New coronavirus cases rose to record levels in the U.S. Midwest, while Europe continued to battle an exponential surge in infections, with the caseloads in France and Italy hitting all-time highs and London poised to enter a tighter lockdown.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
EUROPE
* The European Commission urged member nations to step up preparations and recommended common measures to roll out vaccines should they become available.
* The Polish government urged its citizens to stay at home and ordered new national restrictions after cases rose by 24% to a record.
* Police raided the homes and offices of France's health minister, its public health director and former prime minister as a judicial investigation into the government's response to the coronavirus crisis deepened.
* The Czech Republic will start building capacity for COVID-19 patients outside of hospitals, as the country faces the fastest rate of infections in Europe.
* Hospitals in the Netherlands said they would ask their German counterparts to take patients after the number of those hospitalised with coronavirus doubled in the past week.
AMERICAS
* President Donald Trump said he is willing to raise his offer of $1.8 trillion for a COVID-19 relief deal with Democrats in the U.S. Congress, but the idea was shot down by his fellow Republican, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
* New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's recent measures to stem local outbreaks have prompted demands from Catholics and Jews that courts void the restrictions because they limit religious freedom.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* On track to overtake the United States with the world's most infections, India is bracing for a surge in coming weeks as it heads into its main holiday season with an economy freed of restrictions.
* A U.N. human rights official called for an urgent easing of sanctions on North Korea, which may be worsening problems from its coronavirus lockdown.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* South Africa will embark on a massive public works and job-creation drive in response to the coronavirus crisis, President Cyril Ramaphosa said, unveiling a plan to return Africa's most industrialised economy to growth.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Gilead Sciences Inc's remdesivir had no substantial effect on COVID-19 patients' chances of survival, a clinical trial by the World Health Organization (WHO) has found, the Financial Times reported.
* WHO has so far left the question of financial claims from unexpected vaccine side-effects unresolved as it seeks to ensure shots are fairly distributed worldwide.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose to a two-month high last week, stoking fears the pandemic was inflicting lasting damage to the labor market.
* Speeding up the recovery from the coronavirus recession can add $9 trillion in global income by 2025, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said.
