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Summary
Here is a quick recap of the main developments from around the world:
- A further 397 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 in the UK, the highest daily increase in Covid-related deaths registered in five months. It brings the UK government’s tally to 47,250. The Tuesday tally each week tends to be higher owing to a delay in reporting deaths over the weekend, but the latest figure is still the highest recorded since 422 people were reported as having died on 27 May. Full story here.
- Europe passed a bleak milestone after reporting more than 11 million coronavirus cases, as Austria and Greece became the latest countries on the continent to impose shutdowns. The continent has now registered 11,008,465 infections and almost 285,000 deaths according to an AFP tally of official sources on Tuesday.
- France’s daily Covid-19 death toll rose by 854 on Tuesday, an increase unseen since 15 April, while the number of people hospitalised for the disease went up by more than a 1,000 for the fifth time in nine days. More here.
- Hungary will close bars and entertainment venues and impose a night-time curfew as of midnight to curb a fast spread of coronavirus infections, the prime minister Viktor Orban said. From Monday, those violating rules on wearing face masks risk stiff fines, with offending restaurants and shops to be closed by authorities if necessary.
- The Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has ordered extra lockdown measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the Netherlands, and said the government is also considering curfews and school closures. The new measures, which include a ban on public meetings of more than two people not in the same family, were imposed amid signs the epidemic had reached a second peak. More here.
Brazil reported 11,843 additional confirmed cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 243 deaths, the health ministry said on Tuesday. The country has now registered 5,566,049 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 160,496, according to ministry data, in the world’s most fatal outbreak outside the United States.
Updated
White House scientific adviser Dr Deborah Birx warned the United States is entering a new “deadly phase” of the coronavirus pandemic, and urged an “aggressive” approach to containing its spread, Jessica Glenza reports.
Birx gave the warning in a written memo delivered to top administration officials on Monday. It is a direct contradiction of one of Donald Trump’s central, and false, closing campaign messages – that the US is “rounding the corner” on the pandemic.
“We are entering the most concerning and most deadly phase of this pandemic,” Birx wrote in the memo, first reported by the Washington Post.
She continued:
Cases are rapidly rising in nearly 30% of all USA counties, the highest number of county hotspots we have seen with this pandemic. Half of the United States is in the red or orange zone for cases despite flat or declining testing.
The memo came as Trump gathered hundreds at in-person rallies in key swing states, and warned that his political rival Joe Biden would lock down the country again.
“This is not about lockdowns – it hasn’t been about lockdowns since March or April,” Birx said. “It’s about an aggressive, balanced approach that is not being implemented.”
Americans need “consistent messaging about uniform use of masks, physical distancing and hand washing, with profound limitation on indoor gatherings especially with family and friends,” she wrote.
Full story here:
Updated
UK reports 397 new coronavirus deaths and 20,018 daily cases
The UK government said a further 397 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Tuesday, bringing the government’s tally to 47,250.
The figure is more than seven times the death toll of 54 announced on 23 March when the first national lockdown began. While the Tuesday total is often larger because of a delay in reporting deaths over the weekend, this week’s nevertheless marks the highest daily increase since 27 May when 422 people were reported as having died.
Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been just under 63,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.
The government said that, as of 9am on Tuesday, there had been a further 20,018 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, bringing the total number of cases to 1,073,882.
Separate government figures show there were 10,377 Covid-19 patients in hospital in England on Tuesday, up from 8,171 a week ago, while 952 were in ventilation beds, up from 742 a week ago.
A total of 1,280 patients with confirmed Covid-19 were admitted to hospitals in England on Sunday, the latest figure available, compared with 1,186 a week earlier.
The UK government’s data dashboard is here.
Updated
Europe passed a bleak milestone on Tuesday after reporting more than 11 million coronavirus cases, as Austria and Greece became the latest countries on the continent to impose shutdowns.
Still reeling from a deadly shooting spree in the streets of Vienna on Monday evening, Austria went into partial lockdown while Greece shut down major cities.
They joined Belgium, France, Germany and Ireland in re-imposing tough curbs on people’s lives in an echo of last spring as the virus that first emerged in China at the end of 2019 shows no sign of abating.
Meanwhile the Netherlands extended a partial shutdown to museums, cinemas and zoos as the government said new cases were not slowing quickly enough (see 7.05pm.).
Europe has now registered 11,008,465 infections and almost 285,000 deaths according to an AFP tally of official sources on Tuesday.
Frances records highest daily death toll since 15 April
France’s daily Covid-19 death toll rose by 854 on Tuesday, an increase unseen since 15 April, while the number of people hospitalised for the disease went up by more than a 1,000 for the fifth time in nine days.
And if the number of new infections, at 36,330, was sharply down versus Monday’s all-time high of 52,518, the seven-day moving average of additional cases, which evens out reporting irregularities, reached a record for a second day in a row, at 43,438.
France reinstated a one-month national lockdown on Friday to try and contain the resurgence of the pandemic but it generally takes two weeks for restrictive measures to have some effect.
Authorities could nonetheless reimpose a night curfew on Paris and possibly the surrounding region in the coming days amid frustration that too many people are ignoring lockdown rules.
The cumulative number of cases now totals 1,502,763, the fifth-highest in the world, and the death toll stands at 38,289, the seventh-highest globally.
The sharp rise of the daily death toll is in part due to the fact the nursing homes fatalities are taken in account twice a week, on Tuesdays and on Fridays.
The number of hospitalisations is now at 26,265, a figure multiplied by almost six since an August 29 low of 4,530 and getting closer to the 14 April peak of 32,292.
France’s first lockdown, imposed between 17 March and 11 May, had been decided to prevent the hospital system from being overwhelmed.
The number of people in intensive care units increased by 148, to 3,878, a six-month high but still some way from the 8 April peak of 7,148.
Hungary will close bars and entertainment venues and impose a night-time curfew as of midnight on Tuesday to curb a fast spread of coronavirus infections, the prime minister Viktor Orban said in a video posted on his Facebook page.
Orban said the government would introduce a “special legal order” as of midnight and would ask parliament to extend it by 90 days. He said the measures were needed to prevent hospitals reaching capacity by mid-December.
Schools remain open as well as all shops and restaurants and soccer games will continue to be played in front of thousands of spectators nationwide.
Trying to minimise further harm to the recession-hit economy, Orban’s nationalist government has so far refrained from imposing strict lockdown measures.
From Monday, those violating rules on wearing face masks risk stiff fines, with offending restaurants and shops to be closed by authorities if necessary.
Last week the National Medical Chamber called on the government to limit the opening hours of restaurants and reimpose special shopping hours for the elderly as the number of patients with Covid-19 rises. These measures have not been taken.
Hungary reported 3,989 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, its highest single-day tally, while the daily death toll also rose to a record high of 84. The total death toll rose to 1,973 and the number of patients treated in hospitals jumped to 4,767 from 4,417 on Monday.
Second peak sees lockdown tightened in the Netherlands
The Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has ordered extra lockdown measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the Netherlands, and said the government is also considering curfews and school closures.
The new measures, which include a ban on public meetings of more than two people not in the same family, were imposed amid signs the epidemic had reached a second peak.
Rutte said in a televised press conference:
The number of new cases is falling, but not quickly enough.
The measures go into effect on Wednesday for two weeks. Rutte said other measures will remain in place through mid-December.
Bars and restaurants in the Netherlands were closed except for takeaway and delivery in a partial lockdown on 13 October to slow a second wave of infections. Public gatherings were then limited to four people.
Rutte on Tuesday said museums, theatres, cinemas, zoos and amusement parks will also have to close.
The Netherlands joins the UK, France, Germany and several smaller European countries in restricting gatherings and people’s movements in recent weeks.
On Tuesday the National Institute for Health reported 64,087 new cases over the past week, down from 67,542 the week before, the first time weekly numbers have declined since August.
Hospitals are near capacity because of a surge in patients with Covid-19, numbers of which are continuing to climb, and the government is under pressure to ease the strain on the healthcare system.
Updated
Summary
Here’s a quick recap of the latest coronavirus developments from around the world:
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Rich states’ Covid deals ‘may deprive poor of vaccine for years’. Governments in predominantly wealthy countries are negotiating to buy nearly 8.8bn doses of prospective Covid-19 vaccines in a “frenzy of deals” that could mean many poor countries would not get access to immunisation until at least 2024, a report says.
- Italy prepares new coronavirus curbs as deaths surge. Tougher measures will include a nationwide nightly curfew from 10pm to 5am and the closure of museums and exhibitions, a draft decree seen by Reuters shows. It is expected to be approved by Wednesday and to be effective until 3 December, and will also limit travel between the worst-hit regions, in which bars, pubs, restaurants and most shops will be ordered to close. Italy reported 353 Covid-related deaths, the highest daily figure since 6 May.
- France considers new Paris curfew as lockdown rules are flouted. France could reimpose a night curfew on Paris, and possibly the Île-de-France region around the capital, amid government frustration that too many people are ignoring a new lockdown as Covid-19 infections spiral higher.
- Hundreds of thousands in coronavirus quarantine in Germany. Hundreds of thousands of people in Germany are in quarantine because they have tested positive for the coronavirus or have come into contact with someone who has Covid-19, health minister Jens Spahn said.
- Danish parliament suspends voting after several lawmakers test positive for Covid-19. The Danish parliament has suspended voting and other meetings after several lawmakers tested positive for Covid-19 and six ministers are self-isolating while awaiting test results.
- Belgium launches Covid patient air-lifts to Germany. The country’s surging second wave of Covid-19 cases has forced it to move some severely ill patients, many on ventilators, to neighbouring Germany, and air ambulances began flying Belgian patients further into the country on Tuesday.
- Liverpool to pioneer UK’s first attempt at mass Covid testing. Up to half a million people in Liverpool, England are set to be tested for Covid-19 under the UK government’s first attempt to embark on city-wide mass testing and track down every case of the virus.
- China changes school curriculum to reflect Beijing’s positive Covid narrative. Chinese government-endorsed content about the pandemic and the “fighting spirit” of the country’s response will be added to school curriculum, the country’s ministry of education has said, in a move to enshrine the country’s narrative of success against the virus.
Baroness Dido Harding, the under-pressure head of England’s NHS track and trace, said the system needs to improve during a second coronavirus lockdown if the nation is to recover.
In an interview conducted at the CBI’s virtual annual conference on Tuesday, she said that the main problem was finding and testing people who had Covid but displayed no symptoms.
Every country is grappling with the same problem. Despite everyone’s best efforts and all of the work of our team in NHS Test and Trace to be the second line of defence, the virus is spreading too rapidly and too widely.
As we go into another really challenging period for us as a country, it is time for the organisation that I lead to take the next big leap forward.
We will be focusing on improving NHS Test and Trace so that when England emerges from lockdown we are better able to live with Covid.
Harding has faced criticism for the performance of the six month tracing system which last month contacted less than 60% of contacts of infected patients. Boris Johnson last week expressed confidence in Harding but said the system must improve.
Asked about the possibility of a testing “moonshot” as suggested by Johnson, Harding says she could not estimate how many people will be tested by the Spring. “I really don’t know, the medium-term for T&T is three weeks.
“It is too early to give a sense of the potential as far away as the Spring,” she said.
She emphasised that test and trace was only one part of the government’s armoury to tackle coronavirus. ““There is no silver bullet... hands, face, space, we need to get better at that, test & trace will get better, but on their own those two will not be enough,” she said.
Harding is facing demands from senior Tories including Sir Bernard Jenkin that she should resign from the post.
It emerged on Tuesday that the prime minister and health secretary are being sued for giving Tories including Harding key public sector roles without any open competition or proper process,
The Good Law Project and Runnymede Trust have launched legal proceedings against the government’s repeated appointment of individuals who are connected with senior members of the Conservative Party – without advertising these roles.
Rich states' Covid deals 'may deprive poor of vaccine for years'
Governments in predominantly wealthy countries are negotiating to buy nearly 8.8bn doses of prospective Covid-19 vaccines in a “frenzy of deals” that could mean many poor countries would not get access to immunisation until at least 2024, a report says.
None of the 320-plus potential vaccines in development have been approved for use, but countries have already struck advance purchasing agreements for 3.73bn doses of the most promising candidates, with negotiations underway for another 5m doses, the study by Duke University’s global health innovation centre calculated.
However, manufacturers will only be able to produce so much of the successful candidates, with researchers estimating it could take three to four years to supply enough vaccine to immunise the global population. That means many wealthy countries may be able to vaccinate their entire populations several times over before most people in low-income countries are immunised, the report said.
Andrea Taylor, an assistant director at the Duke centre, said:
Countries are acting in their own interests, which makes senses.
The problem it leads to is a pattern of behaviour globally where we are limited in the number of doses we can produce in the first year or two … And so many are getting taken off the market and snatched up and reserved for high-income countries, leaving potentially very little for low- and middle-income countries.
France has reported 36,330 new Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours, well below the 52,518 record set on Monday, but the 854 daily death toll linked to the disease was the highest since 15 April.
That tally was double Monday’s 416 figure and the total number of fatalities now stands at 38,289.
The cumulative number of cases now totals 1,502,763, the fifth-highest in the world.
Italy prepares new coronavirus curbs as deaths surge
Italy’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, is preparing new curbs to tame the surge in infections and deaths in the country.
Tougher measures will include a nationwide nightly curfew from 10pm to 5am and the closure of museums and exhibitions, a draft decree seen by Reuters shows.
The decree, expected to be approved by Wednesday and to be effective until 3 December, would also limit travel between the worst-hit regions, in which bars, pubs, restaurants and most shops will be ordered to close.
Gyms, cinemas and theatres are already shut all over Italy, bars and restaurants must close at 6 pm, people must not host more than six guests in their homes and masks are obligatory outdoors and in public buildings.
The government has not yet detailed which regions will be subject to the most stringent restrictions, to be based on 21 parameters including the number of people with symptoms, infection rates and availability of hospital beds.
Conte, however, is holding back from re-introducing a nationwide lockdown in an attempt to safeguard an economy which is already expected to shrink by at least 9% this year.
Last month the government approved a €5.4bn ($6.33bn) package to help businesses and is expected to approve a new one this week worth at least €1.5bn.
Updated
Turkey will close all businesses including restaurants, pools, hairdressers, wedding venues, cinemas and concert halls at 10pm daily as part of measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus, President Tayyip Erdoğan said.
Daily coronavirus cases in Turkey have recently risen, with 2,302 patients identified on Monday. Ankara only reports the number of those who show symptoms.
Updated
Italy reports 353 Covid-related deaths, highest since early May
Italy has reported 353 Covid-related deaths, the highest daily figure since 6 May and up from 233 on Monday.
Some 28,244 new coronavirus infections were recorded over the past 24 hours, up from 22,253 on Monday.
A total 39,412 people have now died in Italy because of coronavirus, while 759,829 cases of the disease have been registered to date.
The northern region of Lombardy, centred on Italy’s financial capital Milan, remained the hardest hit area, reporting 6,804 new cases on Tuesday against 5,278 on Monday. The neighbouring Piedmont region was the second-worst affected, recording 3,169 cases.
The government has said it will tighten restrictions this coming week to try to reduce the infection rate, including limiting travel between the worst-hit regions and introducing a nighttime curfew.
However, it is holding back from re-introducing a nationwide lockdown to try to safeguard the economy.
Updated
England’s forthcoming lockdown is designed to reduce Covid-19 transmission rates to the extent that it can end on 2 December, said the chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, adding that any decision on whether to extend it was for government.
Asked if there was a reliable chance of lockdown ending as scheduled on 2 December, Whitty said: “The aim of this is to get the rates down far enough that it’s a realistic possibility to move into a different state of play at that point in time.”
Whitty told MPs that the lockdown, due to come into force on Thursday, could reduce the reproduction number below 1 if it was adhered to, but that other measures would be needed through the winter even if full lockdown ended in December.
Updated
The Algerian president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, has tested positive for Covid-19, but his condition is gradually improving as he receives treatment in a German hospital, his office said.
Algerian authorities had previously said Tebboune was in Germany for medical checks when he flew there last week, after reporting people in his administration had the coronavirus.
Tebboune, 75 and a smoker, was elected less than a year ago as Algeria faced its biggest political crisis in decades with a mass protest movement demanding the entire ruling class be replaced.
Backed by the powerful military, he pushed for changes to the constitution as part of a strategy to turn the page on the unrest. But though it was approved in a referendum on Sunday, voter turnout of 23.7% was very low.
His absence through illness could slow Algeria’s efforts to pass economic reforms aimed at reducing the reliance on dwindling energy revenues.
Updated
Poland plans to dispatch the army to help identify hospitals where beds are available for Covid-19 patients and where there are shortages, the health minister said.
Updated
Germany’s leading intensive care expert has urged hospitals to postpone non-urgent procedures to free up beds and staff to deal with a rise in coronavirus patients.
The number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care in Germany has soared from just over 360 in early October to almost 2,400 currently, as the country battles a second coronavirus wave along with the rest of Europe.
Staff in many hospitals are already working “at the limits of their capacity”, warned Uwe Janssens, president of Germany’s Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI).
Speaking at a press conference alongside health minister Jens Spahn, he said hospitals in areas with high infection numbers “should end normal operations as soon as possible”.
“That means that where it is medically justified, procedures must be halted and postponed” in order to preserve resources and free up badly needed intensive care personnel like anaesthetists.
He said Germany for now had enough beds and ventilators available nationwide, but the “key problem” was a potential lack of skilled medical personnel to treat intensive care patients, partly because of chronic understaffing but also because doctors and nurses themselves were having to quarantine at times.
Germany this week entered a month-long shutdown to help slow the Covid-19 outbreak, with schools, daycare centres and shops staying open while restaurants, bars, leisure and cultural centres have to close.
The country registered another 15,352 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 560,379, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control.
Just as the RKI provides daily case numbers, Janssens’ DIVI gives daily updates on the number of Covid-19 patients occupying Germany’s 28,756 intensive care beds.
Only a quarter of the country’s intensive care beds are unoccupied at the moment.
Janssens’ call came as France’s FHF hospital federation said there are plans to transfer Covid-19 patients to Germany for treatment within days as some hospitals creak under the pressure from surging virus cases.
During the first coronavirus wave in the spring, the German government and federal states ordered hospitals to delay non-emergency procedures and operations, but they have stopped short of issuing such a requirement this time around.
Health minster Spahn, himself recently recovered from the virus, said the current situation was “serious” but with large regional differences, and that the ultimate decision lay with the leaders of Germany’s 16 federal states.
Nevertheless, he said he agreed with Janssens that it was “very, very important” to delay operations when it was medically responsible to do so, adding that the government would help cushion the financial impact on hospitals.
It was due to open on 21 November but due to the new national lockdown in England he will now be speaking to the children via video. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA
Eurozone finance ministers will review their economic response so far to the Covid-19 pandemic today as a second wave of infections is likely to wreak fresh havoc on economies in coming months, but they are unlikely to promise more cash.
The ministers will hold a video conference two days before the European commission issues economic forecasts for the whole 27-nation EU that are likely to predict shrinking economic output in the last quarter of the year.
EU leaders agreed in July to launch a €1.8tn recovery plan to boost the economy over the next seven years from the unprecedented slump this year caused by the pandemic.
The package is made up of €1.1tn in the EU’s next long-term budget and an additional €750bn pool of money for 2021-2023 just to deal with the economic downturn.
The bloc’s governments and the European parliament are now haggling over the details of the package with both sides blaming each other for delays.
The support is needed because France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Portugal and other countries have decided to tighten restrictions on people’s movement and closed non-essential businesses for the whole of November as the number of infections and hospitalisations of Covid-19 patients skyrockets.
“We absolutely want to ensure that the funds are available everywhere the next year. A lot of countries urgently need this support which Europe jointly is ready to give,” said German finance minister Olaf Scholz.
While pledges of more money are unlikely, the ministers have made clear they would keep national fiscal support for as long as is needed, especially as EU rules limiting the size of deficits and debt have been suspended because of the pandemic.
The ministers will also take stock of the €540bn safety net for individuals, businesses and governments that euro zone governments set up in April.
The total comprises €100bn in a part-time work scheme, of which €87bn has already been allocated, and €240bn worth of ultra-cheap lending to governments, all of which remains available.
Updated
Georgia has imposed additional restrictions in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the government said.
It will be mandatory to wear masks outdoors as well as indoors, all restaurants and cafes across the country must close at 10pm, and online study at schools and universities in 10 big cities, including the capital, Tbilisi, will continue until 25 November.
All social events such as weddings, wakes, birthday parties and baptisms remain banned, the government said in a statement.
Georgia, which ended a state of emergency over the coronavirus on 22 May, was removed from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention “green zone” list in October due to a sharp rise in cases since early September.
The South Caucasus country of 3.7 million people has reported a total of 44,522 Covid-19 infections, with 362 of those on Tuesday.
Updated
Around 85,000 more people have claimed temporary Covid-19 jobless benefits since Ireland moved to the highest level of restrictions to fight the virus two weeks ago, fewer so far than the 150,000 estimated by government.
The limiting of restaurants to takeaway service and closure of non-essential retail pushed claims to almost 330,000, from 244,153 before the six-week measures were introduced on 22 October, far below a peak of 600,000 during a stricter lockdown in May.
Recipients of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) have been on the rise since falling to a post-lockdown low of 205,000 at the start of October and are set to increase the unemployment rate to around 20% from 14.7% at the end of September.
Updated
Greece expanded a night curfew on movement and shut restaurants, bars, theatres and museums in the most populous areas of the country for one month on Tuesday to contain a resurgence of Covid-19 cases.
The country, which fared better than many of its European peers when the pandemic broke out mainly due to an early nationwide lockdown, has reported fewer cases than most in Europe.
But it has seen a gradual increase in infections since early October and has been reimposing restrictions.
Some Greeks believe the new rules will hurt economic activity in a country that recently emerged from a decade-long debt crisis.
“We are talking about a catastrophe. A lot of the businesses that will close won’t open again. We are talking about people unemployed, huge losses to revenue, to GDP,” tavern employee Antonis Kalamaras told Reuters.
Greece registered 1,152 new cases on Monday bringing its total to 42,080 since February. A total of 642 people have died due to Covid-19.
Government spokesman Stelios Petsas urged people to respect the latest restrictions and prevent a nationwide lockdown.
“If we implement the measures we will be able to be more optimistic in December,” Petsas told Skai TV.
Updated
Sweden, which has opted against lockdowns throughout the pandemic, has registered 10,177 new coronavirus cases, recorded since its previous update on Friday.
Cases in the Nordic country, which does not publish updated Covid-19 data over the weekend and Mondays, have risen sharply in recent weeks, repeatedly hitting daily records last week.
Prime minister Stefan Löfven said restrictions would be tightened in three further areas of the country to limit the spread of Covid.
Sweden registered 31 new deaths, taking the total to 5,969 during the pandemic.
Sweden’s death rate per capita is several times higher than Nordic neighbours but lower than some larger European countries, such as Spain and Britain.
Updated
Belgium launches Covid patient air-lifts to Germany
Belgium’s surging second wave of Covid-19 cases has forced it to move some severely ill patients, many on ventilators, to neighbouring Germany, and air ambulances began flying Belgian patients further into the country on Tuesday.
The helicopter operator transports each Covid sufferer inside a giant transparent plastic bag connected to medical devices. Most of the transferred patients are intubated and on ventilators.
Belgium had among the highest death tolls per capita from the first coronavirus wave in March-April, and now has Europe’s highest per capita number of confirmed new infections, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
The country of 11 million people has 7,231 Covid patients in hospital, 1,302 of them in intensive care, and local hotspots such as the eastern city of Liège, have seen the capacity of intensive care beds being reached.
Ambulances began taking patients across the border last week and have so far transferred 15. Air ambulance helicopters started transferring patients deeper into Germany from Tuesday.
Olivier Pirotte, operations coordinator for the Centre Médical Héliporté (helicopter medical centre), said air transport was required to minimise the travel time for patients.
A trip such as to the German city of Muenster would take at least three hours by road, but can be done up to three times faster by air, and with fewer shocks to the patient such as from road bumps.
Martin Kotthaus, Germany’s ambassador to Belgium, said a mechanism had been set up to allow Belgian patients to transfer to hospitals in the German state North Rhine-Westphalia, where there is more spare capacity.
“In the first wave, Germany had more than 230 patients from Italy, France and the Netherlands. Now we are extending our help to Belgium,” he told Reuters. “But in the future, it might be Germans who would have to come to Belgium.”
Spain will extend unemployment benefits for arts and culture workers who have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic, finance minister María Jesús Montero said.
The government approved a €95.4m package for laid off artists and a €14m package for cultural workers, Montero said.
Spain’s government has approved a €475m ($555.85m) aid package for Air Europa, to help the stricken airline recover from the effects of the pandemic, finance minister María Jesús Montero said after a weekly cabinet meeting.
The package will comprise a €240m equity-backed loan and a €235m regular loan, Montero said, and Air Europa will have a maximum of six years to repay the loans.
“In the case of Air Europa, the impact of the pandemic ... is evident, due to the drastic reduction in air traffic caused by reduced mobility and fewer tourist arrivals,” Montero said, adding that the number of flights operated by the airline plunged 95% in the second quarter.
International travel restrictions have brought the global transport sector to a grinding halt, pushing several airlines to rely on state aid.
Air France-KLM received €7bn from the French government in April, while German flag carrier Lufthansa secured a €9bn bailout in June.
British airways owner IAG, which agreed to buy Air Europa for €1bn last November, said last week it was still interested in pursuing the deal.
Updated
The Dutch government is expected to announce tighter lockdown measures later on Tuesday, including a recommendation that people avoid foreign end-of-year holidays.
Bars and restaurants were ordered to close for at least a month on 13 October as the country imposed a partial lockdown to slow a second wave of Covid-19 infections.
The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, is expected announce in a televised press conference at 6pm GMT that museums, theatres, cinemas, zoos and amusement parks will also have to close, national news agency ANP reported.
The Netherlands joins Britain, France, Germany and several other European countries in tightening measures to fight the pandemic in recent weeks.
While the initial curbs appear to have slowed infections, the daily number of new cases in the Netherlands remains relatively high at more than 8,000.
Hospitals are near capacity due to a surge in Covid-19 patients, numbers of which are continuing to climb, and the government is under pressure to ease the strain on the healthcare system.
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The northern Spanish region of Castile and León have ordered a shutdown of bars and restaurants, and demanded tougher measures from the national government, to defeat one of Europe’s worst outbreaks of the coronavirus.
Announcing the restrictions, which come into force on 6 November, regional leader Alfonso Fernández Mañueco described the situation as one of “maximum risk”, adding that his administration favoured stricter measures but was stymied by Spain’s current legal framework.
Under a six-month state of emergency declared last week, regional authorities have powers to declare curfews and shut down businesses, but they cannot impose home confinement without central government authorisation.
“We demand that the Spanish government assumes its responsibility and, under parliamentary control, decrees the measures required by the situation,” Fernández said.
Unlike France and Germany, which have announced full nationwide lockdowns, Spain has adopted a regional response, leading to a patchwork of different regulations.
Castile and León’s announcement came a day after the north-western Asturias region shut down bars and requested authorisation for a home confinement but was rebuffed by the health ministry.
Wealthy Catalonia, home to top tourist destination Barcelona, has taken a hard-line approach, closing down eateries more than two weeks ago and restricting travel across its borders.
Meanwhile, Madrid’s bars and restaurants, which are only obliged to keep to capacity limits and shut by 11 pm, were full of revellers over a long weekend marking All Saints Day.
Conservative regional leader Isabel Díaz Ayuso has opted for lighter regulations and said on Tuesday that home confinement was a “last resort.”
With 1.2 million cases, Spain has the second highest caseload in western Europe after France. The death toll stands at 36,257.
Updated
Hundreds of thousands in coronavirus quarantine in Germany
Hundreds of thousands of people in Germany are in quarantine because they have tested positive for the coronavirus or have come into contact with someone who has Covid-19, health minister Jens Spahn said.
Spahn, giving his first news conference since recovering from Covid-19, said he felt humbled by his experience and was grateful that he had not suffered more serious symptoms.
Updated
Germany is in a decisive phase of the coronavirus pandemic, health minister Jens Spahn said, adding the situation was serious and November would be a tough month.
The number of people who needed ventilation is rising too strongly, Spahn told a news conference a day after Germany introduced a partial lockdown to slow the spread of the virus and ensure the health system is not overwhelmed.
Germany would have faced more than 400,000 new daily coronavirus cases by Christmas if the pace of infections had been allowed to continue, a senior health official has said, a day after a new partial lockdown was introduced
“The (new) measures can brake the spread of the virus,” said Lars Schaade, vice-president of the Robert Koch Institute, the leading authority in Germany on the virus.
Updated
Russia’s coronavirus cases could peak in the middle of November, the country’s consumer health watchdog has estimated, as authorities reported more than 18,000 new infections nationwide.
The peak would be roughly mid-November, Alexander Gorelov, deputy director of a research institute at Rospotrebnadzor, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
“It is difficult to give a more accurate forecast as many factors affect the development of the epidemiological process,” he said.
Officials have repeatedly said that Russia does not intend to reimpose the strict lockdown restrictions that were in place in the spring, despite a surge in cases and deaths across the country.
Moscow’s health department said 367 patients in the capital were being treated with medical ventilators and that 1,355 had been hospitalised in the last 24 hours, a rise of 224 since Sunday, the last available data.
Russia reported 18,648 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, including 5,150 in Moscow, but authorities said more than half of those hospitalised were under the age of 45 and that growth in new infections was slowing.
“We hope that at the peak the number of new cases will not exceed 20,000 (per day),” Gorelov said.
The makers of one of Russia’s vaccines against the coronavirus, being developed by Siberia’s Vector Institute, were planning to send the shot into circulation before post-registration trials were complete, TASS cited consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor as saying.
President Vladimir Putin has said Russia hopes to start mass inoculations by the end of the year, but Moscow has faced problems in scaling up production due to equipment availability.
Authorities reported 355 deaths on Tuesday, taking the death toll to 28,828.
Russia has reported 1,673,686 infections, the world’s fourth largest number after the US, India and Brazil.
Updated
France considers new Paris curfew as lockdown rules are flouted
France could reimpose a night curfew on Paris, and possibly the Île-de-France region around the capital, amid government frustration that too many people are ignoring a new lockdown as Covid-19 infections spiral higher.
France dramatically slowed the spread of the coronavirus in the spring with one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns. But 10 months into the epidemic and with winter drawing in, many people are reluctant to endure another period of confinement.
“It’s unbearable for those who respect the rules to see other French people flouting them,” government spokesman Gabriel Attal told BFM TV. “There is an attitude of what will be will be. We need to take all the steps needed to fight the epidemic.”
Attal presented the new curfew as a fait accompli but the office of prime minister Jean Castex said a final decision had not been taken.
The matter will be discussed at a meeting between the president, Emmanuel Macron, and senior cabinet ministers on Wednesday, a government source said.
A wave of Covid-19 lockdowns and curbs has stirred resistance across Europe, even as countries including France and Spain deal with a record number of daily infections and hospitals buckle under the strain of new admissions.
In Paris, one person was becoming infected with Covid-19 every 30 seconds, while a Parisian is admitted to hospital with the disease every 15 minutes, health minister Olivier Véran told RTL radio.
Health authorities reported 52,518 new Covid-19 cases on Monday. Four seriously ill Covid patients will be airlifted to Vannes, in western France, from Corsica to alleviate pressure on the Mediterranean island’s intensive care units.
France imposed a nightly curfew on two-thirds of its 67 million people in the second half of October but this was lifted when Macron ordered a second lockdown, albeit less rigid than the first, which took effect on 30 October.
Castex’s office said a renewed curfew for Paris had been proposed by police after it became clear too many people were out late at night and breaching lockdown rules.
The lockdown forced the closure of all non-essential businesses like bars and restaurants, banned private gatherings and saw the return of sworn declarations needed to leave home. Schools remain open.
But some Paris residents have complained privately that neighbours are still hosting house parties in defiance of the rules, while some parents say friends are still organising playdates for their children.
One Uber driver on the dawn shift in Paris said he was still picking up people who had clearly been at all-night parties. “They’re obviously youngsters out partying,” he said.
Updated
Danish parliament suspends voting after several lawmakers test positive for Covid-19
The Danish parliament has suspended voting and other meetings after several lawmakers tested positive for Covid-19 and six ministers are self-isolating while awaiting test results.
Five lawmakers, including Conservative party leader Søren Pape Poulsen and former energy minister Lars Christian Lilleholt, said this week they had tested positive.
In addition, six ministers, including justice minister Nick Hækkerup, and at least four other lawmakers are self-isolating and awaiting test results, according to updates on their social media accounts and counts by Ritzau news agency.
Prime minister Mette Frederiksen said in a press release she had participated in a meeting with Haekkerup on Friday, and as a consequence had postponed a Q&A session scheduled to take place in parliament on Tuesday.
Updated
Hi everyone, this is Jessica Murray, taking over the blog for the next few hours.
Please do get in touch with any story tips or personal experiences you would like to share
Email: jessica.murray@theguardian.com
Twitter: @journojess_
Bahrain has granted emergency approval for the use of a Covid-19 vaccine candidate on frontline workers from Tuesday, state news agency BNA said, reporting an announcement by the health minister.
Reuters reports:
The United Arab Emirates in September allowed similar emergency use of the same vaccine for frontline workers at high risk of infection with the new coronavirus.
The vaccine candidate, nearing the end of phase III trials in Egypt, Bahrain and Jordan, is a partnership between Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group (CNBG) and Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and cloud computing company Group 42 (G42).
Updated
Poland: number of infected people doubles in less than two weeks
In Poland the number of people infected with Covid has doubled in less than two weeks.
The health ministry has said that the total number of people infected in Poland passed the 400,000 mark on Tuesday.
There were 19,364 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, below the record high of 21,897 recorded last Saturday.
The number of infected people since the beginning of the pandemic rose to 414,844, and the total number of deaths rose to 6,102, the ministry said on its Twitter account.
Updated
In the UK Liverpool (otherwise known as the World’s Best City) is set to become the first to have mass test-and-trace operation. My colleagues Sarah Boseley and Jess Elgot write:
Up to half a million people in Liverpool will be tested for Covid-19 under the UK government’s first attempt to embark on city-wide mass testing.
Under the Liverpool mass testing programme, which begins on Friday and will cover everyone living and working in the city, a variety of test types and the logistical help of the army will be deployed in a pilot to see whether mass population screening is feasible across other regions of England, as proposed in Operation Moonshot.
To be successful, it will need not only to find those who are infected regardless of symptoms, but convince them to self-isolate. Only 20% to 25% of people are estimated to quarantine fully when asked to do so by test and trace.
With that in mind, the government is also pushing forward with plans to cut the self-isolation period. It is understood to be preparing to make changes this week, including potentially halving the 14-day timeframe.
Read the full story here:
Updated
Indonesia has reported 2,973 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of infections to 418,375, according to data from the country’s health ministry.
The country has also reported an additional 102 deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 14,146.
The Indonesia Medical Association (IDI) said earlier on Tuesday that 161 doctors, including nine dentists, had died from the virus in the March to October period.
Updated
Hungary registers record new cases and deaths
Hungary has recorded a record number of daily coronavirus infections and deaths.
In the last 24 hours, 84 Covid-19 patients have died, while coronavirus infections rose by 3,989 to 86,769, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Tuesday.
Hungary Today reports on the “black day”:
The death toll rose to 1,973, while 20,856 people have made a recovery.
There are 63,940 active infections, while 4,767 patients are hospitalised, 348 on ventilators.
Fully 30,984 people are in official home quarantine, while the number of tests carried out stands at 1,111,991.
Current restrictions in Hungary include:
- controls at the border
- restrictions on large events
- wearing face masks obligatory in shops, public transport, cinemas, theatres, shopping malls, health-care and social-care facilities.
- From Monday, mask-wearing will also be mandatory at entertainment venues, restaurants and catering facilities at sporting events.
- Restaurants and entertainment venues must close after 11pm.
- Visits to hospitals and nursing homes are banned.
Updated
Germany is hoping that a new antigen test will help it avoid closing nursing homes to visitors, as Europe grapples with a second wave of Covid infections.
The Press Association reports:
So-called antigen tests, which look for a specific protein on the virus, were first launched months ago. They are cheap and fast, but experts said at the time they are also less accurate than the standard PCR test, which detects even the tiniest genetic trace of the virus.
On Monday, Chancellor Angela Merkel said:
We have a new strategy. We can now basically perform rapid tests on visitors to nursing and care homes.
Nursing homes will receive up to 20 free monthly tests per resident. These can be used to test patients, staff and — crucially — visiting relatives, who might be unwitting carriers of Covid-19, posing a potentially devastating threat. Merkel said:
Health insurers will cover the costs for a certain number of visitors each month. That’s huge progress in terms of protection.
Germany has one of the world’s oldest populations. More than 24 million people are 60 or older and about 900,000 people live in nursing homes. A further 2.5 million younger people have serious disabilities.
That means almost 30% of Germany’s population of 83 million are particularly vulnerable to the virus, Merkel said.
Germany has reported about 550,000 coronavirus cases — less than half the number recorded in Britain, Spain and France. Germany’s confirmed virus death toll of 10,669 is also a quarter of Britain’s.
Updated
In the UK, where a lockdown is coming into force on Thursday, retailers, hairdressers and restaurants in England are extending opening hours and seeing their strongest bookings in months.
International tourist arrivals to Spain fell 87% year-on-year in September, official data showed on Tuesday, as restrictions related to a steep increase in coronavirus infections dissuaded many from travelling.
Reuters reports that over the first nine months of the year, some 16.8 million foreign tourists visited Spain, around 75% fewer than in the same period of 2019, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said.
Tourists spent 90% less in September than in the same month a year ago, INE said.
Encuesta de gasto turístico (#EGATUR). Septiembre 2020
— INE España (@es_INE) November 3, 2020
El gasto por turista baja un 22,0%, hasta los 849 euros, y la duración media de los viajes aumenta 0,9 días, hasta 8,0 días #INE #turismo
Nota de prensa: https://t.co/C6XS5bqZkj
Más resultados: https://t.co/QZuoaoSuWa pic.twitter.com/wO9Vo4otHq
Updated
In France one Parisian is getting infected with Covid-19 every 30 seconds, while every 15 minutes there is a Parisian arriving in hospital as a result of the disease, health minister Olivier Véran said on Tuesday.
Reuters reports that Véran made the comments to RTL Radio in response to demands by Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo, to open up small bookshops and other smaller stores to try to keep commerce and social activity ticking over despite a new lockdown in France.
Véran said any such move was too risky given the high Covid-19 infection rates in the French capital. He said:
She cannot ignore the fact that every 15 minutes, in the hospitals of Paris, there is someone ill who has been hospitalised with Covid. She cannot ignore the fact that every 30 seconds, there is a Parisian who has been contaminated.
We want to save the Parisians and the French people and we do that with determination and consistency.
Confinement : "Nous sommes armés pour combattre le virus. Nous l'avons battu une première fois. On sait ce qui ne marche pas dans certains pays et on sait ce qui fonctionne", dit @olivierveran dans #RTLMatin avec @VenturaAlba
— RTL France (@RTLFrance) November 3, 2020
France reported a record 52,518 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, while the country’s Covid-19 death toll rose by 416 to 37,435.
Veran, speaking on RTL, warned his countrymen and women that, “Christmas would not be a normal celebration”. He added:
Christmas will remain a celebration. We must anticipate the fact that the virus will still be here, it will not stop at Christmas so we have to adapt.
The ability to celebrate Christmas and hold end-of-the-year parties would be directly dependent on the results of the lockdown and a lowering of the pressure on hospitals, he said.
Epidemiologist Arnaud Fontanet (you can read what he said about the research on Covid and children here), from the Pasteur Institute and a member of the scientific advisory group, said that “if the lockdown works well in the different French regions, we expect a 65-80% drop in infections after one month. It will take two months for a drop of 80-90%. We will arrive, therefore, in the Christmas period”.
Based on these estimations Fontanet said certain measures could be loosened “but the circulation of the virus would be more significant at Christmas”.
Apologies for the slightly fuzzy translation, my French is significantly more rusty than I would like.
Updated
The Czech Republic has reported 9,241 new coronavirus cases and 225 new deaths in the last 24 hours, data from the health ministry showed on Tuesday.
The tally of infections rose to 350,896 in the nation of 10.7 million people, while deaths stood at 3,654.
The increase in deaths was spread over several days because of reporting issues, however, and was not limited to the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile professional athletes in the country will be allowed to train in indoor facilities from Wednesday, reports Inside Scoop, a Czech news site in English. They have been closed since October 12 due to the epidemic.
Individual competitions will be able to resume only if they meet certain criteria. Regular testing will probably be one of the requirements. All matches will take place without spectators.
Perhaps my favourite Covid-related Czech news story story, however, comes from South Bohemia. It’s a couple of days old, but worth posting here for the picture alone in my humble opinion.
The Czech Republic is currently operating a strict 9pm curfew, which has encouraged some people to be a little creative, according to Expats CZ.
One exception that allows people out of the house at night is walking a dog, but not everybody has one.
That didn’t stop a man in České Budějovice, South Bohemia. He was caught by local police “walking” a toy stuffed dog in the city center at náměstí Přemysla Otakara II. A Czech News crew was following the police to document them dealing with curfew violations and captured the incident. Images has since gone viral over social media.
České Budějovice resident tries to get around nighttime curfew by walking a dog. Only thing is it was a cuddly toy. https://t.co/KzQcdXrH8x
— Ian Willoughby (@Ian_Willoughby) October 29, 2020
Massive, massive thanks to Helen Sullivan for her particularly Herculean efforts today. She really makes the rest of us look bad, all of the time.
That’s it from me after a day of running this and our Vienna blog. Phew. Good thing there’s no other big news happening today?
It’s over to Alexandra Topping for the next while.
China changes school curriculum to reflect Beijing's positive Covid narrative
Helen Davidson and Lily Kuo in Taipei
Chinese government-endorsed content about the pandemic and the “fighting spirit” of the country’s response will be added to school curriculum, the country’s ministry of education has said, in a move to enshrine the country’s narrative of success against the virus.
The content will be added to elementary and middle school classes in biology, health and physical education, history, and literature, and will “help students understand the basic fact that the Party and the state always put the life and safety of its people first”, the ministry said on Wednesday.
“Students will learn about key figures and deeds which emerged during the epidemic prevention and control efforts. They will learn to foster public awareness and dedication, to enrich knowledge about the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics,” the ministry said:
Great summary of state of #COVID19 in #Lebanon by @IHME_UW. Worth noting: "Latest forecasts indicate Lebanon will reach ~2,900 deaths by 1 Feb. If mask wearing in public ↑ to 95%, there will be ~1,600 deaths & ~1,300 lives could be saved."
— Sara Chang (@ChangSara) November 3, 2020
Mask use is currently estimated @ 55%. https://t.co/9dYCl9lyTk
In the UK, companies are scrambling to put staff back on furlough after the scheme was due to close at the end of October but will now continue throughout this month amid new lockdowns. However, for those already made redundant it is too late.
I spoke to people worried about their futures:
The number of furloughed workers in the UK is expected to more than double this month to as many as 5.5 million as the government places England into national lockdown and expands its emergency Covid-19 wage support schemes.
Economists said businesses were set to claim for billions of pounds of additional state support from the furlough scheme over the coming weeks, amid the enforced closure of non-essential venues for the second time this year:
Summary
Here are the key developments from the last few hours:
- China reports 49 new cases. China reported 49 new Covid-19 cases for 2 November, up from 24 a day earlier, the national health authority reported on Tuesday. The National Health Commission said in a statement 44 of the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas.
- Panama president self-isolating. Panama’s President Laurentino Cortizo has began self-isolating after a close coworker tested positive for the coronavirus, the presidency said on Monday, without revealing the name or position of the person who was infected. Cortizo has taken two coronavirus tests, which were both negative, but will continue isolating “until he repeats the tests in a few days”, the presidency said on Twitter.
- Canada announced new requirements for travellers on Monday, and fines of up to $1,000 for those who do not comply.
- New Zealanders coming home for Christmas warned quarantine hotels may be full. New Zealand’s quarantine hotels are approaching capacity as the military warns there may not be room to house Kiwis planning to return home for Christmas.
-
WHO warns it’s ‘not too late’ to take critical action. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that a recent spike in Covid-19 cases in some countries in Europe and North America presented leaders with a “critical moment for action”. “This is another critical moment for action,” he said. “Another critical moment for leaders to step up. And another critical moment for people to come together for a common purpose. Seize the opportunity, it’s not too late.”
- France reported a record 52,518 new Covid-19 on Monday and the number of people hospitalised with the disease rose by more than a 1,000 for the fourth time in eight days, as the pandemic showing no signs of abating despite a new lockdown.
- Portugal considering state of emergency to tackle Covid-19.Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he is pondering declaring a state of emergency as a preventive measure to fight the spread of the coronavirus at a time when infections are soaring.
- Italy’s coronavirus strategy is ‘wasting time’, says scientific advisor. Italy is working towards measures that could include a national 9pm curfew, a ban on inter-regional travel and the closure of shopping malls at weekends.
- Slovakia carries out Covid mass testing of two-thirds of population. Two-thirds of Slovakia’s population of 5.4 million people were tested for coronavirus over the weekend as part of a programme aimed at making it one of the first countries to test its entire population.
- Germany begins ‘light lockdown’. Germany goes into “lockdown light” mode today, as the country’s disease control agency recorded 12,097 new confirmed Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours. Bars, cinemas, theatres, museums, fitness studios and swimming pools will remain closed from today, while cafes and restaurants are allowed to offer takeaway food only. Meetings in public are restricted to two households and no more than 10 people. Unlike during the first lockdown in the spring, schools and nurseries will stay open.
- Coronavirus infections fall for third day straight in the Netherlands. The number of new coronavirus infections in the Netherlands rose by nearly 8,300 over the past 24 hours, the slowest pace in roughly two weeks.
- Iran reports record high Covid death toll as travel bans go into force. Iran reported a record 440 Covid deaths in the past 24 hours, pushing the country’s death toll to 35,738 as a ban on travel in and out of major cities came into force.
- Donald Trump tries to stoke fears of Covid lockdown under Joe Biden. In the final hours before election day, one of Trump’s closing messages to Americans was an exaggerated threat: that a Joe Biden presidency will result in a national Covid-19 lockdown. Speaking in Iowa on Sunday, the president said the election was a “choice between a deadly Biden lockdown … or a safe vaccine that ends the pandemic”.
- The European Union (EU) has agreed to provide Mozambique with 100 million euros ($116.30 million) in coronavirus-related aid. The EU cut off direct budget support to Mozambique in 2016 after the country revealed the existence of hefty state-guaranteed loans that it had not previously disclosed.
- T-cell Covid immunity ‘present in adults six months after first infection’. Cellular (T-cell) immunity against the virus that causes Covid-19 is likely to be present within most adults six months after primary infection, with levels considerably higher in patients with symptoms, a study suggests.
Podcast: How do you make a vaccine?
With any future Covid-19 vaccine requiring its manufacturing process to be signed off as part of its regulatory approval for use on the general population, Madeleine Finlay talks to Dr Stephen Morris from the Future Vaccine Manufacturing Research Hub about how vaccines are made at the volume and speed required for a mass vaccination programme:
How the Vienna shooting unfolded: final hours of freedom punctured by terror
Ben Doherty and Helen Sullivan
Monday night in Vienna was supposed to be a last chance at freedom.
The weather was mild, and as the hours ticked down before a nationwide coronavirus curfew largely shut down the city for a month, the bars and restaurants of the “Bermuda triangle” – a network of narrow, fashionable lanes in the old city’s 1st district – were busy.
Diners and drinkers sat at tables outside, enjoying a last moment of revelry before another pandemic lockdown amid the full blast of winter.
Without warning, at 8pm on Seitenstettengasse street, a winding cobbled boulevard a block back from the Danube Canal, the shooting started:
Updated
Having kept Covid-19 from its shores for more than 10 months - remaining coronavirus-free until October - Solomon Islands has just recorded another five cases, bringing the national total to 13.
The prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, said all five cases were detected in passengers on a repatriation flight, four had ultimately come from the UK, the other case from Korea.
“All five new cases have been transferred to the national referral hospital isolation units. These five new cases bring the total number of cases from the flight from Auckland to nine. The total number of cases registered in Solomon Islands now is 13,” he said.
Sogavare also sought to reassure the Solomons public that all cases had been contained within the isolation stations in Honiara and the threat of community transmission was low.
The Pacific remains the least Covid-infected region on the planet, aided by remote geography and early and strict border closures. But Pacific economies, already fragile and having been cut off from the outside world for months, are suffering acutely.
Globally, only the small and remote island nations and territories of Kiribati, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Niue, Norfolk Island, Pitcairn Island, Tokelau and Vanuatu are believed to be still free of the virus.
US election 2020: what kind of president would Joe Biden be?
If Joe Biden is elected president this week – as the US nears 9.3m coronavirus cases – it will be the culmination of a career in politics that has seen successes as well as controversies. Journalist and biographer Evan Osnos examines what his past can tell us about the kind of president he could become:
Mexico’s health ministry reported on Monday 3,763 additional cases of the novel coronavirus and 205 more deaths in the country, bringing the official number of cases to 933,155 and the death toll to 92,100.
The government has said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.
One of Tokyo’s most popular tourist attractions has reopened, eight months after it was forced to close due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Just 18 people, selected by lottery, watched the early-morning tuna auction at Toyosu market, which replacedthe fabled, but ageing, Tsukiji market two years ago.
The visitors had their temperatures taken, and were required to wear masks and provide contact information, before watching the 30-minute auction unfold from a viewing deck on Monday. Traders at the market were also wearing masks.
The daily auctions drew 120 people a time before the pandemic, but capacity has been cut to 27.
“There weren’t so many people watching, so I could enjoy it without worrying too much about the virus,” a Tokyo woman who had taken her two young sons to the auction told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.
The auctions of enormous tuna were a must-see for many foreign tourists before the pandemic prompted Japanto impose sweeping travel restrictions, reducing visitor numbers to practically zero.
While domestic tourism has been boosted by the heavily subsidised Go To Travel campaign, Japan’s government is still pinning its hopes on a resumption of mass inbound tourism to promote economic growth. The prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, said this month he had not abandoned the country’s target of attracting 60 million visitors by 2030.
China reports 49 new cases
China reported 49 new Covid-19 cases for 2 November, up from 24 a day earlier, the national health authority reported on Tuesday.
The National Health Commission said in a statement 44 of the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas.
The commission also reported 61 new asymptomatic cases, compared with 30 a day earlier. Of the total new asymptomatic cases, 13 came from the northwestern Xinjiang region. Authorities in the region conducted large scale testing after a recent outbreak.
China does not classify symptomless patients as confirmed Covid-19 cases.
The total number of confirmed cases in China now stands at 86,070, while the death toll remains unchanged at 4,634.
Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has dealt with 194 coronavirus-related incidents involving hostile states and criminal gangs, which led to the overall number of serious hacker attacks reaching an all time record of 723 over the past year.
The intelligence unit said that while Russia and other states – such as China – had targeted British vaccine research, it was criminal gangs who frequently targeted other parts of the NHS, often to attempt online fraud.
A frequent method of attack used by both groups was spear phishing, creating plausible emails targeted at key individuals designed to encourage them to click on a link to malware or to obtain more information by deception.
“Nation state actors are using Covid as a theme, sending what appear to be news articles from popular media outlets in an attempt to encourage targets to click on what are dangerous links,” warned Paul Chichester, director of operations:
Panama president self-isolating
Panama’s President Laurentino Cortizo has began self-isolating after a close coworker tested positive for the coronavirus, the presidency said on Monday, without revealing the name or position of the person who was infected.
Cortizo has taken two coronavirus tests, which were both negative, but will continue isolating “until he repeats the tests in a few days”, the presidency said on Twitter.
Canada announces new requirements for travellers
The Canadian government has announced hat travellers must comply with new regulations when entering the country, Reuters reports.
These include:
- Travellers to provide information upon and after entry into Canada, including quarantine plan and contact and travel information
- As of Nov 21, air travellers whose final destination is Canada to submit information electronically via “ArriveCan” before boarding flight
- Travellers must be ready to show their ArriveCan receipt when seeking entry into Canada
- Travellers who don’t submit information digitally before boarding flight may be subject to action from verbal warnings to $1,000 fine
- Travellers entering Canada by land or marine modes encouraged to continue ArriveCan by downloading mobile app or signing in online
- Travellers can show their arrive can receipt to a border services officer when seeking entry into Canada
- Within 48 hours of entering Canada, travellers must confirm they have arrived at their place of quarantine or isolation
Updated
Universities in England still grappling with the impact of Covid-19 are facing “significant” financial risks from high drop-out rates and soaring pension costs, according to analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
The IFS annual report on education spending says there will be funding shortfalls in colleges and universities, where the pension deficit has increased from £3.6bn in March 2018 to an estimated £21.5bn last August.
Researchers say there will be mounting long-term costs for the government, with a predicted £12bn shortfall in student loan repayments as graduates struggle to find work in a labour market devastated by the pandemic. For universities, there are likely to be additional losses from accommodation, conferences and catering.
New Zealanders coming home for Christmas warned quarantine hotels may be full
New Zealand’s quarantine hotels are approaching capacity as the military warns there may not be room to house Kiwis planning to return home for Christmas.
Some 65,000 people have passed through New Zealand’s quarantine hotels since the borders closed in mid-March. Despite the facilities generally being four- and five-star establishments, there have been multiple escape attempts from them, and they have been denounced by a conservative US television host as “Covid camps”.
Now seven weeks out from Christmas, Air Commodore Darryn Webb, who is charged with overseeing the management of the hotels, has warned that many Kiwis will be disappointed if they haven’t prebooked their Christmas travels as the quarantine accommodation available for that period is nearly at capacity.
This comes as a new system beginning Tuesday requires returning New Zealanders to have booked a place in a managed isolation facility in advance of boarding a flight home:
Diego Maradona has been admitted to hospital in Argentina with undisclosed “health problems” although it is not related to Covid-19 and his condition is not thought to be serious, his personal doctor and local media reported on Monday:
Before we continue, a moment of joy:
Who is going to tell them pic.twitter.com/lpYhzgRbWd
— put the de in pressed (@anna_stazia) November 1, 2020
As in other big European countries grappling with a resurgence of the disease, the French government ordered a four-week second national lockdown on Friday, as earlier curfew measures failed to have an impact, Reuters reports.
Experts say restrictive moves to contain the disease generally take two weeks to start showing an effect.
During France’s first lockdown, from March 17 to May 11, Covid-19 hospitalisations kept increasing until April 14, reaching an all-time high of 32,292.
At 25,784, a total that has more than doubled in 12 days, the current number of hospitalisations, at a four-months high, is rapidly closing in on that record.
The number of people in intensive care units (ICUs) has increased by 152, to 3,730, which is also a fourth-month high.
The Covid-19 death toll rose by 416 to 37,435, compared with an increase of 231 on Sunday and a months-high seven-day moving average of 345.
France sees record number of new Covid-19 cases, hospitalisations spike
France’s reported a record 52,518 new Covid-19 on Monday and the number of people hospitalised with the disease rose by more than a 1,000 for the fourth time in eight days, as the pandemic showing no signs of abating despite a new lockdown.
The timing of the latest daily record could be seen as particularly worrisome as Mondays have, until now, seen a dip in new cases reported due to fewer tests being carried out on a Sunday.
The cumulative number of cases now totals 1,466,433 in France, the fifth-highest total in the world behind the United States, India, Brasil and Russia.
The WHO chief spoke from his first day in quarantine Monday after coming in contact with someone with Covid-19. But, the organisation said, he does not need to be tested for now.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced late Sunday on Twitter that he would be self-quarantining for the next two weeks, after someone he had been in contact with tested positive for the deadly virus.
“I am well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine in the coming days, in line with WHO protocols,” he told a virtual press briefing, speaking from his home.
“At this time, it is critically important that we all comply with health guidance,” he said.
“This is how we will break chains of transmission, suppress the virus, and protect health systems.”
Speaking from Tedros’s usual perch in the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, emergencies director Michael Ryan told reporters there was no requirement for the UN agency’s leader to get tested unless he started feeling sick.
“His testing will depend on the arrival of symptoms or otherwise and he may be tested in the days to come,” he said, stressing though that WHO’s “current protocol doesn’t require that he be tested.”
“He is at home, in quarantine and as you can see very well, working away and continuing to do his job in supporting the world.”
Ryan stressed that WHO’s internal procedures to reduce the risk of infection were good.
WHO warns it's 'not too late' to take critical action
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that a recent spike in Covid-19 cases in some countries in Europe and North America presented leaders with a “critical moment for action”.
“This is another critical moment for action,” he said. “Another critical moment for leaders to step up. And another critical moment for people to come together for a common purpose. Seize the opportunity, it’s not too late.”
Tedros was addressing a regular WHO news briefing in Geneva from self-isolation at home after announcing on Twitter that he had been in contact with a person infected with Covid-19.
Summary
Hello and welcome to today’s live coronavirus coverage with me, Helen Sullivan. As always, I am on Twitter @helenrsullivan should you wish to say Hello.
Speaking from quarantine after being confirmed as a contact of someone who tested positive for coronavirus, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that a recent spike in Covid-19 cases in some countries in Europe and North America presented leaders with a “critical moment for action”.
France’s reported a record 52,518 new Covid-19 on Monday and the number of people hospitalised with the disease rose by more than a 1,000 for the fourth time in eight days, as the pandemic showing no signs of abating despite a new lockdown.
Here are the other key developments from the last few hours:
- Portugal considering state of emergency to tackle Covid-19. Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he is pondering declaring a state of emergency as a preventive measure to fight the spread of the coronavirus at a time when infections are soaring.Hours after Prime Minister Antonio Costa asked the president to declare the state of emergency, Rebelo de Sousa said in an interview with RTP Television he was considering the request, explaining it would include specific measures to combat the pandemic but not a “total or nearly total” lockdown.
- Italy’s coronavirus strategy is ‘wasting time’, says scientific advisor. Italy is working towards measures that could include a national 9pm curfew, a ban on inter-regional travel and the closure of shopping malls at weekends. But scientists have for weeks been urging the government to take tougher action, such as imposing local lockdowns, as infections escalate and hospitals come under strain.
- Slovakia carries out Covid mass testing of two-thirds of population. Two-thirds of Slovakia’s population of 5.4 million people were tested for coronavirus over the weekend as part of a programme aimed at making it one of the first countries to test its entire population.
- Germany begins ‘light lockdown’. Germany goes into “lockdown light” mode today, as the country’s disease control agency recorded 12,097 new confirmed Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours. Bars, cinemas, theatres, museums, fitness studios and swimming pools will remain closed from today, while cafes and restaurants are allowed to offer takeaway food only. Meetings in public are restricted to two households and no more than 10 people. Unlike during the first lockdown in the spring, schools and nurseries will stay open.
- Coronavirus infections fall for third day straight in the Netherlands. The number of new coronavirus infections in the Netherlands rose by nearly 8,300 over the past 24 hours, the slowest pace in roughly two weeks.
- Iran reports record high Covid death toll as travel bans go into force. Iran reported a record 440 Covid deaths in the past 24 hours, pushing the country’s death toll to 35,738 as a ban on travel in and out of major cities came into force.
- Donald Trump tries to stoke fears of Covid lockdown under Joe Biden. In the final hours before election day, one of Trump’s closing messages to Americans was an exaggerated threat: that a Joe Biden presidency will result in a national Covid-19 lockdown. Speaking in Iowa on Sunday, the president said the election was a “choice between a deadly Biden lockdown … or a safe vaccine that ends the pandemic”.
- The European Union (EU) has agreed to provide Mozambique with 100 million euros ($116.30 million) in coronavirus-related aid. The EU cut off direct budget support to Mozambique in 2016 after the country revealed the existence of hefty state-guaranteed loans that it had not previously disclosed.
- T-cell Covid immunity ‘present in adults six months after first infection’. Cellular (T-cell) immunity against the virus that causes Covid-19 is likely to be present within most adults six months after primary infection, with levels considerably higher in patients with symptoms, a study suggests.
