Category Archives: Coronavirus outbreak

The Lancet’s editor: ‘The UK’s response to coronavirus is the greatest science policy failure for a generation’

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Richard Horton does not hold back in his criticism of the UK’s response to the pandemic and the medical establishment’s part in backing fatal government decisions

There is a school of thought that says now is not the time to criticise the government and its scientific advisers about the way they have handled the Covid-19 pandemic. Wait until all the facts are known and the crisis has subsided, goes this thinking, and then we can analyse the performance of those involved. It’s safe to say that Richard Horton, the editor of the influential medical journal the Lancet, is not part of this school.

An outspoken critic of what he sees as the medical science establishment’s acquiescence to government, he has written a book that he calls a “reckoning” for the “missed opportunities and appalling misjudgments” here and abroad that have led to “the avoidable deaths of tens of thousands of citizens”. 

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Global report: China reports most cases since April as pandemic gathers pace in Latin America

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Second wave fears rise in China; Chile health minister resigns; British citizens evacuated from Colombia; European borders reopen

China has reported its highest daily number of new coronavirus cases in months as parts of Beijing remained under lockdown, offering a second-wave warning to the rest of the world as the pandemic rages in South America and global cases approach 7.8 million.

The shock resurgence in domestic infections on Sunday has rattled China, where the disease emerged late last year but had largely been tamed through severe restrictions on movement that were later emulated across the globe.

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Australia considering shorter Covid-19 quarantine for students and low-transmission countries

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Government ministers outline measures being considered to reopen for international travel

Senior Morrison government ministers have flagged shorter quarantine periods for international students and business travellers as part of a suite of measures to reopen Australia to international travel.

On Sunday, the health minister, Greg Hunt, confirmed that modifications to the existing mandatory two-week hotel quarantine could be enacted in addition to travel bubbles with safe countries, such as New Zealand, which would not require quarantine.

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Half of British people support Brexit transition extension, survey finds

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Research suggests public support for transition period delay to help combat coronavirus

More than half of people in Britain support an extension to the Brexit transition period, while three-quarters believe the UK should work very closely with the European Union to combat coronavirus, a survey suggests.

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove formally told the EU on Friday that the UK would not ask for a delay despite concerns that its departure would compound the economic chaos inflicted by the pandemic.

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Coronavirus live news: Beijing back into partial lockdown as new cluster emerges

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Anthony Fauci calls Trump rallies a danger to health; Australia’s chief medical officers warns against BLM rallies

Three activists of Algeria’s Hirak protest movement were ordered to be held in pre-trial detention for offences including “endangering the lives of others during the [coronavirus] confinement period”, a prisoners’ defence group said on Saturday.

The Hirak movement led peaceful protests in 2019 after Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his candidacy for a fifth presidential term, calling for Bouteflika’s immediate resignation.

Airlines are slowly trying to return to business after the pandemic grounded entire fleets of planes around the globe for months and put their very existence in doubt.

My colleague Gwyn Topham reports.

Related: Lots of distancing, no long-distance: airlines cautiously return to the sky

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Young Americans having less sex than ever, study finds

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About one in three men aged 18 to 24 reported no sexual activity in past year between 2000 and 2018, Jama report said

In 1975, David Bowie famously sang of a girl who wanted “the young American/ All night”. Nearly 50 years later, however, a lot of young Americans are having less sex – and can’t even blame the coronavirus for it.

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, data collected between 2000 and 2018, two years before the pandemic, shows that “approximately one in three men aged 18 to 24 years reported no sexual activity in the past year.

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Fauci says US might not see ‘second wave’ of Covid-19 cases

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US public health expert said another wave of infections ‘not inevitable ... if you approach it the proper way’

Leading US public health expert and White House coronavirus taskforce member Dr Anthony Fauci has said the US may not see a “second wave” of cases of Covid-19.

According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, the US has recorded more than 2m cases of Covid-19 and nearly 115,000 deaths.

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Global report: New Beijing cases spark second wave fear as India and Brazil struggle with first

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São Paulo to dig up cemeteries to clear spaces for coronavirus deaths; new rise of infections in Darfur, Sudan; New Zealand goes 22 days with a new case

A cluster of dozens of new coronavirus cases in Beijing has prompted authorities to lock down parts of the city again after nearly two months without any new local infections.

The outbreak has affected dozens of people, most of whom are asymptomatic, and raises concerns about how the virus might re-emerge, even in places where it appeared to be under control.

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Beijing reimposes lockdown measures after new Covid-19 outbreak

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Dozens of domestically transmitted cases at city’s largest wholesale food market prompt move

Parts of Beijing have reimposed lockdown measures after a cluster of locally transmitted coronavirus cases emerged nearly two months after the Chinese capital appeared to have stamped out the virus.

The outbreak, linked to a major wholesale food market, raised serious questions about the challenges of keeping the disease at bay, even in countries such as China where authoritarian rule allows harsh containment regulations and invasive tracing systems.

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Grenfell relative draws comparisons between fire and Covid-19 response

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Families of 72 victims of tower block blaze will mark third anniversary of blaze this weekend

A bereaved relative has drawn parallels between the coronavirus crisis and the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire before the third anniversary of the disaster.

Karim Mussilhy, whose uncle Hesham Rahman died in the blaze, said the pandemic had been tough for many of the bereaved and survivors of the fire, which killed 72 people.

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Argentina pastor turns church into bar in protest at uneven coronavirus restrictions

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Pastor plans a drive-in worship event next in protest at limits on church services as bars and shops open

An evangelical church in Argentina has reopened as a bar in protest against the lockdown on religious services that remains in place despite the gradual opening up of other activities around the country.

Bar tables were placed inside the church and pastors dressed as waiters carrying bibles on their trays in a mock service as part of call for religious services to be allowed during Argentina’s coronavirus lockdown.

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For Scott Morrison, one protester’s free expression is another’s dangerous activity | Katharine Murphy

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As the prime minister says, when it comes to coronavirus advice, consistency is important

I know it is probably mad to yearn for consistency from political leaders, but indulge my winter madness for a few minutes while we review some recent events.

On 8 May, Scott Morrison was keen to convey the news that Australia would be reopening in stages between that Friday and July. The prime minister acknowledged that tracking back to normal would likely spark new Covid-19 infections but he said, more than once, this wasn’t something that should slow the trajectory. “Outbreaks are not a reason to slow things down,” Morrison said. “Outbreaks are going to happen, all premiers and chief ministers understand that.”

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UK travellers unable to fly to Greece as country reopens

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Ban on air travel between Britain and Greece to continue until June 30, unlike other countries

It was meant to be the moment when Greece “welcomed the world”. But in another about-turn, travellers on flights from the UK will not be accepted when the Mediterranean country reopens to tourism on Monday.

Bowing to new advice from the EU, Athens announced on Friday that the suspension of air links with Britain, in effect since March, will continue to be enforced until 30 June.

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India’s coronavirus agony: ‘I did everything to save my wife and baby’

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Pregnant woman turned away from eight hospitals as pandemic pushes healthcare to brink of collapse

For the past five days, Bijendra Singh has been haunted by the voice of his dead wife, Neelam. “Why could you not get me the treatment that I needed?” she asks. “Why could you not save me, save our baby?”

It was around 6am on 5 June when Neelam, more than eight months pregnant, began complaining of lower back pain and breathlessness. Presuming it was early contractions, Singh and his wife set off in his brother’s auto-rickshaw to a government hospital in the Uttar Pradesh city of Noida. Before leaving, they kissed their five year-old son goodbye and promised they would be returning with the birthday present he had requested: a baby sister.

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England: are coronavirus cases falling or rising near you?

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How has the disease progressed where you live?

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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BA, easyJet and Ryanair begin court action over UK quarantine rules

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Airlines seeking urgent judicial review of policy that they say could cost thousands of jobs

Britain’s three biggest airlines have filed papers in the high court to seek an urgent judicial review of the government’s quarantine laws, which they say are having a devastating effect on tourism and the wider economy.

British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair say the rules, which came into effect on Monday and require passengers arriving from abroad to self-isolate at a single address for 14 days, are flawed and will cost thousands of jobs.

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Herbal cures and no sanitation: the Lima residents battling Covid alone – in pictures

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Over 70% of the indigenous Peruvian community of Cantagallo Island have tested positive for coronavirus. This is how they are surviving lockdown

• All photographs by Florence Goupil, who received a grant from the Covid-19 National Geographic emergency fund for journalists

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Musicians hit hard by festival cancellations in southern Africa

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Coronavirus has forced events including AfrikaBurn and Bushfire to cancel, leaving performers without promotional platforms and income

In a region where live music is everything – both for audiences and for performers heavily reliant on live appearances to make a living – the widespread cancellation of festivals across southern Africa has hit the music business hard.

May should have seen the Bushfire festival in Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland), Zakifo and AfrikaBurn in South Africa, and Azgo in Mozambique. Next month would have been Zimfest in Zimbabwe. All have been cancelled – or replaced with online versions – along with dozens of smaller live events that have been growing in recent years, bringing in tourism, showcasing talent and culture, and boosting southern Africa’s music industry.

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Global report: WHO warns of accelerating Covid-19 infections in Africa

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Continent is seeing more cases spread to the provinces; Trump supporters can’t sue over catching Covid-19 at rallies; Brazil confirms 30,000 new cases

The World Health Organization has warned that the coronavirus pandemic is accelerating in Africa, after the continent hit 200,000 cases earlier this week.

Speaking at a video briefing hosted by the UN press association in Geneva on Thursday, Doctor Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s regional director for Africa, said, “It took 98 days to reach the first 100,000 cases, and only 18 days to move to 200,000 cases.” Africa has so far recorded 5,635 deaths.

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Coronavirus live news: Germany set to lift land border checks; Italian PM questioned on decision not to lock down earlier

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Deaths in Delhi could be twice as high as reported; German health minister warns nation against ‘carefree’ attitude

The front page of Saturday’s UK edition of The Guardian.

Guardian front page, Saturday 13 June 2020: Johnson 'stoking fear and division' over protests pic.twitter.com/YX3eiFZb7A

Requiring the wearing of masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus in areas at the epicenter of the global pandemic may have prevented tens of thousands of infections, a new study suggests.

Mask-wearing is even more important for preventing the virus’ spread than social distancing and stay-at-home orders, researchers said in the study published in PNAS: The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

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