CIDRAP News: Global COVID total passes 48 million; Greece locks down
“As the global total topped 48 million, Greece became the latest country in Europe to announce a lockdown and cases surged to new single-day highs in a number of other countries in the region…” (Schnirring, 11/5).

CNBC: Doctors share their ideas on how to get people to pay attention to Covid restrictions
“The key to improving compliance with coronavirus health measures lies in effective communication between policymakers and the broader population, infectious disease experts have said. It comes as several European countries seek to impose fresh lockdown measures to tackle the spread of the disease, almost eight months after the WHO first declared Covid-19 a pandemic…” (Meredith, 11/6).

POLITICO: One hopeful sign for the pandemic
“…Here’s some good news, at least for now: There are no signs yet the Northern Hemisphere is about to be struck with a nasty flu season at the same time the coronavirus pandemic rages. The so-called ‘twindemic’ has been a big worry for infectious-disease experts because two circulating respiratory viruses with similar symptoms could overwhelm health care systems this fall and winter. Granted, it’s still early in the hemisphere’s flu season, but flu infections remain low so far, said a spokesperson for the WHO…” (Paun, 11/5).

Washington Post: Away from U.S. election fever, coronavirus rages on
“…Also on Thursday, France reported a daily record for coronavirus infections, with the country’s health minister saying that coronavirus patients already accounted for some 85 percent of French hospitals’ intensive-care capacity. This week, Germany, Hungary, and Poland also all posted daily records in new coronavirus cases. The Czech Republic, which has the highest coronavirus infection rate in Europe after Belgium, asked the World Health Organization to send an emergency medical team to the country because thousands of Czech medical professionals have been infected with the virus. Though death rates are not as high as they were in the first wave of the virus, they are slowly climbing around the world. According to a tally by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, Latin America now accounts for 1 out of 3 coronavirus-related deaths…” (Tharoor, 11/6).