Armed with more than one hundred thousand infections a day, the French government announced a new package of measures to fight the pandemic.

As of January 15 it is mandatory to be vaccinated to enter restaurants, bars, museums, theaters, seminars and trade shows, as well as sports venues. Telecommuting becomes mandatory three days a week.

According to Euro News, the government has canceled the traditional New Year's greeting ceremonies that take place in January

Also in Germany, more restrictive measures go into effect this Tuesday, with emphasis on limiting the number of participants in private meetings: maximum groups of ten vaccinated people, and two for non-vaccinated people; discos are closed, and sports competitions have no audience.

The Germans are resigned to the decisions of the authorities:

"I think the measures make sense and I adapt to them, I think they work well. I don't see any major restrictions on my private life, so to speak," says one citizen.

Austria is also tightening measures since this Monday, with bars and restaurants closing at 10 pm. This will affect New Year's Eve events and will be another blow to many business owners, as one of them states, "An earlier closing time always means less business, it's getting harder and harder."

The country is still in a lockdown situation for all unvaccinated people, as the outbreak of coronavirus cases across the continent due to the omicron variant continues to grow.

England will no longer impose restrictions on New Year's Eve celebrations, which means that all parties are allowed. The government emphasizes the responsibility of citizens and the need to test, the problem is that there has been a lack of testing. The decision runs counter to measures taken in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have placed limits on social gatherings and mass events.

Also in Portugal, the lack of testing has sown chaos at airports, with hundreds of people unable to take flights where testing is mandatory.

Denmark has announced the mandatory submission of negative tests to enter the country, which has a record number of infections with the Omicron variant.

Greece has decided on new measures such as the use of high protection masks in public transport, supermarkets and eating establishments. Bars and restaurants will have to close at midnight and no standing customers will be allowed in entertainment venues, and maximum limits are also set for the number of people per table.

Italy reported 142 Covid-related deaths on Monday, compared with 81 deaths the day before, according to health officials, and an increase of about 500 patients in intensive care in 24 hours.

Europe has recorded the highest number of cases and deaths over the past seven days, according to statistics compiled by the Agence France-Presse news agency. The five countries with the highest case rates over the past seven days were all European.