<span style="color: black;">The European Union's disease agency said today, it was predicting a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases with nearly five times as many new cases by 1st August, compared to last week's level.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: black;">In its coverage area, which includes the EU, Norway and Iceland, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said, it is expected to see 420 cases per 100,000 inhabitants for the week ending on 1st August, up from just under 90 last week.</span><br />''  <br />