PM accused of not knowing government’s coronavirus advice after clash in Commons
Boris Johnson has been accused by Labour of not knowing the government’s advice on coronavirus after he told Keir Starmer at prime minister’s questions that it “wasn’t true” that the care home sector had been advised it was unlikely to face an outbreak.
In a tricky series of exchanges in the Commons, Starmer put Johnson under intense pressure to explain the extent of care home deaths.
Continue reading...A 28-year-old sumo wrestler died on Wednesday from the coronavirus.
The Japan Sumo Association (JSA) confirmed the death and identified the wrestler as Shobushi, whose real name was Kiyotaka Suetake. The association said he died of multiple-organ failure. He is reported to have been the first sumo wrestler to die from the virus, and the first person in his 20s to die in Japan from Covid-19.
Continue reading...As Japan considers lifting state-of-emergency conditions in many regions this week and the country inches towards a gradual return of economic activity, photographer Dai Kurokawa looks at life in the capital
Continue reading...Peter Piot tells of his brush with death and predicts people will suffer effects of the virus for years
Peter Piot, the scientist who helped discover the Ebola virus, and the director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has told of his brush with death after contracting Covid-19.
The professor had never previously been seriously ill, but after 40 years studying and leading the global response to infectious diseases including HIV and Aids, he said that “finally, a virus got me”.
Continue reading...Disruption of essential maternity and health services is the biggest crisis faced by under fives since second world war
As many as 6,000 children around the world could die every day from preventable causes over the next six months due to the impact of coronavirus on routine health services, the UN has warned.
Global disruption of essential maternal and child health interventions – such as family planning, birth and postnatal care, and vaccinations – could lead to an additional 1.2 million deaths of under fives in just six months, according to analysis by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, published in the Lancet Global Health Journal.
Continue reading...
California is loosening its stay-at-home order for counties that meet certain criteria in containing the virus, allowing them to reopen some offices, schools and dine-in restaurants, governor Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday.
As of Tuesday morning, only the rural counties of Butte, north of Sacramento, and El Dorado, south of Tahoe National Forest, have gotten state approval to reopen more of their economy, but Newsom predicted that at least two more would receive the go-ahead by the end of the day.
It’s been a busy day in US politics and coronavirus news so far today and there’s more action to come. My colleague Maanvi Singh on the west coast will take over now and bring you the major developments over the next few hours.
Here are the most recent items this afternoon:
Continue reading...Singer had ranted at ‘wet market animal selling, virus making’ people in China in Instagram post
The Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams has apologised after an outburst on Instagram where he attacked “bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards” in China for the source of the coronavirus outbreak.
The 60-year-old shared an expletive-filled post on Instagram, lamenting how his planned performances in London had been postponed due to the health crisis.
Continue reading...‘Four nations’ approach dealt further blow as Stormont announces its own, more cautious plan
Boris Johnson’s “four nations” approach to tackling the coronavirus has been dealt a fresh blow after the government of Northern Ireland joined those of Scotland and Wales in rejecting the “stay alert” slogan, and announcing its own plans for easing the lockdown.
The prime minister sought to play down the differences in approaches on Monday, stressing in the Plan to Rebuild that people should “pull together as a United Kingdom”. But Edinburgh, Cardiff and now Belfast have chosen to develop their own plans.
Continue reading...Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has warned of serious consequences if US states reopen before building capacity to deal with new Covid-19 outbreaks
Demonstrators rallied outside a courthouse as some pointed out if push-ups can be done outdoors, they can be done anywhere
We all know about the right to bear arms, the right to free speech … but what about the right to do push-ups?
On Monday, a group of gym-goers assembled outside a courthouse in Clearwater, Florida, waving American flags while doing push-ups and squats on camera. The protesters held up placards saying “Give me gains or give me death” and “We will not comply”.
Continue reading...What you are allowed to do now depends on what part of the union you live in
The UK’s approach to Covid-19 now very much depends on what part of the union you live in after Downing Street’s decision to drop the “stay at home” slogan in favour of “stay alert” and its plans to begin lifting the lockdown this week.
The devolved administrations in Edinburgh, Cardiff and at Stormont have all – in their own ways – opted to stick with “stay at home” while Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has described the move by Boris Johnson as “potentially catastrophic”.
Continue reading...The 'R' number of coronavirus is a figure that is being closely scrutinised as ministers decide when to end lockdown in the UK. Boris Johnson has said the country must keep the R rate below one in order to avoid the disaster of a second peak. But what does the R number mean and why is it important? Kate Proctor explains why the government is keeping a close eye on it and what it signifies
Continue reading...The chancellor says the coronavirus job retention scheme will be extended for four months, until the end of October. There will be no changes until the end of July, he says, and in August, September and October it will continue with more flexibility. Sunak added that 7.5m jobs have been supported by the furlough scheme and almost 1m businesses helped
Across Europe to the US, the foreign newspaper verdict is Britain has performed badly
Britain’s reputation for its handling of the coronavirus epidemic has taken another global pasting after newspapers worldwide reported on what they described as confusion and internal divisions that are rapidly creating a crisis as big as Brexit for the UK.
With many diplomats admitting that soft power reputations are being forged or destroyed during the pandemic, the European press in particular is taking time to point out that the UK is experiencing the worst death rate in Europe, revealing a National Health Service that is underfunded and underprepared.
Continue reading...Lockdowns are starting to ease but travel and migration will be disrupted for longer
Our globalised world has been brought to a crashing halt by coronavirus.
By April, over 90% of the world’s population – 7.1 billion people – lived in countries with coronavirus-related travel restrictions on people arriving from abroad, a Pew study found.
Continue reading...A rare glimpse into the lives of a young couple in lockdown in Iran. Filmed over several weeks in quarantine, Sara and Mohammad Reza attempt to process the devastating loss of a family member to Covid-19. The news of coronavirus spreading in Tehran is the backdrop to their lives indoors, they see the outside world from their window, neighbours setting off fireworks and street musicians playing for spare change. As they approach Persian new year, usually a time of family reunion, the couple find hope and happiness in the traditional rituals that mark the spring equinox.
Health secretary dodges questions over people’s legal right to refuse return to work; Rishi Sunak expected to extend furlough scheme
Public transport users should face away from each other when they cannot keep a two-metre gap, the government has said. A report from PA Media on the new transport guidance issued by the government this morning (see 9.28am) goes on:
New guidance issued by the Department for Transport on how to travel safely during the coronavirus outbreak states that passengers should minimise the time they spend near other people and avoid physical contact with them.
It acknowledges that “there may be situations where you can’t keep a suitable distance from people”, such as on busier services or at peak times.
The sandwich chain Subway has today started a phased reopening of around 600 of its 2,600 stores across the UK and Ireland - approximately one in four - for takeway and delivery only.
The outlets have all been fitted with new operational and social distancing safety measures to protect customers, third party delivery and supplier drivers and staff. These have been tested in the small number of stores that have remained open to support and serve key workers and hospital staff.
Continue reading...Trump walks out of press conference; White House staff ordered to wear masks; WHO urges ‘extreme vigilance’ as lockdowns end
Taiwan confirmed no new Covid-19 cases for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday, keeping the country’s total at 440, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
At a daily press briefing, the health minister and head of the CECC, Chen Shih-chung, said it was also the 30th straight day that no domestically transmitted infections had been recorded in Taiwan, CNA reports.
The United Kingdom’s Covid-19 death toll topped 38,000 at the start of the month, including suspected cases, by far the worst official toll yet in Europe, according to official data published on Tuesday.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said it recorded 34,978 Covid-19 related deaths as of 1 May in England and Wales.
Continue reading...Spain to quarantine overseas travellers; Trump walks out of press conference; White House staff ordered to wear masks
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that another 1,064 people have died and 18,106 new infections have been detected, taking the totals to 80,820 and 1,342,594, respectively.
Parts of Mexico that have been spared the worst of the epidemic could reopen as soon as 17 May – a date some health experts worry is too ambitious as the country still hasn’t carried out widespread testing or enforced strict quarantine.
Jorge Alcocer told reporters that roughly 300 of Mexico’s more than 2,400 municipalities would likely to be reopened, depending on assessments from the health authorities. The rest of the country is projected to reopen at the end of month – with school returning 1 June – according to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who will unveil plans on Wednesday for “returning to a new normalcy”.
They cannot know [which cities to open] because if a sample is not representative at the state level, would it be much less representative at the municipal level … It’s a national sample. Nothing more.
Continue reading...Lockdown ease in England prompts concern people will drive to Wales to exercise
The three Welsh national parks have urged people not to cross the border from England to go hiking in the mountains or visit its beaches, pointing out that stringent restrictions on driving to do exercise remain in Wales.
There is growing concern that the easing of restrictions over travelling to do exercise in England on Wednesday may prompt lovers of the outdoors to head for the hills and coastlines of Wales.
Continue reading...