Guy Delauney
BBC News, Belgrade

Image source, AFP

Internal barriers have come crashing down in Slovenia after the government declared most of the country was in the "red zone" for coronavirus.

Red-zone residents may no longer travel beyond the borders of their home region. The ruling affects seven of the country's 12 regions – including central Slovenia, which takes in the capital, Ljubljana.

The restrictions may not be as tight as they were in the spring, when Slovenians were confined to municipal boundaries - with wardens manning checkpoints to police the policy. But city residents planning an autumn escape to the coast, lakes or mountains may feel that the walls are starting to close in again.

Working out frustration in next weekend's Ljubljana marathon will not be an option either. The event normally attracts 14,000 runners - but the organisers say that even with numbers limited to less than a 10th of that figure, the surge in Covid-19 cases "prevented us from carrying out the event safely".

Sports facilities in red-zone regions will close on Saturday - as will restaurants and bars, although takeaway and home delivery will still be an option. And schools are moving online for all classes apart from the first five years.

The government is hoping the measures will reduce the incidence of coronavirus by the time they review the restrictions in a fortnight.

Slovenia reported record numbers of new cases of Covid-19 on consecutive days this week, as the 14-day incidence rate rose well beyond 200 per 100,000 people.

Image source, EPA

Poland has urged its citizens not to travel overseas unless it is absolutely necessary.

The country earlier reported 132 Covid-19 related deaths in the previous 24 hours. It's the highest daily number since the start of the pandemic.

"We are issuing a recommendation to our compatriots for them to consider if they must travel across borders, if this is absolutely necessary for familial or professional reasons," Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk said.

Poland has recorded 157,608 cases since the outbreak began, and 3,440 deaths. The second wave is much bigger than its first - the number of daily cases is now 13 times higher than the highest number back in the spring.

Authorities introduced new restrictions on Thursday including the closure of all gyms, limits on the size of weddings and in some regions, cancelling them all together.

Ever tighter restrictions are being brought in across Europe in an effort to curb virus infections.

The graphs here show how cases have been rising again in recent weeks, and how countries in Europe are seeing a second rise in cases overall.

Germany, for example, has again recorded its worst daily figure of new infections - more than 7,300. France has reported a large jump in new Covid-19 cases, with more than 30,000 infections confirmed on Thursday. And nearly 19,000 new cases were reported in the UK.

• Read more here: As UK prepares for new lockdowns, Europe too is struggling

Daniel Wainwright
BBC England Data Unit

Parts of Lancashire continue to be among the worst affected for new Covid cases, while the county's hospitals are also among the highest in England for new coronavirus admissions.

In Burnley, there were 517 new confirmed cases in the week to 12 October, up by about a third on the week before.

West Lancashire, Pendle and Blackburn with Darwen were also in the 10 areas of England with the highest rates of new cases per 100,000 population.

Weekly data on hospital admissions shows 105 patients at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals were admitted or diagnosed with Covid-19 in the week to 11 October.

The Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS trusts each recorded 57 patients in the same week.

Elsewhere in England, the hospital trust with the highest number of new admissions and diagnoses was Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Trust, which had 255.

Another 125 were recorded at University Hospitals Birmingham, which is England's biggest hospital trust, while 110 were admitted or diagnosed at Leeds Teaching Hospitals.

Image source, Reuters

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has cancelled an EU summit that was due to be held in Berlin in November.

Merkel told reporters that the summit should not take place "in the context of the pandemic".

Germany, currently holding the EU's rotating presidency, called for the meeting to discuss the bloc's stance towards China.

Germany is hoping to clinch an EU-China investment deal by the end of the year, AFP news agency reports.

Image source, UK Parliament

Chris Green, the Bolton West MP who resigned as a ministerial aide over coronavirus restrictions, has been commenting on news that Lancashire is to be placed into the highest Covid alert level from Saturday.

Mr Green told the BBC he was doubtful the Tier 3 restrictions would effectively reduce the infection rate in the county.

He said Tier 3 restrictions were "mild" compared to those Bolton had, until recently, been living under.

Bolton has been under local restrictions for about 10 weeks - three of which he described as an "economic lockdown" that meant the closure of many beauticians, the bowling alley, pubs, cafes and restaurants.

"Tier 3 is mild in comparison. The lockdown in Bolton didn't work, the lockdown in Greater Manchester hasn't worked. So I don't know how hopeful this Tier 3 option is in terms of it actually having the impact we would want."

He pointed to the fact that when it was initially hoped Bolton could come out of local restrictions, the infection rate was under 20 per 100,000 people - now it's approaching 300 per 100,000.

"It's hardly seeming to be a recipe for success."

Jenny Hill
BBC Berlin correspondent

Image source, Reuters

There's growing alarm in Germany at how fast the virus is spreading, and there's growing public frustration with the patchwork of restrictions that apply to different parts of the country.

In Berlin - which is badly affected - the authorities had ordered bars and restaurants to close at 23:00 (21:00 GMT).

On Friday morning, following an application from a number of establishments who argued that they were not the source of rising case numbers, a city court overturned the order - although a ban on the sale of alcohol after 23:00 remains in place.

The ruling calls into question one of the few measures agreed upon for high-risk areas by the leaders of Germany's 16 states. They are also at odds over whether to ban people from so-called hotspots staying in hotels in the rest of the country.

Earlier, we reported that coronavirus cases in England have risen by 50% in a week.

Now, government data shows the reproduction rate of the virus - or R number - across the UK has also increased.

Data released by the Government Office for Science and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) shows the estimate for R for the whole of the UK is between 1.3 and 1.5.

Last week, the R number was between 1.2 and 1.5.

R represents the average number of people each Covid-19 positive person goes on to infect.

When the figure is above 1, an outbreak can grow exponentially.

An R number between 1.3 and 1.5 means that on average every 10 people infected will infect between 13 and 15 other people.

Image source, Getty Images

We've had some clarification on what the rules are on visiting friends and family for people in Tier 2 areas of England.

BBC health correspondent Catherine Burns says: "It's going to be illegal for people from these high-risk areas like London to visit the homes of people in lower risk areas.

"That will also apply to meeting them inside pubs and restaurants."

This does not mean you cannot see others - but such visits will have to be restricted to outdoor spaces, or gardens.

Those in Tier 2 are allowed to meet as many as five other people in someone else's private garden - but not if they have to go through their house to get to it.

"This is something that is stricter than it used to be," said our health correspondent. "You might remember in England, earlier this summer when the lockdown was starting to be eased, people were allowed to walk through homes quickly to go to gardens.

"They were even allowed to nip in and use the loo. I called the Department of Health and Social care today to check and they have said that is no longer the case."

Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst

Image source, Reuters

A large-scale exhibition has opened in the central Chinese city of Wuhan to commemorate its fight against Covid-19.

People are able to see and read stories about locals' experiences of the virus in the city, which notoriously went into full lockdown for 76 days.

There are pictures, videos and wax model tributes to the various frontline workers who helped bring the virus under control, and visitors can see the makeshift beds from the Huoshenshan Hospital, one of two facilities built in 10 days to provide thousands of extra beds to sick residents.

Life has now returned to a version of normal in Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first identified in December 2019.

It was the Chinese city worst hit by the coronavirus. More than 50,000 of the city's 11 million population contracted the virus, and some 3,800 people died. Around 350 were medical workers.

Robert Cuffe
BBC head of statistics

The rate of death involving Covid-19 is higher in ethnic minority communities and cannot be explained by underlying health conditions, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The ONS analysis looked at the number of people in each community in England and Wales whose death involved Covid-19 up until 28 July.

It cannot say whether the increased risk is due to susceptibility to serious complications or the risk of being exposed to the virus.

All ethnic minority groups other than people from a Chinese background had a higher rate of death involving Covid-19 than the white population.

Significant differences remained after accounting for factors such as age, where people lived, and some measures of health and wealth.

This new analysis, external adjusted for health – as measured by being seen in hospital for underlying health conditions - in addition to the factors examined previously (age, where people live, some measures of wealth/deprivation and health as reported in the 2011 Census).

The figures quoted below are simple differences in the death rates between communities and are not adjusted for these factors.

• Black African, black Caribbean, Bangladeshi and Pakistani women were nearly twice as likely as white women to have died with Covid-19
• Black African, black Caribbean and Bangladeshi men were more than twice as likely (and Pakistani men nearly twice as likely) as white men to have died with Covid-19
• Men and women from Indian mixed-ethnicity communities were roughly between 50% and 75% more likely to die with Covid-19 than their white counterparts

Sarah Rainsford
BBC Moscow Correspondent

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dismissed a report in the Times newspaper, external accusing Russia of disinformation about the UK's Oxford University Covid vaccine.

Peskov responded by accusing a whole series of countries, including the UK – who he called "competitors" in the vaccine field – of disinformation against Russia.

"Russia is not 'disinforming' anyone. Russia speaks proudly of its successes. Russia shares its successes with the first vaccine registered in the world, whose effectiveness has been proven many time," he told the BBC.

He said Russia had documents of intent to produce or sell its vaccine in a whole series of countries, and "of course, Russia is not skimping on information about the advantages of its own vaccine" in those markets.

He said the advantages of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine had "clearly been acknowledged in a huge number of countries" and so warned that such "attempts at disinformation [against Russia] are not achieving their aim".

It comes after Russia recorded 15,150 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, up from 13,754 the previous day, and an additional 232 deaths.

Jonathan Blake
BBC political correspondent

While Lancashire has agreed to move into Tier 3 of coronavirus restrictions, dicussions between the UK government and local leaders in Greater Manchester over putting the region into the same tier have stalled.

The stand-off between the mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and the Westminster government is fascinating.

It's not as simple as a north-south divide. Nor is it purely a clash between Labour and the Conservatives. This goes beyond a local vs national government row too.

On one side you have a long-serving MP, former health secretary and one-time candidate for leader of the Labour party representing one of the party's traditional heartlands.

On the other you have a Conservative government with a big majority reliant on MPs from those and other constituencies in the north of England.

The mayor unsurprisingly wants more financial support for his region if tighter restrictions are imposed. The government needs its strategy of tiered restrictions to be seen to work.

Boris Johnson's promise to "level up" less prosperous regions of the UK plays into this, as does the chancellor's decision to reduce the extent to which he's prepared to pay people's wages.

Downing Street's decision to involve local leaders in deciding restrictions was always likely to result in negotiations like this.

But as the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise, it's no exaggeration to say lives are at risk.

Neither side will want to be seen as responsible for the virus spreading further and faster while politicians traded insults in public.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to give a coronavirus press conference later today.

It will be held at Downing Street and is expected to take place at 16:00 BST.

Mr Johnson will be joined by chief scientific advisor Sir Patrick Vallance and Dr Susan Hopkins, medical advisor to the government's Covid-19 response.

A man has been left almost blind after waiting years for a simple cataract operation - leaving him struggling to care for his seriously ill partner.

Terry Thomas, 72, from Menai Bridge on Anglesey, an island off the coast of Wales, lost the sight in his right eye when he was 21.

He was told two and a half years ago that he needed surgery on his left eye, but it has been repeatedly cancelled.

Betsi Cadwaladr University health board apologised and said Covid-19 had disrupted its services.

Thomas initially waited 18 months for the 20-minute operation in February, but it was cancelled the day it was due to happen and rescheduled for 23 March.

However, the UK's coronavirus lockdown began that day and Thomas' operation was cancelled again. He has now been told the doctor due to perform the surgery has left.

Thomas' partner June Lavelle-Lepsa, also 72, has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease, which has progressed rapidly, and she now uses a wheelchair and is unable to speak.

Reality Check

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been on LBC radio this morning talking about - among other things - the idea of a circuit breaker, which is a national lockdown for a fixed period of time (at least two weeks).

"What [the government's scientific advisers] Sage say is the most effective way to slow down the spread of the virus is to have, for a couple of weeks, a natural circuit breaker," he said.

But if you look at Sage's advice, that's not what the scientific advisory group said.

A circuit breaker is classified as having a "moderate impact" on Covid transmission, external, with a warning that it "would only apply for a short period and so have limited effect".

What Sage said would be the most effective way to slow down the spread of the virus was a complete lockdown, as we had in the spring, which it describes as having a "very high impact" on Covid transmission.

Read more here: What is a circuit breaker?

First Minister Mark Drakeford has confirmed the Welsh government is "looking very carefully" at introducing a circuit-breaker lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus in the country.

At a press conference in Cardiff, he said "This would be a short, sharp shock to the virus which could turn back the clock, slowing down its spread and buying us more time and vital capacity in the health service.

"A firebreak would also, however, be a short, sharp shock to all our lives. We will all have to stay at home once again, to save those lives.

"But this time, it will be for weeks and not months. We are considering a two or three-week firebreak. The shorter the period, the sharper the measures will have to be."

Mr Drakeford said no decisions had been taken yet, with discussions set to continue over the weekend and a final announcement planned for Monday.

More than 2,500 people were now being infected each day, Mr Drakeford said, with critical care units in hospital full.

“Doing nothing is not an option,” he said.

What is a circuit-breaker lockdown?

Image source, PA Media

Councils in north-east England have been given a week’s reprieve over the possibility of being moved into the highest Covid alert level, the BBC understands.

The leaders of the seven councils in the region had a meeting this morning with government representatives to go through the latest Covid figures in their region.

It’s been agreed that the situation will be reviewed in a week's time.

If the infection rates across the North East show a consistent pattern of falling, the region might not be placed into Tier 3, the BBC has been told.

As Europe continues to struggle to contain Covid-19, one country has adopted a different way of tackling the virus.

Sweden's approach includes no lockdowns, voluntary social distancing and no compulsory wearing of masks.

That approach has been criticised by many, but the World Health Organization (WHO) in late September said they would be very keen to hear more on the Swedish approach as a country that has avoided the increase seen in other European countries.

The BBC's Ros Atkins looks at the rationale behind the policy.

Robert Cuffe
BBC head of statistics

Coronavirus cases in England have risen by 50% in a week, the Office for National Statistics infection survey suggests.

Approximately one in 160 people in homes in England had coronavirus in the week ending 8 October, which equates to 336,500 people.

This figure is approximately 50% higher than the figure for the previous week - 224,000.

The ONS further estimates there are 27,900 new infections each day in homes in England, up just over 60% on last week’s figure (17,200).

Since the survey is of homes, it misses outbreaks in communal residences such as university student halls.

But the figure is far higher than the number of confirmed cases announced by the government each day - which was 18,980 yesterday.