Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:
Global confirmed death toll exceeds 255,000
At least 256,239 people are known to have died since the outbreak began, while there have been at least 3,651,010 confirmed infections, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. The figures are likely to vastly underestimate the true scale of the pandemic because they are reliant on official and media reports and do not include, for example, the many people presumed to have been infected but not tested.
Top UK adviser resigns over lockdown breach
The epidemiologist credited with convincing the UK government to abandon thoughts of pursuing herd immunity in favour of physical distancing resigns amid alleged breaches of lockdown rules.
Prof Neil Ferguson steps down from his government advisory position as the Daily Telegraph reveals that a woman with whom he is in a romantic relationship, but who lives elsewhere, visited him at his home during the lockdown.
Trump to wind down pandemic taskforce
Despite the US death toll passing 70,000, the president, Donald Trump, says he is keen to move towards a reopening of the economy and will dismantle the White House taskforce.
“[They] have done a great job. But we’re now looking at a little bit of a different form and that form is safety and opening and we’ll have a different group probably set up for that.”
‘Will some people be affected badly? Yes.’
Trump suggests the deaths that would inevitably follow a premature easing of lockdown conditions are a price worth paying to protect the US economy.
“Will some people be affected? Yes. Will some people be affected badly? Yes. But we have to get our country open and we have to get it open soon. I’m viewing our great citizens of this country to a certain extent and to a large extent as warriors.”
Mexico ‘winning the battle’, minister claims
The country’s deputy health minister, Hugo López-Gatell, who has spearheaded Mexico’s response to the outbreak, says it is containing the virus, even as he cautions that a second wave of seasonal illness could strike in October.
“We’re winning. The numbers are encouraging. We still have a very broad response capacity.”
Brazil sees first total lockdown
São Luís, capital of the north-eastern state of Maranhão, becomes the country’s first city to declare such restrictions – in direct opposition to the president Jair Bolsonaro, who has railed against social isolation and dismissed a soaring death toll.
The lockdown in the city and three neighbouring towns was ordered by a judge after intensive care beds in state government hospitals filled up.
UK misses testing target again
The country’s foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, says 84,806 tests were carried out on Monday. Ministers promised the UK would be carrying out 100,000 tests per day by the end of last month.
It claimed to have met that target on two days after including tests that had been posted but not carried out. But testing numbers have quickly fallen away again and the UK has now missed the target on three consecutive days.
Italy records smallest increase in cases for two months
Deaths in Italy climb by 236 on Tuesday, against 195 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections stands at 1,075, against 1,221 on Monday. It is the smallest number of new cases for two months.
WHO urges investigation of possible early cases
The recent discovery that a man in France was possibly infected before the virus was even reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by Chinese authorities has prompted the body to investigate other suspicious cases.
The WHO said the findings were not surprising but gave a “whole new picture on everything”.
