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UK Doctors condemn secrecy over false negative Covid-19 tests
Doctors’ leaders have condemned ministers and Public Health England (PHE) for throwing a “shroud of secrecy” over how many coronavirus tests on NHS staff and patients produce wrong results.
The Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) has demanded an end to “evasion” and the “wall of silence” around how many swab tests result in false negative readings.
The tests, in which samples are taken from someone’s throat and nose, are vital in controlling the spread of Covid-19 in hospitals because they are used to check whether NHS personnel and inpatients have the virus and might unwittingly pass it on.
A top White House official on Sunday likened China’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak to the Soviet Union’s cover-up of the meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, Reuters reports.
National security adviser Robert O’Brien said Beijing knew what was happening with the virus, which originated in Wuhan, from November but lied to the World Health Organization and prevented outside experts from accessing information.
“They unleashed a virus on the world that’s destroyed trillions of dollars in American economic wealth that we’re having to spend to keep our economy alive, to keep Americans afloat during this virus,” O’Brien said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
France has lowest daily rise in new coronavirus cases and deaths since lockdown
French authorities reported the smallest daily rise in new coronavirus cases and deaths on Sunday since before a lockdown began on 17 March, raising hopes that the worst of the epidemic is over in France.
The number of confirmed cases rose by 115 to 144,921, health ministry data showed, and the death toll increased by 35 to 28,367 - an increase of just 0.1% for both tallies.
The weekend totals for new cases and deaths were also both the lowest since France began easing its strict coronavirus restrictions on 11 May.
Epidemiologist Laurent Toubiana, director of the IRSAN health data institute, suggested the worst of the epidemic had passed and said the coronavirus may not come back, unlike previous pandemics such as the 1918 Spanish flu.
“If we do not see a quick resurgence of the epidemic, we might get a break for a few weeks,” he said on BFM TV.
Despite the easing of restrictions, social distancing rules remain in place in France and Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne told France Inter radio the government did not want people to travel abroad this summer.
She also said Paris parks must remain closed for now as the capital is still a “red zone” for circulation of the coronavirus.
Hi, Helen Sullivan joining you on the blog now. I’ll be bringing you the latest updates from around the world.
It’s always good to hear from you – get in touch with me on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan[at]theguardian.com.
The Daily Mail - usually one of Boris Johnson’s supporters in the press - has called on the prime minister to sack Dominic Cummings, trailing its headline with the following:
In the clearest way, Dominic Cummings has violated the spirit and letter of the lockdown. Boris Johnson says he ‘totally gets’ how the public feels about this. Clearly he totally doesn’t. Neither man has displayed a scintilla of contrition for this breach of trust. Do they think we are fools? For the good of the government and the nation, Mr Cummings must resign. Or the prime minister must sack him. No ifs. No buts.
US bars travellers who have been in Brazil in last two weeks
The White House has announced it is prohibiting foreigners from traveling to the US if they had been in Brazil in the last two weeks, two days after the South American nation became the world No. 2 hot spot for coronavirus cases.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the new restrictions would help ensure foreign nationals do not bring additional infections to the US, but would not apply to the flow of commerce between the new countries.
Brazil became the No. 2 hot spot for cases on Friday, second only to the US. Brazil has recorded over 347,000 infections, while the US has over 1.6 million.
The decision follows comments by the national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, to CBS.
“We hope that’ll be temporary, but because of the situation in Brazil, we’re going to take every step necessary to protect the American people,” O’Brien said.
Updated
UK front pages, Monday 25 May
It’s safe to say Dominic Cummings has received a rather... mixed reception across tomorrow’s front pages.
Tomorrow's Guardian: No apology, no explanation: PM bets all on Cummings
— Richard Preston (@richardpreston_) May 24, 2020
Read the story here: https://t.co/PNPrHaYmKz pic.twitter.com/YDS0vlrkHA
MIRROR: A cheat & A coward #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/4EXoZJGjhE
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 24, 2020
DAILY MAIL: What planet are they on? #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/pmeEE0G4gM
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 24, 2020
THE TIMES: Cummings acted like any father, insists PM #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/5vfo7fPX00
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 24, 2020
Updated
In the US, discrepancies in how different states are reporting testing and infection figures is causing “frustration and confusion”, AP reports.
Elected officials, businesses and others are depending on coronavirus testing and infection-rate data as states reopen so that they will know if a second wave of contagion is coming and whether another round of stay-at-home orders or closings might be needed.
But states are reporting those figures in different ways, and that can lead to frustration and confusion about what the numbers mean.
In some places, there have been data gaps that leave local leaders wondering whether they should loosen or tighten restrictions. In others, officials are accused of spinning the numbers to make their states look better and justify reopening.
In a continuing theme for the outbreak in the United States, a lack of federal leadership persists. Even the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been lumping together tests that measure different things.
Such errors render the CDC numbers about how many Americans are infected uninterpretable, creating a misleading picture for people trying to make decisions based on the data, said Ashish Jha, director of Harvards Global Health Institute.
“It is incumbent on health departments and the CDC to make sure they’re presenting information thats accurate. And if they cant get it, then don’t show the data at all,” Jha said. “Faulty data is much, much worse than no data.”
Updated
“Eid is not Eid with the atmosphere of coronavirus - people feel a sense of fear,” worshipper Akram Taher said in Gaza.
Muslims around the world have been marking a sombre Eid al-Fitr, as coronavirus lockdowns worldwide restrict celebrations.
Mass prayer gatherings have been banned in many countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey and Syria.
Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest sites, began a five-day round-the-clock curfew from Saturday after infections more than quadrupled since the start of Ramadan to over 72,000 - the highest in the Gulf.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire to mark Eid al-Fitr in a surprise move following months of bloody fighting with Afghan forces after the signing of a landmark agreement with the United States.
In Somalia, at least five people were killed and more than 20 wounded in a blast during Eid festivities, police said.
New York recorded 109 deaths from Covid-19 over the last 24 hours, which represents a slight increase on the previous day.
State governor Andrew Cuomo called on New Yorkers to remain vigilant. “What do we really think, this is the last time we are going to have a public health emergency?” Cuomo said. “Let’s make sure we are better for what we have gone through.”
Updated
Over on the UK side, the Guardian’s Carole Cadwalladr and Paul Lewis tally the dissenting advisors:
Actually five...if you count two other scientific advisers of the same Sage subgroup (@val23curtis and @ProfJohnDrury) who just retweeted Stephen Reicher. Not sure if they meant that as an endorsement but hardly distancing themselves from the sentiment. https://t.co/WTN3qui5mr
— Paul Lewis (@PaulLewis) May 24, 2020
Updated
India resumes domestic flights despite record spike in new cases
Domestic flights will resume across India on Monday, the federal civil aviation minister has said, despite a 24-hour record increase in new cases on Sunday.
The announcement follows a day of “hard negotiations”, the minister said, after some states sought to limit the number of flights.
Flights will restart under an easing of restrictions, despite the 6,767 new cases that brought India’s total to over 131,000.
Airlines are preparing to resume about a third of their domestic flight operations from Monday, even without clarity over what quarantine rules may apply to passengers.
The western state of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu in the south and West Bengal in the east - business hubs and home to India’s busiest airports - had said they were not prepared to open for flights as coronavirus cases rose, state government officials said.
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu agreed to operate limited flights from Monday, while southern state of Andhra Pradesh would allow flights from Tuesday, India’s civil aviation minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on Twitter.
“It has been a long day of hard negotiations with various state government to recommence civil aviation operations in the country ... Domestic flights will recommence across the country from tomorrow,” he said.
It has been a long day of hard negotiations with various state govts to recommence civil aviation operations in the country.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 24, 2020
Except Andhra Pradesh which will start on 26/5 & West Bengal on 28/5, domestic flights will recommence across the country from tomorrow.
West Bengal urged the central government to postpone the resumption of passenger flights to Kolkata as it focuses on rescue work after Cyclone Amphan hit the city.
Limited aviation operations in West Bengal will commence from Thursday, Puri said.
India’s federal structure gives its 28 states flexibility to set their own rules, complicating government efforts to kickstart the economy.
Updated
Just a reminder that you can reach me on Twitter @cleaskopeliti, with any hot tips, feedback, funny videos etc. Your contributions are really appreciated, even if I don’t manage to reply to everyone!
‘Why do you think you’re above the law?’ Cummings just coming back @SkyNews live vid. #sackcummimgs pic.twitter.com/oxJ2Qegmux
— London On The Inside (@LondONtheinside) May 24, 2020
Chile’s healthcare system is “very close to the limit,” President Sebastian Pinera has said, following a rapid rise in infections in recent days that has brought the country’s total close to 70,000.
The Ministry of Health reported 3,709 new cases in the last day, bringing the total to 69,102. The death toll is at 718.
“We are very close to the limit because we have had a very large increase in the needs and demands for medical care, and for intensive care unit beds and ventilators,” Pinera said during a visit to a hospital in Santiago, which has the highest concentration of cases.
Dominic Cummings reported to police over lockdown breach
Here’s the latest sticky development to the Dominic Cummings story.
Dominic Cummings is facing a possible police investigation under health laws over a claim that he breached self-isolation rules in north-east England, after a weekend of mounting pressure on the prime minister to sack his chief adviser.
Retired chemistry teacher Robin Lees has made a complaint to the police after reporting that he saw Cummings and his family on 12 April walking in the town of Barnard Castle before getting into a car, a joint investigation by the Guardian and Mirror can reveal.
(For those who’ve missed an episode or two in the saga, here’s a run-through of the chief advisor’s movements.)
Up to speed? Read Matthew Weaver and Vikram Dodd’s report on the latest.
Updated
More details on South Africa’s plans for easing the lockdown easing have just come through.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has said the controversial ban on the sale of alcohol would be lifted for home consumption when the country moves into level three of a five-tier coronavirus lockdown next month.
South Africans were prohibited from buying alcohol and cigarettes when the country locked down at the end of March, in an attempt to prevent a surge in violence and ease pressure on hospitals’ emergency wards.
Alcohol will be sold for home consumption under strict conditions, on certain days and within limited hours.
The ban on tobacco products, however, will remain in place “due to the health risks associated with smoking”, the president said.
Updated
In what has become a regular fixture of recent weeks, Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has once more encouraged a rally in the country’s capital to back his administration, days after Brazil passed Russia to become the world’s No 2 coronavirus hotspot after the US.
Surrounded by security guards wearing masks, but not wearing one himself, Bolsonaro was shown in a livestreaming video on his Facebook page greeting protesters waving Brazilian flags.
The rally came as the US president, Donald Trump – a close ally of the far-right Brazilian leader – considers a ban on travel from Brazil amid the worsening outbreak there.
The pro-Bolsonaro demonstration also follows a brewing political scandal revolving around an accusation by former justice minister Sergio Moro, a popular anti-graft crusader, that Bolsonaro aimed to interfere in police investigations.
Brazil’s federal supreme court released a video last week of an April 22 ministerial meeting in which Bolsonaro said he wanted to change security officials, their bosses or even ministers to stop his family and friends from getting “screwed”.
Brazil’s health ministry announced on Sunday 16,508 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total above 347,000, while the death toll increased by 965 to 22,013.
Updated
Austrian president apologises for breaching curfew
Austrian president Alexander Van der Bellen has apologised after staying at a restaurant past the 11 pm closing time mandated by the government as part of its anti-coronavirus measures.
“I went out for the first time since the lockdown with two friends and my wife,” Van der Bellen tweeted on Sunday, adding: “We then lost track of time while chatting. I’m sincerely sorry. It was a mistake.”
The president linked to an article in the Kurier newspaper according to which a police patrol found the president and his wife on the terrace of an Italian restaurant in central Vienna shortly after midnight on Sunday morning.
Der Bundespräsident zu heutigen Medienmeldungen: „Ich bin erstmals seit dem Lockdown mit zwei Freunden & meiner Frau essen gegangen. Wir haben uns dann verplaudert und leider die Zeit übersehen. Das tut mir aufrichtig leid. Es war ein Fehler“ (1/2)
— A. Van der Bellen (@vanderbellen) May 24, 2020
Restaurants and cafes were allowed to re-open last week on the condition they adhere to a number of rules, including the 11 pm closing time.
The restaurant’s owner told the Krone newspaper that he thought he had followed the rules by stopping service at 11 pm, believing customers were allowed to stay on the terrace past that time.
The restaurant could potentially be fined for a breach of the new restrictions and Van der Bellen says he will “take responsibility” if the restaurant owner suffers any losses as result of the incident.
Updated
South Africa announces further easing of lockdown
South Africa will further relax coronavirus lockdown restrictions from 1 June, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced, allowing large areas of the economy to fully reopen.
“Cabinet has determined that the alert level for the whole country should be lowered from level four to level three,” he said in an address broadcast on television, describing the move as a significant shift in approach to the pandemic.
France has said the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 144,921 from 144,806 on Saturday. The number of people in hospital rose to 17,185 from 17,178, while the number of people in intensive care fell to 1,655 from 1,665.
Updated
Israel’s cabinet has curtailed the involvement of its internal security agency, Shin Bet, in the cellphone tracking of people infected by the coronavirus, saying the measure would be a last resort.
The cabinet had circumvented parliament in March and approved emergency regulations to allow the use of the technology, usually deployed for anti-terrorism. Privacy watchdog groups have challenged the practice in court.
In light of falling contagion rates in Israel, phone tracking is now warranted “in specific and special cases only, where location … cannot be completed with epidemiological investigation using other methods”. This may be reviewed if infections surge.
Updated
Summary
- Global toll passes 340,000 The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases stands at 5,344,539, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. There have been 342,695 deaths officially linked to coronavirus around the world.
- Boris Johnson has backed Dominic Cummings, following reports his chief strategist broke lockdown rules on more than one occasion. Boris Johnson described Cummings as acting “responsibly, legally and with integrity”.
- The US is likely to impose travel restrictions on Brazil on Sunday, the White House national security adviser has said, after the South American country became the nation with the second most coronavirus cases. The country became the No 2 hot spot for cases on Friday, second only to the US. Brazil has recorded over 347,000 infections, while the US has over 1.6 million.
- The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Canada has risen to 84,081 from 82,892. There have been 103 more deaths, bringing the country’s toll up to 6,380.
- German authorities are trying to trace the people who attended a church service in Frankfurt after 107 tested positive for the coronavirus. The service took place at a Baptist church on 10 May, and it is not clear whether all the 107 attended the service, or whether the figure includes those who were infected by those who did.
- The French government has discouraged citizens from travelling abroad this summer, recommending they holiday in France, the environment minister Elisabeth Borne has said. This follows Emmanuel Macron saying it was unlikely that French people would be able to undertake major foreign trips this summer.
- South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti has suspended operations at its Mponeng mine after at least 164 employees tested positive for coronavirus. The mining company said it had tested 650 workers at the gold mining site in Merafong, Gauteng province, after a first case was detected last week. Contact tracing and sanitisation processes are under way.
- China’s top diplomat Wang Yi has said the US should stop wasting time in its fight against the coronavirus and work with China to combat it, instead of smearing the country. State councillor Wang’s comments came as he expressed his sympathy to the US for the pandemic, where the death toll is approaching 100,000.
- Thousands of pro-democracy protesters assembled in Hong Kong against a controversial security law proposed by China, defying a coronavirus measure banning gatherings of more than eight people. The planned legislation is expected to ban treason, subversion and sedition, and the clashes between police and demonstrators were the most intense seen in months.
- Italy has recorded 50 new deaths – but worst-hit Lombardy’s figures are missing due to late reporting. The number of new infections rose by 531, down from 669 on Saturday. There have been 32, 785 deaths and 140,479 people have recovered.
Updated
UK prime minister backs chief strategist who broke lockdown rules
The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, has backed his chief strategist, Dominic Cummings, amid pressure for his resignation after it was revealed he broke lockdown rules on multiple occasions.
Here are some of the key points from the UK briefing for those who missed it.
- Johnson described Cummings as having acted “responsibly, legally and with integrity”.
- He said the adviser had “followed the instincts of every father and every parent” in travelling to find the right kind of childcare at the moment when “both he and his wife were about to be incapacitated” and he does not “mark him down for that”.
- The PM avoided directly answering whether he was aware at the time that Cummings was travelling to Durham, and if he approved it.
Updated
There were 50 new coronavirus deaths in Italy on Sunday. However, the civil protection authority said the latest figures did not include deaths in the worst-hit Lombardy region due to late reporting.
New cases rose by 531, down from 669 on Saturday. There have been 32, 785 deaths and 140,479 people have recovered.
Gyms and swimming pools will reopen in all regions apart from Lombardy on Monday as part of Italy’s phased easing of restrictions.
Updated
South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti said on Sunday it had suspended operations at its Mponeng mine after at least 164 employees tested positive for coronavirus.
This follows the news that 53 employees at the world’s deepest mine had tested positive.
AngloGold Ashanti said it had tested 650 workers at the gold mining site in Merafong, Gauteng province, after a first case was detected last week.
“This process has indicated 164 positive cases with only a handful of tests left to process,” the company said in a statement, adding that the “vast majority” of cases were asymptomatic.
Operations at Mponeng mine have been “temporarily halted” to complete contact tracing and “sanitise the workplace”.
The UK’s daily coronavirus briefing has started, led by Boris Johnson. It comes as several Conservative MPs have called for Dominic Cummings to resign following reports that he breached the lockdown on more than one occasion.
My colleague Aaron Walawalkar will steer you through it here:
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Canada has risen to 84,081 from 82,892. There have been 103 more deaths, bringing the country’s toll up to 6,380.
US likely to impose travel restrictions on Brazil
The US is likely to impose travel restrictions on Brazil on Sunday, the White House national security adviser has said, after the South American country became the nation with the second most coronavirus cases.
Robert O’Brien told CBS’s Face the Nation he believed there would be a decision on Sunday about suspending entry for those coming from Brazil. The country became the No 2 hot spot for cases on Friday, second only to the US. Brazil has recorded over 347,000 infections, while the US has over 1.6 million.
“We hope that’ll be temporary, but because of the situation in Brazil, we’re going to take every step necessary to protect the American people,” O’Brien said.
He said restrictions for other countries in the southern hemisphere would be considered on a country-by-country basis.
The national security adviser’s comments follow Donald Trump saying on Tuesday he was considering imposing a travel ban.
“I don’t want people coming over here and infecting our people. I don’t want people over there sick either. We’re helping Brazil with ventilators … Brazil is having some trouble, no question about it,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
The US imposed travel restrictions on China in January, and on Europe in early March.
Updated
German authorities are trying to trace the people who attended a church service in Frankfurt after 107 tested positive for the coronavirus.
Services have been allowed in Hesse, the state Frankfurt is in, since 1 May, under the condition they follow strict distancing and hygiene rules.
The service in question took place at a Baptist church on 10 May, and it is not clear whether all the 107 attended the service, or whether the figure includes those who were infected by those who did.
“This situation shows how important it is that all of us stay alert and avoid becoming careless, especially now during the easing of restrictions. The virus is still there and will spread,” Hesse state health minister Kai Klose said.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has risen to 178,281, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Sunday. The reported death toll rose by 31 to 8,247.
I’m now handing this blog over to my colleague Clea Skopeliti, who will take you through the next few hours. Thanks for your company, emails and tweets throughout the day.
The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, was branded a “killer” by his opponents after he popped out for a Saturday night hot dog on the day a further 965 of his citizens were reported to have died from Covid-19, Tom Phillips reports.
Insults hurled at Bolsonaro as he grappled with his fast food dinner included: “assassino” (killer), garbage and fascist. One female dissenter can be heard screaming: “Get to work, you bum!”
Here is the report in full:
Spain has recorded 70 new Covid-19 deaths, bringing its toll to 28,752, the country’s health ministry says. The number of diagnosed cases rose to 235,772 from 235,290.
On top of that, here is some very welcome artistic succour. The Venice Film Festival will go ahead as scheduled at the beginning of September, according to Luca Zaia, the governor of the region around the Italian city.
Organised by the Biennale di Venezia company, Venice is the world’s longest-running film festival, Reuters reports. In January it announced that Cate Blanchett would preside over its 77th edition.
Due to the lockdowns imposed on the film industry across the world to limit the spread of the virus, the festival will probably be attended by fewer productions, said Zaia, who is also a board member of the Biennale di Venezia. The Cannes Film Festival, the world’s largest, was forced to postpone its latest edition in May due to the virus epidemic.
Italy plans to lift all travel curbs from 3 June and travellers from European Union countries will be able to enter without going into quarantine. The country recorded 119 new deaths from the Covid-19 epidemic on Saturday, bringing the death toll in Italy from the outbreak to 32,735, the third-highest total in the world after the United States and the United Kingdom.
Anyone looking for sporting relief during what, here in London at least, is a pleasant Sunday afternoon might enjoy our live football blog from Mainz v RB Leipzig in Germany’s Bundesliga. Rob Smyth has all the action:
Here’s a useful video for anyone wondering what has been happening with the Dominic Cummings lockdown breach story in the UK. This morning he said he did not travel to Durham a second time when he was asked by reporters on his doorstep, before going to Downing Street – from where he appears not to have emerged as yet.
Staying in Jerusalem, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre reopened to visitors today after a two-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The church, situated in Jerusalem’s Old City, is the site where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, entombed, and resurrected. The Christian authorities managing the site closed it to visitors in March to prevent the spread of coronavirus, but clerics maintained prayers inside the shuttered church throughout its closure.
Upon its reopening, church authorities limited entrance to 50 people at a time, and required that those entering the cavernous site maintain social distance and avoid touching any of the church’s stones, icons or other religious items. A typical day before the Covid-19 outbreak would bring thousands of faithful who kissed or placed their hands along the church’s surfaces.
As priests from the various Christian sects entered the church, a handful of faithful waited outside for the basilica’s church to open for the public, AP reports.
Authorities in Israel have gradually reopened schools, houses of worship and markets as the spread of coronavirus has slowed. The country’s health ministry has reported over 16,700 confirmed cases of the disease and 279 deaths. More than 14,000 have recovered.
Updated
Here is Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israel prime minister, wearing a face mask inside court as his high-profile corruption trial opens.
Oliver Holmes reports here:
Updated
Istanbul has become the world’s largest diaspora hub for Uighurs fleeing Chinese persecution. They are celebrating Eid, but for many the pain of being away from their homeland is acute. Bethan McKernan has this report.
Celebrating the Muslim holiday is a freedom Gül and her four children did not have at home in China’s western Xinjiang province, the Uighur homeland, where over the last few years the authorities have suffocated the ethnic minority’s cultural practices and turned the entire region into a police state subject to strict surveillance even inside their homes. Up to 1 million people have disappeared into re-education camps in what China says is a necessary measure to stamp out extremism.
“I miss my homeland and my family every day. I cry a lot with the pain,” she said at her home in Istanbul’s Zeytinburnu neighbourhood. “I love life in Istanbul. I wish they could be here too. My children have freedom here we could not imagine before.”
Full piece:
Updated
France asks citizens to avoid foreign trips this summer
The French government does not want its citizens to travel abroad this summer and recommends they take their holidays in France, the environment minister Elisabeth Borne says.
Earlier this month, president Emmanuel Macron said it was unlikely that French people would be able to undertake major foreign trips this summer and that even trips within Europe may have to be limited to reduce the risk of a resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic.
Borne, in an interview with France Inter radio, also said that next week the government would decide on possibly loosening rules on French domestic travel, currently limited to a maximum 100 kilometres from home.
She said Paris parks had to remain closed for now, as the capital was still a “red zone” for virus circulation, Reuters reports. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has repeatedly called on the government to reopen parks as Parisians, who mostly live in apartments without gardens, tend to congregate around the closed parks where it is difficult to respect social distancing rules.
Our US coronavirus live blog, which will include reaction to the controversy over Donald Trump’s golf trip, is now up and being steered by Martin Pengelly.
The city of Wuhan, the centre of the coronavirus outbreak in China, conducted 1,146,156 nucleic acid tests – which are used to identify the virus – on 23 May, the local health authority has confirmed. This compares with 1,470,950 tests a day earlier.
Wuhan began a campaign on 14 May to look for asymptomatic carriers – infected people who show no outward sign of illness – after confirming on 9-10 May its first cluster of Covid-19 infections since the city’s release from a virtual lockdown on 8 April.
Updated
I’m back with you for the next couple of hours – do email nick.ames@theguardian.com or tweet @NickAmes82 if you’d like to get in touch.
Underground production at AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng mine in South Africa will remain closed until further notice after 53 employees tested positive for coronavirus, health authorities have announced.
The mine, the deepest in the world, restarted operations on 22 April after closing entirely during a nationwide lockdown, and was operating at 50% capacity.
The department of health in Gauteng, the province where the mine is located, said on Twitter that 53 employees at the mine had so far tested positive for the virus, and that a further 104 tests were still being processed.
#Covid_19 || The total number of confirmed #COVIDー19 cases in Gauteng as at 23 May 2020 sites at 2633, with 1880 recoveries and 29 deaths. pic.twitter.com/y8lUUdOwWW
— Gauteng Health (@GautengHealth) May 24, 2020
“The management of the mine has indicated that the underground production will remain closed until further notice,” the statement said.
The company did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment outside of business hours, Reuters reports.
Updated
In the US, president Donald Trump is making headlines for his decision to spend Saturday playing at his golf course in Virginia.
Public health experts, including the White House’s own Dr Deborah Birx, have said that golf is OK with social distancing and other measures observed.
But Trump, not wearing a mask, was filmed shaking hands with a playing partner.
You can read more about this from my colleagues in the US on their live blog:
Thousands of pro-democracy protesters assembled in Hong Kong against a controversial security law proposed by China, defying a coronavirus-linked ban on gatherings of more than eight people.
Police fired tear gas and water cannon at the pro-democracy protesters who gathered on Sunday in the most intense clashes for months, AFP reports.
As the demonstrators and police were facing off in the semi-autonomous financial hub, the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, insisted in Beijing that the proposed law must be imposed “without the slightest delay”.
The planned legislation – expected to ban treason, subversion and sedition – comes after Hong Kong was shaken last year by months of massive, often-violent protests, and repeated warnings from Beijing that it would not tolerate dissent.
With campaigners warning the proposal could spell the end of the city’s treasured freedoms, thousands gathered and chanted slogans in the busy Causeway Bay and Wan Chai districts, while some masked protesters set up makeshift barricades to stop police vehicles.
Vincent, a 25-year-old protester, told AFP:
People may be criminalised only for words they say or publish opposing the government.
I think Hong Kongers are very frustrated because we didn’t expect this to come so fast and so rough. But... we won’t be as naive as to believe that Beijing will simply sit back and do nothing. Things will only get worse here.
At least 120 people were arrested, police said, as attempts to clear the roads in the area continued into the evening.
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In the UK, a former English Football Association chief executive has warned that clubs could face “insolvency” amid the pandemic.
Former English Football Association chief executive Mark Palios has warned the cost of the coronavirus to lower-league clubs could be even larger than the £200m forecast by officials.
Rick Parry, the chairman of the English Football League, which governs the three divisions below the Premier League, estimated the cost of lockdown earlier this month.
But Palios, the chairman of third-tier Tranmere, believes the financial damage could be worse.
Palios told Sky News:
Whilst you may look at the ‘hole’ which has been articulated as £200m to September – I think it’s bigger than that.
There is a real financial maelstrom coming towards the league at this point in time.
I personally believe we haven’t seen the worst of it yet, and during the course of the summer you’ll see a lot more financial stress on the clubs as we move onwards and continue to pay wages.
I think what you’ll see is a lot of clubs will stumble down the road to insolvency.
Teams in third-division League One have still to agree on how to end their season, with Palios – whose club sit in the relegation zone – calling for relegation to be scrapped.
“We don’t want to have a decision foisted upon us that is going to affect us financially,” said Palios. “Why would you … in terms of certain clubs, foist on them an even worse position?”
Palios said the impact of the coronavirus meant EFL rules that hit insolvent clubs with points penalties should be relaxed.
Although points deductions can be appealed against on the grounds of “force majeure” events, Palios also called for a clarification of rules regarding clubs which entered administration.
“This is a consequence of a pandemic, so I think they need to be considering that clubs may need to go to the protection of administration,” he said.
Updated
I’m taking a lunch break now but my colleague, Aaron Walawalkar, will steer you through the next hour or so.
What do we now know about Covid-19 – and can you get it twice? Nicola Davis has answers to your questions, based on current knowledge and the latest research from scientists.
Dominic Cummings, the under-fire adviser to Boris Johnson, has been seen entering 10 Downing Street. Significant? We don’t yet know, but our UK coronavirus blog will keep you firmly up to date as this story continues to pan out.
Chinese diplomat: US must 'stop wasting time' with smears in Covid-19 fight
The United States should stop wasting time in its fight against the coronavirus and work with China to combat it, rather than spreading lies and attacking the country, the Chinese government’s top diplomat Wang Yi says.
Sino-US ties have nosedived since the outbreak of the new coronavirus, with the administrations of president Donald Trump and president Xi Jinping repeatedly trading barbs over issues related to the pandemic, reports Reuters, especially US accusations of cover-ups and lack of transparency. The two top economies have also clashed over Hong Kong, human rights, trade and US support for Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
State councillor Wang, speaking at his annual press conference on the sidelines of China’s parliament, expressed his deep sympathies to the United States for the pandemic, where the death toll is expected to surpass 100,000 in the coming days, the highest number of any country.
“Regretfully, in addition to the raging coronavirus, a political virus is also spreading in the United States. This political virus is using every opportunity to attack and smear China,” said Wang, who is also China’s foreign minister.
“Some politicians have ignored the most basic facts and concocted too many lies about China and plotted too many conspiracies. I want to say here: Don’t waste precious time any longer, and don’t ignore lives.
“What China and the United States need to do the most is to first learn from each other and share their experience in fighting against the epidemic, and help each country fight it.”
Updated
In Germany, there are more football matches in the country’s top division – the Bundesliga – today. It restarted last week behind closed doors amid intense scrutiny and, thus far, things appear to have gone relatively smoothly. This picture, showing medics in protective suits checking the body temperature of a person about to enter Schalke 04’s stadium before their match with Augsburg, gives a flavour of the strict measures being taken to ensure it takes place safely.
A British man has been detained in an Indian prison after being accused of breaching the country’s strict coronavirus lockdown rules, reports Nazia Parveen.
Sohail Hughes, 29, had been on an extended holiday to visit family in the Gujarat region before undertaking a pilgrimage of mosques when he was detained last month.
His family, who have a launched a petition to have him freed, have claimed he is being unlawfully held by Indian officials.
Hughes’ sister, Aatika, said he was forced to take refuge in a mosque in Bhopal after being caught out by the swiftly implemented lockdown laws requiring people to stay off the streets.
Aatika, 35, says her brother, alongside dozens of other men, had his passport seized before being kept in quarantine for more than a month inside a hostel. While in quarantine Hughes has been repeatedly tested for Covid-19 and has always been negative.
Here is the full report:
Summary
The key stories from the last few hours ...
- Conservative MPs are among those calling for Dominic Cummings, adviser to the UK prime minister Boris Johnson, to resign. Cummings is under fire from all ends of the political spectrum after the Guardian reported claims he breached government lockdown guidance on more than one occasion.
- Eid al-Fitr celebrations are under way across the world but there are concerns that a surge in Covid-19 cases could result. Festivities have been constrained in many places as a result of the pandemic.
-
Russia has reported its highest daily Covid-19 death toll. The country recorded 153 coronavirus deaths over most recent 24-hour period measured, its highest daily toll during the pandemic, raising total fatalities to 3,541.
- Sweden has run the least-restrictive lockdown of any developed country but that strategy is coming under fire. Anneka Linde, the predecessor of the country’s state epidemiologist, has told the Observer that tougher measures should have been put in place earlier in the pandemic.
- The number of confirmed coronavirus case in Afghanistan has topped 10,000, while the Taliban has announced a ceasefire over Eid. Concerns are high as, despite the government-mandated lockdown, people continue to break the regulations.
- First indications of the effectiveness of a potential vaccine against coronavirus may be available in the autumn. That is according to the head of the GAVI vaccine alliance, Seth Berkley, who cautioned in a Swiss newspaper that it would be a long road from there to broad availability.
If you are just joining today’s global coronavirus news blog, remember you can email me at nick.ames@theguardian.com or direct message me @NickAmes82 with any tips, feedback or observations. Your input is valued enormously.
Meanwhile, in Spain, preparations are afoot for the next phase of lockdown loosening – but there are significant differences in vision between Madrid and Barcelona when it comes to bringing back the national staple of sitting on a terraza for food and drink. Stephen Burgen and Sam Jones have this report.
Leaders of Italian towns and cities are struggling to get citizens to comply with social distancing rules after the reopening of bars led to group gatherings on streets and squares.
Italians had some of their civil liberties restored last Monday alongside the reopening of bars, restaurants and all other retailers, and many have taken advantage of the fine weather to socialise outside or go to parks and beaches. But with the pandemic far from over, leaders of some towns and cities have had to reimpose restrictions following scenes of people mixing closely together and without face masks.
In Brescia, one of the areas in Lombardy hardest hit by coronavirus, bars will now have to close by 9.30pm, while in Verona, in Veneto, bar customers must be seated at a table. Bars will also have to close by 9pm in Perugia, Umbria.
According to police data, 20% more Italians ventured outside on Saturday compared with Friday, with a rise in the number of people using public transport. Six hundred and 51 fines were issued nationally on Friday, 10% of them in Rome. Two people infected with Covid-19 were charged for breaking the quarantine.
Luciana Lamorgese, the interior minister, called for people to act more responsibly. “Before this reopening Italians demonstrated much responsibility, but today the difficulties with nightlife are arising: young people, after so long indoors, have lost their limits,” she said. “I hope the sense of responsibility returns and that they adapt to the new conditions as, more than ever, we need to stay attentive as going backwards would harm everyone.”
People also flocked to Italy’s beaches over the weekend – at least those that have reopened. The civil protection authority reported 119 new deaths from coronavirus on Saturday and 669 new infections, of which 441 were in Lombardy.
Updated
Today, Italians can celebrate mass in church with the community for the first time since 8 March. In this picture, chairs are sanitised before mass is celebrated by the parish priest Don Carlo Chiomento, of Candiolo near Turin.
First indications of the effectiveness of a potential vaccine against coronavirus may be available in the autumn, the head of the GAVI vaccine alliance has told a Swiss newspaper, forecasting a long road from there to broad availability.
“Unfortunately, we really do not know which vaccine will work and whether there will be one at all. If we’re lucky, we’ll receive indications in autumn as to [a potential vaccine’s] effectiveness,” the GAVI head Seth Berkley told NZZ am Sonntag in an interview published today.
“But there will still be a long way to go from there until an approved active substance becomes available in large quantities for the global population.”
Calling for globally coordinated efforts both to produce and share an eventual vaccine, Berkley said international agreement was needed to build up manufacturing capacity to rapidly produce a vaccine once one is found.
“[Countries] should work together in order to share in each other’s vaccines in case one’s own are not good,” he said, adding it was possible some vaccines would work better for younger people and others for older age groups.
He urged the World Health Organization to issue clear guidelines on a vaccine’s use and distribution to prevent a vaccine first being made available to the rich at the expense of the people most in need, Reuters reports. Should an effective vaccine become available in an initially limited supply, it should first be used to immunise health personnel, he said.
Afghanistan cases top 10,000; Taliban announces ceasefire over Eid
The number of confirmed coronavirus case in Afghanistan has topped 10,000 amid continued surges of transmission in the capital, Kabul, and Herat – while the country woke up to a rare period of calm after recent violence.
Around half of the tests done in a 24-hour period came back positive across the country. The health ministry tested 1,206 suspected patients, of whom 584 came out positive. Two patients also died overnight, taking the total number of confirmed infections to 10,582 and the death toll to 218. There have been 1,075 recoveries.
Most of the new infections were reported in Kabul, with 324 cases coming back positive from 571 tests. Kabul is the country’s worst-affected area for transmissions, with 3,784 confirmed cases and 29 deaths.
The eastern province of Nangarhar and western province of Herat, which have both seen surges in the number of new infections in recent days, recorded 135 new cases combined. Herat is the country’s worst-affected area for deaths, with 35 patients losing their lives to Covid-19.
Sunday is the first day of Eid in Afghanistan and concerns are high as, despite the government-mandated lockdown, people continue to break the regulations. According to a Guardian tally, Afghanistan recorded 3,920 new cases in the seven days before Eid – a record high.
Wahid Majroh, the country’s deputy health minister, warned the nation on Saturday that the “catastrophe” of coronavirus is spreading across the country and said the nation has only two options for Eid: “You either stay at home and safe, or go out to visit your relatives and friends – which [can] cause everyone in your family [to become] infected”.
He said the ministry is concerned about people breaking lockdown rules. “When people were heeding, the daily number of infections was was just about 250 – but now, as the people continue to break the rules and we test more, the number is rising.”
Majroh, who escaped an assassination attempt unharmed on Saturday, said the ministry is preparing more hospital beds for Covid-19 patients. Early last week, he said the country had run out of hospital beds for them in most areas.
Meanwhile, Afghans woke up to a rare period of calm as the Taliban announced a ceasefire for the three days of Eid. Its leadership instructed fellow fighters to stop their “offensive operations against the enemy … and defend only if attacked”. The Taliban’s move is only second ceasefire in around 19 years of war; they made a similar announcement in 2018.
“All Mujahedeen should be aware that nobody can go the enemy’s control areas and from the opposite side, nobody is allowed to get into Mujahedeen’s areas,” the Taliban said in a statement. The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, welcomed the move and said he has instructed Afghan forces to “comply with the three-day truce and to defend only if attacked”.
Updated
Moving on to Indonesia, which has reported 21 new coronavirus deaths and 526 new infections in the most recent 24-hour count. That means the country has recorded 1,372 deaths and 22,271 infections.
Updated
More daily Covid-19 figures are coming through from south-east Asia. Malaysia has reported 60 new coronavirus cases, bringing its total number of known infections to 7,245. The country’s health ministry said the number of fatalities remained unchanged at 115.
Updated
Here is a very thought-provoking piece from Simon Tisdall, arguing that an age of revolution in the post-coronavirus world is inevitable – and the biggest question is what form it takes.
JP Morgan’s chief executive, Jamie Dimon, called the pandemic “a wake-up call … for business and government to think, act and invest for the common good”. This sounds almost socialistic.
A revolutionary agenda for the post-pandemic world also includes meaningful steps to address poverty and the north-south wealth gap, more urgent approaches to linked climate, energy, water and mass extinction crises and, for example, the adoption of so-called doughnut economics that measures prosperity by counting shared social, health and environmental benefits, not GDP growth.
It may seem like pie in the sky. But so too did the idea of millions working from home, and halting road and air travel, until it happened almost overnight. Whether recognised as such or not, this is a revolutionary manifesto that, if it is pursued – as a growing body of opinion believes it must be – will demand the utter transformation of current political behaviour and organisation.
The whole article is here, and well worth a few minutes of your time:
Russia reports its highest daily Covid-19 death toll
Russia this morning reported 153 coronavirus deaths over the previous 24 hours, its highest daily toll during the pandemic, raising total fatalities to 3,541.
The country’s coronavirus crisis response centre also said 8,599 new cases had been documented, a reduction of 835 on the previous day – pushing the nationwide tally of infections to 344,481.
Sweden has run the least-restrictive lockdown of any developed country but, with its overall Covid-19 death toll expected to pass 4,000 this weekend, that strategy is coming under fire. Anneka Linde, the predecessor of the country’s state epidemiologist, has told the Observer that tougher restrictions should have been put in place earlier in the pandemic.
Linde, who oversaw Sweden’s response to swine flu and Sars as state epidemiologist from 2005 to 2013, had until now expressed support for her country’s approach under her successor, Anders Tegnell.
But she has now become the first member of the public health establishment to break ranks, saying she has changed her mind as a result of Sweden’s relatively high death toll compared with that of its neighbours, Denmark, Norway, and Finland.
“I think that we needed more time for preparedness. If we had shut down very early … we would have been able, during that time, to make sure that we had what was necessary to protect the vulnerable,” Linde told the Observer.
Here is the full story, from Richard Orange:
Updated
Socially distanced Eid al-Fitr prayers are taking place across the world – as seen here at a mosque in Zagreb, Croatia.
Updated
A 107-year-old Iranian woman who was infected with coronavirus has recovered, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency. The woman, Saltanat Akbari, was admitted to the Khansari hospital in the central city of Arak. She was released from the hospital after spending “some time” in isolation.
“She defeated the virus with the help of doctors and nurses at the hospital,” Fars said. Iran is one of the most affected countries in the Middle East with a total of 133,521 infected cases and 7,359 deaths.
Our UK coronavirus live blog is now up, running and in the hands of Jedidajah Otte. It will be well worth keeping an eye on, as trailed two posts ago.
Singapore has confirmed 548 more coronavirus cases, taking its tally to 31,616. The vast majority of the newly infected people are migrant workers living in dormitories, the health ministry said. Three are permanent residents. To date there have been 23 deaths from Covid-19 in the country.
Just in case you missed it, the big story in the UK involves Dominic Cummings, the most senior adviser to prime minister Boris Johnson. Last night, we reported claims that, further to Friday evening’s exclusive that he breached lockdown rules, he has done so on other occasions. It is a story that will dominate the British news agenda today.
Matthew Weaver’s piece is here:
Updated
The festival of Eid al-Fitr, which ends the fasting month of Ramadan, began at dawn today. It is a time of joy and celebration, but there are concerns in the Middle East that those festivities could bring about a surge in coronavirus cases – so they have been constrained in many places. Michael Safi, in Amman, and Harriet Sherwood have reported this story for us.
“It’s sad, it hurts,” said Mohammad, who runs a sugarcane juice stall. “Normally we’d wake up, take our kids to pray, and visit family and friends. It was cheerful, we felt joy.” This year? “We’ll eat, drink and sleep,” he said. “And we’ll hang around annoying our wives,” said his father, grinning behind him.
Contact with family and friends is part of the festival. “We’ll visit them,” said Abdul Kareem, queuing outside a bakery. “But it’ll be on WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook.”
The owner of a nearby shoe shop, Wissam, watched the bustle from his door. “This isn’t right,” he says of the busy scene. “There’s a virus out there.”
Full story:
Good morning, afternoon or evening, wherever you are. I’ll be taking you through the next eight hours, more or less, of live Covid-19 news and updates from around the world. As always, it would be good to hear from you. Send any news tips, observations, comments or feedback to nick.ames@theguardian.com, or by all means drop me a direct message on Twitter @NickAmes82.
Summary
That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan for today. Thanks as always for following along.
Here are the most important developments from the last few hours:
- Wuhan lab had bat coronaviruses – but not Covid-19. The Chinese virology institute in Wuhan, the city in China at the heart of the coronavirus pandemic, has three live strains of bat coronavirus on-site, but none match the Covid-19 strain, its director has said. The director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology told state broadcaster CGTN that claims by US president Donald Trump that the virus could have leaked from the facility were “pure fabrication”. In an interview filmed on 13 May but broadcast on Saturday night, Wang Yanyi said the centre had “isolated and obtained some coronaviruses from bats. Now we have three strains of live viruses … But their highest similarity to Sars-CoV-2 only reaches 79.8%.”
- US opens up for summer. There are fears the US will suffer a second wave of coronavirus infections as it opens up for summer, just days away from the grim milestone of 100,000 Covid-19 deaths. Every state has relaxed restrictions to some extent, with many flocking to beaches and outdoor areas. The New York Times filled the entire front page of Sunday’s paper with the death notices of victims from across the country as the country recorded more than 97,000 deaths.
- Argentina extends lockdown. Argentina has extended the mandatory lockdown in Buenos Aires until 7 June and tightened some movement restrictions, after a steady increase in the city’s confirmed coronavirus cases in recent days. Officials will tighten traffic controls between the capital and Buenos Aires province, the area with the second highest concentration of cases. The country recorded 704 new infections on Saturday, one of the highest single-day increases since the pandemic began.
- Brazil cases near 350,000. Brazil registered 965 new coronavirus deaths on Saturday, taking the total number of fatalities to 22,013, the health ministry said. The country now has 347,398 confirmed cases, according to the ministry, up 16,508 from Friday, when it surpassed Russia to become the world’s virus hot spot behind the US. The actual number of cases and deaths is believed to be higher than the official figures disclosed by the government, as the testing capacity of Latin America’s largest country still lags.
- New Zealand reports no new cases. New Zealand’s health ministry has announced there were zero new coronavirus cases confirmed in the last 24 hours. According to NewsHub, there are now only 27 active cases left in New Zealand, with one more patient recovered, bringing the country’s total to 1,154, with 21 deaths.
- Australian states ease restrictions. In Australia, Victorian state premier, Daniel Andrews, has said Victorians will be allowed to have 20 people in their homes as well as overnight stays in hotels from 1 June. In New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, health minister Brad Hazzard announced that beauty, tanning, nail and waxing salons would all be open from 1 June.
- Pompeo threatens Australia over Belt and Road projects. The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has implied information sharing with Australia may be at risk if the Victoria proceeds with any Belt and Road projects that jeopardise communications networks. Issuing the highly qualified warning during an interview with Sky News Australia, the News Corp-owned channel, Pompeo urged Victoria to scrutinise any proposals “incredibly closely” because Belt and Road projects could “build up the capacity of the Chinese Communist party to do harm”. Victoria has attracted domestic political criticism for signing an agreement that would allow for it be part of the Belt and Road Initiative.
- French churches to hold first masses since lockdown started. French churches were preparing to hold their first Sunday masses in more than two months after the government bowed to a ruling that they should be reopened. Nearly two weeks into the relaxation of its shutdown, the government finally allowed churches, mosques and synagogues to reopen. Worshippers will have to wear masks, there will have to be disinfectant gel on hand and the seating will need to be organised to ensure people keep a safe distance from each other.
- Boris Johnson’s chief adviser under pressure as second trip emerges. In the UK, prime minister Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, faces renewed pressure to resign after new witnesses reported seeing him making a fresh trip hundreds of miles to Durham.
Updated
In Australia, a Darwin pub has been fined more than AU$5,000 (US$3,270) for repeatedly failing to adhere to strict coronavirus laws.
Police and environmental health officers issued a caution to Lola’s Pergola on 15 May for failing to serve separate meals to people consuming liquor, patrons not being seated while drinking and social distancing not being implemented.
One week later, further observations confirmed reports from concerned patrons that alcohol was being served without meals.
Advice about the chief health officer’s directions was provided to the owner at the time.
But the next day, the venue had to be cautioned again and the following day the infringement notice was issued.
More than 11,000 compliance checks have been completed and 57 fines issued.
Updated
UK low-income households denied coronavirus support by benefit cap
Tens of thousands of poor households are being denied extra support designed to ease the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, after being hit by the government’s benefit cap.
The number of low-income households affected by the cap in London has doubled since the crisis started, according to analysis seen by the Observer. Households already at the cap when the crisis hit have been missing out on £320 a month in additional support. For private renters with children, this is £532 a month. A further 22,000 households are now at the cap and are missing out on an average of £185 a month.
It has led to an outcry that there is now a two-tier system, in which workers on the government’s furlough scheme have access to far more support than some of those reliant on welfare. Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, is calling for the cap to be increased during the pandemic.
The government introduced new help for those claiming universal credit, however, the cap was not increased or suspended.
UK front pages:
THE OBSERVER: Fresh claims that Cummings broke virus lockdown rules #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/Dc3ry7Zkek
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 23, 2020
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Cummings faces fresh claims that he broke lockdown as row engulfs number 10 #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/rrFYMgN7uJ
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 23, 2020
SUNDAY TIMES: Johnson refuses to throw his top aide ‘to the dogs’ #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/puD6NRGfZh
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 23, 2020
MAIL ON SUNDAY: Boris: It’s not like he was visiting a lover #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/Y13S0gWpkK
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 23, 2020
FINANCIAL MAIL: Britain’s plan for £25bn sovereign wealth fund #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/0Fx5tUp1AI
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) May 23, 2020
Get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan[at]theguardian.com. Questions, comments, good tweets and news tips from your part of the world all welcome.
Updated
Global report: Wuhan lab says its bat strains were not Covid-19 as US nears 100,00 deaths
The virology lab in Wuhan, the city at the heart of the outbreak, was working on three live strains of bat coronavirus, but none of them match the one that has caused the Covid-19 pandemic, its director has said.
Wang Yanyi told Chinese state broadcaster CGTN that the closest genetic match to the virus spreading around the world was only 79.8%, adding that claims made by US president Donald Trump and others that the virus could have leaked from the facility were “pure fabrication”.
She said: “Our institute first received the clinical sample of the unknown pneumonia on December 30 last year … We didn’t have any knowledge before that, nor had we ever encountered, researched or kept the virus. In fact, like everyone else, we didn’t even know the virus existed. How could it have leaked from our lab when we never had it?”
The attempt by the laboratory to refute the claims is nevertheless likely to add more fuel to the conspiracy rumours.
The interview came amid fears the US will suffer a second wave of coronavirus infections as it opens up for summer, just days away from the grim milestone of 100,000 Covid-19 deaths.
The New York Times marked the looming threshold with a front page listing nearly 1,000 Covid-19 death notices, gleaned from hundreds of US papers. The headline spoke of an “incalculable loss”.
Charities call for new youth corps to tackle UK virus jobs crisis
A coalition of British youth charities is urging the government to back a “national youth corps” to create opportunities for school and university leavers facing the toughest labour market for decades. The alliance of 12 organisations argues that decisive intervention can “turn this looming disaster into an opportunity”.
The new youth corps would guarantee at least the minimum wage for 16- to 25-year-olds in a range of work and training opportunities until the end of 2021.
US has seen at least nine separate coronavirus-related shootings
There have been at least nine separate shootings in the United States linked to conflicts over coronavirus public health restrictions, from mask-wearing to social distancing rules, according to The Trace, a nonprofit news outlet focused on gun violence.
At least four people have died and seven have been wounded in the shootings, The Trace found, looking at data from the Gun Violence Archive, which assembles real-time data on shootings based on news reports.
The coronavirus-linked incidents include arguments over mask-wearing on public transit and in businesses, including a man in Colorado who reportedly shot and wounded a Waffle House employee who confronted him over not wearing a mask, and a man in Texas who reportedly shot a bus passenger after being told he could not board the bus without a mask.
Coronavirus-related restrictions have led to at least 9 shootings across the U.S., according to an analysis of @GunDeaths data.
— The Trace (@teamtrace) May 22, 2020
One sociologist isn't surprised: "There is a lot of anger, frustration, stress, despair, depression, fear, and hopelessness." https://t.co/KHIximftsl
Thailand on Sunday reported no new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, with a total of 3,040 confirmed cases and 56 fatalities since the outbreak began in January.
Sunday was the fourth day in this month that there were no new daily cases, said Panprapa Yongtrakul, a spokeswoman for the government’s coronavirus task force.
There are 2,921 patients who have recovered and returned home since the outbreak started.
Updated
Verna Yu reports for the Guardian:
In Hong Kong, small groups of activists and pro-democracy politicians have begun marching to China’s liaison office, arranging themselves in groups of eight in order not to breach the government’s social distancing rules.
“A characteristic of a dictatorial country is that they use national security as a pretext to suppress freedom of speech,” Roy Tam, a district councillor shouted through a loud hailer.
Eight activists from another group, League of Social Democrats, arrived to demonstrate in front of the office minutes later.
“Hong Kong people defending our human rights,” they chanted. “Don’t forget the June 4 massacre! Human rights are higher than the regime! Down with Communist Party dictatorship!”
You can read the full report here:
Get in touch with me directly on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan[at]theguardian.com. Questions, comments, good tweets and news tips from your part of the world all welcome.
Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer will lodge documents with the country’s high court this week, arguing Western Australia’s border closure is unconstitutional, as the state again recorded no new cases of Covid-19, AAP reports.
Palmer wanted to visit WA for meetings with businesspeople, senator Mathias Cormann and potential 2021 state election candidates for his United Australia party, but was rejected due to coronavirus restrictions.
“Closing down the border is not only an act of stupidity by WA premier Mark McGowan, but it is against the Australian constitution and I am confident the high court will see it that way as well,” Palmer said in a statement on Sunday.
“The WA premier needs to act now to ensure a successful future beyond Covid-19 by opening his borders to allow trade and travel from Australian states into WA. It is a matter of national importance that the borders be open.”
Palmer said he would lodge the legal documents on Monday and hoped to have a directions hearing in the high court by the end of the week.
McGowan said on Friday that he endorsed the WA police commissioner’s decision not to grant Palmer an exemption from the travel ban.
The premier has continued to insist WA’s interstate borders will remain closed for months, despite criticism from some, including NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian.
WA’s coronavirus tally remains at 560, including just two active cases.
Updated
Morrison dismisses calls for treasurer to face questioning over AU$60bn jobkeeper
The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, has dismissed calls for his treasurer to face questioning before a Senate inquiry over the AU$60bn (US$39bn) reduction in the estimated cost of the government’s jobkeeper wage subsidy program.
In a press conference, Morrison denied the revision - along with the new estimate only 3.5 million workers will be covered by the scheme, not 6.5 million - raised any issue with the government’s overall economic competence.
He said when the Treasury had calculated its original estimate that the program would cost $130bn over six months, they were very uncertain economic times, and the government had moved very quickly to launch the scheme.
“On the day it was a big gulp for the government to understand what we needed to do but we didn’t flinch. We knew this was necessary and we responded quickly. We made the estimates based on the best information we had available to us and that provided to be overly cautious.”
He said there had been no loss to the taxpayer - “in fact it’s been the reverse”.
Morrison said the move by Labor senator Katy Gallagher to call the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, to appear before the Senate Select Committee on Covid-19 was “a political stunt”.
A government spokesperson said the arrangements for the Covid-19 committee were for ministers who served in the lower house to be represented by their Senate representative ministers, akin to Senate estimates hearings.
Australia summary
Here are the most important developments in the pandemic in Australia so far today:
- Scott Morrison urges state leaders to justify economic damage from ongoing border restrictions. In Australia, Scott Morrison has urged several state leaders who are still maintaining domestic border restrictions to justify the potential economic damage. The prime minister did not go as far as some of his Coalition colleagues in calling for premiers such as Annastacia Palaszczuk in Queensland to swiftly lift border restrictions, but he emphasised that the national cabinet had never agreed to internal border closures and leaders should be accountable to their voters.
- Pompeo implies Belt and Road projects may threaten US info sharing with Australia. The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has implied information sharing with Australia may be put at risk if the Australian state of Victoria proceeds with any Belt and Road projects that jeopardise communications networks. Issuing the highly qualified warning during an interview with Sky News Australia, the News Corp-owned channel, Pompeo urged Victoria to scrutinise any proposals “incredibly closely” because Belt and Road projects could “build up the capacity of the Chinese Communist party to do harm”.
- Beauty salons to reopen in New South Wales from 1 June. State health minister, Brad Hazzard, has announced that beauty, tanning, nail and waxing salons will all be open from 1 June. “Of all of the requests I’ve had as health minister in the last three months, this has been the one that I think has topped the barrel ... I didn’t even know there was such a thing as acrylic nails, but I’m very pleased to say that they are now open,” Hazzard said. He said salon operators would have to have a Covid-safe plan and stick to physical distancing measures.
-
Six million Australians download tracing app. Six million Australians have now downloaded the Covidsafe app, less than a month after it was launched to help health authorities trace coronavirus infections.
- In Australia, Victorian state premier, Daniel Andrews, has announced Victorians will be allowed to have 20 people in homes and outdoors as well as overnight stays in hotels from next month, AAP reports. Victoria will further ease restrictions by the end of May, as schools and some outdoor facilities go back to a new normal from Tuesday. The total number of coronavirus cases in Victoria is 1,603.
Updated
Summary
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Global cases pass 5.3 million. According to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, there are 5,311,089 confirmed infections. At least 342,104 people have lost their lives in the pandemic so far. Both figures are likely to be significantly higher, however, due to underreporting and differing definitions and testing rates.
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Wuhan lab had three live bat coronaviruses: Chinese state media. The Chinese virology institute in Wuhan, the city where Covid-19 first emerged, has three live strains of bat coronavirus on-site, but none match the new contagion wreaking chaos across the world, its director has said, AFP reports. The director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology told state broadcaster CGTN that claims made by US President Donald Trump and others the virus could have leaked from the facility were “pure fabrication”.
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Brazil cases near 350,000. Brazil registered 965 new coronavirus deaths on Saturday, taking the total number of fatalities to 22,013, the Health Ministry said. The country now has 347,398 confirmed cases, according to the ministry, up 16,508 from Friday, when it surpassed Russia to become the world’s virus hot spot behind the United States. The actual number of cases and deaths is believed to be higher than the official figures disclosed by the government, as the testing capacity of Latin America’s largest country still lags.
- US records 1,127 new deaths in 24 hours. The US has recorded 1,127 deaths from coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to AFP, citing Johns Hopkins figures.The current US total is 97,048, according to the Johns Hopkins Universitytracker. The US is likely to record 100,000 deaths before 1 June, the date at which the Centers for Disease Control predicted the country would mark that many deaths.The US toll is far higher than any other country. The UK, with the next worst number of deaths, has lost 36,757 lives.
- New York Times covers front page with 1,000 Covid-19 death notices. The New York Times has filled the entire front page of Sunday’s paper with the death notices of victims from across the country. The entire list, which continues inside, numbers nearly 1,000 names – a fraction of the total loss of life in the US during the outbreak so far.
- Argentina extends lockdown to 7 June. Argentina extended until 7 June a mandatory lockdown in Buenos Aires on Saturday and tightened some movement restrictions, after a steady increase in the city’s confirmed coronavirus cases in recent days, Reuters reports.
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The coronavirus pandemic “appears to be taking a different pathway in Africa,” the World Health Organization said, after it took 14 weeks for the continent to reach 100,000 cases and 3,100 deaths. “Case numbers have not grown at the same exponential rate as in other regions and so far Africa has not experienced the high mortality seen in some parts of the world,” the agency said.
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Downing Street is facing accusations of a cover-up over a 264-mile journey by Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s chief adviser, at the height of the national lockdown. There were reports that No 10 knew Cummings had made the trip to Durham, a northern city, after developing coronavirus symptoms.
- New York’s daily death toll falls below 100 for first time since March, as Trump causes controversy with golfing trip. 84 deaths were recorded in New York – 62 in hospitals and 22 in nursing homes. It’s “still a tragedy”, said state governor, Andrew Cuomo, but the figure had been over 100 for the past five days, so this is a significant drop.
- Donald Trump teed up fresh controversy by leaving the White House for his golf course in Virginia. Secret Service agents accompanying the president were photographed wearing masks. Trump was not seen to cover his face.
Zoos, reptile parks and aquariums to reopen in New South Wales, Australia from 1 June
Zoos, reptile parks and aquariums across the state will reopen from 1 June, with some restrictions.
New South Wales treasurer Dominic Perrottet:
“[Taronga] zoo as we know employs hundreds of people here in Sydney, but also right across the state, aquariums and reptile parks employ many people. There are many mums and dads and kids who are animal lovers and I want them to enjoy these great institutions.”
At Taronga and Western Plains zoo in Dubbo, physical distancing measures will apply, with tickets available online only, and a limited number of visitors at any one time. Shows, such as the seals and bird shows, will continue but must be pre-booked. There will be no live keeper talks or animal interactions, such as giraffe feeding. Taronga’s sky safari is closed. There will hand sanitiser stations throughout the zoo and the cafes will be takeaway only.
Updated
Global cases pass 5.3 million.
According to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, there are 5,311,089 confirmed coronavirus infections worldwide. At least 342,104 people have lost their lives in the pandemic so far.
Both figures are likely to be significantly higher, however, due to underreporting and differing definitions and testing rates.
Updated
Conspiracy rumours that the biosafety lab was involved in the outbreak swirled online for months before Trump and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brought the theory into the mainstream by claiming that there is evidence the pathogen came from the institute, AFP reports.
The lab has said it received samples of the then-unknown virus on 30 December, determined the viral genome sequence on 2 January and submitted information on the pathogen to the WHO on 11 January.
Wang said in the interview that before it received samples in December, their team had never “encountered, researched or kept the virus.”
“In fact, like everyone else, we didn’t even know the virus existed,” she said. “How could it have leaked from our lab when we never had it?”
Wuhan lab had three live bat coronaviruses: Chinese state media
The Chinese virology institute in Wuhan, the city where Covid-19 first emerged, has three live strains of bat coronavirus on-site, but none match the new contagion wreaking chaos across the world, its director has said, AFP reports.
Scientists think Covid-19 - which first emerged in Wuhan and has killed some 340,000 people worldwide - originated in bats and could have been transmitted to people via another mammal.
But the director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology told state broadcaster CGTN that claims made by US President Donald Trump and others the virus could have leaked from the facility were “pure fabrication”.
The attempt by the laboratory to refute the claims is likely to add more fuel to the conspiracy rumours promoted by Trump and others.
In an interview filmed on 13 May but broadcast Saturday night, Wang Yanyi said the centre has “isolated and obtained some coronaviruses from bats.”
“Now we have three strains of live viruses... But their highest similarity to SARS-CoV-2 only reaches 79.8%,” she said, referring to the coronavirus strain that causes Covid-19.
One of their research teams, led by Professor Shi Zhengli, has been researching bat coronaviruses since 2004 and focused on the “source tracing of SARS”, the strain behind another virus outbreak nearly two decades ago.
Updated
Scott Morrison urges state leaders to justify economic damage from ongoing border restrictions
In Australia, Scott Morrison has urged several state leaders who are still maintaining domestic border restrictions to justify the potential economic damage.
The prime minister did not go as far as some of his Coalition colleagues in calling for premiers such as Annastacia Palaszczuk in Queensland swiftly lift border restrictions, but he emphasised that the national cabinet had never agreed to internal border closures, and leaders should be accountable to their voters.
Morrison said border restrictions were in place in some form in Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland, but he said this was never part of the national health panel’s advice.
“The states and territories where they’re making those unilateral decisions, they are accountable to the people in their own states for those decisions, and justifying why they need to be there, and the health protection they believe it may offer and indeed the economic damage that it can create. So it is very much an onus on those premiers to be able to justify those decisions, which was not a decision of the national cabinet, as to why that is the right thing to do for those states.”
Morrison said the focus now needed to be on creating as many jobs as possible and “I’d be urging all premiers to do just that.”
Updated
France’s mosques nevertheless called on Muslims to stay at home to mark the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. They said they would gradually resume services from 3 June.
France’s Jewish community took a similarly cautious line. Chief Rabbi Haim Korsia stressed that believers should not “rush towards the reopening of the synagogues”.
The latest figures for those seriously ill from the virus fell Saturday, with 1,665 patients still in intensive care for the coronavirus: 36 fewer than 24 hours ago.
But the government has had to fight a series of legal and battles to control the pace of the gradual loosening of France’s two-month lockdown.
It has refused Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo’s call to reopen the capital’s parks and gardens, over fears this could accelerate infections in the city, already hard-hit by the virus.
Heavily criticised for what critics say was their inadequate preparation in the run-up to the coronavirus crisis, the authorities have taken a cautious line in handling the exit from the lockdown.
Many of its experts judge that it is too soon to say that the virus has been brought under control in France.
Updated
French churches were preparing to hold their first Sunday masses in more than two months after the government bowed to a ruling that they should be reopened – provided proper precautions were taken, AFP reports.
Nearly two weeks into the relaxation of its shutdown, the government finally allowed churches, mosques and synagogues to reopen.
Last Monday, the France’s Council of State, which instructs the government on legal issues, ordered it to lift its sweeping ban on all religious services, in place since the lockdown. The ruling said that such a ban on freedom of worship caused “damage that is serious and manifestly illegal”, ordering the government to lift the ban within eight days.
But priests, pastors, rabbis and imams will still have to ensure that the correct safety measures are in force. Worshippers will have to wear masks, there will have to be disinfectant gel on hand and the seating will need to be organised to ensure people keep a safe distance from each other.
“My cell phone is crackling with messages!” Father Pierre Amar, a priest in Versailles, told AFP.
At one church in Neuilly-sur-Seine, just outside Paris, some worshippers turned up at short notice on Saturday morning, having heard that mass would be celebrated.
“We knew 30 minutes in advance, we ran to come,” said Eliane Nsom, who went with her three daughters. Around 40 people attended the service.
Updated
More on Australia’s Covidsafe app, which has been downloaded by 6 million people.
But is it actually useful?
Nearly a month since launch, the contact tracing app has barely been used – just one person has been reported to have been identified using data from it.
It set a target of 40% of the Australian population using the app for it to be effective. While close to 6 million Australians now have the app, the number of new downloads has declined in the past few weeks.
No actual number was tied to the 40% figure, but based on estimations of the number of Australians with smartphones, it is now about 1.5m under that target.
And the language from public officials has been toned down. No longer is it the key to freedoms, but an add-on to existing contact tracing methods, to work in concert with social distancing rules and continued testing to keep a lid on outbreaks.
So how did it go from being the key to allowing Australians to get back to the footy to being barely relevant?
Updated
In Australia, New South Wales health minister Brad Hazzard also said a secondary school student in NSW may have tested positive to Covid-19. He said the student went back to school on Tuesday and on Wednesday developed mild symptoms and got tested. He said the student was now well and further information would be announced later.
He warned that there is “no room for complacency” as numbers of new Covid-19 infections in the state remain low. “If you have the slightest sore throat, itchy throat, temperature, cough, a cold, runny nose, go and get tested. You may be saving yourself but you may be saving your family and others in the community.”
He said while there may be a temptation in the winter period to dismiss cold and flu-like symptoms, people should not.
“No, it is winter and Covid-19 season, so go and get tested,” he said.
Updated
Beauty salons to reopen in New South Wales, Australia 1 June
Back to Australia now: New South Wales health minister, Brad Hazzard, has announced that beauty, tanning, nail and waxing salons will all be open from 1 June.
“Of all of the requests I’ve had as health minister in the last three months, this has been the one that I think has topped the barrel ... I’ve even had text messages in the middle of the other meetings, telling me how bad acrylic nails were. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as acrylic nails, but I’m very pleased to say that they are now open,” Hazzard said.
He said salon operators would have to have a Covid-safe plan and stick to physical distancing measures.
Updated
US president Donald Trump is tweeting about hydroxychloroquine again:
Many physicians agree with you. Also, some very good studies! @SteveFDA @US_FDA https://t.co/NDHSTqvhoa
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 24, 2020
Here is a recent article about the dangers of the drug by my colleage Sarah Boseley, the Guardian’s health editor:
Hydroxychloroquine: Trump’s Covid-19 ‘cure’ increases deaths, global study finds
Hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug Donald Trump is taking to prevent Covid-19, has increased deaths in patients treated with it in hospitals around the world, a study has shown.
A major study of the way hydroxychloroquine and its older version, chloroquine, have been used on six continents – without clinical trials – reveals a sobering picture. Scientists said the results meant the drug should no longer be given to Covid-19 patients except in proper research settings:
Updated
The China Daily reports that there have been three new coronavirus cases in China in the last 24 hours.
#LATEST Chinese mainland reports 3 new COVID-19 cases, with 1 locally transmitted and 2 from overseas. #Covid_19 pic.twitter.com/GwLd3jGgtt
— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) May 24, 2020
The day before, China recorded no new confirmed cases for the first time since the outbreak began.
Beijing’s National Health Commission said on Saturday there were only two suspected cases in mainland China: in Shanghai and in the north-eastern Jilin province.
New asymptomatic cases fell to 28, from 35 a day earlier, it said.
Updated
More from that interview with Mike Pompeo:
He said every nation had a sovereign right to make decisions for itself and Victoria also had “some rights” but he added that BRI projects needed to be looked at closely. Some projects “may just be straight-up commercial transactions” and that would be “fine”, but nearly every one had costs and risks attached to it.
Pompeo said the US would do the right thing to defend and keep America safe and work with “great partners like Australia”.
He added, however, that the US “will not take any risk to our telecommunications infrastructure, any risk to the national security elements of what we need to do with our Five Eyes partners”.
We’re going to protect and preserve the security of those institutions, so I don’t know the nature of those projects precisely, but to the extent they have an adverse impact on our ability to protect telecommunications from our private citizens, or security networks for our defence and intelligence communities, we will simply disconnect, we will simply separate.
We’re going to preserve trust in networks for important information. We hope our friends and partners and allies across the world, especially our Five Eyes partners like Australia, will do the same.”
Updated
Pompeo implies Belt and Road projects may threaten US info sharing with Australia
The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has implied information sharing with Australia may be put at risk if the Australian state of Victoria proceeds with any Belt and Road projects that jeopardise communications networks.
Issuing the highly qualified warning during an interview with Sky News Australia, the News Corp-owned channel, Pompeo urged Victoria to scrutinise any proposals “incredibly closely” because Belt and Road projects could “build up the capacity of the Chinese Communist Party to do harm”.
The Victorian state government has attracted domestic political criticism for signing an agreement with Beijing that would allow for cooperation under President Xi Jinping’s signature infrastructure program known as the Belt and Road Initiative.
But that deal is still in its early stages with no projects locked in, and the state government has promised to “consider both Victoria’s and the national interest before agreeing to any specific activity”.
New York Times covers front page with 1,000 Covid-19 death notices
The New York Times has filled the entire front page of Sunday’s paper with the death notices of victims from across the country.
The US death toll stands at more than 97,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, by far the highest in the world, and the Times said it had been considering how to mark expected milestone of 100,000 deaths.
The entire list, which continues inside, numbers nearly 1,000 names – a fraction of the total loss of life in the US during the outbreak so far.
In an article for Times Insider, assistant graphics editor Simone Landon explained the treatment was a way of personalising the tragedy as readers and staff developed data fatigue from the constant reporting of the pandemic.
Landon led a team of researchers in searching obituaries in hundreds of US newspapers that listed Covid-19 as the cause of death and extracting names and key personal details “that depicted the uniqueness of each life lost”, such as: “Alan Lund, 81, Washington, conductor with ‘the most amazing ear”.
Romi Cohn, 91, New York City. Saved 56 Jewish families from the Gestapo. pic.twitter.com/rB1YGmocH2
— Mara Gay (@MaraGay) May 23, 2020
Tom Bodkin, its chief creative officer, said the all-text treatment referenced early newspaper designs, but that he could not remember another front page without an image in his 40 years at the paper. “This is certainly a first in modern times,” Bodkin said.
Get in touch with me directly on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan[at]theguardian.com. Questions, comments, good tweets and news tips from your part of the world all welcome.
New York Stock Exchange traders hope to prove they are still a big noise
A line from the 1983 movie Trading Places is being used to trail the partial return to open outcry trading on the New York Stock Exchange this week, after the physical floor (but not the electronic market) was closed in March as part of the coronavirus lockdown.
“We’re back, Mortimer,” was how veteran floor trader Peter “Einstein of Wall Street” Tuchman put it.
Tuchman, who is sometimes called the “most photographed trader on Wall Street”, is recovering from a nasty bout of the virus himself, so it is difficult to begrudge him his enthusiasm.
But is this week’s return of open outcry trading at the NYSE – where safety concerns will only permit about 25% of the normal numbers of brokers back – really such a big deal?
Mexican health authorities registered 3,329 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the country and 190 new deaths, a health official said on Saturday, bringing the total number to 65,856 cases and 7,179 deaths.
Argentina extends lockdown to 7 June
Argentina extended until 7 June a mandatory lockdown in Buenos Aires on Saturday and tightened some movement restrictions, after a steady increase in the city’s confirmed coronavirus cases in recent days, Reuters reports.
Officials will tighten traffic controls between the capital and Buenos Aires province, the area with the second highest concentration of cases, President Alberto Fernandez said in a televised press conference.
Commercial activity in some of the city’s more populated neighbourhoods and access to public transportation will also be rolled back. Some businesses had been allowed to reopen under a previous lockdown extension.
The lockdown, due to expire on Sunday, has been in place since March 20, though officials have relaxed restrictions in some areas of the country. Argentina has a commercial flight ban until September 1, one of the world’s strictest travel measures during the pandemic.
The country recorded 704 new infections on Saturday, one of the highest single-day increases since the pandemic began. The country has 11,353 cases, mostly in Buenos Aires, where the city’s low-income neighbourhoods have been particularly hard hit, government data showed. The death toll is at 445.
Updated
Brazil cases near 350,000
Brazil registered 965 new coronavirus deaths on Saturday, taking the total number of fatalities to 22,013, the Health Ministry said.
The country now has 347,398 confirmed cases, according to the ministry, up 16,508 from Friday, when it surpassed Russia to become the world’s virus hot spot behind the United States.
The actual number of cases and deaths is believed to be higher than the official figures disclosed by the government, as the testing capacity of Latin America’s largest country still lags.
Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has been fiercely criticized for his handling of the outbreak, which has led to the exit of two health ministers amid his insistence in opposing social distancing measures while advocating the use of unproven drugs for treatment.
The former army captain has seen his opinion poll ratings drop as an unfolding political crisis adds to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
Updated
New Zealand’s health ministry has announced there were zero new coronavirus cases confirmed in the last 24 hours.
According to NewsHub:
There are now only 27 active cases left in New Zealand, with one more patient recovered.
The total number of confirmed cases remains 1,154, and the total – including probable – at 1504.
There are no new deaths to report, so the death toll remains at 21.
One person remains in hospital – they are not in ICU.
There have been another 3,302 tests completed, for a total of 259,152.
Updated
Staying with the latest from Australia for a moment, the opposition is urging the prime minister, Scott Morrison, to call Donald Trump to clarify whether Australian exporters are being disadvantaged by the US-China trade deal.
Growing trade tensions with China have been one of the biggest concerns in Australian political and business circles over the last couple of weeks, as Beijing has imposed tariffs of around 80% on Australian barley imports and suspended beef imports from four abattoirs on technical grounds.
China announced recently it would immediately allow barley imports from the US, which was seen as a measure to meet commitments in the first phase of Xi’s trade deal with Trump. In January, China pledged to buy an extra $US200bn of American farm products and other goods and services over two years.
The moves come after China railed against Australia for early and vocal calls for an independent inquiry into the origins and handling of coronavirus - a watered down version of which won broad support at last week’s World Health Assembly, including from Beijing.
Penny Wong, the Labor opposition’s foreign affairs spokesperson, said it would have been better for the government to have followed “the usual diplomatic practice” of trying to secure some support from other countries before publicly announcing the inquiry push.
But in an interview with the ABC’s Insiders program this morning, she also called on Morrison to check in with Trump “to ensure that our interests are not affected and not undermined by that [trade] deal between President Trump and President Xi [Jinping]”.
Wong said: “Scott Morrison is always very keen to tell us when he has spoken to President Trump. Well, I think it is time for him to pick up the phone and speak to him now and ensure that the US-China trade deal does not come at the expense of Australian exporters and Australian jobs.”
Victorians will be allowed to have 20 people in homes from 1 June as Australian state eases restrictions
In Australia, Victorian state premier, Daniel Andrews, has announced Victorians will be allowed to have 20 people in homes and outdoors as well as overnight stays in hotels from next month, AAP reports.
Victoria will further ease restrictions by the end of May, as schools and some outdoor facilities go back to a new normal from Tuesday.
The total number of coronavirus cases in Victoria is 1,603 – a net increase of one since yesterday – two new cases were confirmed, according to the state’s health department, but a duplicate case was removed from the total, too. There were no new deaths, which leaves the total for the state at 19.
The state will loosen its grip on social distancing restrictions from 1 June, allowing gatherings of up to 20 people at homes and outdoors, overnight stays in hotels as well as the opening of campgrounds.
Twenty people will be allowed at weddings, while up to 50 people will be able to attend funerals.
The same number of people, 20, will be able to visit libraries and other community facilities, entertainment and cultural venues, as well as beauty and personal care services.
Updated
US records 1,127 new deaths in 24 hours
The US has recorded 1,127 deaths from coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to AFP, citing Johns Hopkins figures.
The current US total is 97,048, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
The US is likely to record 100,000 deaths before 1 June, the date at which the Centers for Disease Control predicted the country would mark that many deaths.
The US toll is far higher than any other country. The UK, with the next worst number of deaths, has lost 36,757 lives.
#BREAKING US adds 1,127 #coronavirus deaths in 24 hours: Johns Hopkins pic.twitter.com/Xl4oNXEnMm
— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 24, 2020
More on the wage subsidy scheme in Australia. So far, the government has not given any indication it is planning to extend the scheme to excluded workers, such as casuals employed for less than a year, university and local government staff, temporary visa holders and employees of foreign-owned companies.
However, a scheduled review in June may look at tweaks to the scheme, including the potential to extend targeted support to the worst-affected sectors beyond the expiry in September.
The government has been spinning the updated figures as good news.
The energy minister, Angus Taylor, told Sky News this morning that the original forecast was never “an objective or a target”.
“It does mean that we’re in a better position as we work our way towards recovery and that is fantastic news,” Taylor said, adding that “we’ll see what comes out of” the review in June.
In Australia, the government is facing sustained pressure to widen its wage subsidy scheme to cover a broader group of workers, after revelations on Friday that the six-month “jobkeeper” program is now expected to cost the budget AU$70bn (US$46bn) rather than AU$130bn.
The Labor opposition’s Senate leader, Penny Wong, described the news as “a $60bn black hole in the economic credibility of the Morrison government” and she reinforced calls for the $1500 fortnightly payment to be extended to a more of the workforce, including short-term casuals.
Speaking on the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday morning, Wong said the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, should have “the courage” to accept a forthcoming invitation to appear before the Senate’s Covid-19 inquiry to explain the error.
“We’d say to Josh, when you’ve got a budget blunder of this size, I reckon it is about time you fronted up and explained it.”
Updated
America begins to unlock for summer – but is it inviting a disastrous second wave?
The Guardian’s Amanda Holpuch and Nina Lakhani report from New York, with Khushbu Shah in Atlanta:
In case you missed this story:
In the US, Monday is Memorial Day – the traditional start of the American summer. Shutters are going up, doors are being unlocked, barriers removed. Every state is relaxing quarantine rules to some extent, betting that the country finally has Covid-19 under control.
There are signs that for some Americans quarantine fatigue is overcoming fear of infection. With the economy reeling, others have dismissed the pandemic as a political plot – for them relaxing quarantine rules can’t come soon enough. But people on the front line are worried, and experts warn the outbreak has proved a “trust-destroying disaster” that could have devastating consequences.
On Friday, White House coronavirus taskforce member Dr Anthony Fauci said new localized outbreaks were “inevitable” as mitigation measures are relaxed. He said a full-blown second wave could be avoided if the holy grail of containment measures – testing, quarantine and contact tracing – continued to be adhered to.
Fauci said he was hopeful that the US would be ready, though a recent study by Harvard University found that only nine states were conducting, or near to conducting, the minimum recommended testing. Hours after Fauci spoke, Donald Trump ignored health guidance and ordered houses of worship to open for in-person services at the weekend.
These disparate responses to the pandemic are not just happening in the White House, but across America.
Six million Australians download tracing app
Six million Australians have now downloaded the COVIDSafe app, less than a month after it was launched to help health authorities trace coronavirus infections, AAP reports.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the app is playing a significant role in Australia’s response to the pandemic and several countries have expressed interest in learning from its positive impacts.
“Australia continues to be a world leader in testing, tracing, and containing the coronavirus and I would encourage all Australians to contribute to that effort and download the COVIDSafe app today,” Mr Hunt said in a statement on Sunday.
Only state and territory health officials have access to contact information from the app which is triggered when people come in close contact with someone who has the virus - that is 1.5 metres or less for a duration of 15 minutes or more.
Government Services Minister Stuart Robert said the take up of the COVIDSafe app was downloaded faster than any other Australian government app and has consistently remained in the top three apps in Australian app stores.
“Millions of Australians are doing their bit as part of our health response,” he said.
Updated
Summary
Hello and welcome to today’s live global coverage of the coronavirus outbreak.
I’m Helen Sullivan and I’ll be with you for the next few hours. Please do get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan or email: helen.sullivan[at]theguardian.com with questions, comments, tips, news and funny tweets or videos that you think other readers might enjoy.
In Australia, 6 million people have downloaded the government’s COVIDSafe tracing app in under a month. The app is able to tell when a person has come into close contact - 1.5m - of an infected person (or a person later found to be infected) for 15 minutes and more, allowing authorities to contact people who may have been exposed to the virus.
Meanwhile in the US, experts and frontline workers fear the country is not ready to ease restrictions for the summer – and warn there could be a disastrous second wave of infections. On Friday, White House coronavirus taskforce member Dr Anthony Fauci said a full-blown second wave could be avoided if the holy grail of containment measures – testing, quarantine and contact tracing – continued to be adhered to.
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Global deaths pass 340,000. According to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, at least 340,805 people have lost their lives in the pandemic so far. There are 5,288,392 confirmed infections. Both figures are likely to be significantly higher, however, due to underreporting and differing definitions and testing rates.
- The coronavirus pandemic “appears to be taking a different pathway in Africa,” the World Health Organization said, after it took 14 weeks for the continent to reach 100,000 cases and 3,100 deaths. “Case numbers have not grown at the same exponential rate as in other regions and so far Africa has not experienced the high mortality seen in some parts of the world,” the agency said.
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Downing Street is facing accusations of a cover-up over a 264-mile journey by Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s chief adviser, at the height of the national lockdown. There were reports that No 10 knew Cummings had made the trip to Durham, a northern city, after developing coronavirus symptoms.
- New York’s daily death toll falls below 100 for first time since March, as Trump causes controversy with golfing trip. 84 deaths were recorded in New York – 62 in hospitals and 22 in nursing homes. It’s “still a tragedy”, said state governor, Andrew Cuomo, but the figure had been over 100 for the past five days, so this is a significant drop.
- Donald Trump teed up fresh controversy by leaving the White House for his golf course in Virginia. Early on a fine morning in Washington DC, the president was seen by reporters “in his typical golf wear of white polo shirt and white baseball cap … before he departed the White House” for an undisclosed location. Secret Service agents accompanying the president were photographed wearing masks. Trump was not seen to cover his face. He later arrived at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia, where he was pictured playing a round.
- India to organise special trains for migrant workers to get at least 3.6 million people who have been stranded in the cities, often walking hundreds of miles, home.
- More than 40 infected a German religious gathering after reopening. Six were hospitalised after the service, which was was held on May 10, a few days after the reopening of places of worship in Germany.
- France has announced it will bring in a reciprocal 14-day quarantine for all visitors from the UK from 8 June, the same day that the UK imposes quarantine on all those coming into the country from abroad. However, unlike in Britain, visitors will be asked to voluntarily self-quarantine at home.
- Spain will reopen to overseas tourists from July, the prime minister announced on Saturday afternoon, adding that the government would guarantee the safety of visitors and locals as the country emerges from one of Europe’s strictest coronavirus lockdowns. The prime minister said central and regional governments had been planning and coordinating the return to tourism for weeks.
- Cyprus beaches reopen, but with social distancing measures in place and limits on water sports, as country records first day of zero new infections.
- Thailand begins vaccine tests on monkeys. Thailand has begun testing a coronavirus vaccine on monkeys after a positive trial in mice, the country’s minister of higher education, science and research and innovation has said.Suvit Maesincee said researchers hoped to have a “clearer outcome” of the effectiveness of the vaccine by September.
- China has recorded no new confirmed cases for the first time since the outbreak began. Beijing’s National Health Commission said on Saturday there were only two suspected cases in mainland China: in Shanghai and in the north-eastern Jilin province. New asymptomatic cases fell to 28, from 35 a day earlier, it said.
- The 102-year-old firm Hertz has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US after its business all but vanished during the pandemic.Hertz said in a US court filing on Friday it had voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 reorganisation. Its international operating regions including Europe, Australia and New Zealand were not included in the proceedings.
Updated
