Students walk past a safety sign in Oxford. Covid-19 cases have been rising in England and across the European continent. | Steve Parsons/PA Images via Getty Images

Countries with the fastest-spiraling outbreaks are reentering lockdowns.

VIENNA — With new Covid-19 cases rising exponentially across the European continent, leaders are once again turning to social distancing mandates and business closures to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

There are curfews across Italy, England and France, limits on drinking in the Czech Republic and Belgium, and stricter mask requirements in Greece and Switzerland.

Here in the Austrian capital, where people can be seen panic-hoarding toilet paper again, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has warned of a “challenging autumn and winter” ahead. The country’s new anti-virus measures include capping the size of public gatherings, while one particularly hard-hit town in the Salzburg area, Kuchl, has shut down.

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