Latest on worldwide spread of coronavirus

EUROPE

* France saw the biggest spike in new COVID-19 infections since the end of July on the last day of free testing for unvaccinated people, health ministry data showed.

* The prevalence of infections in England increased to around 1 in 60 people in the week ending October 9, Britain's Office for National Statistics said on Friday, reaching its highest level since January.

* Britain recorded 145 more deaths on Friday, taking the total number of fatalities within 28 days of a positive test to 138,379, official figures showed.

* Italy reported 42 deaths on Friday, up from 40 the previous day, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 2732 from 2668.

* European Union countries have sent drugs and equipment to treat patients in Romania, which is facing a surge in infections largely among the unvaccinated majority of the adult population.

AMERICAS

* The White House on Friday will lift travel restrictions for fully vaccinated international visitors starting November 8, ending historic restrictions that had barred much of the world from entering the US for as long as 21 months.

* Outside advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration on Friday voted unanimously to recommend regulators authorise a second shot of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine to better protect Americans who received the one-dose vaccine.

* The US health regulator is delaying its decision on authorising Moderna Inc's vaccine for adolescents to check if the shot could increase the risk of a rare inflammatory heart condition, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

* Healthcare systems across Canada are still very fragile from efforts needed to fight COVID-19, even as signs suggest a fourth wave is starting to recede, a top medical official said on Friday.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Australia will scrap quarantine for international arrivals into NSW but initially limit the new arrangements to citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families.

* The Philippines started vaccinating young people aged 12-17 on Friday, hoping it will enable schools to safely reopen even as the country battles one of Asia's worst outbreaks.

* South Korea said it would lift stringent curbs on social gatherings next week, as the country prepares to switch to a 'living with COVID-19' strategy.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Saudi Arabia will ease curbs from October 17, the interior ministry said on Friday, in response to a sharp drop in daily infections and a considerable development in vaccinations.

* South Africa will start vaccinating children between the ages of 12 and 17 next week using the Pfizer vaccine, the health minister said.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* A Russian firm said on Friday it had begun trials of the Betuvax-CoV-2 vaccine, the second vaccine of its kind produced by a private Russian company, TASS news agency reported.

* Pfizer Inc and German partner BioNTech SE said on Friday they had submitted data supporting the use of their vaccine in children aged between five and less than 12 years to the European Medicines Agency.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* US stocks rose on Friday as Goldman Sachs was the latest big bank to report strong results and better-than-expected retail sales eased worries about demand.

* Oil prices settled at a three-year high above $US85 ($A115) a barrel on Friday, boosted by forecasts of a supply deficit in the next few months as the easing of coronavirus-related travel restrictions spurs demand.

GLOBAL

DEATHS 4,902,450

CASES 240,706,264

RECOVERED 217,960,588