Gunmen attack a military base in Kindia, Guinea, about 85 km (53 mi) outside of the capital Conakry, killing the camp's commander, according to a statement released by the defence ministry. A prison in the city is also attacked, wounding an official and allowing several inmates to escape. The attacks come two days before the general elections. (Reuters)
Illinois reports a record 4,553 new cases in a single day for the second consecutive days as GovernorJ.B. Pritzker said a third of the state has reached a “warning level” and the positivity rate rises above 5% the first time since early June. (Chicago Sun Times)
GovernorPete Ricketts announces new restrictions amid rising cases and hospitalizations in the state. Indoor gatherings will be reduced from a capacity of 75% to 50%, people at bars and restaurants must remain seated with no more than eight people on tables, and table sizes for weddings and funerals must be limited to no more than eight people. The restrictions will go into effect on Wednesday. (The News & Observer)
The Department of Health Services (DHS) reports that 3,861 people in Wisconsin have tested positive in the last 24 hours, the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic. The positivity rate of 26.47% of the 14,586 tests received is the highest positivity for any day with more than 10,000 tests. (WBAY-TV)
Manitoba reports 75 cases, ending a three-day streak of reporting no cases. (CBC)
Winnipeg is expected to close bars and casinos for two weeks as cases in the city rise. In addition, stores and restaurants in the city will reduce their capacity by 50%. Restrictions will go into effect on Monday. (Reuters)
Northern Ireland reports 1,299 new daily cases in the last 24 hours, its highest number of a single day yet, bringing the cumulative total at 25,177. (BBC News)
The federal government closes all bars and restaurants for four weeks, imposes a nationwide curfew between midnight and 5:00 a.m. local time, bans alcohol sales after 8:00 p.m. local time, sets telework as a rule, and reduces people's "social bubble", their number of close social contacts outside a household, to one in an attempt to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. The new measures is set to take effect on October 19. (Le Soir)(AP)
With 7,334 new infections reported in the last 24 hours, Germany sets a new record of daily cases for the second day in a row since the start of the outbreak, according to official figures released by the Robert Koch Institute. (Anadolu Agency)
The number of new infections in Greece reaches a record 508 in the last 24 hours, for the first time daily new cases reach 500 in a single day. From that cases, 227 are from Athens metropolitan area. (The National Herald)
The number of new cases in Italy reaches 10,000 for the first time, when the country reports 10,010 new infections in the past 24 hours. (ABC Australia)
Malta orders clubs, bars, and places of entertainment to close at 11 p.m. local time effective October 19, as the country makes mandatory the wearing of face masks in public in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19. (Swiss Info)
Poland reports 132 new deaths, a record increase since the outbreak began, amid fears the pandemic is testing the country's supply of hospital beds and ventilators. (Reuters)
Russia reports 15,150 new cases in the past 24 hours, a new daily record since the start of the pandemic as authorities grapple with the onset of a second wave. This is the first time that the country has reported more than 15,000 cases in a single day. (The Moscow Times)
Switzerland reports 3,105 new cases, the highest record number in a single day since the pandemic began, thus taking the total to 74,442 confirmed cases in Switzerland and Liechtenstein as the second wave of the pandemic grips the country. (Reuters)
Azerbaijan announces that it will suspend secondary school classes and the use of Baku's metro system between October 19 and November 2 in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19. (National Post)
The government agrees to ease a month-long second nationwide lockdown on October 18, after a significant decline in the number of new cases. On that day, people will be permitted to go more than one kilometer from their homes for non-essential purposes, nurseries will reopen, and restaurants will be able to serve takeaway food. (BBC News)
Wallis and Futuna reports its first case of infection by SARS-CoV-2. The individual, who arrived on October 3, and later tested positive, is asymptomatic and in isolation in a hospital. The territory was the only French-administered region free of COVID-19 until today. (RNZ)
A Berlin court suspends an order to close bars and restaurants between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time in an attempt to tackle surging numbers of COVID-19 in the city as the court considers it disproportionate in the view of other measures taken to fight the pandemic. (TheJournal.ie)
Two activists in Thailand are arrested on charges of attempting violence against the Queen. Bunkueanun "Francis" Paothong and Ekachai Hongkangwan are set to be charged under Section 110 of Thailand's criminal code and could result in a possible life sentence. (CNN)
Belarus says that it was seeking the arrest of opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya for jeopardizing national security. Nikolai Karpenkov proceeded to threaten the use of firearms against protesters. (Reuters)