BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Tighter pandemic measures came into force in Romania on Saturday as authorities hoped to quell sharply rising coronavirus cases amid concerns that the next virus wave could overstretch the country’s health care system.

In mid-December, Romania was reporting fewer than a thousand COVID-19 infections a day, but over the past week, daily cases have surged to around 6,000. It is the highest number of infections since early November when cases were on the decline following a vicious fourth virus wave.

Over the winter holiday period, hundreds of thousands of Romanians return home from other countries, many from the West, which fueled concerns over the threat of the fast-spreading omicron variant. Romania has so far confirmed almost 300 cases of the new variant.

Health minister Alexandru Rafila said in a press briefing Friday that Romania is “already in the fifth wave of the pandemic” and that omicron is expected to soon become the dominant virus strain.

“For the time being, there is a sporadic transmission (of omicron),” he said. “But it is very possible that in the coming days, the coming weeks, we will witness a community transmission supported by this new strain.”

The new measures Saturday include the mandatory wearing of face masks in outdoor and indoor public spaces, and textile masks have been banned. Non-compliance with mask rules could result in hefty fines of up to 500 euros ($567), authorities said.

Bars and restaurants can stay open until 10 p.m. and operate at 50% or 30% capacity depending on the area’s infection rate, and COVID-19 passes are required. The same goes for sporting events, gyms, and cinemas. Meanwhile, quarantine and isolation periods have been reduced.

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BERLIN (AP) — Germany's leaders agreed Friday to toughen requirements for entry to restaurants and bars, and decided to shorten quarantine and self-isolation periods as the omicron variant spreads fast through the country.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the 16 state governors built on restrictions introduced just after Christmas that limited private gatherings to 10 people and effectively shut nightclubs.

People have already been required for some time to show proof of full vaccination or recovery to enter restaurants and bars — as well as many nonessential shops, theaters and cinemas.

Friday's decision calls for the requirements to be ratcheted up for restaurants and bars. Customers will have to show either that they have received a booster shot or provide a negative test result on top of proof that they have been vaccinated or recovered.

"Half the population will be boosted ... in a few days" and will be able to go to restaurants without a test, Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey told reporters. "This is an extra incentive to get boosters."

Still, the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt said it wouldn't introduce the new rule for now because its cases mostly still involve the delta variant, and Bavaria said it was skeptical.

Scholz and the governors also agreed to shorten quarantine or self-isolation periods that are currently as long as 14 days, something that many other countries already have done.

People who have received boosters will no longer have to go into quarantine after having contact with coronavirus cases, and neither will people who have been fully vaccinated or recovered in the past three months.

All others can end their quarantine or self-isolation period after 10 days if they don't have — or no longer have — symptoms; that can be cut to seven days with a negative test.

"These are strict rules, but they are pragmatic and mean an easing of the current rules," Scholz said.

Friday's decision by federal and state governments stated that the use of protective FFP2 masks in shops and on public transport is "urgently recommended."

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BERLIN (AP) — Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday after apparently being infected by a member of his security team, his office said.

The chancellery said that Nehammer currently has no symptoms and is working from quarantine at home. It said that he has received three vaccine shots, and that his wife and children tested negative.

"There is no reason for concern — I am doing well," the chancellery quoted Nehammer as saying in a statement. "My appeal is still: go get vaccinated, get a booster — that will protect you with high probability against serious illness."

Nehammer, who had tested negative on Wednesday, appears to have been infected on Wednesday evening by a member of his security team who later tested positive. On Thursday, the chancellor participated in a meeting at which officials decided to tighten restrictions, then attended a news conference.

The chancellery said that he wore a protective FFP2 mask throughout the meeting, but everyone who was in contact with him has been contacted. It said participants at the news conference were separated by plexiglass screens and that he was at a sufficient distance from journalists, who were all wearing FFP2 masks.

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ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's government on Friday issued a civil mobilization order that will oblige some doctors in the private sector to support the state health service during a surge in COVID-19 infections driven by the omicron variant.

The emergency order will take effect next Wednesday, affecting doctors specialized in pathology, pulmonology and anesthesiology in four regions in northern Greece where state hospitals are suffering acute staffing shortages.

The omicron variant has been blamed by experts for a huge increase in infections ‒ which are up eight-fold since mid-December ‒ over the past 10 days which have hit record levels. The surge has not led to a significant increase in intensive care unit admissions but has pushed up daily general hospitalizations, adding pressure on the public health service, with many hospitals also struggling with staff coverage as more doctors and nurses get infected.

Civil mobilization orders are used to keep essential services running, and have been introduced in the past to counter strikes. The current order will require doctors to work for the state for 15 days.

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PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday defended his rude remarks about the country's minority of vaccine refusers, saying he cannot accept them infringing on others' freedom.

The 44-year-old outspoken president, who is expected to seek re-election later this year, made headlines earlier this week by using the word "emmerder" — rooted in the French word for "crap" and meaning to rile or to bug. He was talking about his strategy for pressuring vaccine refusers to get coronavirus jabs. His vulgar language dominated news broadcasts and provoked angry reactions from his political rivals.

Speaking in a news conference in Paris, Macron acknowledged the term may have upset some, but said he takes full responsibility for it.

"When some make from their freedom ... a motto, not only do they put others' lives at risk, but they are also curtailing others' freedom. That I cannot accept," he said in reference to unvaccinated people. "When you are a citizen you must agree to do your civic duty."

Like much of Europe, France is in the grip of the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus, recording an average of more than 200.000 new cases per day. On Friday, health authorities noted 328,214 confirmed new infections.

The rapid spread of omicron has put a strain on the already over-burdened hospitals, and some pharmacies are running out of home test kits the government distributes for free to children in an effort to slow infections so classes can stay open.

France's strategy is to "vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate," he insisted, as the country reported this week Europe's highest-ever single-day confirmed infection count.  About 77% of the population, including more than 91% of adults, are fully vaccinated.

Macron also advocated for the new vaccine pass to encourage more people to get the vaccine by restricting the social life of those non vaccinated.

The measure will exclude unvaccinated individuals from places such as restaurants, cinemas, theaters, museums and sports arenas. The pass will also be required on inter-regional trains and buses, and on domestic flights.

The bill is to be debated at the Senate next week. The government hopes to put it in place around mid-January.

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SYDNEY (AP) — Australia's former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, as case numbers hit new highs across the country and health officials warned that the real number of cases is likely much higher than testing shows.

Turnbull, who was prime minister from 2015 to 2018, confirmed on Twitter he was isolating at home after a positive test.

"Like hundreds of thousands of other Australians I have tested positive for COVID. Symptoms moderate so far. Isolating as required," Turnbull wrote. "This pandemic and especially this latest wave has put our health professionals under enormous pressure."

"Please be polite and considerate when dealing with the front-line health workers," he added. "They have had two years of relentless pressure and it's now at its most intense. So give them the love and respect they deserve, please."

The revelation of Turnbull's case followed the announcement that federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg also has tested positive.

New South Wales saw a record 45,098 new cases on Saturday — up from 38,625 a day earlier — as the spread of the omicron variant forced the reintroduction of some restrictions in Australia's most populous state. Dancing and singing in pubs and nightclubs was prohibited from midnight Friday.

Susan Pearce, deputy secretary of New South Wales Health, said the state had not yet reached the peak of its omicron surge.

"We expect that peak to occur in around the third to the last week of January," she said. "We have got some challenging weeks ahead of us. But we have been planning for this pandemic and continuing to reinvent ourselves for two years now."

Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said almost 50 percent of cases were in people aged 20 to 39.