Category Archives: Coronavirus outbreak

Egypt: doctors targeted for highlighting Covid-19 working conditions

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Overwhelmed staff detained by state security agency after voicing concerns about lack of PPE

Overwhelmed and ill-equipped medical staff in Egypt are being threatened for speaking out about poor working conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic, with increasing numbers detained by a domestic security agency.

Doctors recounted threats delivered via WhatsApp, official letters or in person. They said hospital managers and government officials told them failing to attend shifts, posting on social media or voicing objections would result in complaints to the National Security Agency, Egypt’s primary internal security body, which rights groups say has arrested multiple healthcare workers.

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Face masks to be mandatory in shops in England, says Hancock – video

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Face coverings protect workers and give the public greater confidence to shop, Matt Hancock has said. The health secretary confirmed in a statement to the House of Commons that shoppers would be required to wear masks while in shops and supermarkets. Those who do not will face fines of up to £100

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Coronavirus US: 61,492 new cases recorded, second highest day on record – live updates

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This is Joan Greve in Washington, taking over for Martin Belam.

The latest challenge in the country’s coronavirus crisis centers on whether schools should reopen this fall, with the president and many of his advisers pushing for schools to resume in-person instruction.

Adm. Brett Giroir has been doing the TV round this morning, and gave a pretty snappy response when he was asked about the accusation that Donald Trump retweeted yesterday that the CDC and “most” doctors were lying about the coronavirus outbreak.

Asked directly on NBC’s Today whether the CDC and other doctors are lying, Giroir, a top member of the White House coronavirus task force, said that mistakes have been made and that public guidance is updated when more is learned about the virus, “but none of us lie. We are completely transparent with the American people.”

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Coronavirus live news: India puts Bangalore back into lockdown; Hong Kong tightens social distancing

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Global cases rise by 1m in five days; 5.4m Americans have lost their health insurance; 6,000 new cases in Russia

Iran reports 179 new virus death as authorities announced a decision to once more shutter some businesses in the capital to contain the virus’ resurgence.

The reimposition of restrictive measures comes after the government had progressively lifted them from April to reopen its sanctions-hit economy.

Masks will become mandatory in all enclosed public spaces in France within the next few weeks, President Emmanuel Macron has said in a major Bastille Day interview.

Masks were already obligatory on public transport and recommended in shops, with many store owners refusing to welcome customers not wearing them.

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Virgin Atlantic agrees £1.2bn rescue deal amid coronavirus slump

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Investors pump in funds, loans and deferrals alongside Branson’s £200m injection

Virgin Atlantic has announced a £1.2bn rescue deal to allow Sir Richard Branson’s grounded passenger airline to survive another 18 months and aim to return to profit in 2022, after four months without scheduled flights.

The privately funded recapitalisation package, a combination of cash injections, loans, and deferrals, was finally confirmed on Tuesday after weeks of talks with potential investors, after Virgin’s attempts to garner state support were rebuffed.

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In Japan wearing a mask is habitual – can the UK follow suit?

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Japan has avoided Covid-19 disaster and people here accept masks – making the debate in the UK even more bewildering

As a resident of a country where not wearing a mask is now akin to venturing out in one’s underwear, I’ve watched with growing exasperation the debate in the UK over whether wearing a face covering is a potentially effective defence against Covid-19.

Although the benefits of hand hygiene and social distancing – two habits promoted by the World Health Organization in the early days of the pandemic – are widely accepted, it will take time to establish which combinations of factors, both official and cultural, have spared some countries while leaving others battling high numbers of infections and deaths.

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Italy deploys soldiers to town housing quarantined migrants

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Residents protest against arrival of people who tested positive for coronavirus

Italy has deployed dozens of soldiers to a town in Calabria to patrol apartment buildings where rescued migrants who tested positive for coronavirus have been placed under quarantine.

The decision follows residents’ protests in Amantea, in the province of Cosenza, where 13 people from Bangladesh were moved to after arriving in the coastal town of Roccella Jonica last week and testing positive for the virus.

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Coronavirus: what are the rules over face masks in English shops?

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Exemptions, enforcement and business reaction to the news that coverings will be compulsory from 24 July

With the government set to announce that wearing a face covering in shops and supermarkets will be mandatory in England from 24 July, here’s what you need to know about the new rules:

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Does coronavirus spread in the air and how do we stay safe?

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Some scientists believe there is growing evidence of airborne transmission of Covid-19

Some scientists are warning there is growing evidence of airborne transmission of coronavirus. But how does it affect the actions we should take to stay safe?

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NSW on ‘extra high alert’ for Covid-19 resurgence as hotel crackdown announced

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Premier Gladys Berejiklian details stricter regime for pubs as cluster linked to the Crossroads Hotel grows to 30 cases

New South Wales is on “extra high alert” for a widespread Covid-19 resurgence and will require so-called hygiene marshals to enforce social distancing at every pub in the state.

The crackdown comes after patrons who visited a Sydney hotel at the centre of the state’s largest outbreak expressed concern over relaxed safety practices and the pub’s manager conceded more could have been done to record visitors’ contact details.

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Baby boy infected with coronavirus in womb

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French study is believed to be first such confirmed case but doctors say infant has made good recovery

Doctors in France have reported what they believe to be the first proven case of Covid-19 being passed on from a pregnant woman to her baby in the womb.

The newborn boy developed inflammation in the brain within days of being born, a condition brought on after the virus crossed the placenta and established an infection prior to birth. He has since made a good recovery.

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Covid-19 restrictions are shattering Argentina’s short-lived political truce

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Deep-seated rivalries resurfacing amid months of lockdowns

Until recently, Argentina’s protracted coronavirus lockdown was marked by an unusual degree of harmony, as the country’s perennially squabbling political factions came together to contain the spread of Covid-19.

But after nearly four months of consecutive lockdowns, rifts have begun to appear in that uneasy truce amid growing demands for a relaxation of quarantine measures.

With new cases spiralling out of control, the old political rivalries between followers and detractors of the late three-time president Juan Perón, and his wife Evita, has returned to the fore.

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Coronavirus near me: are UK Covid-19 cases rising or falling in your area?

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Latest updates: how has Covid-19 progressed where you live? Check the week-on-week changes across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The map shows local authorities where the number of cases has increased week-on-week and where it has fallen. Some of this is due to natural fluctuations, especially in areas where there are very few cases, and so a rise from 1 to 2 is a doubling. Increased testing also means that more cases may be being detected than previously, although the impact of this between one week and the next is likely to be slight.

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Video of drunken Brits maskless in Magaluf appals Spaniards

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Tourists flouting rules on face coverings and social distancing prompt fears of second wave

Spaniards fear that the sacrifices made during the coronavirus lockdown will be in vain after tourists from overseas flouted regulations about wearing masks and social distancing.

As footage of drunken British tourists dancing on cars in the Mallorcan resort of Magaluf went viral, one Twitter user commented: “Parts of Spain in lockdown, the elderly shut away in care homes, we all wear masks in the street, but in Magaluf the antisocial and irresponsible Brits do whatever they please. It’s shameful.”

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Donald Trump: ‘I have a very good relationship with Anthony Fauci’ – video

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Donald Trump has rebuffed reports that the White House is briefing against Anthony Fauci, the federal government’s top public health expert. 'I have a very good relationship with Dr Fauci,' he said. The president's press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, denied that officials had shared 'opposition research' with reporters. Over the weekend, Trump aides told news outlets that Fauci, who has become the public face of the government’s response, had made a series of 'mistakes' in his predictions

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California reverses coronavirus reopenings for businesses’ indoor operations – live

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Hi all - Sam Levin here, taking over our live coverage for the rest of the day, writing from Los Angeles, which is returning to strict closures for a number of industries, as Covid infections, hospitalizations and deaths continue to surge here.

Business owners in LA have told me that it’s been particularly painful to restart and then shut down again, and that they have been pouring money into making their indoor operations safe, with little certainty about when they can properly reopen. Here’s more from my colleague Vivian Ho on the state of the crisis and new restrictions across California:

Related: California rolls back reopening of bars, restaurants and indoor venues

That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Sam Levin, will take over the blog for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

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Coronavirus: no return to normal ‘for the foreseeable future’, says WHO – video

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Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, has criticised the leaders of countries where 'mixed messages' have led to a breakdown in trust over measures to limit the spread of Covid-19.  Tedros said there would be no return to the old normal 'for the foreseeable future', adding: 'there are no short cuts out of this pandemic'.

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Bereaved urge EU chief to supervise Italian coronavirus inquiry

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Relatives say there appear to be ‘signs of crimes against humanity’ in Lombardy region

Relatives of coronavirus victims in Italy have urged the European commission president to supervise an investigation into the deaths, as 100 new cases were submitted to prosecutors on Monday.

In a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, the legal commission of Noi Denunceremo (We Will Denounce), the group driving the investigation, said there appeared to be “signs of unspeakable crimes against humanity” in Lombardy, the region worst hit by the virus in Italy.

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Fauci sidelined as Trump’s White House steps up briefing campaign

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The president says the scientist leading the US fight against the virus has ‘made a lot of mistakes’

He is the US scientist who became the figurehead of attempts to combat the country’s coronavirus epidemic, described in some quarters as “America’s doctor”.

Now Anthony Fauci appears sidelined by Donald Trump’s White House after repeatedly contradicting the president’s view about the effectiveness of the government response.

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