Germany reported its highest daily death toll from the pandemic with 1,188 deaths recorded in the past 24 hours. The previous record was 1,309 on December 30th.
The country, which has been praised for dealing with the first wave of the pandemic, is currently under strict national exclusion, which has been extended until 31 January.
In the UK, the London mayor has meanwhile warned that hospitals in the capital are almost being raided.
“This virus is out of control,” Sadiq Khan told LBC radio on Thursday that London “can no longer be affected [hospital] beds “in the next few days.
“The [National Health Service] is about to be overwhelmed, “Khan added. There was still no time during this pandemic where I was more concerned than today. “
British Health Minister Matt Hancock said on Thursday that the government was placing ‘extra resources’ in London and other parts of England where the NHS was under ‘greatest pressure’.
The death toll is rising at record levels in Britain as health officials face a deadly start to 2021. The country reported 1,162 deaths on Thursday, the second highest toll since the start of the pandemic.
British health officials are also scrambling to tackle the new variant of the virus that was first detected in the country as it spreads through the public.
This strain seems to spread more easily than others, but there is no evidence that it is more deadly or causes serious diseases.
The coronavirus crisis is also deepening in Ireland, where health officials have said they are deeply concerned about a sharp increase in cases, with 6,521 infections recorded on Thursday alone.
Holohan said the new British variant contributed to the boom.
Ireland further tightened its closure measures on Wednesday, closing construction sites and schools across the country. An exception was made for final year students due to the exam in school.
“We are in a fight against a deadly and ever-changing virus,” Irish leader Micheal Martin said on Twitter on Wednesday. “The closure we are introducing today is designed to reflect that harsh and simple reality.”
WHO calls for stricter measures
As governments scramble to vaccinate people and address the winter peak, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for tougher measures to tackle British tensions.
“With increased transmissibility and similar severity of the disease, the variant … sounds alarming: without increased control to slow its spread, there will be a greater impact on healthcare institutions that are already under stress and under pressure,” Hans Kluge, director of the WHO, said on Thursday.
“This is a disturbing situation, which means that for a short time we have to do more than we have done and to step up public health and social measures to make sure we can cross the steep vertical line in some countries. flattening, “Kluge added.
Kluge also urged countries to “mitigate this burden by doing everything in their power to reduce transmission and increase vigilance to identify new variants.”
The British variant has now been detected in 22 countries in the European region of the WHO.
CNN’s Sugam Pokharel and Arnaud Siad contributed to this article.