The Czech Republic, which has the highest coronavirus infection rate in Europe, will wait at least two weeks before deciding whether to order a full lockdown or not, Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlicek said on Sunday.

Thousands of demonstrators in southern Germany protested against coronavirus restrictions over the weekend, although organisers failed to mobilise enough people for a planned human chain around Lake Constance, news wires reported. Thousands of counter-demonstrators in Constance also turned out to show support for the government’s measures to contain the coronavirus while also protesting against right-wing supporters in the other group, police said.

Dutch Health minister Hugo de Jonge announced on Monday new plan to stem the spread of Covid-19, as the government expects the number of positive cases a day to reach 5,000 by next week. The new measures, which will last for an initial three weeks, focus on reducing social contacts, De Jonge said, cited by local media.

Pressure across Europe on governments rose on Monday to tackle the rising number of coronavirus case without resorting to a spring-style strict lockdown that would hit the continent’s struggling economies, news wires reported. As local restrictions were imposed on many places, people stood on the verge of revolt.

The Greek government is preparing to restrict public gatherings and suspend cultural events for two weeks to limit the spread of the coronavirus in the regional unit of Attica, where most new infections are recorded, PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday, cited by Ekathimerini.

Large parts of Europe on Friday geared up for broad new restrictions to stop the coronavirus as numbers across the continent are steadily on rise, news wires reported. Last week Europe recorded 54,000 infections in a single day, which was a new record.

Regional authorities in Madrid decided to impose new restrictions on daily life in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus in the Spanish capital. The new measures will be in place from Monday for at least 15 days, the regional premier Isabel Diaz Ayuso announced on Friday.

Catalonia PM Catalonia Quim Torra announced a raft of new restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus cases in the region before students return to school on 14 September, local media repoprted. “In these three weeks, we are staking everything that could happen in the fall and the winter,” he said.

The Venice Film Festival, to be held from 2 to 12 September, issued virus safety guidelines on, as organisers hope the oldest such event in the world can maintain its international swing while remaining infection-free. The 10-day festival in the legendary Venice Lido is likely to be one of the festival's most atypical, given the masks and social distancing necessitated by the lingering threat of coronavirus, the AFP reported.

Greek authorities have imposed new restrictions on the Aegean island of Mykonos and the northern Greek region of Halkidiki after a spike in Covid-19 cases. There were 269 new cases of coronavirus, of which 39 by arriving travellers, and two fatalities over the past 24 hours