Coronavirus infections broke records in parts of Europe on Wednesday, with the continent once again the epicentre of a pandemic that has prompted new curbs on movement and seen health experts push to widen the use of booster vaccination shots.

Slovakia, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Hungary all reported new highs in daily infections as winter grips Europe and people gather indoors in the run-up to Christmas, providing a perfect breeding ground for Covid-19.

New cases have jumped 23 percent in the Americas in the last week, mostly in North America, in a sign that region might also face a resurgence of infections.

The disease has swept the world in the two years since it was first identified...