(Reuters) – France reported a massive jump in people hospitalized with COVID-19 and Ireland announced some of Europe’s toughest restrictions, while India posted its lowest daily coronavirus caseload in nearly three months.
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
* Passengers will undergo a one-hour coronavirus test before flying out of the United Kingdom under plans to open up international travel, The Times reported.
* Ireland announced some of Europe’s toughest COVID-19 constraints, shutting non-essential retail, limiting restaurants and pubs to take away service and telling people not to travel more than five kilometres (3 miles) from their home.
* France reported a massive increase of the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19, while also becoming the eighth country in the world to report more than 900,000 cases since the start of the outbreak.
* Italy’s government agreed on a request from the Lombardy region, hard hit by COVID-19, to impose further restrictions to curb a new surge in infections.
AMERICAS
* Mexico City’s mayor warned tighter coronavirus curbs could be imposed later in the week as COVID-19 hospitalizations rise in the sprawling capital.
* President Donald Trump said he would test for the coronavirus before the next presidential debate with Democratic candidate Joe Biden this week.
* As Wisconsin battled one of the worst coronavirus surges in the United States, a judge on Monday reinstated an order limiting indoor public gatherings.
* The United States’ land borders between Canada and Mexico will remain closed to all non-essential travel until Nov. 21.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* India posted its lowest daily coronavirus caseload in nearly three months, as new cases maintained decreasing trend from a peak in September.
* Australia’s Victoria state may accelerate the easing of restrictions after reporting just one new COVID-19 case, while residents in Melbourne were granted more freedom to move about after a months-long lockdown.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* A top Lebanese security official has tested positive for COVID-19 in the United States, forcing him to delay his return from talks in Washington.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Moderna Inc CEO Stphane Bancel expects interim results from its COVID-19 vaccine trial in November and that the U.S. government could give an emergency use nod in December, WSJ reported on Monday.
* A California panel of experts will independently review the safety of new coronavirus vaccines and initial plans for distribution.
* Preliminary results from a late-stage trial of Russia’s main coronavirus vaccine candidate could include data from 5,000-10,000 participants, said Denis Logunov, a director at the Gamaleya Institute that developed the vaccine.
* Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE announced the start in Japan of combined Phase I and Phase II clinical trials of their mRNA vaccine candidate against the coronavirus.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday as investors adjusted risk exposure heading into the U.S. election and as a deadline for Washington to pass an economic stimulus bill approached while Europe reported record daily coronavirus infections. [MKTS/GLOB]
* Australia’s central bank discussed the possibility of further monetary easing at its October board meeting, including cutting the cash rate towards zero and buying longer-dated government bonds, minutes of its most recent meeting showed.
* Many poorer Americans will struggle to keep a foothold in the banking system due to the pandemic’s economic fallout after years of increasing access, a U.S. banking regulator said.
(Compiled by Devika Syamnath and Amy Caren Daniel; Editing by Steve Orlofsky, Anil D’Silva and Sriraj Kalluvila)
