New curfews for bars and cafes, and tighter rules on social gatherings, were announced for Berlin, Frankfurt and across Belgium on Tuesday as authorities tackled virus spikes.

From Friday, Belgians will be restricted to unmasked contact with just three people in their personal "bubble", down from five, and an 11:00 pm curfew on bars and cafes in Brussels will be extended to the rest of the country.

Belgium has recorded more than 30,000 new cases since September 20, and 500 hospitalisations in the first week of October.

In Berlin, the restrictions on meeting others will be tighter at night, when they are limited to five. During the day, groups of up to 50 will still be permitted, although indoors the cap is 10.

An 11:00 pm curfew on bars and restaurants was also introduced after the capital saw the virus's reproduction rate hit 1.26, meaning each infected person is passing it to more than one other person.

Frankfurt announced a 10:00 pm curfew for restaurants, banned alcohol consumption in public places and made masks obligatory in busy shopping areas.

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© 2020 AFP