Key developments from the last few hours:
- Stock markets have opened sharply down in Asia Pacific on Tuesday, taking their cue from the US and Europe where shares fell on Monday amid concerns that the second wave of coronavirus is not being contained. In Sydney the ASX200 has fallen 1.2% and the Dow Jones New Zealand is down 1.3%. Markets in Asia are set to follow suit.
- Mainland China reported 16 new confirmed Covid-19 cases on 26 October, down from 20 a day earlier, the country’s health authorities said on Tuesday. The number of new asymptomatic cases also fell to 50, from 161 reported a day earlier amid a fresh wave of symptomless infections being reported in the northwestern Xinjiang region.
- Victoria, Australia recorded zero new cases for second time.
- With the US Election Day just over a week away, average deaths per day across the country are up 10% over the past two weeks, from 721 to nearly 794 as of Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Newly confirmed infections per day are rising in 47 states, and deaths are up in 34.
- Protesters turned out by the hundreds in Turin, Milan and other Italian cities and towns Monday to vent their anger, sometimes violently, at the latest pandemic restrictions that force restaurants and cafes to close early and shutter cinemas, gyms and other leisure venues.
- The World Health Organization chief warned Monday that abandoning efforts to control the coronavirus pandemic, as suggested by a top US official, was “dangerous”, urging countries not to “give up”. He acknowledged that after months of battling the new coronavirus, which has claimed more than 1.1 million lives globally, a certain level of “pandemic fatigue” had set in.
- Pope Francis will have to forego meeting Catholics at the annual Advent and Christmas masses in the Vatican owing to the resurgent coronavirus pandemic.
- France alone may be experiencing 100,000 new coronavirus cases per day – double the latest official figures – Prof Jean-François Delfraissy, who heads the scientific council that advises the government on the pandemic, said. Tougher coronavirus containment measures could be announced in the country later this week.
- The Czech government has ordered a 9pm curfew and will limit retail sales on Sundays, as part of tighter measures adopted to stem a surge in Covid-19 infections.
- Germany is on the verge of losing control of its fight against the coronavirus, Angela Merkel has reportedly warned colleagues. In an indication of the growing concern, Merkel brought forward a meeting on additional coronavirus restrictions with the leaders of Germany’s 16 states from Friday to Wednesday.
- Belgium’s intensive care units will be overrun in a fortnight if the rate of infection continues, a spokesman for country’s Covid-19 crisis centre has said.
- Italians have been advised against trips to other European countries because of surging coronavirus cases, with the foreign ministry warning they could get trapped overseas if travel bans became necessary.
- More than 50 Tory MPs seek "clear road map" out of lockdown curbs in northern England.
- Warrington is latest part of England to move into the top tier of Covid-19 measures.
Welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in the UK and abroad
Here is a quick rundown of the top UK headlines this Tuesday morning:
- The levels of protective antibodies in people wane "quite rapidly" after they are infected with Covid-19, say researchers.They say immunity appears to be fading and there is a risk of catching the virus multiple times. A team from Imperial College London found the number of people testing positive for antibodies – a key part of our immune defences – has fallen by 26% between June and September
- More than 50 Tory MPs have written to the PM calling for a"clear road map" out of lockdown restrictions in northern England, warning the region risks being "left behind".The letter from the Northern Research Group said the pandemic threatened Boris Johnson's pledge to "level-up" the region. All the areas under the strictest restrictions of the government's three tier system for England are in the North or the Midlands
- Warrington, in north west England, is the latest area to move into “very high” tier 3 Covid-19 restrictions as infection rates continue to rise. The tougher measures – which came into force at midnight – require pubs and bars not serving substantial meals to close and ban households from mixing indoors or outdoors in hospitality venues or private gardens
- Coronavirus has "thrived" among black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) communities because of structural race discrimination, a Labour report says. Its author, Baroness Lawrence, said these groups were "over-exposed" and faced "barriers" to healthcare. A No 10 adviser has said “structural racism” was not in itself a "reasonable explanation" for rates differing between ethnic groups
- Victoria Derbyshire has apologised after saying she would break the rule of six so her family could celebrate Christmas together. The BBC presenter previously told the Radio Times her family of seven knew the risks and would be "sensible" but "we have to be together at Christmas". But in a Twitter thread posted on Tuesday morning, she said had been "wrong" and "hypothetical" and that her family would "continue to follow whatever rules are in place" on 25 December.
Protests and moves towards new lockdowns in Europe
Protests have taken place against Covid restrictions in cities across Italy. There was violence in Milan and Turin as demonstrators clashed with police over the introduction of night curfews and the closure of restaurants, bars, gyms and cinemas. Read more on that story here.Belgium will decide this weekend whether to impose an immediate second national lockdown, according to interfederal Covid-19 spokesman Yves Van Laethem. Half the country’s 2,000 intensive care beds are full and he believes by the weekend 1,250 of the beds will probably be occupied.
The Slovak government wants to test the entire population from this weekend. Prime Minister Igor Matovic hopes to identify tens of thousands of infected people, then they and their families would spend the next 10 days in quarantine.
- In Russia, masks will have to be worn in many public places from tomorrow – and catering services will have to shut from 11pm
- Danes will have to start wearing masks indoors in most public spaces from Thursday - more than 1,000 infections were reported yesterday over a 28-hour period
- The Czech Republic will start a night curfew tomorrow night from 09:00 to 05:00 – it has the highest infection rate in Europe.
Germany’s DIVI intensive care and emergency medicine association is warning of a “dramatic shortage of nurses” as infections surged 11,409 in 24 hours – there’s no shortage of beds, just a lack of 3,500-plus specialists.
France’s government convenes its health defence council today and the big question is whether to impose some form of lockdown as early as this weekend. The head of the science council says daily infections could be “around 100,000”. Paris region hospitals have been told to halt from Friday any unrelated surgery or medical activities if they get in the way of Covid crisis or critical care.
'No clear rules' on exiting tier three - Warrington council leader
Warrington, in north-west England, is the latest area to move into Tier three Covid-19 measures as infection rates continue to rise.Labour council leader Russ Bowden has said it was the right decision to move the area into the "very high" Covid alert level, with cases remaining "stubbornly high".
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said he could not see a way out of the top tier of restrictions for his area, adding that he did not know what measurements the government were using for putting places in the various tiers in the first place.
"There are no clear rules about what the success criteria are and how you move between the different tiered layers," he said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the "simplest and most effective way" for areas to get out of tier three was to get the R number - the rate at which the virus is spreading - "down to one or below".
The Department of Health also said other data taken into account included which age groups were being affected and the pressures facing the NHS in those areas.
Melbourne's hard-won success after marathon lockdown
Phil Mercer - BBC News SydneyMelbourne's grinding second coronavirus lockdown began in the chill of winter.
In early July, the nights were long and dark, and Australia's cultural capital was confronting the terrifying reality of another deadly wave of infections.
More than 110 days later, experts say it is emerging as a world leader in disease suppression alongside places including Singapore, Vietnam, South Korea, New Zealand and Hong Kong.
Raina McIntyre, a biosecurity professor at the University of New South Wales' Kirby Institute, told the BBC that Australia's response had been "light years ahead" of the US and the UK.
Read here to find out more about Melbourne's approach.