France reports record 52,000 new daily virus cases – latest updates

Monday, November 2, 2020

France reports records 52,000 new daily cases

French health authorities have reported 52,518 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, setting a new daily record since the outbreak of the disease, versus 46,290 on Sunday.

That tally suggests the new lockdown put in place on Friday in the country is yet to produce its first effects, as hospitalisations for the disease have gone up by more than 1,000 again, reaching a four-month high of 25,143.

The number of people in France who have died from Covid-19 infections rose by to 416, versus 231 on Sunday and a seven-day moving average of 345.

The cumulative number of cases now totals 1,466,433.

More than 3.6 million Slovaks take swab in nationwide testing

More than 3.6 million Slovaks have taken part in the nationwide coronavirus testing scheme over the past weekend and 38,359 or 1.06 percent tested positive, Prime Minister Igor Matovic said.

The central European country of 5.5 million used antigen tests, which return results in 15-30 minutes but are less accurate than standard PCR tests, in an attempt to identify a large portion of infected people, which the government argued could help avoid a hard lockdown.

Netherlands' cases up by around 8,300 in 24 hours

The number of new coronavirus infections in the Netherlands has risen by nearly 8,300 over the past 24 hours, the slowest pace in roughly two weeks, data released by the National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) on showed.

The RIVM said the number of confirmed new cases of Covid-19 was 8,286, compared to a record high of 11,119 on October 30. 

The number is being closely watched by the Dutch government, which is expected to announce tighter curbs on Tuesday. 

Hungary to decide on fresh restrictions 

The Hungarian government will decide later this week whether to impose new restrictions to curb a fast spread of coronavirus infections, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's cabinet chief told local Inforadio.

Gergely Gulyas did not specify what the new measures would be, but he was cited as saying that schools would remain open. 

Over 2,300 new cases reported in Turkey

Turkey has registered 2,302 more novel coronavirus patients over the past 24 hours, according to Health Ministry data.

The country's overall tally now stands at 379,775, the ministry said.

Some 1,521 more patients recovered over the past day, raising the count to 327,007, while the death toll rose by 76 to reach 10,402.

A total of 139,103 more coronavirus tests were carried out across the country, bringing the total to over 14.2 million.

The figures showed that the number of patients in critical condition currently stands at 2,341, with 4.7 percent this week suffering from pneumonia.

11 Ajax players test positive

Amsterdam soccer club Ajax has had 11 players test positive for Covid-19 a day before their Champions League tie against Danish side FC Midtjylland on Tuesday, RTL Nieuws reported.

RTL said the club had not disclosed the names of the affected players. 

Germany begins four-week partial shutdown to curb virus

A four-week partial shutdown has started in Germany, with restaurants, bars, theatres, cinemas and other leisure facilities closing down until the end of the month in a drive to flatten a rapid rise in coronavirus infections.

The restrictions that took effect on Monday are milder than the ones Germany imposed in the first phase of the pandemic in March and April. This time around, schools, kindergartens, non-essential shops and hairdressers are to remain open.

But leading officials decided last week that a “lockdown light” was necessary in light of a sharp rise in cases that has prompted many other European countries to impose more or less drastic restrictions.

Pakistan records highest daily case increase in three months

Pakistan registered more than 1,100 new cases, the highest daily number since July 30, the Health Ministry said.

With 1,123 new infections, the nationwide caseload reached 335,093, while 12 more people died from coronavirus over the past 24 hours pushing the toll to 6,835.

As many as 315,016 people have so far recovered, while active cases stand at 13,242.

On July 30, the South Asian country of over 200 million people recorded 903 cases of the novel virus, a figure which then started to decline.

Amid a resurgence in cases across Europe and other countries, health experts have warned of a second wave in Pakistan as well. To contain the outbreak, the government has made wearing of masks mandatory in public places.

Authorities also announced the shutting of all parks and entertainment venues by 6:00 p.m. local time (1300GMT) and markets, shopping centers, restaurants and banquet halls by 10:00 p.m. (1700GMT) nationwide.

Russia reports 18,257 new cases, 238 deaths

Russia reported 18,257 new coronavirus cases, including 4,796 in Moscow, pushing the national tally to 1,655,038 since the pandemic began.

Authorities said 238 people had died in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 28,473.

Indonesia reports 2,618 new cases, 101 deaths

Indonesia reported 2,618 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections to 415,402, data from the country's Covid-19 task force showed.

This is the lowest daily rise of coronavirus cases since August 26.

It also reported 101 deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 14,044. An additional 3,624 people had recovered from the virus, taking the total number of recovered cases to 345,566.

Philippines reports 2,298 new cases, 32 more deaths

The Philippines' health ministry reported 2,298 new coronavirus infections and 32 more deaths.

In a bulletin, the ministry said total confirmed cases had increased to 385,400, while deaths had reached 7,269. The Philippines has the second-highest number of confirmed Covid-19 infections and deaths in Southeast Asia behind Indonesia.

India's coronavirus tally rises to 8.2 million

India has recorded 45,231 new coronavirus infections, taking its total cases to 8.23 million, the health ministry said on Monday.

New daily cases in India have been falling since September, but experts warn that infections could rise again during the festival season.

The country has the world's second-highest caseload, behind the United States, which has more than nine million.

There were 496 deaths during the past 24 hours, taking total deaths from the coronavirus to 122,607.

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise to 545,027 - RKI 

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has increased by 12,097 to 545,027, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.

The reported death toll rose by 49 to 10,530, the tally showed.

Czech Republic reports 6,542 new coronavirus cases, 178 deaths

The Czech Republic has reported 6,542 new coronavirus cases, and 178 new deaths, Health Ministry Data showed.

The total number of cases in the country of 10.7 million rose to 341,644, while deaths reached 3,429.

Ukraine exceeds 400,000 cases

The number of Covid-19 cases in Ukraine exceeds 400,000 

WHO chief Tedros in 'self-quarantine'

The World Health Organization chief has said that he was self-quarantining after someone he had been in contact with tested positive for Covid-19, but stressed he had no symptoms.

"I have been identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for #COVID19," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a tweet.

"I am well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine over the coming days, in line with @WHO protocols, and work from home," he added.

Mexico registers 4,430 new cases, 142 more deaths

Mexico's Health Ministry reported 4,430 new confirmed infection cases and 142 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 929,392 cases and 91,895 deaths.

The government has said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

Britain's Prince William 'contracted Covid-19 in April'

Britain's Prince William contracted Covid-19 in April at a similar time to his father Prince Charles, British media reported, citing Kensington Palace sources.

William, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth and second-in-line to the British throne, kept his diagnosis a secret because he did not want to alarm the country, The Sun newspaper reported.

He was treated by palace doctors and followed government guidelines by isolating at the family home Anmer Hall, in Norfolk, the newspaper said, adding he still carried out 14 telephone and video call engagements during April.

The BBC also confirmed the news from sources late on Sunday, with Kensington Palace and the office of Prince William refusing to comment officially to the news outlet.

The palace was not immediately available for comment late on Sunday.

Britain has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak and has reported 46,717 Covid-19 deaths, defined as those dying within 28 days of a positive test. A broader measure of those with Covid-19 on their death certificates puts the toll at 58,925.

Mainland China reports 24 new cases

Mainland China has reported 24 new cases, the same as a day earlier, the country's national health authority reported.

The National Health Commission said in statement 21 of the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas and three were local infections reported in the northwestern Xinjiang region.

The commission also reported 30 new asymptomatic cases, compared with no such cases reported a day earlier. China does not classify symptomless patients as confirmed cases.

The total number of confirmed cases in mainland China now stands at 86,021, while the death toll remains unchanged at 4,634. 

Brazil Health Minister back in hospital with virus

Brazilian Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello, who is ill with Covid-19, will stay in a military hospital overnight, after having been discharged from a civilian facility earlier in the day, the ministry has said in a statement.

Pazuello, an active-duty army general, will stay in the military hospital as "a precautionary measure," the ministry said.

The minister tested positive for coronavirus on October 21. He checked into a hospital on Friday, suffering from dehydration, the ministry said earlier.

Roughly half of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro's 23-member cabinet has gotten the coronavirus, with the president and his wife coming down with the disease in July.

Bolsonaro has sought to downplay the severity of the disease and opposed strict lockdowns favored by many state governors and local politicians.

Brazil has the world's second-deadliest outbreak of Covid-19, with 160,074 people killed, second to only the United States, according to a Reuters tally.