In France, officials are keen to avoid another national lockdown despite a worrying rise in cases in several parts of the country. \"The situation is deteriorating and it is a source of worry in about 10 regional departments. Some regions require rapid and strong measures,” French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said. The number of people being treated for Covid-19 in intensive care units in France reached 3,407 on Monday, exceeding 3,400 for the first time since December 3. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said the country must tighten restrictions to prevent a catastrophe. The country reported more than 15,000 new cases on Tuesday, the highest daily number since January 6. The Czech Republic recorded 1,389 coronavirus patients in serious condition in hospital, a record for the country, leaving few spare beds. \"Hellish days await us,\" Mr Babis said, describing the situation as grave. In other parts of Europe, however, public pressure to relax measures is building. The Netherlands eased some lockdown restrictions in what Prime Minister Mark Rutte called a calculated risk to make the situation bearable, while Denmark allowed a partial return to classes for secondary school students. In Belgium, Jean-Marc Nollet, leader of the Greens party that is part of the ruling coalition, said he no longer followed his own government’s limits on social contacts. “I am a human being and human contact is something vital,” he said.","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The National","url":"https://www.thenationalnews.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.thenationalnews.com/pf/resources/images/logo_rectangle.png?d=279"}},"articleSection":"Europe","keywords":["Europe","Coronavirus","UK News","Special Pages","World","Article"],"description":"Czech Republic warns of ‘hellish days’ ahead as parts of Europe report another surge in cases","thumbnailUrl":"https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/z2jmQLDhgzGMOmj3Yl-eHvDNnHQ=/400x267/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/thenational/AMIKTCOX54DIL3BGHYLVEYDN5E.jpg","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/europe/germany-plans-home-testing-drive-to-carve-path-out-of-lockdown-1.1172550"}}