Excess deaths in UK under coronavirus lockdown pass 63,000

ONS figures show fewest weekly coronavirus deaths in England and Wales for eight weeks

Hundreds more deaths from Covid-19 in the north-west of England and in care homes have driven up the number of excess fatalities since the UK went into lockdown to more than 63,000, a toll believed to be greater than those anywhere else except the US. 

The number of deaths from the virus in England and Wales fell to 1,822 in the last week of May, the fewest for eight weeks, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). But the numbers remain relatively high in the north-west, where there have been fears of a resurgence of the virus

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‘They have killed us more than corona’: Kenyans protest against police brutality

Peaceful demonstration in Nairobi a response to increase in violence and killings during the coronavirus curfew

Photographs by Ed Ram

A crowd of up to 200 people peacefully marched through Mathare slum in Nairobi on Monday to protest against police brutality and an increase in extrajudicial killings in the Kenyan capital.

The march was organised by three grassroots organisations from the area in response to a rise in the number of police killings since a dusk-till-dawn curfew was enforced in March to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. It was also organised to show solidarity with movements worldwide to protest against police brutality. 

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‘We’re poor people’: Middle East’s migrant workers look for way home amid pandemic

Gulf states prepare for demographic shift as migrant workforces return home, with prospects bleak for those who stay

During 14 years in Lebanon, Jevie Olido’s four children have grown up without her, her marriage has failed and her parents have grown old. Now, the income that kept her far from her home in the Philippines has also gone, rubbed out by the coronavirus crisis and an economic implosion that has forced thousands of desperate domestic workers like her to look for ways to leave.

In neighbouring Jordan, Samir Ali, an Indian garment worker, is also waiting to be paid, after only receiving his March salary when he and other foreign workers at their factory threatened to strike. The pandemic has crippled production across the country and caused clashes between labourers and employers. Eight of the 40 men had registered to go back to India once their contracts had finished. “We’ve decided this factory is really bad,” he said. “We’re poor people, so we have to find another way.”

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Coronavirus Australia live updates: NSW, Victoria, Qld and WA provide update on Covid-19 cases – latest news

Mathias Cormann to appear before Senate committee seeking answers on the government’s botched wage subsidy projections. Follow the latest live

Mutual obligations for welfare recipients return today.

There are now about 1.6m people receiving the unemployment benefit jobseeker.

Mutual obligations return today & will be gradually phased in.

We are in Phase 1 meaning there are no financial penalties for not meeting activity requirements.

We don't have a timeline of each "phase" but I will keep following up with the Minister for more clarity.

The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian was giving a press conference just now. She was pressed on comments from her police minister, David Elliott, who said yesterday that police would not approve future permit protests that did not comply for the health guidelines.

Does she agree with Elliott?

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Coronavirus live news: claim that asymptomatic transmission ‘very rare’ was ‘misleading’, says WHO official

WHO expert backtracks after saying asymptomatic transmission ‘very rare’

Here are the latest developments in the world coronavirus outbreak so far on Tuesday:

Germany plans to extend its travel warnings for non-European countries until 31 August, government sources have told the Reuters news agency, adding that Berlin was also strongly advising against any cruises due to the special risks related to the pandemic.

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George Floyd memorials held in Houston and Los Angeles as Democrats unveil reforms – live

On Saturday night, 23-year-old Erik Salgado was shot and killed by California Highway Patrol officers in Oakland. His pregnant girlfriend was also injured in the shooting, NBC Bay Area reported.

Last night in East Oakland CHP officers shot and killed Eric Salgado during a traffic stop on the 9600 block of Cherry St. His family is out here mourning.
Police have not released much information about the incident. pic.twitter.com/e4JxH7Xjln

This is the block where the CHP shooting happened last night. Eric’s family is out here. Witnesses, including neighbors say the police shot upwards of 20 rounds into the car. pic.twitter.com/po1C3kFNbF

There’s thousands here. And they keep coming. CHP isn’t getting away with this. We’re putting an end to cops killing with impunity.

No justice, no peace. No racist police. #JusticeForErik pic.twitter.com/LQjmfZMbln

Related: 'George Floyd happens every day': activists seek justice for police killings the media forgot

The force of furious national protests over racist policing is rippling through many different industries now, as workers speak up about racist practices and racist bosses in culture industries like fashion, publishing, and media.

The editor-in-chief of beloved cooking brand Bon Appetit announced today that he is stepping down after photographs of him in “brown face” were recirculated on social media, and an editor spoke out about the “systemic racism” she had experienced at Bon Appetit and its parent company Conde Nast, including alleging that “currently only white editors are paid for their video appearances.” (A company spokesperson told Variety that was not true, but did not offer details.)

Condé Nast’s Bon Appetit Allegedly Pays Only White Editors for Videos, Image of EIC Adam Rapoport in Brown Face Surfaces https://t.co/vleRO9UvWN

Adam confusing Priya for Sohla told us all we needed to know pic.twitter.com/zWn6gIIcKj

Bon Apetit editor stepping down: pic.twitter.com/XSVmC6Do9Z

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Trump plans to resume election rallies despite warnings over large crowds

  • President has not held in-person rally since 2 March
  • Advisers weighing where and how rallies can take place

Donald Trump plans to start holding campaign rallies in person again in the next two weeks, despite the coronavirus pandemic continuing in the US and experts warning about the public health dangers of crowding at events.

Related: George Floyd killing: judge sets $1m bail for ex-officer Derek Chauvin

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US has officially entered first recession since 2009

National Bureau of Economic Research says economic growth in the US peaked in February and has since entered its first downturn since 2007 to 2009

The United States is officially in a recession, ending the longest economic expansion in US history, the committee that calls downturns announced on Monday.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) said that economic growth in the US peaked in February and has since entered its first downturn since 2007 to 2009.

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New York cautiously starts to reopen for business after coronavirus lockdown

Many ‘non-essential’ stores can open for delivery and pick-up as construction, manufacturing and wholesalers return to work

After three bleak months, New York, the corner of the US hit hardest by the coronavirus, gradually began reopening on Monday in what was seen as a landmark moment in the crisis and a test of the city’s discipline.

Related: 'People are too afraid': churches begin to reopen – but will worshippers go back?

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‘We feel like prisoners’: the Moroccans stuck in Spanish enclaves during lockdown

More than 500 Moroccans remain in limbo, far from home and with few resources to support themselves

On 14 March, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, ordered the country into Covid-19 lockdown, saying “extraordinary decisions” needed to be taken as the country struggled with a “health, social and economic crisis”.

The Moroccan authorities had taken their own extraordinary decision the day before, when they ordered the shutdown of the border crossings that connect the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla with the rest of the country. With the only land borders between Africa and Europe closed, many citizens from both continents found themselves trapped.

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Coronavirus live news: New Zealand ‘Covid-19 free’ as UK travel quarantine rules begin

New Zealand has zero active cases; Global cases pass 7 million, deaths pass 400,000; Chile deaths jump after new fatalities added. Follow the latest updates

The Ryanair boss, Michael O’Leary, has delivered his withering verdict on Britain’s quarantine rules, which came into force today: “British people are ignoring this quarantine. They know it’s rubbish.”

More here:

Related: Ryanair boss: Britons know quarantine rules are rubbish

The Philippines has reported 579 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 today, and eight deaths. Malaysia has reported seven new confirmed cases, and no deaths.

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Sandinista leaders fall victim to coronavirus outbreak they downplayed

Nicaragua’s government denies community spread in the country but an independent tally says deaths are 20 times the official figure

Earlier this year, as countries enforced strict social-distancing rules to slow the spread of coronavirus, Nicaragua’s Sandinista rulers organized a string of pro-government rallies and marches under the banner “Love Walk in the Time of Covid-19”.

Among those who joined one of those crowds in Managua was Dr Félix Bravo, a doctor in the country’s public health system, whose loyalty to the Nicaraguan government apparently outweighed the World Health Organization’s warnings against large gatherings.

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‘We’ll disappear you’: Mexican protesters recount terror of police abduction

Five friends were seized en route to a rally against police brutality, which followed the death of a man arrested for not wearing a face mask

Jésus* and four friends were heading to a protest against police brutality when they were seized by a group of plain-clothes officers and forced into an unmarked pickup truck.

They had planned to join a demonstration in Guadalajara, prompted by the case of Giovanni López, a construction worker who was found dead after he was arrested for not wearing a face-mask.

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‘I did a little dance’: PM Ardern declares New Zealand Covid-19 free – video

New Zealand's prime minister Jacinda Ardern, at parliament in Wellington, says there are no active cases of Covid-19  in the country. Ardern says she did a 'little dance' when she found out the news. 'I showed (my daughter) Neve. She was caught a little by surprise but she joined in, having absolutely no idea why I was dancing around the lounge,' she says.

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Workers in Tokyo’s red-light district to be tested for coronavirus after new spike

Dozens of new infections reported in Kabukicho, a district of more than 4,000 bars, restaurants and commercial sex establishments

Health authorities in Tokyo are to ask employees of host clubs and similar establishments to be regularly tested for Covid-19 after evidence that the virus is spreading among people who work in the capital’s night-time economy.

The city reported 14 new infections on Sunday, six of which involved people working in clubs where employees pour drinks and talk to customers in close proximity.

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Five ways New Zealand can keep Covid-19 cases at zero | Michael Baker and Nick Wilson

Modelling shows it is very likely New Zealand has eliminated coronavirus. Keeping it that way is the next big challenge

Today, for the first time since 28 February, New Zealand has no active cases of Covid-19.

According to our modelling at the the University of Otago, it is now very likely (well above a 95% chance) New Zealand has completely eliminated the virus. This is in line with modelling by our colleagues at Te Pūnaha Matatini (a research centre based at University of Auckland).

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Brazil stops releasing Covid-19 death toll and wipes data from official site

Government accused of totalitarianism and censorship after Bolsonaro orders end to publication of numbers

The Brazilian government has been accused of totalitarianism and censorship after it stopped releasing its total numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths and wiped an official site clean of swaths of data.

Health ministry insiders told local media the move was ordered by far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, himself – and was met with widespread outrage in Brazil, one of the world’s worst-hit Covid-19 hotspots, with more deaths than Italy and more cases than Russia and the UK.

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What is the coronavirus R number and is it rising in the UK?

Research suggests the average number of people one person infects may be increasing – but opinions differ as to why

With models suggesting that R could have risen above 1 in some parts of the UK, we look at what that means and how concerned we should be:

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Global report: China hails coronavirus response as world death toll tops 400,000

Beijing denies cover-up or delay, while countries easing lockdowns face spike in cases

The number of confirmed deaths from coronavirus globally has topped 400,000, as the Chinese government released a report lauding its own response to the pandemic that emerged in the city of Wuhan six months ago.

As more countries prepared to continue easing their lockdowns from Monday, Singapore’s prime minister warned the city-state’s citizens that they were entering a tougher world of slowing demand and travel restrictions for the foreseeable future.

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