Coronavirus live news: rapid Covid tests to be rolled out worldwide as global deaths near one million

Hello and welcome to today’s live coronavirus coverage.

My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest for the next few hours.

You can get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.

There are 999,629 deaths currently confirmed on the Johns Hopkins University tracker, as we await the devastating milestone of one million lives lost in the nine months of the pandemic so far.

In good news, tests for Covid-19 that show on-the-spot results in 15 to 30 minutes are about to be rolled out across the world, potentially saving many thousands of lives and slowing the pandemic in both poor and rich countries.

The tests, which look like a pregnancy test, with two blue lines displayed for positive, are read by a health worker. One test has received emergency approval from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the other is expected to get it shortly.

• Dutch advise masks in shops as virus surges. Some more detail on news the Dutch government has tightened some of Europe’s most relaxed coronavirus rules after a surge in cases, ordering bars to shut early and recommending people wear masks in shops.The prime minister, Mark Rutte, told a news conference that the situation in the country’s three largest cities, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, had become “serious” and required urgent action. “We’re doing our best, but the virus is doing better,” said the country’s health minister, Hugo de Jonge, adding that nearly 3,000 new infections were being recorded a day, with the figure expected to reach 5,000 within weeks.
• Rapid Covid-19 tests are about to be rolled out across the world, the WHO announced. The move could potentially save many thousands of lives and slow the spread of the pandemic in both poor and rich countries.
• The official global death toll probably underestimates the true total, the WHO’s top emergencies expert warned. Dr Mike Ryan suggested it could be more than a million already.
• A host of n ew restrictions was introduced in the Netherlands. Travel was limited, bars and restaurants closed early public gatherings discouraged.
• The known number of infections worldwide passed 33 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. The death toll has moved closer to 1 million and stands at 999,202.
• The total number of cases in Ukraine exceeded 200,000. The death toll stood at 3,996, the country’s security council said.
• The UK government came under pressure to scrap its 10pm closing time rule. The mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, said there needed to be an “urgent review of the emerging evidence” after city centre supermarkets were “packed” after closing time.
• New rules came into effect in Paris and 11 other French cities. All bars must close at 10pm and remain closed until at least 6am. Restaurants can stay open later.
• Children have 44% lower odds of catching Covid-19 than adults. According to an analysis led by the president of Britain’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, there is preliminary evidence that those younger than 10 to 14 years have lower susceptibility.
• India’s confirmed coronavirus tally reached 6 million cases on Monday, keeping the country second to the United States in number of reported cases since the pandemic began. The Health Ministry on Monday reported 82,170 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, driving the overall tally to 60,74,703. At least 1,039 deaths were also recorded in the same period, taking total fatalities up to 95,542 since the pandemic began.
• South Korea confirms lowest cases since 11 August. South Korea on Monday reported 50 new coronavirus cases, the lowest since 11 August, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Of the new cases, 40 were domestic and 10 imported. The numbers were the lowest since a new wave of outbreaks emerged from a church whose members attended a large political rally in Seoul on 15 August, KDCA data showed.
• Northern England and possibly London facing new lockdown. The UK government is planning to impose a total social lockdown across most of northern England and potentially London, to combat a second coronavirus wave, the Times reports. Under the new lockdown measures being considered, all pubs, restaurants and bars would be ordered to shut for two weeks initially, the report said, citing a senior government source. The report added that households would also be banned indefinitely from meeting each other in any indoor location where they were not already under the order.
• There have been a further 5,693 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK, according to government data, taking the total to 429,277. Government figures show a further 17 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for the virus as of Sunday. This brings the official UK toll to 41,988.
• Travel between New Zealand and some states of Australia is possible before the end of the year, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday. Plans for a travel ‘bubble’ between Australia and New Zealand has been in discussions for months as both nations slowed the spread of the coronavirus, but they were disrupted after a resurgence of Covid-19 in Melbourne, Australia, followed by a second wave of infections in Auckland.With the virus largely contained in New Zealand, and as cases continue to decline in Australian regions, talks of a travel bubble with some states have been revived.
• Greece has recorded its first coronavirus fatality among its large migrant community. Health authorities described the victim as a 61-year-old Afghan man, saying the father-of-two succumbed to Covid-19 in Athens’ Evangelismos hospital after being moved from Malakassa, a refugee camp east of the capital.