France Begins COVID Curfew as Cases Climb Worldwide

Portions of France begin the implementation of new restrictions Saturday to try to curb the coronavirus.  Paris and at least seven other cities, including Lyon, Grenoble, Aix-en-Provence, Montpellier, Lille, Rouen and Saint-Étienne will be under curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. The curfew is scheduled to be in place for at least four weeks.  
 
Belgium will be placed under a 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. nationwide curfew Monday to combat the country’s rising COVID-19 caseload. In addition, Belgium has ordered all cafes, bars, and restaurants to be shuttered, starting Monday.  
 
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Saturday that there are 39.3 million COVID-19 infections worldwide and 1.1 million deaths from the virus.   
 
India has begun the task of identifying the 300 million people who will receive the initial COVID-19 vaccine, once it becomes available, according to media reports.A man reacts as a health care worker collects a swab sample to test for the coronavirus, at a testing site, in New Delhi, India, Oct. 17, 2020.COVID cases in India are steadily climbing.  The South Asian nation is on the verge of overtaking the U.S. as the country with the most coronavirus cases.  
 
The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Saturday that India has 7.4 million coronavirus infections, while the U.S. has just over 8 million.  India said Saturday it had recorded 62,212 new COVID cases in the previous 24 hours.  
 
Daily cases of COVID-19 have reached record highs around the world, particularly in Europe and the Americas, the World Health Organization said Friday.  
 
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a briefing in Geneva that record-high numbers of cases were reported in each of the past four days.  
 
“We must remember that this is an uneven pandemic,” Tedros said. “Countries have responded differently, and countries have been affected differently. Almost 70% of all cases reported globally last week were from 10 countries, and almost half of all cases were from just three countries.”  
 
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