Reuters Health News Summary

South Korea bans year-end parties, some music lessons, as virus spikes again South Korean authorities announced a ban on year-end parties and some music lessons on Sunday and said public saunas and some cafes must also close after coronavirus infections surged at their fastest pace since the early days of the pandemic.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Russia reports 26,683 new coronavirus cases, 459 deaths

Russia reported 26,683 new coronavirus cases on Sunday after the number of daily confirmed infections hit a record 27,543 on Friday. The new cases took the national total to 2,269,316 since the start of the pandemic. Czech government to allow shops, restaurants to reopen from Dec. 3

The Czech government will allow restaurants and non-essential shops to reopen on Thursday, Dec. 3, as a wave of coronavirus infections eases, Health Mister Jan Blatny said on Sunday. The country will move down one notch to level 3 on its 5-level coronavirus risk scale, which means all shops and restaurants can open but must limit customer numbers to allow for social distancing. France must review COVID-19 crowd limits on church attendance

France's State Council, the country's highest court, on Sunday ordered the government to review a law limiting the number of people in churches during religious services to 30. The Council said in a statement that the measure was not proportionate to coronavirus infection risks. Singaporean gives birth to baby with COVID-19 antibodies: report

A Singaporean woman, who was infected with the novel coronavirus in March when she was pregnant, has given birth to a baby with antibodies against the virus, offering a new clue as to whether the infection can be transferred from mother to child. The baby was born this month without COVID-19 but with the virus antibodies, the Straits Times newspaper reported on Sunday, citing the mother. https://bit.ly/33I0liL UK confirms H5N8 bird flu on English turkey farm

Bird flu has been found at a turkey farm in northern England, the government said on Sunday. "Avian flu has been confirmed at a commercial turkey fattening farm near Northallerton, North Yorkshire," Chief Veterinary Officer, Christine Middlemiss said in a statement. The disease was the H5N8 strain. China halts operation at Korean chip plant after worker tests positive for coronavirus

A Chinese factory owned by South Korean semiconductor giant SK Hynix Inc halted operations on Sunday after a plant worker was found to have an asymptomatic infection of the novel coronavirus, the official news agency Xinhua reported. The Korean worker based at the plant in Chongqing city since February had departed on Thursday for South Korea, Xinhua reported. South Korea bans year-end parties, some music lessons, as virus spikes again

South Korean authorities announced a ban on year-end parties and some music lessons on Sunday and said public saunas and some cafes must also close after coronavirus infections surged at their fastest pace since the early days of the pandemic. South Korea has been one of the world's coronavirus mitigation success stories but spikes in infections have reappeared relentlessly, triggering alarm in Asia's fourth-largest economy. Hong Kong reports 4-month high 115 coronavirus cases

Hong Kong reported 115 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, including 109 locally transmitted, the highest in nearly four months, as authorities battle a renewed wave of COVID-19. The figure was up from Saturday's 84 and the highest since Aug. 1, when 125 cases were reported. It compares with the July 30 record of 149. Austrians to face further 'massive restrictions' after lockdown: Kurz

Austria should expect further heavy restrictions when its current lockdown measures expire in just over a week, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told Austrian paper Kleine Zeitung. Austria's nationwide lockdown is due to be lifted on Dec. 7, but it is not yet clear what that will mean for the ski industry - cornerstone of a tourism sector which accounts for some 15% of economic output - or overall life in Austria. Canada blocks bulk exports of some prescription drugs in response to Trump import plan

Canada on Saturday blocked bulk exports of prescription drugs if they would create a shortage at home, in response to outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to allow imports from Canada to lower some drug prices for Americans. "Certain drugs intended for the Canadian market are prohibited from being distributed for consumption outside of Canada if that sale would cause or worsen a drug shortage," Health Minister Patty Hajdu said in a statement.