The pandemic continues around the world. So, here’s a brief rundown of whose numbers are up, whose are down, what’s happening, how countries are handling it. The Canada-US border remains closed till (at least) October 21st.

United States

The organizers of the New Year’s Eve in New York City‘s Times Square celebration say the event will incorporate virtual elements and be scaled down and socially distant on site in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

A news release says a virtual experience will be created to allow people to take part in the countdown to 2021 from wherever they are.

The annual event will have an extremely limited group of in-person honorees. The organizers say the event will honour essential workers and others who have made a difference in 2020.

Arizona hospitals are getting a break from the influx of coronavirus cases that nearly overwhelmed their ability to care for patients early in the summer. However, new case counts are edging up. The state Department of Health Services reported 566 new confirmed cases across the state, bringing the confirmed total to 215,852. The state announced 34 new deaths, bringing the confirmed death toll to 5,559. The state reported 565 people hospitalized on Wednesday, down from the mid-July high of more than 3,500.

In Missouri, bars and nightclubs are limiting capacity and closing early in the St. Louis area due to the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in larger crowds in St. Charles. So, the city is taking a cue from the 1984 movie “Footloose” and will ban dancing after 11 p.m. on Friday. St. Charles leaders met Wednesday with restaurant, bar and club operators and announced a temporary ban on “music activities.”

Mayor Dan Borgmeyer told KTVI-TV it feels “a little bit like the movie `Footloose.”’ The movie starred Kevin Bacon as a big-city teenager who moved to a small town that banned dancing, at least until he turned things around.

Britain

Britain has reported the highest number of coronavirus cases in a single day with 6,632 infections. Public Health England Medical Director Yvonne Doyle says the figure is a “stark warning” as infections rise across all age groups.

She says citizens must follow the new restrictions announced by the government this week to control the spread of the virus. Doyle suggested downloading the National Health Service’s new coronarvirus contact tracing app.

Britain has the highest death toll in Europe, with nearly 42,000 confirmed dead. The rise in cases announced Thursday reflects both the spread of the virus and increased testing, which has more than doubled since the peak of the first wave in April and May.

Spain

Health authorities are asking residents in Madrid to brace for tough weeks as the Spain’s cumulative caseload surpassed 700,000.

More than 10,600 new infections on Thursday pushed the confirmed tally to 704,209 cases. The 84 new deaths bring the confirmed toll to 31,118.

The extended region around Madrid, comprising a population of 6.6 million, is struggling to control outbreaks that have hit harder working-class areas with high-density.

More than 850,000 residents have been confined this week to their neighbourhoods unless they have vital business.

Hundreds of protests gathered Thursday evening at the gates of several health centres in those areas to demand more resources for primary care medical personnel, who are grappling to test and follow up those suspected of having the virus.

Italy

Residents of Naples and the surrounding Campania region must wear masks outdoors amid an increase in coronavirus. The mayor of Genoa also issued an outdoor mask mandate.

The ordinances come as Italy is trying to tamp down the same wave of new infections that are spiking elsewhere in western Europe.

On Thursday Italy added 1,786 cases based on a record 108,019 tests. Another 23 people died, bringing Italy’s confirmed death toll to 35,781.

Greece

State hospital workers in Greece staged a protest Thursday outside the country’s Health Ministry to demand increased hiring and staff support amid a surge in coronavirus infections. Greece kept infection rates low before the summer but cases have risen in recent weeks. The total confirmed infections reached more than 16,000 since the start of the pandemic and the death toll to 357.

Public hospital managers say COVID-19 wards in greater Athens are near capacity and have staffing shortages. The government says it is increasing intensive care spaces and vowed to step up policing health restrictions to ensure compliance by businesses and the public.

Denmark

The Danish government added Great Britain, Ireland, Slovenia and Iceland to its list of European nations where non-essential travels are not recommended as the Scandinavian country say numbers in these countries have increased.

Denmark made the move because of a flare-up of coronavirus cases and said that the countries have crossed the threshold of 30 cases per 100,000 inhabitants per week. Danes advise against non-essential travels to 19 other surrounding countries.

Sweden

Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven says he’s keeping the 50 person-limit for gatherings. “What we do right now, we will enjoy later. What we do wrong, we will suffer later,” Lofven said.

Lofven urged people to avoid gatherings, private parties, crowded places and recommended employers to allow people work from home. Schools and restaurants in Sweden have remained open, while wearing a face mask is optional and keeping social distance is recommended. Sweden will lift a national ban on visiting elderly care home next month. The country has 90,289 confirmed cases and 5,878 deaths.

Finland

Finland says it will reintroduce entry restrictions Monday on traffic between neighbours Iceland, Norway and Sweden as well as Estonia, Germany and Slovakia because of rising coronavirus infections in these countries.

The Finnish government says only countries with a maximum of 25 coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants in past two weeks are allowed to travel to the Nordic country. Traffic in border areas between Finland, Norway and Sweden will be allowed for those residing in nearby communities, with certain restrictions. Relaxed rules also apply to business-related travel. Finland, a nation of 5.5 million, has reported 9,379 confirmed cases and 343 deaths.

Portugal

Portugal’s government is extending through mid-October its curbs on the sale and consumption of alcohol and limits on gatherings. The restrictions include a 10-person limit on gatherings and only four people allowed in food establishments close to schools. Authorities have also banned alcohol sales after 8 p.m., except for in restaurants, and drinking in public spaces.

The official number of coronavirus cases in Portugal has been rising for five weeks. On Thursday, authorities reported 691 new cases over the previous 24 hours. Officials say they expect the number of new daily cases to reach1,000 next week.

Russia

Russian health officials have reported 6,595 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily surge since July. In Moscow, more than 1,000 new cases were recorded Thursday for the first time since June. The number of daily new cases started to grow in late August in Russia, which has the fourth largest caseload in the world at 1.12 million infections. There have been nearly 20,000 confirmed deaths.

Officials have repeatedly dismissed speculation of a second lockdown, saying the increase was expected and Russia’s health care infrastructure was prepared for it.

Russia was the first country in the world to approve a vaccine against the virus last month. The move elicited criticism from experts worldwide because the shots were tested on a few dozen people. More studies are needed to establish the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness.

Africa

Health experts are criticizing the early modelling in the coronavirus pandemic that assumed people in Africa would die in droves. Uganda hospital official Sam Agatre Okuonzi told a World Health Organization briefing it was predicted by September there would be 600,000 cases of COVID-19 and 30,000 deaths.

However, Uganda has 6,800 confirmed cases and less than 100 deaths. All of Africa has confirmed more than 1.4 million cases and 34,000 deaths. Okuonzi says the models were informed by “well-entrenched biases about Africa.”

WHO Africa chief Matshidiso Moeti says Africa’s youthful population has made a difference, with just 3% of the population over age 65. She says several countries imposed early lockdowns and there’s less travel from other regions.

Some health experts are looking into whether exposure to previous coronaviruses has helped immune systems to better respond to this one. They’ve also said the continent’s experiences with previous outbreaks is likely helpful among the 54 countries and 1.3 billion people.

Japan

At least 70 employees from a food processing factory in eastern Tokyo have tested positive for the coronavirus two weeks after a first case was found at the plant. The company said in a statement that had the plant disinfected and took other prevention measures under the supervision of local health officials.

Dozens of workers who were suspected of having close contacts with the first infected person patient were told to self-quarantine, and 30 eventually tested positive. By Thursday, the rest of the plant’s 300 workers were tested and 39 were found to have the virus, bringing the total confirmed cases to 70. Takara-Butz said none of the workers had serious cases and all would return to work after they are confirmed to be free of the virus.

As of Thursday, Japan had reported a total of 80,041 confirmed cases, including 24,453 in Tokyo, and 1,520 deaths in the pandemic.

Israel

Israel has moved to further tighten its second countrywide lockdown as coronavirus cases continue to soar. The Cabinet voted early Thursday to close all nonessential businesses, including open-air markets. It agreed that prayers and political demonstrations should be limited to open spaces and no more than 20 people, and that participants would not be able to travel more than a kilometre (0.6 miles) from home to attend either.

The measures are set to go into force on Friday afternoon, as the country shuts down for the weekly Sabbath. The restrictions on demonstrations are subject to approval by the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and the limits on both prayers and protests could spark a backlash.

Israel is currently reporting nearly 7,000 new cases daily, making the outbreak in the country of 9 million people among the worst in the world on a per capita basis.