Coronavirus digest: Germany hits new infections record

Europe

The World Health Organization in Europe said it was seeing an "explosion" of coronavirus cases and warned Europe faces a "tough time" ahead as mortality rates soared. Regional director Hans Kluge called for "proportionate targeted measures," which could be scaled up.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for a united effort to combat rising coronavirus infection rates as  England went into a  second lockdown.  Renewed stay-at-home restrictions and business closures are set to last for four weeks

France will ban delivery and takeaway services for prepared food and alcohol between 10 pm and 6 am from Friday to limit the spread of the virus. The sale and and consumption of alcoholic drinks in public spaces would be banned at night. 

Germany recorded nearly 20,000 new coronavirus cases in one day, its highest level yet, the country's national disease control center said Thursday.

The Robert Koch Institute said 19,990 infections had been confirmed in the past 24 hours. That tops the previous record of 19,059 set on Saturday.

It brought the total case tally in Germany, a nation of 83 million people, to 597,583. Another 118 fatalities raised the death toll to 10,930.

Read more:  Traveling to Germany: What you need to know about coronavirus restrictions

Sweden's prime minister, Stefan Lofven, is self-isolating even after a person close to him tested negative for COVID-19.

He broke the news on Facebook on Thursday as the country looks likely to pass the threshold of 6,000 overall coronavirus deaths.

"This is the only responsible thing to do in this situation," he added, saying the person close to him had been in contact with another person who had tested positive.

Greece ordered a nationwide lockdown on Thursday for three weeks to help contain a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, its second this year after a sharp increase in infections this week.

The country has reported fewer cases than most in Europe, mainly due to an early nationwide lockdown it imposed when the pandemic broke out in February.

Denmark has announced tough new restrictions in the north-east of the country after authorities found a mutation in the virus in 12 residents who got infected by minks.Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen encouraged people in seven areas of north Jutland to stay at home and get tested. She also urged people not to travel to the region, adding that public transport will be shut down until December 3. Schools, bars, restaurants  museums, libraries, swimming pools and gyms will also shut down. 

The move comes after Frederiksen said all 15 million minks in the country's farms should be culled to minimize the risk of them re-transmitting the coronavirus to humans.

Norway's prime minister, Erna Solberg, has told Norwegians to avoid traveling domestically and instead stay at home as much as possible, as part of a new round of recommendations and restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus.

The number of cases has risen in many parts of Norway, hitting a record last week in a country which long had one of Europe's lowest rate of infections.

Asia

Sri Lanka's government has moved to end a pandemic curfew, saying it is down to indivuduals to take responsility to avoid being infected.

China announced new entry curbs on travelers from Europe due to a surge of coronavirus cases on the continent.

Beijing says most foreign passport holders from Britain and other European countries will be banned from entering the country for the time being.

India's coronavirus outbreak increased by more than 50,000 cases Thursday amid a resurgence of infections in the capital.

The Health Ministry also reported another 704 fatalities in the past 24 hours across the country, raising India's overall death toll to 124,315.

Nerves are frayed in New Delhi after it reported a record 6,842 new cases in the past 24 hours. It has more than 37,000 active cases.

Americas

The United States has set a new record for daily confirmed coronavirus cases, with almost 100,000 new infections reported on Thursday.

It remains the worst-affected country with 233,734 deaths from 9,488,276 cases. At least 3,743,527 people have been declared recovered. After the US, the hardest-hit countries are Brazil with 161,106 deaths from 5,590,025 cases, India with 124,315 deaths from 8,364,086 cases. 

mvb, jf/nm (AFP, AP, Reuters)