sweden - 87 345
Netherlands - 84 697
Poland - 75,134
Portugal - 65,021
Czechia - 38,896
Austria - 34,744
Ireland - 31,549
Denmark - 20,129
Bulgaria - 18,216
Hungary - 14,460
Croatia - 13,749
Greece - 13,730
Norway - 12,277
Finland - 8, 725
Luxembourg - 7,284
Slovakia - 5,768
Slovenia - 3,837
Lithuania - 3,442
Estonia - 2,722
Malta - 2, 454
Iceland - 2,174
Cyprus - 1,540
Latvia - 1,482
Liechtenstein - 111
Another country with record numbers this week is India, logging 97,894 cases in the past 24 hours.
The Health Ministry said that the new cases raised the nation's confirmed total to more than 5.1 million since the pandemic began.
It said 1,132 more people died in the past 24 hours, for a total of 83,198.
At the current rate of infection, India is expected within weeks to surpass the 6.6 million reported cases in the United States, currently the country with the most reported infections.
Nationwide, India is testing more than one million samples per day.
In American, President Trump openly contradicting the government's top health experts when he predicted that a safe and effective vaccine against the coronavirus could be ready as early as next month and in mass distribution soon after.
The comments undermined the director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) projections for a longer time frame.
Latest figures show that America has recorded 6,828,301 cases, and 201,348 deaths.