Category Archives: Coronavirus outbreak

EU leaders are split over coronavirus recovery

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This week’s emergency summit will expose national divisions over budgets and the €750bn pandemic fund

Lockdown has proved challenging for most workplaces, and the European Council is no different. All-night sessions, corridor huddles and fine dining in the glass Europa building in Brussels have been replaced with hours staring at a gallery of fellow heads of state reading out prepared lines in front of a backdrop of EU and national flags – and the odd bit of pop art, as in the case of Luxembourg’s prime minister Xavier Bettel.

But this week, leaders will be forced to switch off their laptops and make their way across recently reopened borders to Brussels for their first face-to-face meeting in five months – and it is set to be a bruising encounter.

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Donald Trump wears mask in public for first time – as it happened

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We’ll be shutting down the blog shortly. Here’s a look at today’s top news lines:

Donald Trump was wearing a black mask as he walked down the entryway of Walter Reed medical center accompanied by hospital staff, marking the first time he has been seen wearing a protective face covering in public.

The president did not stop to take questions from the White House pool before turning down a hallway. His meeting with injured troops and staff is closed to the press.

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Donald Trump wears mask in public for first time during Covid-19 pandemic

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President wears face covering during visit to military hospital as cases of coronavirus surge across the United States

Donald Trump wore a mask in public for the first time during a visit to a military hospital a short helicopter ride from the White House on Saturday evening. The president’s decision to wear a mask came as cases of coronavirus surged to record levels in the US and after aides and experts urged Trump to follow his own government’s guidelines on face coverings.

Trump flew to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in suburban Washington DC to meet wounded service members and health care providers caring for Covid-19 patients.

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‘Innovationish’ training: Australian government spends $230,000 on latest management fad

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Exclusive: Masterclasses promise to improve work mindsets and link programs to Covid-19 response

Australian government agencies have spent more than $230,000 on “innovationish” training – the latest management fad promising to improve work mindsets – and linked the programs to the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spent $180,000 with the US company People Rocket LLC, which suggests it can replace traditional management consultancy by developing “cultures that champion innovation through cross-functional collaboration”.

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‘You think that’s racist?’: the generational tension in Melbourne’s high-rise migrant families

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There is a schism between older African migrants – who think Australia is ‘the greatest country in the world’ – and those who came here young or grew up here

This is the fourth in a six-part series on life inside Melbourne’s high-rise public housing. Read the third part here.

Nor Shanino would get into big debates with his father, Idris, an Eritrean refugee, about the police and the country.

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Coronavirus report: India reports record spike as cases double in South Africa

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Indian cases pass 800,000; Johannesburg struggles to find vital equipment; Texas warns ‘worst is yet to come’

India reported a record spike in coronavirus cases on Saturday, taking the national total to more than 800,000 and pushing several states to bring back lockdowns, despite the punitive economic cost.

Now the world’s third-worst affected country by case load, it reported a spike of 27,114 cases on Saturday, although mortality rates have been lower than in other badly affected countries with confirmed death toll now 22,123.

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Global ‘catastrophe’ looms as Covid-19 fuels inequality

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Job losses, homelessness, school closures and acute hunger set to rise dramatically without urgent support, Christian Aid warns

The pandemic has exposed and reinforced deep inequalities across the world, with the true extent yet to be seen, according to a major new report.

The crisis in the poorest countries threatens to escalate into a catastrophe as job losses and food insecurity mount. “The economic, social and political impacts are only starting to unfold,” says Building Back with Justice: Dismantling Inequalities after Covid-19, to be published by Christian Aid later this month.

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Serbian police arrest 71 in coronavirus protests

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Riots continue in Belgrade in protest against government handling of pandemic

Serbian police have detained 71 people after clashes during a fourth night of anti-government protests that were initially sparked by the announcement of a new coronavirus lockdown, a senior police official has said.

Fourteen police officers were injured when hundreds of demonstrators tried to storm the parliament building in downtown Belgrade on Friday evening, the police director, Vladimir Rebić, said. Several reporters were also hurt.

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Thousands march for French bus driver who died after attack by passengers over face masks – video

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Thousands of people took part in a silent march in Bayonne for Philippe Monguillot, 59, who was declared brain dead after an attack by passengers who refused to wear face masks. He later died in hospital.

The driver’s family organised the march from the bus stop where the assault took place. Monguillot's colleagues used their right to refuse to work in the aftermath of the attack but will resume work on Monday under reinforced security, the local operator said

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Coronavirus: global deaths tally over 560,000 – as it happened

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This blog has closed – please keep following our live coverage here

This blog has closed – thanks for following. Coverage continues at our latest coronavirus live blog.

Good morning, good evening, hello, wherever you might be. This is Helen Davidson taking the reins of the blog for the next few hours. Thanks to my colleagues for their coverage.

We’ll be starting a new blog shortly, but in the meantime here is some more news on the vaccine front.

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Coronavirus Australia: Victoria reports 216 new Covid-19 cases and death of man in his 90s

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Daniel Andrews says effects of lockdown won’t be reflected for weeks as NSW cases linked to Casula pub

Victoria has recorded another 216 cases of coronavirus and one additional death, a man in his 90s, as the state tries to contain the second wave of the virus that returned Melbourne residents to lockdown.

Thirty of the new cases are linked to known outbreaks and 186 are under investigation, with the state’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, saying it was becoming more difficult to quickly trace the source of new infections.

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Singapore’s ruling party dominates election but opposition makes historic gains

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Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong retains overwhelming majority as popular vote slips amid coronavirus pandemic

Singapore’s governing party has comfortably won the city-state’s general election but faced a setback as the opposition made minor but historic gains.

The prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, said his People’s Action party (PAP) secured 83 parliamentary seats on Friday, retaining its overwhelming majority with 89% of the total seats, but its popular vote dipped to 61%. The Workers’ party, the only opposition with a presence in the parliament, increased its seats from six to 10 – the biggest victory for the opposition since independence.

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‘Job-killer of the century’: economies of Pacific islands face collapse over Covid-19

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The region is largely coronavirus-free, but pandemic shutdowns and loss of tourism dollars are devastating its economies

The Covid-19 pandemic is the “job-killer of the century”, Fiji’s prime minister has said, as economies across the Pacific face collapse from economic and travel shutdowns, exacerbating existing illnesses, and potentially driving people into hunger.

While the number of cases across the Pacific remains low – several countries across the Pacific remain Covid-free and continue to enforce strict border closures – the economic impacts have devastated tourism- and import-dependent economies.

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Trump claims storm, not turnout concerns, ‘forced’ him to cancel New Hampshire rally – live

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Trump did an interview with Telemundo’s Jose Diaz-Balart during his trip to Florida today, and the interview will air at 6:30 pm ET.

#EXCLUSIVA: El presidente @realDonaldTrump habla con Noticias Telemundo.

Es su primera entrevista a un medio en español desde que empezó la pandemia del #coronavirus.

Más de la entrevista de @jdbalart con #DonaldTrump a las 6:30 p.m. y en https://t.co/YkVub31ilq pic.twitter.com/PxI37eWFeL

Trump is holding a rountable on supporting the people of Venezuela in Doral, Florida, where many Venezuelan immigrants reside.

But the president’s remarks took a turn for the blatantly political when he attacked his opponent, Joe Biden, as a “puppet” of the “radical left.”

LIVE: “Joe Biden is a puppet of Bernie Sanders, AOC, the militant left, the people that want to rip down statues … they want to rip down statues to Jesus.” @RealDonaldTrump said during a roundtable on Supporting the People of Venezuela in Doral, Florida pic.twitter.com/ynPhLWpyXM

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Why is Australia’s second biggest city back in coronavirus lockdown? – video explainer

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Metropolitan Melbourne returned to lockdown on 8 July after Victoria recorded 191 new cases of coronavirus since the start of the week, which was at the time the highest daily increase since the pandemic began. 

Guardian Australia’s Melissa Davey explains why the stage 3 stay-at-home orders were announced, how the latest lockdown has been met with a mixture of fury and acceptance, and whether this apparent second wave could have been avoided

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Eminem criticises non-mask wearers on new rap track

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Collaboration with Kid Cudi takes aim at people spreading Covid-19 by not wearing masks

Eminem has entered the debate about face masks in a collaboration with Kid Cudi, tackling an issue that is the subject of fierce disagreement in the US and UK.

The single, The Adventures of Moon Man and Slim Shady, is the first time the two rappers have joined forces. They reflect on rehab and recovery as well as current events including police brutality and the coronavirus pandemic.

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Global report: Tokyo hits Covid-19 high as Australia limits arrivals

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Japan reels from resurgence of virus while Australia restricts admissions to 4,000 a week

Tokyo hit another record daily high number of new cases, Australia is to halve the number of citizens it allows to return each week and Hong Kong’s schools have closed early for the summer as countries around the world struggled to contain fresh coronavirus outbreaks.

Amid growing signs of a resurgence of the virus in Japan, the capital reported 243 new infections on Friday, more than the previous day’s 224 and the first time that more than 200 cases have been confirmed for two consecutive days.

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WHO’s Covid-19 inquiry is a shrewd move in a sea of disinformation

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Its findings should illuminate global responses amid conspiracy theories and Trump’s mudslinging

In the world of epidemiology it’s sometimes said that pandemics are lived forwards and understood backwards.

We encounter them head-on, chaotically, trying to fathom the disease in real time even while trying to mitigate its impact. Lessons generally come later as the evidence accumulates.

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‘We’re desperate to dance’: Britons in Mallorca express relief over quarantine easing

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Tourists slowly returning to Spain’s Balearic Islands after months-long coronavirus lockdown

Sunbathing on a deserted beach in Mallorca, Nicola Brett says she is having the “best holiday ever”.

The 31-year-old gym sales executive from York arrived on the Spanish island on a Ryanair flight on Sunday, hours after the government changed its advice against all but essential foreign travel. She was flying back at midnight on Thursday, just as the rules requiring those arriving in the UK to quarantine for 14 days were lifted.

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NSW government backs multimillion-dollar lifeline for Sydney arts hub Carriageworks

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The arts institution, which is home to eight resident arts companies, had gone into voluntary administration in May

Sydney arts institution Carriageworks has been saved from administration after the NSW government backed a multi-million dollar lifeline from a group of 15 philanthropists.

The multi-arts organisation that operates performance and gallery spaces in repurposed 1880s locomotive workshops in Sydney’s inner west owes more than $2m to more than 140 creditors, and went into voluntary administration on 4 May.

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