South Yorkshire will be subject to tier three coronavirus restrictions from Saturday after local leaders agreed a deal with the UK government. theguardian.com/world/2020/oct…
The US has counted almost 300,000 more deaths than would be expected in a typical year, two-thirds of them from covid-19 and the rest from other causes, the @CDCgov has reported. washingtonpost.com/health/coronav…
Studies in Germany and Norway, as well as two reviews focusing on education globally, suggest schools play a limited role in spreading covid-19 and a renewal of widespread school closures would have a limited effect on curbing the disease. ft.com/content/4842aa…
Brazil has agreed to buy 46 million doses of a Chinese-made coronavirus vaccine for a national immunisation programme that could begin as soon as January 2021, officials have announced. bbc.co.uk/news/world-lat…
A London-based company has secured a UK government contract worth up to £10m to intentionally infect healthy young volunteers with covid-19 to hasten the development of a vaccine. theguardian.com/world/2020/oct…
Greater Manchester leaders have been given a deadline of midday to reach a deal with the government over moving to tier three covid-19 restrictions. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-546091…
Ireland has 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 5 kilometres from their home. uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hea…
Hospitals in Greater Manchester, UK, are running low on beds to treat coronavirus patients, Sky News reports. The region’s mayor and the UK government remain in negotiations over local restrictions and financial aid. news.sky.com/story/coronavi…
Italy has announced a new raft of measures to combat a surge in coronavirus cases. Mayors will get powers to close public areas after 9pm and the opening times of restaurants and the size of groups allowed will tighten. bbc.co.uk/news/world-eur…
Switzerland has also announced tighter restrictions, including a requirement to wear masks in all indoor public places and a ban on gatherings of more than 15 people in public places. reuters.com/article/us-hea…
The UK government's scientific advisers called for a short lockdown in England to halt the spread of covid-19 last month, newly released documents show. bbc.com/news/uk-545180…
The head of the World Health Organization @DrTedros has warned against deliberately allowing coronavirus to spread in the hope of achieving so-called herd immunity, saying the idea is unethical. theguardian.com/world/2020/oct…
US drugmaker Johnson & Johnson has paused all trials of its experimental covid-19 vaccine after one of the participants developed an “adverse reaction”. ft.com/content/6ea4c5…
Boris Johnson will announce a three-tier lockdown system for England today, with Merseyside, Manchester and Newcastle expected to face the highest level of restrictions, including forced closures of pubs and bars. theguardian.com/world/2020/oct…
Councils are set to be given greater responsibility for contact tracing in England in an acknowledgement that local tracers have been far more effective than the national system. thetimes.co.uk/article/counci…
Italy is preparing fresh nationwide restrictions, including on private parties, in response to a recent spike in new coronavirus cases, Health Minister Roberto Speranza has said. reuters.com/article/us-hea…
China has agreed to join a World Health Organization initiative aimed at ensuring the fair distribution of covid-19 vaccines around the world. ft.com/content/f4c6b8…
Germany reported 4,058 new cases yesterday, its biggest increase since April. Health minister Jens Spahn blamed people’s carelessness and ignorant behaviour for the rise. uk.reuters.com/article/us-hea…
Covid-19 patients in the NHS will be able to get treatment in the coming months with remdesivir, one of the drugs given to Donald Trump, after the European commission negotiated for enough doses for 500,000 patients in 36 countries including the UK. theguardian.com/world/2020/oct…
Italy has made it mandatory to wear face masks in outdoor spaces across the country in an attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus. bbc.co.uk/news/world-eur…
France has reported a record number of new covid-19 infections, with almost 19,000 additional cases over 24 hours, while hospitalisations for the disease are at a three-month high. reuters.com/article/us-hea…
New figures from @ONS show there were 48,168 deaths due to covid-19 in England and Wales between January and August, three times more than pneumonia and flu combined. news.sky.com/story/coronavi…