Belgian doctors have been told to carry on working even if they have coronavirus despite the risk of passing the infection onto patients.
At least 10 hospitals in the city of Liege have asked Covid-positive staff who are not displaying any symptoms to keep showing up for work.
Europe is running out of options to halt the surge in cases as governments desperately try to avoid national lockdowns.
In Italy, hundreds of protesters turned violent last night as a 6pm curfew came into effect.
Clashes were reported in several major cities - including Turin, where petrol bombs were thrown at officers.
The protest demonstrates the tough choice faced by European leaders - impose tough measures and risk community anger, or do nothing and potentially overwhelm the health system.
Belgian authorities warned the hospital network was two weeks away from being overwhelmed by coronavirus patients.
Dr Philippe Devos, head of the Belgian Association of Medical Unions, told the BBC doctors had no choice but to keep working if they were to avoid the collapse of the health system within days.
Dr Devos acknowledged that infectious doctors risked passing the disease onto patients.
He told the Washington Post: "The situation is catastrophic. Liege is probably the most affected region in the world."
An average of 467 people are being admitted to hospital with coronavirus each day in Belgium.
The country’s Covid-19 crisis centre spokesman Yves Van Laethem said it faced a pivotal week.
He said: “What we do now, what we will do in the next two weeks, will be decisive.
“[If the figures don’t change] we are likely to reach 2,000 patients in intensive care in two weeks. That is our maximum capacity.”
New measures announced by Belgium’s federal government were implemented on Monday, but the tightening of restrictions until November 19, mainly in the cultural and sports sectors, were considered inadequate by two of Belgium’s three regions.
'Europe becoming the epicentre of Covid'
World Health Organisation (WHO) director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Europe faced a grave winter if immediate action wasn’t taken.
“This is a dangerous moment for many countries in the northern hemisphere,” he said.
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Protesters light a flare during clashes with police at Central Station in Milan. EPA -
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced new nationwide coronavirus restrictions that come into effect as of 26 October. EPA -
In the northern city of Turin, demonstrators broke off from a peaceful protest and hurled smoke bombs and bottles at police in the city square where the Piedmont regional government is headquartered. AP Photo -
People protest against the new restrictions in Castello square in Turin. Reuters -
Italian police officers detain an activist in downtown Turin. AFP -
Clashes between demonstrators and police in Turin. EPA -
Riot police fire tear gas in Turin. AP Photo -
Smoke billows during clashes in Turin. Protesters turned out by the hundreds in several cities and towns on Monday to vent anger. AP Photo -
A police officer stands in front of a damaged window as people protest in Turin. Reuters -
Clashes between demonstrators and police in Milan. EPA -
Police detain a man following a protest in Milan. AP Photo -
Clashes in Milan. EPA
“But again and again, we have seen that taking the right actions quickly means the outbreak can be managed.”
Dr Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies programme, said: “There’s no question that the European region is an epicentre for disease right now.
“We are well behind this virus in Europe so getting ahead of it is going to take some serious acceleration in what we do and maybe a much more comprehensive nature of measures are going to be needed.”
Despite the warnings, fears about a return to full lockdown are rife.
In the Italian city of Milan - hit hard by the virus in March - crowds chanted "freedom, freedom, freedom" as they clashed with police.
It was a backlash against Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s night-time curfew, which took effect at 6pm last night.
In Germany - which is mulling a "lockdown light" that would close restaurants and bars - thousands of protesters shouted "Nazis out" while demonstrating against lockdown measures in Berlin at the weekend.
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A man looks at a giant blackboard where people write what they want to do when the new coronavirus pandemic is over, in Lima. On giant blackboards placed in two squares in Lima, people can write with colored chalk what they want to do "when this is over." AFP -
Health workers carry a COVID-19 patient outside the General Hospital of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. According to the Mexican Ministry of Health on 26 October, the country reported almost 900,000 confirmed cases od COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, with nearly 250 casualties in the past 24 hours. EPA -
Schoolgirl of Freiherr-vom-Stein secondary school in the North Rhine-Westphalian city wears a winter outfit against the cold as school resumes with open windows and protective masks against the spread of COVID-19 following the autumn holidays in Bonn, Germany. REUTERS -
A damaged window of a store is seen as people protest against the new restrictions introduced by the government to curb the coronavirus disease infections, in Turin, Italy. REUTERS -
Volunteers wearing personal protective equipment suits bury the body of a person suspected of dying from the Covid-19 coronavirus at a cemetery, in Yangon. AFP -
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, Britain. REUTERS -
An Indian youth wearing a face mask works out in a gym in Mumbai, India. Following seven months of closures as part of the measures to fight the spread of COVID-19, from 25 October fitness enthusiasts in Maharashtra state were once again allowed into gyms and fitness centers. According to reports, India became the second worst-hit country by the spread of novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19 disease, as Indian tally is about to reach 8 million cases, only behind the United States. EPA -
A staff member arranges the clothing on a mannequin in a boutique in a department store following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Beijing, China. REUTERS -
South Korean buddhist monks walk along a road in Seoul, South Korea. About 90 monks their followers started 500-kilometer pilgrimage from Donghwa Temple in the southeastern city of Daegu to wish for the country to overcome the coronavirus pandemic. Getty Images -
People keep a social distancing during a lunch time in Tokyo. AP Photo -
Chefs prepare meals for testing during a staff orientation day as Tiamo Bistro readies for opening in Melbourne, as the state government lifts some restrictions on retail and restaurants after the city battled a second wave of the Covid-19 coronavirus. AFP -
Attendees watch the The Disco Biscuits perform during the Montage Mountain rave, night of electronic music where the party-goers are in or around their cars, owing to the coronavirus pandemic, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. AFP -
General view of the Chualluma neighborhood in La Paz, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The multi-coloured neighborhood of Chualluma patiently waits for the new coronavirus pandemic to pass and tourists to arrive. AFP -
A woman stands on a stair at Chualluma neighborhood in La Paz, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The multi-coloured neighborhood of Chualluma patiently waits for the new coronavirus pandemic to pass and tourists to arrive. AFP
Shops could remain open with certain restrictions under Chancellor Angela Merkel's plan, which she will discuss with Germany's 16 state premiers on Wednesday, it was reported.
As details of the proposals were emerging, the city of Nuremberg cancelled its famous Christmas market.
In France, interior minister Gerald Darmanin said the country should prepare for "difficult decisions" as the government considers new measures to cope with the resurgence.
In Slovakia, the government plans to test the entire country of 5.4 million for coronavirus next weekend.
A pilot testing programme in Covid hospots last weekend attracted tens of thousands of people, showing an infection rate of 3.87 per cent, data showed.
Over the border in the Czech Republic, which has the highest infection rate in Europe, the government was planning to draw up to 300 military health personnel from NATO and EU countries to help treat the influx of patients.
A field hospital for 500 patients was completed over the weekend at an exhibition ground in the capital Prague.
Cases have averaged more than 12,000 a day and the death toll has doubled to 2,337 since October 13.
In the UK, which recorded 20,890 new infections on Monday, further areas were brought under the toughest lockdown measures as Tory MPs piled pressure on Boris Johnson to produce a “clear road map” out of the pandemic’s resurgence.
