Europe and US facing new round of shutdowns amid virus surge

The virus is blamed for more than 250,000 deaths in Europe and about 227,000 in the U.S., according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

More than 2 million new confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported globally in the past week, the World Health Organization said.

Von der Leyen said Europe is being confronted with “two enemies.”.

“We’re dealing with the coronavirus — the virus itself — and also corona fatigue,” she said.

In the U.S., more than 71,000 people a day are testing positive on average, up from 51,000 two weeks ago.

Cases are on the rise in all but two states, Hawaii and Delaware, and deaths are climbing in 39 states, with an average of 805 people dying in the U.S.

Deaths are also on the rise in Europe, with about a 35% spike from the previous week, the WHO said.

“A national lockdown, as we have seen in, ravages an economy and would add significant complications to the ongoing economic recovery,” said Fiona Cincotta, an analyst at online trading firm GAIN Capital.