Virus curbs rile Europeans as global deaths near one million
New infection control restrictions in Europe stirred anger and frustration on Sunday as around the world the global coronavirus toll inched towards one million dead.
Demonstrators in Madrid complained that new lockdowns to confront mounting case numbers were discriminatory as they mostly affected poorer districts.
And in France, authorities tried to soothe the pain of a shutdown for bars and restaurants in the Mediterranean city of Marseille that has owners up in arms.
Saturday saw a 10,000-strong anti-lockdown demonstration in central London that was broken up by police.
Worldwide at least 999,301 people had died of Covid-19 by around 1930 GMT from among almost 33 million infections, according to an AFP tally from official sources.
Greek officials reported Sunday the first death of a migrant who had been living in one of Greece’s overcrowded camps, a 61-year-old father of two from Afghanistan, from the virus.
Squalid conditions at the camps on the mainland and on Greece’s Aegean Sea islands have prompted fears the virus could spread rapidly.
More than 240 who were transferred to a temporary camp on Lesbos after the notorious Moria camp burned down this month have contracted coronavirus.
But there were glimmers of positive news, as residents of the Chinese city of Wuhan — where the virus emerged late last year — reported a hesitant return to normality, while the French Open got under way at Roland Garros in Paris.
In Australia, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said Melbourne residents would be free from Monday to leave their homes for work, exercise, shopping for essentials or providing care after active cases in the state fell below 400 for the first time since June 30. (AFP | Daniel SILVA)
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