(Reuters) – Polish President Andrzej Duda has tested positive for coronavirus, authorities said on Saturday, and police used tear gas on several occasions as thousands of people protested in Warsaw against COVID-19 restrictions.
Europe became the second region after Latin America to surpass 250,000 coronavirus deaths, according to a Reuters tally..
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
* Italy reported another daily record for COVID-19 cases on Saturday as the government planned further restrictions, despite a second night of street protests against curfews ordered this week.
* Spain will hold a special cabinet meeting on Sunday to discuss a new state of emergency after regions urged government action to allow them to impose curfews to help tackle its escalating outbreak.
* France on Saturday reported 45,422 new confirmed coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, a new record, after reporting 42,032 on Friday.
AMERICAS
* Marc Short, the chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence, has tested positive for coronavirus, a spokesman for the vice president said on Saturday.
* Colombia surpassed 1 million infections on Saturday, becoming the eighth country globally to do so, tallying 1,007,711 confirmed infections and 30,000 deaths.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Victoria state, Australia’s COVID-19 hotspot, on Sunday delayed the eagerly awaited removal of strict lockdown restrictions for cafes, restaurants and pubs in the capital Melbourne because of an outbreak in the northern suburbs.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Algeria’s 75-year-old President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is self-isolating because some officials in “upper ranks of the government” are sick with COVID-19, he said in a tweet on Saturday.
* Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Saturday for strict punishments for violators of COVID-19 restrictions as the Middle East’s hardest-hit nation battled a third wave.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* AstraZeneca Plc has resumed the U.S. trial of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine after approval by regulators, and Johnson & Johnson is preparing to resume its trial on Monday or Tuesday, the companies said on Friday.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Cisco’s video-conferencing app Webex clocked 590 million participants in September and is on track to record over 600 million this month, nearly double the numbers recorded in March when countries started shutting down due to the pandemic.
(Compiled by Frances Kerry)
