(Reuters) – India’s tally of coronavirus cases stood less than 10,000 away from the grim milestone of 8 million, while a Reuters tally showed nearly half a million people have contracted COVID-19 in the United States over the last seven days.
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
* British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is being put under pressure for a new lockdown with the government working on the assumption the second wave of coronavirus will be more deadly than the first, the Telegraph newspaper reported.
* President Emmanuel Macron will give a televised address on Wednesday evening, while BFM TV reported the government has been exploring bringing in a national lockdown from midnight on Thursday.
* Italy approved a package of measures to support businesses hit by new restrictions aimed at reining in the coronavirus, hours after daily infections hit a new record high and COVID-19-related deaths jumped.
AMERICAS
* Nearly half a million people have contracted COVID-19 in the United States over the last seven days, according to a Reuters tally, as new cases and hospitalizations set records in the Midwest.
* The United Nations cancelled all in-person meetings at its New York headquarters after five people in Niger’s U.N. mission were infected.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Melbourne’s shops, restaurants and hotels opened for business after a four-month coronavirus lockdown.
* Mainland China reported 42 new COVID-19 cases on Oct. 27, the highest daily toll in more than two months due to a rise in infections in the northwestern Xinjiang region.
* India reported 43,893 new cases in the last 24 hours, data from the federal health ministry showed.
* Hong Kong will reopen public beaches and relax restrictions on bars and restaurants starting Friday.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Iranians are being too lax in complying with restrictions, the government said, as the hardest-hit Middle Eastern country faced new daily records of infections and deaths.
* Dubai airport, the world’s busiest for international travel before the crisis, could see passenger traffic fall as much 70% this year, its CEO said.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* The first generation of COVID-19 vaccines “is likely to be imperfect” and that they “might not work for everyone”, UK Vaccines Taskforce Chair Kate Bingham said on Tuesday.
* The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has submitted applications to the World Health Organization for an Emergency Use Listing and prequalification of its coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V.
* Italy’s main medicines regulator gave the go-ahead on Tuesday for human clinical trials on raloxifene, a generic osteoporosis drug that researchers hope may also help reduce COVID-19 symptoms and make patients less infectious.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Global shares slipped on Wednesday as coronavirus infections grew at an alarming pace in the United States and Europe, while uncertainty over next week’s U.S. elections added to a “risk off” tone. [MKTS/GLOB]
* The number of people in Ireland claiming temporary coronavirus-related jobless benefits rose by 21% to 295,860 after the country moved to the highest level of COVID-19 restrictions last week, data showed.
* U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged that a coronavirus economic relief deal would likely come after the Nov. 3 election, with the White House unable to bridge differences with fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate as well as congressional Democrats.
(Compiled by Vinay Dwivedi and Amy Caren Daniel; Editing Shounak Dasgupta and Sriraj Kalluvila)
