Concerns mount over spread of the virus within the building, and whether it could disrupt the functioning of government
Golden autumn sunshine shone down on Washington on Saturday to illuminate a US capital upended as Donald Trump began his first full day in hospital battling coronavirus amid a presidential election thrown into chaos.
Related: Amy Coney Barrett: quick confirmation under threat as three senators infected
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A couple of follow ups to those White House photos of Trump Signing Things.
The photos released by the WH tonight of the president working at Walter Reed were taken 10 minutes apart at 5:25:59 pm and 5:35:40 pm ET Saturday, according to the EXIF data embedded in both @AP wire postings that were shared by the White House this evening. pic.twitter.com/EzeqIkGdf7
ZOOM: @realDonaldTrump appears to be signing his name to a blank sheet of paper in this photo. pic.twitter.com/xlNX24CXn4
In the UK, millions of employees preparing to work from home this winter will face a collective hike of almost £2bn on their energy bills, and tougher working conditions, with only a “pittance” in compensation from their employers.
Half the UK’s workforce is likely to work primarily from home over the coming months as they help to contain the spread of the coronavirus, and may see their winter energy bills rise by a fifth as radiators and boilers are kept running through the day.
Related: Working from home in UK over winter ‘will add £100 to fuel bills’
Continue reading...Reductions in government support as the original furlough scheme ends point towards a brutal round of redundancies
The UK economy continued its rapid rebound from the depths of the coronavirus lockdown in August, the latest official data on growth is expected to show on Friday, but many economists are braced for a grim winter as job losses mount.
The Bank of England’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, predicted last week that GDP would be “only around 3-4% below its pre-Covid level” by the end of the third quarter, covering July to September.
Continue reading...As virtual party conference gets under way, Tories rebel on both wings and PM’s popularity plunges to a record low
Boris Johnson’s reputation among Conservative members has plunged to a record low, it has emerged, as the party enters its annual conference facing accusations of a “chumocracy” at the top of government.
With Tory MPs restless over the government’s performance, which has seen it lose a huge poll lead over Labour since the start of the pandemic, the prime minister has recorded his first ever negative satisfaction rating among a survey of Tory members on the ConservativeHome website. He recorded the second-lowest score of any cabinet member, with only education secretary Gavin Williamson performing worse.
Continue reading...President says next few days will be the ‘real test’ as he battles Covid-19
Donald Trump released a new video message on Saturday evening saying that he is “doing well”, his wife Melania is “doing very well” and the next few days will be the “real test” after he was taken to hospital with Covid-19.
“I came here, wasn’t feeling so well, I feel much better now. We’re working hard to get me all the way back,” Trump said from behind a desk in his suite at the Walter Reed hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.
Continue reading...Donald Trump has posted his first video message from Walter Reed hospital, saying: 'I came here, wasn’t feeling so well. I feel much better now. We’re working hard to get me all the way back ... I’ll be back, I think I’ll be back soon.'
During the four-minute video posted to Twitter, the president said that he could have stayed isolated at the White House after his Covid-19 diagnosis, but that he 'can't be locked up in a room and totally safe' - adding that 'as a leader you have to confront problems'.
Trump acknowledged that the 'next few days will be the real test' and said the first lady, Melania Trump, who also tested positive for coronavirus, was 'really handling it very nicely' – with the president joking about their 24-year age gap during his video message
Senate Republicans are facing a shrinking window of time before the November 3 election to confirm Donald Trump’s supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, following the news that at least three Republican senators have tested positive for the coronavirus and more are quarantining after likely exposure.
Related: Confusion mounts over Trump's true condition after doctor's Covid briefing – live
Continue reading...Labour leader blasts government for its lack of leadership and U-turns, as he outlines his own five-point plan to fight the virus
Boris Johnson has “lost control” of the fight against Covid-19 and has no clear strategy for defeating the virus, the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer says today in his most savage attack yet on the government’s handling of the pandemic.
Accusing the prime minister of “serial incompetence”, Starmer says the British people have been let down and left angry and confused by policies that change almost every week, and as the death toll and rate of infections rise at alarming rates.
Continue reading...The White House doctor Sean Conley said Donald Trump was 'doing great' after the president was admitted to the Walter Reed military medical centre on Friday. Trump has received antibody therapy and is on a five-day treatment of remdesivir, and was reported to be 'in exceptionally good spirits'
Continue reading...Attention has turned to the White House ceremony where Donald Trump named his supreme court nominee as a potential super spreader event
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has joined world leaders in sending a message of sympathy to Donald and Melania Trump following their coronavirus diagnosis.
“My wife, Peng Liyuan, and I express our sympathies to you and your wife and wish you a fast recovery,” Chinese state media cited the message as saying.
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has sent a message of sympathy to Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, expressing his hope that they will recover from coronavirus, state media reported.
“He sincerely hoped that they would recover as soon as possible. He hoped they will surely overcome it,” the Korean Central News Agency reported. “He sent warm greetings to them.”
Continue reading...A new bill could close loophole allowing under-18s to marry in England and Wales, as charities warn Covid has exacerbated hidden child marriage
When Payzee Mahmod was married at 16 to a man nearly twice her age she didn’t understand the words spoken during the Islamic ceremony – and nobody thought to translate them for her.
The teenager, who loved fashion and pop music, was preparing to start college. “I had just finished school and the idea of not wearing a uniform was exciting to me,” she remembers. “Instead I found myself trussed up in a wedding dress, with elaborate jewellery, feeling like a sale item at an auction.”
Continue reading...The Democratic House speaker said on MSNBC that Donald Trump’s announcement early on Friday that he and his wife, Melania, had tested positive for Covid-19 was 'very sad'. She added, however, that Trump’s actions during the pandemic were 'a brazen invitation for something like this to happen'
Continue reading...New Zealand's prime minister has wished the US president and his wife a rapid recovery after they were diagnosed with Covid-19 on Friday. She said the virus had had a 'devastating impact' globally and noted that several world leaders had been taken ill with it
Continue reading...Donald Trump has been flown to a military hospital after contracting Covid-19. Officials said the president would spend a few days at the Walter Reed national military medical centre. While he was in transit, a video was posted to Trump's Twitter account in which the president addressed the camera directly, thanking people for their support
Jacinda Ardern says her country will not open up until Australia records a month without community transmission of Covid-19
New Zealand will not reciprocate quarantine-free trips across the Tasman as the Australian Capital Territory joins Australia’s travel bubble with the country.
On Friday, Australia’s deputy prime minister, Michael McCormack, announced New South Wales and the Northern Territory would allow Kiwis to bypass the compulsory fortnight of quarantine on arrival from 16 October.
Continue reading...British newspaper front pages as the US president, Donald Trump, goes into hospital with coronavirus
Some of the UK papers play the big story of the moment with a fairly straight bat but others draw attention to the irony of Donald Trump testing positive for coronavirus, having repeatedly played down the pandemic.
The i puts one of the president’s innumerable tweets at the centre of its front page. The headline is “Covid-19 in the White House” and the tweet from February says: “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA”.
Continue reading...At least seven people who attended event for Trump’s supreme court nominee have confirmed they have coronavirus
A crowded Rose Garden ceremony last Saturday at which Donald Trump announced Amy Coney Barrett as his supreme court nominee has come under scrutiny after at least seven figures in attendance tested positive for coronavirus, including the president himself.
On Friday, the president’s former counsellor, Kellyanne Conway, announced she had tested positive and had “mild” symptoms.
Continue reading...Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said he is praying for a 'quick and full recovery' for President Donald Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, after the couple tested positive for Covid-19.
During a campaign speech in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Biden said he received two coronavirus tests this morning, both of which were negative. He added: 'My wife, Jill, and I pray that they'll make a quick and full recovery. This is not a matter of politics. It's a bracing reminder to all of us that we have to take this virus seriously.'
The president initially continued to carry out his duties under quarantine from the White House residence on Friday and was showing 'mild symptoms' of Covid-19, an official said, but was later moved to Walter Reed hospital
America’s leadership has been plunged into extraordinary uncertainty after Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus, raising questions over how far the infection has penetrated the heart of government.
Related: Donald and Melania Trump showing 'mild' Covid symptoms as Joe and Jill Biden test negative – live
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Here’s where the day stands so far:
Democratic nominee Joe Biden is moving forward with his plans to travel to Michigan today, after testing negative for coronavirus.
According to a pool report, Biden’s motorcade was en route to the airport as of about 20 minutes ago.
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