Category Archives: Infectious Diseases

Johnson faces lockdown dilemma as scientists warn over grim virus data

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Prime minister returns to work on Monday to cabinet at odds over easing social distancing

The number of new cases of Covid-19 being diagnosed is still much too high to allow any easing of the lockdown soon, leading scientists have warned, as the virus death toll in UK hospitals passed 20,000 on Saturday.

The home secretary, Priti Patel, described the figure as a “terrible milestone” and a “deeply tragic and moving moment”. She said it showed the need for the British public to “stay strong” and remain at home for the foreseeable future.

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Top Tories join calls to bar Cummings from scientific advisory group

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Cross-party demand for transparency after chief adviser is revealed as attending meetings of Sage

Boris Johnson is facing cross-party calls to stop his chief adviser from attending meetings of the secret scientific group advising him on the coronavirus pandemic, as demands grow for the committee’s deliberations to be made public.

The former Brexit secretary, David Davis, is among those calling for Dominic Cummings and Ben Warner, an adviser who ran the Tories’ private election computer model, to be prevented from attending future meetings of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).

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World leaders agree to cooperate on coronavirus vaccine, but US does not take part – video

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Global leaders have pledged to accelerate cooperation on a Covid-19 vaccine and to share research, treatment and medicines around the globe as part of a World Health Organization initiative.

The US did not take part in the pledge, made at a virtual meeting, designed to show that wealthy countries will not keep the results of research from developing countries.

Britain will co-chair a joint coronavirus global response summit on 4 May aimed at raising funds for vaccine research, treatments and tests.

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Africa’s Covid-19 research must be tailored to its realities – by its own scientists | Monique Wasunna

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Trust is essential in the pandemic and scientists here can set the priorities that make the most sense for our people

Research to find a cure and effective treatment for Covid-19 is well under way, with hundreds of trials already announced. But very few involve African researchers, and this is a mistake.

Although Africa has yet to feel the full force of the coronavirus, preventing severe cases is a higher priority than it is elsewhere. Africa needs research that is tailored to our reality.

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Coronavirus live news: Brazil’s health system on verge of collapse, medics warn

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Leader of US group peddling bleach as ‘miracle’ cure wrote to Trump before remarks; Australia and New Zealand mark Anzac Day from driveways

I’ll hand over to my colleagues in London shortly. In the meantime catch up with the most recent developments with our ‘Coronavirus: at a glance’ here.

Related: Coronavirus latest: at a glance

Thailand reported 53 new coronavirus cases and the death of a 48-year-old Thai man who was infected with the virus along with four other family members.

Of the new cases, three were linked to previous cases, one had no known links, and 42 are migrant workers who have been under quarantine at an immigration detention centre in the southern province of Songkhla.

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‘We did it to ourselves’: scientist says intrusion into nature led to pandemic

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Leading US biologist Thomas Lovejoy says to stop future outbreaks we need more respect for natural world

The vast illegal wildlife trade and humanity’s excessive intrusion into nature is to blame for the coronavirus pandemic, according to a leading US scientist who says “this is not nature’s revenge, we did it to ourselves”.

Scientists are discovering two to four new viruses are created every year as a result of human infringement on the natural world, and any one of those could turn into a pandemic, according to Thomas Lovejoy, who coined the term “biological diversity” in 1980 and is often referred to as the godfather of biodiversity.

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What does the leaked report tell us about the UK’s pandemic preparations?

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Leaked National Security Risk Assessment describes threats posed by flu- and non-flu-type infectious diseases

Careful analysis of the National Security Risk Assessment document illustrates how the Covid-19 pandemic represents a hybrid of two of the major threats to the UK anticipated by the British government.

The first, an influenza-type disease pandemic, predicts waves of a novel flu virus striking several months apart. This type of threat represents the basis of the UK government’s blueprint for how it would respond to a pandemic.

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Coronavirus detected on particles of air pollution

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Exclusive: Scientists examine whether this route enables infections at longer distances

Coronavirus has been detected on particles of air pollution by scientists investigating whether this could enable it to be carried over longer distances and increase the number of people infected.

The work is preliminary and it is not yet known if the virus remains viable on pollution particles and in sufficient quantity to cause disease.

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Coronavirus live news: experts reject Trump’s ‘disinfectant’ theory as Russia reports 5,849 new cases

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Doctors call president’s comments ‘jaw-dropping’ and dangerous; Algeria, Egypt, UAE shorten ease restrictions for Ramadan, Indonesia increases them; Follow the latest updates

Iran has reported 1,168 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections to 88,194. There have been 93 new deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 5,574.

The Taliban have rejected appeals for a cease fire from Afghanistan’s president, as the country records its biggest daily rise in new coronavirus cases, reports my colleague Akhtar Mohammad Makoii.

The country recorded 95 new cases, bringing the overall total to 1,330, it recorded 2 new deaths bringing the overall number of deaths to 43.

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Coronavirus: medical experts denounce Trump’s latest ‘dangerous’ treatment suggestion

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Doctors warn president’s musings on disinfectant as a cure for coronavirus could lead to death

Donald Trump has stunned viewers by suggesting that people could receive injections of disinfectant to cure the coronavirus, a notion one medical expert described as “jaw-dropping”.

At Thursday’s White House coronavirus task force briefing, the US president discussed new government research on how the virus reacts to different temperatures, climates and surfaces.

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Pandemic potentially a ‘death sentence’ for many prison inmates, experts warn

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Lack of space and funding combined with often limited access to medical support increases vulnerability of prisoners, says study

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    • Chronic overcrowding and underfunding have left prisons around the world vulnerable to being ravaged by coronavirus, criminal justice experts have warned.

    The challenges of a record global prison population of 11 million have been brought to light in a report published by Penal Reform International (PRI) which found that 102 countries have prison occupancy levels of more than 110%.

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    Pandemic could ‘turn back the clock’ 20 years on malaria deaths, warns WHO

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    Deaths in sub-Saharan African countries could double to more than 700,000 this year if Covid-19 crisis disrupts programmes

    Deaths from malaria could double across sub-Saharan Africa this year if work to prevent the disease is disrupted by Covid-19, the World Health Organization has warned.

    The UN’s global health agency said that if countries failed to maintain delivery of insecticide-treated nets and access to antimalarial medicines, up to 769,000 people could die of malaria this year. That figure, which would be more than double the number of deaths in 2018, would mark a return to mortality levels last seen 20 years ago.

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    Why South Korea’s coronavirus death toll is comparatively low – video explainer

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    ​On 29 February​, South Korea reported a peak of 909 new Covid-19 cases and was suffering one of the worst outbreaks outside of China. But this week, the government announced a single-digit number of new cases for the first time in almost two months. As of 22 April, there were 238 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths in South Korea.

    Experts say that the country is one of few to succeed in 'flattening the curve' despite never having a formal lockdown in place​. And with life slowly beginning to return to something like normality, Seoul-based journalist Nemo Kim has been looking at what lessons can be learned

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    Coronavirus live news: US may never restore funding to World Health Organization, says Mike Pompeo

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    Unemployment in US up by 4.4 million to a total of over 26 million; world has ‘a long way to go’, warns WHO chief; Iran reports lowest new daily infections for a month

    Peru’s reported coronavirus cases have rapidly increased this week, reaching 20,914 on Thursday. The country has the second highest number of cases in South America after Brazil despite introducing tough lockdown measures.

    The health ministry says it expects patient numbers to peak within the following week, as hospitals strain to deal with the sharp rise in infections. Reuters reports cases of bodies being kept in hallways, masks being reused, and protests from medical workers concerned about their safety.

    Hello, I’ll be taking over the live blog for the next few hours. As always, tips and suggestions are most welcome. You can reach me via Twitter DM @cleaskopeliti or by email at clea.skopeliti.casual@guardian.co.uk. Thanks in advance.

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    Why are people from BAME groups dying disproportionately of Covid-19?

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    Co-morbidities, demographics and societal imbalances all play a part, says UCL professor Nishi Chaturvedi

    One explanation for why people from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are dying in disproportionately high numbers is demography. The virus hit London first and hit it hardest. But even when you take these regional differences into account there is a mismatch. In particular, if you take into account that ethnic minorities are generally younger – particularly important for Covid-19 where 90% of deaths are in people over 60 – the ethnic differences become even more stark.

    Related: BAME groups hit harder by Covid-19 than white people, UK study suggests

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    UK will need social distancing until at least end of year, says Whitty

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    Government’s chief medical officer says return to normal in short term is ‘wholly unrealistic’

    Social distancing will be needed until at least the end of the year to prevent fresh outbreaks of coronavirus even though the UK has reached the peak of the current epidemic, the government’s chief medical officer has said.

    Prof Chris Whitty, the UK’s most senior medic, said it was important to be realistic that “highly disruptive” social distancing would need to be in place for “really quite a long period of time”.

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    Ryanair boss says airline won’t fly with ‘idiotic’ social distancing rules

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    Michael O’Leary says business model will be in tatters if he is forced to leave middle seats empty

    Ryanair planes won’t return to the skies if the airline is forced to leave the middle seat empty to comply with “idiotic” in-flight social distancing rules, its chief executive, Michael O’Leary, has said.

    The boss of the no-frills carrier, which has thrived by packing its flights as full as possible with passengers lured by low prices, has previously said that blocking out the space in between aisle seats is “nonsense” that would have no beneficial effect.

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    Italy: dozens of mafia bosses could be released due to coronavirus

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    Critics fear reported move would mean ‘the mafia virus on the streets alongside Covid-19’

    Dozens of mafia bosses could be released from prisons across Italy due to the risk of Covid-19 infection, after Italian judges set free at least three ageing mobsters, placing them under house arrest.

    News magazine L’Espresso on Wednesday reported that a judge in Milan had ordered the release of one of the most influential bosses of Cosa Nostra, Francesco Bonura, 78, who was serving a 23-year sentence. The terms of Bonura’s release to house arrest allow his movement for health-related appointments.

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    Earth Day: Greta Thunberg calls for ‘new path’ after pandemic

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    Climate activist says Covid-19 outbreak shows change can happen when we listen to scientists

    Greta Thunberg has urged people around the world to take a new path after the coronavirus pandemic, which she said proved “our society is not sustainable”.

    The Swedish climate activist said the strong global response to Covid-19 demonstrated how quickly change could happen when humanity came together and acted on the advice of scientists.

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    Snapshots of a world in lockdown: ‘The crisis has crossed a new threshold’

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    At noon on 4 April 2020, the day Covid-19 cases passed 1m globally, photojournalist Lucien Lung used webcams from Antarctica to Argentina to capture images of the global shutdown

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    • Photographer Lucien Lung had been trying to unique find a way to cover the coronavirus pandemic despite being unable to leave his Paris flat. Using webcams, he captured the planet in lockdown at a specific time on a symbolic date: 4 April, the day Covid-19 cases exceeded 1m across the globe.

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