‘Deeply Troubling’: Italy, Other Parts Of Europe Hit By Rapidly Spreading Virus

The Washington Post: Italy Imposes Harshest Coronavirus Restrictions Since Spring Lockdown As Second Wave Sweeps Europe
Italy became the latest European country to announce new restrictions to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus on Sunday as countries across the continent continue to report surging infections. France on Sunday announced more than 50,000 new infections, a new record for the fourth day running. Germany, widely lauded for its initial handling of the virus, reported a surge of its own. The number of coronavirus cases in Poland has doubled in less than three weeks. And Spain has also imposed new restrictions. The World Health Organization reported new daily case records worldwide three days in a row last week, with new infections reaching more than 465,000 on Saturday. Almost half of those cases were in the organization’s Europe region. (Mellen, 10/25)

AP: Mexico Reported 193,170 "Excess Deaths" Through Sept 26
Mexican health authorities acknowledged Sunday that the country’s true death toll from the coronavirus pandemic is far higher than thought, saying there were 193,170 “excess” deaths in the year up to Sept. 26, with 139,153 of those judged to be attributable to COVID-19.That is about 50,000 more deaths than Mexico’s official, test-confirmed death toll of about 89,000, and about 56% higher than the previous estimate of 103,882 pandemic deaths. (10/26)

CIDRAP: A Summer Flight To Ireland Led To A 59-Person COVID Outbreak
Despite implementing safety precautions, one summer flight into Ireland led to a 59-person outbreak in six of the country's eight health regions. Tests eventually confirmed that 13 (26.5%) of the original 49 passengers were positive for SARS-CoV-2, with the other 46 infected via contact with infected passengers. In the Eurosurveillance study, researchers looked at four separate passenger groups, analyzing travel itineraries and their interactions with each other, including how close they sat together on the plane. Genome sequencing indicated a single source of COVID-19 spread the disease among the passengers, who came from elsewhere in Europe and two other, unspecified, continents. (10/23)

AP: UK Doctors Demand Free Meals For Kids As COVID Fuels Hunger
Pediatricians are urging the British government to reverse course and provide free meals for poor children during school holidays as the COVID-19 pandemic pushes more families into poverty. Some 2,200 members of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health have written an open letter to Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, saying they were shocked by his “refusal″ to back down on the issue. The House of Commons last week rejected legislation that would have provided free meals during all school holidays from October through the Easter break. (Kirka, 10/25)

In other global news —

Reuters: South Korean Authorities Stick To Flu Vaccine Plan After Deaths Rise To 48 
The number of South Koreans who have died after getting flu shots has risen to 48, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Saturday, adding that the vaccines would continue to reduce the chance of having simultaneous epidemics. The health authorities said they found no direct link between the deaths and the shots. They plan to carry on with the state-run vaccination programme to try to avoid having to fight both the flu and the coronavirus over the coming winter. (10/24)

AP: Finland Shocked By Therapy Center Hacking, Client Blackmail
Finland’s interior minister summoned key Cabinet members into an emergency meeting Sunday after hundreds — and possibly thousands — of patient records at a private Finnish psychotherapy center were accessed by a hacker or hackers now demanding ransoms. Finnish Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo tweeted that authorities would “provide speedy crisis help to victims” of the security breach at the Vastaamo psychotherapy center, an incident she called “shocking and very serious.” (Tanner, 10/26)