Health News at Your Fingertips

Italy reported 686 Covid-19-related deaths on Saturday, against 827 the day before, the health ministry confirmed.

There were also 26,323 new infections, down from 28,352 on Friday.

Italy was the first Western country to be hit by the virus and has seen 54,363 Covid-19 fatalities since its outbreak emerged in February, the second highest toll in Europe after Britain.

In the UK, 479 more people have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.

This number is down from 521 the previous day, according to government data.

There were 15,871 people in the UK that tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday, down from 16,022 on Friday.

See the official release here.

Hi everyone, this is Yohannes Lowe. I’ll be running the live blog for the rest of the evening. As always, feel free to get in touch on Twitter if you have any story tips.

A further 289 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, NHS England have said. This brings the total number of confirmed deaths in hospitals to 40,197.

The patients were all aged between 27 and 100, and all bar 16 – aged between 45 and 92 – had known underlying health conditions. The deaths occurred between October 14 and November 27.

More than 60 people have been arrested at anti-lockdown demonstrations in London, the Met police have said.

They were arrested for a number of offences, including breaking lockdown restrictions. The force said it expected the number of arrests to rise.

Earlier, we reported on scuffles between police and protesters at the demonstration.

Here are some striking pieces of photojournalism from the scene:

There have been more than 61m confirmed cases of coronavirus around the world, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.

The global death toll stands at 1,429,602.

You can follow updates with our interactive coronavirus world map, which illustrates how different locations around the world are impacted, and has tallies of daily cases and deaths.

For UK figures, you can also use our interactive map of the UK, which breaks down figures in the four nations and shows regional hotspots.

Here’s some more information on earlier news that South Australia and New South Wales have recorded new Covid-19 cases.

In better news, Victoria has passed the benchmark for eliminating coronavirus, recording a 29th straight day without a single new infection.

A further nine deaths from coronavirus have been reported in Northern Ireland, eight of which occurred in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 983.

A further 315 individuals have also tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 51,824.

At present, there are 410 coronavirus patients in hospital, 33 of whom are currently in intensive care.

Hello everyone. Here’s an update of key events so far today:

In the UK …

… and around the world

• In Greece, the government has decided to lower the cost of screening tests for Covid-19, which can cost up to €95, in a move which has widely been welcomed.
• Deaths from coronavirus in Europe have passed more than 400,000.
• Russia has reported 27,100 new coronavirus cases, including 7,320 in Moscow.
• The lockdown in Germany could last until spring if case numbers do not drop, the economy minister, Peter Altmaier, has said.

If you spot something we should be reporting on in this blog, please feel free to drop me a message on Twitter. Tips and pointers always appreciated!

Plans for an emergency multimillion-pound loan to save Arcadia Group, which owns Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Burton brands, have reportedly been drawn up by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group.

It comes just a day after Sir Philip Green’s retail empire was revealed to be on the brink of collapse, putting 15,000 jobs at risk. The group has more than 500 stores across the UK – the majority of which are currently shut as a result of England’s second national lockdown.

Arcadia Group is expected to appoint Deloitte as administrators in the coming days.

The offer from Frasers Group, which runs Sports Direct and House of Fraser, would be around £50m and probably be in the form of a secured loan, Sky News reported.

However, it is unclear if a formal approach from Frasers Group to Arcadia Group has been made.

Retail has suffered extensively during the pandemic, with forced closures of shops causing dramatic profit losses and mass job losses.

Earlier this year, Arcadia revealed plans to cut around 500 of its 2,500 head office jobs amid a restructure in the face of the crisis.

Police and protesters have clashed at demonstrations in central London against lockdown restrictions, with at least three people arrested.

Police have been attempting to disperse the protesters, arguing the demonstration is unlawful under bans on gatherings because of coronavirus.

One protester told Sky News they were demonstrating because they believed there was “no future for our children” as a result of lockdown restrictions. Others described the measures as “fascist”.

Police faced booing from demonstrators and chants of “shame on you”, and some officers were pelted with bottles, as they intervened in the protest.

Traffic was temporarily blocked on Regent Street as officers attempted to handcuff people on the ground in the middle of the road.

People eager to get a haircut have been queuing outside barber shops in Paris as France partially reopened after a month-long lockdown.

Department stores selling gifts and Christmas decorations have also been busy today after shops selling non-essential goods such as shoes, clothes and toys reopened in the first easing of a nationwide lockdown that started on 30 October and will remain in place until 15 December. Bars and restaurants remain closed until 20 January.

“Today we have people who had been waiting for weeks while others are coming now so they can look good for Christmas, as one never know what happens next,” Remi Thor, a barber in central Paris, told Reuters.

A barber at J-Coiffeur in western Paris said that despite his online reservation system, people were showing up anyway without booking and were queuing up outside.

“Under current rules, they cannot wait inside,” he said.

Paris deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said on FranceInfo Radio that the mayor, Anne Hidalgo, would hold talks with retail organisations about allowing them to open on Sundays to catch up on lost sales. “2020 will be a catastrophic year for everyone, but in order to limit the damage, December will be crucial,” he said.

The government has already allowed shops to open till 9pm so they could receive more customers despite limits on numbers in stores.

Moscow’s biggest outdoor rink has opened for winter, with residents taking to the ice late on Friday.

On Saturday, officials in Russia said 510 people had died in the last 24 hours across the country from coronavirus.

However, people out skating said they felt safe as they had worn masks and gloves in the indoor part of the rink, while their temperatures were measured upon arrival. Most people were not wearing masks on the rink itself, which in total measures over 20,000 square metres Reuters reported.

“We went through all the changing rooms in masks. It’s not scary at all,” said resident Olga Glazunova.

“It’s really good to be skating. You can feel the coming winter and New Year,” said Svetlana Makarova.

Others like Mikhail Merzlyakov said they couldn’t resist taking to the ice. “It’s scary, but we wanted to skate,” he said.

The UK government has been attempting to alleviate fears around a coronavirus vaccine, publishing an explainer which debunks myths around the virus and offers information about what goes in to it.

They shared the video explainer, featuring deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, today: