This Oct 23, 2020 file photo shows a red heart carrying a social distancing message in a near-empty Red Light District in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (PETER DEJONG / AP)

TIRANA / PARIS / OTTAWA / BUCHAREST / TEGUCIGALPA / RABAT / SANTIAGO / MEXICO CITY / LONDON / ROME / BERLIN / MOSCOW / BRUSSELS / ADDIS ABABA / PRAGUE / BUDAPEST / STOCKHOLM / ZURICH / GENEVA / LISBON / KIEV / RIO DE JANEIRO / AMSTERDAM / TBILISI - The number of new coronavirus cases registered in the Netherlands fell sharply on Monday, continuing a decline that began in early November after entering a second near-lockdown on Oct. 13.

There were 4,680 new cases reported on Monday, according to official data from the National Institute for Health (RIVM), compared to 5,664 on Sunday and less than half the all-time high of 11,119 registered on Oct 30.

Global tally

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has surpassed 50 million, Monday's figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed.

A WHO dashboard showed that as of 10:45 am CET (0945 GMT), a total of 50,030,121 cases worldwide, including 1,252,072 deaths, had been reported to the UN health agency.

Earlier in the day, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg showed the global tally had crossed the 50 million mark, with the US accounting for the highest tally, followed by India, Brazil, Russia and France. More than 1.2 million people have died of causes related to COVID-19.

Africa tally

The number of confirmed cases recorded across Africa reached 1,870,348 with the death toll hitting 44,849 as of Sunday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

Pfizer, BioNTech vaccine

Pfizer Inc said on Monday its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90 percent effective.

Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE said they have so far found no serious safety concerns and expect to seek US authorization this month for emergency use of the vaccine.

READ MORE: Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine more than 90% effective

Novavax's vaccine

Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine received a fast-track designation from US regulators as the drugmaker prepares to launch a large, late-stage study before the end of the month, the company said on Monday. 

The expedited review by the US Food and Drug Administration could help push the candidate forward into a short-list of frontrunners in the race to bring a vaccine to market.

Sanofi

Europe is better prepared than ever to ensure a COVID-19 vaccine reaches the population, Sanofi's chief executive said on Monday.

Many drugmakers are already producing vaccines doses at scale even though trials are ongoing with the possibility of having to destroy output if trials disappoint.

"We are in a completely different position than we were when we first began our dialogue at the beginning of the year," Paul Hudson said at a panel organized by the Financial Times. 

"Now, we are as good and far as we can be. And we can just look at the biology," he said.

Albania

Albanian health authorities on Sunday reported over 500 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, a record high since the outbreak of the COVID-19 in the country.

According to the health authorities, 501 new coronavirus cases were registered in the last 24 hours from the 1,942 tests conducted.
The majority of the new cases, or 219 cases, were registered in the capital city of Tirana.

By Sunday, according to the health ministry, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country has reached 24,206.

Algeria 

Algeria reported 670 new COVID-19 cases, the highest in three months, bringing the total tally of infections to 62,051, while the death toll in the country rose by 12 to 2,048.

The Algerian government announced in a statement that a curfew confinement will be implemented in 29 provinces, including the capital Algiers, for 15 days from Nov 10.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, whom authorities said last week had tested positive for COVID-19, is about to complete medical treatment and his condition is improving, his office said on Sunday, 13 days after he was flown to hospital in Germany.

Belgium

The total of COVID-19 infections recorded in Belgium has hit half a million, according to data released on Monday, but the country may be past the peak of its second wave of coronavirus as the number of people in hospitals is decreasing slowly.

Data from the Sciensano health institute showed that the tally crossed 500,000 on Sunday after a two-week period during which the daily average of new cases stood at more than 12,600.

There was a 40 percent drop in the daily average of cases over the past seven days from the previous week, and hospital admissions were down 9 percent over the same period

There was a 40 percent drop in the daily average of cases over the past seven days from the previous week. Although this may be because authorities are now testing only people with symptoms, hospital admissions were down 9 percent over the same period.

Health Ministry spokesman Yves Van Laethem said he expected the number of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) to remain below the maximum capacity of 2,000. 

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told La Premiere radio on Monday that the situation remained very difficult for hospitals.

Belgium's COVID-19 death toll stood at 13,055, according to Sciensano.

Brazil

Brazil on Sunday reported 128 new COVID-19 deaths and 10,554 new coronavirus cases, according to official data. Since the start of the pandemic, 162,397 people have died in Brazil and more than 5.66 million have been infected with the virus, the data shows.

Canada

Canada reported a total of 264,045 cases of COVID-19 and 10,522 deaths as of Sunday afternoon, according to CTV.

There have been more than 100,000 new cases of COVID-19 and over 1,000 more deaths in the country since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in late September that Canada was at a "crossroads" in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chile

Chile has carried out more tests to detect COVID-19 infection than any other country in Latin America, with 42,071 tests done in the past 24 hours alone, Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris said on Sunday.

The Ministry of Health reported 1,576 new daily cases of COVID-19, bringing the total caseload to 521,558.

Meanwhile, the 44 daily COVID-19 deaths raised the total death toll to 14,543.  

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic reported 3,608 new coronavirus cases for Sunday, the lowest daily tally in the country in four weeks, Health Ministry data showed on Monday.

The number of new cases is nearly 3,000 less than reported a week earlier and brings the total count to 414,828 in the country of 10.7 million.

The ministry also reported 177 additional deaths, including 101 on Sunday along with revisions to previous days. In total, 4,858 people have died in relation to COVID-19.

EU

The European Union (EU) is about to sign a contract for millions of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, a prominent EU lawmaker said on Monday.

The remark was made hours after the two companies said their experimental vaccine was more than 90 percent effective, in what could be a major victory in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic .

France

Students outside a high school in Compiegne, north of the French capital Paris, clashed with police on Monday in protests over health risks posed by schools being open during the coronavirus crisis, police and the town's mayor said.

The local police department said on Twitter that four arrests had been made, one fireman had suffered minor injuries and that there had been "unacceptable" incidents of criminal damage caused during the clashes.

Student demonstrations having started to build up in France over the last week, with some teachers and students protesting against keeping schools open, saying it jeopardizes their health due to the risk of catching COVID-19 on crowded school premises.

France's toll on Sunday rose by 271 to 40,439, data from the health ministry showed.

The ministry reported a total of 1,787,324 confirmed COVID-19 cases, up 38,619 from Saturday. The ministry said that recent data, however, would be corrected on Monday after it experienced collection problems.

France aims to carry out antigen tests for departing and arriving passengers at Roissy airport beginning Wednesday, Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said in an interview on Radio Classique.

Georgia

Georgia reported 2,927 new COVID-19 cases Monday, bringing its tally to 60,680.

Among the new cases, 1,033 were posted in the capital city of Tbilisi, the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health said.

As of Monday, 45,042 patients have recovered while 499 others have died, said the center.

A man wearing a face mask walks over the Opera Square in Frankfurt, Germany, Nov 9, 2020. (MICHAEL PROBST / AP)

Germany

Germany has more severe COVID-19 patients than at any point since the pandemic began, underscoring the urgency facing authorities to contain the disease.

Europe’s largest economy had 2,963 people being treated for the coronavirus in intensive care facilities on Monday, exceeding the previous peak of 2,933 on April 18, according to the DIVI register of German ICU capacity.

Based on current trends, severe cases will rise to 6,000 this month, straining the country’s ICU resources, according to Health Minister Jens Spahn.

Including other patients, 71 percent of intensive-care capacity is currently occupied in Germany

At the beginning of October, there were less than 400 COVID-19 cases in German ICUs.

Germany’s coronavirus infections have climbed to a daily average of 18,652 over the past seven days from 15,553 in the previous period, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) showed on Monday the tally has increased by 13,363 to 671,868 while the toll has risen by 63 to 11,352.

There are initial signs that the rise in the number of infections in Germany is flattening, but it is still too early to say whether this is a trend, Health Minister Jens Spahn said.

Including other patients, 71 percent of intensive-care capacity is currently occupied. While Germany has a reserve of about 12,500 beds, including a field hospital at Berlin’s convention center, officials have warned that the country would soon run into a shortage of medical personnel if trends continue.

Germany does not expect a vaccine to be available before the first quarter of 2021, according to a copy of its national vaccine strategy seen by Reuters on Monday.

The 15-page strategy paper from the health ministry sets out seven potential vaccines, including shots from AstraZeneca, BioNTech and its partner Pfizer, Moderna and Novovax, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline and CureVac.

ALSO READ: Germany approves 3rd trial of COVID-19 vaccine candidate

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government imposed a monthlong, partial lockdown on Nov 2 to stem the spread of the virus. Yet, thousands of people hit the streets in Leipzig on Saturday to protest against the restrictions. 

Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht lambasted the protesters who didn’t wear masks or observe social distancing, saying that their actions showed “a height of irresponsibility and egotism”.

Greece

Greece reported 35 additional deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday, a record number for the second straight day.

With patients swamping intensive-care units, Greece began a nationwide lockdown on Saturday that’s scheduled to stay in place through November. Cases increased by 1,914 on the day to 56,698.

Honduras

Honduras had registered 100,041 cases of COVID-19 infection and 2,745 deaths from the disease, local media said on Sunday.

Citing data released late Saturday by the National Risk Management System (Sinager), media reported 402 patients were hospitalized, including 295 in stable condition, 92 in serious condition and 15 in intensive care units.

Hungary

Hungary will close secondary schools, universities and restaurants and will impose an extended nighttime curfew as of midnight on Tuesday to curb a fast rise in coronavirus infections, Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Monday on his Facebook page.

Orban said sports events will be held behind closed doors, and all gatherings will be banned. The curfew, which currently starts at midnight, will run from 8 pm to 5 am, he said. 

In addition, attendance at family events will be limited to 10 people and funerals to 50 people. Theatres, cinemas and fitness facilities will be closed.

The new measures will be imposed for 30 days, but can be extended if necessary, Orban said.

He said the new lockdown measures were needed because "if coronavirus infections rise at the current pace... Hungarian hospitals will not be able to cope with the burden." Hospitals have already had to reschedule operations to cope with an influx of patients. 

Hungary reported 5,162 new cases and 55 more deaths on Monday, bringing the tally to 114,778 and the toll to 2,493 deaths. 

Italy

Italy has registered 32,616 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday, compared to 39,811 on Saturday.

The ministry also reported 331 COVID-19 related deaths, down from 425 the day before.

A total of 41,394 people have died because of COVID-19 in Italy, which has registered 935,104 infections since the start of its outbreak.

Mexico

Mexico’s health ministry reported on Sunday 5,887 additional coronavirus cases and 219 more deaths, bringing the official number of cases to 967,825 and the death toll to 95,027.

Health officials have said the real number of infections and deaths is likely significantly higher.

Worshippers wear face masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus as they take part in Sunday mass after the reopening of churches in Rabat, Morocco, Nov 8, 2020. (MOSA'AB ELSHAMY /AP)

Morocco

Morocco on Sunday reported 4,596 new COVID-19 cases, taking the number of infections in the country since March 2 to 256,781.

The death toll rose by 75 to 4,272 while the number of recoveries increased by 4,245 to 209,801, the Ministry of Health said in a statement. 

Currently, there were 933 in intensive care units, according to the statement.

Portugal

Portugal woke up on Monday to astate of emergency, with some welcoming new restrictions to contain the coronavirus and others blaming the government for responding too late with measures they labeled confusing or inadequate.

Nighttime curfews are in force, while people will also not be able to leave home between 1 pm and 5 am over the next two weekends across 121 municipalities, including Lisbon and Porto. The state of emergency can be extended indefinitely in 15-day periods.

In central Porto, several dozen restaurant workers rallied against the measures which they said were killing the sector.

Restaurants have to shut at 10.30 pm during weekdays, and over the next two weekends they will only be allowed to provide takeaway services after 1 pm.

Portugal, with just over 10 million people, has recorded a comparatively low 179,324 cases and 2,896 deaths.

Romania

Romania's COVID-19 caseload topped 300,000 on Sunday, reaching 303,751, after another 6,752 cases were confirmed in the last 24 hours, according to the authorities.

Official statistics showed that the total infections in the country exceeded 150,000 on Oct 10 and 200,000 on Oct 23, respectively.

Russia

Russia reported a record high of 21,798 new coronavirus infections on Monday as the authorities called for stricter measures to contain the virus in certain regions.

The new cases pushed the country's tally to 1,796,132. Another 256 deaths were also reported, raising the death toll to 30,793.

READ MORE: Russia begins making second COVID-19 vaccine as cases spike

She said the regions where restrictions should be increased include the Far Eastern Magadan and Sakhalin regions, as well as the Arkhangelsk and Ulyanovsk regions, among others.

The Russian capital, home to nearly 13 million people, recorded 6,897 new infections on Monday.

South Africa

South Africa's government is considering reimposing several curbs aimed at containing the coronavirus pandemic as fears mount about a second wave of infections, according to three officials familiar with the situation.

The option of reintroducing the restrictions is likely to be on the table when the National Coronavirus Command Council meets this week, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information hasn’t been made public.

Several areas in South Africa have seen an upward trend in COVID-19 cases over recent weeks, with the Eastern Cape province in particular showing an alarming rise in infections.

The country has recorded 737,278 confirmed infections, of which more than 90 percent have recovered while 19,089 have died, according to health department data.

The National Coronavirus Command Council will consider inputs from a range of experts when it meets this week, and its recommendations will be presented to the cabinet on Nov 13, Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu said. President Cyril Ramaphosa will then address the nation on the way forward later this week, he told reporters on Nov 5.

Sweden

Sweden will extend the period during which it will provide wage support and income compensation for companies hit by the coronavirus pandemic and measures to halt its spread, Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Monday.

Andersson said the extended measures, which also included an extended tax payment holiday, would cost around 15 billion Swedish crowns (US$1.75 billion).

Sweden has seen a surge in new cases of COVID-19 in recent weeks with infections passing the peaks set in spring. In total, the country has reported 146,461 confirmed cases and 6,022 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Switzerland

Data from Swiss health authorities showed on Monday that coronavirus infections have risen by 17,309 cases since Friday.

Total confirmed cases in Switzerland and neighboring principality Liechtenstein increased to 229,222 and the death toll rose by 169 to 2,576.

Hospitalizations swelled by 536 to 9,205 as the government deployed army personnel to help the hard-pressed healthcare system cope with the surge in admissions. 

UK

The United Kingdom expects to have 10 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech's candidate COVID-19 vaccine available by the end of the year if regulators approve it, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said on Monday, following positive clinical trial results.

The spokesman said that Britain had now ordered 40 million doses of the candidate vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, enough to give protection to 20 million people.

Transport Minister Grant Shapps said Britain was making "good progress" with a plan to allow COVID-19 tests to cut a 14-day quarantine period for those returning from abroad

Meanwhile on Monday, Transport Minister Grant Shapps said Britain was making "good progress" with a plan to allow COVID-19 tests to cut a 14-day quarantine period for those returning from abroad.

The government was also working with partner countries to consider pre-departure quarantine and testing options that would end the need for quarantine upon arrival at destination, he said.

The UK reported 20,572 new cases Sunday, the sixth day that the daily tally topped 20,000. Deaths rose by 156 to 49,044.

Freight drivers who are not British citizens and have been to Denmark in the last fortnight have been warned they would be turned away from the British border, the BBC reported Sunday. In addition, cabin crew are no longer exempted from a rule which allows British citizens returning from Denmark to carry out a 14-day self-isolation in their household, according to the BBC.

The new rules, which began at 4:00 am (0400 GMT) on Sunday, were imposed following a ban on non-British citizens coming to Britain from Denmark.

Meanwhile in Manchester, a man was fined 10,000 pounds (about US$13,158) for breaking lockdown rules by throwing party with 60 people at his two-bedroom flat, local media reported.

Ukraine

Ukraine may introduce a lockdown at weekends in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus and such a move would not have a serious negative impact on the economy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday.

"A temporary lockdown at weekends, for about a few weeks, can help us to avoid a harder lockdown," presidential press service quoted Zelenskiy as saying.

Commuters ride the New York City Subway on Nov 5, 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic continues worldwide. (DANIEL SLIM / AFP)

US 

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported a record-high average daily increase of COVID-19 cases at nearly 100,000, as the nation's tally neared the 10 million mark. 

READ MORE: COVID-19 cases near 10 million in US with no slowdown in sight

The seven-day average daily cases and deaths have been on sharp rise recently, and stood at 99,320 and 938, respectively, as of Sunday, CDC data showed.

The governor of the state of Utah, Gary Herbert, declared late on Sunday a new state of emergency to address hospital overcrowding in the wake of a surge in infections. Herbet ordered a statewide mask mandate, as well as two-week restrictions on casual social gatherings and extracurricular activities.