England joins much of Europe in lockdown

Londoners turned out for a last drink or shopping trip on Wednesday. England prepared to close all nonessential businesses and public facilities on Thursday until at least Dec. 2 to keep COVID-19 infections from overwhelming hospitals. The rest of the United Kingdom has already begun sheltering in place.

What’s happening in other countries? Many European nations report record daily coronavirus case counts, and some have renewed their lockdowns. In the United States, the number of hospitalizations reached record highs in Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and New Mexico this week. The seven-day rolling average for coronavirus deaths has risen over the past two weeks, hitting 83,805 on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Dig deeper: Read Charles Horton’s report on the search for a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine.