that comes as countries around the world are having to try to contain the 0micron environment. variant. nearly 180,000 new infections have been reported in the last 24 hour period in france. it comes as the french government has announced that it will introduce tighter restrictions from next week, including remote working compulsory for those who can. but france hasn t been alone in breaking daily records in europe, as cyprus, greece, italy and portugal all have reported record highs too. the us has also set a single day record of new infections, with over 440,000 new cases on monday, according to the centers for disease control. also in the us, president biden has announced the travel restrictions on eight southern african countries will end on the 31st of december. the travel ban was imposed last month when the 0micron variant was first confirmed in south africa.