Britain and France both recorded their highest one-day surges in COVID-19 infections since the beginning of the outbreak on Thursday.
More than 16,000 new infections were detected in France over the previous 24 hours, according to the national health agency, Santé Publique France. The previous record of 13,492 had been registered on September 19.
A further 52 people also lost their lives to the pandemic, bringing the country’s COVID-19 death toll to 31,511.
Furthermore, the health agency stressed in its weekly report, also released on Thursday, that there had been “an exponential increase in intensive care admissions.” More than 4,250 people were hospitalised for COVID-19 in France over the previous week, 718 of whom in ICU units.
In Britain, 6,632 new infections were registered on Thursday, a new record for the country.
Forty new deaths were also reported across the UK, taking the number of fatalities there to 41,902 — the highest death toll in Europe.
Public Health England Medical Director Yvonne Doyle says the figure is a “stark warning” as infections rise across all age groups.
She says citizens must follow the new restrictions announced by the government this week to control the spread of the virus.