More countries have tightened their anti-coronavirus measures, with France extending a curfew and Belgium bringing forward its own curbs as new infections surged in many parts of the world.
The World Health Organization has warned of an "exponential" rise in infections threatening health systems' ability to cope with a second wave of cases, testing many nations that appeared to have the virus under control earlier this year.
Governments are now struggling to balance new restrictions against the need to revive economies already battered by earlier draconian lockdowns after the virus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
But populations weary of social isolation and economic hardship have bristled at new restrictions.
Europe has seen a spike in new infections and taken a raft of new measures, mostly trying to avoid new nation-wide lockdowns - from night-time curfews to more restrictions on social gatherings.
After Germany recorded its 10,000th coronavirus death, Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "The order of the day is to reduce contacts, (and) to meet as few people as possible."
Polish President as the EU country faces record infection rates.
Mr Duda, 48, said in a tweet that he had tested positive but "felt fine" and was still on the job.
Spain became the first European country earlier this week to officially record a million coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.
A member of the medical staff works in the intensive care ward for COVID-19 patients at the CHR Citadelle hospital in Liege, Belgium. Source: AAP
People across the country were bracing for a national state of emergency, overnight curfews and other new containment measures.
"They probably should have done this a long time ago or taken other steps, like restricting the number of people taking public transport or going to work," 22-year-old student Patricia Vazquez told AFP in the capital Madrid.
Colombia, France record one million cases
Colombia became the latest country to record a million confirmed COVID-19 cases on Saturday, as France recorded a 24-hour record of more than 45,000 infections a day after passing the same milestone.
The French government extended an overnight curfew to cover areas home to around 46 million people - two out of every three French.
"The difference compared to the first wave is that now we also have all the chronic pathologies of the winter period to take care of," emergency doctor Agnes Ricard-Hibon told local television.
Prime Minister Jean Castex said Saturday that another $830 million would be made available to help poor people who have been hit hardest by the pandemic.
'Close to capacity'
On Saturday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that "too many countries are seeing an exponential increase in COVID-19 cases and that is now leading to hospitals and intensive care units running close to or above capacity."
"We urge leaders to take immediate action to prevent further unnecessary deaths."
Across the planet, the pandemic has now claimed the lives of 1.1 million people and infected more than 42 million, with the .
The , followed by Brazil, India, Mexico and Britain.
It saw a record high number of new daily COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row on Saturday, figures from Johns Hopkins University showed, as warnings grew over its spread.
The country reported 88,973 new infections between 8.30pm on Friday and 8.30pm on Saturday, the figures showed, substantially above the previous day's 79,963.
A total of 8,568,625 cases have been reported in the United States with 224,751 deaths, the highest in the world in absolute terms.
The worst current outbreaks in the country are in the north and midwest, and some 35 of the 50 states are seeing an increase in case numbers.
In the US, the virus has become a central issue ahead of a 3 November presidential election, with President Donald Trump sparring over his handling of the pandemic with challenger Joe Biden.
"The idea that somehow this White House has done anything but completely screw this thing up is nonsense," said Mr Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, who hit the campaign trail on Saturday to campaign for Mr Biden, his former deputy.
The WHO's message for nations to do more was echoed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), but moves to reintroduce restrictions were met with protest in parts of the continent.
In Naples, hundreds of demonstrators answered a call on social media to resist a new curfew, throwing objects at police and setting rubbish bins on fire.
The country is reeling from its worst post-war recession after a two-month national lockdown prompted by one of Europe's worst outbreaks, and authorities have been reluctant to renew drastic quarantine restrictions.
