Coronavirus live news: Germany sees 10,000 daily cases for first time as France infections top 1m

4.04am EDT 04:04

Hospitals in Liverpool, north west England, are treating more coronavirus patients than they were during the peak of the first wave of the pandemic, according to the city’s medical director.

Dr Tristan Cope, medical director of Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Royal, Aintree and Broadgreen hospitals in the city, said the numbers were continuing to rise.

Liverpool, which currently has the third highest coronavirus infection rate in the country, became the first area to become subject to England’s new tier 3 restrictions, which include the closure of bars and pubs which are not serving food, last week.

Updated at 4.04am EDT

3.42am EDT 03:42

More drastic measures are on the cards for Spain as it tries to control a resurgent coronavirus outbreak.

The health minister, Salvador Illa, said on Thursday that the country’s coronavirus pandemic was not under control and his administration was discussing more restrictions on mobility with regional authorities, according to Reuters.

He expected the pandemic to make life tough for the next five or six months.

On Wednesday, Spain became the first country in western Europe to surpass 1 million cases.

Updated at 3.45am EDT

3.35am EDT 03:35

People in Germany are once again stripping the supermarket shelves bare of toilet paper and disinfectant, as the country enters its second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Hamster purchases are starting again,” Germany’s statistics office said on Twitter, using a German phrase for panic-buying, according to Reuters.

Sales of toilet paper increased by 89.9% last week when compared to pre-crisis levels, while disinfectants (up 72.5%) and soap (up 62.3%) were also in high demand, it said in a separate statement.

Earlier on Thursday, Germany reported more than 10,000 new daily coronavirus infections for the first time.

Data released in April showed that stocking up on daily essentials ahead of anticipated lockdown and quarantine measures caused German retail sales to surge far beyond expectations in February.

Updated at 3.48am EDT

3.18am EDT 03:18

The Czech Republic, Europe’s current Covid blackspot, is this morning waking up into what is effectively its second lockdown a day after recording yet another new peak in cases, just under 15,000 – remarkable for a country of 10.7 million, writes Robert Tait in Prague.

All but essential shops – defined as supermarkets, pharmacies and bizarrely, florists and tobacconists, plus a few others such as locksmiths – are closed at least until the present state of emergency, which expires on 3 November. Only essential trips, such as to work and for food or for walks in “nature”, are allowed and people are limited to groups of two outside of family members.

A woman wearing a face mask walks across the Charles Bridge in Prague on Wednesday. Photograph: Petr David Josek/AP

The new restrictions, resembling but still less complete than spring’s successful lockdown, come a day after the regulation to wear masks outdoors was reintroduced – although this time with the potential get-out clause of “when 2 metres separation cannot be ensured”, a proviso not present in the earlier shutdown.

The country’s situation is now so parlous that the US national guard is dispatching 28 doctors here in the next week to help deal with the crisis. Perhaps nothing so much crystallises Czech disarray as Wednesday’s announcement by the head of the Covid task force, Jan Hamacek, who is also interior minister, that he had tested positive for the virus.

There were also 101 Covid-related deaths reported on Wednesday, bringing the death toll in October alone to 999. Compare this to the figure for the period March to September, when 671 died.

Updated at 3.30am EDT

3.06am EDT 03:06

Responding to comments by a top UK police officer that England’s new three-tier system of coronavirus regulations was confusing, the minister for crime and policing has said it is important that people inform themselves about restrictions in their areas.

Kit Malthouse told BBC Breakfast the different rules do bring some “complexity”. He added:

There’s plenty of information out there on the internet where people can go and inform themselves about what the regulations are in their area and that fundamentally is what we would recommend everybody has to do. We all need to recognise we have an individual duty towards our collective health and that means informing ourselves about what the regulations are in our area and complying with the rules.

As cases rise people had to “grit their teeth” and do their best to get through the current wave of the virus, Malthouse said.

I think everybody is fed up, we are all fed up, nobody is enjoying this experience. But in truth this is the moment, as we see the numbers mounting, that we all have to grit our teeth and do our best to get through it.

Malthouse said the majority of people were complying with the rules and the number of fines issued by police for breaches was “tiny really”.

What we are seeing across the country, the polling is telling us there’s strong support for the measures being put in place and we are seeing high levels of compliance.

2.54am EDT 02:54

South Korea’s medical association said on Thursday the government should suspend a flu vaccine programme following the deaths of at least 13 people who received a shot in recent days.

Health authorities said they have found no direct links between the deaths and the vaccines, but Choi Dae-zip, president of the Korean Medical Association, told a news conference that the inoculation programme should be put on hold until the government secured the safety of the vaccines.

Countries have been rolling out flu vaccination programmes with renewed vigour this winter, amid fears of a “twindemic” of Covid-19 and flu. In June it was reported that demand for the vaccines had soared as national health authorities scrambled to secure enough doses to ensure enough coverage to ensure that hospitals were not overburdened by flu cases while they tried to handle a second wave of coronavirus infections.

2.45am EDT 02:45

The deputy health minister in Poland has said that new coronavirus infections in his country could pass 10,000 for a second day in a row on Thursday, according to Reuters. The country registered a record high of 10,040 on Wednesday.

Waldemar Kraska told private broadcaster Polsat News that the number of new daily infections may remain high until mid-November. The government is introducing new restrictions aimed at fighting the disease’s spread in coming days, with new curbs to be announced on Thursday.

2.30am EDT 02:30

Ukraine has registered a daily record of 7,053 coronavirus infections, the national security council said, up from a previous record of 6,719 on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

The total number of people who have tested positive for the virus climbed to 322,879.

The council said 116 new coronavirus-related deaths were registered in the past day. On Wednesday, the toll hit a record 141.

Ukraine has recorded over 5,000 new coronavirus cases almost every day since the start of October. The spike in infections has prompted the government to extend lockdown measures until end-2020.

2.21am EDT 02:21

The officer in charge of leading the UK policing response to the pandemic has admitted that even he doesn’t know England’s lockdown rules, the Daily Mail reports this morning.

The UK’s complicated lockdown rules have been the source of confusion in the criminal justice system, with hundreds of fines previously ruled unlawful.

According to this morning’s Mail:

Owen Weatherill told MPs the new three-tier system was too confusing and the public needed simpler messages.

The assistant chief constable proved his point by failing to clarify that households must not mix indoors in Tier Two areas.

Questioned on the issue, he could only reply: ‘I have not got the regulations in front of me so I cannot give you a definitive answer on that.

‘There are so many different variations – I am not conversant with every set of regulations.’

Updated at 3.07am EDT

2.10am EDT 02:10

Hi this is Damien Gayle picking up the liveblog now from London. If you have any comments, tips or suggestions for what we could be covering then do feel free to drop me a line, either via email to damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or via Twitter direct message to @damiengayle.

Updated at 2.11am EDT

2.01am EDT 02:01

That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan, for today. If there’s one bit of news you need to know about, it’s this:

Updated at 2.05am EDT

1.43am EDT 01:43

In Northern Ireland, one MLA has tested positive for Covid-19 and six more MLAs are self-isolating as cases of coronavirus continue to surge, PA media reports.

Ulster Unionist John Stewart tweeted on Wednesday night that he had been tested after feeling ill and suffering symptoms of a headache, as well as fatigue.

“Sadly I have tested positive for Covid-19 today. Felt really unwell Monday, booked a test Tuesday & result today,” he said.

“Very fast & efficient. Feeling ill, head pounding & really fatigued.”

Health minister Robin Swann confirmed in a tweet on Wednesday night that he had come in contact with someone with Covid-19.

The Department of Health said Mr Swann was self-isolating after receiving a notification via the StopCovidNI proximity app that he had come in contact with someone who tested positive.A statement from the department said he will fulfil his ministerial responsibilities from home for 14 days.

The North Antrim MLA has no symptoms of the virus and the department said he will only require a test if he develops one of the symptoms of coronavirus.

On Twitter he urged people to download the app to halt the spread of the virus. An exposure notification from the app means the user had been close to another user who has tested positive.

Self-isolation is required for 14 days after a person receives a notification.

Updated at 1.45am EDT