European countries are entering into new coronavirus lockdowns this week to help curb a second wave infection surge ahead of colder winter months. These new restrictions have brought a wave of unrest across the region as critics fear new lockdowns will do more harm than good as businesses still recovering the pandemic's initial hit in the spring.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his new lockdown decision before the House of Commons on Monday, seeing no positive alternative to a nationwide lockdown as new coronavirus infections spike throughout the country. Johnson warned that this new wave of cases could become "twice as bad" as anything the National Health System experienced during the first wave.

Over the weekend, Johnson announced that pubs, restaurants, gyms, nonessential businesses and places of worship will be closed for four weeks starting Thursday. The U.K. will also restrict outbound international travel and asks everyone to remain in their homes except for essentials. One of the few differences between this new lockdown and the one seen last spring is that schools and universities will remain open.

"The virus is spreading even faster than the reasonable worst-case scenario of our scientific advisors," Johnson stated in a recent national address, quoted by NPR. "Unless we act, we could see deaths in this country running at several thousand per day."

Johnson stated that the government will reevaluate the nation's lockdown in early December.

France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and others have also recently announced second lockdowns or strict new social restrictions to help slow the spread of the coronavirus before it overwhelms health systems. Most have set reevaluation dates for early December.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has ordered all restaurants, bars, gyms and theaters to close starting this week. She is hopeful that the nation will be able to return to a relatively normal condition by December, adding that while big New Year's Eve parties will most likely be out of the question, families should be able to spend Christmas together.

"Throughout the winter months, we will have to limit private contacts," Merkel stated during a news conference, quoted by Reuters. "The light at the end of the tunnel is still quite a long way off."