'Spreading faster than the worst-case.' How Coronavirus is impacting other countries right now.

On Sunday, Australia recorded no new locally acquired cases of coronavirus for the first time in five months. However, the nation's progress in slowing the spread of COVD-19 is in stark contrast to several other countries who are in the midst of surging numbers of the deadly disease.  

On Saturday, local time, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a second national lockdown after the UK passed the milestone of one million coronavirus cases.

In the meantime, America has set a new record for cases of COVID-19 confirmed in a single 24-hour period, whilst Italy broke their own record of new cases in one day.

Globally, there has now been over 46 million cases of coronavirus and more than 1.2 million deaths, according to Worldometer.

Here's what you need to know about COVID-19 around the world right now. 

England

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a second national lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus. Image: Getty.  

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered England back into a national lockdown as a second wave of infections threatens to overwhelm their health service.

The United Kingdom is grappling with more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases a day and scientists have warned the "worst case scenario" of 80,000 deaths could be exceeded.

"In this country, alas, as across much of Europe, the virus is spreading even faster than the reasonable worst-case scenario of our scientific advisers," Johnson said.

The PM said the one-month lockdown across England will begin after midnight on Thursday morning and last until December 2.

People will only be allowed to leave home for specific reasons such as education, work, exercise, shopping for essentials and medicines or caring for the vulnerable.

"We must act now," Johnson said. "Unless we act, we could see deaths in this country running at several thousand a day."

America

Less than a week out from the US Presidential election, America has set a new record for coronavirus cases. Image: Getty.  

Less than a week out from the US Presidential election, America has set a new record for coronavirus cases confirmed in a single 24-hour period, reporting just over 100,000 new infections to surpass the record total of 91,000 posted a day earlier.

The daily caseload of 100,233 on Friday is also a world record for the global pandemic, surpassing the 97,894 cases reported by India on a single day in September.

The number of daily infections reported during the past two days indicates that the nation is now reporting more than one new case every second.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed nearly 230,000 people in the US, has dominated the final stretch of the campaign.

President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden held rallies in Florida on Thursday, showcasing their contrasting approaches to the pandemic.

For every 10,000 people in the United States, more than 272 cases have been reported and about seven people have died, according to a Reuters analysis. In Europe there have been 127 cases and four deaths per 10,000 residents.

France

France began a four-week lockdown on Friday. Image: Getty.  

France began a four-week lockdown on Friday, after concerns grew their rising infections would swamp the country's healthcare system. 

France's 67 million people have been ordered to stay at home at all times with no visitors or risk steep fines or prosecution.

There are a handful of exceptions, such as being allowed out for one hour of exercise a day within a 1km radius of home, to go to medical appointments, to a place of work, or to shop for essential goods.

Restaurants and cafes are shut, apart from those that offer takeaway.

France on Friday reported 49,215 new confirmed coronavirus cases, compared with 47,637 on Thursday and a record high of 52,010 on Sunday.

Before lockdown officially started, Parisians fled to the countryside and crowded the roads, with one logjam stretching for 700km on Thursday evening. 

Incredible traffic jam in Paris as people try to leave the city before 9 pm curfew and before confinement begins at midnight. Traffic is barely moving in every direction as far as the eye can see. Lots of honking and frustrated drivers. pic.twitter.com/6Zn2HCxuPl

— Michael E. Webber (@MichaelEWebber) October 29, 2020

Germany

Germany is preparing to enter a nationwide lockdown after marking a record number of daily coronavirus infections with 19,059 cases on Saturday.

Friday's report had 18,681 new cases, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for disease control. A week ago, the RKI had reported 14,714.

From November 2, the country will enter a renewed shutdown. 

From November 2, Germany will be in a nationwide lockdown. Image: Getty.  

Under the new rules, cultural and recreational facilities will shut as well as restaurants and bars. Outdoor gatherings will be limited to 10 people from two households at most.

Fans will also be banned from attending Bundesliga football matches, amateur sport will not take place, and gyms, pools, cosmetic studios, massage parlours and tattoo studios will have to close.

Several thousand people demonstrated on Saturday against the restrictions in Dresden, Karlsruhe, Darmstadt, Duesseldorf, Braunschweig and Munich.

Italy

In the past 24 hours, Italy recorded 31,084 new coronavirus infections and 199 related cases, according to a daily bulletin on the pandemic.

The daily infections figure broke a new record, while fatalities were slightly down after three days in which they stood at around 200 per day.

Intensive care patients have increased to 1,746, compared to 1,651 on Thursday and 1,050 seven days earlier.

A patient infected with coronavirus receives treatment from an Intensive Care Unit nurse in Bologna, Italy. Image: Getty.  

This trend is seen as particularly worrying by health officials.

The overall death toll now stands at 38,321 while the total infections count has reached 647,674, the Civil Protection agency and the Health Ministry said.

Portugal

Portugal's government has also announced new lockdown restrictions, beginning November 4, for most of the country, telling people to stay at home except for outings for work, school or shopping.

A day after daily coronavirus infections hit a record high, Prime Minister Antonio Costa on Saturday said the measures would cover 121 municipalities, including the key regions of Lisbon and Porto.

The affected areas are home to about 70 per cent of Portugal's population of roughly 10 million.

"If nothing is done, the rise in infections will inevitably lead us to a situation of failure of our health system," Costa said in a televised news conference. "We have a very tough month ahead of us."

Portugal has recorded a comparatively low 141,279 infections and 2,507 deaths but daily cases hit a record 4,656 on Friday before retreating to 4,007 on Saturday, when the death toll rose by 39.

Movement between Portugal's municipalities had already been prohibited between Friday and November 3 to reduce risk of virus transmission.

Portugal banned movement between municipalities from October 30, as the country prepares to enter lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus. Image: Getty.  

Belgium

Belgium has recorded the highest rate of COVID-19 infections in Europe, but has resisted a nationwide lockdown, instead introducing comparatively less-severe restrictions. 

On Friday, Belgium announced tighter restrictions on social contacts and the closure for six weeks from Monday of businesses such as hairdressers and shops that provide services not considered essential. It also extended November school holidays by an extra week.

Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said the country of 11 million people otherwise faced a breakdown of its health system.

"We are moving in the direction of reinforced confinement with a single objective: to prevent health care from creaking under pressure that is already immense today," de Croo told a news conference.

"These are the last-chance measures."

But de Croo did not order a full repeat of the spring lockdown even though Belgium's COVID-19 numbers are the worst in the EU.

In the second half of October, Belgium reported an average of 1,600 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants, more than twice as many as in France.

It also has one of Europe's highest mortality rates, according to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

This month the country has already put in place a night curfew and closed bars, restaurants, gyms and cultural spaces.

- With AAP.

Feature image: Getty.

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