Mandatory masks becoming rule amid Europe's uptick

New rules on wearing masks in England came into effect Friday, with people entering shops, banks and supermarkets now required to wear face coverings, while Romania reported a record for daily infections a nd France announced mandatory testing for arrivals from 16 countries, including the United States.

People in England can be fined as much as 100 pounds ($127) by police if they refuse. Places like restaurants, pubs, gyms and hairdressers are exempt.

John Apter, the national chairman of the Police Feder- ation of England and Wales, said officers would be available as a last resort but added that he hopes the public “will continue to do the right thing” to protect other citizens.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced on Friday that as of Aug. 1, travelers entering France from 16 countries where the viral circulation is strong — includ- ing the United States — must undergo compulsory tests on arrival at French airports or ports — unless they can pres- ent a negative test less than 72 hours old from their countries of departure. Those test- ing positive on arrival must isolate for 14 days.

Health authorities say cases on the French mainland have surged 66% in the past three weeks and 26% in the last week alone. Concerns had already prompted the government to make mask-wearing mandatory in all indoor pub- lic spaces this week.

In Belgium, health authorities said a 3-year old girl has died after testing positive for COVID-19 as new infections surged 89% from the previous week.

Belgian authorities have bolstered restrictions to slow the spread of coronavirus, including making masks man- datory in crowded outdoor public spaces.

Overall, Europe has seen over 201,000 deaths in the pandemic, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Romania set an all-time high for daily new infections Friday and authorities blamed the surge on a failure to wear masks, including in indoor public places or on mass transit.

In Italy, most new cases have occurred in northern Italy, where the outbreak in Europe began, but southern regions have lately been seeing clusters of infections.

German authorities plan to set up testing stations at airports to encourage people arriving from high-risk coun- tries to get tested for the coro- navirus. They also will allow people arriving from other places to get tested for free within three days — though not at airports.