End of UK-Spain air bridge as much about politics as hard data

Decision based on Covid-19 risk but also on lessons of past slow decision-making

The abrupt closure of the Spain-UK air bridge came from nowhere for thousands of British tourists and an industry trying to get back on its feet.

Whitehall sources insist the swift and blanket nature of the decision – to advise against non-essential travel to Spain and impose quarantine measures on travellers arriving from the country - came because government scientists had been concerned by the coronavirus infection figures from Spain.

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Brexit will deliver double shock to UK economy, study finds

Exclusive: LSE report says even sectors unscathed from coronavirus crisis will be severely affected

A Brexit hit is looming for sectors that have emerged relatively unscathed from the Covid-19 pandemic, analysis by the London School of Economics suggests.

The LSE report says Brexit will deliver a double shock to the economy – with business conditions worsening for those sectors that have survived the impact of coronavirus and lockdown measures – whether Boris Johnson secures a deal with the EU or not.

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Spain: PM Pedro Sánchez attacks ‘error’ of UK quarantine travel restrictions – video

Britain made a mistake in slapping a quarantine on people travelling from Spain, the country's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said on Monday. The UK has also extended coronavirus guidance advising against all non-essential travel to the country. The UK government's sudden decision to impose a two-week quarantine on arrivals shocked travellers between the two countries

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Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria records six deaths and 384 Covid-19 cases and NSW 14 new cases – latest news

State suspends non-urgent elective surgery as Covid-19 cases in nursing homes rises, while NSW announces 14 new cases. Follow live updates

Migrants drove more than a quarter of regional Australia’s population growth before the coronavirus pandemic forced border closures, AAP reports.

Treasury’s Centre for Population officials on Tuesday told a parliamentary inquiry that overseas migration was behind 26 per cent of regional population growth nationally.

A staff member at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) has tested positive for Covid-19, prompting the organisation to close all of its sites today.

In a statement, the ASRC said it closed all its sites this morning for terminal cleans and that staff would get “appropriate leave and full pay” for those who need to get tested or self-isolate.

Given the unprecedented pandemic impacting all our lives, we have been planning for this scenario for months.

We have taken early and swift action to close down all ASRC sites to protect staff, people seeking asylum and the community.

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Coronavirus live news: WHO says Covid-19 is ‘easily the most severe’ crisis it has faced

Global cases doubled in last six weeks; deaths pass 650,000; Amazon’s treatment of workers investigated. Follow the latest updates

Hotels and restaurants in Kyrgyzstan have been converted into makeshift hospitals after widespread complaints about the lack of hospital beds to treat coronavirus patients, AP reports.

The head of the Chinese centre for disease control and prevention says he has been injected with an experimental coronavirus vaccine in an attempt to persuade the public to follow suit when one is approved, AP reports.

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The conditions for a coronavirus spike in Spain were clear. Yet no one saw it coming | Giles Tremlett

When the pandemic first struck, Spaniards forgave the government’s mistakes. This time it could be different

Spain’s socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, provided a reassuring contrast to the buffoonery of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic. When he forced the country into a harsh mid-March lockdown, he freely admitted mistakes had been made.

Spaniards were prepared to pardon. But, just as Americans cannot forgive Trump for leading the United States into a double-bump pandemic, so a sense of anger is building as Spain’s triumphant “defeat” of coronavirus threatens to become merely a brief holiday.

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‘Egregious’ distancing violations at Hamptons charity concert – Cuomo

New York governor says event featuring Goldman Sachs CEO and Chainsmokers breached Covid-19 rules

  • Coronavirus – latest updates
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  • New York health authorities are to investigate a charity concert in the Hamptons, which included performances by the Goldman Sachs chief David Solomon and DJ duo the Chainsmokers, over “egregious” social distancing violations.

    The drive-in event, Safe & Sound, had space for about 600 cars and was held in Southampton village on Saturday. It was the first in a series of such concerts planned for the US, according to the organisers’ website.

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    ‘We had to eat our seeds for planting’: 10 million in Sudan facing food shortages

    UN warns coronavirus restrictions prevent access to most vulnerable and rising prices are leaving many going hungry

    Almost a quarter of the population of Sudan are going hungry as conflict, rising food prices and the coronavirus take their toll.

    About 9.6 million people now face severe food shortages, the highest number recorded in the country’s recent history.

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    Agencies fear hidden cholera deaths in Yemen as Covid-19 overwhelms clinics

    Thousands of deaths potentially missed as patients avoid health centres, with both diseases set to peak in coming weeks, warn NGOs

    Aid agencies are warning that thousands of people in Yemen could be dying undetected from cholera as people are too frightened to seek treatment in health facilities overwhelmed by coronavirus.

    Coronavirus cases in the war-torn country are due to peak in the coming weeks, but Oxfam has warned that health centres are seeing an unexpected drop in cholera cases, ahead of August’s rains when cholera will also increase.

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    Trump’s national security adviser tests positive for coronavirus

    • White House insists ‘no risk’ of Trump being exposed
    • Photos of Robert O’Brien’s Europe trip show lack of mask usage
    • US politics – live updates

    The national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, has tested positive for the coronavirus, but the White House insisted there was “no risk” of Donald Trump being exposed.

    Related: Texas hospital forced to set up 'death panel' as Covid-19 cases surge

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    UK extends Spain non-essential travel advice to holiday islands

    Thousands more holidays to be cancelled in latest coronavirus blow to tourism industry

    Thousands more holidays are set to be cancelled after the UK government’s recommendation against all but essential travel to mainland Spain was extended to include the Canary and Balearic islands.

    The news will come as a further blow to the tourism industry and the Spanish government, which had lobbied hard for the removal of quarantine restrictions for tourists returning from the islands.

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    ‘It’s catastrophic’: UK Covid-19 restrictions for Spain bring worry and frustration – video report

    Travellers between Spain and Britain have expressed their shock at the UK government's sudden decision to impose a two-week quarantine on arrivals. Spain has said it is in talks over the potential removal of quarantine restrictions for travellers going to the UK from the Canaries and Balearics where the rate of infection is 'well below' that of the UK

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    UK coronavirus live: disarray after Spain quarantine imposed; pet cat first animal in Britain to test positive

    Growing concern more travel plans could be thrown into chaos in coming weeks with sudden changes to restrictions

    Pet owners should not be alarmed by the news that a cat has tested positive for coronavirus, the government says. This is from Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England:

    This is the first case of a domestic cat testing positive for Covid-19 in the UK but should not be a cause for alarm.

    Tests conducted by the Animal and Plant Health Agency have confirmed that the virus responsible for Covid-19 has been detected in a pet cat in England.

    This is a very rare event with infected animals detected to date only showing mild clinical signs and recovering within in a few days.

    Here is more from the Defra news release about the pet cat testing positive for coronavirus.

    The pet cat was initially diagnosed by a private vet with feline herpes virus, a common cat respiratory infection, but the sample was also tested for SARS-CoV-2 as part of a research programme. Follow-up samples tested at the APHA laboratory in Weybridge confirmed the cat was also co-infected with SARS-CoV2 which is the virus known to cause Covid-19 in humans.

    Pet owners can access the latest government guidance on how to continue to care for their animals during the coronavirus pandemic.

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    Coronavirus live news: Belgium set to tighten restrictions; China reports highest new cases since April

    Vietnam evacuates 80,000 tourists from Danang; Spain’s Covid-19 deaths could be 60% higher; global deaths near 650,000

    In the US, more than 40 people were infected with the coronavirus after attending a multi-day revival event at a north Alabama Baptist church, the Associated Press reports.

    “The whole church has got it, just about,” Al.com quoted pastor Daryl Ross of Warrior Creek Missionary Baptist church in Marshall County as saying.

    My colleagues over in the US of A have launched their live blog, with coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in the country, its election campaign, protests in Portland and other cities and a lot more besides.

    Click the link below to follow their latest updates.

    Related: US nears 150,000 Covid-19 deaths as Republicans and Democrats pitch opposing plans – live

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    US nears 150,000 Covid-19 deaths as Republicans and Democrats pitch opposing plans – live

    On Friday, the US supreme court ruled against a Nevada church which said coronavirus-inspired limits on attendance were unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s four liberals on the case, causing further angst on the right.

    Now, the Associated Press reports that “more than 40 people were infected with the coronavirus after attending a multi-day revival event at a north Alabama Baptist church, according to the congregation’s pastor.

    The whole church has got it, just about,” Al.com quoted pastor Daryl Ross of Warrior Creek Missionary Baptist Church in Marshall county as saying.

    The pastor says the churchgoers, including himself, tested positive after the congregation held a series of religious services featuring a guest pastor over several days last week.

    Related: John Roberts sides with supreme court liberals over Nevada church Covid opening

    There has been another night of trouble in Portland, where protesters for policing reform and against structural racism have been out every night since the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis at the end of May.

    Once again, confrontations centered on the federal courthouse in downtown Portland, where agents sent in by Trump are based.

    Ammunition and destructive devices recovered at Lownsdale Square Park (Photo) https://t.co/k4ZmvTzlh6 pic.twitter.com/xHaLZM8uWi

    Related: Portland: protesters bring down fence as confrontation with Trump agents rises

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    Bavaria rolls out coronavirus mass testing for returning holidaymakers

    German state preparing airports, stations and border crossings after rise in cases

    The German state of Bavaria is spearheading the mass rollout of coronavirus testing facilities in the hope of reaching as many returning holidaymakers as possible.

    Airports, railway stations and main border crossings used by cars, are to be kitted out with mobile testing units, Markus Söder, the leader of the southern state, announced this morning.

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    Vietnam detects first locally transmitted Covid-19 cases since April

    Nation brings in strict new measures and evacuates 80,000 people from city of Danang

    Vietnam is evacuating 80,000 people from the central city of Danang and reimposing disease-prevention measures after four local coronavirus cases were detected, the first to be recorded in the country for more than three months.

    Life had returned to normal for many in the country, which had been praised widely for taking quick action to contain Covid-19 and was on the brink of reaching 100 days without any new local infections. On Saturday, however, a 57-year-old man was confirmed to have tested positive, in the first community infection since April.

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    Police in England and Wales ‘twice as likely’ to fine young BAME men during lockdown

    Analysis of fixed-penalty notices found group as a whole were 1.6 times more likely to be fined than white people

    Police were twice as likely to fine young black and Asian men under the lockdown rules than their white counterparts, according to new figures that underline concerns about racial bias in policing.

    Analysis of fixed-penalty notices issued under the coronavirus regulations by National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) found that black, Asian and minority ethnic people (BAME) were 1.6 times more likely to be fined than white people.

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    ‘I was too fat’: Boris Johnson launches UK obesity reduction drive – video

    The prime minister has formally launched the UK government’s initiative to reduce obesity levels. In a video released by No 10 with an accompanying soundtrack, Boris Johnson said he had lost more than a stone since recovering from coronavirus, and had started going for a run every day.

    'When I went into ICU, when I was really ill ... I was way overweight,' he said.

    New measures will include bans on junk food advertising

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    Sydney coronavirus toilet paper stoush: mother and daughter found guilty

    Meriam Bebawy took the law into her own hands after another shopper grabbed a packet of toilet paper from her trolley at Woolworths, a magistrate has found

    A Sydney magistrate has likened a coronavirus-fuelled stoush over toilet paper to a rugby league bust-up as he found a mother and daughter guilty of affray.

    Health worker Meriam Bebawy, 23, and her daycare operator mother, Treiza Bebawy, 61, have been sentenced over an altercation with another woman at a Woolworths store in Chullora on 7 March.

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