Malaysia reports 1,240 new cases, the highest number of infections since the pandemic began in March. The country's cumulative total stands at 27,805. Of those new cases, 927 are from Sabah. (The New Straits Times)
China reports 137 asymptomatic cases during a drive to test 4.75 million people in Kashgar. It is the highest number of asymptomatic infections in nearly seven months following the discovery of a cluster of cases linked to a garment factory in Xinjiang. (Anadolu Agency)
The government announces that they will impose a curfew between 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time beginning October 28 and ban Sunday shopping in order to curb the surge of COVID-19 cases. Shops that sell essential goods will have to close on weekdays at 8:00 p.m. local time and on Sundays. (Radio Prague International)
British Columbia reports a record 817 new cases over the weekend, including 317 new cases on Saturday, 293 on Sunday, and 207 on Monday. As a result, the provincial health officer Bonnie Henry announces plans to limit gatherings in private homes to no more than immediate household plus your “safe six," which refers to the six additional people in a household’s bubble. (Global News)
Newark MayorRas Baraka imposes a curfew on non-essential businesses in the city at 8 p.m. ET except grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations as COVID-19 cases in New Jersey continue to increase. (WPIX 11)
Japan rejects the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons after all nuclear powersboycott the treaty. This rejection happened days after the United Nations said there was enough signatories for it to go into effect and following pressure from atomic bomb survivors to adopt it. Japan states it is unrealistic to pursue the treaty with both nuclear and non-nuclear states being sharply divided over it, and instead the country will serve as a bridge to narrow the gap between the two sides. (ABC News)
Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed by a vote of 52–48 in the United States Senate and is sworn in as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. She is expected to take the second of two necessary oaths and fully become a Justice on October 27. (NPR)
Demonstrations take place across dozens of cities in Italy against the new restrictions to curb the second wave of COVID-19. The protests in Milan, Turin, and Trieste turn violent, where petrol bombs were thrown at officers. Twenty-eight people are arrested in Milan. In Naples the protests continue for the fourth day. (The Washington Post)