Iceland's President Gudni Johannesson is to enter self-isolation after an employee of his office tested positive for the coronavirus, the presidential office said late on Tuesday, according to DPA. The president will self-isolate until next Monday, the office said, adding that his family would not have to go into self-isolation. Iceland managed to almost entirely stem transmission of the coronavirus within the country earlier this year, but new infections have begun to rise again in recent months. Meanwhile, more than 47.25 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,209,590 have died, according to a Reuters tally. India recorded 46,253 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, Health Ministry data showed on Wednesday, with cases rising again in some parts including the capital New Delhi. With 8.3 million confirmed coronavirus cases, India is the world's second most affected country, behind only the United States. But the spread has slowed down since a September peak, and the country has reported less than 50,000 infections daily for 10 straight days. Russia's daily tally of new coronavirus cases surged to a record high of 19,768 on Wednesday, including 5,826 in Moscow, taking the national tally to 1,693,454 since the pandemic began. Authorities also reported 389 deaths in the last 24 hours, a record high that pushed the official death toll to 29,217. The Czech Republic reported 12,088 new coronavirus cases for Nov. 3, and 259 new deaths, data from the Health Ministry showed on Wednesday. The tally of infections rose to 362,985 in the nation of 10.7 million people, while deaths stood at 3,913. Bulgaria reported 4,041 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, its highest one-day tally since the pandemic started, official health data showed on Wednesday. The new cases were up from 2,427 reported on Tuesday in the country of 7 million people. In total, it has recorded 60,537 cases since March, along with 1,412 deaths. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019. Italy recorded its highest daily COVID-19 death toll in nearly six months on Tuesday as Hungary and the Netherlands tightened restrictions to further in an effort to combat the virus. According to figures from the Italian Health Ministry, 353 people died from COVID-19 in the country in the previous 24 hours — the highest daily increase since May 6. More than 39,400 people have now lost their lives in the pandemic in the southern European country, while the number of infections recorded grew by 28,244 to nearly 760,000. In the Netherlands, the government said the partial lockdown imposed three weeks ago is starting to pay off with the number of infections going down by 5 percent week on week to just over 64,000 recorded over the past seven days. The weekly death toll has, however, increased to 435 from 329 previously, prompting the government to announce further restrictions for the next two weeks, including a ban on public meetings of more than two people not in the same family. More than 7,450 people have died from COVID-19 in the Netherlands and a further 367,700 have been infected, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, also announced that a new state of emergency would be introduced at midnight. He said lawmakers would be asked to extend it to 90 days. Other measures announced by Orban include a nighttime curfew from midnight to 5am, the mandatory use of facemasks and new restrictions on sports and cultural events. "The spread of the pandemic has accelerated," he said in a Facebook video. "By the middle of December, our hospitals will reach the limit of their capacity." "It is time to take further steps to protect the operability of our hospitals and also to protect the lives of the elderly," he added. The nation of 9.7 million has so far recorded more than 86,700 infections and 1,973 deaths, according to the ECDC. These announcements came as new measures took effect Tuesday in Austria, Greece and Sweden. "We are going in the wrong direction. The situation is very serious," Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said. "Now, every citizen needs to take responsibility. We know how dangerous this is." Contrary to other European countries, Sweden opted not to impose a national lockdown in the spring. The new measures kicking in on Tuesday include limits on capacity in restaurants and cafés with a maximum of eight people at any table. The Scandinavian country announced local restrictions in three more counties that include Sweden's largest cities. In Britain, the government has announced plans to trial a new citywide coronavirus testing program in Liverpool, offering regular testing to everyone who lives and works in the city of 500,000 in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. Liverpool has one of the highest infection rates in England, with more than 410 cases per 100,000 people. The UK is Europe's most heavily-impacted country with its death toll growing by 397 on Tuesday — the highest one-day increase since late May — to reach over 47,250 COVID-19. Across the Channel, France, which has been under its own second national lockdown since Thursday, recorded more than 400 deaths for the second day in a row on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 36,330. In Germany, 143 persons dies of coronavirus while 26,498 people tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours. Robert Koch Institute said in a statement to the press that the total deaths reached 10,661 and registered infections re at 560,379. — Agencies
