Category Archives: Infectious Diseases

Is it OK to shout at strangers who aren’t social distancing? Absolutely | Hadley Freeman

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My favourite video right now shows a variety of Italian mayors telling off their citizens in no uncertain terms – and it is exactly the approach we need here

Is it acceptable to shout at people – not just friends and family, but also strangers – for not practising social distancing?
Martin, London

Status update on me: I am spending every day, all day, inside my home with three children under five and a deranged, underwalked terrier who barks incessantly at his own reflection in the window. Am I lucky? You bet: I have a home and, so far, everyone has their health. But does my life also resemble a Channel 5 reality TV show? Maybe just a touch.

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Spanish police sing to families during coronavirus lockdown in Mallorca – video

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Police in Mallorca were seen playing guitar and singing to entertain families as they remain in a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The Spanish island will remain on lockdown after the government sought to extend the restrictions on movement until 11 April. One resident of the town of Algaida, Heidi Friedenberger, filmed the officers emerging from their car, singing a song and then leaving again, as neighbours watched on

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‘Everyone will be contaminated’: prisons face strict coronavirus controls

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New WHO guidelines are aimed at protecting one of the most vulnerable sectors of society from the spread of Covid-19

Prisons around the world can expect “huge mortality rates” from Covid-19 unless they take immediate action including screening for the disease, the World Health Organization has warned.

All visitors to prisons along with staff and new admissions should be subject to airport-style temperature testing and health assessments at point of entry, the agency has recommended under new guidelines published today.

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Russia may delay Putin vote as coronavirus threatens political agenda

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Vote allowing president to run for fifth or even sixth term likely to be rescheduled

Russia may be forced to put off a public vote on amendments allowing Vladimir Putin to hold office potentially until 2036 as the coronavirus threatens to upend a busy political season in Russia.

The Kremlin so far has not rescheduled the 22 April vote that was intended as a public endorsement for Putin’s surprise plan to “reset” his term limits, allowing him to run for a fifth or even sixth term as president under a revised constitution.

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Coronavirus: doctors and nurses in Belfast post message urging public to stay at home – video

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Healthcare workers on the frontline of the coronavirus outbreak in Northern Ireland have made an appeal to the public. In a video, doctors and nurses from the Belfast trust respiratory team urge people to stay at home in order to save lives

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The isolated tribes at risk of illness from Amazon missionaries

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As evangelical Christians use their influence with Brazil’s government to cast their net ever wider, indigenous people vulnerable to common diseases face a growing threat

A radical group of evangelical Christian missionaries set on converting every last tribe on Earth has raised fears that deadly diseases – and even the coronavirus – will spread in the Brazilian Amazon. The group has based its newly bought helicopter right beside a reserve with the world’s highest concentration of isolated indigenous groups, who have little resistance to common illnesses.

There are more than 100 isolated indigenous groups in Brazil, all highly vulnerable to common diseases such as measles and flu, and 16 of them live in the same reserve in the Javari Valley, a vast, remote area the size of Austria. Covid-19 could wipe out any of them.

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This virus is ravaging rich countries. What happens when it hits the poor ones? | Nesrine Malik

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Horror over the west’s failure to contain Covid-19 will pale by comparison if it sweeps the developing world

Though Africa has fewer coronavirus cases and a slower rate of infection than the UK, many countries in the continent have passed dramatically more extreme measures to prevent its spread than Britain has. In my birth country of Sudan, after only one case and one death was registered, all schools and universities were shut down. Several other nations, such as Egypt, have taken the ultimate precaution and closed their airports.

There is no denial here, no mixed messaging, and no unfounded promise of how soon we will send the virus packing.

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Australia shuts down, in the fight against Covid-19 – in pictures

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Australia’s major cities, buildings and even beaches are either closed or deserted as the government steps up measures to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Prime minister Scott Morrison announced late on Sunday that from midday Monday venues such as bars, clubs, nightclubs, cinemas and gyms would be closed, and restaurants would be restricted to offering takeaway. Schools remain open but parents have the option to keep children at home, while Victoria is bringing forward school holidays from Tuesday

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Brazilians protest over Bolsonaro’s muddled coronavirus response

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Citizens make anger known by hitting pots and pans from their windows and balconies

Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, is facing an intensifying public backlash after his muddled reaction to the coronavirus crisis sparked five successive nights of protests and predictions that his political authority had sustained a potentially fatal blow.

Brazil has recorded 1,128 coronavirus cases and 18 deaths, with the country’s health minister last week saying the public health system was likely to collapse by the end of April.

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Australia’s coronavirus rescue package is a step in the right direction – but we needed a leap | Stephen Koukoulas

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The measures taken in response to the coronavirus crisis will support growth, but they will be slow to come into effect and aren’t enough

• Follow our global coronavirus live blog
• What the $189bn economic rescue package means for you
• Why Australia is easing superannuation access for those worst-hit

The $66bn second stage of the government’s economic policy response to the coronavirus crisis is a genuine effort to underpin the economy as it lurches towards the deepest economic downturn since the 1930s great depression.

Unfortunately for those losing their jobs, their hours of work and their businesses, there is an unseemly delay before most of the measures reach the bank accounts of those in need.

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Tokyo Olympics organisers considering options to delay – reports

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As thousands flock to the Olympic flame in Japan, the organising committee is reportedly drafting plans to postpone the Games

As huge crowds defied coronavirus fears to queue for hours to see the Olympic flame in northern Japan, a report emerged that organisers of Tokyo 2020 have begun drafting alternatives to holding the Games this summer.

In contrast to the official line from the Japanese government and the IOC, two sources familiar with the talks have told news agency Reuters that options for postponing the Games are now being drawn up.

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As Australia goes off the coronavirus cliff, the question is how hard will it land? | Katharine Murphy

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A significant spike in cases and state lockdowns are signals that life has changed. It’s all now on the health system

Anyone watching events on Sunday will know the coronavirus story is now moving so fast it is hard to keep on top of what’s happening.

So let’s keep this simple. Let’s be very clear what happened.

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Australia is easing superannuation access for those worst-hit by coronavirus. But can we afford it?

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Tax-free withdrawals will be capped at $10,000 this financial year and will allow those struggling to pay rent, meet mortgage repayments and buy food

• What Australia’s $189bn coronavirus economic rescue package means for you
• Follow our Australia coronavirus live blog
• Follow our global coronavirus live blog

Australians who are laid off as a result of the coronavirus outbreak will be allowed to pull money out of their superannuation, Scott Morrison announced on Sunday.

Withdrawals will be capped at $10,000 this financial year, and a further $10,000 next financial year, and will be tax-free, the prime minister and his treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, said.

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UK military planners drafted in to help feed vulnerable in Covid-19 outbreak

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Food stockpilers told they should be ‘ashamed’ as prime minister urges Britons not to make mother’s day visits

Key military officials are to help ensure food and medicines reach vulnerable people isolated at home during the coronavirus crisis, as part of a nationwide campaign to protect more than a million people most at risk of being hospitalised.

Community pharmacies, voluntary groups and food retailers are in talks with the government to ensure essential items reach people being told to remain in their home. Those believed to be at most risk are being contacted on how best to protect themselves, and being strongly advised to stay home for at least 12 weeks.

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Doctors warn coronavirus could overwhelm NHS ‘within weeks’

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Intensive care audit shows sharp rise in admissions to critical care as London hospitals struggle to cope

The numbers of coronavirus patients needing life-or-death care have been doubling every three days, a report by senior doctors has revealed. London is worst affected, but the rest of the UK will soon be hit with a similar surge, the document warns.

The audit of intensive care carried out since the epidemic began shows that patients needing the highest level of help soared from 50 on 9 March to almost 200 on 19 March – and doctors fear this spike could turn into a nationwide surge within a few weeks.

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We have a once in a generation responsibility to confront Covid-19 | Sadiq Khan

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America seems reluctant to lead in this crisis: so Europe, and Britain, must step up

Covid-19 is the biggest health, social and economic emergency we have faced since the second world war. And while we’re only at the beginning of the process of halting its spread, we will be living with the consequences for many years to come.

Our first responsibility is to save lives. That means giving our fantastic NHS staff the time and resources they need. The biggest threat to life is if hospitals are overrun – with more patients requiring intensive care than there are beds available – as we’ve seen in Italy with devastating consequences. We’re already starting to see some London hospitals really feeling the strain.

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End US sanctions against Iran so that we can fight coronavirus with all our might | Azadeh Moaveni and Sussan Tahmasebi

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The pandemic is ravaging an already weakened economy. But Iranian activists across society are stepping up

On Monday evening, just five days ahead of Nowruz, the Persian new year holiday, police descended upon a small local market in west Tehran. They ordered local vendors to pack up their wares, their socks, colanders, and plastic flowers, telling them that by selling goods in public they were helping spread the coronavirus. On Tuesday evening, they returned, and found one tenacious seller hawking in the same place. “You, here again!” barked a security officer. “If I don’t sell, how am I going to pay my rent?” the woman asked plaintively.

Related: UK presses US to ease Iran sanctions to help fight coronavirus

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The US military would be superb at fighting coronavirus. Let’s use it | Ann Lee and Sean Penn

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After the 2010 Haitian earthquake, we saw the US military in action as a humanitarian force. They can do this

In 2010, a devastating earthquake hit Haiti. In three minutes it killed more than 200,000 people and displaced two million more.

Our humanitarian aid organization, the Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE), was on the ground in Haiti. In Haiti – as well as on the front lines of other disasters, like Hurricane Florence in North Carolina and Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas just a few months ago – we saw how dangerous inaction and political paralysis can be, and how rapid mobilization saves lives. In a crisis, every minute – every second – counts.

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How shopping and Sinatra are helping in coronavirus isolation

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People from all walks of life are mobilising to support those coping with isolation

Amy Tan is preparing to burst into song with two fellow musicians on a deserted street in Acton, west London.

“We’ll do anything by Frank Sinatra or Ella Fitzgerald – the Rat Pack,” she says. “Or maybe they would like a song by Elton John or the Beatles?”

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North Korea fires projectiles into sea for third time in a month

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Suspected short-range missile launches come as Pyongyang announces legislature to meet in April amid coronavirus pandemic

North Korea fired two projectiles that appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off the east coast of the Korean peninsula, South Korea’s military reported.

The launch on Saturday follows two earlier this month, when North Korea fired short-range missiles and multiple projectiles, according to South Korea’s military, drawing US and Chinese appeals for Pyongyang to return to talks on ending its nuclear and missile programmes.

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