At least 104 arrested at anti-lockdown protest in London
From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio in London
Police detain a protester during the Million Mask March anti-establishment protest at Trafalgar Square in London on Thursday, November 5. Aaron Chown/PA Images/Getty Images
At least 104 people were arrested at an anti-lockdown protest in London on Thursday evening, according to authorities in the British capital.
The protest in Trafalgar Square took place despite the coronavirus restrictions currently in place, and arrests were made after people refused to disperse, according to a statement by the London Metropolitan Police.
“Our main priority this evening has been to keep Londoners safe. We are eight months into this national pandemic and frankly there can be no excuse for people to dangerously breach regulations which are there to prevent further spread of Coronavirus,” said Commander Jane Connors, who is leading the operation.
Connors said the crowd “chose to ignore the new regulations, to behave irresponsibly and meet in a dangerous manner,” adding she expected further arrests to be made.
3:00 a.m. ET, November 6, 2020
US reports 121,888 new Covid-19 cases, hitting an all-time high
The United States reported 121,888 new Covid-19 cases for Thursday, an all-time high in national daily infections since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The country's total caseload has now reached 9,607,336. Its Covid-19 death toll stands at 234,927, after 1,210 new fatalities were reported Thursday, according to JHU's tally.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other U.S. territories, as well as repatriated cases.
Germany records more than 20,000 daily Coronavirus infections for the first time
From CNN’s Fred Pleitgen in Berlin
Medical staff hand a document to a driver after having taken a swab sample at a drive-through COVID-19 test center in Memmingen, Germany, on November 5. Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images
Germany recorded 21,506 new Covid-19 cases for Thursday, the highest single-day rise since the pandemic began, according to the country’s center for disease prevention, Robert-Koch-Institute (RKI).
Thursday's caseload was an increase by more than 1,600 from the previous day, the RKI’s data shows.
The country also registered 166 new virus-related deaths on Thursday, bringing the total death toll to 11,096.
1:42 a.m. ET, November 6, 2020
South Korea introduces QR tracking system for Covid-19 high risk venues
From CNN’s Yoonjung Seo in Seoul
A visitor scans a QR code to log his entry at the Seongdong district government office building in Seoul, on Friday, September 4. SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg/Getty Images
South Korea is introducing a QR code tracking system on Saturday for venues considered high risk for Covid-19 transmissions, according to the country’s department of health.
South Korean health official Son Young-rae said in a briefing on Friday that it will be mandatory for venues such as bars, clubs, large restaurants and cafes to implement the QR code system to facilitate contact tracing.
The announcement comes as South Korea reported 145 new cases from Thursday. Among them, 117 were locally transmitted and 28 were imported, according to the Korea Disease Control Prevention Agency (KDCA).
This is the third consecutive day that South Korea has reported over a hundred daily infections. Thursday’s number is the highest daily total since October 23, when the country recorded 155 new daily cases, according to a CNN calculation of KDCA data.
The national caseload stands at 27,195, with 476 deaths, according to KDCA.
1:38 a.m. ET, November 6, 2020
Australia’s former Covid-19 epicenter goes a week without a new case
From CNN's Angus Watson in Sydney
Rowers are seen about to leave the banks of the Yarra river as they go rowing on November 6, in Melbourne, Australia. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images
The Australian state of Victoria reported its seventh consecutive day of zero new Covid-19 cases and deaths, according to its health ministry.
The state has only recorded six new cases since its capital city of Melbourne emerged from a 112-day lockdown on October 26.
Melbourne had previously been the epicenter of a severe second wave, with close to 20,000 cases detected between June and September.
There are currently 15 active cases in Victoria, including 2 in hospital, according to its health ministry.
The neighboring state of New South Wales recorded four local and five imported cases on Thursday, its health ministry said, bringing Australia’s total caseload to 27,642 since the pandemic began.
12:25 a.m. ET, November 6, 2020
New Mexico reports largest single-day increase in Covid-19 deaths
From CNN's From Gisela Crespo and Claudia Dominguez
The US state of New Mexico reported 23 Covid-19 fatalities on Thursday, the largest single-day increase in death toll since the pandemic began, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) wrote on her Facebook page.
During a news conference, Lujan Grisham said the state reported 862 new cases Thursday. There are 400 people currently hospitalized with the virus and 59 of them are on ventilators, Lujan said.
The governor said hospitalizations increased 95% from two weeks ago, with a 260% increase in the last month. General hospital beds are 82% occupied, while ICU beds are 75% occupied.
“We expect to run out of general hospital beds... in a matter of days,” said state Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase.
According to the data, the state is "not trending anywhere in the right direction," Lujan Grisham added, calling on New Mexicans to follow public health guidance to help slow the spread of the virus.
"If we don't do them, more drastic decision making will occur, and we will have a horrible November and a dramatically bad December and no one in this state deserves that. We have the power to reverse course, and I believe that we can still do that."
New Mexico has reported 51,110 coronavirus cases and 1,082 deaths to date, according to the governor.
NOTE: The numbers below were released by the New Mexico governor’s office and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.
11:53 p.m. ET, November 5, 2020
US election judge supervisor dies after testing positive for Covid-19
From CNN's Kay Jones and Jeremy Harlan
A Missouri election judge supervisor has died after testing positive for Covid-19 and then working at a polling site on Election Day, local health officials said Thursday.
The person was told to quarantine for 14 days but did not follow that advice and worked at a polling site in St. Charles on Tuesday, the department said.
The news release did not say when the person died.
Contact tracing underway: Public health officials said they have contacted workers at the polling site and are working with family members to determine the person's whereabouts before the positive test result. There were nine other election workers at the polling place and they are being advised to get tested, the release says.
Because the person was a supervisor, the department said, the job duties did not involve interacting closely with the over 1,800 voters who were at the polling place Tuesday.
Italian regions lock down and Paris tightens rules as Europe smashes virus records
By CNN's Emma Reynolds, Livia Borghese and Barbara Wojazer
The Italian regions worst-hit by the second coronavirus wave entered a new lockdown Friday after the country tallied its highest daily number of both infections and deaths the previous day.
Italy is under a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. nationwide curfew, with bars and restaurants closing at 6 p.m., while certain areas face harsher restrictions.
Residents in "red zone" regions -- Lombardy, Piedmont, Valle d'Aosta and Calabria -- may only leave home for necessities, health or work. Those in "orange zones" are banned from leaving their towns except for work or health reasons -- and bars and restaurants are closed except for delivery and takeout.
Italy reported 35,505 new cases and 445 deaths Thursday, taking its case total to 824,879 and fatalities to 40,192, according to health ministry data.
These figures "are not a good sign," said Gianni Rezza, director of the prevention department at the ministry. "The virus is running and we have to stop it."
Meanwhile in France: Paris also announced stricter measures as the country reported a record 58,046 new cases Thursday, according to the French health agency. The country has Europe's highest case number, at 1.6 million infections.
From Friday, food delivery, takeout and alcohol sales are banned in Paris between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., police said.
"The second wave is already upon us, and it is brutal," French health minister Olivier Véran told a news conference Thursday. If the virus keeps spreading at this rate, he said "the second wave could be worse and longer" than the first, and could take "until mid-December" to stabilize.
Véran urged people to respect the national lockdown, or face "a high risk of saturation" of hospitals by mid-November.
Japan adds over 1,000 Covid-19 cases in a day for first time since August
From CNN’s Junko Ogura in Tokyo
Japan has reported over a thousand Covid-19 infections in a single day for the first time since August 21, according to Japan’s Health Ministry.
Japan gained 1,054 new cases on Thursday with 12 new deaths.
The total number of the infections throughout Japan now stands at 105,494 (this figure includes 712 on the Diamond Princess cruise ship) and the death toll has now reached 1,819 (including 13 on the cruise ship).
Patients in critical condition raised to 183, this is up 18 from Wednesday.
Tokyo announced 269 news cases of virus on Thursday. The total number of infections in Tokyo has reached 31,893 and 38 patients are in serious condition as of Thursday.
