England could face "national action" and "very extensive local lockdowns" in the event of a winter coronavirus wave, the government said Saturday, with a "worst-case scenario" of 80,000 deaths.

France on Friday said there had been an "exponential" rise in coronavirus cases with more than 7,000 new infections in 24 hours.

"The dynamic of the progression of the epidemic is exponential," France's directorate general of health said, adding that there were 7,379 new infections in mainland France against 6,111 on Thursday and 5,429 on Wednesday.

Sudan is preparing a mass vaccination campaign against polio after an outbreak, the UN said Friday, days after the declaration of the eradication of wild poliovirus in Africa.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Friday predicted a return to "normal" next year after a challenging autumn and winter because of the pandemic.

Coping with the coronavirus will become more challenging in the coming autumn and winter months, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in her annual summer press conference on Friday.

Paris authorities made a last-minute about-turn Friday on a new requirement for universal mask-wearing, exempting cyclists and joggers from the otherwise blanket outdoors obligation.

South Korea decided Friday to tighten coronavirus curbs further in the greater Seoul area as it seeks to contain growing clusters in the region.

President Donald Trump tore into his election challenger Joe Biden as a threat to the "American Dream" in a bruising speech Thursday accepting the Republican nomination for a second term against a backdrop of racial tensions and the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

European Union Ambassador to Lebanon Ralph Tarraf and UNHCR Representative in Lebanon Mireille Girard visited Rafic Hariri University Hospital on Thursday, a press release said.

After previously encouraging people without Covid-19 symptoms to get tested if they have been exposed to someone diagnosed with the virus, US health authorities have abruptly reversed their position without a clear explanation.