- A flight carrying about 300 passengers from New Zealand to Australia under a new so-called "travel bubble" has landed in Sydney
- New coronavirus restrictions are coming into force in several European regions and countries as Covid infections surge
- France reported a jump of more than 30,000 new Covid-19 cases ahead of a night-time curfew being imposed on Paris and eight other cities
- The Spanish region of Catalonia has introduced tough new measures, including closing some bars and restaurants
- Poland, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have also introduced additional measures
- Divisions between the government and local leaders in England are "very dangerous" and harming the ability to control the disease, a scientist warns
- UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has defended the three-tier restrictions, saying they are necessary to avoid a "severe" national lockdown
- It comes as millions more people in England will move to the second highest tier of restrictions - high alert - from Saturday
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Welcome to today's coverage
It's early morning here in London as we resume our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. We will be updating you on the latest news from the UK and around the world.Here are some of the latest key developments:
- The first flight from New Zealand to Australia under a new so-called "travel bubble" has landed
- France has reported a large jump in new Covid-19 cases ahead of a night-time curfew being imposed on Paris and eight other cities on Saturday
- The Spanish region of Catalonia has introduced tougher new coronavirus restrictions - including closing some bars and restaurants - to try to halt a resurgence of the disease in the area
- The row over England's three-tier regional Covid restrictions is "very damaging to public health", a scientist advising the government has warned
- Talks are due to continue later between government and local leaders over moving Greater Manchester and Lancashire to the toughest tier of rules
- Millions more people in England will move to the second highest tier of restrictions - high alert - from Saturday, including London, Essex (apart from Southend and Thurrock), York, North East Derbyshire, Chesterfield, Erewash in Derbyshire, Elmbridge in Surrey, and Barrow in Furness, Cumbria
- New restrictions come into force in Northern Ireland this evening - meaning pubs and restaurants will only be able to serve takeaways, and hairdressers and beauticians will shut
- And a ban on travelling to Wales from coronavirus hotspots elsewhere in the UK comes into effect on Friday evening
- In the US, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said in a town hall campaign meeting in Philadelphia that Donald Trump had refused to boost efforts to combat the virus even after testing positive: "What's he doing? Nothing. He's still not wearing masks."
- President Trump, at a separate event in Miami, rejected criticism of his handling of the pandemic, saying he had done an "amazing" job
- In China, a coronavirus vaccine has been found to be safe and to trigger immune responses in combined early and mid-stage trials
Latest as Europe battles Covid surge
Partial lockdowns are continuing to spread across Europe as governments battle to curb virus infections.- The Netherlands has closed bars and restaurants as cases there surge. Hospitals in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague are under pressure from new Covid patients. Hospitals in western Germany have readied spare beds to take Dutch patients if necessary, as happened early on in the crisis
- New infections are also rising rapidly in Germany: the latest official daily figure is 7,334 cases, up from 6,638 on Thursday. Germany has declared many neighbouring countries and regions to be "high risk", including the whole of France and the Netherlands, and parts of Italy and Switzerland. Germans returning from there will have to quarantine
- Ireland now has a four-week national restriction on household visits, except for attending to medical and care needs. Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said Covid-19 in Ireland was "not in control" – that is, the current track-and-trace system could not keep up with it
- Austria has imposed a quarantine on Kuchl, a town of 6,600 inhabitants in the Salzburg region, because of a Covid cluster there. It is the first such measure in Austria for months
- France faces one last evening before a night curfew takes effect in Paris and eight other cities. The number of new cases in 24 hours reached 30,621 on Thursday – a new record.
What's the three-tier system in England?
London and Essex are among the areas moving into Tier 2 coronavirus restrictions from Saturday. It means millions more people won't be able to mix with other households indoors.The announcement follows the introduction of England's new three-tier system. Other parts of the UK have also introduced new restrictions.
Every area of England now falls into three categories - medium (Tier 1), high (Tier 2) or very high (Tier 3) - depending on the local rate of infection.
Read the rules for each tier here.
Scientists estimate 47,000 daily Covid cases in England
Around 47,000 Covid-19 infections are occurring each day across England, with daily deaths expected to hit 240 to 690 by 26 October, according to evidence presented to government scientists.The Medical Research Council (MRC) biostatistics unit at Cambridge University published new predictions this week on how fast the epidemic is growing across the country.
It estimates cases are doubling in under seven days, with a "substantial proportion" of those being asymptomatic.
The figures are fed to the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, which provides real-time information to the government through the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), and to regional Public Health England (PHE) teams.
On 12 October, the MRC unit published a report saying: "Our current estimate of the number of infections occurring each day across England is 47,000.
"We predict that the number of deaths each day is likely to be between 240 and 690 on 26 October."
It said the daily number of infections was within the range of 28,900 to 74,900, with the best estimate being 47,000, and said the number of new infections is particularly high in the north-west of England, north-east of England and Yorkshire, followed by London and the Midlands.
It added the estimated growth rate for England was 0.09 per day.
Wales ban on people visiting from UK hotspots to begin
A ban on travelling to Wales from coronavirus hotspots elsewhere in the UK comes into effect this evening.First Minister Mark Drakeford asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson twice to stop people in areas of England with high coronavirus rates from travelling.
But after receiving no reply, the first minister used devolved powers to shut Wales' borders to people from hotspots.
The ban will cover all of Northern Ireland, England's tier two and three areas and the Scottish central belt.
Read more on this story here.
Tighter rules introduced on face coverings in Scotland
New rules have come into effect in Scotland extending the mandatory wearing of face coverings.They will now be required in workplace settings such as canteens.
Other areas such as corridors and other communal facilities will be included in a further extension of the rules coming into force on Monday.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that the measures were part of the response needed at a "critical moment" in the pandemic.
- Read more here
Greater Manchester mayor wants 'fairness' for workers
The UK's foreign secretary has said Greater Manchester's mayor should "do the right thing by the people" and agree to the highest level of Covid measures.Dominic Raab said Labour's Andy Burnham was "effectively trying to hold the government over a barrel over money and politics".
Burnham later tweeted: "It's not about what we want for ourselves, Dominic Raab. It's about what we want for low-paid and self-employed people everywhere: fairness."
On Thursday, Burnham said Greater Manchester would "stand firm" against plans to move it into Tier 3, calling it a "flawed" and "unfair" policy.
He wants more financial support for people affected by tougher rules.
Meanwhile, discussions between central government and local leaders over putting the region into Tier 3 have stalled.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast earlier, Sir Richard Lees, the leader of Manchester City council, said no talks were planned for Friday.
He said that "at the moment there are no meetings in the diary between us and government", adding: "We are in a bit of a vacuum."
- Read more here
Lancashire to enter very high Covid Tier 3
A deal has been agreed for Lancashire to enter England's highest tier of coronavirus restrictions.
Under Tier 3 - the "very high" alert level - measures include pub closures and a ban on household mixing indoors, in private gardens and in most outdoor venues.
Currently the Liverpool City Region is the only area under Tier 3 measures.
Announcement on Lancashire expected at 1100 BST
An official announcement on the new measures in Lancashire is expected shortly - at 11:00 BST.
- Read more here.
One-way Australia-New Zealand 'bubble' opens
As we reported earlier, the first passengers from New Zealand have arrived in Australia under new "travel bubble" arrangements between the two countries.None of the passengers will have to quarantine on arrival in Sydney, though they will have to do so on returning to New Zealand.
Australia and New Zealand are among the first countries in the Asia-Pacific region to loosen restrictions on international travel since Covid-19 travel bans came into effect earlier this year.
Since March, Australia's borders have been closed to everyone except returning Australian citizens and residents and those with special permission.
Swiss yodelling concert creates European hotspot
In Switzerland, a yodel concert attended by 600 people is believed to have made one canton a European virus hotspot.According to the authorities, people at the event, which took place at the end of September in the rural canton of Schwyz, were asked to keep their distances, but were not required to wear masks.
"We found out nine days after the performance that several people from the group were infected," event organiser Beat Hegner told Swiss television.
With more than 1,230 coronavirus cases, the canton is now one of the continent's hotspots.
"The explosion in the number of cases in Schwyz is one of the worst in all of Europe," local hospital chief Reto Nueesch is quoted as saying in local media.
On Wednesday, some 94 people tested positive, twice as many as the day before, and 114 on Thursday.