Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus

Reuters
·3 min read
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the entrance to the Sanford Medical Center's emergency room as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues in Bismarck

(Reuters) - India's tally of coronavirus cases stood less than 10,000 away from the grim milestone of 8 million, while a Reuters tally showed nearly half a million people have contracted COVID-19 in the United States over the last seven days.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread of COVID-19, open https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/ in an external browser.

* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news.

EUROPE

* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is being put under pressure for a new lockdown with the government working on the assumption the second wave of coronavirus will be more deadly than the first, the Telegraph newspaper reported.

* President Emmanuel Macron will give a televised address on Wednesday evening, while BFM TV reported the government has been exploring bringing in a national lockdown from midnight on Thursday.

* Italy approved a package of measures to support businesses hit by new restrictions aimed at reining in the coronavirus, hours after daily infections hit a new record high and COVID-19-related deaths jumped.

AMERICAS

* Nearly half a million people have contracted COVID-19 in the United States over the last seven days, according to a Reuters tally, as new cases and hospitalizations set records in the Midwest.

* The United Nations cancelled all in-person meetings at its New York headquarters after five people in Niger's U.N. mission were infected.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Melbourne's shops, restaurants and hotels opened for business after a four-month coronavirus lockdown.

* Mainland China reported 42 new COVID-19 cases on Oct. 27, the highest daily toll in more than two months due to a rise in infections in the northwestern Xinjiang region.

* India reported 43,893 new cases in the last 24 hours, data from the federal health ministry showed.

* Hong Kong will reopen public beaches and relax restrictions on bars and restaurants starting Friday.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Iranians are being too lax in complying with restrictions, the government said, as the hardest-hit Middle Eastern country faced new daily records of infections and deaths.

* Dubai airport, the world's busiest for international travel before the crisis, could see passenger traffic fall as much 70% this year, its CEO said.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* The first generation of COVID-19 vaccines "is likely to be imperfect" and that they "might not work for everyone", UK Vaccines Taskforce Chair Kate Bingham said on Tuesday.

* The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has submitted applications to the World Health Organization for an Emergency Use Listing and prequalification of its coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V.

* Italy's main medicines regulator gave the go-ahead on Tuesday for human clinical trials on raloxifene, a generic osteoporosis drug that researchers hope may also help reduce COVID-19 symptoms and make patients less infectious.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Global shares slipped on Wednesday as coronavirus infections grew at an alarming pace in the United States and Europe, while uncertainty over next week's U.S. elections added to a "risk off" tone. [MKTS/GLOB]

* The number of people in Ireland claiming temporary coronavirus-related jobless benefits rose by 21% to 295,860 after the country moved to the highest level of COVID-19 restrictions last week, data showed.

* U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged that a coronavirus economic relief deal would likely come after the Nov. 3 election, with the White House unable to bridge differences with fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate as well as congressional Democrats.

(Compiled by Vinay Dwivedi and Amy Caren Daniel; Editing Shounak Dasgupta and Sriraj Kalluvila)