100 nudists test positive for Covid-19 after 'very worrying' outbreak at French naturist resort - despite wearing face masks

French health authorities have warned of a 'very worrying' outbreak of coronavirus at a famous nudist resort in the south of the country.

At least 95 people at the resort of Cap d'Agde, 30 miles south of Montpellier, have tested positive for the virus so far - with more results due this week.

That is in addition to an estimated 50 people who reported falling ill after returning home from the holiday village.

Health officials have warned visitors to the resort - which is also popular with swingers - that they must comply with all social distancing measures, including wearing face masks.

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Health officials have warned visitors to the resort, which was built in the 1960s, that they must comply with all social distancing measures including wearing masks (pictured in the 1980s)

France made masks compulsory in all indoor spaces on July 20, with only very limited exceptions. 

The nudist resort contains multiple indoor areas, including shops, banks, restaurants, bars and clubs.

Medics carried out 194 tests on visitors who volunteered at the resort on Monday last week, with 38 coming back positive, the regional health service said.

Another 244 tests were then carried out on Wednesday, with 57 positive.

Health officers carried out 310 additional tests on Friday, with results expected early this week.

A spokesman for the health authority said the rate of infection at the nudist resort is four times higher than the nearby village.  

The outbreak comes as France on Sunday reported almost 4,900 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, its highest figure since May. 

Health Minister Olivier Veran warned earlier that the situation was risky, and said infections were essentially happening among 20 to 40 year-olds at parties.

Cases among older people were starting to rise too, Veran said, but he ruled out another total lockdown in France.

While there was a small nudist village on the site of Cap d'Agde in the 1950s, it was not until the area was developed in the 1960s that the idea really took off.

Originally, the resort was simply intended to be a tourist village, before the concept of nudity was later incorporated into the plans.

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The outbreak was reported as France's daily coronavirus case total increased to 4,897 on Sunday - the largest single-day increase since May

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Despite the rise in cases the number of coronavirus deaths in the country has remained low, with 10 reported at the weekend

It is now thought to be the largest community of nudists anywhere in the world, with up to 40,000 people staying there at the height of a typical summer season.

As well as France, there have been worrying spikes in coronavirus cases in Spain, Germany and Switzerland - much of it blamed on holidaying Europeans and youngsters enjoying parties in the summer heatwave. 

Austria and Croatia have also seen a spike in cases, leading the UK government to warn Britons returning from holidays in both countries that they must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.

Spain and France are already included on the list.

Weekly coronavirus cases in Croatia have increased by more than 179 percent from 7.8 per 100,000 to 21.5 per 100,000.

In Austria, it's a 79.5 percent increase on the previous week from 8 per 100,000 to 14.4 per 100,000.

And in Switzerland - another nexus of European tourism - weekly cases have increased by 54.6 percent in the last week, from 11.1 per 100,000 to 17.2 per 100,000.

Germany is also experiencing an increase of 26.1% on last week, with particular concern in Berlin where the contagion is soaring wildly after overcrowding in its parks during the heat.

The latest figures, from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases, bring to 228,621 the number of infections in the country since the start of the pandemic.

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Italy registered 845 new cases on Thursday, its highest daily tally since May, while France's 4,771 fresh infections was a colossal increase on Wednesday's 3,776 (pictured: a graph of the rolling 7-day average)

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Masks have been mandatory in all indoor spaces across France since July 20, with some cities - such as Nice, pictured - ordering masks to be worn in all public spaces 

It takes the daily toll back to a level not seen since late April, when the pandemic was considered to be at its peak.

The daily record of new cases in Germany is just over 6,000, registered in early April.

Ten new deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 9,253.

Faced with a surge in cases, Germany earlier this month introduced free, mandatory tests for anyone returning from areas deemed a high risk for COVID-19 infections.

But despite the second wave gathering momentum, the head of the WHO's European branch said that reimposing a full-scale lockdown measures would not be necessary.

Hans Kluge said: 'With the basic nationwide and additional targeted measures, we are in a much better position to stamp out these localized virus flare-ups.

'We can manage the virus and keep the economy running and an education system in operation.'

Countries are currently racing to develop vaccines for the virus, with several candidates in late-stage development - including in China, the US and UK.

Russia claims to have already approved a vaccine for widespread use in humans, the the Philippines signing up to receive millions of doses, though the medication has not yet undergone mass-testing.

The Kremlin said last week that it is also testing the vaccine on 40,000 people in its own country. 

The EU said on Thursday it had concluded talks with a German pharmaceutical firm to secure 225 million doses of a potential vaccine - the fourth such agreement the bloc has reached.

French President Emmanuel Macron hailed European cooperation on the issue and said he was hopeful that a vaccine would come online with the next few months.

'This will not solve the problems of the next few weeks, but of the next few months,' he said.

However, while a vaccine remains elusive, governments are left trying to control the spread through social-distancing measures, quarantines, travel bans and restrictions on businesses.