COVID news live: UK daily cases top 40,000 again - as England's R number falls to between 0.8 to 1

That's it from our live coverage for this evening.

Thanks for following along - here are tonight's top stories:

• Boris Johnson issues warning about coronavirus cases in Europe and urges Britons to get their booster jab
• Dominic Cummings claims Boris Johnson was writing Shakespeare book instead of dealing with COVID
• Netherlands to return to partial lockdown amid infection rise

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Vaccine requirements introduced by President Joe Biden are prompting more Americans to get COVID-19 jabs, White House press secretary Jen Psaki has said.

In the past week the nation has averaged nearly 300,000 first shots per day for people aged 12 and over, Ms Psaki said on Friday - up from less than 250,000 first jabs per day in mid-July, and before Mr Biden first discussed vaccine requirements.

"It's clear these requirements, driven by the president's leadership, are getting more people vaccinated," she said, adding the policies are "going to continue to accelerate [the country’s] path out of the pandemic".

On 9 September Mr Biden announced vaccination mandates for workers at federal contractors.

He has also said workers at private employers need to be vaccinated or tested by 4 January but this has been met with pushback from Republicans who are opposing the rules, calling them presidential over-reach.

More than 750,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 - more deaths than in any other country.

The White House said on Friday that over 27 million Americans had received a vaccine booster shot.

Labour shortages have continued to dog the economy, as a result of factors linked to both Brexit and the pandemic.

Staff and volunteers working in care homes in England must now be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless exempt, with frontline NHS employees facing the same rules by next spring.

Listen back to the Sky News Daily podcast with Dermot Murnaghan. He is joined by Sky correspondent Laura Bundock and Vic Rayner, from the National Care Forum, to examine the potential impact on both sectors in the coming months.

The Netherlands has announced the return of some restrictions following a rise in COVID cases, which is being seen across Europe.

In the seven days to 11 November there have been, on average, 496.0 cases per 100,000 people in the country - up from 334.7.

In comparison, in the UK there are 362.6 cases per 100,000 people (down from 412.1).

Here's the latest COVID data for the Netherlands. You can see what's happening in other countries by using our online tool. 

Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte has announced new restrictions which will come in from Saturday evening and last for three weeks.

The new rules will see bars, restaurants and supermarkets have to close at 8pm, while professional sports matches will be played in empty stadiums.

Stores selling non-essential items will have to close at 6pm, and people are being urged to work from home as much as possible.

The lockdown is the first in Western Europe since a new wave of infections began surging across parts of the continent.

Analysis By Laura Bundock, health correspondent

The rise in cases across Europe is clearly worrying Boris Johnson.

His talk of "storm clouds gathering" is a warlike warning.

But does his rhetoric match the reality? The UK has certainly seen the highest rate of cases and deaths, but infections are now falling.

The latest data from the ONS shows across the four nations, the number of people testing positive is down by 15%. Compare that with Europe which has seen cases rise week-on-week by 19%.

The spike in infections has caused the Netherlands to reintroduce some restrictions, with both Austria and Germany seriously considering re-imposing extra measures.

Experts say this time, the UK is ahead of Europe not behind it.

The main reason is the success of our vaccine programme.

But the pandemic is difficult to predict, and with winter coming, much depends on our booster rollout.

Despite the prime minister's message, it seems Europe's worry isn’t ours. For now at least.

Figures from NHS England paint a picture of a health service struggling to cope with increasing demand in the lead-up to a difficult winter period, set to be made worse by coronavirus.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said COVID-19 antiviral pills offer a "very attractive" prospect for treating the virus.

The WHO is looking to set guidelines for the use of the drugs, thought to be a game-changer in the fight against the disease.

Britain became the first country to approve one of these drug earlier this month.

Janet Diaz, the WHO's top official for clinical care responses, said the organisation would examine the pills at a meeting in three weeks’ time.

Another WHO official Mike Ryan said preliminary findings on the pills was "very, very welcome", adding that a "careful process" was not required before the therapies should be expanded more broadly.

"Clearly, having a second line approach of being able to treat those who do get infected is a very attractive and being able to save lives in that manner is very attractive," he said.

Last week Pfizer said its experimental antiviral pill to treat COVID-19 cut the chance of hospitalisation or death for adults at risk of severe disease by 89%.