We closing this blog now, but you can stay up to date on all of the latest global coronavirus news on our new blog below.
And finally... just minutes before the new restrictions come into force, the Department of Health has finally posted some more details of the rules on its website.
- It means people in the affected areas will not be permitted to mix with other households (apart from those in their support bubbles) in private homes or gardens.
- Some exemptions will be put in place, including for the vulnerable.
- The government will sign new regulations to make these changes legally enforceable.
- The regulations will give local authorities and police forces the powers to enforce these restrictions and more details on these will be set out when the regulations are published.
- Households may go to hospitality, for instance bars and pubs, but new guidance will make clear that two households should not go to hospitality together.
And on the lockdown in Leicester and other areas:
- While social gathering restrictions remain in place in Leicester City, the area will benefit from the lifting of restrictions that took place on 4 July in England, and all local restrictions currently in place in the neighbouring borough of Oadby and Wigston will end.
- It means from Monday 3 August restaurants, cafes, bars and hairdressers in Leicester City can get back to business but leisure centres, gyms and pools will remain closed. In addition, cinemas and museums will open and religious ceremonies will be able to take place.
- And on Saturday 1 August, Luton will be brought in line with the rest of the country after significant progress has been made in controlling the virus.
Updated
The government’s new lockdown announcement has come the day before the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha - the Department of Health has issued this statement:
For those preparing to celebrate Eid Al Adha this weekend with friends and family these restrictions will come as a blow but everyone is being urged to follow the new rules and protect the ones they love from coronavirus.
Mosques and other places of worship have reopened for prayer and communal worship, but in a different socially distanced and Covid-19 secure way.
This means that while mosques can remain open, many will not able to welcome as many worshippers as before.
A press release from the Department of Health has – finally – clarified some details of the new lockdown.
In a nutshell:
- There will be no meeting other households at home or in gardens, apart from those in your support bubble.
- People can go to pubs and restaurants, but not with other households.
- Police will have powers to enforce these new rules.
The statement specifies:
Households may go to hospitality, for instance bars and pubs, but new guidance will make clear that two households should not go to hospitality together.
For sake of clarity THIS is the latest
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) July 30, 2020
As per my first briefing new NW lockdown measures will apply to most indoor settings- no household mixing in private homes/pubs/restaurants etc pic.twitter.com/SD2jgZCGXj
Updated
Labour leader Keir Starmer has responded to the government’s surprise new lockdown measures, saying that “announcing measures affecting potentially millions of people late at night on Twitter is a new low for the government’s communications during this crisis”.
While acknowledging “no one would argue with putting in place local action to reduce the transmission of coronavirus” he criticised the government’s lack of communication, and argued a press conference should have been organised for the announcement.
When the government ended the daily press conferences, they said they would hold them for “significant announcements”, including local lockdowns.
It’s hard to imagine what could be more significant than this.
For all the bluster, government has failed to deliver a functioning track and trace system that would spot local flare ups like these.
The people of Greater Manchester now need urgent clarity and explanation from the government - and there must be proper support for those businesses and people affected by any lockdown.
Updated
A couple of further updates from Wigan MP Lisa Nandy.
She said she was told from a minister that people can still travel to work, and that people can go on holiday outside their local area, but not with another household.
We were also told tonight that people can still travel to work. The Government was planning to change the guidance this weekend so that people are no longer asked to work from home where they can. There was no clarity on this tonight but surely this must now be postponed?
— Lisa Nandy (@lisanandy) July 30, 2020
This matches what Leicester MP Jonathan Ashworth has tweeted about holidays:
Update: People across Leicester can go on holdiday but not with another household.
— Jonathan Ashworth 😷 (@JonAshworth) July 30, 2020
Places of worship can open from next week (Monday) so long as social distancing measures/tracing requirements as stated in the regulations etc in place
Updated
In 13 of the 19 local authority areas affected by the new lockdown, the rate of Covid-19 in the seven days to 27 July has gone up, with 1,536 cases recorded across all the areas in the space of a week.
Blackburn with Darwen tops the list as the rate has risen from 83.3 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to 20 July to 89.3 in the seven days to 27 July. A total of 133 new cases have been recorded.
Leicester is the second worst affected area; the seven-day rate has fallen from 67.8 to 60.2, but 214 new cases were recorded.
Oldham in Greater Manchester has seen its seven-day rate increase from 23.3 to 54.3, with 128 new cases, while in Pendle, Lancashire the rate went from 27.4 to 42.7, with 39 new cases.
In Trafford, Greater Manchester, the seven-day rate is up from 15.2 to 41.0, with 97 new cases and in Calderdale, West Yorkshire - which includes the town of Halifax, the rate is up from 20.9 to 33.8, with 71 new cases.
The new restrictions apply to the whole of Greater Manchester, which includes the 10 local authority areas of Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.
Parts of East Lancashire are affected including Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle (which includes the towns of Colne and Nelson), Rossendale.
Parts of West Yorkshire including Bradford, Calderdale (which includes the town of Halifax) and Kirklees (which includes the town of Huddersfield) are also impacted.
The same restrictions will also apply to Leicester, which saw the first so-called “local lockdown” imposed on 29 June.
Updated
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has clarified some details about the new restrictions coming into effect in parts of northern England in... just over an hour now.
Residents cannot visit people from other households in their homes or gardens, and can go to pubs and restaurants but only with people from within their household or bubble.
Further lockdown easing planned for the start of August is on hold, he said.
Lot of people asking for clarity on the Government’s announcement. Our understanding is:
— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) July 30, 2020
▪️ no visitors to your home or garden from tonight
▪️you can go to the pub but stay within your household/bubble
▪️further openings planned for 1/8 on hold
Everything else remains as is.
Labour has launched a high-profile campaign over mass job losses caused by coronavirus in the UK, saying the gradual removal of the employment furlough scheme is a “historic mistake” that will significantly affect many sectors.
Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, will officially launch what the party is calling the “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs” campaign on Friday, with a visit to a company in Peterborough.
From the start of August, on Saturday, companies who have used the government jobs protection scheme for staff will have to start paying national insurance and pension contributions for the hours they are on furlough, as part of a winding down of the scheme towards October.
Labour is arguing that the furlough scheme should be changed so it continues to support the worst-hit industries. Anneliese Dodds, the shadow chancellor, said the government’s approach amounted to “a python-like squeeze on jobs”.
Labour MP for Leicester East, Claudia Webbe, has said that Eid celebrations can take place at places of worship as long as social distancing is observed but not in private homes.
She tweeted: “No Eid with others in private homes or gardens except ‘single household bubbles’ but places of worship allowed as long as strict social distancing in place in accordance with the regulations.”
Under two hours before the new lockdown restrictions are due to kick in, people are still waitng for clarity from the government on the exact details of the restrictions.
MP for Wigan and shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy tweeted the rules will apply for gardens as well as homes, and that bubbles with single-person households are still allowed.
Told tonight this applies to homes AND gardens but you can still visit public spaces where social distancing measures are in place. People will have a lot of questions and we are pressing for more information quickly. It is really hard but please follow advice and stay safe https://t.co/zhRPUMaSPq
— Lisa Nandy (@lisanandy) July 30, 2020
The government’s announcement tonight means the lockdown in Leicester is eased slightly, with businesses now allowed to reopen according to Liz Kendall, MP for Leicester West, but people are not allowed to meet up with other households indoors.
She tweeted:
Just been on call with Minister about #LeicesterLockdown. The great news is our pubs, cafes, bars & restaurants can re-open and people can go on holiday with their own household. But leisure centres, gyms & pools still closed, and no meeting up with other households indoors. 1/2
— Liz Kendall (@leicesterliz) July 30, 2020
She added that the government’s handling of the lockdown has been “utterly shambolic” and “lessons must be learnt”.
This has been an unbelievably difficult period for our city but peoples hard work & sacrifices have paid off. However the Govt’s handling of this lockdown has been totally shambolic and lessons must be learnt for the future to prevent others going through the same. 2/2
— Liz Kendall (@leicesterliz) July 30, 2020
Updated
William Wragg, Conservative MP for Hazel Grove, in Stockport, Greater Manchester, criticised the government’s move, saying it is “not the right approach” to treat all of Greater Manchester the same.
‘Greater Manchester’ is not one homogeneous area. We must always err on the side of caution with Covid, but to treat all 10 boroughs the same is not the right approach. I will update constituents as soon as I am given further information, other than what has been announced.
— William Wragg MP (@William_Wragg) July 30, 2020
First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon said the decision to ban households in Greater Manchester, East Lancashire and West Yorkshire from meeting indoors is the “right” one.
She tweeted: “The UK government is right to act quickly if they think the situation warrants it.”
The UK government is right to act quickly if they think the situation warrants it.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) July 30, 2020
But this is a sharp reminder that the threat of this virus is still very real. Please abide by the all #FACTS advice and stay safe. https://t.co/OTMIzHfcQG
There seems to be confusion and uncertainty among some local MPs about the surprise government announcement that the lockdown will be tightened in Greater Manchester and other areas of northern England.
Labour MP for Manchester Central Lucy Powell tweeted:
Trying to get further information about this but it seems two households can no longer meet indoors in GM. Particular concerns in certain boroughs but restrictions applying across GM. https://t.co/MdSTPuAVI4
— Lucy Powell MP (@LucyMPowell) July 30, 2020
The MP for Oldham, in Greater Manchester, and shadow transport minister Jim McMahon said there needed to be more clarity over what the government is doing to support those in areas affected by new lockdown restrictions.
On the face of it, for Oldham borough residents this is the same restriction announced already this week, replicated in further areas
— Jim McMahon MP (@JimfromOldham) July 30, 2020
As well as publishing a list, I’m sure all of us would welcome the Government adding what more they will do to support us, jobs and our economy https://t.co/q8GekQjtpT
Holly Lynch, MP for Halifax in West Yorkshire and shadow immigration minister, tweeted:
I appreciate people will be apprehensive tonight about the renewed lockdown measures across Calderdale + other parts of the country. I am disappointed to say that like you, I have had no further detail at all from Government, but let’s make this work + stay safe 🌈
— Holly Lynch MP (@HollyLynch5) July 30, 2020
Updated
Responding to news the coronavirus lockdown will be tightened in Greater Manchester, mayor Andy Burnham urged residents to obey the new restrictions:
Over recent days, there has been a marked change in the picture across Greater Manchester with regard to the spread of Covid-19.
We have gone from a falling rate of cases in nearly all of our boroughs last week to a rising rate in nine out of 10 affecting communities across a much wider geography. In Rochdale, the one borough where cases have fallen, they are still too high.
We have always said that we will remain vigilant and be ready to respond quickly should the need arise. In line with that approach, I have agreed with the Health Secretary that it is right to act on the precautionary principle and introduce modest measures now to bring down the rate of new infections.
I ask all Greater Manchester residents - young and old alike - to protect each other by observing these new requirements. They will be reviewed weekly; meaning the more we stick to them, the quicker they will be removed.
This is a place which prides itself on looking out for each other. We now need to be true to that by not acting selfishly and keeping the health of others in mind at all times.
Updated
The World Health Organization said countries should gradually lift international travel measures based on a thorough risk assessment and prioritise essential travel for emergencies.
WHO recommends that priority should be given to essential travel for emergencies, humanitarian actions, travel of essential personnel, and repatriation, it said in a statement.
A surge of new infections around the world has forced many countries to reimpose some travel restrictions in recent days.
The WHO has now urged each country to conduct a risk-benefit analysis of its own and decide on its priorities, before resuming international travel.
Earlier this week, the WHO said that bans on international travel cannot stay in place indefinitely, and countries are going to have to do more to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus within their borders.
It said last month that it would update its travel guidelines ahead of the northern hemisphere summer holidays.
Earlier in July, the organisation urged travellers to wear masks on planes and keep themselves informed as Covid-19 cases surge again in some countries.
Updated
The Trump administration anticipates launching a far-reaching campaign by November to encourage Americans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, contingent on evidence that a successful vaccine will be available roughly by year end, a senior administration official said.
The campaign will likely be compressed into a short period of time, around four to six weeks, to eliminate any lag between when Americans are alerted to the vaccine and when they can get vaccinated, the official said.
Updated
Coronavirus lockdown tightened in parts of northern England
People from different households in Greater Manchester, parts of East Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire are banned from meeting each other indoors from midnight tonight as part of “immediate action” to keep people safe, health secretary Matt Hancock said.
He tweeted:
We’re constantly looking at the latest data on the spread of coronavirus, and unfortunately we’ve seen an increasing rate of transmission in parts of Northern England.
We’ve been working with local leaders across the region, and today I chaired a meeting of the Local Action Gold Committee. Based on the data, we decided that in Greater Manchester, parts of West Yorkshire & East Lancashire we need to take immediate action to keep people safe.
The spread is largely due to households meeting and not abiding to social distancing. So from midnight tonight, people from different households will not be allowed to meet each other indoors in these areas.
We take this action with a heavy heart, but we can see increasing rates of covid across Europe and are determined to do whatever is neccessary to keep people safe.
3/4 The spread is largely due to households meeting and not abiding to social distancing. So from midnight tonight, people from different households will not be allowed to meet each other indoors in these areas. pic.twitter.com/Yy7wLbdh9V
— Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) July 30, 2020
Updated
The MTV Video Music Awards has added two new categories to reflect how musicians are responding to the coronavirus pandemic.
Lady Gaga, John Legend, Post Malone and DJ D-Nice all won nominations in the special best quarantine performance category for their appearances earlier this year on a series of virtual concerts, fundraisers and social media events.
Grande’s first duet with Justin Bieber, Stuck with U, was nominated in the new best music video from home field, along with Drake’s Tootsie Slide, Legend’s Bigger Love and Level of Concern from Twenty One Pilots.
The VMA show, known for its surprises and irreverent vibe, is due to take place live in physical form at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center arena on 30 August.
MTV said last month that some VMA performances would take place at unspecified New York landmarks and that social distancing and limits on capacity would be enforced at the 19,000-seat indoor venue.
Summary
If you’re just joining us, here are the latest coronavirus updates from the last few hours:
- Spain recorded its highest daily increase in the number of coronavirus cases since lockdown was lifted on 21 June. On Thursday, 1,229 new infections were reported, topping 1,000 for the second day in a row.
- Japan recorded a record high for new cases for the second day in a row. At least 1,274 cases were reported on Thursday, including a record 367 in Tokyo, where officials are considering issuing its own version of a state of emergency depending on the number of cases in the coming days.
- Coronavirus may cost Latin America and Caribbean a decade. Poverty in the region is forecast to climb 7 percentage points compared with last year to engulf an additional 45 million people, according to a report by the WHO and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
- The UK had the highest level of excess deaths in Europe during the pandemic, according to the Office for National Statistics. Around 65,000 more people than usual have died from all causes across the United Kingdom so far this year, the highest total in Europe, with numbers in England noticeably higher than the other four nations.
- The US economy suffered its worst quarter since the second world war as GDP shrunk by 32.9%. The government figures, revealed on Thursday, showed more signs of the pandemic’s heavy toll on the country’s economy.
- Libya’s internationally recognised government in Tripoli will impose a full lockdown in areas of the country it controls following a sharp rise in coronavirus cases.
- France ruled out a “catastrophic” second national lockdown despite a rise in coronavirus infections. The prime minister Jean Castex said the priority was still prevention, as a second national lockdown would be catastrophic, both socially and economically.
- US Congress no closer to a deal to extend or replace $600-per-week payments. The Democrats and Republicans have reached a stalemate on a coronavirus response bill, with state aid to those made unemployed by the pandemic set to expire in just one day.
Luxembourg has been added to the list of countries requiring travellers to quarantine for 14 days when they arrive in the UK because of a surge in coronavirus cases in the country, six days after the same demand was imposed on arrivals from Spain.
It comes three weeks after self-isolation restrictions were removed from Spain, Luxembourg and several other destinations.
The announcements are based on a range of factors, including the rate of Covid-19 infection across a country.
Zimbabwe’s agriculture minister Perrance Shiri, a retired general who commanded an army unit accused of a notorious massacre in the 1980s, died from Covid-19, the president has said.
Shiri, who was also involved in the ouster of longtime ruler Robert Mugabe in a 2017 coup, died on Wednesday aged 65.
The state-owned daily The Herald said president Emmerson Mnangagwa told mourners “it is confirmed that Minister Shiri died of Covid-19”.
Local independent media had said on Wednesday that Shiri had been quarantined at a private hospital after he was exposed to coronavirus by his driver, who reportedly died at the weekend.
Shiri became Zimbabwe’s first high-profile personality to die from the virus that is fast spreading in the country, which has a weak health system.
Zimbabwe has 2,879 confirmed virus cases, including 41 deaths.
Shiri was commander of an elite North Korean-trained unit, the Fifth Brigade, that cracked down on a revolt in the western province of Matabeleland in the newly independent Zimbabwe.
Known as the Gukurahundi massacres, the operation claimed some 20,000 lives, according to the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe, a figure supported by Amnesty International.
Shiri served for years as commander of the air force before taking up a post as land and agriculture minister under Mnangagwa, who succeeded Mugabe.
Major League Baseball is updating its coronavirus safety measures after a 17th player on the Miami Marlins tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday – less than a week after all 30 clubs opened a shortened, delayed season in empty stadiums.
The outbreak, which first came to light on Monday after the team played a three-game series on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies, prompted MLB to postpone all Marlins games through at least Sunday amid doubts the team will be able to reopen its season as planned Tuesday at home.
The Marlins, who have quarantined in Philadelphia since Monday, could face another mandated self-isolation under Miami regulations depending on their travel before returning to Florida.
In the wake of the outbreak, the commissioner’s office has reportedly ordered all teams to use surgical masks instead of cloth ones, encouraged players not to leave hotels in road cities except for games and mandated every club to travel with a virus protocol compliance officer to ensure rules are followed.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the US’s top infectious disease expert and a key member of the White House coronavirus task force, expressed concern over the outbreakwhen asked about it during an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America on Tuesday morning:
This could put it in danger. I don’t believe they need to stop, but we just need to follow this and see what happens with other teams on a day-by-day basis.
The Phillies said Thursday there were no positive results among players from Wednesday’s testing.
Two members of the club’s backroom staff, however, did test positive, leading to the postponement of this weekend’s series against the Toronto Blue Jays and the cancellation of all activities at the team’s home ground.
The pandemic had already forced MLB to delay and truncate the familiar 162-game, six-month season to a 60-game, 67-day sprint with a number of rule changes designed to speed up the game and protect the players and umpires.
About a dozen major leaguers have opted out of the season entirely, citing the health risks stemming from Covid-19.
Others who are playing, like Washington Nationals relief pitcher Sean Doolittle, have expressed hesitationover the enterprise as case numbers continue to surge throughout the country. On 5 July Doolittle said:
We’re trying to bring baseball back during a pandemic that’s killed 130,000 people. We’re way worse off as a country than we were in March when we shut this thing down.
And, like, look where the other developed countries are in their response to this. We haven’t done any of the things that other countries have done to bring sports back.
Sports are like the reward of a functioning society. And we’re trying to just bring it back, even though we’ve taken none of the steps to flatten the curve.
Air France-KLM has announced a second-quarter loss of €2.6bn ($3.1bn), thanks to grounded flights during the virus pandemic, adding that the twin airlines must “significantly reduce” the workforce.
“Activity levels were close to zero in April and May 2020,” compared to last year, rising to just 8% in June as government progressively eased their Covid-19 lockdown rules, the Franco-Dutch airline group said in its report.
“Nevertheless, there is limited visibility on the demand recovery curve as customer booking behaviour is much more short-term oriented than before the Covid-19 crisis, especially on the Long Haul network,” the report cautioned.
“The exceptional support of the French and Dutch governments has provided Air France-KLM with the liquidity needed to weather the crisis and ensure a gradual recovery in business,” along with cost-cutting measures, Group CEO Benjamin Smith said.
Air France is to benefit from €7bn in French loans either from or backed by the state, along with an expected €2-4bn in aid from the Dutch government.
The French government has insisted that the help is “not a blank cheque” and is dependent on the airline notably becoming greener by reducing carbon emissions, using more modern aircraft and cutting domestic routes.
In order to carry out the company’s “reconstruction plan” Air France and KLM “must significantly reduce the number of employees,” the quarterly report said.
Earlier this month Air France management announced plans to eliminate 7,580 jobs at the airline and its regional unit Hop! by the end of 2022
KLM has already launched a voluntary departure plan to which 2,000 staff have subscribed.
Just one day before a federal jobless benefit was set to expire, the US Congress was no closer on Thursday to a deal to extend or replace the extra $600-per-week in payments to tens of millions thrown out of work by the coronavirus pandemic.
Senate Republicans were discussing a way to hold a vote, possibly early next week, on just the unemployment benefit.
But there were no signs that Democrats, who have been resisting such a narrow response, would go along.
With little prospect of having to be in Washington to vote on a coronavirus-response bill this week, the Senate was mulling beginning its weekend immediately and returning on Monday - after the unemployment insurance benefit has expired.
Democrats have been pushing for extending the jobless benefit as part of a $3tn coronavirus-aid bill the US House of Representatives passed in March, while Republicans want $1tn overall.
They have proposed a $200 weekly benefit, which would come in addition to state unemployment payments.
The past four days of private talks involving top White House and congressional officials have yielded no tangible results, and much of Thursday was spent with Republicans and Democrats criticising each other.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said:
Republicans don’t want this aid to expire.
But the Speaker and the Democratic Leader say they won’t agree to anything unless the programme pays people more to stay home than to work.
He was referring to house speaker Nancy Pelosi and senate democratic leader Chuck Schumer.
Besides the $600-per-week supplemental unemployment benefit expiring Friday, a federal moratorium that prevented housing evictions ended last week, leaving untold numbers of Americans at risk of losing their homes.
Congress has already passed aid packages totaling $3tn to alleviate the effects of the virus, which has killed 150,000 Americans.
Republicans oppose a Democratic call for nearly $1tn to aid state and local governments, while Democrats reject a Republican plan to prevent liability lawsuits for businesses and schools as they reopen during the pandemic.
Some Republicans, such as senator Mitt Romney, continued pushing for a stop-gap measure to prevent unemployed people from being left without any federal benefits that are on top of state aid.
“I do think that we need to have a temporary program that is put in place so we don’t have a gap in people’s receipts,” Romney said.
Coronavirus may cost Latin America and Caribbean a decade
The coronavirus crisis could set back Latin America and the Caribbean by a decade as countries endure faltering economies and rising poverty, the UN economic commission for the region and the World Health Organization have said.
Poverty in the region is forecast to climb 7 percentage points compared with last year to engulf an additional 45 million people, according to a report by the WHO and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
The number of unemployed people is expected to rise to 44 million, an increase of more than 18 million compared with last year, while the region’s economy is projected to shrink 9.1%, the report said.
Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization, said:
The Americas are at risk of losing years of health gains in a matter of months. This is tragic.
The report warned the coronavirus pandemic could cause a “lost decade” if income per capita drops to levels not seen since 2010, as forecast.
As part of the economic shocks, 2.7 million formal businesses in the region are expected to close, the report said.
Etienne said governments need to simultaneously work at solutions for public health and the economy.
Countries must avoid thinking they must make a choice between reopening economies and protecting health of their people. This is a false choice.
Economic activity cannot resume unless we have the virus under control.
Wisconsin has made wearing masks mandatory and declared a public health emergency, after an increase in community spread and rise in Covid-19 cases.
Governor Tony Evers has ordered residents to wear masks when indoors and not in a private residence, joining dozens of other US state leaders mandating face coverings to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Hi everyone, this is Jessica Murray taking over the coronavirus live blog for the next few hours.
Please do get in touch with any suggestions or story tips.
Email: jessica.murray@theguardian.com
Twitter: @journojess_
Summary
- Spain recorded its highest daily increase in the number of coronavirus cases since lockdown was lifted on 21 June. On Thursday, 1,229 new infections were reported, topping 1,000 for the second day in a row.
-
Florida recorded a record daily rise in Covid-19 deaths for the third day in a row, bringing the death toll to 6,709, the eighth highest in the United States. Florida also reported 9,956 new cases, bringing its total infections to over 461,000, the second highest in the US behind California.
- Japan recorded a record high for new cases for the second day in a row. At least 1,274 cases were reported on Thursday, including a record 367 in Tokyo, where officials are considering issuing its own version of a state of emergency depending on the number of cases in the coming days.
- The UK had the highest level of excess deaths in Europe during the pandemic, according to the Office for National Statistics. Around 65,000 more people than usual have died from all causes across the United Kingdom so far this year, the highest total in Europe, with numbers in England noticeably higher than the other four nations.
- The US economy suffered its worst quarter since the second world war as GDP shrunk by 32.9%. The government figures, revealed on Thursday, showed more signs of the pandemic’s heavy toll on the country’s economy.
- Libya’s internationally recognised government in Tripoli will impose a full lockdown in areas of the country it controls following a sharp rise in coronavirus cases.
- France ruled out a “catastrophic” second national lockdown despite a rise in coronavirus infections. The prime minister Jean Castex said the priority was still prevention, as a second national lockdown would be catastrophic, both socially and economically.
Major League Baseball is looking at shortening doubleheaders while the Miami Marlins have had another player test positive for Covid-19, according to multiple reports on Thursday.
The latest coronavirus positive for the Miami Marlins, as reported by ESPN citing unnamed sources, brings the team total to 17 players and two coaches over the past week.
Get the full story here.
French health authorities reported 1,377 additional confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, at 186,573, bringing the moving 7-day average above the 1,000 threshold for the first time since the first half of May, when France eased its lockdown.
In a statement, authorities said 381 people were in ICU units due to the disease, the first time that figure has increased on a daily basis in 16 weeks.
There were 16 new deaths from the disease, taking the total to 30,254, a figure higher than the seven-day moving average of 10.
Ireland reported its highest daily number of Covid-19 cases for two months on Thursday, with 85 cases confirmed compared to an average of around 20 per day during the past two weeks. That was the highest daily number reported in Ireland since late May.
“Today may be a blip associated with a number of specific clusters or it may be a sign of something more significant,” the acting chief medical officer Ronan Glynn told a news conference. “I hope that this is a blip.”
Zimbabwe’s agriculture minister Perrance Shiri died from the Covid-19 infection, becoming the first senior government official to succumb to the pandemic, the president Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Thursday.
Shiri, a retired general who helped plot a coup that ousted Robert Mugabe in 2017, died on Wednesday. The late liberation war veteran was declared a national hero and will be buried on Friday during a closed ceremony.
“Now that it is confirmed that Minister Shiri died of Covid-19, we will follow World Health Organisation regulations on how the funeral should proceed,” Mnangagwa said during a funeral wake at Shiri’s home in Harare.
Zimbabwe has recorded 2,879 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 40 deaths.
Young Germans partying abroad on Europe’s beaches and ignoring physical distancing rules are becoming an increasing cause of concern at home, as coronavirus cases continue to rise across the world.
Following widespread reports earlier this month of German tourists revelling on the Spanish island of Mallorca, bars and clubs on the infamous “Bier Straße” were forced by local authorities to close.
Many Germans have since cancelled Mallorcan holidays, and are flocking instead to Bulgaria – particularly to the resort town of Golden Sands on its Black Sea coast.
Large numbers of German travellers are also ignoring government warnings issued earlier this week to avoid areas in Spain, including Catalonia and the regions of Aragon and Navarra, due to rising numbers of coronavirus cases there.
Full story here:
A heatwave hit Europe on Thursday just as Madrid made wearing masks compulsory to prevent a surge in coronavirus infections, and Julian Martinez said his beard wasn’t making it any easier to keep his face covered in the heat. But the 60-year-old Spanish civil servant wasn’t taking his mask off.
“I’ve been wearing a mask for so many days in the heat that it doesn’t bother me that much,” he said.
Temperatures soared across Europe on Thursday, heading above 40C (104F) in places, adding extreme heat to the health warnings of a continent already taking fresh measures to rein in a potential second wave of coronavirus infections.
The heat undoubtedly made it more difficult to wear face masks in the Spanish capital. Spain’s meteorological agency said the hot air was coming from Africa and would last until Saturday.
In Rome, where the temperature hit 38C on Thursday and was set to go to 39C on Friday, authorities told the elderly and children not to go out in the hottest part of the day.
The Swiss weather agency advised people to drink plenty of water, eat cool dishes and avoid physical exertion.
In Cyprus, the heatwave hit earlier this week, with temperatures already up in the 40s since Monday.
“It’s really hot. We’re not used to it. We’ve generally got a temperate climate in Brittany,” said Mael Delaunay, 19, enjoying a cool drink with friends on a terrace by the sea in the town of Quiberon in the Brittany region of northern France.
“They say with global warming, Brittany is going to become like the Cote d’Azur.”
Back in Madrid, the uncomfortable combination of heat and face masks was driving home the importance of following health advice.
“Your breath gets very warm - your glasses, there are lots of problems,” said Ana Gonzalez. “But you put it all aside when you think that it’s protection and there’s no choice about wearing it. You forget about the face mask and that’s it. It’s the only way. At least, that’s what I do.”
Nepal will reopen its Himalayan mountains including Mount Everest to climbers for the autumn season, officials said on Thursday, to boost the tourism-dependent economy despite rising coronavirus infections.
Home to eight of the world’s 14 tallest mountains, Nepal shut down climbing and trekking in March to stem the spread of the coronavirus, which has so far infected 19,547 people and caused 52 deaths in the country of 30 million.
“We have reopened mountaineering and will issue climbing permits for the autumn season,” tourism department official Mira Acharya said, adding that climbers must follow health protocols issued by the government. The autumn climbing season in Nepal runs from September to November.
While infections in many Western nations are falling, South Asian countries including Nepal are still witnessing a steady rise in the caseload.
The absence of climbing in the popular April-May season caused Nepal millions of dollars in losses. Hundreds of foreign travellers and some 200,000 sherpas, guides and porters were hit.
Though the government now wants to reopen climbing, international flights are shut until mid-August and travel restrictions within Nepal remain, meaning climbers will still be kept away in the short term, expedition organisers said.
“Some climbers to smaller mountains may come but I have doubts about big ones,” said Ang Tshering Sherpa, an expedition organiser in the capital Kathmandu.
Nepal on Thursday also allowed the reopening of hotels and restaurants with some restrictions. No conferences, seminars, gyms or casinos would be allowed, said Binayak Shah, vice president of the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN).
“Now it is (about) which hotel is safe, not which offers better services,” Shah said.
Spain records highest daily number of new cases since lockdown was lifted
Spain reported 1,229 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, topping 1,000 for the second day in a row and marking the biggest rise since a national lockdown was lifted on 21 June, health ministry data showed.
The cumulative total rose to 285,430. That figure was up 2,789 on the previous day and includes results from antibody tests on people who may have already recovered.
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The World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said surges in the number of new Covid-19 cases in some countries were driven partly by young people letting down their guard, but that the world needed to learn to live with the disease.
“We’ve said this before and we’ll say it again: young people are not invincible,” he told a news briefing in Geneva on Thursday, adding that “[recent] spikes have been driven by young people letting down their guard in the northern hemisphere summer”.
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Brazil’s first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro, has tested positive for Covid-19, presidential officials have announced.
“She appears to be in good health and will follow all the existing protocols,” the presidential communication secretariat said in a statement, adding that she was being cared for by the president’s medical team.
The diagnosis comes just over three weeks after Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, announced he had tested positive for the disease. He announced he had tested negative last Saturday and has returned to work after a period isolated in his official residence.
Jair Bolsonaro has faced domestic and international condemnation for his handling for the coronavirus pandemic, which has now claimed more than 90,000 Brazilian lives - the second highest number in the world after the US.
On Wednesday, Brazil suffered its highest daily death toll, with 1,554 fatalities registered in a single day, and a record 70,869 new cases. Despite that much of the country is now reopening. On Wednesday it was also announced that foreigners would be allowed to enter Brazil through its airports for the first time since March.
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Vietnam began mass coronavirus testing in the capital, Hanoi, banned gatherings in its economic hub and urged tens of thousands of domestic travellers to report to authorities on Thursday, as the country scrambled to contain its first outbreak in 100 days.
Reuters reports that text messages were sent to all cellphones used by the country’s 95 million people urging anyone who visited the popular coastal city of Danang in July to come forward, after a new wave of the virus spread to six cities and provinces in as many days, with 47 positive cases.
Hanoi’s ruling body started the testing of some 21,063 residents who recently returned from Danang, a central holiday getaway that has been a big draw for domestic travellers since restrictions were eased.
The southern commercial centre Ho Chi Minh City followed Hanoi on Thursday in shutting entertainment venues and banning gatherings after two people tested positive among 18,000 residents who were recently in Danang.
The latest response is in line with a centralised quarantine programme and aggressive testing and contact-tracing system that saw Vietnam lauded for keeping its coronavirus tally to just 464 cases since late January, with no fatalities.
Hanoi moved fast to try to prevent a contagion, setting a deadline of Saturday to test anyone who visited Danang recently.
“We have to use full force to test all 21,063 returnees,” city chairman Nguyen Duc Chung said. “All must be done in three days.”
Danang has been inundated with visitors taking advantage of promotions to revitalise a tourism sector hurt by border closures and international flight bans designed to keep the virus out. The current surge is traced to Danang, but the source is unclear.
One case, an American, showed symptoms as far back as mid-June, suggesting the virus may have quietly spread in Danang for several weeks.
Some experts say Vietnam could be paying for complacency after stopping the spread, with normal service quickly resuming, face masks used less and domestic travel activity surging.
Local scientists believe the coronavirus strain in Danang is more infectious than the strain found earlier in the country.
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Clubbers in Portugal will have to wait a little longer to dance the night away, as nightclubs were given the green light to reopen from Saturday but with early closing and no dancefloors allowed.
The Portuguese government announced on Thursday that bars and nightclubs can reopen if they wish, but following the same rules applied to coffee shops and bakeries. They will have to shut by 8pm in the capital Lisbon and 1am elsewhere in the country.
Nightclubs, which were forced to close doors in March when a lockdown to fight the coronavirus was imposed, can use the dancefloor space for tables where people can hang out and grab a bite - as long as social distancing is respected.
“There is a possibility for establishments like bars to operate like bakeries or cafes,” the cabinet affairs minister Mariana Vieira da Silva told a news conference, saying there were still “no conditions” for the establishments to return to business as usual due to the high risk of contagion.
Worried about the future of the sector and the industry’s capacity to maintain jobs, business owners were not happy with the decision.
“This cannot be true,” Hugo Cardoso, the president of an association representing nightclubs and bars nationwide, told radio station Renancenca. “A nightclub that closes at 8pm? A nightclub that closes before people arrive?”
Antonio Fonseca, the president of a similar association in Porto, Portugal’s second biggest city, told Portuguese broadcaster RTP the government move was “ridiculous”
Portugal initially won praise for its quick response to the pandemic, but a steady count of several hundred new cases per day in and around Lisbon in the past two months has worried authorities at home and abroad.
Authorities said the number of cases in the affected areas have dropped, leading the government to downgrade a state of “calamity” across a total of 19 civil parishes around Lisbon to a category of “contingency”, the same level as the rest of the city’s metropolitan area.
Florida records record rise in coronavirus deaths for third consecutive day
Florida reported a record increase in new Covid-19 deaths for a third day in a row on Thursday, with 252 fatalities in the last 24 hours, according to the state health department.
The state also reported 9,956 new cases, bringing its total infections to over 461,000, the second highest in the US behind California. Florida’s total death toll rose to 6,709, the eighth highest in the nation, according to a Reuters tally.
Due to the surge in cases, the Miami-area school district, the nation’s fourth-largest district, said students would not return to classrooms when the new academic year begins in a few weeks.
Florida was among six states on Wednesday that reported single-day records for coronavirus deaths. California, Idaho, North Carolina, Texas and South Dakota also had their biggest one-day increases in coronavirus fatalities since the pandemic started.
California, Florida and Texas are the three most populous state and where about a quarter of all US residents live.
One person in the United States died about every minute from Covid-19 on Wednesday as the national death toll surpassed 150,000, the highest in the world. Deaths are rising at the fastest rate since early June.
Nationally, Covid-19 deaths have risen for three weeks in a row while the number of new cases week-over-week recently fell for the first time since June.
Libya to impose full lockdown in parts of the country after steep rise in cases
Libya’s internationally recognised government in Tripoli will impose a full lockdown in areas of the country it controls, it said on Thursday, after a sharp rise in coronavirus cases.
Libya, split since 2014 between areas held by the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east, managed to avoid an early surge of the pandemic.
However, the disease has been spreading more quickly this month and Libya’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), one of the few bodies that operates across the country despite the conflict, has confirmed 3,222 cases.
Libya’s health system is in tatters after nearly a decade of chaos and war that has fragmented the state, destroyed infrastructure and left many people living in crowded conditions after fleeing their homes.
The main outbreaks are focused in Tripoli, the port of Misrata and in the southern desert town of Sebha, according to the NCDC, though cases have also been confirmed in most other major population centres.
The lockdown will start on Friday and last for at least five days, forbidding all movement outside except to buy necessities, and replacing a partial 9pm to 6am curfew.
Friday will also be the first day of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.
Authorities in Benghazi, in eastern Libya, have also imposed restrictions on movement but, with fewer cases confirmed there, have not yet ordered a full lockdown.
That’s all from me Caroline Davies. Thank you for your time.
Japan sees record high for new cases for second day in a row
Japan recorded at least 1,274 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, reaching a record high for the second straight day, according to a report in The Japan Times.
Tokyo reported a record 367 new cases on Thursday as the metropolitan government asked restaurants and karaoke bars to limit their operating hours amid worries over the recent spike in infections across Japan.
Governor Yuriko Koike said the capital is considering issuing its own version of a state of emergency in the future depending on the number of cases in the coming days, the paper reported.
The metropolitan government has asked restaurants, karaoke bars and other stores to limit their operating hours to between 5am and 10pm from 3 August to 31 August to prevent further spread of the virus, Koike said. People in their 20s and 30s accounted for 64% of the cases.
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Iceland is tightening restrictions after a surge in virus cases, following three months of gradual easing.
For the past week, 28 of the 31 new cases of Covid-19 identified in the North Atlantic island have been linked to internal transmissions in the country, AFP reports.
Five separate sources of contamination have been identified in the south-west, in particular in Akranes, about 50km from the capital Reykjavík.
The first hospitalisation since mid-May was also recorded on Wednesday.
“We have to react quickly,” the prime minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, said at a press conference.
The government has tightened assembly restrictions, bringing the limit down from 500 people to 100.
It has reinstated the mandatory two-metre social distance rule, which had been a recommendation since May 22, and for the first time made the wearing of masks compulsory on public transport, domestic flights, ferries and hairdressing salons where the two-metre rule cannot be respected.
All travellers must be tested on arrival to avoid quarantine but tourists visiting the island for 10 days or more will have to take a second test four to six days after their arrival.
These new measures come into effect this Friday at 12:00 GMT for at least two weeks.
Iceland, which introduced a mass testing policy, had returned to near-normal operation with the reopening of high schools, universities and hairdressers on May 4, followed gradually by swimming pools, gyms, bars and nightclubs.
Entry to the country for foreign tourists was reopened on June 15 to travellers from the Schengen area before being extended.
Iceland has recorded 10 deaths from 1,872 cases of Covid-19 since the start of the epidemic, of which 39 are currently active.
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Sweden, whose controversial softer approach to curbing Covid-19 has received worldwide attention, said today it would keep encouraging people to work from home when possible, as the country passed 80,000 recorded cases, AFP reports.
The recommendation, which is directed at those “who have the possibility to work from home,” will remain in place until the New Year.
Aimed in part at reducing crowding on public transport, the measure is designed to make things easier for those who need to physically go to work.
The announcement came as officials noted several positive trends in Sweden, with falling numbers of new cases, especially serious cases in need of intensive care.
But the country’s Public Health Agency noted that “if our contacts go up again there is a considerable risk of a new spread during the autumn”.
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Hi. This is Caroline Davies taking over the blog for a while. You can get in touch on caroline.davies@theguardian.com
US economy suffers worst quarter since WW2 as GDP falls by 32.9%
The US economy suffered its worst quarter since the second world war as GDP shrunk by 32.9%, government figures revealed on Thursday, as more signs emerged of the coronavirus pandemic’s heavy toll on the country’s economy.
The fall came as large parts of the US economy shutdown in March in an attempt to halt the spread of the coronavirus across the US. The closures led to a historic number of layoffs and sent unemployment soaring to levels unseen since the 1930s Great Depression.
My colleague Dominic Rushe’s full report is here:
And for more updates on the situation in the US, head over to our US coronavirus live blog:
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The ruling African National Congress in South Africa is facing allegations of corruption and conflicts of interest linked to procurement of key medical supplies to fight Covid-19.
South Africa currently has 471,000 confirmed Covid infections, almost half those on the continent and one of the highest totals in the world. The disease has spread rapidly since the easing in early June of a strict lockdown, and now threatens to overwhelm healthcare systems.
The spokesperson for the president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has been forced to take a leave of absence after reports that her husband had won multimillion-dollar government deals for the procurement of personal protective equipment, and the most senior elected health official in Gauteng, the most populous and richest province, has been suspended for four weeks pending the result of an investigation into improper award of similar contracts.
David Makhura, the leader of Gauteng province, told journalists on Thursday that the allegations of graft “have profoundly eroded public confidence in the government ... and undermined the work done by or health workers in the fight against Covid-19.”
The ANC, in power since 1994, has struggled to maintain the goodwill of many South Africans during the pandemic.
In a recent televised address, Ramaphosa pledged a crackdown on any corruption linked to the fight against Covid-19, saying that he was concerned by “instances where funds are stolen, where they are misused, where goods are overpriced, where food parcels are diverted from needy households, where there is corruption and mismanagement of public funds.”
Many observers pointed out that there have been few investigations or convictions for corruption despite repeated allegations made against senior ANC officials for many years.
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Germany’s hotel and restaurant federation (Dehoga) has said its members are concerned about their legal obligation to collect guests’ names and addresses so they can be traced in case of a coronavirus outbreak, accusing the police of frequently using the data for other unrelated reasons.
Dehoga’s president, Ingrid Hartges, has called the process “extremely sensitive” and called for clarity from lawmakers, saying that many of its members had been disturbed by what they saw as law enforcer’s misuse of the data.
Under measures to tackle the spread of coronavirus, pubs, restaurants and hotels in Germany are obliged to collect the names and contact details of all guests, so that they can be quickly traced, if it is suspected that someone infected with coronavirus has visited the establishment. The data is to be kept for a month before the establishment’s management is obliged to destroy it.
But a rising number of cases are coming to light of police requesting the contact data in order to pursue criminal prosecutions despite the fact that registration forms which guests fill in, carry the assurance that “data will only be used in case of a coronavirus infection”.
In a letter to its 65,000 members seen by the newspaper group Funke Mediengruppe, Dehoga has expressed its concern about the current situation, cautioning them to ensure that the data is not used for any purpose other than to pursue the virus. Hartges wrote that misuse of the data had the potential to “increase conflicts between patrons and guests”, particularly if guests became reluctant to give their details owing to frequent requests by the police to see the lists.
Elsewhere there are concerns about the lists’ general reliability, over increasing indications that many people are indeed filling out the forms incorrectly, or giving false names. A recent outbreak of the virus which was traced back to a bar in southern Berlin has led to 70 people being quarantined.
But 41 of the guests who were at Brauhaus Neulich on 16 July, gave incomplete or false contact details “meaning that to trace them is extremely difficult to impossible,” according to the health office in the Neukölln district. Eighteen people who visited the bar have been tested positive for the virus.
Whilst the health authorities insist that patrons are responsible for checking the information guests give is correct, Dehoga has said its members cannot be expected to check every guest’s identification against the data they volunteer.
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Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, extended its “transitional” social restrictions on Thursday to curb coronavirus transmission, said its governor, as the Southeast Asian country reported 1,904 new infections, health ministry data showed.
The governor Anies Baswedan told a streamed briefing on Thursday evening that the large-scale social restrictions, which have seen schools closed and restaurants or public transportation operate at limited capacity, will be extended for the third time, to 13 August.
“Data shows that there is a hike in cases in Jakarta, and there has not been any improvement from two weeks ago to right now,” he said, adding that there had been clusters found in offices in the capital.
Jakarta, a city of 10 million, reported 397 new coronavirus cases, according to central government data, bringing the total of infections in the city to 20,969, the second largest in the Southeast Asian nation.
Indonesia has reported a total number of 106,336 coronavirus cases, the highest in East Asia. The number of deaths in Indonesia related to Covid-19 rose by 83 on Thursday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 5,058, also the biggest in the region.
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Vietnam’s business hub, Ho Chi Minh City, has ordered bars and nightclubs to shut and banned gatherings of more than 30 people starting midnight on Thursday, to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus after it resurfaced in the country last week.
Ho Chi Minh City has registered two cases of Covid-19 linked to the Danang outbreak, both of which had reported themselves separately to health authorities before undertaking tests, the city’s administration said in a statement.
About 18,000 tourists who had been in Danang have returned to Ho Chi Minh City recently, it added. The restrictions follow similar curbs imposed by the capital Hanoi on Wednesday.
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Governments have the right to restrict protests on public health grounds, within reason, the UN Human Rights Committee has said, as demonstrations clash with coronavirus outbreaks around the world.
The committee stepped in to formulate its legal interpretation having seen a gap in the international norms being tested before the pandemic started, since when the matter has become more pressing.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, signed by 173 countries, including the US and China, has always allowed for restrictions to be placed on the rights of peaceful assembly on grounds including public health and the new document, called a “general comment”, confirmed that.
The report said:
The protection of ‘public health’ ground may exceptionally permit restrictions to be imposed, for example where there is an outbreak of an infectious disease and gatherings are dangerous.
However its author, Christof Heyns, was at pains to stress that this ground should not be used to unduly restrict demonstrations.
“This ground for restrictions should not be abused as a pretext to silence protest and opposition,” he said, adding that a government could, for example, limit the number of demonstrators in a public square to allow for social distancing.
More broadly, a summary of the document said that states have duties “not to prohibit, restrict, block or disrupt assemblies without compelling justification”.
Heyns said the legal interpretation was intended to set out the “rules of the game not just for protesters but for police”.
On the issue of whether protesters were allowed to wear masks to hide their identity as pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong have, the report said they had that right.
It also said that public order, one of the other grounds on which governments can restrict assemblies, “should not be used unduly”.
Asked about whether a state requirement to wear face coverings during the pandemic was a human rights violation, Heyns told Reuters:
It’s understandable and acceptable that for health reasons there may be limits on your rights.
However his comments on face coverings were not part of the official legal report. In parts of the United States, as well as Australia, the issue of mask-wearing has been divisive in some cases resulting in anti-mask protests.
The 18-person UN Human Rights Committee does not have enforcement powers but it reviews the party states’ implementation of its rules and may call them out for not conforming.
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The Philippine government’s Covid-19 task force confirmed 3,954 new infections on Thursday, the country’s largest single-day increase in new cases.
The information on the surge in infections, which was a sharp increase from the record 2,539 cases confirmed on 8 July, was mentioned in a regular circular issued by the inter-agency task force.
The health ministry was expected to release further details later on Thursday.
UK had highest level of excess deaths in Europe during pandemic, says ONS
The United Kingdom suffered the highest rate of excess deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic in a comparison of 21 European countries, an analysis from Britain’s statistics office showed on Thursday.
Epidemiologists say excess mortality – deaths from all causes that exceed the five-year average for the time of year – is the best way of gauging deaths from a disease outbreak because it is internationally comparable.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysis confirmed the UK’s place as one of the countries worst hit by a pandemic that has killed more than 666,000 people worldwide.
About 65,000 more people than usual have died from all causes across the United Kingdom so far this year, the highest total in Europe.
Thursday’s figures showed the United Kingdom also had Europe’s highest excess death rate when adjusted for the size and age of its population. The ONS said the excess deaths were spread throughout the UK, in contrast to many European countries where they were concentrated in particular regions.
Even so, England had a noticeably higher death rate than Scotland, which in turn had higher death rates than Wales and Northern Ireland.
Spain recorded a higher peak of excess deaths but the slower decline of deaths in Britain following its own coronavirus peak made for a worse picture overall, the report - based on age-standardised data - showed.
“This meant that by the end of May, England had seen the highest overall relative excess mortality out of all the European countries compared,” the ONS statistician Edward Morgan said.
The large death toll has prompted criticism of Boris Johnson’s handling of the pandemic, with opposition parties and some scientists saying Britain was too slow to impose a lockdown or protect the elderly in care homes.
Johnson has said his government followed the science but that there would be lessons to learn.
You can follow live updates on the UK’s outbreak over on the Guardian’s UK coronavirus live blog.
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Authorities imposed travel restictions on Thursday on people coming in and out of Urumqi, the capital of China’s western Xinjiang region, seeking to contain an outbreak of the coronavirus there, Reuters reports.
The city has been at the centre of the new wave of infections in mainland China, accounting for 96 of 105 confirmed Covid-19 cases reported on 29 July.
Non-residents seeking to leave the city will have to test negative in both nucleic acid and antibody tests before they can leave if they have been in the city for 14 days or more, the vice mayor Song Yajun said during a daily briefing. He added that residents should not leave Urumqi unless necessary.
Urumqi will also mandate 14-day quarantine for people arriving in the city from high-risk Covid-19 areas, Song said. Others entering the city will need to show proof of a negative test within the past seven days, among other requirements, which vary depending on where they are coming from.
The number of new cases in mainland China is still well below the peaks seen in February, but the resurgence underscores the challenge in stamping out the disease.
Also on Thursday, China ordered local authorities to carry out regular coronavirus tests at wholesale markets. In June, there was a cluster of infections centred around a major wholesale market in the capital, Beijing.
Cases of Covid-19 in the Czech Republic have surpassed 16,000 as a recent rise in infections continues, health ministry data showed on Thursday.
The central European country of 10.7 million has faced a rise in cases in July in several hot spots, including in an eastern mining region and more recently in the capital Prague, which reported a daily record of 101 cases on Tuesday.
With the uptick in cases outpacing neighbours, government and health officials have sought to boost the country’s “smart quarantine” programme to track and trace contacts of infected people.
On Thursday, the health ministry also unveiled plans to ramp up testing capacity, which the health minister, Adam Vojtěch, said was currently at around 17,000 daily. The country carried out 7,413 tests on Tuesday, the most since mid-May.
The ministry recorded 278 cases nationwide on Wednesday, the second highest daily rise in July. The seven-day average reached 216, the highest since April 10.
In total, the country has seen 16,093 cases since the outbreak started in March, with 11,429 recoveries so far and 374 deaths from the Covid-19 illness.
Since lifting a strict nationwide lockdown imposed in March, the authorities have pledged to avoid future countrywide measures and instead aimed to tackle outbreaks locally.
Despite the growth in daily cases, the number of those hospitalised was 120, well off April peaks above 400.
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The number of infections of coronavirus in Iran has reached 301,530, according to official health ministry figures announced on state TV on Thursday.
Iran has the Middle East’s highest number of recorded Covid-19 cases, and infections and deaths have risen sharply since restrictions on movement began to be eased in mid-April.
There were 226 deaths from the coronavirus in the past 24 hours taking the total number of deaths from the pandemic to 16,569.
Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, urged people on Saturday to observe health protocols and practice social distancing during upcoming Muslim festivities, as a health official said there had been a surge in coronavirus infections in a major holy city.
The deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi, speaking on state television on Saturday, urged people not to visit the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, which he said had seen an increase of 300% in Covid-19 cases over a one-month period.
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Poland reported its highest daily rise in coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic on Thursday, with 615 new infections, according to the health ministry’s Twitter account.
The health ministry also announced the deaths of a further 15 people.
Poland has reported a total of 45,031 infections and 1,709 deaths so far.
A 67-year-old Irish politician has become an unlikely sex symbol after stripping down to his togs and revealing a six-pack.
Richard Bruton, a member of parliament and former minister, filmed a video promoting the staycation charms of his north Dublin constituency. He walks and bikes along the coast from Howth to Clontarf, calling it jewel in the crown of Ireland’s east coast, then swims in the sea.
“If you need something a bit more high octane than cycling, why not join me and come in here for a dip in Dollymount?” Bruton says in the video, posted on the Fine Gael party’s Twitter account.
🐟 🚲 🏊♂️ @RichardBrutonTD shows you his top activities in Howth and the surrounding areas for your #Staycation2020.
— Fine Gael (@FineGael) July 29, 2020
From October, you can avail of our new scheme on your food and accommodation costs.
More: https://t.co/8rzdSLqtM1 pic.twitter.com/jxsLpsQKT9
His toned physique lit up social media with expressions of envy, lust and jokes calling Bruton a beefcake and Fine Gael’s answer to Daniel Craig.
The political veteran said he did not go to the gym and urged people to use Dublin’s outdoor attractions to exercise.
The party leader, Leo Varadkar – also known to flash his abs – joked that he hoped people would not be put off using the government’s staycation subsidy.
Don’t let Richard’s beach bod put you off availing of the Government’s Stay and Spend initiative this autumn! #jobsstimulus #tourism #staycation #stayandspend https://t.co/AQ6Mgbex4W
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) July 29, 2020
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France rules out 'catastrophic' second national lockdown despite rise in infections
As concerns grow of a return of Covid-19 in France - officials say it is not a “second wave” - the French government is ruling out a nationwide lockdown in the event of the continued spread of the virus.
Prime Minister Jean Castex has been clear on this saying that a full confinement must be “avoided above all”.
Castex said the shutting down of the country again after the strict two month lockdown between March and May, would be “catastrophic” at an economic and social level.
“We now know what this would mean: such a measure stops the epidemic from progressing, certainly, but at an economic and social level it is catastrophic including for the psychological health of some of our fellow citizens,” Castex told Nice Matin.
He added: “The priority is still prevention. Even if the number of [confirmed] cases has begun to rise, the positive tests remain in the low averages compared to those in neighbouring countries. And the number of hospital admissions remains under control”.
Officials say that any new lockdowns would most likely be localised on where there are outbreaks.
“We will adapt,” Castex said.
The French health authorities here have again warned of an increase in infections among “young adults” . There are now 30,228 deaths attributed to coronavirus in France, but the number of patients in intensive care continues to fall.
The R-rate is now higher than 1.3 at a national level (higher than R1 in 10 regions) and has been rising since 1 July.
“If they are less at risk of developing a serious form of the illness, the young can be responsible for spreading the virus if they don’t respect the barrier measures,” a spokesperson for the Direction Générale de la Santé.
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The Afghan health ministry has urged the nation to stay indoors over the Eid celebration and not to repeat the mistakes of the previous Eid amid concerns about a second wave.
Ahmad Jawad Osmani, acting health minister urged the people to stay indoors on Eid al-Adha, scheduled for Friday, and refrain from travelling, asking the nation not to repeat the mistakes of the Eid al-Fitr celebrations in May.
According to a Guardian tally, Afghanistan recorded 3,920 cases in seven days before the previous Eid, a record high.
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Osmani said Afghanistan is still in an emergency situation.
“On Eid al-Fitr, we faced a major crisis due to people’s disregard for coronavirus restrictions, and many died. We call on the people not to repeat the mistakes of the past Eid and to follow health guidelines.”
He also urged people to avoid visiting elderly relatives, since they have a higher chance of getting infected.
Osmani also warned about the outbreak of the Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) which spreads among those who are exposed to infected animals and the blood and tissues of freshly slaughtered animals.
The health ministry has previously said that in addition to coronavirus, the country is to deal with two more viruses of polio and CCHF.
Coronavirus related deaths rose by 10 from the previous day to stand at 1,281 on Thursday. In its latest update, the health ministry said the number of people who had tested positive for the virus had reached 36,538, an increase of 65 on the day before. There have been 25,544 recoveries, including 155 over the past 24 hours.
Most of the new cases (39) were reported in the western province of Herat, where officials have already warned of a second wave of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, a three-day long ceasefire will go into effect at midnight as the Taliban announced they will observe a three-day ceasefire for the occasion of Eid al-Adha, starting Friday.
Some of Japan’s best-known artists are finding new avenues of expression, as the coronavirus outbreak sparks ideas as radical as renaming the country’s “Reiwa” imperial era.
Five contemporary artists including Takashi Murakami were on hand on Thursday at Mori Art Museum for the unveiling of their “STARS” exhibition, which had been delayed by several months with the museum closed due to the pandemic.
Murakami, with works on display including his iconic life-size sculptures “Miss Ko” and “My Lonesome Cowboy” as well as two new 20-metre-long paintings, said expansion of his online business since lockdown was helping him communicate more closely with fans.
“The museum exhibition was delayed and we’re still not in a situation where a lot of people can gather, but I think human beings need communication through art,” he said.
Meanwhile, South Korean-born Lee Ufan, a resident of Japan since the 1950s and known for promoting the “Mono-ha” art movement, described the pandemic as a warning over the impact that human development was having on the environment.
He highlighted the improvement in air quality and freedom for wild animals to roam while the world was locked down.
“This is the turning point where we need to go back to nature,” Lee said.
Updated
New flare-ups among young in France
An outbreak among 18- to 25-year-olds at a seaside resort on the Brittany coast is increasing fears that the virus is flaring again in France.
With 72 infections mostly among that age group uncovered in a week of furious contact tracing, the cluster on the Quiberon peninsula was thought to have originated with a supermarket summer worker who partied with others at a nightspot.
It is becoming a textbook case of the virus pitting generations against each other.
The government’s top regional official, a former soldier and intelligence officer in his 50s, hasn’t minced his words in decrying the irresponsibility of young people who are vacationing or living here, gathering in large numbers for festivities at night, ignoring the danger.
The official, Patrice Faure, prefect of Brittany’s Morbihan region, personally served a two-month closure order on a Quiberon discotheque, the Hacienda Cafe.
The owners told the regional newspaper Ouest-France that they urged patrons to wear masks but also noted: “They’re young, on holiday or doing summer jobs, and they’d been drinking. They didn’t listen.”
Although authorities insist the outbreak is under control, the peninsula that used to be a sardine-fishing hub has become a flashpoint for fears that France is going backward in the epidemic that has infected more than 185,000 and killed at least 30,200 in the country.
Quiberon has made mask-wearing mandatory on some of its busiest streets, joining other vacation towns in going further than the national requirement for masks in all indoor public spaces.
A nighttime curfew on beaches and public parks is also being enforced, amid concerns that young people without symptoms could spread the coronavirus to the less-healthy.
Updated
Hong Kong authorities opened community centres for residents to eat inside after a virus-induced ban on indoor dining at restaurants forced many workers to have their meals outside on pavements under sweltering heat and rain.
The restaurant ban, which took effect on Wednesday, barred any outlet from allowing dine-in patrons to curb the spread of Covid-19, an unprecedented move in the financial hub where hundreds of thousands depend on eating out for daily meals.
Construction and office workers were seen across the city trying to find shade as they ate their noodle and rice lunch boxes in temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius (95°F).
Others opted to eat inside storerooms or even toilets, public broadcaster RTHK said.
In a prompt reversal, the government said on Thursday it would partly relax its ban on restaurant dining, noting that it brought “inconvenience and difficulties” to many workers.
From Friday, outlets will be able to open during breakfast and lunch, provided they operate at 50% capacity and ensure diners sit two to a table.
Poland may reinstate quarantine for some returning travellers
Poland may reinstate quarantine for people coming back from some countries, government spokesman Piotr Muller said on Thursday.
“We are considering introducing a quarantine for particular countries from the European Union and from outside of the European Union,” Muller told private broadcaster Polsat News.
Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily said earlier, also quoting Muller, that the government is considering a quarantine for people coming back from Spain amid continuing worries about the coronavirus pandemic.
Updated
Ukraine reported a record daily high of 1,197 new coronavirus cases on 30 July, the country’s council of security and defense said on Thursday.
The number of new daily infections has increased sharply in the past two months following the gradual lifting of restrictions that began in late-May.
The total number of cases rose to 68,794, including 1,673 deaths and 38,154 recovered as of July 30.
The key developments from around the world:
- Australia has reported a record rise in coronavirus infections and deaths, with the state of Victoria announcing more than 700 new cases and 13 deaths, as the state continues to battle significant outbreaks in the aged care sector and among healthcare workers. It comes as global cases passed 17m, after five of the last seven days saw one-day jumps of more than 250,000 new infections.
- The United States meanwhile, which continues to have by far the highest number of cases and deaths, passed 150,000 fatalities late on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.
- Brazil’s outbreak set a national daily record on Wednesday with 69,074 new confirmed cases and 1,595 related deaths.
- Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has warned the city is on the brink of a large-scale outbreak and urged people to stay indoors as much as possible as strict new measures take effect.
- In New Zealand, a 32-year-old man has been arrested after attempting to escape a managed quarantine facility.
- In Saudi Arabia, a scaled-down hajj has begun. This year, for the first time in modern history, Saudi officials have drastically restricted the number of pilgrims allowed to participate and enforced strict new health measures. Just 10,000 Muslims, all already inside the kingdom, are being allowed to perform the hajj – 0.4% of last year’s 2.5 million attendees from across the globe.
Morning, I will be updating the global blog this morning. As ever, please send me stories, tips and anything you feel we should be covering to nazia.parveen@theguardian.com or DM me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NParveenG
Thursday briefing: Home schooling burden fell to women
Women spent more than twice as much time as men on their children’s home schooling and development during the UK lockdown, according to the first academic study on the subject. Surveys by University College London (UCL) researchers found women across several age groups bore the brunt of childcare and home schooling, while those with primary school-aged children “were considerably more likely” to have given up working than fathers with children of the same age.
People with coronavirus symptoms may be asked to isolate for an extra three days, for a total of 10 days, after government scientists raised concern about a steady rise in the number of cases in the UK, as parts of Europe see significant spikes. The Guardian understands this takes into account developing science on the virus’s incubation period and how long it remains contagious. On Wednesday, the government’s official dashboard showed 83 deaths associated with Covid-19 and 763 newly lab-confirmed infections and there appears to have been a slight rise in infections as lockdown restrictions have eased:
France’s economic slump may not be quite as bad as forecast and activity in the euro zone’s second biggest economy could return to pre-crisis levels in early 2022, the central bank governor has said.
Reuters reports that Francois Villeroy de Galhau told Paris Match magazine that President Emmanuel Macron’s government must spend wisely to rebuild trust in the economy. Household and private sector confidence were the key to a relatively swift recovery, he said.
“Our forecasts predict a 10% fall in GDP this year: it may be a little better, with a strong rebound afterwards to hopefully regain a pre-Covid level of activity at the start of 2022,” Villeroy said in the interview published on Thursday.
The government availed a crisis package worth €137bn, or more than 6% of gross domestic product, to cushion the immediate impact of the epidemic and also committed to guarantee 300 billion euros in bank loans to help keep firms afloat.
After the summer break, it will present a €100bn stimulus package to propel the recovery.
Global cases pass 17m
There are currently 17,029,155 known coronavirus cases worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, and 667,011 deaths.
Five of the last seven days saw one-day case jumps of more than 250,000, with three of those over 280,000. The global one-day case record was set on 22 July with 281,500 cases and broken just a day later with 282,800 cases.
Updated
Women spent more than twice as much time as men on their children’s home schooling and development during the UK’s coronavirus lockdown, according to the first academic study to measure how parents responded while schools and nurseries were closed to most families:
Sarah Whitehead reports for the Guardian:
‘Working in ICU is like flying a plane’: the secret world of intensive care
In early March, Mike Brunner, an intensive care doctor at Northwick Park hospital in north London, saw his first few Covid-19 patients. They were arriving with mild coughs, but just hours later were relying on oxygen tanks to breathe, their lungs on the brink of collapse. Within days, three patients became seven, then 20, and from then on, said Brunner, “we were in it”.
For a while, Brunner felt as if he and his colleagues were the only ones who saw the huge change coming. “We could see this tsunami of people coming at us, and yet nobody else did,” said Brunner. Driving through London on his way to work, past people crowded together in shops and pubs and cafes, he felt as if no one understood that very soon life was not going to be the same. “It was an incredibly lonely feeling,” he said.
Stepping on to the ICU during this period was like entering another world. In a way, Brunner said, intensive care has always seemed like a place removed from life outside. The ward itself is hidden away behind closed doors, and inside, the only sound is the gentle, regular beeping of machines. “Because of all the machinery and complicated language we use, it has a unique atmosphere,” said Brunner. “It can be quite intimidating.”
Vietnam to conduct mass testing in Hanoi
Vietnam imposed more coronavirus restrictions Thursday as an outbreak that started in a popular beach resort destination grew with nine new cases, AP reports.
Eight of the new infections were detected in the virus hot spot of Da Nang and another was confirmed in the capital Hanoi in a man who had returned from the coastal city, the health ministry said.
The outbreak has spread from Da Nang in central Vietnam to 5 other cities and provinces with 43 cases since the weekend, and Vietnam is intensifying protective measures across the country.
Dak Lak province starting Thursday morning is reimposing social distancing, closing nonessential services and banning public gathering of more than 20 people.
Da Nang’s neighbors, the coastal provinces of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai, have closed their beaches and limited businesses that can open.
Another popular tourist destination Hoi An old town, near Da Nang, is also reimposing social distancing.
Hanoi city authorities have cancelled public events and will close down bars and clubs from Thursday. It also plans testing of some 21,000 people who returned from Da Nang before the coastal resort was locked down Tuesday.
Updated
In Australia, the initial results of testing to contain a potential Covid-19 outbreak south of Brisbane have been “the best we could have hoped for”, Queensland authorities said on Thursday.
The state announced three new coronavirus cases had been detected – none linked to two women who tested positive after recently returning to Brisbane from Melbourne, and who allegedly made false declarations to evade Queensland border restrictions.
But Queensland remains on edge about the potential for another source of virus infections, with a large tranche of tests results expected soon and recriminations already under way about the effectiveness of border controls and the actions of the women:
In Saudi Arabia, a scaled-down hajj has begun. This year, for the first time in modern history, Saudi officials have drastically restricted the number of pilgrims allowed to participate and enforced strict new health measures.
Just 10,000 Muslims, all resident in the kingdom, are being allowed to perform the hajj - 0.4% of last year’s 2.5 million attendees from across the globe.
This year’s downsized hajj may prove to be the safest ever despite the ever-present threat posed by the novel coronavirus, AFP reports.
In past years pilgrims have faced a host of viral illnesses, with some falling sick, but a raft of measures are in place for the relatively modest number allowed to attend this year.
The hajj is usually attended by upwards of two million Muslims, who converge on the Saudi city Mecca for one of the world’s biggest annual gatherings.
That poses enormous health and logistical challenges.
In the past, pilgrims returning home have developed respiratory diseases after mingling with large crowds and staying in cramped pilgrim camps where social distancing was unheard of.
In New Zealand, News Hub reports that a 32-year-old man has been arrested after attempting to escape a managed quarantine facility:
Air Commodore Darryn Webb said he was caught by police only 100 metres away.
“Defence Force staff verbally challenged the man as he attempted to follow them out a gate, claiming he was a worker. When asked for identification he allegedly refused, and exited onto Albert St.
“AVSEC and Police were immediately alerted, and two Defence Force staff followed the man down Albert St, maintaining a safe distance while doing so until a police officer arrived. The officer was wearing a mask and gloves.
“The man allegedly failed to stop, and was chased for a short distance and apprehended.”
Japan lifts ban on re-entry of some foreign residents
Japan will from next week lift a ban on the re-entry of some foreign residents, imposed to limit the spread of coronavirus, the foreign ministry has announced.
AFP reports that up to 90,000 foreign nationals with residence permits, including students, business people and trainees, are currently stuck outside Japan after authorities banned re-entry from over 100 countries in response to the global pandemic.
From 5 August those who left Japan before their destination countries were added to the ban list will be able to apply to return, the foreign ministry said in a statement late Wednesday.
Those eligible will have to obtain a “re-entry confirmation letter” from the nearest Japanese diplomatic mission and submit evidence of a negative virus test conducted within 72 hours of their flight.
From September 1, those conditions will also apply to foreign nationals in other categories, including permanent or long-term residents and spouses and children of Japanese nationals or permanent residents.
Japan has imposed an entry ban on visitors from more than 140 countries and regions, but the government has said it will ease them gradually.
Japanese citizens are able to re-enter the country from places on the ban list, and foreigners resident in Japan can apply for humanitarian exemptions to visit countries on the list and be allowed to return.
Updated
South Korea’s Celltrion Inc on Thursday said British regulators had given it regulatory approval for a phase I clinical trial of its experimental Covid-19 treatment drug, Reuters reports.
The company will enrol participants for a clinical study in the UK after approval from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, Celltrion said in a statement.
South Korean regulators on 17 July approved an early stage clinical trial for the drug, making it the country’s first such antibody drug to be tested on humans.
While Hawaii has one of the lowest rates of cases per capita in the country and many schools have open-air campuses, the challenges of returning kids full time to classrooms may still be insurmountable, AP reports.
Many residents live in multigenerational homes and fear for their elderly relatives, many schools lack the classroom space to allow for desks to be 6 feet (2 meters) apart, and the state is a major tourist destination and could see a rise in cases if restrictions are eased.
As a result, most schools in Hawaii will institute the hybrid approach being adopted in many parts of the country, with students alternating between attending in-person classes and online instruction. Some schools will have full face-to-face instruction for younger grade levels, but only a handful of schools will offer a full-time, in-person return.
Schools in the only statewide public school system in the nation were scheduled to reopen on 4 August, but the teachers union led an effort to delay that. The district and the union agreed to a new date of Aug. 17. The Hawaii Board of Education will consider whether to approve the delay at a meeting Thursday.
The union, Hawaii State Teachers Association, doesnt think the district has done sufficient planning for various scenarios, including what happens if someone gets sick or how to pivot to totally remote learning.
Three largest US states set one day death records
California, Florida and Texas, the three largest US states, all set one-day records for fatalities from Covid-19 on Wednesday, a Reuters tally showed, and the Miami-area school district said students would not return to classrooms when the new academic year begins as deaths from the virus spiked nationwide.
(Reuters’ visual explainer of the global death toll is worth looking at)
The United States has registered 10,000 deaths over the last 11 days, the fastest surge since early June, prompting heated debates between the American public and its leaders over the best course forward. New infections do not appear to be rising at the same pace.
With the scheduled reopening of schools days away in some states, President Donald Trump has pushed for students to return to class while teacher unions and local officials have called for them to stay home.
A total of more than 150,000 Americans have died of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.
The pace of coronavirus infections has accelerated since late May and the epicentre has moved to the South and West from New York, which still has by far the highest number of fatalities of any US state at more than 32,000.
California, Florida and Texas together account for one-quarter of the total US population.
The UK car industry produced the lowest number of vehicles in the first half of 2020 since 1954, when second world war rationing ended, as the coronavirus pandemic forced factory closures and prompted at least 11,000 automotive job losses:
Global cases near 17m
There are currently 16,950,407 known coronavirus cases worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, and 664,961.
Five of the last seven days saw one-day case jumps of more than 250,000, with three of those over 280,000. The global one-day case record was set on 22 July with 281,500 cases and broken just a day later with 282,800 cases.
Updated
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews:
Ultimately, every Victorian, I think, deep down knows and appreciates that unless everyone plays their part this lockdown will not end anytime soon. If we were to reopen, across metropolitan Melbourne, and Mitchell shire, today, then it will not be 700 cases a day – you can add a zero to that. And our hospitals will be overrun and we will be conducting more funerals than – yeah.”
In Australia, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews was asked how the daily case numbers had jumped so high – it’s more than the previous two days combined.
He said:
I’m loathe to go into too much detail, because I frankly don’t want it to be read as a criticism of any one sector.
He then goes on to mention aged care.
So, the point that I make is that there are a number of positive cases in aged care, and therefore they are being reflected in these numbers. That’s one point.
The other issue around targeted testing, where there’s been significant outbreaks, the more outbreaks you have, the more testing you do, and you will find cases. That number is not – there’s not 700-plus community transmission cases. The community transmission number will be but a fraction of that.
Face masks to be mandatory in state of Victoria
Still in Australia, from midnight on Sunday everyone across the state of Victoria will have to wear a face covering when outside of their home, Premier Daniel Andrews has announced.
Updated
In Australia, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced that people several regional government areas in the state will no longer be allowed to have visitors to their homes from midnight tonight:
Now, I just wanted to go to some announcements now in relation to regionalVictoria. The active cases, the split that I spoke about before, are4,516 in Metro Melbourne andMitchell Shire, and around 255 in regional Victoria. 159 of those active cases - 159 of those 255active cases - are from six local government areas that surround theGeelong corridor. That is why I’m announcing, from 11:59pm tonight, so essentially from midnight tonight, in the local government areas ofGreater Geelong, Surf Coast, Mooorabul, Golden Plains, Colac Otway, and Queenscliff, people will no longer be able to have visitors to their home. There is currently a limit that is now going to zero from midnight tonight.
Hospitality venues will however remain open, which Andrews says may seem counter-intuitive:
Hospitality venues will remain open.I know that may seem counterintuitive, and many things in this virus are. But some of the transmission is household-to-household. The larger part of it is, of course, in workplaces. But some of the transmission is in households. And that makes sense, when you think about it. People are not necessarily keeping their distance in their family home. It’s a natural thing, you let your guard down. Hugs and kisses and handshakes, not necessarily adhering to the protocols that are a feature of hospitality, cafes, restaurants, pubs being open. They are supervised environments. They are regulated environments. There are time limits, for instance. They’re in a very different set of circumstances. I know that it may seem, as I said, counterintuitive that you can go to the pub but you can’t go to your mate’s place, but ultimately that’s where the data drives that decision.
The state Australian of New South Wales has recorded 18 new cases, in keeping with the low-double-digit increases seen for the past fortnight:
18 new cases of #COVID19 have been diagnosed in NSW between 8pm on 28 July and 8pm on 29 July.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 30, 2020
For the latest list of COVID-19 locations, visit: https://t.co/6PUOQ3J3tO pic.twitter.com/U5hRi2lOV2
In Australia, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews is speaking now, as the state sees 723 new cases and 13 new deaths, both national records.
The 13 new deaths recorded overnight bring Victoria’s death toll to 105.
The deaths included three men and three women in their seventies, three men and two women in their eighties and two men in their nineties.
Australian state of Victoria sees record daily cases and deaths
The premier of the Australian state of Victoria has announced 723 new coronavirus cases reported overnight, national record for Australia in terms of one-day cases and significantly higher than the previous record, set on Monday, of 532 cases in 24 hours.
There have been 13 deaths overnight, a new national record. Ten of these are believed to be connected to aged care.
The previous highest number of deaths in 24 hours was 10.
The state’s chief health officer, Prof Brett Sutton, said yesterday that he was not prepared to say the peak had passed because it depended on what happened in specific outbreaks, particularly in aged care.
Updated
Inmate at Sydney jail tests positive for Covid-19
In Australia, a Sydney correctional facility has undergone deep cleaning after a prisoner tested positive for Covid-19.
Corrective Services NSW said on Thursday that the man, who was taken into custody on 26 July, has since tested positive for Covid-19 while at the Parklea Correctional Centre in Sydney’s north-west.
The inmate had recently been in Victoria and was arrested for driving offences before being bail refused. In a statement, Corrective Services said that “as with all fresh custodies, he was isolated from the time of his arrest by NSW Police Force and subsequently by CSNSW before his transfer to Parklea”.
“At Parklea the inmate underwent mandatory COVID-19 testing and has been housed in isolation in Area 6B in accordance with standard protocols for Covid-19 infection control,” a spokeswoman said.
“Preliminary contact tracing with staff and inmates has confirmed the inmate has not had any close contacts in custody, on being transported, or at Parklea CC since his arrival, in accordance with the isolation protocols.”
“Corrective Services NSW has taken all appropriate health and safety measures after an inmate, who came into custody on 26 July, subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 at Parklea Correctional Centre.
It marks the first and so far only confirmed case of Covid-19 among correctional staff or inmates at any NSW correctional facility. The CSNSW spokeswoman said the inmate’s family was being notified and the area “forensically cleaned”.
“Our priority continues to be preventing transmission, managing isolation requirements, keeping staff and inmates safe and continuing to manage our daily operations,” CSNSW said.
Updated
An Indian businessman who recovered from coronavirus has converted his office into an 85-bed facility to provide free treatment for the poor, AFP reports.
The coronavirus epidemic is still raging in the world’s second-most populous nation, with the number of infections passing 1.5 million on Wednesday, and almost 35,000 deaths.
With public hospitals struggling to cope, Kadar Shaikh spent 20 days in a private clinic last month in the western city of Surat - and was horrified by the bill.
“The cost of treatment at a private hospital was huge. How could poor people afford such treatment?” property developer Shaikh told AFP.
“So I decided to do something and contribute in the fight against the deadly virus.”
Once back on his feet, Shaikh secured approval from local authorities to convert his 30,000-square-feet (2,800-square-metre) office premises.
The government provides and pays for the staff, medical equipment and medicine, while Shaikh bought the beds and bears the cost of bed linen and electricity.
Anyone can be admitted, he said, regardless of “caste, creed or religion”.
Updated
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday attended his first public event since recovering from Covid-19, though he declined to speak, AP reports.
Brazil’s president is typically last to address at the presidential palace, but Bolsonaro only watched the event recognising women who work in rural areas around Latin America and left the room once it ended. He wore a mask throughout the event.
Bolsonaro consistently downplayed the coronavirus’ severity during the pandemic, and he often joined supporters and took outings from the presidential residence, sometimes without a mask.
California state lawmakers are considering a plan to continue a $600 weekly unemployment benefit for state residents if Congress does not extend the emergency funding this month.
“We have millions of Californians that are on a financial cliff,” said Phil Ting, a Democratic state lawmaker from San Francisco. “They really need that money to pay rent, to buy food, to pay for everyday living expenses.”
Cuts in federal emergency assistance would probably put more California residents in danger of losing their housing, and could make California’s homelessness crisis even worse, Ting said.
“The number one way you prevent the spread of Covid is you keep people in their homes,” he said.
As coronavirus cases rise, and the number of confirmed deaths nationwide reaches 150,000, Congress is debating whether to extend a $600 weekly payment to supplement state unemployment benefits. In California, those benefits average a little more than $300 a week. The extra federal dollars, experts say, are providing critical assistance to millions of Americans who have lost their jobs:
France sees highest new daily cases in a mont
The number of new coronavirus infections in France rose by 1,392 on Wednesday, the highest daily tally in a month and a figure likely to fuel fears of a second wave of the disease despite officials downplaying such a scenario.
The increase took France’s total number of confirmed cases to 185,196. In a statement, health authorities said that, leaving aside the continuous decline of people in ICU units, all Covid-19 indicators showed “an increase of the viral circulation”.
The reproduction rate, on an upward trend since the beginning of the month, is now “higher than 1.3”, which marks a rise over 24 hours, they said.
The figure for new cases, the highest since the June 26 total of 1,588, is above the past week’s daily average of 980 and almost double the 715 average seen in May, when France started to lift is lockdown.
Earlier in the day, French health minister Olivier Veran urged the country not to drop its guard against the disease, but said it was “not facing a second wave”.
There were also 15 new deaths linked to the disease, taking the total to 30,238, a figure higher than the daily average increase of nine seen over the last week.
France has the seventh-highest death toll in the world.
Updated
Brazil confirms nearly 70,000 coronavirus cases in new national daily record
Brazil’s coronavirus outbreak set daily records on Wednesday with both 69,074 new confirmed cases and 1,595 related deaths, as the world’s second-worst outbreak accelerates toward the milestone of 100,000 fatalities.
Brazil is the country worst hit by Covid-19 outside of the United States in both death toll and case count, with more than 2.5 million confirmed cases and 90,134 deaths since the pandemic began, according to ministry data.
Sao Paulo, Brazil’s most populous and hardest-hit state, has been working through a backlog of previously unregistered cases, reporting more than 26,000 cases on Wednesday alone.
President Jair Bolsonaro has pressed to reopen the Brazilian economy, with lockdowns lifting in many cities despite the toll of the disease continuing to rise.In some cases, Brazilians have packed into bars and crowded public squares, often in defiance of local rules.
Bolsonaro himself has flouted social distancing guidelines by joining supporters at rallies around Brasilia, the capital, in recent months. He fell ill with coronavirus this month, and spent weeks in partial isolation before recovering. The right-wing populist has argued the economic damage from lockdowns is worse than the disease itself, which he has played down as “a little flu” that can be cured by unproven treatments, involving the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam warns city is on brink of 'large-scale outbreak'
In Hong Kong, the chief executive, Carrie Lam, said the city was on “the verge of a large-scale community outbreak which may lead to a collapse of our hospital system and cost lives, especially of the elderly”.
A statement on Monday from the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Beijing’s senior presence in the city, said Hong Kong’s testing capacity could no longer meet demand and “its medical system and quarantine facilities are being overwhelmed”.
Following the latest resurgence, Hong Kong’s government has suggested it could postpone by a year a vote for seats in the city’s legislature scheduled for 6 September, the public broadcaster RTHK reported on Wednesday.
Summary
Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest from around the world for the next few hours.
As always, it would be great to hear from you on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has warned the city is on the brink of a large-scale outbreak of the coronavirus and urged people to stay indoors as much as possible as strict new measures take effect.
Brazil, the second-worst-affected country in terms of number of cases and deaths, confirmed nearly 70,000 coronavirus cases, in new national daily record (the global record for the highest number of cases reported by a single country belongs to the US, with more than 77,000 reported on 16 July.
Brazil recorded 69,074 new confirmed cases and 1,595 related deaths, as the country accelerates toward the milestone of 100,000 lives lost.
- The coronavirus death toll in the US has passed 150,000, higher than any other country and nearly a quarter of the world’s total. Of the 20 countries with the biggest outbreaks, the United States ranks sixth in deaths per capita, at 4.5 fatalities per 10,000 people, according to a Reuters tally.
- Brazil confirmed nearly 70,000 coronavirus cases in new daily record. The country recorded 69,074 new confirmed cases and 1,595 related deaths, as the world’s second-worst outbreak accelerates toward the milestone of 100,000 lives cut short.
- Guatemala is burying dozens of unidentified Covid-19 dead. Hospitals say they have had to bury dozens of Covid-19 victims who have never been identified, with one hospital creating archives in hopes that once the pandemic passes relatives will come looking for them.
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Macron’s popularity shot up after an EU recovery deal. In an opinion poll half of respondents said they were confident in the president’s policies for France, only the second time since April 2018 he has reached the 50% mark.
- France saw its highest daily increase in cases in more than a month. The number of new coronavirus infections in France rose by 1,392 on Wednesday, a figure likely to fuel fears of a second wave despite officials downplaying such a scenario.
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The Catalan government eased lockdown in city of Lleida. 160,000 people had been ordered to stay home following a spike in infections.
- Lebanon reported its highest single-day infection tally. The country reporter 182 new coronavirus cases, ahead of fresh lockdown measures that go into effect at midnight.
