Category Archives: Coronavirus outbreak

Joe Biden to meet with Jacob Blake’s family in Kenosha – live

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The Guardian’s Kenya Evelyn reports:

Joe Biden will meet Jacob Blake’s father, Jacob Blake Sr, later today as well as other members of the family of the 29-year-old who is gravely wounded and still fighting for his health in a local hospital in Kenosha after being shot in the back by a white police officer on August 23.

Trump and his advisers are trying to walk back his comments encouraging North Carolinians to vote twice in the November elections.

The president said yesterday, “Let them send it in and let them go vote. And if the system is as good as they say it is then obviously they won’t be able to vote” in person.

Trump yesterday: “If you get the unsolicited ballots ... send it in early, and then go and vote.”

Trump in May:
“If you told a Republican to vote twice, they'd get sick at even the thought of it."pic.twitter.com/bjWMotfXrP

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India logs record 83,883 Covid-19 cases in day

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Cases reach 3.85m as expert claims emphasis on recovery rates fuels public apathy

India reported a record daily rise of 83,883 coronavirus infections on Thursday, taking its total to 3.85 million cases, just as the country pushed ahead with attempting a return to normality and kickstarting its economy.

India now has the fastest growing Covid-19 infection rate in the world, and is only 100,000 cases behind Brazil, the second worst-affected country in the world. Experts are predicting that the south Asian nation will soon overtake Brazil (4 million) and then the US (6.1 million) to hold the dubious title of having the highest number of cases globally.

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French PM says jobs and green economy at heart of Covid recovery plan

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Jean Castex unveils €100bn plan aimed at returning France to pre-pandemic economic strength

France’s prime minister has stressed the importance of getting the country back on its feet within 18 months and “transforming” the French economy with a green makeover as he unveiled a €100bn (£89bn) coronavirus recovery plan.

Jean Castex outlined how France would spend its way out of the crisis, rather than create “social misery” through austerity measures, with a plan that had the environment, competitiveness and employment as its three pillars.

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France’s ‘big green recovery plan’ not big enough for campaigners

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A third of €100bn post-Covid package to be used for greener future, but critics say it falls short

Billed by the economy minister, Bruno Le Maire, as a “big green recovery plan”, one-third of France’s €100bn (£90bn) post-Covid economic stimulus package will be spent, in the government’s words, on “ecological transition” and “greening the economy”.

Environmental groups said the plan, presented on Thursday by the prime minister, Jean Castex, and other cabinet members, marked a welcome first step – but criticised a missed opportunity to break decisively with a growth-driven, high-carbon economy.

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The Rock says his family had Covid-19 and urges mask use: ‘It’s the right thing to do’

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Dwayne Johnson says he, his spouse and their daughters caught the virus less than three weeks ago from ‘very close family friends’

Pro-wrestler turned Hollywood actor Dwayne Johnson, known as The Rock, said in a video message posted on social media on Wednesday that he, his wife and their two young children tested positive for Covid-19 in recent weeks and he had “a rough go”.

Related: Joe Biden to meet with Jacob Blake's family in Kenosha – live

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Border closures: Scott Morrison to get agreement from some states on hotspot definitions

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National cabinet will look at alternatives to state border closures and discuss the cap on international arrivals

Scott Morrison is expected to secure agreement from some but not all state and territory leaders on a definition of hotspots when they meet on Friday with a review of the current cap on international arrivals also on the agenda.

The prime minister has been ratcheting up pressure on the premiers for weeks to reopen their borders, and the commonwealth has been working up a definition of a hotspot with a view to replacing current border controls with localised lockdowns to control coronavirus outbreaks.

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Coronavirus curfew in Havana, Cuba – in pictures

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Cuban authorities have launched a strict 15-day lockdown of Havana to try to stamp out the low-level but persistent spread of coronavirus. In addition to a curfew, most stores are barred from selling to shoppers from outside the immediate neighbourhood to prevent people from moving around the city

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‘I am starving’: the migrant workers abandoned by Dubai employers

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With no salary or money to pay for flights home, many are trapped in desperate situations in crowded labour camps

Hassan doesn’t know if he will eat today. The 30-year-old Pakistani has lived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), for over a decade, employed as a construction worker. But when the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, he lost his job. Without his salary he cannot afford to live in the UAE. Nor can he afford to fly home.

“The suffering is too much. We hardly have any food and there’s no support. Since we don’t have any money, we can’t travel from here either,” he says. “How are we going to buy the ticket?”

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‘A race against time’: the new law putting Somalia’s children at risk of marriage

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Child marriage in the country has increased during coronavirus – and now a newly-tabled bill would allow children as young as 10 to marry

Fardowsa Salat Mohamed was 15 when her cousin asked her parents for her hand in marriage. Her father did not hesitate to say yes. When Mohamed objected, her father asked her to choose between “a curse and a blessing”.

“That was not a choice for me, I was basically forced,” she says. “No girl would ever choose to be cursed by her parents so I had to accept the marriage,”

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California lawmaker Buffy Wicks brings newborn baby to state assembly floor for vote – video

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California politician Buffy Wicks was forced to bring her newbown baby on the state assembly floor after she was denied a proxy vote. Wicks, who gave birth to a daughter in late July via C-section, had requested to vote by proxy two weeks prior and cited Covid-19 concerns. After her request was denied by the assembly speaker, Anthony Rendon, footage of Wicks nursing her child while speaking about a bill  was shared widely online by prominent political figures including Hillary Clinton

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Nancy Pelosi says she was ‘set up’ in hair salon mask dispute – video

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House speaker Nancy Pelosi says she was 'set up' after she was photographed in a San Francisco hair salon without a face covering, breaking the city's coronavirus prevention rules. 'I take responsibility for trusting the word of a neighbourhood salon that I have been to over the years many times,' she said. 'I don't wear a mask when I'm washing my hair. Do you wear a mask when you're washing your hair?' Security camera footage of Pelosi in the salon was obtained by Fox News, sparking outcry over the incident which was pounced on by Donald Trump

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Coronavirus Australia live: Victoria premier Daniel Andrews provides Covid update after 113 new cases and 15 deaths

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Security firms involved in guarding Melbourne quarantine hotels continue giving evidence at the state’s inquiry into the program. Follow live news and updates today

This is also very interesting, given what we have seen play out this pandemic:

Our Parliamentary Library has published its latest research note that provides a brief overview of the size, operation and recent history of residential aged care in Victoria. It’s available at https://t.co/DonHd6SQ4g #springst

The auditor-general has responded to Stephen Jones’s request to have the early superannuation access scheme audited.

He has said no, as there are other priorities at the moment:

Dear Mr Jones

I am writing in response to your letter of 5 August 2020 requesting that I review the integrity and performance of the Government’s early release scheme for superannuation, as established through the Coronavirus Economic Response Omnibus Package Act 2020.

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Biden will visit Kenosha to ‘bring Americans together to heal’ amid protests – as it happened

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From me and Joan E Greve:

A Bay Area police officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the shooting of a Black man in a Walmart store in April.

The district attorney in California’s Alameda county announced the charge against officer Jason Fletcher, 49, in the killing Steven Taylor, 33. Responding to a call about a possible shoplifter with a baseball bat at a Walmart, Fletcher fired first his taser and then his pistol at Taylor, killing him.

Lee Merritt, an attorney for Taylor’s family, said Taylor was going through a mental health crisis on Saturday afternoon, and that he has previously suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar depression. “He was shot after he had become completely helpless and no longer represented a threat,” Merritt told the Guardian on Monday.

Merritt said he wasn’t sure yet whether police shot Taylor with a Taser or bullet after he was already down, and that an autopsy was under way.

Related: 'Don't shoot him no more!' California police face backlash over killing of man in Walmart

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Coronavirus live news: Trump pushes to withdraw WHO funding immediately

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US public health departments being told to prepare November vaccine distribution; signs Covid-19 easing in Brazil; Berlusconi tests positive. Follow the latest updates

On loneliness in Victoria, Australia:

Under Melbourne’s strict lockdown rules, couples who live apart can visit each other but other visitors are banned, so a lot of single people who live alone, like Ford, have spent weeks completely isolated. Victorians are allowed to exercise with one other person for an hour outdoors, but that person has to live nearby because of the restrictions on movement. In practice, this means that unless you live in the same suburb as your friends and family, you are unlikely to be able to exercise together:

Related: 'It gets into your bones': the unique loneliness of coronavirus lockdown when you live alone

The UK government is to trial routine weekly Covid testing of the population as part of preparations to head off a possible winter second wave, as the former health secretary Jeremy Hunt called for such tests to become the norm.

Matt Hancock said the government was committing an extra £500m to scale up testing capacity and launch community pilots trialling the effectiveness of repeat testing in schools and colleges, as well as in the population as a whole. It will also ramp up the trials of a new test kit that it is claimed can provide results within 20 minutes:

Related: Mass weekly Covid-19 testing of population to be trialled in England

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Mass weekly Covid-19 testing of population to be trialled in England

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Jeremy Hunt says UK should embrace repeat testing as route to more ‘normal life’

The UK government is to trial routine weekly Covid testing of the population as part of preparations to head off a possible winter second wave, as the former health secretary Jeremy Hunt called for such tests to become the norm.

Matt Hancock said the government was committing an extra £500m to scale up testing capacity and launch community pilots trialling the effectiveness of repeat testing in schools and colleges, as well as in the population as a whole. It will also ramp up the trials of a new test kit that it is claimed can provide results within 20 minutes.

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‘Get off Twitter’: Joe Biden urges Trump to focus on safely reopening schools

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Democratic candidate sought to put virus at heart of the campaign as rivals gave duelling speeches on Wednesday

Joe Biden attempted to regain the narrative in the US presidential election on Wednesday, telling Donald Trump to “get off Twitter” and focus on safely reopening schools during the coronavirus pandemic.

Related: Covid cases could surge in battleground midwest during Labor Day holiday

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Race to track 200 people on flight after officials fail to tell airline of Covid cases

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Exclusive: Wizz Air left in dark after eight teenagers travelling from Crete to London Luton test positive

Health officials are scrambling to contact more than 200 British holidaymakers on a flight from Crete last week after authorities failed to alert the airline that eight passengers had tested positive for coronavirus.

The teenagers, from Hampshire, were diagnosed after returning to the UK on a Wizz Air flight to London Luton airport on 25 August. The positive tests should have triggered an urgent response to track down the other 204 passengers on board, but Wizz Air said it had not been made aware of the cases until contacted by the Guardian.

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Children locked up by parents over Covid should not go home, rules Swedish court

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Family ‘nailed apartment door shut with planks’ and isolated three children from each other

Three children taken into care after being locked up by their parents for nearly five months in case they caught the coronavirus should not be allowed to return home, an administrative court in Sweden has ruled.

From March until early July, the children, aged between 10 and 17, were prevented from leaving the family’s apartment, whose door was “nailed shut with planks”, and also kept isolated from each other, according to the court verdict in Jönköping county.

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Coronavirus live news: leading US Democrat Nancy Pelosi pictured without face covering in hair salon

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US rejects global vaccine effort; cases rise in India, Russia and Hungary; Australia enters recession

Greece recorded has recorded the first coronavirus case in the overcrowded migrant camp of Moria on the island of Lesbos, two migration ministry officials said on Wednesday.

A 40-year old asylum seeker has tested positive for the virus and had been put in isolation, one of the officials told Reuters. Authorities were trying to trace the people he had been in contact with, the official said.

I am now handing over the blog to the very capable Amy Walker. Thank you for reading and please do keep us updated on all coronavirus-related tips and stories.

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