France's death toll tops 59,000, Sweden's infection rate rises

The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries, reported Xinhua.

PARIS

France reported on Tuesday 11,532 new COVID-19 infections within 24 hours, and 790 new deaths as the government relaxed restrictive rules ahead of year-end festivities, health authorities data showed.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, France has witnessed 2,391,447 people infected with the novel coronavirus, as well as 59,072 fatalities.

The nationwide confinement in force since late October ended on Tuesday, allowing people to move freely and travel without restriction in the daytime.

As the virus circulates faster than expected, the government introduces a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., an hour earlier than planned. The nighttime ban on people's movement would be lifted on Dec. 24 but not for New Year's Eve.

LONDON

Another 18,450 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 1,888,116, according to official figures released Tuesday.

The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 506 to 64,908, the data showed.

The figures were revealed as the British government came under mounting pressure to reconsider its relaxation of coronavirus restrictions over Christmas.

In the latest development, leader of Britain's main opposition Labour Party Keir Starmer urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to think again.

STOCKHOLM

The coronavirus is spreading across all age groups in Sweden, the country's Public Health Agency said on Tuesday as it presented the latest COVID-19 figures at its bi-weekly news conference.

The spread of the coronavirus among those aged 70 and up is particularly worrisome, said Sara Byfors from the agency, since they are most likely to need hospital care and most at risk of becoming seriously ill or dying.

Byfors said unlike the previously slow rise in infections, Sweden is now experiencing a more rapid spread. That means "everyone must be part of halting the infection rate."

With 153 new COVID-related deaths reported between Friday and Tuesday, Sweden's total death toll is now 7,667. The number of confirmed cases stands at 341,029, up by 20,931 from Friday.

LISBON

Portugal's prestigious University of Coimbra announced on Tuesday that its researchers had developed a technology that enables the remote auscultation (listening to the internal sounds of the body) of COVID-19 patients, avoiding the use of a traditional stethoscope and the risk of contagion.

The technology uses an electronic stethoscope that transmits the sound from the chest piece to the doctor through a smartphone application, the university explained in a press statement.

The stethoscope is an essential instrument in the practice of medicine that doctors have been forced to abandon due to protective measures and the imposition of a safe distance from coronavirus infected patients, said the statement.

According to the university, the fact that the traditional stethoscope cannot be used creates difficulties in the diagnosis and proper evaluation of patients with COVID-19 and requires the use of other, more expensive diagnostic methods, such as X-rays or ultrasound.

"Basically, the scientists developed a 'software' that allows remote connection between the stethoscope placed on the patient and the doctor" and "the connection can be made by cable or via Bluetooth," it said.