MNI POLITICAL RISK ANALYSIS – Global COVID-19 Tracker - Oct 28

COVID-19 Trends and Developments

• Germany and France are both believed to be close to impelmenting tighter lockdown restrictions in the coming days as new cases and fatalities from coronavirus continue to mount. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting with state leaders to decide on whether bars, hotels, and leisure centres will be shut in a 'lockdown light' in November. Meanwhile in France, President Emmanuel Macron is due to address the nation on television this evening at 2000CET (1900GMT, 1500ET) to announce an expected four-week national lockdown. This will be similar to the spring lockdown, although schools are expected to remain open this time around. France recorded 34,591 new cases and 530 fatalities from coronavirus on October 27, while Germany registered its second-highest number of new cases during the pandemic so far, with 13,161 added to the total.
• The Australian city of Melbourne exited one of the longest and strictest coronavirus lockdowns anywhere in the world on October 27, over 110 days since the rules were implemented. The average number of new cases recorded across the country over the past week stands at 16 per day, down from a peak of 552 new cases per day on average for the week ending August 4. While Australia's harsh lockdown came at a time when case numbers were well below those of other nations worldwide, the country's geographic position as an isolated island meant the government could pursue a strategy of eliminating the virus entirely rather than simply trying to reduce deaths as is the aim for most European, Asian, and American governments.
• South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has gone into self-isolation following the news that a guest at a dinner attended by the president tested positive for COVID-19. The number of new cases recorded each day has remained largely static in recent weeks, but the average number of fatalities from COVID-19 recorded across the past week has fallen to its lowest level since June 8. As of October 27, an average of 57 fatalities were recorded each day over the previous week.

Source: JHU, MNI. As of 0700BST October 28. N.b. Each dot represents a single day's figures, data for past three months

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