Image source, AFP

Demonstrators in Serbia held a third night of protests against their government's handling of the pandemic.

While the previous two nights had been marked by violent clashes with police, Thursday's protests remained peaceful.

The protests were triggered by Belgrade announcing a weekend curfew to curb a second wave of the virus.

The curfew plans were dropped on Thursday and instead there will be shorter hours for bars and shops.

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Image source, Reuters

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Japan's economy minister has says restrictions are needed to prevent a further surge of virus cases in bars and nightclubs - which have become a hot-spot of infections since the country lifted a state of emergency in late May.

Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters he would decide on those measures later on Friday.

Overall, Japan has recorded more than 20,000 confirmed cases - while just under 1,000 deaths have been linked to the virus.

There is concern over the large numbers of people dying of pneumonia in Kazakhstan, and BBC reporters are looking into what's causing this.

The Chinese embassy there has warned its citizens of a pneumonia strain that is proving deadlier than Covid-19, Chinese state media reports., external

The pneumonia caused 1,772 deaths in the first six months of the year, including 628 people in June alone, the embassy said, using previously published Kazakh government figures."The fatality rate of the disease is much higher than Covid-19," it said.

The embassy said Kazakh authorities were trying to identify the cause, although it has previously been classed as "regular" pneumonia., external

And some doctors in the country believe it is in fact Covid-19, which faulty tests have failed to recognise.

Kazakhstan has confirmed more than 54,000 cases of Covid-19, with 264 deaths.

We'll have more on this story later on.

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Sophie Williams
BBC News

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A number of cosmetic surgery clinics around the world are reporting a rise in people getting treatment during the coronavirus outbreak - as they can hide their treatment behind a mask or work from home.

Clinics in the US, Japan, South Korea and Australia have all seen a rise in patients coming in for treatment.

"I decided to get procedures done during quarantine because it allowed me to heal at my own pace," Aaron Hernandez, who had lip fillers and buccal (cheek) fat removal in Los Angeles, told the BBC.

"Getting my lips done is not something that all men tend to do, so some people might find it different.

"Therefore I preferred to stay home and recover fully and people not know what work I had done once I'm out."

• Read more here

Mexico is one of the countries most affected by the coronavirus in Latin America.

A months-long shutdown has left many unable to work, with the government accused of not doing enough to help.

Now, some of Mexico’s powerful drug cartels are trying to step in to fill the void, trying to win over the hearts and minds of Mexico’s poor.

More than 65,000 infections were confirmed in the US on Thursday, another daily record, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.

There have been more than 3.2m confirmed infections in the US since the outbreak began - the most anywhere in the world.

The number of people dying with Covid-19 is also increasing, with an average of more than 900 for the past three days.

However, President Trump says the increased cases are down to mass testing in the US.

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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says there will be "a reduction over 4,000 people coming [back] each week" from Monday.

It's unclear if this means a hard cap of only 4,000 nationals allowed back, as this will depend on capacity in the quarantine system, he said.

Australia is limiting arrivals following the re-emergence of the virus in Melbourne.

"There will be continuing access to Australia but the number of available positions on flights will be less," Mr Morrison said.

"I don't think that's unreasonable in the circumstances we find ourselves in."

All international flights into Melbourne have already been cancelled, meaning most flights into Australia are going to Sydney or Perth.

More than 300,000 Australians have returned home so far since the pandemic began.

Image source, Reuters

Voting is under way in Singapore's general election, under the cloud of the virus and its economic fallout.

The city state is one of a handful of countries to hold a vote during the pandemic so far.

Strict safety measures are in place, with voters wearing gloves and masks, and given timed voting slots.

Singapore has been one of the worst-hit countries in the Asia Pacific region, with more than 45,000 cases.

The country has been ruled by the same party since independence - the People's Action Party (PAP) - and it is widely expected to retain power.

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Bolivia’s interim president has tested positive for the virus. In a video posted on Twitter, Jeanine Anez said she felt well and strong but would remain in quarantine for two weeks.

The Bolivian government confirmed that at least seven ministers, including its health minister, had tested positive and were either undergoing treatment or recuperating at home.

The country has more than 42,000 confirmed cases and 1,500 deaths -which makes it one of the worst affected countries per capita in the world.

Anez the second leader in South America to contract the virus, after Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro.

Victoria has detected 288 new infections in the past 24 hours - the highest daily tally for an Australian state since the pandemic began.

New South Wales had previously seen the greatest number with 211 in March, when travellers returning from overseas were Australia's biggest concern.

The current outbreak, centred in Melbourne, has worsened dramatically due to local transmissions in the past three weeks.

"I know and understand there will be concern across the community to see that number," Premier Daniel Andrews has just told Victorians.

"It was always going to get worse before it got better. We are doing more testing than has ever been done - not by a small margin - but by a massive margin."

More than 37,000 tests were carried out yesterday, he added.

Melbourne's five million residents were ordered back into lockdown yesterday amid fears the city's outbreak could spread elsewhere. Other states have seen relatively few recent infections.

Australia has recorded about 9,000 cases and 106 deaths.

As cases soar in Florida, hospitals are beginning to fill up.

Of the state's 207 intensive care units, 45 were full on Thursday, and almost half were more than 90% full.

"When hospitals and health care assistants talk about surge capacity, they’re often talking about a single event," said John Sinnott, chief epidemiologist at Tampa General Hospital.

"But what we’re having now is the equivalent of a bus accident a day, every day, and it just keeps adding."

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The US infectious disease expert and government adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, has said some states reopened too quickly - and are now paying the price with a surge in infections.

"There are some times when despite the guidelines and the recommendations to open up carefully and prudently, some states skipped over those and just opened up too quickly," Fauci told Podcast-19, FiveThirtyEight's weekly podcast., external

"Certainly Florida I know, you know, I think jumped over a couple of checkpoints," he added.

Confirmed cases in Florida have soared recently, with a recent average of more than 9,000 a day. The average was below 1,000 a day until last month.

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Welcome to our rolling coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic. Here are the latest headlines:

• Some US states reopened too quickly, top US expert Dr Anthony Fauci has said
• For the sixth time in 10 days, the US had a daily record of new infections
• The interim president of Bolivia, Jeanine Áñez, has tested positive
• The Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan has warned of a pneumonia that is deadlier than Covid-19
• Singapore is holding an election with a number of virus measures in place
• Globally, there have been more than 12.2m confirmed infections since the outbreak began, with more than 554,000 deaths linked to Covid-19