Daily increase in volume of fatalities now puts UK on par with rises seen in Europe’s worst-hit countries
A total of 7,097 deaths have been recorded in hospitals across the UK to date. Although this is lower than the death tolls in Italy, the US, Spain and France, the daily increase in the volume of fatalities now puts the UK on a par with rises seen in Italy and Spain.
Continue reading...As crisis rages, governments must plan for its aftermath, says WTO’s director general
As country after country is compelled to shutter non-essential businesses and order people home to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ongoing public health crisis is becoming an economic and social crisis that demands a policy response.
Millions of people already afraid for the health of their loved ones now confront the prospect of unemployment and prolonged economic misery. Dozens of emerging economies face financial and humanitarian distress as commodity prices and export earnings plummet, foreign investors flee and remittances from overseas workers decline.
Continue reading...The Guardian's health editor, Sarah Boseley, explains the different ways coronavirus can affect people, the likelihood of going to hospital and what will happen to people who are admitted.
Continue reading...Highly contagious virus fatal to pigs found close to German border, as illness continues to spread in China
An outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) was confirmed on Monday on a farm near the village of Więckowice near Poznań in western Poland, less than 150km (93 miles) from the border with Germany.
African swine fever is a highly contagious virus which is fatal to pigs. It is transmitted directly between animals or through infected meat or animal feed and has also been seen as having the potential to transmit to humans. There is an ongoing outbreak in China that has already already wiped out 40% of pigs in the country.
Related: African swine fever destroying small pig farms, as factory farming booms – report
Continue reading...The threat of the coronavirus is only compounded by a legacy of racial disparities that makes Milwaukee one of the worst places to be black in the US
“It’s a hoax,” Donald Trump said.
“It’s just the flu,” my friend told me.
Continue reading...Local transmissions have overtaken infections acquired overseas, but Australia is making ‘real progress’ on reducing rate
An analysis of the latest government data on coronavirus shows locally acquired infections have outnumbered infections acquired overseas for the past four days.
The analysis also shows the growth in locally acquired cases is slowing in New South Wales and Victoria, the two states for which detailed data is available.
Continue reading...Scientists predict UK will be worst-hit country in Europe; Trump threatens to stop WHO funding; Global cases pass 1.4 million
Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:
Kenya has reported seven new confirmed cases of coronavirus.
The country’s ministry of health has provided all the information about the latest developments on Twitter.
In the last 24 hours, we have tested a total of 305 samples, out of which seven people have tested positive for the Coronavirus disease. All the seven are Kenyans.#KomeshaCorona pic.twitter.com/nUQJY8nOND
Four of confirmed cases have a history of travel; (1) from Congo, (1) UK and (2) USA.
Five are from Nairobi county, one Mombasa and one Uasin Gishu.#KomeshaCorona
✅With regard to contacts tracing, a total of 2,004 persons have been monitored. Out of these, 1,426 have been discharged and 578 are currently on follow up. To date, we have managed to test 5,278 samples from individuals. #KomeshaCorona pic.twitter.com/eoRg1wHdeP
✅In terms of severity breakdown of the 179 cases, 1 case is under critical care, while the rest- 178- are moderate & mild cases. A patient who was in critical care is moving to the ward today. 2 additional cases have been discharged in the last 24 hours. #KomeshaCorona pic.twitter.com/cLEtYIgCa7
✅Of the 7 people have tested positive for the #COVID-19. All the 7 are Kenyans. 4 of them have a history of travel; 1 from Congo, UK 1 & USA 2. In terms of distribution per their counties of residence, Nairobi has 5, Mombasa 1 & Uasin Gishu 1.#KomeshaCorona pic.twitter.com/FnLrZn3c8Q
Continue reading...As Covid-19 creeps across the region, fears mount over how it will unfold. Will a young population help stem the spread of disease, or will it unleash catastrophe on creaking health systems?
Just seven weeks after Africa recorded its first case of Covid-19 – an Italian national in Algeria – the virus is creeping across the continent, infecting more than 10,000 people and causing 487 deaths. Three of the region’s 54 countries – São Tome and Principe, Comoros, and Lesotho – remain apparently virus-free.
“Case numbers are increasing exponentially in the African region,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Africa. “It took 16 days from the first confirmed case in the region to reach 100 cases. It took a further 10 days to reach the first thousand. Three days after this, there were 2,000 cases, and two days later we were at 3,000.”
Continue reading...US president accuses World Health Organization of China bias as New York records its highest daily death toll and Wuhan lockdown eases
Donald Trump has criticised the World Health Organization (WHO), and by implication Beijing, saying the global body is “China centric” and “biased” towards the rival superpower.
As Wuhan, the city at the centre of the outbreak, began to return to normal life, Trump said the WHO had “been wrong about a lot of things”, and threatened to put a hold on WHO funding. When asked if that was a good idea during a pandemic, Trump denied saying it, and then said they would “look at it”.
Continue reading...As several countries relax immigration rules for medically-trained refugees and migrants in the wake of coronavirus, campaigners are calling for Britain to follow suit
Campaigners have welcomed the relaxation of immigration restrictions by governments across Europe and the Americas to allow doctors, nurses and other key workers from refugee and migrant communities to join efforts against coronavirus.
And they urged countries still preventing medically-trained asylum seekers from working – including Britain – to follow suit
Continue reading...Increased contact with animals likely cause of outbreaks such as Covid-19, say experts, as conservationists call for global ban on wildlife markets
Hunting, farming and the global move of people to cities has led to massive declines in biodiversity and increased the risk of dangerous viruses like Covid-19 spilling over from animals to humans, a major study has concluded.
In a paper that suggests the underlying cause of the present pandemic is likely to be increased human contact with wildlife, scientists from Australia and the US traced which animals were most likely to share pathogens with humans.
Continue reading...The Pacific nation of Vanuatu is one of the few places that is coronavirus-free, but efforts to stop its arrival have been hampered by a category five cyclone
On Sunday morning, 62 guests prepared to check out of an idyllic resort, surrounded by palm trees and overlooking a lagoon, in Vanuatu’s capital of Port Vila.
But instead of taxis waiting to take them to the airport, familiar faces were anxiously waiting to take their loved ones back home.
Continue reading...Analysis depends on data – so predictions for Italy and Spain, where peak has passed, are more reliable than for UK
The Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, based at the University of Washington, is the best organisation in the world at collecting data on diseases and mapping out why we fall ill.
Its Global Burden of Disease study is a massive collaborative effort that is valued and used in every country. But even for such an organisation, predicting what will happen to us all as a result of Covid-19 is a tricky business.
Continue reading...Supporters of cabinet secretary say his role will be crucial with Boris Johnson ill
He has been called the most powerful man in the UK, a securocrat who is too smooth for his own good.
But few would dispute that the influence of the cabinet secretary, Sir Mark Sedwill, has increased since Boris Johnson was admitted to St Thomas’ hospital with coronavirus on Sunday night.
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Joe Biden said he would like Bernie Sanders to be “part of the journey,” although not his running mate, if he wins the Democratic nomination.
Biden has a significant lead in the delegate count, but Sanders remains in the race, despite an increasingly narrow path to the nomination.
President Trump said he had a friendly phone conversation with former Vice President Joe Biden to talk about the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic. Biden told @craigmelvin in a one-on-one interview that he doesn't want the November election delayed. pic.twitter.com/DICLhBafTE
The White House has confirmed Stephanie Grisham is leaving her role as press secretary to rejoin the first lady’s team.
“My replacements will be announced in the coming days and I will stay in the West Wing to help with a smooth transition for as long as needed,” Grisham said in a statement released by the White House.
Continue reading...Restrictions on frequently forwarded messages intended to disrupt false Covid-19 claims
WhatsApp is to impose a strict new limit on message forwarding as the Facebook-owned chat app seeks to slow the dissemination of fake news, the company has announced.
If a user receives a frequently forwarded message – one which has been forwarded more than five times – under the new curbs, they will only be able to send it on to a single chat at a time. That is one fifth the previous limit of five chats, imposed in 2019.
Continue reading...Calls grow for EU countries to accept refugees as outbreaks fuel fears that virus could rampage through overcrowded facilities
The spectre of coronavirus striking severely overcrowded refugee camps in Greece has hovered menacingly for months.
International aid organisations, human rights groups and doctors have sounded the alarm. With the spread of the pandemic, calls for action to prevent impending medical catastrophe have become shriller. In Aegean islands on the frontline of the crisis, health carers speak of days gained, not won.
Continue reading...Hannah Devlin speaks to Dr Jenna Macciochi about how our immune systems fight off infections such as coronavirus, and – as per lots of your questions – what happens if we’re immunocompromised
Continue reading...Lessons learned in Eshowe, South Africa, one of the areas worst hit by the HIV pandemic, are being used against coronavirus
In the visitors’ books of Eshowe’s many guesthouses and hotels, tourists inspired by verdant sugar cane fields and blossoming trees write about “a corner of Eden”.
Locals and specialists know the small town set high among the rolling hills that run along South Africa’s eastern coast for another reason.
Continue reading...There’s a kind of hush all over the world as the reduction in human activity stops the Earth buzzing so much
The dramatic quietening of towns and cities in lockdown Britain has changed the way the Earth moves beneath our feet, scientists say.
Seismologists at the British Geological Survey have found that their sensors are twitching less now that human activity has been curtailed, leading to a drop in the anthropogenic din that vibrates through the planet.
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