OVERVIEW EUROPE: COVID in Europe: Denmark reports jump in Omicron cases as Belgium protest ends in clashes

COVID-19 cases are sweeping Europe once again — here is a breakdown of how each country has reacted to the surge.

Measures vary across the continent — from a national lockdown in Austria and moves towards mandatory vaccination in Germany, to the United Kingdom where only light restrictions are in place.

Concerns over the Omicron new variant detected in South Africa have prompted many European countries to put curbs on travel.

However, Delta remains by far the dominant force in Europe, accounting for the vast majority of new infections and putting increasing pressure on hospitals.

The World Health Organization warned in November that Europe and Central Asia could face another 700,000 COVID-19 deaths by March 1.

Here is a run-down of the latest situation in some of the European countries.

Denmark on Sunday (December 5) reported a worrisome increase to 183 confirmed cases of the new Omicron variant.

On Friday, Denmark had only 18 confirmed cases and 42 suspected cases of the variant, according to data from the SSI public health institute.

Before the announcement, 182 confirmed cases of Omicron were recorded in the European Economic Area, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

... (other countries follow)