This archive report was first published on 4 July 2020.
July 4, 2020 - As Europe slowly emerges from lockdown, Spain has put 200,000 people back in confinement in the northeastern Catalonia region, citing a surge in COVID-19 infections.
The move comes as Europeans flock to their favourite holiday spots, with border restrictions easing to stop the spread of the virus.
Spain's regional president, Quim Torra, announced the lockdown, saying, 'We have decided to confine the Segria zone following data confirming a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections.'
Gatherings of more than 10 people will be banned in the affected area, a relatively light lockdown similar to one imposed in Britain's city of Leicester.
Meanwhile, in England, pubs reopened for the first time since late March, with drinkers trooping back to their local haunts to enjoy a pint.
Finance minister Rishi Sunak urged Britons to 'eat out to help out', but Health Secretary Matt Hancock cautioned, 'I'm no killjoy, but the virus can still kill.'
As the world struggles to balance reopening economies with preventing outbreaks, the dangers of reopening are being felt across the globe.
Thousands of residents in high-rise apartments in Melbourne went into lockdown for at least five days as Australia recorded its biggest daily increase of infections in months.
The United States also broke a record for new cases for a third day running, with nearly 130,000 US lives already claimed by the disease.
US President Donald Trump has dismissed the rising infection rates, retweeting a clip of crowds bunched shoulder to shoulder and wearing no face coverings at a South Dakota event.
