Europe has registered more than six million confirmed cases of Covid-19 since it first appeared in the region in January, an AFP tally just after 3pm GMT showed.
So far, the continent has seen 6,000,940 infections and 237,716 deaths, with the most in Russia (1,248,619 infections and 21,865 deaths), Spain (825,410 infections, 32,486 deaths), France (669,235 infections, 32,365 deaths) and Britain (530,113 infection, 42,445 deaths).
French President Emmanuel Macron said there will be new restrictions to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, as the country reported a new all-time high, at almost 19,000, of new infections of the disease.
"In places where the disease is circulating too quickly... there will be new restrictions", Mr Macron said during an interviewed aired on French television.
The Belgian capital took a step towards restoring its coronavirus lockdown, when Brussels ordered cafes and bars to close for a month.
Restaurants serving meals at table will remain open, but bars and drinking alcohol in public places will be banned until 8 November, the regional government said.
This is the second time Brussels has imposed such a measure since the coronavirus outbreak, after a previous lockdown helped bring cases down.
But new infections - as well as serious cases involving hospital admissions - are rising again, and regional authorities are tightening rules.
Already, Belgium's new national government had ordered bars and cafes should close from 11pm, but regional president Rudi Vervoort decided this was not enough.
The Brussels capital region is home to a densely packed 1.2 million people and is the seat of the Belgian government and of both NATO and the European Union.
In the past week, Belgium as a whole has recorded an average of 2,500 new coronavirus infections per day, up by 57% over the previous seven days.
Hospital admissions are also up 25.7% over the week, and more than 11 people are dying every day.
With 10,092 deaths from a population of 11.2 million, Belgium is proportionately one of the worst hit countries.
Italy made it mandatory to wear face masks outdoors nationwide in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, as new infections jumped to the highest daily tally since April.
The decree was approved at a cabinet meeting after a steady increase in cases over the last two months. It will probably be effective from Thursday, a government source said.
Several Italian regions including Lazio, around the capital Rome, had already made face masks mandatory.
Data from the Health Ministry showed 3,678 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, up from 2,677 on Tuesday and surging past the 3,000 mark for the first time since 24 April.
US agency wants two months' safety data before approving Covid-19 vaccine
The US Food and Drug Administration made public its guidance for issuing emergency approval for a Covid-19 vaccine, making it clear it wants to see follow-up two months after trial volunteers have their second dose.
It is therefore unlikely for President Donald Trump's administration to have a vaccine on the market before the 3 November election, something the president frequently says is on the cards.
"Data from Phase 3 studies should include a median follow-up duration of at least two months after completion of the full vaccination regimen to help provide adequate information to assess a vaccine's benefit-risk profile," the document said.
The two companies that are furthest along in their vaccine trials, Moderna and Pfizer, both began their final stages at the end of July, and both require two separate injections 28 days apart.
That would mean that only the first few people who signed up for the trial would have completed the follow-up period by the end of October, and there would probably not be enough data to apply for emergency use.
The vaccines will have to inoculate half of all patients against Covid-19.
Additionally, there will need to be at least five cases of severe infection in the placebo group to prove the vaccine is effective.
The agency's chief, Dr Stephen Hahn, said it is committed to making the development of a vaccine as open and transparent as possible.
FDA is committed to making the #COVID19 vaccine development process & our scientific evaluation as open & transparent as possible. To that end, we've also created a new landing page to highlight this work, additional resources and upcoming events. https://t.co/GdDhZag3Jd
— Dr. Stephen M. Hahn (@SteveFDA) October 6, 2020
The decision to issue the guidance comes amid a reported tug-of-war between the White House and the FDA.
According to US media outlets, the White House viewed the two-month follow-up period as unnecessary and did not want the FDA to implement it.
Mr Trump expressed his disapproval on Twitter.
New FDA Rules make it more difficult for them to speed up vaccines for approval before Election Day. Just another political hit job! @SteveFDA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020
The news was welcomed by health experts who said it showed the agency was acting responsibly in the face of political pressure.
New York imposes new restrictions in virus-surge areas
New York's governor has announced tough new restrictions in several areas recording high infection rates to try to ward off a second coronavirus wave.
Andrew Cuomo ordered non-essential businesses, including gyms and restaurants, closed in parts of Brooklyn and Queens in New York city.
The governor also banned mass gatherings and capped at ten the number of people allowed in places of worship in the so-called red zones witnessing "clusters" of infections.
The restrictions will come into effect from today and will be reviewed after 14 days.
Mr Cuomo blamed the infection spike on a let-up in enforcement of social distancing measures and reminded residents to keep wearing masks.
"It's no time to be fatigued. The virus isn't tired," he told reporters.
On Monday, Mr Cuomo announced that schools in nine New York City neighbourhoods would temporarily close.
They are in areas where the rate of positive cases has been above the 3% threshold for more than seven days.
Two of the neighborhoods have recorded positive rates above 8% and include large Orthodox Jewish communities, where residents recently marked the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur holidays.
Across New York state, the rate of positive cases remains low at 1.20%. The virus has killed more than 33,000 people across the state.
Masks now mandatory outdoors in Italy
Italy has made it mandatory to wear face masks outdoors nationwide in an effort to reduce rising Covid-19 infections, the health ministry said after the cabinet agreed on the measure.
Italy has seen a steady increase in new cases in the last two months, although its numbers are still much lower than those recorded in other major European countries such as France, Spain and Britain.
The cabinet also approved a decree to extend the Covid-19 state of emergency to 31 January, a cabinet source said.
Additional reporting PA
