The Latest: French Open: Fewer fans as cases spike in Paris

PARIS -- The French Open tennis event has reduced spectators to 1,000 per day because of the worsening coronavirus epidemic in Paris.

The new limit was first announced by Prime Minster Jean Castex.

Organizers have repeatedly scaled back their ambitions for the Grand Slam event as virus cases increased. They’d been planning for 11,500 spectators per day three weeks ago, then 5,000 and now to only 1,000.

France reported more than 16,000 new cases on Thursday, a new daily high, in part because of ramped-up testing. New influxes of sick patients are putting mounting pressure on hospital ICU units.

France, hard hit by the coronavirus early in the pandemic, has more than 536,000 total confirmed cases. It ranks eighth in the world with 31,500 confirmed deaths.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

— Lockdowns imposed in several British cities

— Partial lockdown expanded in Spain’s capital

— Hong Kong Disneyland reopens for second time

— U.S.-based pharmaceutical company Novavax says it has begun a late-stage trial of its potential COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom.

— Chinese company says coronavirus vaccine ready by early 2021. The pharmaceutical company expects distribution worldwide, including in the United States.

— Virus disrupting Rio’s Carnival for first time in a century. Annual Carnival parade of flamboyant samba schools won’t be held in February.

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Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

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