Despite a big rise in infections, particularly among younger people, there is no sense of panic on the streets around Madrid
An hour or so before lunch on Thursday, Ángela Falcón stepped out of the church of Our Lady of the Assumption and on to the hot and busy streets of Parla.
“I’m scared and I very seldom come out but when I do, I stop by the church to pray,” said the 71-year-old.
Continue reading...Charlie Russell, 27, is one of an estimated 600,000 people with post-Covid illness, a condition that may give an insight into ME
It’s day 182 after being infected by Covid-19, and Charlie Russell is not doing the things that other 27-year-olds are doing.
He’s not running 5km three times a week like he used to. He’s not going to the pub. He’s not working. And he’s not getting better.
Continue reading...Number of new cases in California falls; Cuba restricts internal travel; English hospitals stress test for a second wave. Follow all the developments
Brazil registered 814 coronavirus deaths over the last 24 hours and 33,523 additional cases, the nation’s health ministry said on Saturday evening.
The South American country has now reported 131,210 total deaths and 4,315,687 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.
El Salvador’s government said on Saturday it plans to reopen airports for international flights starting on 19 September, but with a twist: incoming passengers will be required to show a negative PCR coronavirus test no more than three days old.
Anyone lacking the test would be denied entry, according to the Associated Press.
About 100 people attended the protests, with 51 fines issued for breaching stay-at-home orders
Victoria police have arrested 14 people at illegal anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne, with 51 fines issued for breaching stay-at-home orders.
About 100 people attended the protests at various locations in the city, with a large police presence outnumbering those taking part in the so-called “freedom walk” at the popular running track the Tan and Fitzroy Gardens.
Continue reading...Wealthy nations have ordered millions of doses of unproven candidates, but equal access is the key to beating virus
The UK has ordered a total of 340m doses of potential coronavirus vaccines from six manufacturers.
The EU has done a deal said to be worth €2.4bn (£2.2bn) with one developer, while the US has orders with six companies for 800m doses under Operation Warp Speed, with options on a further 1.6bn.
Continue reading...Stricter regulations across the UK come as a study reports that mask wearing and lockdown rules are causing deeper social divides than Brexit
The Covid-19 app will be launched across England and Wales on September 24, the Department of Health and Social Care said.
Ahead of the roll-out businesses including pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and cinemas are being urged to ensure they have NHS QR code posters visible on entry so customers who have downloaded the new app can use their smartphones to check-in.
QR codes provide an easy and simple way to collect contact details to support the NHS Test and Trace system.
“Hospitality businesses can now download posters for their premises ahead of the launch of the NHS Covid-19 app. This will allow the public to seamlessly check in to venues using the app when it launches.
Grassroots campaigners for EU nationals in the UK and Britons in Europe have expressed fears that they too could be hit by a government U-turn on the Brexit deal.
They say that Boris Johnson’s willingness to backtrack on the Northern Ireland protocol he agreed in January undermines trust that he will stick with the other core parts of the deal in the future including the section on citizens’ rights.
Continue reading...NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian gave Nationals leader John Barilaro ultimatum after stoush over future of koala population. Follow live
We will get additional details, like test numbers, very soon
#COVID19VicData for 11 September, 2020.
Yesterday there were 43 new cases reported. Sadly, 9 lives were lost and our thoughts are with those affected. More information will be available later today. pic.twitter.com/Y5dxX1ixEK
It is just one week short of a year since this photo was taken – which was the last time Gladys Berejiklian’s colleagues tested her leadership over legislation. When the Ched debate happened, Tanya Davies, Matthew Mason-Cox and Lou Amato had announced they were calling a spill motion over the state’s abortion laws.
Berejiklian stared them down as well. There was no spill motion. But what there was, was a debate over whether she was carrying Saladas (as reported in the Tele) or Cheds for breakfast.
big day in NSW politics and you know what that means - the Cheds are back pic.twitter.com/rjdUatDGgV
Continue reading...French cases near 10,000 in a day; single biggest rise in Greece; Portugal limits gatherings to 10 people; Mexico signs agreement for Sputnik V vaccine
Here’s a quick summary of the biggest developments before we head over to a new blog. Thanks for following along.
Brazil recorded 40,557 additional confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 983 deaths from the disease, the health ministry said on Thursday.
The country has registered more than 4.2 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 129,522, according to ministry data.
Continue reading...PM believes huge rapid testing programme is ‘only hope’ before a vaccine, leaked document says
Boris Johnson believes a mass testing programme is “our only hope for avoiding a second national lockdown before a vaccine”, according to leaked official documents setting out plans for “Operation Moonshot”.
The prime minister is said to be pinning his hopes on a project that would deliver up to 10m tests a day – even though the current testing regime is struggling to deliver a fraction of that number and is beset by problems.
Continue reading...AstraZeneca Plc and Oxford pause vaccine trial again; Czech Republic battles surging spread; China stages celebration of beating virus
In the US, Iowa’s governor, Kim Reynolds, is refusing to enforce a White House coronavirus taskforce recommendation to close bars and require people to wear masks after Covid-19 infections in some of the state’s cities surged.
Related: Iowa refuses to close bars and require masks as Covid-19 cases surge in cities
Russia’s sovereign wealth fund will sell 32m doses of the potential Covid-19 vaccine ‘Sputnik-V’ to a top pharmaceutical company in Mexico, Russia’s second vaccine export deal, a source close to the deal said on Wednesday.
Russia registered its first vaccine candidate, developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, in August. Late-stage trials of Sputnik-V, due to involve 40,000 participants, were launched on 26 August.
Continue reading...Ad campaign promoting hygiene and social distancing will run across TV, radio, print and more
A new government campaign is being launched to remind people to wash their hands, cover their faces and keep their distance, in a bid to keep infections down as the winter months approach.
With the slogan “Hands. Face. Space”, advertising will run across TV, radio, print, social and digital display advertising, as well as on community media channels, the Department of Health and Social Care has said.
Continue reading...Restrictions could be reimposed amid claims people have ‘relaxed too much’
Downing Street is considering whether to reduce the maximum permitted size for social gatherings in England following a sudden rise in coronavirus cases, and warnings that people have “relaxed too much” in their precautions.
No 10 is looking at the current guidelines, which allow up to six people to meet outdoors, whether in a public outdoor space, or in a garden, or 30 if it is an event, to see whether the limits should be reduced, a source said.
Continue reading...Latest figures bring France’s total cases to 335,524 and Spain’s to 534,513; concerns over spread of virus in Greek migrant camps
The UK government response to the coronavirus pandemic is on track to cost £210bn for the first six months of the crisis, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has said.
Reflecting the scale of the emergency since March, the National Audit Office (NAO) said ministers had instigated more than 190 measures in response to the crisis so far, including emergency job support, additional NHS funding, and business grants.
Related: Coronavirus bill has cost UK government £210bn, spending watchdog says
Canada is seeing a worrying increase in the number of people infected with the coronavirus as schools across the country are starting to reopen, a top medical official has said.
Chief public health officer Theresa Tam said an average of 545 new cases had been reported daily over the last week, up from around 300 in July. She told a briefing:
This is concerning and I want to underscore that when cases occur, including in schools, it is a reflection on what’s happening in the community.
This week is a really critical week.
Continue reading...Rates growing fastest among those aged 10-29, and decreasing in the older age groups
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, implored young people to stick to the rules as Covid-19 infections in the UK rose to their highest levels since early May.
It is not known why case rates are higher among young people, but England-level data shows they are rising steeply.
Continue reading...Mykonos and Crete among islands from which travellers will have to isolate for two weeks from Wednesday
Seven Greek islands are being removed from England’s list of locations exempt from 14-day Covid quarantine, in a significant shift in the government’s travel corridor policy.
Speaking in the Commons on Monday, the UK transport secretary, Grant Shapps, announced that arrivals from the Greek islands will have to isolate for two weeks on their return to England from Wednesday at 4am but not those visiting the country’s mainland.
Continue reading...Leading epidemiologist warns over case rate in France; Scottish first minister said her government could ‘put brakes’ on lockdown easing
Fatigue, headache and fever are the most common symptoms of coronavirus in children, with few developing a cough or losing their sense of taste or smell, researchers have found, adding to calls for age-specific symptom checklists.
The NHS lists three symptoms as signs of Covid-19 in adults and children: a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, and a loss or change in the sense of smell or taste.
Related: Fatigue and headache most common Covid symptoms in children – study
French people who reject mask-wearing are more likely to be older, educated women who support the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protest movement and the controversial virus specialist Didier Raoult, and would refuse to have a coronavirus vaccination if one were available, according to a new study.
They also describe themselves as free-thinkers who believe the government is meddling too much in their lives, have a distrust of public institutions and often support conspiracy theories, it found.
Related: French 'anti-maskers' most likely to be educated women in 50s, says study
Continue reading...Melbourne’s stage 4 lockdown extended by two weeks in ‘roadmap’ as Victoria pursues aggressive suppression strategy. This blog has ended
Thanks for following our live coverage of the coronavirus coverage in Australia. You can continue to follow our rolling global coverage here.
A quick recap on what happened today:
Asked if he would step down as premier if the hotel quarantine inquiry laid the blame for the outbreak on his office, Andrews said his responsibility was to keep going.
My position and the responsibility I have is to see our state through this. What is what I’m focused on.
Let me be as frank as I can be: Politics has never mattered less to me. Leadership is not able doing what’s popular, it is about doing what’s right.
The politics of this, that is of no value. The only thing that matters is we all stay the course. We all keep following the data, the science and the doctors and get this done. Then move to the biggest economic repair job that our state has ever seen.
Continue reading...The Guardian’s Africa correspondent on life in a country that has fought and faced down more than one epidemic
In the evening I went for a run, down to the gate from my guesthouse, past a huddle of round huts and through the fields of sugar cane to the lake. A dog barked, a child howled, someone laughed, and tinny music played somewhere in the gathering darkness.
Eshowe, a small town in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, is a place of astonishing natural beauty. The run did not last long. I stopped and watched as weavers, glossy starlings and sunbirds swooped through the trees, catching the last rays of the sun. To the north, low dry hills lined the horizon. To the south, the breakers of the Indian Ocean crashed on miles of wild shore. Eshowe was memorable for something else too: the very human suffering I found there, and equally human hope.
Continue reading...Drugs now under development are unlikely to end the pandemic, the Wellcome Trust’s Jeremy Farrar warns
Vaccines will not be a silver bullet to end the Covid-19 pandemic and leaders must avoid creating false hope, a key government adviser has warned.
Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, writes in today’s Observer that the first vaccines are likely to be only partially effective. Raising expectations and rushing new drugs into production risks damaging public trust in any vaccination programmes that eventually arrive, he said.
Continue reading...Experts suggest the capital’s previous exposure, and capacity to embrace home working, may now be inhibiting the virus
It is a question that puzzles both those on the front line fighting Covid 19 and the experts developing strategies to combat its next move: why has London not seen a second flare-up when other parts of the UK are now having to introduce new lockdown restrictions?
“It’s a bit of an enigma, given that London very definitely led during the initial peak,” said Professor David Alexander, who is based at the Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction at University College London.
Continue reading...