Europe adopts tougher virus restrictions as infections surge

LONDON (AP) — As the U.S. closed in on 200,000 coronavirus deaths Monday, the crisis deteriorated across Europe, with Britain working to draw up new restrictions, Spain clamping down again in Madrid and the Czech Republic replacing its health minister with an epidemiologist because of a surge of infections.

The growing push to reimpose tough measures in Europe to beat back a scourge that was seemingly brought under control in the spring contributed to a sharp drop on Wall Street in the morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 900 points, or 3.4%, and the S&P 500 fell 2.6%.

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce a round of restrictions Tuesday to slow the spread of the disease. British Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty warned that cases are doubling every seven days, and the experience in other countries shows that that will soon lead to a rise in deaths.

The chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland raised the nation's COVID-19 alert Monday from three to four, the second-highest level. Almost 3,900 new infections were reported Sunday, a level not seen since early May.

“We have, in a very bad sense, literally turned a corner,” after weeks of rising infections, Whitty said.

In France, where infections reached a record high the weekend with over 13,000 new cases in 24 hours, health authorities opened new testing centers in the Paris region to reduce lines and delays. Italy added Paris and other parts of France to its COVID-19 blacklist, requiring travelers from those regions to show proof of a negative test or undergo testing on arrival.

And the Norwegian capital of Oslo banned gatherings of more than 10 people in private homes after a spike in cases and strongly urged people to wear...