More than 52.7 million cases of coronavirus have been recorded worldwide with more than 1.2 million deaths, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.
The following is a summary of the latest developments on the virus around the world:
US
Public health officials in the United States announced more than 152,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the first day over 150,000 since the pandemic began, an alarming record that came just over a week after the country first experienced 100,000 cases in a single day.
The pandemic has risen to crisis levels in much of the nation, especially the Midwest, as hospital executives warn of dwindling bed space and as coroners deploy mobile morgues. More than 100,000 coronavirus cases have been announced nationwide every day since November 4th, and six of the last nine days have broken the previous record.
Hospitalisations for Covid-19 also set a record on Thursday, climbing to 67,096, according to the Covid Tracking Project. It was the third straight day of record numbers, and the figure has doubled in just five weeks. Deaths are rising, too, with more than 1,000 on average each day.
The outlook is especially dire in the Great Lakes region. Pennsylvania, Indiana and Minnesota all exceeded their previous single-day records on Thursday by more than 1,000 cases. Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio warned that hospitalisations had soared to record levels. Wisconsin surpassed 300,000 known cases this week. “Covid-19 is everywhere in our state: It is bad everywhere, and it is getting worse everywhere,” said Julie Willems Van Dijk, the deputy secretary of the Wisconsin department of health services.
Europe
A surge in coronavirus infections in Greece's northern city of Thessaloniki is pushing the hospital system to its limits. Meanwhile, the new coronavirus has been found in mink at two farms in northern Greece, an agriculture ministry official said on Friday. The strain found in the mink had not mutated from that found in humans, the official said. The breeder at one of the farms, in the northerly Kozani region, also tested positive for the virus, and tests were being conducted on workers. A cull of the 2,500 mink at that farm was due to begin shortly.
Denmark’s entire stock of 17 million mink is due to be culled after a mutated coronavirus was found in mink farms there, and more than 15,000 mink in the United States have died of the new coronavirus since August. Fur production is an important industry in Kozani and nearby Kastoria, where the second farm is located. Greece’s population of mink is estimated at hundreds of thousands, and fur exports bring in about €60-70 million a year. “This has dealt another blow to the 800 families living off the sector in the region,” said Dimitris Kosmidis, head of the Greek fur federation in Kozani.
The Czech Republic reported 7,874 new coronavirus cases for November 12th, health ministry data showed on Friday, extending a decline in new infections as the country seeks to push down Europe's highest per-capita infection rate. Thursday's tally was 5,358 lower than the same day a week ago and brought the total number of coronavirus infections in the country of 10.7 million to 446,675. Deaths rose by 185, which included 91 on Thursday and revisions to previous days. In total, 5,755 have died after testing positive for Covid-19.
Germany's health minister said on Friday it is too early to say whether restrictions imposed last week to curb the spread of the coronavirus will need to be extended beyond November. "It is actually too early to assess this now," Jens Spahn told ARD television. "We will see in the next few days whether they are making a difference." The number of new daily coronavirus cases in Germany hit a record of 23,542 on Friday, around 1,700 more than on Thursday, bringing the total to 751,095, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases reported. Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Germany's states are due to meet on Monday to review whether partial lockdown measures imposed on November 2nd have been enough to slow a steep rise in new infections that risks overwhelming hospitals.
French prime minister Jean Castex said there would be no easing for at least two weeks of the country's second Covid-19 lockdown.
Portugal announced an expansion of a nightly curfew and weekend lockdown already in place across more than 100 municipalities to a further 77 areas.
Americas
Ontario, Canada's most populous province, may have to begin suspending non-essential surgeries again starting in two weeks as surging coronavirus cases fill hospital intensive care units.
Argentine authorities said were informed about an alleged finding by China of traces of Covid-19 on the external packaging of a shipment of the South American country's beef.
Vaccines to ensure access to all parts of the world, instead of focusing on the rich countries US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said vaccine developers should push to make billions off their COVID-19 vaccines.
Asia-Pacific
Australia will not allow foreign students to return as Canberra prioritises the return of locals stuck overseas, prime minister Scott Morrison said on Friday.
Australia has since March closed its borders to all non-citizens and permanent residents in a bid to slow the spread of Covid-19. With foreign students worth about A$35 billion a year to the Australian economy, Canberra had hoped to slowly allow overseas students to return in 2021. Trials began earlier this year. But with thousands of Australians wanting to return, Mr Morrison said there is not enough quarantine facilities. “There is a queue, and Australians are in the front of the queue,” Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra.
New Zealand reopened downtown Auckland after contact tracing of a new coronavirus case revealed it was linked to a known case from a border isolation facility.
China is facing an increased risk of local transmission of the coronavirus in the winter due to imported cases.
Middle East
Israel will sign a provisional deal with Pfizer Inc to receive 8 million doses of the drugmaker's still-experimental coronavirus vaccine from January.
Iraq has started closing camps housing tens of thousands of people after Covid-19 delays, but aid groups warn this could create a second wave of displacement with dire consequences.
Medical developments
Early testing of a potential Covid-19 vaccine developed by an Australian university and CSL Ltd has shown it to be safe and produce an antibody response.
*CureVac said its experimental vaccine will most likely be suitable for standard fridge temperature logistics.
The World Health Organisation is in talks with the Russian institute that developed the Sputnik V candidate vaccine over its potential application for emergency use listing.
Ethnic minority groups are disproportionately affected by the novel coronavirus, with Blacks and Asians at increased risk of Covid-19 infection compared to white individuals, according to an analysis published in The Lancet medical journal.
Economic impact
Stocks in Asia fell on Friday, following on from selloffs in the United States and Europe as investors feared the economic impact of an accelerating rise in coronavirus infections.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a seven-month low last week, but the pace of decline has slowed and further improvement could be limited by a raging Covid-19 pandemic and lack of additional fiscal stimulus.
Euro zone industrial production unexpectedly declined in September, driven chiefly by a sharp fall in the output of durable consumer goods. –Reuters, New York Times, PA