DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
EUROPE
* Germany has reported a record 410 deaths over 24 hours with state leaders and Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss an extension of pandemic-related restrictions into Christmas and New Year holidays.
* Spain is considering limiting Christmas celebrations to gatherings of six.
AMERICAS
* The Americas have reported more than 1.5 million cases in the past seven days, the highest weekly number since the start of the pandemic.
* Panama's government has signed an agreement with drug companies Pfizer and BioNTech to purchase 3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Researchers led by the WHO would like to go back to a wholesale food market in Wuhan in China to follow up initial cases which emerged in the city and investigate how the virus probably first spread from bats.
* Tokyo will urge shorter working hours for bars and restaurants and ask residents to stay indoors as much as possible.
* Singapore, which once had the highest COVID-19 rate in Southeast Asia, says it is nearly virus-free.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Turkey, which announced asymptomatic case numbers for the first time since July, has signed a contract to buy 50 million doses of vaccine from China's Sinovac Biotech.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* COVAXX, a unit of United Biomedical Inc, has received purchase commitments totaling $US2.8 billion ($A3.8 billion) to deliver more than 140 million doses of its potential vaccine to developing countries, including Brazil, Peru and Ecuador.
* Dutch researchers are preparing for a potential "human challenge" vaccine trial, advocacy group 1Day Sooner says.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Stocks have edged back from record highs as Wall Street bumps up against underwhelming economic data, while oil continues to rise and the dollar weakens ahead of comments from the US Federal Reserve.
* The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits increased further last week, while a Labor Department report show those receiving unemployment benefits under pandemic programs set to expire the day after Christmas continued to rise in early November.
* Britain will borrow almost 400 billion pounds ($A727 billion) this year to pay for the massive hit to its economy, and pause pay rises for public sector workers except those in health services and on lower incomes.
Australian Associated Press
