Category Archives: Coronavirus outbreak

‘New deal’ risks fuelling emissions and eroding building standards

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Green campaigners and housing experts warn Boris Johnson’s recovery plan could swiftly become a liability

Boris Johnson’s plan to build tens of thousands of new homes risks locking in high carbon emissions for decades to come, if they are built to today’s poor efficiency standards instead of being designed for net zero carbon.

The prime minister’s plans to “build, build, build” form the centrepiece of his “new deal” to lift Britain’s economy out of the coronavirus recession. About £12bn will go to building 180,000 new homes to relieve the housing crisis, while new hospitals and schools will be constructed to improve degraded public services.

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‘We are not in total control’: Fauci issues stark coronavirus warning – video

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Dr Anthony Fauci, the White House infectious diseases expert gave a stark warning to the public of a dangerous surge in coronavirus cases in the US, particularly in the south and west.

Fauci said the current figures ‘speak for themselves’ in the middle of his testimony to the US Senate in response to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s questioning on the spread of the virus as states reopened

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Record Covid-19 cases in California as some countries prepare for ‘universal’ testing

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LA closes beaches and businesses as hospitals fill up while Bavaria announces ‘test offensive’

California has reported record new infections following its reopening as Los Angeles county ordered all beaches closed for 4 July and the re-shuttering of some businesses.

Amid warnings hospitals were filling up and others could run out of intensive care beds in the coming weeks, the state broke its record on Monday for the highest number of new coronavirus cases reported in a single day, with more than 8,000 – the third time in eight days the state has broken a record for new cases.

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Netanyahu hints at delay to plans to annex the West Bank

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Israeli PM’s suggestion that deadline may be missed follows Benny Gantz saying Covid-19 is more urgent than annexation

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is struggling to push through his West Bank annexation plans, slated to start as soon as Wednesday, facing opposition from Palestinians, the international community and even his own government.

Netanyahu had pledged to begin the process of annexing Israeli settlements and the Jordan Valley from 1 July, as part of a peace plan devised by Donald Trump’s US administration. But he hinted at a delay on Tuesday, saying annexation talks would continue “in the coming days” with US officials.

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Iranian authorities move to block release of female rights activists

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New charges brought to circumvent Covid-19 prison release scheme, say human rights groups

Female human rights activists imprisoned in Iran are facing a slew of new charges to prevent them from being temporarily released because of the Covid-19 epidemic, rights groups say.

Since Covid-19 spread rapidly through the country in early March, Iranian authorities have been under pressure to release all prisoners who pose no risk to society. Around 85,000 prisoners were temporarily released under a furlough scheme earlier this year in response to the coronavirus outbreak, half of whom were believed to be political detainees.

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‘My day starts at 3am’: coronavirus fuels gruelling Harare commutes – in pictures

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Lockdown measures have meant getting to work is fraught with risk for those manning essential services in Zimbabwe’s capital. Three frontline staff reveal how they are coping with erratic buses, exhaustion and danger

  • Words by Angela Jimu and photographs by Cynthia R Matonhodze

It’s a dark, nippy June morning before dawn and a queue is forming at Glen View 8 bus stop. A dozen or so people, mostly men, are there as 41-year-old Mairevei Mupombwi and her friend arrive at 4.43am carrying fleece blankets. The two women spread cloths on the ground to sit on and cover themselves with their blankets to keep warm. Mupombwi starts dozing.

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Coronavirus live updates: UK locks down city of Leicester as New Zealand PM dismisses calls to open borders

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Broadway theatres to stay closed until January 2021; Iran reports record daily deaths. Follow the latest news

Our UK coronavirus live blog is now up and running, with Aamna Mohdin at the helm:

Related: UK coronavirus live: Leicester lockdown tightened as infections rise

It is nomination day in Singapore ahead of the general election on 10 July. Here, the prime minister Lee Hsien Loong of the ruling People’s Action Party arrives at a nomination centre to formally join the contest.

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Melbourne hotspot lockdowns announced as Victoria battles coronavirus outbreaks

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Residents of 10 postcodes ordered to stay at home from midnight on Wednesday

Ten Victorian postcodes will be back in lockdown from midnight on Wednesday and international flights coming into Melbourne will be diverted elsewhere, as the state struggles to get on top of Covid-19 outbreaks and community transmission.

On Tuesday the premier, Daniel Andrews, said a number of Victoria’s cases through late May and early June had been linked through genomic testing to an infection control breach in the hotel quarantine program, prompting him to call for a judicial inquiry.

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Covid-19 intensifies elder abuse globally as hospitals prioritise young

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Older patients turned away or left untreated, while domestic abuse is also rising, leading charity reports

When Souzi Bondeko’s grandfather started showing symptoms of Covid-19 and was struggling to breathe, she took him to a hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, where he was put on a ventilator.

She dashed home to get some food and returned to be told by a member of staff that he had been taken off the machine as it it was needed elsewhere.

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‘You have to take action’: one hospital cleaner’s journey through the pandemic

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After years of outsourcing, many essential staff work for the NHS without receiving its benefits. In one London hospital, the fight is on for a better deal. By Sophie Elmhirst

On 9 February, a cold, damp Sunday, an Uber pulled up to University Hospital Lewisham in south-east London and dropped off a woman who had recently returned from China. The woman walked up to the reception desk and outlined her symptoms. She was given a mask, taken to a designated area outside the A&E building and tested for coronavirus. When, three days later, the test came back positive, it confirmed what medical authorities had already suspected: this was London’s first case.

That day, Ernesta Nat Cote, a cleaner at Lewisham hospital, heard the news from a nurse in her department. The nurses, Ernesta told me, are always the best source of information: “They tell me everything.” Ernesta has been cleaning the hospital for 11 years, ever since she first came to London. She arrives just before the start of her shift at 6.30am, clocks in and goes to clean the paediatric operating theatres, changing rooms and corridors. Over the years, she has come to know these rooms intimately: every corner, every surface, every tap.

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Scat feels better: digestive health of Japan deer improves as tourist snacks dwindle

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Absence of tourists during coronavirus pandemic has led Nara’s revered deer back to traditional diets and better health

While the absence of tourists during the coronavirus pandemic may have deprived Nara’s famous deer of their favourite snack, it has worked wonders for their digestive health.

Before the outbreak, millions of tourists descended on the western Japanese city – once the country’s capital – to view its shrines and temples, and feed the estimated 1,300 free-roaming deer in the its main park

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Dr Fauci: ‘Anti-science, anti-authority, anti-vaccination feeling’ could thwart Covid effort – video

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The US is 'unlikely' to achieve herd immunity to the coronavirus, according to the country's top public health expert, Dr Anthony Fauci. With the nation reaching record numbers of new Covid-19 cases last week, Fauci said a significant challenge for the government would be education around vaccinations, if one became available. He told CNN: "There is a general anti-science, anti-authority, anti-vaccine feeling among some people in this country – an alarmingly large percentage of people, relatively speaking."

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Leicester lockdown: what are the new Covid-19 restrictions?

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Spike in infections forces non-essential shops to close from Tuesday and schools from Thursday

A regional flare-up of coronavirus cases means Leicester will not emerge from parts of lockdown as swiftly as the rest of England. Here’s what you need to know about the restrictions:

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Republicans told to wear masks in House panel or be barred from speaking

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  • Democratic chair warns after all GOP members flout guidelines
  • Jim Clyburn expresses ‘profound disappointment’ at actions

After every single Republican on the coronavirus subcommittee turned up to a Friday meeting without wearing a mask, the Democratic chair has threatened to stop them from speaking at future meetings if they fail to do so again.

Not wearing a mask in a confined space such as a committee hearing room violates rules written by Congress’s attending physician, if attendees intend to be in the space for more than 15 minutes.

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Supreme court strikes down abortion restriction in major victory for campaigners – live

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A vigil held in the memory of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old who black man who was killed by police in Aurora, Colorado, turned violent when police pepper began to pepper spray the crowd, saying that those at the vigil were unlawfully gathering in front of a police station.

Here’s a look at the scene:

Jacksonville, Florida, the city that is slated to host the Republican National Convention in August, announced that it will adopt a mandatory mask requirement for all indoor locations where social distancing is not possible.

That makes things a bit awkward since the Republican National Committee actually moved its convention to Jacksonville after the state it was supposed to be held in, North Carolina, said it would likely impose some restrictions to shrink the size of the convention. North Carolina governor Roy Cooper said he could not agree to guarantees Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee were seeking that would allow the convention to be the big, people-packed convention it was planned to be.

At 5 p.m. today, the City of Jacksonville will be adopting a mandatory mask requirement for public & indoor locations, and in other situations where individuals cannot socially distance.

Please continue to practice personal responsibility to help stop the spread of this virus. pic.twitter.com/dcAuolVMyZ

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No evidence that taking vitamin D prevents coronavirus, say experts

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Nice says topic is still under review, but still advises taking supplements for bone health

No evidence exists to support taking vitamin D supplements to prevent Covid-19, UK public health experts have found.

A rapid review of evidence into claims that the so-called sunshine vitamin could reduce the risk of coronavirus was launched amid concerns about the disproportionate number of black, Asian and minority ethnic people contracting and dying from the disease. Higher levels of melanin in the skin lead to less absorption of vitamin D from sunlight.

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‘Not even close to being over’: WHO chief urges testing and isolation of Covid-19 cases – video

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The head of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaks at a conference in Geneva almost exactly six months after the first reports of the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China.

Tedros said test, trace and isolate was the best approach for governments, adding that in this way and without a vaccine or treatment countries have managed to keep the number of cases low

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US visitors set to remain banned from entering EU

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Agreed shortlist of permitted countries also excludes Russia, Brazil and India

Most visitors from the US are set to remain banned from entering the European Union because of the country’s rising infection rate in a move that risks antagonising Donald Trump.

In an attempt to save the European tourism season, a list of 15 countries from where people should be allowed into the EU from 1 July has been agreed by representatives of the 27 member states.

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Sturgeon refuses to rule out Scotland screening visitors from England

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First minister’s comments come after public health expert said people arriving from England could also be asked to self-isolate

Nicola Sturgeon has said she cannot rule out introducing quarantining or screening for travellers coming from England if infection rates rise south of the border.

The first minister said her government intended to eliminate coronavirus from Scotland after disclosing there had been no deaths in Scottish hospitals from confirmed Covid-19 for four days, with only 10 people now in intensive care.

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