The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has announced live on television he has tested positive for coronavirus.
“It came back positive,” a mask-wearing Bolsonaro told a hand-picked group of reporters on Tuesday lunchtime outside his official residence.
Continue reading...Adoption of football jersey by Jair Bolsonaro’s radical right has inspired a campaign for new colours
It is the most recognisable symbol of Brazilian identity: the iconic canary yellow jersey in which footballing giants such as Pelé and Rivaldo have helped the nation win a record five World Cups.
But the world-famous shirt has also become the emblem of President Jair Bolsonaro’s radical right, and a group of sport lovers are now demanding it be abolished and replaced with a less partisan kit.
Continue reading...Mexico and Brazil have been hit hard by the pandemic, but so too have countries that were quicker to respond
Coronavirus arrived in Latin America later than in Europe, but it has taken firm hold. A quarter of global confirmed cases are in the region, and researchers have warned the death toll is likely to triple by October to nearly 400,000.
The two countries with the deadliest outbreaks share populist leaders, Brazil’s rightwing Jair Bolsonaro and Mexico’s leftwing Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Donald Trump describes ‘victory’ over virus as cases rise; Mexico death toll becomes 5th highest; Australia’s toughest lockdown begins
The World Health Organization has reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases with 212,326 being recorded in just 24 hours, amid a surge in the United States, Brazil and India.
The WHO’s situation report showed that just under 130,000 of those new cases were in the Americas, including the US, Brazil and Mexico, but the WHO said South-East Asia, including India stood at just under new 28,000 new cases on Saturday.
Continue reading...Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer statue was illuminated on Wednesday night in tribute to Covid-19 victims. Brazil surpassed 60,000 coronavirus deaths, while overall confirmed infections reached 1.42 million. The country is the second worst hit in the world by the coronavirus after the US
Continue reading...Spain and Portugal reopen border as global tourism industry predicted to lose up to £2.6tn
The first tourist flights in four months landed on the Greek island of Crete, and Spain and Portugal reopened their land border as European countries continued to ease travel restrictions, as Brazil recorded 60,000 deaths.
A charter plane carrying 172 passengers from Hamburg landed at Heraklion airport on Crete at 8am, minutes after another aircraft had arrived from the Czech Republic, re-establishing the island’s air links with the outside world.
Continue reading...Carlos Decotelli stepped down after five days following reports he lied about his credentials in blow to Bolsonaro
Brazil’s latest pick for education minister has been forced to resign after just five days following reports that he repeatedly lied about his qualifications, the most recent in a series of embarrassing blows for the far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro.
Carlos Decotelli, an economist and former navy man, stepped down yesterday after Brazil’s Getúlio Vargas Foundation business school publicly refuted his claims he had worked there as a teacher.
Continue reading...Agreed shortlist of permitted countries also excludes Russia, Brazil and India
Most visitors from the US are set to remain banned from entering the European Union because of the country’s rising infection rate in a move that risks antagonising Donald Trump.
In an attempt to save the European tourism season, a list of 15 countries from where people should be allowed into the EU from 1 July has been agreed by representatives of the 27 member states.
Continue reading...Folha de São Paulo urges people who support campaign to protect country’s political future to wear yellow
One of Brazil’s leading newspapers has launched a major pro-democracy campaign as unease grows about the threat many fear Jair Bolsonaro and his most militant supporters pose to the country’s political future.
Unveiling the initiative on Sunday, the Folha de São Paulo said systematic attacks from pro-Bolsonaro extremists were putting Brazilian democracy through its greatest “stress test” since the return of civilian rule in 1985.
Continue reading...A growing movement for sustainable agriculture in Brazil has taken on new urgency with the coronavirus pandemic
The cumaru trees could have been planted elsewhere in this Amazon reserve, where they had better chances of flourishing. Instead, they were planted in harsh, sandy soil in the dry savannah that breaks up the forest. Jack beans, guandu peas and other crops were planted in straw around them with cut savannah grass, for moisture and compost. “We call it the cradle,” says agronomist Alailson Rêgo. “It protects them.”
The hope is that if these Amazon-native trees – whose seeds can be used in cosmetics – thrive on this sandy soil and a nearby patch of deforested, burned land, they can regenerate abandoned pasture elsewhere. In the Amazon, more land is cleared for cattle than anything else. It’s easier enough to clear – chop down a few trees, light a few fires. But restoring the forest? Bringing back the life and the greenness? That is far, far harder.
Continue reading...US records highest daily new infections; Brazil records nearly 47,000 new cases; Covid cases with unknown source rise in Melbourne. Follow the latest
The Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Health reported 855 new coronavirus cases on Friday, as well as six new deaths, bringing the country’s total number of infection cases to 30,619.
The Caribbean country’s death toll now stands at 718, according to health authorities.
A global fundraising meeting on Saturday raised€6.15bn ($6.9bn) from the United States, the European Commission and numerous countries to fight Covid-19, with many participants stressing that an eventual vaccine should be available to anyone who needs it.
The pledging summit, part of a joint initiative by the EU executive and advocacy group Global Citizen, also included a globally televised and streamed fundraising concert featuring Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Shakira, Chloe X Halle, Usher and others.
Continue reading...Despite sharing borders with Brazil, small countries can claim victory against virus
Latin America has become the new centre of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic but two small countries, Uruguay and Paraguay, have bucked the regional trend and can claim a near total victory against the virus.
Though they are strangely dissimilar – Uruguay is a progressive enclave with the lowest poverty index in Latin America, while Paraguay has poverty estimates of 30-50% and is rife with corruption – both nations have kept their coronavirus death rates surprisingly low.
Continue reading...Brazil records 39,436 new cases; 200 cases at one South African school; new cluster confirmed in Tokyo
As the coronavirus spreads, soaring demand for oxygen is bringing out a stark global truth: even the right to breathe depends on money. In much of the world, oxygen is expensive and hard to get a basic marker of inequality both between and within countries.
In wealthy Europe and North America, hospitals treat oxygen as a fundamental need, much like water or electricity. It is delivered in liquid form by tanker truck and piped directly to the beds of coronavirus patients. Running short is all but unthinkable for a resource that literally can be pulled from the air.
In Spain, as coronavirus deaths climbed, engineers laid 7 km (4 miles) of tubing in less than a week to give 1,500 beds in an impromptu hospital a direct supply of pure oxygen. Oxygen is also plentiful and brings the most profits in industrial use such as mining, aerospace, electronics and construction.
But in poor countries, from Peru to Bangladesh, it is in lethally short supply.
In Guinea, a west-coastal country in West Africa, oxygen is a costly challenge for government-funded medical facilities such as the Donka public hospital in the capital, Conakry.
A haunted house in Japan has developed a drive-through format amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
Inside a car, guests can scream as loudly as they like, with no mask required. And according to producer Kenta Iwana, 25, the new format might even be scarier than a traditional haunted house.
Continue reading...Leandro Maduro Costa entertained patients in a Rio hospital before his death from coronavirus
Those who knew and loved him say Leandro Maduro Costa was born a clown, lived his life as a clown – and had hoped to die as one.
“He always said to me: ‘Felipe, if I die first, bury me as ‘Potato’,” said Felipe Alves Guimarães, a friend and fellow entertainer known by audiences as Tambourine.
Continue reading...Texas ‘wide open for business’; WHO urges dexamethasone steroid boom; Saudi Arabia closes borders to foreign pilgrims
Novak Djokovic, the men’s world No 1 tennis player, has tested positive for Covid-19, the Serbian said in a statement on Tuesday.
Croatia’s Borna Ćorić, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and Viktor Troicki have previously tested positive after playing in Djokovic’s Adria Tour exhibition tournament in the Balkan region.
Related: Novak Djokovic tests positive for Covid-19 amid Adria Tour fallout
Italy has seen a surge in bicycle sales since the government ended its coronavirus lockdown as people steer clear of public transport and respond to government incentives to help the environment.
Some 540,000 bikes have been sold nationwide since shops across the country reopened in early May, according to sector lobby Ancma, a 60% increase in the first month compared to the same period in 2019.
Continue reading...Coronavirus has swept through tribes, killing elders – and inflicting irreparable damage on tribal history, culture and medicine
When Bep Karoti Xikrin fell ill with Covid-19, he refused to go to a hospital.
The 64-year-old chief of a Xikrin indigenous village in Brazil’s Amazon was plagued by headaches and fatigue and struggled for breath. But according to his daughter Bekuoi Raquel, he was afraid that if he were admitted to hospital he might never return.
Continue reading...Chile raises deaths to more than 7,000; six on Trump campaign test positive ahead of rally; Spain opens up for British tourists
A national campaign may be needed to teach people in England to wear face masks correctly, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies’ (Sage) subgroup has said.
Professor Susan Michie said that many people using public transport in England are not wearing their face masks in the right way, and “training” may be needed to ensure they are used effectively.
Tokyo has confirmed 35 new cases of coronavirus.
According to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, Japan has had 17,725 cases of the virus, and 955 deaths.
Continue reading...Iran reports more than 100 deaths for third day in a row; UK death toll rises by 43; Chile deaths rise to more than 7,000. This blog is now closed. Follow our new blog below
We have now closed this blog, but you can stay up to date on all our live coverage of coronavirus on our new global blog below:
Related: Coronavirus live news: World Health Organization reports record daily global case increase
That’s all from me for today – I’ll hand over to my colleague Helen Sullivan to guide you all through the next bit. As always, thanks for following along.
Continue reading...Testing a ‘double-edged sword’, says Trump; Chile death toll nearly doubles; Australian state ‘absolutely at risk’ of second peak
Donald Trump told thousands of supporters on Saturday that he had asked US officials to slow down testing for Covid-19 because case numbers in the country were rising so rapidly.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the US president used racist language, referring to Covid-19 as “kung flu”, and described testing for the virus as a “double-edged sword” because it led to the identification of more cases.
Continue reading...