(Reuters) – Global coronavirus cases rose by more than 400,000 for the first time late on Friday, a record one-day increase as much of Europe enacts new restrictions to curb the outbreak.
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
** Switzerland announced tighter restrictions on Sunday to tackle the recent spike in coronavirus cases, including a national obligation to wear masks and a ban on large scale public gatherings.
** Britain needs to impose a three-week period of national lockdown restrictions immediately to stop coronavirus cases spiralling, government scientific adviser Jeremy Farrar said, adding that current regional measures would not be effective.
** Italy registered 11,705 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, the health ministry said, up from the previous record of 10,925 posted the day before, as the government prepares fresh measures to battle a second wave.
AMERICAS
** House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday differences remain with President Donald Trump’s administration on a wide-ranging coronavirus relief package but she was optimistic legislation could be pushed through before Election Day.
** New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said healthcare workers and high-risk populations, including some long-term care residents, would get priority in his state to receive a COVID-19 vaccine when one is approved and available.
ASIA-PACIFIC
** China will see its economy expand by about 2% this year as it has got the pandemic under control, central bank governor Yi Gang said on Sunday, signalling confidence about the prospects of a domestic demand-driven recovery.
** Australia’s state of Victoria, the epicentre of the country’s outbreak, will see more freedom of movement as of Monday after months-long restrictions, but retailers and restaurants must wait longer, making some of the owners unhappy.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
** Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Israel on Sunday for treatment of a worsening case of COVID-19, the Palestine Liberation Organization said.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
** Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech are expected to pursue late stage clinical trials of intranasal COVID-19 vaccines in the coming months once they receive regulatory approval, India’s health minister said on Sunday.
** China’s disease control authority said on Saturday that contact with frozen food packaging contaminated by living new coronavirus could cause infection.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
** Italy has approved a new stimulus package in its 2021 budget to foster an economic rebound from the recession caused by the coronavirus crisis, a government statement said on Sunday after a late-night cabinet meeting.
** Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Sunday there was no need to change the central bank’s inflation target or forward guidance, even though the United States and Europe are reviewing their policy frameworks to seek better ways to prop up growth.
** New coronavirus-related restrictions on everyday life in the euro zone add to the economic uncertainty, underlining the need for continued easy fiscal and monetary policy, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Sunday.
(Compiled by Frances Kerry)
