By Rob Picheta, CNN
Updated 1034 GMT (1834 HKT) October 18, 2020
Commuters wearing face masks or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, enter and exit a Victoria Line London underground tube train as they travel during the evening 'rush hour' in central London on September 23, 2020. - The UK on Wednesday reported 6,178 new coronavirus cases, a marked jump in the daily infection rate that comes a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled new nationwide restrictions. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / AFP) (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)
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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 09: Members of the Wisconsin National Guard test residents for the coronavirus COVID-19 at a temporary test facility set up in the parking lot of the UMOS corporate headquarters on October 09, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Wisconsin currently has one of the highest positivity rates for COVID-19 in the nation. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Commuters wearing face masks or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, enter and exit a Victoria Line London underground tube train as they travel during the evening 'rush hour' in central London on September 23, 2020. - The UK on Wednesday reported 6,178 new coronavirus cases, a marked jump in the daily infection rate that comes a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled new nationwide restrictions. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / AFP) (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)
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Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Briefing Room of the White House on September 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump is preparing for the first presidential debate with former Vice President and Democratic Nominee Joe Biden on September 29th in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 16: Residents have their blood drawn by registered nurse Barbara Davis for an antibody test for the coronavirus, also called a serology test, June 16, 2020 in Washington, DC. Serology tests are intended for persons who are not currently experiencing signs and symptoms of COVID-19, but want to know if they were previously exposed to the virus. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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CNN's Becky Anderson speaks with Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organization, about whether you can catch Covid-19 twice and about how long antibodies last.
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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 09: Members of the Wisconsin National Guard test residents for the coronavirus COVID-19 at a temporary test facility set up in the parking lot of the UMOS corporate headquarters on October 09, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Wisconsin currently has one of the highest positivity rates for COVID-19 in the nation. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Commuters wearing face masks or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, enter and exit a Victoria Line London underground tube train as they travel during the evening 'rush hour' in central London on September 23, 2020. - The UK on Wednesday reported 6,178 new coronavirus cases, a marked jump in the daily infection rate that comes a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled new nationwide restrictions. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / AFP) (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)
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Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Briefing Room of the White House on September 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump is preparing for the first presidential debate with former Vice President and Democratic Nominee Joe Biden on September 29th in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)
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London (CNN)As coronavirus cases spike across the continent, European governments are facing a new obstacle in their efforts to enforce restrictions -- with several major cities and regions fighting back against instructions to lock down in recent days.
Cities in the UK, France, Spain are resisting centralized efforts to impose tighter regulations, with days of tense negotiations ongoing as infections increase.
In the northern English city of Manchester, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has become engulfed in a row with local mayor Andy Burnham over whether to move the city from the UK's second tier of restrictions to its most severe third tier.
"If an agreement cannot be reached, I will need to intervene in order to protect Manchester's hospitals and save the lives of Manchester's residents," Johnson said on Friday, urging Burnham to "reconsider his position" and "engage constructively" with the government.
Pedestrians walk past a Covid-19 testing sign in Manchester on October 17.
Pedestrians walk past a Covid-19 testing sign in Manchester on October 17.
But Burnham has resisted the government's efforts to increase the severity of his city's measures, urging for more financial measures to protect the region's workers placed under stricter rules.
The row escalated on Sunday as Michael Gove, a member of Johnson's Cabinet, called on Burnham "to put aside for a moment some of the political positioning that they've indulged in."
"I want them to work with us in order to ensure that we save lives and protect the NHS ... instead of press conferences and posturing what we need is action to save people's lives," Gove told Sky News, as negotiations between the two teams continued.
The tension is a far cry from the UK's first coronavirus peak, when its four nations all essentially went into lockdown in unison, and adherence from regional authorities and the public was a given.
Instead, there is confusion in some parts of the country about what rules they are required to adhere to, with much depending on their local authority's willingness to follow the government's instructions.
In London, the mayor Sadiq Khan was calling for tougher rules for several days before Johnson announced them, while in Liverpool, Lancashire and other regions, deals were agreed with the government just before the weekend, with some councilors expressing misgivings about the order.
But even where local leaders are amenable to tougher rules, the public appears less so.
"I'm fed up," Rebecca Duncan, a 39-year-old from south London, told CNN on Friday after the city moved into "tier 2." "It's like one thing starts to open up and life starts to seem slightly normal and then something else comes along and pushes us all back."
And a similar scenario is unfolding across Europe, as leaders grapple with the difficulties of pursuing a "whack-a-mole" approach to slowing the spread of Covid-19.
London despairs at new Covid rules as northern England regions rebel
London despairs at new Covid rules as northern England regions rebel
Earlier this month a Madrid court rejected lockdown laws imposed on the capital by the Spanish government, leaving millions of residents wondering whether they were clear to travel for a national holiday.
The court said the restrictions, which banned residents from leaving the capital and nine suburbs last Friday, interfered with "citizens' fundamental rights without the legal mandate."
Spain's left-wing national government and Madrid's center-right regional administration have long been at loggerheads over the pandemic response, and the lockdown measures are the latest political battleground.
And in Germany, a slew of court orders are causing trouble for Angela Merkel's government as she attempts to battle a rising load of cases.
Tourists walk at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Tuesday, as the city's businesses fight curfew orders in the courts.
Tourists walk at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Tuesday, as the city's businesses fight curfew orders in the courts.
Most prominently, a Berlin court sided against the government and with a group of business owners on Friday, suspending late-night curfews on bars and restaurants in the city.
"It was not apparent" that closing food and drink establishments between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. would help fight contagion, the court found in the case. The measure, which came in force on October 10, was therefore a "disproportionate encroachment on the freedom" of the hospitality industry, the court said.
Health Minister Jens Spahn said he was "very disappointed" at the ruling, saying that "there is no doubt that in big cities ... especially in the late hours, what is happening in private and public places is a driver of current infections," according to AFP.
Emmanuel Macron will be closely watching the arguments taking place across Europe, after imposing curfews in Paris and several other French cities that took effect on Friday. As of yet, the French government has not faced major opposition to the plan.
European nations smash Covid-19 records as WHO warns daily deaths could surpass April peak
European nations smash Covid-19 records as WHO warns daily deaths could surpass April peak
In addition to opposition from local lawmakers and aggrieved business owners, the question of policing is causing confusion in some areas.
The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police responded firmly on Saturday to a report in the Telegraph newspaper, which had claimed there were "fears" over whether officers would follow Burnham's lead and refuse to put in place measures mandated by Johnson's government.
"We carry out operational policing without fear or favour and in line with the Police Services code of ethics alongside colleagues across the country," Ian Hopkins said in a statement.
But the barrage of challenges from councils and the hospitality industry are causing headaches for several European governments.
Meanwhile, cases continue to rise across the continent. The UK, Germany, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic, alongside other nations, have all recorded their highest-ever confirmed Covid 19 infections in October, as leaders warn of potentially severe winter outbreaks.
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