In this photo taken on Oct 14, 2020 German Health Minister Jens Spahn, left, receives an influenza vaccination from physician Harald Bias, Head of Occupational Medicine Center at Charite University Hospital in Berlin. (PHOTO / AFP)

MEXICO CITY / SAO PAULO / QUITO / MADRID / BERLIN / BRUSSELS / ROME / PARIS / WARSAW / LONDON / MOSCOW / PRAGUE / KIEV / SANTIAGO / VILNIUS / RABAT / ADDIS ABABA / CAPE TOWN / TUNIS / WINDHOEK / SOFIA / STOCKHOLM / ZAGREB / BUDAPEST / HARARE / VIENNA - A surge in demand for vaccines to ward off the winter flu has led to shortages in some European cities, raising the risk of a potentially lethal “twindemic” as COVID-19 cases spike.

Many governments boosted vaccine orders this year and launched campaigns to encourage citizens to get shots.

The aim was to inoculate earlier than usual and cover a bigger portion of the continent’s 450 million population to reduce the burden on health services.

Top manufacturers such as GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, Abbott and Seqirus have boosted supplies to the region by an average of 30 percent in anticipation of higher demand. But they are operating at full capacity and cannot meet all the late extra demand, Vaccines Europe, which represents the producers, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Interviews with at least 10 city and government officials, as well as medical experts, also show systems in major cities such as Warsaw are struggling with the strong early demand, causing delays and temporary shortages.

South Africa

South Africa is recording a worrying increase in coronavirus infections, especially in the Western Cape province, which saw a 42 percent spike in new cases in the last week, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.

Nationwide, new cases increased 9.1 percent in the last seven days, prompting the health department to urge South Africa’s nine provinces to “quickly mount a response, including contact tracing and quarantine,” Mkhize said in a statement Wednesday.

The rise in infections in the Western Cape province is a resurgence and the provincial health department has identified specific clusters that are responsible for the increase, said Mkhize, who is in quarantine at home after contracting the virus himself. The biggest cluster is due to a so-called super-spreader event in a bar in the city of Cape Town, he said.

The country added 2,055 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the tally to 708,359 infections with 18,741 deaths, the most in Africa.

Latin America

Latin American countries should not relax measures aimed at containing the spread of coronavirus until vaccines against COVID-19 become available, an official with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the WHO's regional arm, said on Wednesday.

Speaking in a videoconference call with other officials, Marcos Espinal said keeping up containment measures was crucial to prevent unnecessary deaths in the pandemic.

At the same conference, PAHO director Carissa Etienne encouraged Latin American countries to participate in the global COVID-19 vaccine facility known as COVAX.

Global tally

Coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 41.1 million Wednesday while the global death toll topped 1.13 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Africa

Countries in the African continent have conducted over 16 million COVID-19 tests with a positivity rate of 9.7 percent, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Wednesday.

As of Wednesday afternoon, a total of 1,664,212 confirmed cases and 40,222 deaths have been reported in Africa, according to the Africa CDC.

Austria

Austria's daily tally of coronavirus cases rose to 2,435 on Thursday, a new high, newspapers Kronen Zeitung and Oesterreich reported before the figures were officially published.

The daily number of cases has been rising steadily, repeatedly setting new records since exceeding the first wave's peak this month.

Medical staff work in the intensive care ward for COVID-19 patients at the CHR Citadelle hospital in Liege, Belgium, Oct 21, 2020. (FRANCISCO SECO / AP)

Belgium

Belgium could order another lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 infections as early as next week, a spokesman said on Wednesday, as the country grapples with a new wave of the virus potentially as serious its first wave last spring.

Belgium's COVID-19 spokesman, Yves van Laethem, did not say what additional restrictions a lockdown would entail, but pointed to sport and cultural activities as areas where measures could be tightened.

Belgium's more than 10,000 deaths mean the country of 11 million people already has among the world's highest fatality rates per capita.

Belgium's infection rate has risen to more than 800 per 100,000 for the past 14 days, placing it second only to the Czech Republic in Europe and at nearly double the rate in France, the ECDC says.

Brazil

Brazil recorded 24,818 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 566 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

The country has registered 5,298,772 million cases while the official death toll has risen to 155,403, according to ministry data.

The ministry announced that Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello has tested positive for the virus, making him the latest Brazilian official, including Bolsonaro, to do so.

AstraZeneca vaccine trial Brazil volunteer dies

Brazilian health authority Anvisa said on Wednesday that 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.

Oxford confirmed the plan to keep testing, saying in a statement that after careful assessment "there have been no concerns about safety of the clinical trial."

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters the trial would have been suspended if the volunteer who died had received the COVID-19 vaccine, suggesting the person was part of the control group that was given a meningitis jab.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria's health ministry reported that country's daily COVID-19 tally and death toll hit record highs with 1,472 new cases and 29 deaths recorded over the past 24 hours, taking the overall tally to 33,335 and the death toll to 1,048.

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals reached 1,732, with 107 in intensive care, while the number of infected medical workers stood at 1,727, the ministry said.

In a bid to curb the rising infections, the Balkan country has made mask-wearing mandatory from Thursday in all outdoor public spaces.

People enjoy outdoor dining in a weather proof dome pod at a restaurant amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in Toronto, Canda, on Oct 21, 2020. (NATHAN DENETTE / THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP)

Canada

Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said on Wednesday that cases of COVID-19 continue to increase across the country and the latest national-level data indicate daily averages of 2,401 new cases.

Quebec province reported 1,072 new cases and 19 more deaths, while Ontario province reported 790 new cases and Manitoba province reported its third-highest daily increase in infections with 135 fresh cases registered.

Tam said it was important for people of all ages to maintain public health practices that keep infection rates low. "Canada needs a collective effort to sustain the public health response through to the end of the pandemic."

Chile

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Wednesday urged the public to remain vigilant against the novel coronavirus pandemic, despite reports of a drop in new cases in the country's hotspot - the southern Magallanes region.

"Today we have had 55 new cases of infection in the region. It is the lowest number of infections since Aug 19 and, therefore, the situation is improving. But we still have too high levels of infections, too high levels of positivity" in testing, Pinera said at a press conference after visiting the affected area.

"Even though we are improving, we cannot let our guard down because the region continues to have the highest (infection) rate ... in Chile," added Pinera.

The Ministry of Health said tests detected 1,152 fresh infections in the last 24 hours, taking the country's caseload to 495,637. The death toll rose by 17 to 13,719. 

Croatia

Croatia reported on Thursday its biggest rise in daily new COVID-19 infections with 1,563 new cases, nearly half of which were in its capital Zagreb where they more than doubled.

Zagreb recorded a new high of 705 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday compared to the previous day's 337 infections.

So far, Croatia has recorded 29,850 cases with 406 deaths. There are currently 7,380 active cases.

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic registered a daily record of 14,968 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, Health Ministry data show early on Thursday, confirming the worst current outbreak of the disease in Europe adjusted for population.

The country  has recorded 208,915 infections since March. Deaths have risen to 1,739, the ministry said on Thursday, up from 1,619 reported a day earlier, which includes 69 deaths on Wednesday along with revisions to previous days.

The government on Wednesday approved a series of measures to minimize social contacts, shutting down non-essential shops and limiting movement of people to commuting to and from work and several other exceptions.

Ecuador

Ecuador has secured 4 million doses of possible vaccines for COVID-19, Health Minister Juan Carlos Zevallos said Wednesday.

It was achieved through purchase agreements reached on Oct 17 and 19 for access to 2 million doses from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE, as well as 2 million doses from COVAX, a global initiative backed by the World Health Organization to ensure effective and equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines, Zevallos said.

According to the Ecuadorian Health Ministry, the country has so far registered 154,115 confirmed cases and 8,115 deaths.  

The government also includes in the data about 4,300 people who have probably died of COVID-19.

EU

EU leaders will hold a videoconference on Oct 29 to discuss how to better cooperate against the COVID-19 pandemic as infections rise, European Council President Charles Michel said on Twitter Wednesday.

The discussion, due to start in the late afternoon, will take place a day after the EU Commission is expected to announce new plans to strengthen coordination among EU states on testing strategies, contact tracing and quarantine length, officials told Reuters.

READ MORE: EU 'shuts door to travel from Canada, lets in S'pore visitors'

In the past weeks, daily records of COVID-19 cases in many European countries have been smashed repeatedly as the continent took the brunt of surges in the second wave of the pandemic.

According to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Europe has registered more than 5 million cases and 200,000 deaths, with new cases beginning to spike sharply from the end of September.

While well below levels at the peak of the crisis six months ago, COVID-19 hospital admissions and occupancy are again high - defined as at least 25 percent of the peak of the pandemic - or rising in 20 countries, its latest weekly summary said last week.

This undated September 2020 photo provided by Johnson & Johnson shows vials of single-dose COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the company. (CHERYL GERBER / JOHNSON & JOHNSON VIA AP)

Vaccine supply deal with J&J 

The European Commission said on Wednesday it had signed a contract on behalf of European Union (EU) member states with US drugmaker Johnson & Johnson for the supply of 400 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

The move follows an advance purchase agreement signed by Brussels with Johnson & Johnson earlier in October.

The vaccine candidate developed by J&J is in phase 3 of clinical trials. The company anticipates the first batches of a COVID-19 vaccine to be available for emergency use authorization in early 2021, if proven to be safe and effective.

The Commission has also signed contracts with AstraZeneca and Sanofi-Gsk, according to the Commission's spokesperson, Stefan de Keersmaecker.

France

France's COVID-19 caseload topped 1 million Thursday, becoming the second Western European nation to do so after Spain.

France's infection tally reached 1,000,369 as of 0124 GMT while the death toll hit 34,075, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

On Wednesday, health authorites reported 26,676 new COVID-19 infections, up from Tuesday's 20,468 but below the all-time high of 32,427 reached on Saturday.

The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 has gone beyond the 13,000 threshold for the first time since June 6. Hospitalizations shot up by more than 700 for the third day in a row, suggesting the partial curfew still has to produce effects.

Germany

Germany warned on Thursday against travel to neighbouring countries, Belgium’s foreign minister went into intensive care and Spain said COVID-19 was “out of control” in many areas, as governments across Europe took action to fight the pandemic.

Coronavirus cases in Germany rose by more than 10,000 in a single day for the first time, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Thursday.

The institute recorded 11,287 new cases in its daily update for a total of 392,049. The reported death toll rose by 30 to 9,905.

Coronavirus cases in Germany rose by more than 10,000 in a single day for the first time

According to a separate tally by Johns Hopkins University, the country registered 12,331 new infections, taking the tally to 397,922. Deaths rose by 29 to 9,911.

On Wednesday, German Health Minister Jens Spahn became the first cabinet minister to test positive for COVID-19. The health ministry said Spahn, 40, was suffering from cold-like symptoms.

ALSO READ: Europe battles strong wave of pandemic

Germany must prepare for the possibility of an uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus pandemic but is still able to slow it, the head of RKI, Lothar Wieler, said Thursday. The country currently still has capacity to take COVID-19 patients from other countries, he added.

Meanwhile, Germany issued travel warnings for popular ski regions in Austria, Italy and Switzerland, in a move aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus. The warnings take effect from Oct. 24, the RKI said.

Greece

Greece saw a second straight record day for new cases. The country reported 865 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 27,334. 

It recorded six more deaths in the past 24 hours to bring the death toll to 534.

The northwestern city of Kastoria is being raised to level four, the ighest risk, with local lockdown measures to be introduced from 6 am on Oct. 24, Deputy Citizen Protection Nikos Hardalias said Wednesday. 

Four areas, including the second-largest city of Thessaloniki, are being moved to level three from two, which means stricter measures including the compulsory wearing of face masks in indoor workplaces and outdoors where crowds gather.

Hungary

Hungary reported a daily record 2,032 new coronavirus cases on Thursday as the country began to ramp up testing. The number of tests performed rose to over 16,000 from just over 9,000 a day earlier after virologists advising the government warned that the nation was losing track of the pandemic due to insufficient detection. 

Data showed 46 people died on Wednesday, two less than the day before.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government has asked local health experts to look into the efficiency of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Russia and China for possible later purchases, Orban's chief of staff said on Thursday.

Gergely Gulyas said at a press briefing that Hungary had also committed to buy 6.5 million vaccines from AstraZeneca at a cost of 13 billion forints (US$42.24 million) under a wider EU agreement. Gulyas also said the government would keep schools open after the autumn break next week.

Italy

Italy registered 15,199 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Wednesday, the highest daily tally since the start of the country's outbreak and up from a previous record of 11,705 posted on Sunday.

The ministry also reported 127 COVID-related deaths on Wednesday, up from 89 the day before.

The number of people in intensive care stood at 926 on Wednesday, up from 870 on Tuesday.

Lombardy on Wednesday announced the closure of secondary schools from Monday.

Meanwhile, Lazio, around the capital Rome, imposed a curfew which will run from midnight to 5 am, effective from Friday.

READ MORE: Europe sharpens restrictions to regain grip on pandemic

Lithuania

The Lithuanian government decided on Wednesday to put 12 municipalities under a two-week lockdown starting Monday due to a spike in COVID-19 infections.

The lockdown will be imposed in Elektrenai and the districts of Joniskis, Jurbarkas, Kelme, Klaipeda, Kretinga, Marijampole, Pasvalys, Plunge, Skuodas, Siauliai and Svencionys, according to a release issued by the government on Wednesday.

Local quarantine restrictions will come into effect from midnight on Oct 26 to midnight on Nov 9, with measures such as limiting the passenger capacity on public transport abd banning gatherings of more than five people in public places.

Face masks will be mandatory for everyone aged over six in all indoor public spaces and public transport, while the opening hours of bars and restaurants will be limited to 7 am till 0:00 am.

Lithuania has so far reported 8,239 confirmed cases, including 120 deaths and 3,599 recoveries.

Mexico

Mexico's health ministry reported on Wednesday 6,845 additional cases of the novel coronavirus and 522 more deaths, bringing the official number of cases to 867,559 and the death toll to 87,415.

In case of a new virus outbreak, productive activities would not completely cease again, Minister of Finance Arturo Herrera said.

Mexican health authorities warned on Monday that they had detected "early signs of an outbreak" of COVID-19 after eight of the 32 Mexican states showed an upward trend in their contagion curves.

Morocco

Morocco registered 3,577 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the tally of infections in the North African country to 182,580, the health ministry said in a statement.

It also reported 52 additional deaths, raising the death toll to 3,079.

The number of recoveries increased by 2,796 to 151,634 in the last 24 hours, with 625 patients still in intensive care units.

Namibia

Namibian President Hage Geingob on Wednesday called for vigilance against the possible emergence of a second wave of COVID-19 infections in the southern African country.

Geingob attributed the fall in positive cases in Namibia over the past four weeks to collective efforts against COVID-19.

He said Namibia will gradually reopen its borders on a reciprocal basis, resume social activities, including contact sports activities, and resume face-to-face teaching in schools and colleges where social distancing is feasible.

Namibia has so far reported 12,367 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Of those, 10,528 have recovered while 1,707 cases remain active. The toll stands at 132.

Poland

Poland's health ministry reported a record 12,107 new coronavirus infections and 168 deaths in the space of 24 hours on Thursday, hours before it is expected to announce more restrictions to stem the pandemic.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Health Minister Waldemar Kraska told private broadcaster Polsat News that the number of new daily infections may remain high until mid-November.

Poland's prime minister said Wednesday he will recommend imposing the highest level of highest level of coronavirus restrictions nationwide.

"I will recommend that we take a decision to put all of Poland in the red zone from Saturday," Mateusz Morawiecki told private broadcaster Polsat News, saying that at the moment about 88 percent of the population was under the highest restrictions. 

New restrictions are due to be announced on Thursday.

Roche buys treatment rights 

Roche Holding AG agreed to pay US$350 million in an alliance with Atea Pharmaceuticals Inc to develop a potential treatment for COVID-19.

The Swiss drugmaker will get the rights to distribute Atea’s AT-527 drug outside of the US under the agreement, Atea said Thursday. Roche may also pay milestone payments and royalties.

Russia

Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko will self-isolate after one of his family members tested positive for COVID-19, the RIA news agency reported on Thursday, citing one of Murashko's aides.

Russia recorded 15,971 new coronavirus infections on Thursday and 290 additional deaths from COVID-19, bringing its official tally and death toll to 1,463,306 and 25,242, respectively.

Russia is not planning to impose any blanket restrictions to contain the pandemic, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday. The country needs keep on carrying out tests for COVID-19, observe safety measures and start vaccinations, Putin said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was now better equipped to respond to the pandemic, and that safety precautions, hygiene and curbs imposed by local authorities were key.

Slovenia

Slovenia reported on Thursday a record-high number of daily cases so far, reaching 1,663 infections.

Stacked tables and chairs are pictured outside a coffee shop in Burgos, northern Spain, on Oct 21, 2020, the first day of a two-week lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. (CESAR MANSO / AFP)

Spain

Spain's health minister said on Thursday that the country's coronavirus pandemic was not under control and that drastic measures were needed to combat it.

Illa will hold a video meeting on Thursday afternoon with regional health chiefs to agree on new measures. 

Spain became the first Western European country to exceed 1 million COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, doubling its tally in just six weeks despite a series of increasingly stringent measures to control the second wave of the virus.

Health ministry data showed total cases had reached 1,005,295, rising by 16,973 from the previous day. The death toll increased by 156 to 34,366.

Hospital admissions have jumped 20 percent nationwide in two weeks and 70 percent in the affluent northeastern region of Catalonia alone. That may potentially force some Barcelona hospitals to suspend non-urgent procedures.

Sweden

Swedish senior citizens no longer need to isolate themselves, the government said on Thursday, pointing to lower COVID-19 infection rates than in spring and a growing toll on the mental health of its elderly as behind the new recommendation.

The Health Agency has said it does not see evidence of a second wave in Sweden.

The number of new cases in the Nordic country has risen steadily in recent weeks though they remain at lower levels relative to the size of the population than in many countries in Europe, where new records are being set daily.

Sweden has seen around 107,000 cases in total and roughly 5,900 deaths. It registered 975 new cases on Wednesday and seven additional deaths, far lower than during the spring peak but still well above the caseload during summer.

Switzerland

Swiss Interior Minister Alain Berset urged citizens to observe social distancing rules, saying that the government was preparing a new round of restrictions that would target events and crowds of people.

“The next two or three weeks are crucial for us,” he said at a press conference in Bern. All measures are possible, but “the goal is to prevent a closing down of society.”

The canton of Wallis, home to the ski resort of Zermatt, is closing cinemas, theaters, fitness centers and public swimming pools after cases soared. Public and private gatherings are limited to 10 people and restaurants will have to close no later than 10 pm, the federal state said on Wednesday.

Tunisia

Tunisia's Minister of Health Faouzi Mehdi announced on Wednesday that Tunisia will be among the first countries to receive the doses of vaccine against COVID-19.

"Tunisia has coordinated with the World Health Organization and donors and has mobilized the necessary funds to receive the vaccine against the coronavirus as soon as it will be placed on the market," Mehdi said during a press conference held in capital Tunis.

Tunisia has so far reported 45,892 confirmed cases and 740 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Uruguay

Uruguay’s government issued a 30-day ban on public events and private parties in the province of Rivera that borders Brazil amid a recent surge in COVID-19 cases. It also suspended non-life threatening surgical procedures and made school attendance optional.

Businesses that don’t observe the preventive measures could be fined as much as 1.2 million pesos (US$28,000). 

Uruguay has so far reported 2,663 confirmed cases and 53 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Rivera accounted for 27 percent of Uruguay’s active cases as of Wednesday, following Montevideo with 49 percent.

UK

Britain has begun rolling out rapid, lateral-flow COVID-19 tests to schools and universities, health minister Matt Hancock said on Thursday, adding that much more of life could return closer to normal if a regular mass-testing system were established.

The United Kingdom said Thursday it would 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.

A total of 26,688 coronavirus cases were reported in Britain on Wednesday, the highest daily total to date, and a further 191 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, according to government data.

British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak will announce a fourth support package for firms struggling to handle COVID-19 when he makes a statement to parliament on Thursday amid pressure to help businesses in areas facing lockdown, The Guardian reported.

Ukraine

Ukraine registered a daily record of 7,053 COVID-19 cases, the national security council said on Thursday, up from a previous record of 6,719 on Wednesday.

The total number of cases climbed to 322,879. 

The council said 116 new coronavirus-related deaths were registered in the past day. 

US

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 on Wednesday.

Azar said he expects all seniors, healthcare workers, and first responders will be able to receive a vaccine as soon as January, with the rest of the American public able to get a vaccine by April.

US hospitalizations for COVID-19 have reached a two-month high, led by the Midwest, while New York state’s new cases exceeded 2,000 for the first time since May

The US has reported over 8.3 million coronavirus infections and more than 221,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

US hospitalizations for COVID-19 have reached a two-month high, led by the Midwest, while New York state’s new cases exceeded 2,000 for the first time since May.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy placed himself in quarantine after coming into contact over the weekend with an infected senior staff member.

Meanwhile, New York City officials are beginning to plan for wide-scal distribution of a Covid-19 virus vaccine next year, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

On virus relief, high-level negotiations on a new bill faced a setback Wednesday when President Donald Trump accused Democrats of being unwilling to craft an acceptable compromise, despite reports of some progress earlier in the day.

United Airlines tries virus-test app

A United Airlines Holdings Inc flight from London to Newark, New Jersey, performed the first US trial of a new digital health app designed to share travelers’ coronavirus test results.

The CommonPass mobile app, created by the Commons Project Foundation and the World Economic Forum, is seen as a tool to help governments reopen borders by providing test data. The approach offers a common standard while avoiding paper documents and the risk of identity fraud, Paul Meyer, the foundation’s chief executive officer, said at a news conference in Newark.

Warp Speed chief sees trials restarting soon

Moncef Slaoui, the head of Operation Warp Speed, said he expects the US trials of vaccines made by AstraZeneca and J&J to restart as soon as this week.

The two companies developing COVID-19 vaccines backed by Operation Warp Speed temporarily halted their trials because participants fell ill, slowing down the race for a shot to halt the pandemic.

“It’s for the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) to announce and decide, but I understand that this is imminent,” Slaoui said in an interview when asked if AstraZeneca could resume its trial this week. “I hope that the J&J trial also will restart later this week.”

Zimbabwe

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the ruling ZANU-PF party to postpone its annual conference indefinitely, the party's acting spokesperson Patrick Chinamasa has said.

The Herald newspaper reported Thursday that Chinamasa had told the daily the conference, which had been scheduled to be held in December, was postponed indefinitely to allow the government, the party and people to contain the pandemic.

As at Wednesday, Zimbabwe has recorded 8,215 confirmed cases and 236 deaths.

Georgia 

Georgia reported a record 1,595 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, its highest number since the outbreak of the virus in the country, bringing its total to 22,803.

Among the new cases, 563 were confirmed in the capital city of Tbilisi, the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC) said.

As of Thursday, 9,401 patients have recovered, while 178 others have died, according to the center.

Netherlands

The Dutch hospital system is coming under increasing strain from coronavirus admissions as daily cases hit a record high, and it expects to begin transferring some patients to Germany within two days, the hospital association said on Thursday.

Almost half the country’s intensive care beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients, the LNAZ association’s head Ernst Kuipers said.

“And we certainly have not seen the end of it”, he told reporters. “Hospital numbers will continue to rise at least until the end of this month.”

The number of daily infections hit 9,271 on Thursday, the National Institute for Public Health (RIVM) said.

The government imposed partial lockdown measures to contain the spread on Oct 14, including the closure of all bars and restaurants in the country.