Category Archives: Coronavirus outbreak

Pandemic could ‘turn back the clock’ 20 years on malaria deaths, warns WHO

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Deaths in sub-Saharan African countries could double to more than 700,000 this year if Covid-19 crisis disrupts programmes

Deaths from malaria could double across sub-Saharan Africa this year if work to prevent the disease is disrupted by Covid-19, the World Health Organization has warned.

The UN’s global health agency said that if countries failed to maintain delivery of insecticide-treated nets and access to antimalarial medicines, up to 769,000 people could die of malaria this year. That figure, which would be more than double the number of deaths in 2018, would mark a return to mortality levels last seen 20 years ago.

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‘What’s wrong with you Mexico?’ Health workers attacked amid Covid-19 fears

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Doctors and nurses have been assaulted, thrown off buses and barred from their homes, accused of spreading coronavirus

Jovanna was walking home after a morning of hospital consultations when she heard a shout behind her. As she turned to look, she felt something wet in her face. Within seconds, her vision went cloudy and she smelled bleach.

“They picked me out because I was wearing scrubs,” said the ear, nose and throat doctor from the Mexican city of Guadalajara, as she described the attack which left her with conjunctivitis and burns on her skin. “I didn’t see anything – I don’t know who it was, but I know they attacked another doctor on the same day.”

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NHS urged to avoid PPE gloves made in ‘slave-like’ conditions

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In securing PPE for NHS staff working on coronavirus frontline, government must not ignore abuse of factory workers, warn activists

The government must not ignore the “slave-like” conditions of migrant workers making rubber medical gloves in Malaysia in its rush to source protective equipment to keep frontline NHS staff safe from coronavirus, human rights groups say.

Malaysia is the world’s largest producer of rubber gloves, but the industry has been accused of grossly exploiting its workforce, mostly impoverished migrants from Bangladesh and Nepal.

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How Covid-19 poured cold water on Netherlands’ EU romance

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Dutch opposition to recovery spending has overtones of British disillusionment

Isolated in a recent European Union council of ministers, with attitudes described by European leaders past and present as “repugnant”.

It sounds like an old script of Britain in the EU. Yet it is the Netherlands that has found itself at the heart of the union’s most bitter row during the coronavirus pandemic. As EU leaders meet on Thursday for their fourth virtual crisis summit in seven weeks, the Dutch will once again be in the vanguard of opposition to plans for big spending on the recovery.

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Why South Korea’s coronavirus death toll is comparatively low – video explainer

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​On 29 February​, South Korea reported a peak of 909 new Covid-19 cases and was suffering one of the worst outbreaks outside of China. But this week, the government announced a single-digit number of new cases for the first time in almost two months. As of 22 April, there were 238 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths in South Korea.

Experts say that the country is one of few to succeed in 'flattening the curve' despite never having a formal lockdown in place​. And with life slowly beginning to return to something like normality, Seoul-based journalist Nemo Kim has been looking at what lessons can be learned

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Coronavirus live news: US may never restore funding to World Health Organization, says Mike Pompeo

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Unemployment in US up by 4.4 million to a total of over 26 million; world has ‘a long way to go’, warns WHO chief; Iran reports lowest new daily infections for a month

Peru’s reported coronavirus cases have rapidly increased this week, reaching 20,914 on Thursday. The country has the second highest number of cases in South America after Brazil despite introducing tough lockdown measures.

The health ministry says it expects patient numbers to peak within the following week, as hospitals strain to deal with the sharp rise in infections. Reuters reports cases of bodies being kept in hallways, masks being reused, and protests from medical workers concerned about their safety.

Hello, I’ll be taking over the live blog for the next few hours. As always, tips and suggestions are most welcome. You can reach me via Twitter DM @cleaskopeliti or by email at clea.skopeliti.casual@guardian.co.uk. Thanks in advance.

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Coronavirus US live: Trump says he’s signed order restricting immigration – as it happened

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America’s addiction to mass incarceration could almost double its number of deaths from coronavirus, with jails acting as incubators of the disease and spreading a further 100,000 fatalities across the US.

The startling warning comes from groundbreaking modeling by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and academic researchers, released on Wednesday.

Related: Mass incarceration could add 100,000 deaths to US coronavirus toll, study finds

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Deserted Sydney: drone footage of Australia’s biggest city empty in coronavirus lockdown – video

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The Opera House, ferry terminals, parks and squares – all  the city's most popular spaces have been nearly cleared of people. Central Sydney experienced a dramatic drop in workers and shoppers as the government ordered pubs and restaurants to close, and businesses asked their staff to work from home as part of efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19

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The Covid-19 crisis creates a chance to reset economies on a sustainable footing | James Shaw

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New Zealand climate minister says governments must not just return to the way things were, and instead plot a new course to ease climate change

James Shaw, New Zealand’s climate change minister, has asked the country’s independent climate change commission to check whether its emissions targets under the Paris agreement are enough to limit global heating to 1.5C. He explains why he’s prioritising the issue during a strict national lockdown to stop the spread of Covid-19, which could send New Zealand’s unemployment rate soaring.

To say that we find ourselves in an unprecedented moment is so obvious and has been so often repeated it’s almost become white noise. What is less obvious, however, is where we go from here.

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Cuomo: I will not be pressured into reopening New York – video

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Andrew Cuomo has said he would not allow political pressure to determine the timetable on when to lift the state's lockdown. The New York governor acknowledged the current situation is 'unsustainable', but added: 'I also know more people will die if we are not smart.'

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Why are people from BAME groups dying disproportionately of Covid-19?

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Co-morbidities, demographics and societal imbalances all play a part, says UCL professor Nishi Chaturvedi

One explanation for why people from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are dying in disproportionately high numbers is demography. The virus hit London first and hit it hardest. But even when you take these regional differences into account there is a mismatch. In particular, if you take into account that ethnic minorities are generally younger – particularly important for Covid-19 where 90% of deaths are in people over 60 – the ethnic differences become even more stark.

Related: BAME groups hit harder by Covid-19 than white people, UK study suggests

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Coronavirus: UK will need social distancing until at least end of year, says Chris Whitty – video

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Social distancing will be needed until at least the end of the year to prevent fresh outbreaks of coronavirus, the government’s chief medical officer has said. Prof Chris Whitty said it was important to be realistic that 'highly disruptive' social distancing would need to be in place for 'really quite a long period of time'.

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UK will need social distancing until at least end of year, says Whitty

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Government’s chief medical officer says return to normal in short term is ‘wholly unrealistic’

Social distancing will be needed until at least the end of the year to prevent fresh outbreaks of coronavirus even though the UK has reached the peak of the current epidemic, the government’s chief medical officer has said.

Prof Chris Whitty, the UK’s most senior medic, said it was important to be realistic that “highly disruptive” social distancing would need to be in place for “really quite a long period of time”.

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Ryanair boss says airline won’t fly with ‘idiotic’ social distancing rules

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Michael O’Leary says business model will be in tatters if he is forced to leave middle seats empty

Ryanair planes won’t return to the skies if the airline is forced to leave the middle seat empty to comply with “idiotic” in-flight social distancing rules, its chief executive, Michael O’Leary, has said.

The boss of the no-frills carrier, which has thrived by packing its flights as full as possible with passengers lured by low prices, has previously said that blocking out the space in between aisle seats is “nonsense” that would have no beneficial effect.

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Coronavirus: The world has a long way to go, warns WHO chief – video

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The chief of the World Health Organization has warned that complacency is the 'greatest danger' facing countries in the fight against coronavirus. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the virus 'remains extremely dangerous' and many of the world's population were still susceptible to the disease. 'Make no mistake, we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time,' the WHO chief said.

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Italy: dozens of mafia bosses could be released due to coronavirus

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Critics fear reported move would mean ‘the mafia virus on the streets alongside Covid-19’

Dozens of mafia bosses could be released from prisons across Italy due to the risk of Covid-19 infection, after Italian judges set free at least three ageing mobsters, placing them under house arrest.

News magazine L’Espresso on Wednesday reported that a judge in Milan had ordered the release of one of the most influential bosses of Cosa Nostra, Francesco Bonura, 78, who was serving a 23-year sentence. The terms of Bonura’s release to house arrest allow his movement for health-related appointments.

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Earth Day: Greta Thunberg calls for ‘new path’ after pandemic

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Climate activist says Covid-19 outbreak shows change can happen when we listen to scientists

Greta Thunberg has urged people around the world to take a new path after the coronavirus pandemic, which she said proved “our society is not sustainable”.

The Swedish climate activist said the strong global response to Covid-19 demonstrated how quickly change could happen when humanity came together and acted on the advice of scientists.

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South Africa puts soldiers on standby as lockdown tensions mount

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President announces $26bn relief package and will set out plans to lift restrictions

Tens of thousands of soldiers have been put on standby in South Africa amid rising tensions as one of the strictest lockdowns in the world nears its fifth week.

Cyril Ramaphosa, the president and commander-in-chief, has mobilised the 73,000 men and women of South Africa’s armed forces, though it is unclear how many of them may eventually be deployed.

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Coronavirus was killing Americans weeks earlier than originally thought

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Officials say two people in northern California died from the virus in early February before the first reported death in the US

The coronavirus was killing Americans in the US weeks before health officials, doctors or the government realized, it emerged early on Wednesday.

Health officials now say two people died from Covid-19 in California in early February before the first reported death from the disease in the United States.

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What the EU procurement furore tells us about Johnson’s real priorities | Martin Kettle

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It’s clear that the coronavirus pandemic is not the first thing on the prime minister’s mind

On one level, the argument about what Sir Simon McDonald said to the foreign affairs select committee this week can be dismissed as a storm in a Whitehall teacup. Hours after the head of the foreign office had called Britain’s refusal to join the European Union’s procurement efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic a “political decision”, McDonald retracted his words. Whitehall-watchers are fascinated. The wider world has bigger things to worry about.

But on another level, this week’s row is political dynamite – and for two main reasons.

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