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The UK topped the list with 26,668 new cases and 191 coronavirus-related deaths in the previous 24 hours, while Italy recorded an additional 15,199 infections, up from its previous record of 11,705 on Sunday.

The Czech Republic saw an increase of 11,984 cases on Wednesday, while Poland recorded 10,040 and Switzerland had 5,596 new infections.

The records are following a worrying trend in Europe which is forcing governments to reintroduce restrictions on social interaction and hospitality services throughout the continent.

According to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Europe has registered more than 5 million cases and 200,000 deaths, with new cases beginning to rise sharply from the end of September.

Meanwhile, Spain has become the first western European country to reach more than 1 million confirmed cases after reporting 16,973 additional cases in the past 24 hours.

The country has 34,366 confirmed deaths.

European Union leaders will hold a video-conference next week to discuss how to better cooperate as the infections rise.

Hospitals struggle to cope

With case numbers that were brought largely under control by lockdowns in March and April now surging, authorities in countries from Poland to Portugal have expressed mounting alarm at the renewed crisis confronting their health infrastructure.

Belgium, struggling with what its health minister called a “tsunami” of infections, is postponing all non-essential hospital procedures, and similar measures are looming in other countries where case numbers have been rising relentlessly.

“If the rhythm of the past week continues, rescheduling and suspending some non-priority activities will become unavoidable,” Julio Pascual, medical director at Barcelona’s Hospital del Mar, told Reuters.

European countries boast some of the world’s best health services and doctors say that with the benefit of almost a year’s experience with coronavirus, they are much better equipped to treat individual patients clinically.

But the capacity of hospitals to handle a wave of COVID-19 patients, as well as people suffering from cancer, heart disease and other serious conditions, is still vulnerable.

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