Passengers wearing face masks are seen at the main train station in Frankfurt, Germany, on Aug. 29, 2020. (Photo by Kevin Voigt/Xinhua)

A number of European countries took urgent new measures on Monday to combat a second wave of coronavirus infections, as the World Health Organization (WHO) blamed the surge in worldwide cases - now more than 40 million - on countries' failure to quarantine infected people properly.

Ireland and Wales became the first countries on the continent to reenter lockdown as the number of people who have died from COVID-19 in Europe passed 250,000, according to an AFP tally.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin issued a nationwide "stay at home" order from midnight Wednesday, with all non-essential retail businesses to close and bars and restaurants limited to takeaway service only, although schools will remain open.

Wales also announced "firebreak" confinement measures for two weeks, ordering the territory's 3 million residents to stay at home except for very limited purposes, such as exercise or work, and banning people from mixing indoors or outdoors.

Michael Ryan, executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme  blamed soaring transmission rates in the northern hemisphere on a failure to enforce quarantines rigorously.

Speaking to a virtual press conference from the WHO's headquarters, Ryan said the fact that self-isolation measures were not being enforced systematically was "a good part of the reason why we're seeing such high numbers."

Many governments are seeking to avoid the costly full-scale lockdowns imposed in the first wave as they battle to keep their economies going.

But in some countries, people are chafing against new restrictions on daily life, and anti-mask protests, court challenges and battles between central and local governments are on the rise.

Belgium - where hospitalizations rose 100 percent in just the last week - closed bars and restaurants on Monday for a month and reinforced a curfew overnight.

Italy, the initial epicenter of Europe's outbreak, also announced fresh curbs including earlier closures for bars and restaurants and a push to increase working from home.

In Poland, where around half the country is now designated as a coronavirus "red zone," the government said the national stadium would double as a field hospital to help ease the strain on overwhelmed health facilities.

Switzerland meanwhile made mask-wearing compulsory in indoor public spaces and limited public gatherings after infections doubled over the last week. 

France imposed its own overnight curfew from the weekend in nine cities, affecting 20 million people, with a record 32,400 new infections reported on Saturday.

AFP