Summary for Wednesday, 30th September
Belgium has reached 10,000 Covid related deaths – it’s seen 14 more deaths in 24 hours and has an infection rate of 181 per 100,000.
Dutch musical Soldier of Orange has been halted until Sunday because half the 30-strong cast have tested positive – it only got going again this month after a six month pause because of the pandemic.
Albania has pushed back the start of the school year back a month to November, after 127 new cases were reported on Tuesday.
Ukraine has hit a new daily record of 4,027 cases in the past 24 hours. And Finland is shutting bars in Helsinki from tomorrow at 11pm because the epidemic is in an “acceleration” phase – 149 cases were recorded nationally on Tuesday.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden met for the first of three presidential debates
President Donald Trump and his challenger Joe Biden clashed fiercely in the first White House debate - one of the most chaotic and bitter debates in years.
Some 20 minutes of the 90-minute debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was taken up with the pandemic and the 200,000 American lives it has claimed.
The discussions ranged from the economic impact of the pandemic, vaccines and mask-wearing to the president's handling of the crisis.
Mr Biden rubbished Mr Trump’s leadership, saying: “He panicked or he looked at the stock market”.
“A lot of people died and a lot more are going to die unless he gets a lot smarter, a lot quicker,” Mr Biden added.
Mr Trump’s responded by objecting to the use of the word “smart”, telling his opponent: “You graduated either the lowest or almost lowest in your class”.
Local rules required everyone in the room to wear masks, but of the president's family members present only US First Lady Melania Trump donned a face covering during the debate.
You can read more on our Debate Live Page here.
- Belgium's coronavirus death toll passes 10,000, while over 117,000 people have been infected
- Donald Trump and rival Joe Biden clash over vaccines and masks during a chaotic debate
- New York City has announced it will fine people who refuse to wear face masks or coverings
- UK PM Boris Johnson will lead a briefing later after the UK recorded the highest number of daily coronavirus cases
- A group of senior MPs has warned Johnson it would be "unacceptable" to introduce further restrictions without Parliament's approval
- The world has seen more than 33.6m coronavirus cases and 1m deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University
UK round-up
Meanwhile, here is a round-up of the main UK stories this morning:- PM Boris Johnson will lead a Covid-19 briefing later today, after the UK recorded the highest number of daily coronavirus cases since the outbreak began. The prime minister will be joined by England's chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, and the government's chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, in what will be the 100th coronavirus briefing since the pandemic hit the UK
- Almost one million women in the UK have missed vital breast screening appointments due to coronavirus, a leading charity has estimated. Breast Cancer Now calculates that around 8,600 women who have not had a scan - after screening programmes were temporarily paused in March - have undetected breast cancer
- Introducing further Covid restrictions without Parliament's direct approval would "not be acceptable", a group of senior MPs has said. The intervention from the Commons Liaison Committee comes as MPs are to vote today on extending emergency powers given to the government in March to tackle the coronavirus pandemic
- Millions of the UK's poorest households could see their incomes cut by £20 ($26) a week from April unless a "lifeline" payment introduced during the pandemic continues, charities warn. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation and others are calling on the chancellor to make a temporary rise in Universal Credit, plus other benefits, permanent
Latest across Europe
One million people in Madrid already have restrictions on their mobility and social contacts, but it could soon become city-wide. After a drawn-out political row, Spain’s health ministry has agreed lockdown terms with Madrid officials that will apply to all cities of more than 100,000 people. Cases would have to top 500 per 100,000 of the population, the rate of positive tests should reach 10% and over 35% of intensive care beds should be full. Madrid has hit all those limits.Belgium has reached 10,000 Covid related deaths – it’s seen 14 more deaths in 24 hours and has an infection rate of 181 per 100,000.
Dutch musical Soldier of Orange has been halted until Sunday because half the 30-strong cast have tested positive – it only got going again this month after a six month pause because of the pandemic.
Albania has pushed back the start of the school year back a month to November, after 127 new cases were reported on Tuesday.
Ukraine has hit a new daily record of 4,027 cases in the past 24 hours. And Finland is shutting bars in Helsinki from tomorrow at 11pm because the epidemic is in an “acceleration” phase – 149 cases were recorded nationally on Tuesday.
Pandemic stirs rancorous US presidential debate
Donald Trump and Joe Biden met for the first of three presidential debates
President Donald Trump and his challenger Joe Biden clashed fiercely in the first White House debate - one of the most chaotic and bitter debates in years.
Some 20 minutes of the 90-minute debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden was taken up with the pandemic and the 200,000 American lives it has claimed.
The discussions ranged from the economic impact of the pandemic, vaccines and mask-wearing to the president's handling of the crisis.
Mr Biden rubbished Mr Trump’s leadership, saying: “He panicked or he looked at the stock market”.
“A lot of people died and a lot more are going to die unless he gets a lot smarter, a lot quicker,” Mr Biden added.
Mr Trump’s responded by objecting to the use of the word “smart”, telling his opponent: “You graduated either the lowest or almost lowest in your class”.
Local rules required everyone in the room to wear masks, but of the president's family members present only US First Lady Melania Trump donned a face covering during the debate.
You can read more on our Debate Live Page here.