Coronavirus Live Updates: Israel Locks Down Again Ahead Of High Holidays; EU Strikes Vaccine Deal With Sanofi, GSK

Global cases of the coronavirus have now crossed 30 million, as new infection rates remain stubbornly high in some countries and show early signs of resurgence in others. The U.S., India and Brazil hold the highest national case tallies — together the three countries account for over half of all reported global infections. The dramatic benchmark comes as experts warn of difficult fall and winter seasons ahead.

Chart of global daily new coronavirus cases by region
The following data was compiled by Johns Hopkins University:

Global cases: More than 30.2 million
Global deaths: At least 946,685
U.S. cases: More than 6.67 million
U.S. deaths: At least 197,655

13 MIN AGO
Latest hot spots of new U.S. cases
National
46 MIN AGO
Second nationwide lockdown in Israel takes effect ahead of Jewish High Holidays
An Israeli national flag is seen on a bridge before Israel will enter a second nationwide lockdown amid a resurgence in new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, forcing residents to stay mostly at home during the Jewish high-holiday season, on the main r
An Israeli national flag is seen on a bridge before Israel will enter a second nationwide lockdown amid a resurgence in new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, forcing residents to stay mostly at home during the Jewish high-holiday season, on the main road leading to Jerusalem in Ein Hemd.
Ronen Zvulun | Reuters
The second nationwide lockdown in Israel took effect Friday, tethering residents mostly to their homes in an effort to slow the spread of new infections, Reuters reports.

The country saw success with its first lockdown, imposed in March and eased in May, with new daily cases tapering off to low-single digits, the wire service reports. But with average new daily infections now above 5,000, Israeli officials have said they lifted restrictions too early.

The second lockdown comes just ahead of the Jewish High Holidays and is set to last three weeks, according to Reuters. The restrictions allow for worship activities but impose social distancing guidelines and capacity limits, the report says. —Sara Salinas

46 MIN AGO
EU agrees to buy potential vaccine doses from Sanofi, GSK
The European Union has agreed to buy up to 300 million doses of a potential vaccine under development by Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline, Reuters reports, marking the second vaccine deal for the multinational bloc.

The EU will contribute to upfront financing of the vaccine production in exchange for EU nations’ right to purchase the doses once proven safe and effective, according to the wire service. Sanofi and GSK began clinical trials of their vaccine candidate earlier this month and aim to reach the final stage of testing by December.

– Reuters