Italy, UK report more than 500 daily Covid-19 deaths – latest updates

Tuesday, November 10:

UK reports 532 daily deaths, highest since May

Britain has reported 532 new deaths of people, the highest daily figure since May, government figures showed.

The daily death toll is the highest since 614 deaths were reported on May 12. 

The 532 new deaths are a sharp rise from 194 reported on Monday and may reflect a lag in reporting of deaths from the weekend.

There were 20,412 people who tested positive in the latest daily figures, down slightly from 21,350 on Monday. 

Death toll in Turkey tops 11,000

The death toll in Turkey is now over 11,000, according to figures released by the Health Ministry. 

A total of 87 more virus-related fatalities were reported in the country over the past 24 hours, raising the overall count to 11,059.

Turkey also registered 2,529 new cases, pushing the total up to 399,360, according to official data.

Residents of the Turkish capital Ankara and city of Istanbul who are 65 years of age or above will only be allowed to leave their homes from 10 am to 4 pm local time as part of measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus, local officials said.

Italy reports 35,098 daily cases, 580 deaths

Italy has registered 35,098 new infections over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said, steeply up from 25,271 on Monday.

The ministry also reported 580 deaths against 356 the day before — the highest daily death toll since April 14. 

On that day, when the whole country was in lockdown during Italy's first wave of the epidemic, there were 602 fatalities.

A total of 42,330 people have now died in Italy since the disease came to light in February. 

There have been some 995,463 registered infections.

Nearly 400 inmates at Panamanian prison infected 

Nearly 400 inmates at a Panamanian prison have been infected in the country’s largest prison outbreak of the pandemic, authorities said.

Those infected represent about 75 percent of those held at the Penonome prison in the central province of Cocle.

Panama currently has a total of 140,331 confirmed cases and 2,808 deaths.

Russia reports 20,977 new cases, 368 deaths

Russia has reported 20,977 new coronavirus infections, including 5,902 in the capital Moscow, bringing the national tally to 1,817,109.

Authorities also reported 368 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the official death toll to 31,161.

Malaysia reports 869 new cases with six more deaths

Malaysia's Health Ministry has reported 869 new coronavirus cases, raising the total to 42,050 infections.

The Southeast Asian country also recorded six new deaths, taking total fatalities from the pandemic to 300.

Veteran Palestinian politician Saeb Erekat dies of virus

Saeb Erekat, 65, one of the most experienced and high-profile spokesmen for the Palestinian cause over decades of dispute with Israel, has died after contracting Covid-19, his family said. 

He was 65.

His health deteriorated after he contracted coronavirus last month. The veteran Palestinian politician had been suffering from a rare disease that required lung transplantation in 2017.

Indonesia reports 3,779 new infections, 72 deaths

Indonesia has reported 3,779 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total number to 444,348, data from the country's Covid-19 task force showed.

The data added 72 new deaths, taking the total number to 14,761. Indonesia has confirmed the highest tally of coronavirus cases and deaths.

Thailand confirms case linked to infected Hungarian minister

Thailand has said a Hungarian diplomat had been infected with the novel coronavirus after being in contact with his foreign minister whose tour to the region was suspended last week after he tested positive for the virus.

Cambodian authorities said on Monday at least four coronavirus infections there were believed to be linked to a visit by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and relatives were among more than 1,000 people tested and confirmed negative.

Szijjarto was found to be infected with the coronavirus after arriving in Thailand from Cambodia on November 3, Thai authorities said earlier.

The Bangkok-based Hungarian diplomat, 53, tested positive on Monday. He had been in close proximity with Szijjarto shortly before a test he was given upon entry to Thailand confirmed he was infected, a Thai health official said.

He did not identify the diplomat but said 16 people in Thailand who were exposed to Szijjarto had returned negative tests. Neither Hungary's foreign ministry nor its embassy in Thailand responded to requests for comment on the impact of Szijjarto's visit.

Australia considers opening of borders

Australia is considering opening its borders to Asian countries, including parts of China, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, as Canberra seeks to revive an economy ravaged by Covid-19.

Australia in March shut its borders to all non-citizens and permanent residents, though in October Canberra allowed New Zealand residents to enter. Internal travel is limited, although those restrictions are scheduled to be removed by the end of the year.

Morrison ruled out entry from the United States or Europe, but said Australia may allow people from low-risk countries such as Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and even provinces in China. China was one of the first countries from which Australia restricted entry.

The consideration of easing travel curbs comes as Morrison said Australia has gone three days without any locally acquired cases of Covid-19. All cases have been detected in quarantined locals who have recently returned from overseas.

Germany's confirmed cases rise by 15,332, deaths by 154

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has increased by 15,332 to 687,200, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed.

The reported death toll rose by 154 to 11,506.

Ukraine reports record daily high of 10,842 new cases

Ukraine has registered a record 10,842 Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, its health minister said on Tuesday.

Maksym Stepanov said a total of 479,197 cases had been registered in Ukraine as of November 10, with 8,756 deaths.

US hospitalisations surge to record of almost 59,000 patients

There were almost 59,000 Covid-19 patients in hospitals across the United States, the country's highest number ever of in-patients being treated for the disease.

The number of people with the virus being hospitalised has surged around 73 percent during the past 30 days to at least 58,982 - a record level that surpasses the previous high of 58,370 on July 22.

The United States also recorded more than 100,000 cases for the sixth consecutive day, cementing its position as the nation worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Indonesia's Bio Farma says trials of Sinovac vaccine "going smoothly"

Indonesia's state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma has said on Tuesday that its clinical trials of China's Sinovac coronavirus vaccine were "going smoothly" after Brazil suspended trials due to a "severe adverse effect".

Edwin G. Pringadi, a spokesman for Bio Farma, said there were no plans to cancel the clinical trials, involving about 1,600 people in the Indonesian province of West Java.

Indonesia has confirmed 440,569 coronavirus infections and 14,614 deaths, the highest tolls in Southeast Asia.

China reports 22 new cases

China has reported 22 new cases of Covid-19 as of November 9, down from 33 cases a day earlier, its health authority said.

The National Health Commission said one of the new cases was a local infection reported in Shanghai, while the remaining 21 cases were imported by people returning from overseas. The commission also reported 25 new asymptomatic cases, up from nine a day earlier.

The total number of confirmed infections in mainland China now stands at 86,267, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.

S Korean government think tank maintains grim outlook for economy

South Korea’s top government think tank is maintaining a grim outlook for the country’s economy this year despite an improvement in exports and says the shock unleashed by the pandemic will continue to be felt in 2021. 

The Korea Development Institute said it projects the country’s economy to shrink 1.1 percent this year after the spread of the virus destroyed service industry jobs and cut down consumer spending. 

The economy would be even worse if not for robust global shipments of computer memory chips, the country’s most important export item.

Brazil halts trials of Chinese Covid-19 vaccine

Brazil's health regulator has said it had suspended clinical trials of a Chinese-developed Covid-19 vaccine after an "adverse incident" involving a volunteer recipient, a blow for one of the most advanced vaccine candidates.

The setback for CoronaVac, developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech, came on the same day US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said its own vaccine candidate had shown 90 percent effectiveness, sending global markets soaring and raising hopes of an end to the pandemic.

The Brazilian regulator, Anvisa, said in a statement it had "ruled to interrupt the clinical study of the CoronaVac vaccine after a serious adverse incident" on October 29.

However, the public health center coordinating the trials of the vaccine in Brazil, the Butantan Institute, said it was "surprised" by the decision.

Mexico reports more cases

Mexico's health ministry reported on Monday 4,960 coronavirus cases and 198 more deaths, bringing the official toll to 972,785 cases and 95,225 deaths.

Health officials have said the real number of infections and deaths is likely significantly higher.

'Lockdown' is Collins Dictionary Word of the Year

Collins Dictionary said on Tuesday that "lockdown" is its Word of The Year in 2020 following a dramatic increase in usage during the spread of Covid-19.

Lexicographers said they picked the word because it had become synonymous with the experience of populations across the world as governments look to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

"It is a unifying experience for billions of people across the world, who have had collectively to play their part in combating the spread of Covid-19," publishers Harper Collins said.

Collins registered more than a quarter of a million usages of "lockdown" during 2020, against only 4,000 the previous year.

Because of the way the pandemic has affected the daily use of language, six of Collins' 10 words of the year in 2020 are related to the global health crisis.

"Coronavirus", "social distancing", "self-isolate" and "furlough" as well as "lockdown" and "key worker" were included in the longer list of 10 words of the year.

"Key worker" alone has seen a 60-fold increase in usage reflecting the importance attributed this year to professions considered to be essential to society.

"2020 has been dominated by the global pandemic," Helen Newstead, a language consultant at Collins, said.

US surpasses 10M cases: Johns Hopkins

The US recorded its 10 millionth case of the virus, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University.

Shortly before 1400GMT Monday, the tracker by the Baltimore-based university showed 10,018,278 cases recorded in the US since the pandemic began, and 237,742 deaths.

Both are the highest tolls in absolute terms in the world.

The US is now well into its third and by far biggest surge of its epidemic.

Ukraine's president tests positive

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that he has tested positive for the coronavirus and will be working in self-isolation while being treated.

“There are no lucky people in the world for whom Covid-19 does not pose a threat,” Zelenskiy tweeted. “However, I feel good. I promise to isolate myself and I continue to work.”

Zelenkiy said he was running a temperature of 37.5 Celsius.

Tunisia says virus deaths may reach 7,000

Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said that the death toll from the pandemic in the country may reach 6,000-7,000, describing the health situation as "very dangerous".

Coronavirus cases have been rising quickly in Tunisia, which had managed to contain the virus earlier this year, and have now reached 70,000 cases and 1,900 deaths in a country of 11.5 million.

Medical sources told Reuters intensive care units in most state hospitals had reached maximum capacity.

The government imposed a night curfew this month and banned travel between cities to slow a second wave of the pandemic.