Delhi’s COVID-19 deaths rose by a record number on Thursday and it reported the most infections in India, as government officials in Germany dampened hopes that a partial lockdown there would be lifted at the end of November.
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
* Britain’s transport minister said there would be no delays to the country receiving the COVID-19 vaccine from abroad even if it does not agree a trade deal with the European Union by the start of 2021.
* Russia reported a record 21,983 new infections as Moscow prepared to close restaurants and bars overnight in an effort to contain the pandemic.
* France’s prime minister will ask for a three-month delay for upcoming regional elections, set for March 2021, due to the pandemic.
* Serbia has introduced hefty fines for failure to wear face masks or maintain social distancing in public.
AMERICAS
* The head of the GAVI vaccine alliance expects to hold talks with the incoming team of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden about collaborating with the COVAX global facility set up to provide COVID-19 vaccines to poorer countries.
* Chicago’s mayor issued a month-long stay-at-home advisory on Thursday and Detroit’s public schools called a halt to in-person instruction.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Indonesia has sought emergency authorisation to start a mass vaccination campaign by the end of the year.
* Japan’s prime minister said the country does not need another state of emergency to tackle the pandemic, even though it is seeing record numbers of daily cases.
* The Chinese city of Wuhan said it had detected the coronavirus on the packaging of a batch of Brazilian beef.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Iran, battling a third wave of the virus, is considering imposing a two-week lockdown in the capital.
* Israel signed a deal with Pfizer Inc to receive 8 million doses of the drugmaker’s potential vaccine, enough to cover close to half of its population.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* The head of world’s top intensive care body said Gilead’s remdesivir should not be used as a routine treatment for COVID-19 patients in critical care wards.
* South Korea’s GL Rapha will make more than 150 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine per year, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said, one of the biggest production deals announced so far as Moscow aims to boost output abroad.
* A facility set up by the WHO and the GAVI vaccine group has exceeded an interim target of raising more than $2 billion to buy and distribute COVID-19 shots for poorer countries, but it said it still needs more.
* Early testing of a potential vaccine developed by an Australian university and CSL Ltd has shown it to be safe and produce an antibody response.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Global shares flat-lined on Friday as rising U.S. and European COVID-19 hospitalisations tempered euphoria over a promising vaccine, though Wall Street pointed to a firmer open on news president-elect Joe Biden was set to cement his election win. [MKTS/GLOB]
* The prospect of an effective vaccine is a source of relief but the euro zone is still set to suffer from new curbs, two ECB policymakers said.
(Compiled by Milla Nissi and Ramakrishnan M.; Editing by Anil D’Silva and John Stonestreet)
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