(Reuters) – As voters in the United States stream to the polls after a rancorous presidential campaign, Europe faces fresh curbs to contain a second wave of the coronavirus outbreak.
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
* Riot police pepper-sprayed students after they blockaded a Paris high school in a protest against inadequate COVID-19 protection measures.
* Around 85,000 more people have claimed temporary COVID-19 jobless benefits since Ireland moved to the highest level of restrictions two weeks ago.
* Belgium’s second wave has forced it to move some severely ill patients, many on ventilators, to neighbouring Germany.
* Denmark’s parliament suspended voting and other meetings after several lawmakers tested positive and six ministers self-isolated while awaiting test results.
* Poland plans to dispatch the army to help identify hospitals where beds are available and where there are shortages, the health minister said.
* Sweden, Greece and Georgia announced further restrictions, and Norway is set to this week.
AMERICAS
* More than 99 million Americans voted early either in person or by mail, motivated not only by concerns about waiting in lines during the pandemic but also by extraordinary levels of enthusiasm after a polarising campaign.
* Canada’s prime minister warned that people needed to act now to tamp down the spread of a second wave before it gets out of hand.
* Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona was anemic but recovering well in hospital, his physician said, adding that his condition was not related to COVID-19.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Australia reported one locally-acquired case in the last 24 hours, while New Zealand registered its first community transmissions in more than two weeks, after two workers at a quarantine facility tested positive.
* Indonesia’s assumed entry into its first economic recession since the 1998 Asian financial crisis will probably be confirmed by third quarter GDP data being released later this week, a Reuters poll showed.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has tested positive but his condition is gradually improving as he receives treatment in a German hospital, the presidency said.
* Bahrain has granted emergency approval for the use of a Chinese vaccine candidate currently in phase III trials on frontline workers, state news agency BNA said.
* Turkey will close all businesses including restaurants, pools, hairdressers, wedding venues, cinemas and concert halls at 10 pm daily.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Brazil’s health regulator has authorised the resumption of a clinical trial of Johnson & Johnson’s experimental vaccine.
* Mexico received the first doses of a vaccine candidate from Chinese pharmaceutical company CanSino Biologics for a late stage-trial, its foreign minister said.
* Germany’s health minister defended his decision to purchase additional supplies of Gilead’s remdesivir, saying it was useful especially early in the course of the disease.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* The dollar slid and global equity markets jumped on bets of increased stimulus if Joe Biden wins the U.S. presidential election against President Donald Trump, but gold prices gained on the prospect of contested voting results. [MKTS/GLOB]
* Moscow city plans to borrow $4.98 billion in 2021 to plug holes in the budget, tapping the debt market for the first time in more than seven years, documents showed.
* The Spanish government approved a $556 million package for Air Europa, the first major Spanish company to tap into funds established to help companies in strategic sectors.
(Compiled by Sarah Morland; Editing by Barbara Lewis)
