Category Archives: Infectious Diseases

Coronavirus live news: France rules out ‘catastrophic’ second national lockdown despite rise in infections

Posted on by

French prime minister says full lockdown must be avoided; number of global cases passes 17m; Japan to lift ban on re-entry of some foreign residents starting next week

Governments have the right to restrict protests on public health grounds, within reason, the UN Human Rights Committee said, as demonstrations clash with coronavirus outbreaks around the world.

The committee stepped in to formulate its legal interpretation having seen a gap in the international norms being tested before the pandemic started, since when the matter has become more pressing.

The protection of ‘public health’ ground may exceptionally permit restrictions to be imposed, for example where there is an outbreak of an infectious disease and gatherings are dangerous.

It’s understandable and acceptable that for health reasons there may be limits on your rights.

The Philippine government’s Covid-19 task force confirmed 3,954 new infections on Thursday, the country’s largest single-day increase in new cases.

The information on the surge in infections, which was a sharp increase from the record 2,539 cases confirmed on 8 July, was mentioned in a regular circular issued by the inter-agency task force.

Continue reading...

Germany’s Covid-19 fears grow over ‘reckless’ partygoers

Posted on by

Authorities warn of rise in cases after shocking footage of young revellers in Spain and Bulgaria

Young Germans partying abroad on Europe’s beaches and ignoring physical distancing rules are becoming an increasing cause of concern at home, as coronavirus cases continue to rise across the world.

Following widespread reports earlier this month of German tourists revelling on the Spanish island of Mallorca, bars and clubs on the infamous “Bier Straße” were forced by local authorities to close.

Continue reading...

Measles vaccination disruptions due to coronavirus put 80 million children at risk

Posted on by

The onset of Covid-19 has devastated immunisation programmes, leaving huge numbers of infants unprotected from deadly diseases

Tens of millions of children around the world have been denied life-saving vaccines against measles in both rich and poor countries due to Covid-19 disruptions, with fears of further outbreaks this year.

Since March, routine childhood immunisation services have been disrupted on a scale unseen since the 1970s, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Data collected by Unicef, the Gavi Alliance, WHO and Sabin Vaccine Institute found in May that immunisation programmes had been substantially hindered in at least 68 countries, leaving 80 million children under the age of one unprotected from diseases including measles, tetanus, polio and yellow fever.

Continue reading...

‘One big wave’ – why the Covid-19 second wave may not exist

Posted on by

With no evidence of seasonal variations, the WHO warns the initial coronavirus pandemic is continuing and accelerating

The Covid-19 pandemic is currently unfolding in “one big wave” with no evidence that it follows seasonal variations common to influenza and other coronaviruses, such as the common cold, the World Health Organization has warned.

Amid continued debates over what constitutes a second wave, a resurgence or seasonal return of the disease, Margaret Harris, a WHO spokesperson, insisted that these discussions are not a helpful way to understand the spread of the disease.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: US deaths near 150,000 as Italy extends state of emergency

Posted on by

Trump blames US case surge on protestors; WHO warns pandemic is “one big wave”, not seasonal; Air travel not expected to recover until 2024. Follow the latest updates

Florida reported another record one-day rise in coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, and cases in Texas passed the 400,000 mark, fueling fear that the United States is still not taking control of the outbreak and adding pressure on Congress to pass another massive economic aid package.

Public health experts are becoming concerned about the levels of infection in states such as Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky, while the surge in Florida along with Texas, Arizona and California this month has strained many hospitals.

Related: Covid-19: Florida reports record one-day deaths as concerns grow for other states

US officials say Russian intelligence services are using a trio of English-language websites to spread disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, seeking to exploit a crisis that America is struggling to contain ahead of the presidential election in November.

Two Russians who have held senior roles in Moscow’s military intelligence service known as the GRU have been identified as responsible for a disinformation effort reaching American and western audiences, US government officials said on Tuesday. They spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Related: Russia used English-language sites to spread Covid-19 disinformation, US officials say

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: US deaths near 150,000 as Hong Kong warns hospitals could collapse

Posted on by

Hong Kong outbreak ‘overwhelming’ medical system; pilgrims quarantined in Mecca as hajj begins; WHO warns pandemic is ‘one big wave’

The US attorney general William Barr will be tested for Covid-19, after coming in close contact with Texas Republican congressman Louie Gohmert on Tuesday when Barr testified before the House Judiciary Committee, a Justice Department spokeswoman confirmed to Reuters.

Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec added that Barr already faces routine testing for Covid-19 at the White House.

Berlin’s Tegel airport began large-scale coronavirus testing on Wednesday, as airports across Germany prepared for the advent of free, compulsory testing for many passengers from next week.

Two rooms were set aside for tests, but an airport spokeswoman said a larger space was being prepared, indicating that authorities are preparing for testing to remain a fixture for a long time to come.

Continue reading...

‘We had to eat our seeds for planting’: 10 million in Sudan facing food shortages

Posted on by

UN warns coronavirus restrictions prevent access to most vulnerable and rising prices are leaving many going hungry

Almost a quarter of the population of Sudan are going hungry as conflict, rising food prices and the coronavirus take their toll.

About 9.6 million people now face severe food shortages, the highest number recorded in the country’s recent history.

Continue reading...

UK coronavirus live: disarray after Spain quarantine imposed; pet cat first animal in Britain to test positive

Posted on by

Growing concern more travel plans could be thrown into chaos in coming weeks with sudden changes to restrictions

Pet owners should not be alarmed by the news that a cat has tested positive for coronavirus, the government says. This is from Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England:

This is the first case of a domestic cat testing positive for Covid-19 in the UK but should not be a cause for alarm.

Tests conducted by the Animal and Plant Health Agency have confirmed that the virus responsible for Covid-19 has been detected in a pet cat in England.

This is a very rare event with infected animals detected to date only showing mild clinical signs and recovering within in a few days.

Here is more from the Defra news release about the pet cat testing positive for coronavirus.

The pet cat was initially diagnosed by a private vet with feline herpes virus, a common cat respiratory infection, but the sample was also tested for SARS-CoV-2 as part of a research programme. Follow-up samples tested at the APHA laboratory in Weybridge confirmed the cat was also co-infected with SARS-CoV2 which is the virus known to cause Covid-19 in humans.

Pet owners can access the latest government guidance on how to continue to care for their animals during the coronavirus pandemic.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: Belgium set to tighten restrictions; China reports highest new cases since April

Posted on by

Vietnam evacuates 80,000 tourists from Danang; Spain’s Covid-19 deaths could be 60% higher; global deaths near 650,000

In the US, more than 40 people were infected with the coronavirus after attending a multi-day revival event at a north Alabama Baptist church, the Associated Press reports.

“The whole church has got it, just about,” Al.com quoted pastor Daryl Ross of Warrior Creek Missionary Baptist church in Marshall County as saying.

My colleagues over in the US of A have launched their live blog, with coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in the country, its election campaign, protests in Portland and other cities and a lot more besides.

Click the link below to follow their latest updates.

Related: US nears 150,000 Covid-19 deaths as Republicans and Democrats pitch opposing plans – live

Continue reading...

Vietnam detects first locally transmitted Covid-19 cases since April

Posted on by

Nation brings in strict new measures and evacuates 80,000 people from city of Danang

Vietnam is evacuating 80,000 people from the central city of Danang and reimposing disease-prevention measures after four local coronavirus cases were detected, the first to be recorded in the country for more than three months.

Life had returned to normal for many in the country, which had been praised widely for taking quick action to contain Covid-19 and was on the brink of reaching 100 days without any new local infections. On Saturday, however, a 57-year-old man was confirmed to have tested positive, in the first community infection since April.

Continue reading...

‘I have to work’: arrivals from Spain vent anger at quarantine decision

Posted on by

People arriving in Stansted tell of their surprise at having to now self-isolate for two weeks

People flying into Britain from Spain have attacked the government’s decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on people returning from the country, saying they were given no warning and that they felt safer in Spain.

As flights from Jerez, Alicante, Valencia and Palma landed in quick succession on Sunday afternoon at Stansted airport, passengers found themselves faced with the realisation that they were about to enter into an unexpected period of self-isolation.

Continue reading...

Back to the workplace after Covid-19: are you fearful or jumping for joy?

Posted on by

Two workers, an epidemiologist and a psychologist explore the highs and lows of returning to the office post-lockdown

Coronavirus – latest updates

See all our coronavirus coverage

The psychologist: John Ameachi

Office life may never return to how it once was says organisational psychologist John Amaechi – and nor should it. “We can’t ask employees if they are ready to return to the office when employers aren’t ready, and they are not if they have not adjusted to the cultural shift we have witnessed.”

Continue reading...

‘It’s a ghost town’: tourism crisis hits British cities from Edinburgh to Bath

Posted on by

The effects of coronavirus on both international and domestic visitor numbers have left former hotspots fearing for the future

On a typical July day, restaurateur Paul Wedgwood would see hundreds of people with wheelie suitcases – airline tags still attached – walking past the window of his restaurant on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. This Thursday, he has seen just two. “We would normally look outside and you wouldn’t be able to see any tarmac – now it’s bare,” he said. “It’s just a ghost town.”

Like other British cities which usually attract high numbers of international tourists throughout the summer, Edinburgh is quiet, and businesses are suffering. August’s festival had already been cancelled when news came last week that December’s Hogmanay party will not go ahead as usual.

Continue reading...

Britain wins rare praise for leading race to test life-saving Covid drugs

Posted on by

UK’s high infection rate and centralised NHS have enabled Recovery team to help victims across the world

It has been a startling week for those following Britain’s response to the pandemic. Roundly derided for the lateness of its lockdown and its bungled testing programmes, the UK was the unexpected recipient of a sudden bout of lavish praise for its scientists’ efforts to combat the d isease.

“The Brits are on course to save the world,” wrote leading US economist Tyler Cowen in Bloomberg Opinion, while the journal Science quoted leading international scientists who have heaped praise on British researchers’ anti-Covid work.

Continue reading...

Australia’s childcare centres struggle to pay up to $9,000 for Covid-19 cleaning

Posted on by

One-size-fits-all approach for sector puts not-for-profits in jeopardy, union warns

The not-for-profit early childcare education sector is struggling to pay up to $9,000 for deep cleaning each time a Covid-19 case is identified, while federal government transition payments may not be enough to keep the sector afloat as parents pull their children out of the system.

The United Workers Union’s director for early childhood education, Helen Gibbons, said the one-size-fits-all approach towards the early childcare sector needed a rethink or the community risked losing not-for-profit childcare centres, which comprise just under half of the sector.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: UK to announce tourists returning from Spain must quarantine for two weeks

Posted on by

Johnny Depp’s in-person court case ‘galling’; Germany may introduce compulsory testing; funeral fees rise in Great Britain

This from my colleague Sam Jones in Madrid:

A spokeswoman for the Spanish government declined to comment on the reported quarantine measures, instead referring the Guardian to comments made on Friday by the foreign minister, Arancha González Laya.

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has said that people returning to any part of the UK from Spain will have to quarantine from midnight.

“Spain will be removed from the list of countries exempt from quarantine requirements due to an increased number of cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) in the last few days,” Scotland’s government said in a statement.

Having reviewed the latest data earlier today, @scotgov is also reimposing 14 day quarantine for travellers returning from Spain. This reinforces the point that these matters are subject to change at short notice & so my advice is to be cautious about non essential foreign travel https://t.co/9xSnyFCv77

Continue reading...

Netanyahu faces Israelis’ anger as virus surges and unemployment rises

Posted on by

Despite a prompt lockdown, the veteran leader is seen to have lost control of the crisis

For Benjamin Netanyahu it wasn’t a bad spring this year, considering the previous 12 months.

The prime minister managed, somehow, to continue his treasured run as Israel’s longest-serving leader, despite a scandalous corruption indictment, three national elections that almost ousted him, and a menacing party primary. Having been sworn back into power – his fifth term – in May, the 70-year-old politician won global praise for a swift lockdown, with Israel cited as a textbook example of how to handle a pandemic.

Continue reading...

‘I didn’t know if she was alive’: the Australian couple split apart as Covid-19 tore through their cruise ship

Posted on by

David Connell and his wife Margaret were separated for weeks in Italy after catching coronavirus on the Costa Luminosa. For days, David didn’t know if his wife had survived

‘I didn’t know if she was alive’: Australian couple separated overseas when Covid-19 hit cruise ship

‘I didn’t know if she was alive’: the Australian couple split apart as Covid-19 tore through their cruise ship

David Connell had to pack his wife Margaret’s luggage quickly. She was sick, lying on the cabin’s bed, conscious but barely.

Her knitting and a book were already in her bag, he threw in some essentials and put both their phones in his pocket for safekeeping. They were headed from their cruise ship to a hospital in Italy, which on 22 March was one of the countries most heavily infected by Covid-19.

Continue reading...

‘Major’ breakthrough in Covid-19 drug makes UK professors millionaires

Posted on by

Synairgen’s share price rises 540% on morning of news of successful drugs trial

Three professors at the University of Southampton school of medicine have this week made a “major breakthrough” in the treatment of coronavirus patients and become paper millionaires at the same time.

Almost two decades ago professors Ratko Djukanovic, Stephen Holgate and Donna Davies discovered that people with asthma and chronic lung disease lacked a protein called interferon beta, which helps fight off the common cold. They worked out that patients’ defences against viral infection could be boosted if the missing protein were replaced.

Continue reading...

‘A wicked enemy’: how Australia’s coronavirus success story unravelled

Posted on by

Weeks ago, Australia was the envy of the world. Now it has more than 3,000 active coronavirus cases and Melbourne is in lockdown. What went wrong?

Less than a month ago, Australia was the envy of much of the world. With daily new coronavirus cases in the single digits, it was feted as part of a group of “first mover” nations - countries like Taiwan, Singapore and New Zealand that acted decisively to quash coronavirus.

In mid-June, after three months of tight restrictions and differing levels of lockdown, life was not quite back to normal, but as politicians liked to stress, it was almost Covid-normal.

Continue reading...