After putting her daughter to bed, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern hosted a Facebook live Q&A focused on coronavirus. Ardern implored New Zealanders to remain in self-isolation, while explaining the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country will go up, but not to be discouraged
Category Archives: Coronavirus outbreak
London in coronavirus lockdown: aerial footage shows landmarks deserted – video
Parts of London were almost entirely deserted on the second full day of national lockdown, after Boris Johnson ordered the country to stay at home unless absolutely necessary to halt the spread of the coronavirus
- An unreal city: lockdown in London
- England: police to get power to use force to impose coronavirus lockdown
Julian Assange denied bail in UK after claiming ‘high risk’ of catching coronavirus
District Judge Vanessa Baraitser refused Assange’s release from Belmarsh Prison in London believing he still poses a flight risk
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s application for bail to avoid contracting the novel coronavirus has been denied by a British judge.
Assange was denied bail after arguing that his release from a UK prison would mitigate his “high risk” of catching coronavirus.
Continue reading...Coronavirus US live: California governor says 1m people filed for unemployment in state
- How Trump practices distancing versus other leaders
- Trump family will not profit from $2tn package
- Are Trump’s coronavirus briefings the new 2020 campaign rallies?
- Experts: Trump’s ‘back-to-work’ plan would make things worse
- See all our coronavirus coverage
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Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards updated reporters on a major spike in the Covid-19 death toll and contraction rate in the state, which remains a major coronavirus hotspot.
There are now 1,975 confirmed cases, a day-on-day increase of 407, and 65 deaths, a day-on-day increase of 19.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a briefing on Wednesday that 1 million people have filed for unemployment in the state since March 13th.
Gov @GavinNewsom says 1 million Californians have filed for unemployment since March 13. For context, CA usually gets 2500 claims a day, or about 22,500 in the 9 business days since 3/13. Instead: *one million.*#coronavirus #COVID19
Continue reading...Police to get power to use force to impose coronavirus lockdown
Proposals for England would allow use of ‘reasonable force’ if people refuse to go home
Police will be authorised to use force to send people back home if they refuse to obey the coronavirus lockdown, under government plans.
Ministers will issue fuller details by Thursday of how police will enforce the lockdown ordered by the prime minister on Monday, aimed at stopping the spread of the virus by keeping people apart.
Continue reading...Ill man makes plea for public to take coronavirus seriously – video
A 51-year-old man suspected of having coronavirus has made an emotional plea for the public to take Covid-19 seriously. Gasping for breath and struggling to speak, Andy Hardwick says he has been floored by it. 'I wouldn't wish it on my enemy,' he says. 'My spine hurts, my back hurts. You don't want to talk, you get shortness of breath if you move around.'
Continue reading...Boris Johnson: 405,000 NHS volunteers signed up in 24 hours – video
Boris Johnson has thanked the 405,000 people who have responded to the government's call for volunteers to help the NHS support vulnerable people during the coronavirus crisis. On Tuesday, health secretary Matt Hancock asked for 250,000 volunteers
- UK coronavirus live: tests prioritised for NHS workers, 'not available on the internet next week'
- UK coronavirus mass home testing to be made available 'within days'
Squats, drones and angry mayors: policing coronavirus lockdowns around the world – video report
A third of the world’s population is under lockdown as countries tighten measures to stop the spread of Covid-19. We take a look at some of the strategies – from drones to armed forces, exercises to fines – that governments are using to police their citizens
- India's 1.3bn population locked down to beat coronavirus
- Police leaders say enforcing UK lockdown may be impossible
Worker posts video from ExCeL centre being converted into coronavirus hospital
The building work to turn London’s ExCel conference centre into an emergency hospital treating coronavirus patients 'within days' has begun.
As construction began on Wednesday morning, Alex Woodside, who has been working on the cabling, posted a chilling video on Facebook showing the cavernous 100,000 sq metre Docklands site, saying: 'If you are not taking this seriously, like I wasn't, I think we really need to start'
Continue reading...Finger-pointing over the Ruby Princess debacle won’t help solve coronavirus crisis
It will take a full inquiry to determine what really happened, but clearly Australia’s protocols for assessing disease risk were inadequate
There is nothing more unedifying than different levels of government finger-pointing during a crisis.
In the aftermath of the bushfires, there was sniping via the media as the prime minister’s office blamed the New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, for refusing offers of defence help.
Continue reading...Coronavirus: Brazilians protesting against Bolsonaro bang pots and pans from windows – video
People in São Paulo banged pots and pans in solidarity with healthcare staff as the city respects a 15-day lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus. Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has dropped in the ratings as he downplayed the pandemic, berating governors of key states including Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, who have ordered residents to stay at home
- Bolsonaro says he 'wouldn't feel anything' if infected with Covid-19 and attacks state lockdowns
- Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro says coronavirus crisis is a media trick
Coronavirus threatens to turn aid crises into ‘humanitarian catastrophes’
Restrictions on movement prevent food and medicine from reaching people in adversity, experts warn
Stringent new international restrictions on movement introduced because of the coronavirus pandemic are threatening the lives of millions of people across the world already caught up in humanitarian emergencies.
UN agencies, aid groups and international experts have warned that the new restrictions, which have closed borders and ports, and severely limited the movement of key staff from Africa to South America and Asia, threaten a “dramatic” knock-on effect in countries suffering from conflict, extreme climate events and other crises.
Continue reading...Netanyahu key ally resigns as speaker of Israeli parliament
Yuli Edelstein quits amid row over decision to shut Knesset citing coronavirus crisis
The speaker of Israel’s Knesset has resigned after fierce criticism of his refusal to reopen parliament, which he suspended last week citing a ban of large gatherings while the country tackled the coronavirus.
Yuli Edelstein – a close ally of Benjamin Netanyahu in the ruling Likud party – came under fire as the suspension was decried as an attempt to shield both him and the embattled prime minister.
Continue reading...Jeremy Corbyn presses Boris Johnson on coronavirus in last PMQs as Labour leader – video
Jeremy Corbyn pushed Boris Johnson for clarity on government guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic in his last PMQs as the leader of the opposition.
The prime minister said he agreed with Corbyn that people are having to make a sacrifice, but they are doing so gladly
Continue reading...Mobile phone industry explores worldwide tracking of users
Talks about global data-sharing to counter coronavirus will raise privacy concerns
The mobile phone industry has explored the creation of a global data-sharing system that could track individuals around the world, as part of an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The Guardian has learned that a senior official at GSMA, an international standard-setting body for the mobile phone industry, held discussions with at least one company that is capable of tracking individuals globally through their mobile devices, and discussed the possible creation of a global data-sharing system.
Continue reading...‘As if we were the disease’: coronavirus brings prejudice for Italy’s Chinese workers
Xenophobia and job losses prompt textile industry staff in Tuscany to consider returning to China
At the beginning of February, Ilaria Santi, a councillor in the Italian city of Prato, in Tuscany, visited the canteen of an elementary school. A Chinese girl asked her: “Aren’t you afraid of eating next to me?”
“I replied: ‘Why should I be afraid?’ and she said: ‘Afraid that I infect you with the coronavirus.’” I replied that the virus was unfortunately in the minds of too many people,” said Santi.
Continue reading...Africa leads calls for debt relief in face of coronavirus crisis
IMF and World Bank lend their support in bid to help poorest countries strengthen their health systems
Government ministers across Africa have called for the suspension of debt interest payments as the Covid-19 crisis deepens.
The numbers of cases being reported in Africa are still behind Europe and the US but rises are being confirmed in South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Algeria and Burkina Faso, among others, and there is fear of what economic consequences the pandemic might wreak.
Continue reading...Coronavirus live news: global death toll passes 20,000, as Spain overtakes China as second worst-hit country
India locks down; Prince Charles tests positive for coronavirus; Senate and White House reach stimulus deal
- Coronavirus latest: at a glance
- Coronavirus key questions: everything you need to know
- Death toll in Spain overtakes China as lockdowns extend around globe
- US coronavirus updates – live
- See all our coronavirus coverage
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael say they’ve “agreed the need form a strong, stable government” in Ireland as the number of confirmed cases in the country rises by 235 to 1,564. Ireland’s health department has also confirmed two more deaths, bringing the total number to nine.
The Irish general election earlier this year resulted in an almost tied result with Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael dominating. None won enough seats to form a government by itself and numerous rounds of talks between parties have failed to result in an agreement to form a coalition government. The statement reads:
Both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael met this afternoon and had a productive meeting. They both agree the need to form a strong stable government that will help Ireland recover post Covid-19.
They are working to develop a programme for government that provides stability and majority support in the Dáil. They will meet again over the coming days and will both continue to reach out and engage with other parties.
Andy Burnham, a former UK health secretary and now the mayor of Greater Manchester in the north of England, says he is taking legal advice on whether firms forcing employees to work without adequate protection and not observing guidance to keep them two metres apart are breaking the law.
After a conference call with Greater Manchester MPs, he tweeted:
... I am taking legal advice about whether @gmpolice or other GM agencies can take enforcement action against companies which are exposing their employees in this way. If you would like to make a confidential report, please do so using: the.mayor@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk 2/2
Following government instructions to stay at home, the move to accommodate hundreds of homeless people in hotel rooms is a recognition of the vulnerability of many rough sleepers and homeless people in shared accommodation spaces, and their need for support and a safe place to stay at this difficult time.
Continue reading...Bolsonaro says he ‘wouldn’t feel anything’ if infected with Covid-19 and attacks state lockdowns
Brazil’s president uses national televised address to dismiss state-based health measures ‘scorched earth’ tactics
Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has claimed he “wouldn’t feel anything” if infected with coronavirus and rubbished efforts to contain the illness with large-scale quarantines as his country’s two biggest cities went into shutdown in a desperate bid to save lives.
In a televised address to the nation on Tuesday night, Bolsonaro slammed what he branded the economically damaging “scorched earth” tactics being used to slow the advance of an illness that has now claimed about 15,000 lives around the world.
Continue reading...‘We can’t have queues for intensive care’, Andrews says as coronavirus lockdown increases – video
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has called on Victorians to take coronavirus lockdowns seriously to 'buy time' to treat patients. 'We've got queues at Centrelink offices, that's heartbreaking,' he said. 'We can not have people queuing for intensive care beds ... If you can stay home, you must stay home.'
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