LONDON -- Cities around the U.K. imposed new coronavirus restrictions Friday, with London at risk of following soon.
Leeds, a city of more than 750,000 in northern England, barred residents from meeting with members of other households either indoors or in backyards. Wigan, Stockport and Blackpool also faced new restrictions.
In the Welsh cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Llanelli, households also will be banned from mixing indoors. And in Scotland, students were asked not to go to bars and restaurants this weekend.
Together with local lockdowns announced previously, one-quarter of the U.K. population is now living under heightened restrictions.
London, meanwhile, home to almost 9 million people, was added to the British government's covid-19 watchlist as an "area of concern." That means the U.K. capital could face new restrictions as well if infections continue to rise.
The Office for National Statistics estimates there were about 9,600 new infections a day in England last week, a 60% increase from the week before. The biggest increase was in people 17-24.
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The U.K. government this week imposed a 10 p.m. curfew on pubs and restaurants, while increasing fines for people who violate quarantine and social distancing rules.
Public Health Wales said it was concerned that gains made in controlling the virus over the summer were in danger of going to waste because people aren't following recommendations for hygiene and social distancing.
"If the situation continues to worsen, we may find ourselves at the same levels of infection that we experienced earlier this year in March and April; and with that comes the potential for more extended restrictions to be imposed nationally," the agency said.
"Coronavirus has not gone away. It remains the responsibility of everyone to help prevent the spread of this virus to protect older and vulnerable family members and friends."
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In Spain, the number of intensive-care beds with coronavirus patients in the Spanish capital of Madrid jumped to 39% on Thursday from 25% at the end of last week, according to official data.
In France, angry restaurant and bar owners demonstrated in Marseille on Friday to challenge a government order to close all public venues as of today.
Israeli lawmakers cannot agree on legislation governing a tightened nationwide lockdown that took effect Friday, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to propose a state of emergency.
The government has ordered all nonessential businesses to close and people to remain within 1,000 yards of home for at least the next two weeks. The orders took effect Friday but must be approved by the Knesset, where lawmakers are bitterly split over restrictions on political demonstrations and public prayers.
Meanwhile, U.S.-based Novavax has begun a late-stage trial of its potential covid-19 vaccine in the U.K. because the high level of the coronavirus circulating in the country is likely to produce quick results, the company said.
Novavax plans to test the effectiveness of its vaccine in a trial involving 10,000 people between 18 and 84, according to a statement issued late Thursday.
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Separately, a Chinese company said Thursday the coronavirus vaccine it is developing should be ready by early 2021 for distribution worldwide, including the United States. Yin Weidong, CEO of SinoVac, vowed to apply to the Food and Drug Administration to sell CoronaVac in the U.S. if it passes its third and final round of testing in humans.
Information for this article was contributed by Danica Kirka, Jill Lawless, Sam McNeil, Daniel Cole, Joseph Krauss and Olivia Zhang of The Associated Press; and by Rodrigo Orihuela of Bloomberg News.
