Coronavirus live news: Switzerland and Czech Republic break cases record for second day in row; Italy at ‘acute phase’ | World news

Malaysia reported 629 new circumstances on Friday, elevating its cumulative tally of infections to 18,758, the well being ministry mentioned. The Southeast Asian nation, which has imposed focused lockdowns this month to rein in a brand new surge in infections, additionally recorded six deaths, bringing complete fatalities to 176.

Households in Delhi with pre-existing well being circumstances resembling bronchial asthma are stocking up on oxygen cylinders and pulse oximeters, fearing that the town’s worsening air high quality will make them extra weak, Reuters studies.

After months of comparatively clear air due to the town’s lockdown, air pollution ranges have spiked to their worst in two years for October, attributable to farmers burning crop stubble in surrounding states and cooler climate. On Friday, haze hung over the capital of 18 million individuals and the air high quality degree was at 235 on a scale of 500.

Rupesh Gupta, 45, who has recovered from Covid-19, mentioned he was an asthmatic and having problem respiration the town’s soiled air. He informed Reuters:

I’m neither in a position to stroll, nor get out of the home. Even when I try to get out of the home, it takes me an effort to breathe.

Gupta misplaced his mom to Covid, so his anxiousness ranges are excessive. His spouse Neelam Gupta mentioned:

There’s paranoia that you just by no means know from what supply we’d get an infection once more in our dwelling.

The household has purchased a 15kg oxygen cylinder for emergency use and a conveyable pulse oximeter to measure oxygen ranges within the blood every day. They’re additionally eager to replenish on air purifiers that the majority well-heeled households personal in Delhi, one of many world’s most polluted cities.

The Air High quality Index (AQI) has remained within the “very poor” class all week as a result of slowing wind speeds that enable lethal pollution resembling PM2.5 particles to stay suspended within the air. Vivek Nangia, the principal director on the Max Tremendous Speciality Hospital in New Delhi, mentioned:

Air air pollution will weaken the respiratory tract, lung features will likely be compromised. The chance of catching Covid-19 would improve considerably.

The variety of new infections reported in Switzerland has risen by 3,105, information from Switzerland’s public well being company reveals. That makes Friday the second consecutive day the nation has posted its worst each day determine.

The company reported a complete of 74,422 confirmed circumstances in Switzerland and the neighbouring principality Liechtenstein. The loss of life toll rose by 5 individuals to 1,823.

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Tons of of anti-government protesters have been defying restrictions on gatherings for a second day within the Thai capital, Bangkok.

Thailand’s prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, rejected requires his resignation right now as his authorities stepped up efforts to cease student-led protesters from rallying within the capital for a second day in defiance of a strict state of emergency.

Police closed roads and put up barricades round a significant Bangkok intersection the place the protesters had vowed to collect once more to push their core calls for, together with that Prayuth leaves workplace, the structure is amended and the nation’s monarchy undergoes reform.

Detention services in Moscow are to cease admitting new suspects as a result of Covid-19, in accordance with a snap on Reuters, sourcing the Tass information company

Tens of millions of French individuals are getting ready to get pleasure from a final night time of freedom earlier than a Covid-19 curfew in Paris and different massive cities tonight, after officers warned that new efforts had been wanted to curb an alarming surge in new circumstances.

The curfew, which goals to maintain 20 million individuals at dwelling from 9pm to 6am, was unveiled by President Emmanuel Macron this week because the variety of new infections and deaths raised the spectre of hospital overloads like these seen in March and April.

On Thursday well being authorities reported a file 30,621 new circumstances previously 24 hours and 88 deaths, and greater than 200 new Covid admissions to intensive care items.

Whereas the curfew has broad public help – a Harris Interactive ballot after Macron’s announcement discovered 70% approval – officers in a number of cities nervous concerning the heavy social and financial prices of a measure set to final at the very least a month.

The necessity for international locations to start out getting ready and adjusting to deal with the chance of dealing with the Covid-19 disaster for at the very least one other yr was main theme of talks between the UK’s Boris Johnson and France’s Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, British journalist James Forsyth writes in an informative piece in The Occasions.

He provides:

The 2 are pursuing a really related technique of native lockdowns within the hope of avoiding the disaster of one other nationwide one.

There’s additionally a way that there’s security in numbers; the extra leaders who’re doing the identical factor, the extra political cowl there may be to observe that path. As one supply accustomed to the dialogue suggests: “It’s clearly useful if we’re all transferring collectively.

Round 47,000 Covid-19 infections are occurring each day in England, and deaths are anticipated to hit 240 to 690 per day by 26 October, in accordance with proof offered to British authorities scientists.

The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, is predicted to announce new restrictions in Larger Manchester and Lancashire, which you’ll be able to observe on our UK weblog here. Devolved administrations in different components of the UK – Scotland, Wales and Northern Eire – have largely been pursuing their very own insurance policies on Covid-19.

The Medical Analysis Council (MRC) biostatistics unit at Cambridge College printed new predictions on 12 October on how briskly the epidemic was rising throughout the nation. The scientists estimated that circumstances had been doubling in lower than seven days, with a “substantial proportion” of these being asymptomatic.

The figures are fed to the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, which gives real-time info to the federal government by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) and to regional Public Well being England groups.

The MRC report mentioned: “Our present estimate of the variety of infections occurring every day throughout England is 47,000.”

Christmas is coming however the pandemic is inflicting issues for a Finnish village that markets itself as the house of Santa Claus.

Finland has adopted among the strictest journey restrictions in Europe, regardless of its low degree of infections, that means most foreigners can not enter the nation and people who can face a two-week quarantine.

The northern a part of Finland, the place many companies depend on vacationers flying in to fulfill Santa Claus, see the northern lights or take a snowmobile safari, has seen customer numbers plummet.

In August, international vacationer numbers had been down 78% from a yr earlier, in accordance with journey trade information from Enterprise Finland.

“For native companies, positively, Christmas is at risk,” mentioned Sanna Kärkkäinen, the managing director of Go to Rovaniemi vacationer board. “Christmas itself will come, however how merry will probably be, that’s the query mark.”

Gilead Sciences has questioned the findings of a World Well being Group (WHO) examine that concluded that its Covid-19 drug remdesivir doesn’t assist sufferers who’ve been admitted to hospital.

The US firm informed Reuters that the info appeared inconsistent, the findings had been untimely and that different research had validated the drug’s advantages.

In a blow to one of many few medication getting used to deal with individuals with Covid-19, the WHO mentioned on Thursday that its Solidarity trial had concluded that remdesivir appeared to have little or no impact on 28-day mortality or size of hospital stays amongst sufferers with the respiratory illness.

Particulars of the WHO trial will be learn here. Some newer antiviral medication at the moment are being thought-about for analysis.

Remdesivir was one in every of two medication lately given to Donald Trump after he contracted Covid. Scientists have mentioned they nonetheless lack conclusive proof that both of the 2 – the opposite was REGN-COV2 – are clinically efficient.

Within the Canadian present of Quebec, authorities have mentioned Halloween is only for kids this yr. Youngsters will have the ability to go door to door to gather treats, however provided that they trick-or-treat with members of their households, Quebec’s premier, François Legault, has mentioned.

Quebec, with 89,963 confirmed circumstances, is Canada’s hardest-hit province within the pandemic. There have been 191,311 confirmed circumstances in Canada nationally.

Adults should not permitted to have a good time Halloween in teams they usually might want to preserve a two-metre distance when distributing sweets to costumed youths, the Toronto Star reported.

Legault mentioned some partial lockdown measures imposed on the largest cities in Quebec had been prone to proceed past the tip of this month.

Indonesia reported 4,301 new coronavirus circumstances on Friday, taking its tally to 353,461, the best in south-east Asia.

Reuters studies that the nation additionally reported 79 extra Covid deaths, making a complete of 12,347, additionally the area’s highest.

Italy has two weeks to cease the rising fee of transmission of coronavirus or it dangers following within the footsteps of European neighbours the place exponential spreads have ushered again harsh restrictions, an Italian virologist has mentioned.

Italian well being officers have declared that the resurgence of Covid-19 has reached an “acute section”. Massimo Galli, the director of infectious illnesses at Milan’s Luigi Sacco hospital, mentioned Italy’s surge was not the results of file testing, as policymakers have prompt, however an indication of an actual return among the many inhabitants most in danger.

It solely takes a take a look at Sacco’s Covid-19 ward, just a few steps from Galli’s workplace, to boost the alarm, the Related Press information company studies. “We have now a scenario that reminds one fairly distressingly of the one which we have already got skilled,’’ mentioned Galli, referring to the height in March and April when Italy had a one-day file of 969 deaths.

The Philippines’ well being ministry has reported 3,139 new coronavirus infections and 34 extra deaths.

In a bulletin, the ministry mentioned complete confirmed circumstances had reached 351,750, whereas deaths had elevated to six,531, with the Philippines recording the second highest variety of casualties in south-east Asia.

The mayor of Larger Manchester, Andy Burnham, has been hitting again on Twitter on the UK’s international secretary, Dominic Raab, amid a continued standoff between native leaders in some northern English cities and the federal government in London over plans for an escalation in restrictions.