(Reuters) – U.S. hospitals have seen a 36% rise in coronavirus patients over the past four weeks, while in Australia residents in five suburbs in Melbourne have been put on alert after a new case in a school sparked fears of a fresh outbreak.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread of COVID-19, open https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps in an external browser.
* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news.
EUROPE
*Belgium could order another lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 infections as early as next week, as the country grapples with a new wave of the virus potentially as serious its first last spring.
* Britain’s finance minister will announce a fourth support package for firms struggling to handle COVID-19 when he makes a statement to parliament on Thursday, The Guardian reported.
AMERICAS
* Six U.S. states reported record day-over-day increases in COVID-19 deaths, according to a Reuters analysis, as infections rose across the Midwest and elsewhere, prompting new clampdowns on residents, schools and businesses.
* High-level negotiations on a new coronavirus aid bill faced a setback when President Donald Trump accused Democrats of being unwilling to craft an acceptable compromise, despite reports of some progress earlier.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* China will continue to suspend outbound group tours and ban travel agencies from allowing inbound tours due to the risk of a resurgence in coronavirus cases this winter.
* Residents in five suburbs in Australia’s second-largest city, Melbourne, have been put on alert and people living in a public housing block urged to self-isolate after a new virus case in a school sparked fears of a fresh outbreak.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* South Africa faces a high risk of resurging infections that may lead to a review of lockdowns.
* Turkey is considering reimposing some measures to stem a resurgence of cases, but will avoid throttling the economic recovery, a senior official said.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Britain will partner with an Oxford-based firm to provide testing for the T cell response of coronavirus vaccine candidates to try to assess their immune responses.
* The United States is likely to have enough safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines available to inoculate the most vulnerable Americans by the end of 2020, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said.
* Brazilian health authority Anvisa said a volunteer in a clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University had died but added that the trial would continue.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Asian shares fell on Thursday and U.S. Treasury yields ticked lower as investors fretted over the slow pace of U.S. stimulus talks and a surge in global cases of COVID-19. [MKTS/GLOB]
* Over half the small and medium-sized companies which together provide jobs for two-thirds of European workers fear for their survival in the coming 12 months, according to a survey released by management consultancy McKinsey on Thursday.
* German consumer morale fell heading into November as fears about a second coronavirus wave that is hitting Europe’s biggest economy made Germans less willing to open their wallets, a survey showed.
(Compiled by Devika Syamnath and Amy Caren Daniel; Editing by Maju Samuel and Sriraj Kalluvila)
