Waverley council in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has reopened Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches to swimmers and surfers between 7am and 5pm on weekdays. The beaches were closed as Australia’s coronavirus restrictions came into force. They are to remain closed on weekends, and only the water is ‘open’, with sunbathing, walking and jogging on the beach not allowed
President retreated over the weekend after his bizarre musing that disinfectant could be injected into coronavirus patients
His autocratic tendencies are well-known. His sudden absence from public view prompted fierce speculation and rumour. One headline suggested that he was “brain-dead”.
The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s whereabouts remain unknown. But after a lost weekend, Donald Trump bounced back into the spotlight on Monday determined to prove that he is not only healthy but working very, very hard.
Continue reading...Photos of packed beaches in southern California over the weekend were condemned by the state governor Gavin Newsom, amid fears large crowds could reverse progress on containing Covid-19 in the US.
Many popular beaches have remained fully closed to the public, though a handful have taken steps to permit visitors in a limited capacity while adopting a range of restrictions, enforcement plans and recommendations
Continue reading...Iran reports 96 more deaths; Spain’s death toll shows slight rise; Germany calls for ‘very careful’ easing of lockdown; New Zealand says ‘worst is over’
Formula One plans to start the season in Austria on 5 July and stage between 15 and 18 grands prix this year with the opening races behind closed doors.
The announcement came immediately after the French Grand Prix was cancelled and the news the British Grand Prix will be held without spectators if it goes ahead.
Preparatory work has begun on restarting repairs to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
Wall Street has opened higher, despite the prospect of a sickening slump in growth this quarter.
The Dow Jones industrial average has gained 109 points, or 0.46%, to 23,884 as a new week’s trading begins.
Alexandra Scaggs of Barrons has spotted that General Motors’ banks pushed it to suspend its dividend (as flagged earlier).
so GM suspended its dividend & share buybacks
one interesting point that's not in the headlines: Banks wanted that as a condition for extending more credit to the company https://t.co/RWCWF4tvea
to me the press release reads like "hey we decided to stop doing these things"
and the filing reads like "our lenders asked us to stop doing these things before they would extend the repayment date on one of our loans" pic.twitter.com/wH5R4aCqDF
‘From Russia with love’ package including doctors and PPE criticised as propaganda to exploit cracks in EU
A Russian aid shipment sent to Italy in late March as Rome struggled to contain the coronavirus outbreak has raised questions about the Kremlin’s motives, amid cracks in EU solidarity.
Russia, which has cultivated good relations with Italy in recent years, was one of the first countries to come to the rescue during the early stages of Italy’s outbreak. It dispatched 122 military doctors, personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators and mobile disinfection machines on cargo planes from Moscow.
Continue reading...Doctors alerted to possibly fatal syndrome, which gives the small number of sufferers stomach pain and inflamed heart
Children are falling ill with a new and potentially fatal combination of symptoms apparently linked to Covid-19, including a sore stomach and heart problems.
The children affected appear to have been struck by a form of toxic shock syndrome. Some have been left so seriously unwell that they have had to be treated in intensive care. At least one has undergone extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment, which is used when someone’s life is at risk because they can no longer breathe for themselves.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson says there are real signs the UK is 'passing through the peak' during his first public statement since recovering from coronavirus. Speaking outside 10 Downing Street on Monday, the prime minister says the lockdown should only be eased when the government is confident there will be no second peak
Exclusive: only one species is responsible for coronavirus – humans – say world’s leading wildlife experts
The coronavirus pandemic is likely to be followed by even more deadly and destructive disease outbreaks unless their root cause – the rampant destruction of the natural world – is rapidly halted, the world’s leading biodiversity experts have warned.
“There is a single species responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic – us,” they said. “Recent pandemics are a direct consequence of human activity, particularly our global financial and economic systems that prize economic growth at any cost. We have a small window of opportunity, in overcoming the challenges of the current crisis, to avoid sowing the seeds of future ones.”
Continue reading...After 45 days at home, children in Spain up to the age of 13 are allowed to leave their homes for an hour a day. With around 220,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and more than 20,000 reported deaths the country has one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe
Continue reading...The world may be faced with a new foe, but old ones lie in wait if lockdowns disrupt existing vaccination programmes
In The Conjurer, a 16th-century painting by Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch, a spectator stands in rapt attention as a magic trick is performed. He bends forward, wholly absorbed by the spectacle, blissfully unaware of the man behind him casually picking his pocket.
As we mark World Immunisation Week 2020, all eyes are on Covid-19. Across the globe, researchers have responded with remarkable speed and ingenuity. More than 100 vaccine candidates are in development, and several human clinical trials have begun. Though significant hurdles lie ahead, we can be optimistic that a vaccine will emerge from the fray.
Continue reading...Plane maker’s staff told it needs to take immediate action to survive coronavirus lockdown
Airbus has warned its 135,000 employees that it may not survive the coronavirus lockdown unless it takes immediate action that may involve deeper job cuts.
Its chief executive, Guillaume Faury, told staff in a letter on Friday that the plane maker was “bleeding cash at an unprecedented speed”, and was considering all options as it waited to see how badly demand would be affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Continue reading...British government urged to plug shortfall as Oxfam and Christian Aid reveal huge financial impact of Covid-19 outbreak
Charities are calling on the UK government for greater support as they report the loss of millions of pounds as a result of Covid-19.
Oxfam said it is losing £5m a month from the closure of its shops alone, while Christian Aid last week said it expected a £6m drop in its funds this financial year. Others said they were still calculating the impact.
Continue reading...No new patients in city at centre of pandemic but fears over new infections persist
The Chinese city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus pandemic began, has discharged all of its coronavirus patients, as the nation reported only three new cases and no new deaths.
According to the National Health Commission, as of Sunday the number of new coronavirus patients in Wuhan was at zero. “Thanks to the joint efforts of Wuhan and medical staff from around the country,” said a spokesman for the commission, Mi Feng.
Continue reading...Donald Trump’s coronavirus response coordinator, Dr Deborah Birx, has cautioned that social distancing measures are likely to stay in place throughout the summer, as the administration’s health expert sought to downplay the president’s dangerous suggestion that injected disinfectant and ultraviolet light could play a role in medical treatment of Covid-19.
Related: How has the coronavirus transformed Spain?
Continue reading...Picnics, boating, hiking, camping and group exercise are back for Western Australians as Queensland also prepares to relax rules. Follow live
That statement continued:
We thank Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck and the Chief Medical Officer Prof. Brendan Murphy for joining the aged care industry in constructive dialogue in the national webinar, as we work together to care for and support vulnerable older Australians.
However, we impressed upon them that it is incorrect to characterise the sector as having kept residents isolated, under lock and key, in their rooms. Nor are they secret places.
Australia’s leading aged care providers have banded together to make a statement in response to what the prime minister and chief health minister had to say last week about opening up centres to visits, or face applying to the commonwealth to close.
Almost 1000 aged care providers have signed up to the statement, saying that some facilities made the decision to stop visitation because it was the only way to protect residents, with the decisions being made with “the support of the majority of residents and their families”.
Pressures on aged care workers will further intensify from the major costs of controls and resources needed to continue protecting aged care residents and to allow the safe access for visitors that has been stipulated - but there has been little additional support from Government to achieve this.
The funding provided that equates to an average of $2 per resident per day is not enough for aged care operators to keep winning the fight to keep coronavirus out of aged care homes.
Continue reading...PM back in No 10 as ministers warn physical distancing is here to stay after lockdown
Boris Johnson returned to Downing Street on Sunday night with his government under pressure over its handling of coronavirus, as ministers warned that physical distancing must become the “new normal” – even when the lockdown is eased.
With the prime minister pressed to explain how schools and businesses can reopen without putting lives at risk, the government has given the clearest signal yet of how it hopes to manage the next phase of the pandemic, including imposing quarantine restrictions on all arrivals at UK airports.
Continue reading...Packed pools, beaches and tour buses will not return immediately as country plans for scaled back 2020 season
Packed pools, beaches and tour buses, as well as middle seats on planes, hotel minibars and scrums at airport check-ins, may all be a thing of the past as Europe’s tourism industry attempts to reimagine the holiday in the wake of the coronavirus.
Travel will take place only under “specific new rules”, Greece’s tourism minister has said as he prepares to propose ways of salvaging the sector with his EU counterparts in the era of Covid-19 on Monday.
Continue reading...Environment secretary George Eustice said that furloughed staff could help with picking fruit in June when the British soft fruit season is at its peak.
Eustice said that only around a third of the usual workforce is currently available, as the industry relies on migrant workers.
He also said it was too early to talk about easing the lockdown during the UK government briefing, as daily hospital deaths fell to 413, the lowest daily number since March.
Continue reading...From schools to shops, with jobs at risk, the government must balance the interests of economy and public safety
As the prime minister, Boris Johnson, heads back to Downing Street, he faces calls from Labour to be clearer about how Britain might start lifting the coronavirus lockdown, now entering its fifth week. On Sunday, the foreign secretary and first secretary of state, Dominic Raab, warned the outbreak remained at a “delicate and dangerous” stage and said it was irresponsible to speculate about steps to modify the rules underpinning government’s “stay home, protect the NHS, save lives” strategy.
More than 20,000 people have died from Covid-19 in NHS hospitals and thousands more in care homes. But there are growing concerns about the economic impact of lockdown. Gerard Lyons, Johnson’s economics adviser when he was London mayor, warned on Sunday the UK could be the hardest-hit western economy if it does not unlock soon. The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, also called on ministers to start talking to teachers, businesses, trade unions and town hall leaders and open “honest conversations with the public about what new arrangements might look like”. Unions insist worker safety must not be compromised by any changes and questions remain about public appetite for risking a new peak of contagion, but plans to modify restrictions are starting to emerge.
Continue reading...