A woman walks by a closed carousel on the Opera square in Frankfurt, Germany, Oct 8, 2020. (MICHAEL PROBST / AP)

BRUSSELS / ADDIS ABABA / LJUBLJANA / RABAT / TRIPOLI / HELSINKI / TUNIS / OTTAWA / ALGIERS / SANTIAGO / MEXICO CITY / MADRID / RIO DE JANEIRO / LONDON / BUCHAREST / PARIS / PRAGUE / ROME / SARAJEVO / WASHINGTON / HAVANA / BERLIN / KIEV / MOSCOW / SOFIA / WARSAW / ZURICH - Spain’s Socialist-led government invoked a state of emergency on Friday to impose a partial lockdown on Madrid, one of Europe’s worst COVID-19 hotspots, after a court had struck down the measures, state TV said.

The move escalates a standoff between Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government and the conservative-led Madrid regional chief who believes the curbs are illegal, excessive and disatrous for the local economy.

Many of the 3.8 million people affected in the capital city and nine satellite towns are bemused and angry.

Earlier on Thursday, a Madrid regional court annulled an order that imposed a partial lockdown in the capital city and nine satellite towns.

WHO posts record global daily tally

The World Health Organization reported a record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases on Thursday, with the total rising by 338,779 in 24 hours led by a surge of infections in Europe.

Europe reported 96,996 new cases, the highest total for the region ever recorded by the WHO.

Global deaths rose by 5,514 to a total of 1.05 million.

The previous WHO record for new cases was 330,340 on Oct 2. The agency reported a record 12,393 deaths on April 17.

As a region, Europe is now reporting more cases than India, Brazil or the United States.

The average number of new infections reported in Belgium has been increasing for seven days straight and Germany reported its biggest daily increase in new cases since April on Thursday.

ALSO READ: Virus vaccine 'unlikely' to be ready for use this year in EU

Global caseload

Global coronavirus infections surpassed 36.5 million Friday while the global death toll topped 1.06 million, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

Africa tally

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded across the African continent reached 1,537,019 while the death toll hit 37,387 on Thursday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

Algeria

Algeria reported on Thursday 138 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally to 52,658.

The Ministry of Health reported four more fatalities, raising the death toll to 1,783.

Argentina

Argentina reported 15,454 new coronavirus cases, bringing its tally to 856,369. 

The death toll rose by 485 to 22,710, the government said.

Austria

In Austria, national leaders and rival local politicians are also at odds, a battle fueled by elections in Vienna on Sunday.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s government has implored Vienna to bring forward a curfew to 10 pm and draw on support from the federal police for contact tracing, deploring “chaos” under Mayor Michael Ludwig’s watch.

Bosnia

Bosnia recorded on Thursday a record 453 daily COVID-19 infections, the Balkan country's health authorities said.

The previous daily record of 409 was reported on July 31. 

So far, Bosnia has reported 29,528 cases with 913 fatalities. There are 5,676 active cases currently.

Brazil

Brazil registered on Thursday 27,750 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total to 5,028,444, the health ministry said. 

Deaths rose by 729 to 148,957.

Health workers interview a resident to set up a date for her to take a COVID-19 test as part of a rapid test campaign by the civilian organization "Bora Testar", or "Let's Test", in the Rocinha slum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Oct 8, 2020. (SILVIA IZQUIERDO / AP)

Bulgaria

Bulgaria reported 516 new coronavirus cases on Friday, breaking the daily high record since the start of the pandemic in March for a third consecutive day, official data showed.

The Balkan country has now 23,279 COVID-19 cases, including 880 deaths. A total of 1,063 people are hospitalized and 56 are in intensive care, data from the coronavirus information platform showed.

Despite the surge in infections in past days, the health minister said the country was still doing relatively well compared to other European Union countries hit by a second COVID-19 wave and ruled out imposing new restrictions for now.

Canada

Canada is seeing a second wave of COVID-19 amid "a series of regional epidemics," said Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam on Thursday.

Canada has recorded 175,085 cases and 9,554 deaths as of Thursday afternoon, according to CTV.

The Public Health Agency of Canada reported the country has had an average of 2,052 new cases and 18 deaths per day over the past week.

Amid the virus surge, the Canadian government said it was lifting cross-border travel restrictions for a wider range of family members from Thursday. 

The move means that some Canadians will soon be able to reunite with loved ones outside the country after being separated for months.

Chile

Chile will relax restrictions meant to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in some elderly care facilities, First Lady Cecilia Morel said on Thursday.

Starting from Monday, elderly care facilities located in communities that are excluded from quarantine will be open to visitors twice a week, with a maximum of two visitors permitted per resident, Morel said at a press conference. 

Visitors will be required to obtain a health passport, she added.

The announcement came on the same day the Ministry of Health reported 1,575 new cases, bringing the tally to 476,016. The death toll rose by 77 to 13,167.

A couple wearing face masks jog under the rain on the Malecon seawall in Havana, Cuba, on Oct 6, 2020. (RAMON ESPINOSA / AP)

Cuba

Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said late on Thursday that most of the Caribbean island nation would open to international tourism starting next week as it moved towards a "new normality" after containing its coronavirus outbreak.

Thirteen of Cuba's sixteen provinces will now be open to tourism, Marrero said at a roundtable discussion broadcast to the nation, albeit not yet the capital, Havana which only just appears to have curbed a second wave of infections with strict measures, including a curfew.

"We will open the possibility of international flights for all the provinces that are in this third phase," Marrero said, noting that all arrivals would be tested.

From now on, Cuba will allow people to isolate at home, Marrero said.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel said at the roundtable economic and social life could resume while maintaining strict anti-COVID measures such as mask-wearing and physical distancing.

Cuba has so far reported 5,917 confirmed cases and 123 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic's daily count of the new coronavirus cases rose to 5,394 on Thursday, the third record tally in a row, as the country tightened anti-pandemic measures in an attempt to curb the recent surge.

The Czech Republic's daily count of the new cases rose to 5,394 on Thursday, the third record tally in a row. Health Minister Roman Prymula said the government's target was to cut the daily tally to below 1,000

The overall number of cases reached 100,757 in the country of 10.7 million and 869 people have died from COVID-19, Health Ministry data showed on Friday.

Sports facilities, including pools and fitness clubs, and all cultural venues will shut for two weeks. The government also ordered restaurants to close at 8 pm and limit their capacity to four people per table. Pupils in the upper level of elementary schools will alternate in-class and distance learning.

In addition, all sports competitions will be suspended, with possible exceptions for international games without spectators. The measures will be phased in on Friday and Monday.

Health Minister Roman Prymula said the government's target was to cut the daily count of new cases to below 1,000. He acknowledged that the official number of identified cases did not catch a large portion of people infected.

In an effort to ease the pressure on hospitals' bed capacity, infected people who cannot isolate at home or those who carry the virus but don't require special treatment could go to hotels, Prymula said. He urged companies to allow employees to work from home wherever possible.

Egypt

Egypt reported late on Thursday 121 new COVID-19 infections and seven more deaths, bringing the tally to 104,156, including 6,017 deaths, the Health Ministry said.

EU

The President of the European Parliament David Sassoli said Thursday that he had decided to self-isolate after being in contact with a staff member who tested positive for COVID-19.

"I am fine and have no symptoms," Sassoli said in a tweet, adding that he will be "self-isolating for the required period to carry out the necessary checks."

Finland

The Finnish government decided on Thursday to reintroduce entry restrictions for citizens of all European countries, except the Vatican, from next Monday, as the COVID-19 situation is worsening both in the country and abroad.

The government also decided to reduce the official or voluntary quarantine time for those entering the country from 14 days to 10.  Workers commuting to and from Estonia and Sweden are exempted from the quarantine rule, according to a press release.  

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Finland surpassed 11,000 on Wednesday. On Thursday 296 new infections were reported. 

Tuija Kumpulainen, head of the Department for Safety, Security and Health at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, said at a press conference that the government does not plan to isolate provinces or block domestic travel. 

Groups of people sit apart as they gather on the Rhone river banks in the center of Lyon, central France, Oct 8, 2020. (LAURENT CIPRIANI / AP)

France

France's third-biggest city Lyon will have to close its bars in coming days as its coronavirus infection rates are spiking and its hospital emergency beds are filling up quickly with COVID-19 patients, the health minister said on Thursday.

French Health Minister Olivier Veran said Lyon, Lille, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne would go on maximum coronavirus alert level from Saturday

Olivier Veran said Lyon, Lille, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne would go on maximum coronavirus alert level from Saturday. This means they will have to close their bars for two weeks in coming days, as Paris did on Tuesday and Marseille, France's second-biggest city, did earlier this month.

Veran said the situation in Toulouse and Montpellier was also worrying and that those cities could also be moved to maximum COVID-19 alert level from Monday. Dijon and Clermont-Ferrand would be put on higher alert from Saturday, he said.

Meanwhile, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire detailed extra support measures for the economy, making new businesses, including florists, dry cleaners and booksellers, eligible for the state solidarity fund.

The health ministry reported Thursday more than 18,000 new cases for the second day in a row.

The number of people in intensive care rose by 11 to 1,427. The number of COVID-19 patients is now more than 30 percent of the total in many big-city hospitals.

Hospitals in the Paris region moved into emergency mode on Thursday, canceling staff holidays and postponing non-essential operations, as COVID-19 patients made up close to half of all patients in intensive care units (ICUs).

Germany

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will speak with mayors of the country’s biggest cities about efforts to contain the spread in Europe’s largest economy.

Merkel will discuss containment measures with big-city officials after new COVID-19 cases exceeded 4,000 for the second day in a row -- levels not seen since April. 

Coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 4,516 to 314,660 while deaths rose by 11, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday.  

According to a separate tally by Johns Hopkins University, the number of cases rose by 4,804 in the 24 hours through Friday morning, the most since April 10, after a gain of 4,010 on Thursday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

“Crowds of people -- especially indoors -- should be avoided if possible and celebrations should be limited to the closest circle of family and friends,” the country’s RKI public health institute said in its latest situation report.

Georgia 

Georgia reported 527 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing its total to 10,752.

 A total of 190 of the 527 new cases were confirmed in the western Adjara region, the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health said.

Italy

Italy registered 4,458 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Thursday, the first time the country has exceeded 4,000 cases in a single day since mid-April.

There were also 22 COVID-related deaths on Thursday against 31 the day before, taking the number of fatalities to 36,083, the second-highest death toll in the continent.

Libya

Libya reported on Thursday 779 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to 40,292.

The death toll rose by eight to 616 while the number of recoveries increased by 299 to 23,130, the  National Center for Disease Control of Libya said.

Mexico

Mexico's health ministry reported on Thursday 5,300 newly confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 370 additional fatalities, bringing the totals in the country to 804,488 infections and 83,096 deaths.

Morocco

Morocco's tally of COVID-19 infections rose to 142,953 on Thursday after 2,929 new cases were registered, the highest single-day spike since March 2.

A record high of 47 fatalities were recroded in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 2,486, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

In a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19, the government announced Thursday an extension of the state of health emergency until Nov 10.

Poland

Poland reported a record daily rise in coronavirus cases for the fourth consecutive day on Friday, with 4,739 new infections, the health ministry said as the country readies for a renewal of some restrictions.

Wearing masks outside will be compulsory across the whole of Poland from Saturday, when a tightening of restrictions in schools is expected to be announced. On Thursday, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki did not rule out introducing a state of emergency if cases continue to grow.

In total, the country of 38 million has reported 116,338 infections and 2,919 deaths in the pandemic. 

The biggest spike in new cases on Friday was reported in southeast Poland, where hospitals are running out of COVID-19 beds, according to local media reports.

The ministry said that as of Friday COVID-19 patients occupied 4,407 hospital beds all over the country and 320 ventilators, compared with 4,138 and 296 respectively a day earlier.

Romania

Romanian authorities said on Thursday they will suspend flights to and from high-risk countries to stem a sharp rise in new coronavirus infections.

The number of infections in Romania rose by a record 3,130 in the past 24 hours, and the government has closed theaters, cinemas, indoor restaurants, bars and gaming halls in the capital Bucharest, with similar measures enforced by other cities.

Travelers from 49 high-risk countries will need to self-isolate for 10-14 days upon arrival, except those travelling for less than three days, who must have a negative coronavirus test.

On Thursday, the government suspended flights from the countries on the list, except European Union states, Britain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Russia

Russia posted a record number of new COVID-19 cases Friday as the government has resisted returning to a lockdown to battle the second wave of infections.

Russia's daily coronavirus cases surged to an all-time high on Friday, with authorities reporting 12,126 new infections, pushing the overall total to 1,272,238.

Officials said 201 more people died in the last 24 hours, taking the official death toll to 22,257. 

Russia's record daily rise before Friday was 11,656 cases on May 11.

President Vladimir Putin imposed sweeping restrictions for two months during the initial wave of coronavirus infections that helped slow the spread of the illness. However, the authorities are hesitant to resume unpopular measures that would hurt the economy.

The Moscow Mayor's office was looking into closing bars, nightclubs and karaoke bars, but keeping restaurants in the capital open, the RBC media outlet reported on Friday, citing a a source at the mayor's office. 

However, the capital doesn’t plan to reintroduce a widely unpopular digital travel pass regime that was implemented earlier in the year, Tass reported Thursday, citing a city official.

Meanwhile, Russia is expected to register a second potential vaccine against COVID-19 on Oct 15, Siberia's Vector Institute, the vaccine's developer, said.

Slovakia

Slovakia reported another daily record number of new coronavirus infections on Friday, prompting the government to call up hundreds of troops to help public health officials and warn of tighter restrictions on public life.

Some 1,184 newly infected people were identified on Thursday, the government said on Friday, bringing the total in the country of 5.5 million to 16,910. It has reported 57 deaths so far with 370 hospitalized as of Thursday.

"I am beginning to be concerned whether the measures adopted can be effective with such marked growth in the numbers of positive people," Prime Minister Igor Matovic said at a news conference.

Health Minister Marek Krajci said the "R" rate was around 1.4, which translates to a doubling of new infections in a week.

The government has approved up to 1,500 troops to be available to help at local public health offices and at hospitals, with an initial 267 to be deployed over the weekend to help trace contacts of infected people.

Slovenia

Slovenia reported a record daily high of 387 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, according to official figures released on Thursday.

The capital Ljubljana now has 449 active cases after a daily jump of 64, according to data from the official COVID-19 tracker site.

To date, the country has reported a total of 7,507 infections, of which 2,692 are active cases. 

Switzerland

The number of new coronavirus infections in Switzerland and Liechtenstein rose by 1,487 in a day, a record, data from Switzerland's public health agency showed on Friday.

The agency reported a total of 60,368 confirmed cases, up from 58,881 on Thursday. The death toll rose by 3 to 1,794.

A worker disinfects a street of downtown Tunis, in Tunisia, on Oct 8, 2020. (ADEL EZZINE / XINHUA)

Tunisia

Tunisia's Health Ministry reported on Thursday 2,357 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 26,899.

The death toll rose by 45 to 409, the ministry added.

UK

The rate of coronavirus infection in England almost doubled in the week through Oct 1, adding to concerns that a fresh surge of the pandemic is spreading through the country.

“The number of infections has increased rapidly in recent weeks,” the Office for National Statistics said Friday. The rate climbed to one person in 240 from one in 470 a week earlier, it estimated.

British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak will announce later on Friday a new plan to support jobs as the government tries to slow the renewed spread of COVID-19 by ordering the closure of some businesses, the finance ministry said.

Health Minister Matt Hancock warned the United Kingdom was at a "perilous moment" as more than 17,540 new daily COVID-19 cases were recorded on Thursday, up by more than 3,000 from the day before.

The UK reported more than 17,540 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, pushing the tally past 560,000

A further 77 people died after testing positive for the virus within 28 days, government data showed while the number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals in England rose to 3,044 from 2,944 on Wednesday, the highest figure since June 22.

In total, the UK has reported 561,815 confirmed cases and 42,592 deaths that were reported within 28 days of positive test, government data showed.

READ MORE: Johnson tightens virus controls at 'perilous' stage

Newcastle University said 1,003 of its 28,000 students tested positive for the coronavirus this month and 12 staff members were also found to have the virus, the Telegraph reported, citing the university. The “overwhelming” majority of cases were from social and residential settings, a university spokeswoman told the newspaper.

Hancock said he was very concerned about the rise in cases, adding that hospitalizations in northwest England were doubling every fortnight and had risen by 57 percent in the last week alone.

"We are at a perilous moment in the course of this pandemic. In parts of the country, the situation is again, becoming very serious," he said.

England has added five Greek islands - Lesbos, Tinos, Serifos, Santorini and Zakynthos - to its safe-travel corridor list meaning that from Saturday travelers from there will no longer have to self-isolate on arrival, Transport Minister Grant Shapps said on Thursday.

Ukraine

Ukraine registered a record 5,804 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the national security council said on Friday, up from a previous record of 5,397 new cases reported on Thursday.

The daily tally in Ukraine climbed to a record level for the third day in a row , bringing the tally to 250,538 with 4,779 deaths, including 89 in the past 24 hours.

US

US President Donald Trump's physician said on Thursday that Trump had completed his course of therapy for the coronavirus, had remained stable since returning to the White House and could resume public engagements on Saturday.

The White House has declined to say when Trump last tested negative test for the virus.

READ MORE: Trump returns to campaign trail after finishing virus treatment

Trump said in a recorded video posted on Twitter he wants emergency use authorization signed “immediately” for the COVID-19 treatment that he received. He did not name specific drugs in his video. 

Across the US, more than 7.6 million coronavirus cases had been reported, along with more than 212,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city is closing an additional 61 public schools to combat COVID-19 hot spots. The earliest reopening would be Oct 21, he said. Closures are now affecting 169 schools, about 10 percent of the city’s public schools.

Meanwhile on virus aid, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held a 40-minute call, during which Mnuchin told Pelosi that Trump wants agreement on a comprehensive stimulus package, her spokesman said.

White House spokeswoman Alyssa Farah roiled the waters, however, when she told reporters that Trump wants a "skinny" coronavirus relief bill, despite Pelosi's insistence on a comprehensive measure in addition to helping the nation's airlines.

Eli Lilly

Eli Lilly and Co said on Thursday it had entered into an agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for potential supply of its experimental antibody treatments for COVID-19 to low and middle-income countries.

As part of the deal, Lilly said it will make antibody therapies available to lower-income countries prior to April 2021, but did not elaborate on the number of doses. Separately, Fujifilm Holdings Corp said its facility in Denmark would manufacture Lilly's antibody therapy in April 2021

Lilly had previously said it would make one million doses of its single antibody treatment available by the end of the year, and another 50,000 doses of its dual- antibody therapy by the fourth quarter this year.

Separately, Lilly said on Thursday fewer deaths were reported among COVID-19 patients taking a combination of its rheumatoid arthritis drug and Gilead Sciences Inc's remdesivir in a clinical trial, compared to only remdesivir.

Gilead's remdesivir 

Final data from Gilead's antiviral drug remdesivir showed the treatment cut COVID-19 recovery time by five days compared with patients who got a placebo, one day faster than indicated in preliminary data, the company and researchers said on Thursday.

In patients who were on oxygen when they first got the drug, remdesivir - sold under the brand Veklury - reduced recovery time by seven days compared with placebo after 29 days, according to the 1,062-patient study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The final study looked at data at 29 days of treatment, versus a preliminary study released in May that reported results after 15 days.