US president Donald Trump has announced a ban on travellers to the United States from Europe during a televised address to the nation. The ban will be in place for the next 30 days in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus
Continue reading...Category Archives: Coronavirus outbreak
Advice from a country with regular shortages: stop hoarding toilet paper, get ready for boredom | Dan McGarry
In Vanuatu, where cyclones regularly interrupt trade, we are watching the west’s collective panic with bemusement
I’ve lived in the south Pacific island nation of Vanuatu for 16 years. Tropical weather regularly interrupts trade. Even when they’re hundreds of kilometres away, cyclones wreak havoc on shipping. Isolation and deprivation define our lives. We know better than most how to cope.
So imagine our bemusement when we see ranks of empty shelves in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA, denuded by people who pretty clearly have never dealt with a shortage before.
Continue reading...Businesses affected by coronavirus should have access to disaster relief funds, says Queensland
State says virus ‘is no different’ to floods, cyclones and bushfires as it prepares to ramp up pressure at Coag meeting
Queensland will use the upcoming meeting of state leaders and the prime minister to appeal to the federal government to open up its natural disaster assistance payments to local industries impacted by the coronavirus.
Scott Morrison has previously rejected Queensland’s request for the disaster recovery funding arrangements to be made available for businesses knocked by the economic slowdown resulting from Covid-19 on 4 February, and again on 28 February.
Continue reading...Budget 2020: Rishi Sunak turns on taps with £30bn splurge
Chancellor announces £12bn to fight coronavirus and £18bn on ‘levelling up’ in reversal of Tory orthodoxy
Rishi Sunak ditched a decade of Conservative economic orthodoxy on Wednesday and claimed the Tories were now “the party of public services,” as he turned on the spending taps with a £30bn package that leaves Britain on course to have a bigger state than under Tony Blair’s Labour governments.
On a day when the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 to be a global pandemic, the chancellor announced £12bn to buttress the economy against the immediate threat of recession and a further £18bn to deliver on Boris Johnson’s election pledge to “level up” the UK.
Continue reading...Coronavirus outbreak described by WHO as ‘pandemic’ amid ‘alarming levels of inaction’ – video
The World Health Organization has described the outbreak of the new coronavirus as a pandemic.
WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: ‘We are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction. We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterised as a pandemic.’
Continue reading...What is a pandemic?
The WHO has declared the Covid-19 outbreak to be a pandemic. But what does that mean?
Declaring a pandemic has nothing to do with changes to the characteristics of a disease, but is instead associated with concerns over its geographic spread. According to the World Health Organization, a pandemic is declared when a new disease for which people do not have immunity spreads around the world beyond expectations.
Continue reading...Coronavirus facts: is there a cure and what is the mortality rate of the virus?
Covid-19 essential guide: can it be caught on public transport, how is it different from the flu, and how sick will I get?
- Follow our latest coronavirus blog for live news and updates
- How to protect yourself against coronavirus
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should I see a doctor?
The Covid-19 virus is a member of the coronavirus family that made the jump from animals to humans late last year. Many of those initially infected either worked or frequently shopped in the Huanan seafood wholesale market in the centre of the Chinese city of Wuhan. Unusually for a virus that has made the jump from one species to another, it appears to transmit effectively in humans – current estimates show that without strong containment measures the average person who catches Covid-19 will pass it on to two others. The virus also appears to have a higher mortality rate than common illnesses such as seasonal flu. The combination of coronavirus’s ability to spread and cause serious illness has prompted many countries, including the UK, to introduce or plan extensive public health measures aimed at containing and limiting the impact of the epidemic.
Continue reading...Mike Pence presents US plans to tackle coronavirus – video
Vice-president Mike Pence has outlined the White House's plan to tackle the economic and health consequences of the Covid-19 outbreak. The Trump administration has pledged to increase testing and help blue-collar workers
- Coronavirus: US pledges more testing as Trump hints at aid for workers
- US coronavirus cases pass 1,000 as crisis hits the campaign trail
Italy coronavirus lockdown leaves streets deserted – in pictures
The Italian government has imposed a nationwide lockdown in an effort to tackle the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak outside of China. Movements in and out of cities are severely restricted, and streets that are usually busy with life and traffic are almost empty
Continue reading...Lesbos coronavirus case sparks fears for refugee camp
Wave of anti-migrant violence has left refugees without food and medical care – and more vulnerable to disease than ever before
News of a confirmed case of Covid-19 on Lesbos has sparked fears of the impact of an outbreak at the overcrowded Moria refugee camp, where refugees live in dire conditions with appalling hygiene and little medical care.
The troubling conditions in the camp have worsened this week, and tensions on the island have seen several NGOs forced to reduce or close services over safety fears.
Continue reading...Australia’s chief medical officer urges calm and says coronavirus is a very mild illness – video
Australia's chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, attempts to allay community fears about the spread of the coronavirus. 'It's clear that there is some anxiety in the community with over 100 cases, but I say … most of these cases are related to import from overseas … there is no point in being tested at the moment if you have not travelled or you have not been a contact.' Murphy adds, 'For most people who get this virus, it's a very mild illness.'
• Australia to unveil $2.4bn coronavirus health package including pop-up fever clinics
How coronavirus closed down Italy – podcast
With Italy in lockdown, Peter Beaumont charts the spread of Covid-19 in the country while Lorenzo Tondo describes its impact. And: Christina Figueres on tackling the climate crisis
On Monday night Italy’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, announced that the entire country would be covered by restrictions that “can be summarised as follows: I stay at home”. All travel was banned unless justified on professional or health grounds.
The Guardian’s Peter Beaumont talks to Anushka Asthana about the origins of the virus in Italy and how it spread so quickly, while colleague Lorenzo Tondo, who is based in Palermo, describes the impact the virus is having on Italy’s health service and economy.
Continue reading...Coronavirus live updates: WHO declares pandemic as Italy extends lockdown measures
World Health Organization chief says number of cases reported and number of countries affected ‘doesn’t tell the full story’
- What is a pandemic?
- Full story: WHO declares coronavirus pandemic
- US death toll rises to 31 as official warns ‘things will get worse’
- UK cases jump to 456 and eighth Briton dies
- Share your experiences
In addition to the unnamed cabinet minister, the junior health minister Ed Argar is also self-isolating after having dinner with Nadine Dorries on Thursday night, the Guardian understands.
A cabinet minister is self-isolating while they await test results, a government source has confirmed, thought they would not confirm the identity of the minister.
Continue reading...Kylie Moore-Gilbert: jailed British-Australian not among 70,000 prisoners freed in Iran as coronavirus spreads
Political prisoners, including the University of Melbourne academic, have overwhelmingly been excluded from furloughing
Iran has temporarily freed 70,000 prisoners from jails around the country out of fear coronavirus could spread through prisons unchecked, but British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert has not been released.
Political prisoners have overwhelmingly been excluded from the furloughing of prisoners, with other dual nationals such as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an Iranian-born British aid worker, remaining imprisoned despite growing concerns for their health.
Continue reading...St Peter’s Square before and after Italy’s coronavirus lockdown – video
St Peter's Square and St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City have been closed to tourists after Italy's prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, placed a lockdown across the entire country because of coronavirus. More than 60 million people have been affected by the lockdown since the government extended restrictions on movement from the hard-hit north to the rest of Italy.
- Coronavirus Italy: PM extends lockdown to entire country
- Coronavirus live updates: number of deaths outside China passes 1,000 as Italy records highest one-day toll
Covid-19 outbreak: what do health experts mean by ‘flattening the curve’?
Public health measures can slow the spread of coronavirus to keep the number infected at any one time at a manageable level
In their response to the coronavirus outbreak, public health experts and government officials have repeatedly referenced the importance of “flattening the curve”. But what does this mean, exactly?
When faced by a threat such as Covid-19, epidemiologists often look for two important numbers: how infectious a disease is, quantified by the number of people infected by each person infected, and the total number of people who die as a result of catching the illness.
Continue reading...From confidence to quarantine: how coronavirus swept Italy
Undetected transmissions in early stage of outbreak at heart of current difficulties
Italy appeared well ahead of the curve when the coronavirus outbreak began to spread outside China.
Continue reading...Coronavirus travel ban: Italy under lockdown – in pictures
Italy has imposed a nationwide ban on unnecessary travel as the country tries to stem the tide of Covid-19 infections
Continue reading...Wuhan closes last makeshift coronavirus hospital as China’s infection rate falls – video
The last of a dozen makeshift hospitals in Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak began, officially closed on Tuesday in a sign that authorities' efforts to curb the virus are working.
On Tuesday, China reported 19 new coronavirus infections, down from 40 a day earlier.
Continue reading...Coronavirus live updates: Italy-wide lockdown comes into force
UK and US had worst days trading since 2008 GFC; Global cases near 110,000; Grand Princess passengers disembark. Follow the latest news.
- Cruise ship carrying at least 21 with coronavirus docks in California
- US pledges more testing as Trump hints at aid for workers
- Quarantined US congressman flew with Trump on Air Force One
- Global stock markets post biggest falls since 2008 financial crisis
- Italian PM extends lockdown to entire country
- Coronavirus sufferers symptom-free for five days on average – study
- Coronavirus latest: at a glance
As the whole of Italy goes into lockdown, there are some reassuring signs that measures are starting to work. Across the 11 towns that went into quarantine over two weeks ago, the number of cases is beginning to fall.
Virgin Atlantic has called on the European Commission and UK flight slots co-ordinator to relax rules amid the coronavirus outbreak, PA reports.
Chief executive Shai Weiss said: “Last month Virgin Atlantic and industry partners committed to achieving net zero carbon by 2050.
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