Earlier Trump had repeated that he thought he was immune from the virus. “I’m immune and I can’t give it to you,” he said. He also said his son Barron Trump had had “Corona-19”. “He had it for such a short period of time. I don’t think he even knew he had it ... because they’re young and their immune systems are strong and they fight it off ... 99.9%,” Trump said. He’s working through his usual rally points (“I built the greatest economy”, “African American income grew more than nine times under Obama”, the recovery will be V-shaped etc). Trump looks energetic but his voice still sounds a little hoarse to me. He says since the “China virus” the US has created 11.4m jobs .... no mention of how many jobs have been lost. He’s bombarding the audience with figures comparing his administration’s economy to Obama/Biden’s economy. In these extraordinary times, the Guardian’s editorial independence has never been more important. Because no one sets our agenda, or edits our editor, we can keep delivering quality, trustworthy, fact-checked journalism each and every day. Free from commercial or political bias, we can report fearlessly on world events and challenge those in power. Your support protects the Guardian’s independence. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to accurate news and calm explanation. No matter how unpredictable the future feels, we will remain with you, delivering high quality news so we can all make critical decisions about our lives, health and security – based on fact, not fiction. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. Donald Trump is speaking at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa. I’ll bring you any of the salient points on coronavirus. The Guardian’s Maanvi Singh has been watching the rally so far and writes ... Per usual, he has unleashed a slew of lies, promoting the New York Post article about (Joe Biden’s son) Hunter Biden, insisting that polls that show him lagging are a lie, saying he won Iowa by a greater percentage in 2016 than he actually did, and claiming that network cameras’ recording lights turn off when he talks about polling. Per usual, supporters are not socially distanced and many are not wearing masks to slow the spread of coronavirus. He took off his tie – which was flapping in the wind – and tossed it away dramatically, which is a new twist. Elsewhere in Europe.... In Spain, bars and restaurants will close across the northeastern region of Catalonia for the next 15 days as the country became the first in Europe to exceed 900,000 infections. The Netherlands has restricted sales on alcohol and introduced new mask requirements. Ireland will introduce new measures around its border with Northern Ireland on Thursday at midnight, with non-essential retail outlets are to close alongside gyms, pools and leisure centres. This will affect the border counties of Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan – home to around 300,000. Everyone apart from those deemed essential workers must work from home. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced tougher measures on gatherings and mask-wearing. “I am convinced that what we do now will be decisive for how we come through this pandemic,” Merkel said. “We must therefore prevent an uncontrolled or exponential increase.” New infections in Germany continued to rise on Wednesday, pushing past 5,000 cases in 24 hours – a level not seen since a lockdown imposed on Europe’s biggest economy in the spring. If an area records more than 35 new infections per 100,000 people over seven days, masks will become mandatory in all places where people have close contact for an extended period. The number of people allowed to gather will also be limited to 25 in public and 15 in private spaces. “We have decided on this prophylactic number of 35 because we have seen some examples of how fast the increase happens from 35 to 50,” Merkel said. Once a threshold of 50 new infections per 100,000 is exceeded, even tougher restrictions will apply. These include limiting private gatherings to 10 people or two households, and the closure of restaurants after 11pm. The fraught talks lasting eight hours were intended to establish a more unified approach amid concerns that Germany’s federal system is leading to a confusing patchwork of regulations. Merkel urged young people to do their part to halt the spread of the coronavirus after private parties were repeatedly blamed for localised outbreaks in German cities. “We must call especially on young people to do without a few parties now in order to have a good life tomorrow or the day after,” Merkel said. Young people may not get vaccine until 2022 The WHO’s chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, has indicated that, despite the global push for a vaccine, speedy, mass shots are unlikely. “Most people agree, it’s starting with health care workers, and front-line workers, but even there, you need to define which of them are at highest risk, and then the elderly, and so on,” Swaminathan said. “A healthy young person might have to wait until 2022,” he said. Two vaccine candidates, from Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca’s US trial, have been paused on safety concerns, while manufacturing billions of doses of an eventual successful vaccine will be a colossal challenge demanding hard decisions about who gets inoculated first. Swaminathan also warned against any complacency with regards to the coronavirus death rate, saying with the increasing number of cases (up to 100,000 a day in Europe), mortality would also rise. While deaths globally have fallen to around 5,000 per day from April’s peak exceeding 7,500, he said caseloads were rising in intensive care units. “Mortality increases always lag behind increasing cases by a couple of weeks,” Swaminathan said during a WHO social media event. “We shouldn’t be complacent that death rates are coming down.” More than 38 million people have been reported infected globally and 1.1 million have died. Fauci says Trump no longer capable of spreading Covid Still in the US and Anthony Fauci, the US’s top epidemiologist, has said Donald Trump is no longer capable of spreading the coronavirus and can attend a town hall on Thursday without putting others at risk. In an interview with CBS news, Fauci said that he and his colleague Clifford Lane at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) came to that conclusion after reviewing all the Covid-19 tests taken by the president as well as an additional test conducted at an NIH laboratory. The town hall with NBC News is less than three weeks before the 3 November election in which Trump is trailing behind Biden in opinion polls. Fauci also said in the interview that the US was unlikely to have 100m doses of a vaccine deemed by regulators as “safe and effective” available by the end of the year, contrary to a claim Trump made in September. Enough vaccines to inoculate the general population might be possible by April 2021 if all of the experimental vaccines in late stage clinical trials prove effective, Fauci said. A couple of the vaccine candidates could potentially receive regulatory clearance in November or December but only “a few million” doses may be available to the public by year-end. He added that the experimental antibody drug made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc that was used to treat the President, and which Trump said he wants to make free to all Americans, is not yet available in sufficient supply to provide to all COVID-19 patients. It is still awaiting US regulatory clearance. Barron Trump recovers from Covid Donald Trump’s 14-year-old son now tested negative to coronavirus after being infected alongside his parents. In a statement released by Melania Trump, she said: “To our great relief he [at first] tested negative, but again, as so many parents have thought over the past several months, I couldn’t help but think, ‘What about tomorrow or the next day?’” “My fear came true when he was tested again and it came up positive. Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms.” She said she and Barron had since tested negative for the virus. She said her own experience of Covid was like “a rollercoaster of symptoms in the days after” she was diagnosed. “I experienced body aches, a cough and headaches, and felt extremely tired most of the time,” she said. “I chose to go a more natural route in terms of medicine, opting more for vitamins and healthy food,” the US first lady said, adding: “In one way I was glad the three of us went through this at the same time so we could take care of one another and spend time together.” You can read our full story below: Paris curfew from 9pm-6am France has imposed a curfew in Paris and eight other cities from Saturday. “We have to act. We need to put a brake on the spread of the virus,” President Emmanuel Macron said in a TV appearance, announcing the 9pm-6am curfew that will remain in force for at least four weeks, except for essential reasons. “We are going to have to deal with this virus until at least the summer of 2021,” Macron said, saying “all scientists” were in agreement on that point. Other major French cities such as Lyon, Mediterranean port Marseille and southwestern Toulouse will similarly impose curfews, with around 20 million people affected in all, out of a total population of some 67 million. Macron said new daily coronavirus cases must be brought down to “3,000 or 5,000”, from current levels, which have reached up to almost 27,000. “We won’t be leaving the restaurant after 9pm,” Macron said. “We won’t be partying with friends because we know that that’s where the contamination risk is greatest.” Just minutes before Macron’s announcement, his government had said it would prolong a state of health emergency, giving officials greater powers to impose new measures to contain the spread of the pandemic. He urged people to limit gatherings in their homes to six people, and to wear protective masks on such occasions. Anyone found to be outdoors during the curfew without special authorisation would face a fine of 135 euros ($159), and more than 10 times that sum for repeat offenders, Macron said. Macron said 32% of France’s 5,000 intensive care places were currently occupied by coronavirus patients, a proportion that needed to be brought down to “10 to 15% at most”. Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, with me, Alison Rourke. France has imposed curfews while other European nations are closing schools, cancelling surgeries and enlisting student medics as overwhelmed authorities face a Covid-19 resurgence at the onset of winter. With new cases hitting about 100,000 daily, Europe has by a wide margin overtaken the United States in new daily infections. Here are the main developments so far today: France became the latest European country to toughen its coronavirus measures, declaring a public health state of emergency and imposing a curfew on Paris and eight other cities. The French president Emmanuel Macron announced night restrictions for some 20 million people across Paris, Rouen, Lille, St Etienne, Lyon, Grenoble, Montpellier, Marseille and Toulouse. The curfew will be in place between 9pm and 6am from Saturday and will remain in force for at least four weeks. Anyone violating the curfew will be fined 135 euros. Here is the moment Macron announced the measures. Donald Trump’s son, Barron, 14, tested positive for Covid but exhibited no symptoms, after both of his parents contracted the virus, the first lady Melania Trump said on Wednesday. “Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms,” she said in a statement, adding that she and Barron had since tested negative for the virus. The German chancellor Angela Merkel announced tougher measures on gatherings and the wearing of face masks. She urged young people to do their part to halt the spread of the coronavirus after private parties were repeatedly blamed for localised outbreaks in German cities. The WHO’s chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, has warned that despite the push for a vaccine, speedy, mass shots were unlikely. He said health workers and were likely to be vaccinated first with and a “healthy young person might have to wait until 2022”. Spain will close bars and restaurants across Catalonia for the next 15 days following a surge in cases, as the country tackles one of the highest rates of infection in Europe, with nearly 900,000 cases and more than 33,000 deaths. All bars and restaurants in the region will be limited to a takeaway and delivery service for two weeks from Thursday night. Shops and markets will operate at 30% capacity, gyms, cinemas and theatres at 50%, and children’s play areas will close at 8pm.The strict measure comes after the weekly total cases in Catalonia rose from 7,000 to 11,000 over the course of a few days. Measures also came into force across the Netherlands, including restrictions on alcohol sales and new mask requirements. Tough measures are to be introduced in Portugal from Thursday as the country reported a new record in cases. Gatherings will be limited to five people. Weddings and baptisms can be attended by a maximum of 50, but university parties will be banned. Fines for businesses which do not comply with the rules will be doubled from an upper limit of 5,000 to 10,000 euros. The prime minister, Antonio Costa, will also submit a proposal to parliament to make face masks compulsory in crowded outdoor spaces, and use of the government’s tracing app StayAway Covid compulsory for some workforces. Northern Ireland announced a four-week closure of pubs and restaurants. The devolved government announced plans to tighten restrictions on social gatherings and extend the mid-term school break to counter soaring case numbers there. Infection rates “must be turned down now or we will be in a very difficult place very soon indeed,” the first minister Arlene Foster said. Ireland’s prime minister Micheal Martin announced a raft of new curbs along the border with Northern Ireland, including the closure of non-essential retail outlets, gyms, pools and leisure centres. Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan moved to Level 4 of its five-step framework of Covid-19 constraints and banned almost all visits to homes across the country. Iran announced new travel restrictions affecting Tehran and four other major cities, as well as new single-day records in both Covid-19 deaths and new infections. Iraq’s death toll since the start of the pandemic passed 10,000 people. Brazil has registered 749 additional coronavirus deaths over the last 24 hours and 27,235 new cases, the nation’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday. That takes the country’s total deaths to 151,747 total deaths and confirmed cases to 5,140,863.