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CBSNews.com

British officials said Monday that COVID-19 infection rates were heading "in the wrong direction." The warning came as governments across Europe re-impose tougher measures to try to stem new outbreaks of the coronavirus.

The U.K. government's chief medical officer Chris Whitty said Monday that the infection rates across Britain had, "in a bad sense, literally turned a corner."

Chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance warned, meanwhile, that if nothing is done to curb the spread of the virus, new infections could rise to nearly 50,000 daily by mid-October — up from nearly 4,400 new COVID-19 cases on Monday.   

But that was a worst-case scenario, and authorities have already imposed tighter restrictions on vast swathes of northern England. People in many communities can no longer socialize with other households, and across England, most gatherings are now limited to six people.