By Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton, Zamira Rahim, Vasco Cotovio, Melissa Macaya and Meg Wagner, CNN
More than 45 million Covid-19 cases have been recorded worldwide since the pandemic began, according to a tally by John Hopkins University.
As of Friday, the global total stands at 45,029,008 cases and 1,181,075 virus-related deaths.
CNN is tracking global cases:
From CNN's Fred Pleitgen in Berlin
Germany on Friday reported 18,681 new Covid-19 infections in 24 hours, according to the country’s disease control and prevention agency, the Robert Koch Institute.
That marks a fresh highest single-day jump in cases for the third day in a row. The previous highest number had been 16,774 new cases, reported on Thursday.
Germany has now confirmed 499,694 cases and 10,349 virus-related deaths, according to RKI.
From CNN's Nadia Kounang
A CNN investigation of 17 Trump campaign rallies finds that 14 of the host counties -- 82% of them -- had an increased rate of new Covid-19 cases one month after the rally.
The 17 rallies occurred between August 17 and September 26. CNN evaluated the rate of new daily cases per 100,000 residents at four weeks before the rally, on the rally date, and four weeks after the rally at the county level and at the state level.
Of the 14 host counties that had increased infection rates, eight of the counties had declining rates of infection in the month before the rally. The other six counties already had increasing rates of infection in that preceding month.
CNN's analysis also found that in 10 counties, the new rates of infection were growing faster than the overall rate for the state.
Read more:
From CNN’s Yoko Wakatsuki in Tokyo and Sophie Jeong in Hong Kong
Japan eased travel restrictions for China and eight other countries and regions on Friday, according to a news release from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Japan lowered its travel risk advisory level for China, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand, Brunei and Vietnam from level 3 to level 2 after assessing the infection situation and movement restrictions in each location, along with business needs toward Japan’s economic recovery, according to the release.
The Foreign Ministry also raised the travel risk advisory level for Myanmar and Jordan from level 2 to level 3 on Friday.
The level 3 advisory means the public is advised to cancel any trips to those locations.
The level 2 advisory means the public is advised to avoid unnecessary, non-urgent trips.
From CNN's Alta Spells
The United States reported 88,521 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University -- the highest single-day total since the pandemic began.
The previous daily high was 83,731 cases, reported on October 23.
An additional 971 virus-related fatalities were also confirmed on Thursday, according to JHU's tally.
The nationwide totals now stand at 8,944,934 cases and 228,656 deaths.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
CNN is tracking the US cases:
From CNN's Ben Westcott and James Griffiths
Xinjiang, the heavily policed region of western China where the government has been accused of detaining more than a million Muslims, is facing a new coronavirus outbreak.
While the rest of the country is reporting only a handful of daily cases -- with most of those imported -- Xinjiang has this week recorded dozens of new infections. On Thursday, the region reported 14 new cases, taking its total active caseload to 197, according to China's National Health Commission.
It's the country's biggest coronavirus cluster since more than 180 infections were reported in the capital Beijing in June. And it has raised eyebrows, given the heavy surveillance and security prevalent in the region, and the drastic response the government enacted earlier this year.
During China's initial outbreak, Xinjiang was subjected to strict lockdown measures on par with those imposed in the city of Wuhan -- the original epicenter of the virus -- despite having reported only some 70 cases and three deaths. When the regional capital Urumqi suffered an outbreak in July, authorities launched a strict lockdown, canceling flights, inspecting markets and restaurants, and testing residents.
Allegations of abuse: On Thursday, Xinjiang officials said the factory at the heart of the latest outbreak employed 252 workers and produces leisure and sportswear, which they added was set up as part of a plan to "help villagers find jobs and increase their income."
Factories and businesses based in Xinjiang have faced allegations of forced labor and poor conditions in the past. Last month, the United States issued new import restrictions against Chinese companies it accuses of using slave labor, including products from suspected mass prison camps in the region.
Adrian Zenz, a leading expert on the Chinese government's policies in Xinjiang, said the factory at the heart of the latest outbreak was emblematic of those used for "coercive labor training," a purported poverty alleviation program targeting "so-called rural surplus laborers."
Read the full story:
From CNN's Joshua Berlinger
As much of the world struggles to contain new waves of the Covid-19 pandemic, Taiwan just marked its 200th consecutive day without a locally transmitted case of the disease.
Taipei's response to the pandemic has been one of the world's most effective. The island of 23 million people last reported a locally transmitted case on April 12. As of Thursday, it had confirmed 553 cases -- only 55 of which were local transmissions -- and seven deaths.
Taiwan has never had to enact strict lockdowns like Europe, nor did it resort to drastic restrictions on civil freedoms like in mainland China. So how did they do it?
Read the full story:
From CNN's Yoko Wakatsuki in Tokyo and Sophie Jeong in Hong Kong
Japan has surpassed 100,000 total Covid-19 cases, the country's Health Ministry announced on Friday, as the number of daily infections hit a two-month high.
The country recorded 808 new coronavirus cases Thursday, bringing the total number of infections to 100,334. This is the first time that Japan has registered more than 800 daily new infections since August 29.
The new infections are edging up in northern prefectures such as Hokkaido and Aomori. Some 221 of the new cases were from the capital Tokyo, raising the city's total to 30,677.
CNN is tracking worldwide cases:
From CNN's Zahid Mahmood in London
The number of coronavirus cases in Europe has exceeded the 10 million mark since the beginning of the pandemic, with more than 1.5 million cases confirmed last week alone, the World Health Organization’s Europe director Dr. Hans Kluge said Thursday.
“Europe is at the epicenter of this pandemic once again,” Kluge said at a meeting alongside European health ministers.
“At the risk of sounding alarmist, I must express our very real concern and convey our steadfast commitment to stand beside you and support you as best we can.”
The situation in Europe: Kluge warned that hospitalizations have risen to “levels unseen since the spring,” with cases moving from 7 million to 9 million in the past two weeks and deaths rising by 32% across the region last week.
Testing systems have not kept up with “very high-speed transmission,” and test positivity rates have reached new highs in most European countries.
Return to lockdown: As Europe is well into its second wave, many countries are implementing new restrictions in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
With France introducing a national lockdown from Friday, Kluge said lockdowns were a “last resort option” because they bypass the “still-existing possibility of engaging everyone in basic and effective measures.”
