Category Archives: Science

Coronavirus live news: WHO says pandemic still accelerating as global review announced

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WHO appoints committee to evaluate response to Covid-19 crisis; Serbia considers new lockdown after second night of riots; Infections worldwide pass 12m

As Covid-19 cases continue to surge in states throughout the US, another 1.3 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, highlighting the grim reality that any type of economic recovery may be far off, writes Lauren Aratani for Guardian US.

While the number of new unemployment filings has decreased significantly since it peaked in April at 6 million people filing in one week, it has remained above a million each week since forced shutdowns began.

Related: Another 1.3m Americans file for unemployment as states back away from reopening plans

Here’s a roundup of the key global coronavirus developments so far:

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How to stop your glasses steaming up – and 19 other essential facts about face masks

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How often should you wash a cloth mask? And how effective are the disposable ones? The expert guide to choosing, wearing and caring for your face covering

The British have been slow to embrace face masks, despite calls from public health experts. Uptake has been just 25% in the UK, compared with 83.4% in Italy and 65.8% in the US. The president of the Royal Society, Venki Ramakrishnan, said this week that wearing one “is the right thing to do” and that a refusal to do so should be seen as socially unacceptable as drink-driving or not wearing a seatbelt.

Perhaps one of the problems has been the changing advice as new evidence emerges. The World Health Organization (WHO) now recommends people wear cloth masks. Ramakrishnan said that in the UK, “the message has not been clear enough, so perhaps people do not really understand the benefits or are not convinced”. It also doesn’t help that the guidance across the UK is different.

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Indigenous Americans had contact with Polynesians 800 years ago, DNA reveals

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  • Study shows groups crossed vast ocean in about the year 1200
  • Proof of encounter found in DNA of present-day populations

Indigenous Americans and Polynesians bridged vast expanses of open ocean around the year 1200 and mingled, leaving incontrovertible proof of their encounter in the DNA of present-day populations, new studies have revealed.

Whether peoples from what is today Colombia or Ecuador drifted thousands of kilometres to tiny islands in the middle of the Pacific, or whether seafaring Polynesians sailed upwind to South America and then back again, is still unknown.

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Scientists join forces to investigate airborne risk of coronavirus

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WHO adviser says results from well-designed studies are needed before it changes its advice

A major research effort is under way to understand whether Covid-19 can spread through tiny airborne particles that are released by infected people and remain suspended in the air for hours.

Scientists are working alongside sanitary engineers at the World Health Organization to investigate how tiny aerosols bearing the virus may be released into the environment; whether they are spread around rooms by air-conditioning units; and how infectious the particles may be.

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Kenya calls for help in fight against rising sexual abuse by foreigners

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Anti-trafficking organisations say widespread trust in white outsiders makes children an easy target for abusers from the west

Child protection organisations in Kenya say more needs to be done to protect young people from exploitation by overseas perpetrators, as the country reports a rising number of abuse cases.

The warning follows the arrest of Gregory Dow, a 61-year-old missionary, who last month pleaded guilty in a US court to sexually abusing girls at an orphanage he ran in Kenya.

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Coronavirus live news: US gives WHO official notice of its withdrawal next year

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Joe Biden says he would return the US to the WHO if elected; WHO acknowledges ‘evidence emerging’ of airborne spread of Covid-19; Jair Bolsonaro tests positive. Follow the latest updates

The Guardian’s Eleanor Ainge Roy reports from Queenstown with Charlotte Graham-McLay in Auckland:

Here’s the full story on a man in compulsory isolation in New Zealand who has absconded from a quarantine hotel to make a late-night “spur-of-the-moment” dash to the supermarket – before testing positive for Covid-19 the following day:

Related: New Zealand: man with Covid-19 absconds from quarantine for supermarket 'dash'

The Netherlands will be at the centre of upcoming talks over European spending on the coronavirus crisis, driven by a mix of traditional Calvinist frugality and political reality, experts say.

As part of the “frugal four” along with Austria, Denmark and Sweden, the Dutch have enraged many in the EU by putting the brakes on a €750bn (US$850bn) rescue package for the worst-hit countries.

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Coronavirus live news: Tulsa health chief cites Trump rally over spike in cases

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Gathering ‘likely contributed’ to surge; Bolsonaro vetoes measures to help indigenous people; Melbourne goes into full lockdown after rises in cases

Nigeria has passed 30,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to the country’s Centre for Disease Control.

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Scientists put forward plan to create universal species list

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Single classification system could end centuries of disagreement and improve global efforts to tackle biodiversity loss

A plan to create the first universally recognised list of species on Earth has prompted hopes of an end to centuries of disagreement and confusion over how to classify the world’s library of life.

The 10-point plan aims to finally bring order with an authoritative list of the world’s species and a governance mechanism responsible for its quality. Researchers hope a single recognised list would improve global efforts to tackle biodiversity loss, the trade in endangered wildlife, biosecurity and conservation.

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Fauci: US is ‘still knee-deep in first wave’ of pandemic as it passes 130,000 deaths

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Top public health expert urges further action as new cases surge to record highs of around 50,000 a day across country

The United States is “still knee-deep in the first wave” of the coronavirus pandemic, one of the country’s top public health experts has warned, as the country surpassed 130,000 Covid-19 deaths and new polling indicates Donald Trump’s approval rating over his handling of the crisis has remained low.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Monday that America’s grasp of the pandemic was “really not good” and urged further action as new cases of the virus continue to surge to record highs of about 50,000 a day across the country. More than 131,200 have died in the US as of Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins figures.

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Who might the government seek to blame for the UK’s Covid-19 failings?

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Ministers have been accused of trying to shift the narrative over response to pandemic

While ministers insist that it is too early to fully consider what lessons might be learned from the coronavirus outbreak, the UK’s death toll – the highest in Europe – is expected to prompt an inquiry into the handling of the pandemic.

In recent weeks, the government has been accused of seeking to pre-emptively shift the narrative on responsibility for the country’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak and blame others for what went wrong.

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Coronavirus live news: Israel public health director quits amid spike in cases; Melbourne returns to lockdown

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South Africa’s cases pass 200,000; Kenya emerges from lockdown; Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tested again for coronavirus

Bolsonaro’s diagnosis comes just three days after he had lunch at the home of the US ambassador to Brazil, Todd Chapman, in the capital, Brasília.

Also present at that Independence Day celebration were several top cabinet members, including foreign minister Ernesto Araújo, defence minister Fernando Azevedo, and the president’s son, Eduardo, a politician who is Steve Bannon’s representative in South America. The men were photographed without face masks.

Reports of Bolsonaro’s possible infection first emerged on Monday evening, with local news outlets reporting that he had been tested after developing coronavirus symptoms, including a 38C temperature and a persistent cough.

An MRI of Bolsonaro’s lungs was also taken, with the president telling supporters it had shown them to be “clear”.

Related: Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro tests positive for coronavirus

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Coronavirus: world treating symptoms, not cause of pandemics, says UN

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Ongoing destruction of nature will result in stream of animal diseases jumping to humans, says report

The world is treating the health and economic symptoms of the coronavirus pandemic but not the environmental cause, according to the authors of a UN report. As a result, a steady stream of diseases can be expected to jump from animals to humans in coming years, they say.

The number of such “zoonotic” epidemics is rising, from Ebola to Sars to West Nile virus and Rift Valley fever, with the root cause being the destruction of nature by humans and the growing demand for meat, the report says.

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Coronavirus live news: US death toll surpasses 130,000; India’s cases third-highest in world

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Donald Trump’s handling of US crisis under microscope; Israel reimposes restrictions after infections spike

Air travellers arriving in Scotland from Tuesday will be subject to quarantine spot checks for the first time, after the country reported four days without deaths from Covid-19.

Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, said her officials and advisers were still deciding which countries would not be subject to quarantine checks, four days after the Home Office released its list of 74 “air bridge” countries and territories.

Related: Air travellers to Scotland to face quarantine spot checks and fines

The US has suffered 235 more deaths and registered 44,361 new cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has said. That takes the respective totals to 129,811 and 2,886,267.

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Global report: India becomes third worst-affected country as giant Covid-19 hospital opens

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Cases reach almost 700,000 to pass Russia in third place; Iran suffers record death toll; alarm in South Africa as cases jump amid easing of lockdown

India has passed Russia as the country with the third-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world after recording a record number of cases for one day.

The health ministry added 23,000 new cases on Monday, taking India’s total to 697,000 and almost 20,000 deaths. On Sunday India racked up nearly 25,000, its highest total for one day.

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Met police urged to investigate Dominic Cummings’ trip during Covid-19 lockdown

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Exclusive: ex-chief prosecutor’s lawyers say behaviour of Boris Johnson’s aide warrants ‘thorough investigation’

The Metropolitan police have been urged to launch an immediate investigation into Dominic Cummings’ trip from London to Durham at the height of the coronavirus outbreak by the former chief prosecutor for north-west England.

Lawyers for Nazir Afzal have written to the Met commissioner, Cressida Dick, arguing that the behaviour of Boris Johnson’s chief adviser during the lockdown warrants a “thorough investigation” by the force.

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Risks, R numbers and raw data: how to interpret coronavirus statistics

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Covid-related facts and definitions are confusing, and as lockdown is eased, clarity is more important than ever

We’re finally over the first peak of the epidemic, but the numbers relating to the virus keep on spreading. Sometimes, however, things get lost in translation from the spreadsheet to the article, broadcast or tweet.

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‘It’s a tsunami’: pandemic leaves vulnerable Latin America reeling

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Years of social progress could be reversed by the virus, amid accusations that politicians have been fatally inept

As coronavirus galloped through Latin America in late April, the mayor of Manaus was in despair. “The outlook is dismal,” Arthur Virgílio admitted as gravediggers in the Amazon’s largest city piled coffins into muddy trenches, Brazil’s death toll hit 5,500, and its president, Jair Bolsonaro, responded with a shrug. “It’s obvious this won’t end well.”

Two months later, Virgílio’s nightmare has come true. Brazil’s death toll has risen to more than 60,000 – the second highest in the world after the United States – with some now predicting it could overtake the US, where 130,000 have died, by the end of July.

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Coronavirus live news: pubs reopen in England as Catalonia announces new lockdown

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Fourth of July weekend in US sees cases surging; WHO changes timeline of how it was alerted to virus; housing estates in Melbourne locked down. Follow developments live

What we’re learning about Covid as US states open up
How Victoria’s outbreak divided Australia
Scotland and Wales attack UK government’s shambolic travel changes

As some countries and regions are reintroducing restrictions and imposing local lockdowns, Thailand’s nightlife venues were allowed to reopen on 1 July after having been shut for three months.

My colleague Rebecca Ratcliffe reports from Bangkok.

Related: 'Let’s do karaoke!': Bangkok nightlife eases out of lockdown

Israel is one of several countries so far that are seemingly paying the price for lifting lockdown restrictions early, as the government tries to grapple with rising infections.

Over the last 24 hours 1,008 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19, raising the number of active cases in Israel to 10,060, according to data released by the Health Ministry.

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Coronavirus live news: Mexican state asks for US border closure as global cases near 11m

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Philippines reports largest single-day increase in cases; Florida confirms 10,000 new cases in one day; Brazil infections nearing 1.5m

Authorities in northern Nigeria’s biggest city Kano have lifted a three-month lockdown imposed to contain a coronavirus outbreak linked to hundreds of deaths.

State governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje announced the lifting of the curfew in a broadcast, insisting the key trading hub had seen a sharp drop in infections.

We can beat our chest and say we are winning the case and there is no longer any need for the lockdown.

There will be free movement for all.

Despite imposing an early lockdown, containment may be unravelling in Bolivia amid poverty, an underprepared health system and a bitter political standoff, report Laurence Blair and Cindy Jiménez Bercerra in La Paz.

When Pedro Flores and a group of fellow doctors arrived in the Beni, Bolivia’s tropical northern province, at the end of May, they knew the crisis caused by coronavirus would be severe. But what they found still left them shaken.

There were no medical supplies, there were no ventilators, no oxygen.

Here in Trinidad most people have a relative, a friend, a neighbour who has died. We’re in a health disaster.

Related: Bolivia in danger of squandering its head start over coronavirus

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‘I’m cautiously optimistic’: Imperial’s Robin Shattock on his coronavirus vaccine

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Team is using new approach that could be cheap and scalable and become the norm within five years

Prof Robin Shattock would have liked slightly longer to develop the revolutionary approach to vaccines that he is pretty sure will not only save lives in the Covid-19 pandemic but become the norm for vaccine development within five years.

His team at Imperial College were working on Ebola and Lassa fever vaccines using new technology but had not got as far as human trials when a novel coronavirus started to kill thousands of people in Wuhan, China.

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