Australia records zero Covid-19 cases for first time in five months Locally-transmitted cases have dropped to zero and one state is hopeful for a "normal Christmas". YahooNews

Australia has recorded its first day of no local cases of Covid-19 in almost five months.

Zero cases were reported in the 24 hours between 20:00 on Friday and 20:00 on Saturday - the first time this has happened since 9 June.

The state of Victoria - epicentre of Australia's second wave - recorded zero cases for the second day in a row after a 112-day lockdown.

Europe locks down again as pandemic surges Several parts of Europe are set to go under partial lockdowns as coronavirus cases increase across the continent. Meanwhile, Australia has reported no new cases for the first time in months. Follow DW for the latest. Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com) DW.COM

As coronavirus infections in Europe increase, several countries are imposing new lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus that has claimed close to 219,228 lives in the continent so far. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a strict monthlong lockdown similar to the spring lockdown.

Super-spreading Trump rallies led to more than 700 COVID-19 deaths, study estimates A Stanford study of 18 Trump rallies held in the midst of the pandemic suggests they've led to more than 30,000 coronavirus infections and at least 700 COVID-19 deaths. Los Angeles Times

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Lecture 8, from the MIT weekly lecture series

Excellent discussion for containing the pandemic through public health measures, including frequent testing with inexpensive antigen detection tools.

Asia Today: Australia to spend on vaccines for wider region CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia has announced it will spend 500 million Australian dollars ($351 million) to secure COVID-19 vaccines for the Pacific and Southeast Asia “as part of a shared... AP NEWS

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia has announced it will spend 500 million Australian dollars ($351 million) to secure COVID-19 vaccines for the Pacific and Southeast Asia “as part of a shared recovery for our region from the pandemic.”

THE SCIENCE OF SUPERSPREADING

 Click on above link for graphics illustrating superspreading events.

EU leaders pledged Thursday night to step up cooperation on every aspect of their fight against the coronavirus — by keeping borders open, improving testing and contact tracing, monitoring critical care capacity and arranging cross-border patient transfers if necessary, and developing plans for the swift manufacture and distribution of vaccines.

During a roughly three-hour videoconference, the 27 heads of state and government, and the presidents of the Commission and Council, also conferred about pandemic “fatigue” as citizens grow increasingly sick and tired of the world being ill or at risk. Some leaders seemed sick and tired of it all themselves.

But overall, even as they acknowledged clear failures in the early months of the outbreak as well as in preventing a second wave of infections, the leaders voiced determination and seemed prepared to hunker down for a months-long fight. And they urged the EU’s 440 million citizens to do their part amid renewed lockdowns, curfews and other containment measures.

Singapore firm invents coronavirus breathalyser with results in seconds A company in Singapore has developed a breathalyser test for the new coronavirus which it says will enable people to know whether they are infected in under a minute. Chen Lin U.S.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A company in Singapore has developed a breathalyser test for the new coronavirus which it says will enable people to know whether they are infected in under a minute.