FACTBOX-Latest on worldwide spread of the coronavirus
With cities and states across the United States reimposing restrictions to tame surges in coronavirus infections, a senior adviser to President-elect Joe Biden said on Friday there were no plans for nationwide lockdowns next year. 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.
With cities and states across the United States reimposing restrictions to tame surges in coronavirus infections, a senior adviser to President-elect Joe Biden said on Friday there were no plans for nationwide lockdowns next year.
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
* Restrictions aimed at slowing a surge in coronavirus cases will be extended in various Italian regions, with both Tuscany and Campania set to be designated as high-risk "red zones". * Government officials in Germany dampened hopes that a partial lockdown there would be lifted at the end of November.
* Russia reported a record new infections as Moscow prepared to close restaurants and bars overnight. * Slovakia will open theatres, cinemas and churches at half capacity and let fitness centres and pools operate with limited visitors.
* Sweden remains steadfast in its strategy of voluntary measures and no lockdowns, the architect of its unorthodox COVID-19 response said. * Ireland may take a staged approach to lifting restrictions from Dec. 1 in the run-up to Christmas.
* Confirmed coronavirus cases in Portugal pushed past the 200,000 mark as the number of new daily infections reached a record high. * Denmark has not registered any new examples of humans infected with a so-called Cluster-5 mutated coronavirus strain stemming from mink.
AMERICAS * U.S. states, cities, and hospitals are scrambling to buy ultra-cold freezers that can safely store Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine, ignoring advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to hold off.
* Canadians have time to tamp down the surging second wave of COVID-19 by Christmas if they act now, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, as he urged provincial leaders to impose more health restrictions. ASIA-PACIFIC
* Delhi's COVID-19 deaths rose by a record number and it reported the most infections in India. * 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 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.
* 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. ECONOMIC IMPACT
* U.S. stocks jumped and the Treasury yield curve steepened as upbeat earnings and President-elect Joe Biden's COVID advisory team helped reassure investors about the threat of new pandemic-related lockdowns. * The United States, China and other G20 countries agreed for the first time on a common approach for restructuring government debt as the coronavirus crisis leaves some poorer nations at risk of default.
(Compiled by Aditya Soni, Milla Nissi and Ramakrishnan M.; Editing by Anil D'Silva and John Stonestreet)
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