BERLIN, Oct 29: A second wave of coronavirus is sweeping Europe. Tougher restrictions are back. Like in the US, there is also strong rightwing resistance to any form of restrictions on freedom of movement. Violence against the restrictions is spreading across Europe, especially in Italy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was heckled in parliament by right-wing MPs as she announced the new measures to check the spread of the epidemic and defended reinstatement of a national lockdown. The lockdown will be till November 30. Alternative for Germany (AfD) party leader Alexander Gauland accused the Government of "corona dictatorship".

Merkel said the new measures coming into effect on Monday include closure of restaurants, bars, gyms and theatres. She said that "winter will be hard - four long, difficult months."

While in Germany schools and kindergartens will remain open and social contacts will be limited to two households, in France, public services and factories would remain open and those leaving homes will have to fill in forms giving reasons.

France restored lockdown last Friday, forcing people to stay at home unless for essential work or medical emergencies. Markets, parks and gardens will be allowed to stay open.President Emmanuel Macron cautioned everyone that the second wave could be more ferocious.

The total corona cases reached 11,98,695 and the deaths 35,541 in France while the figures for Germany were 4,77,203 cases and 10,347 fatalities. In the past 24 hours, in Germany, another 89 people died and 16,774 more infections were recorded. In France, 36,437 new cases and 244 deaths were reported.

The infections are soaring in Italy, Spain, Czech, Belgium, Ireland and other countries with all of them clamping hard restrictions.

The UK reported 24,701 new cases and 310 deaths in the previous one day.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the continent was "deep in the second wave." "I think that this year's Christmas will be a different Christmas," BBC quoted her.

In Europe, Italy, Spain and the UK were the worst hit in the first wave of the pandemic. With strict enforcement of preventive guidelines, Europe got out of the worst phase of the surge by summer. Currently since a month, the pandemic is making its comeback as normal economic and social activities and travel resumed.

This time it looks the whole Europe may be hit.