This blog is now closed – coverage continues here
The number of coronavirus cases recorded globally now stands at 6,852,810, according to the Johns Hopkins University dashboard.
The US is hardest hit, with 1,917,080 cases, followed by Brazil (645,771 cases) and Russia (458,102 cases).
Victoria Bekiempis reports from New York:
New deaths have been curving downward in the US, but Covid-19 continues to spread across the country, with thousands of confirmed diagnoses daily.
The increase comes as officials – grappling with a 13.3% unemployment rate – take more steps to reopen local economies. Meanwhile, social-distancing guidelines have been increasingly challenged by nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd, prompting concerns that cases could soon surge.
The New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, recently expanded reopening efforts following dramatic declines in deaths and diagnoses in his state, which has been the most ravaged in the country.
Cuomo said that New York City, which has been the center of the pandemic in the US, is on track to enter “phase one” of re-opening on 8 June. It permits construction and manufacturing, as well as retail conducted on the curbside or trhough in-store drop-off and pick-up. In some regions of New York state, houses of worship will be permitted to reopen at 25% occupancy with “all social distancing protocols” on 7 June.
Across the US, some tourist hubs are reopening. Universal Orlando reopened theme parks on 5 June after being closed for nearly three months, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Most guests sported masks and followed safety procedures such as temperature checks at the lightly attended parks.
Las Vegas’s famed casinos also re-opened this week
Public health officials have voiced concern that demonstrators and police at anti-police brutality protests could spur Covid-19’s spread. Social distancing is virtually impossible at heavily attended protests and shouting could spread droplets containing COVID-19. The sheer number of attendees renders contact tracing virtually impossible.
Heavily criticized police techniques, such as using teargas and pepper spray on protesters, intensify this risk The substances cause coughing and oil-based pepper spray prompts mucus, saliva, and tears to leave the nose, mouth, and eyes.
Hello, this is Rebecca Ratcliffe in Bangkok, taking over from my colleague Molly Blackall in London. If you have contributions for the coronavirus global live blog please do email me rebecca.ratcliffe@theguardian.com, or I’m @rebeccarat on Twitter.
Summary of key developments
I’ll be handing over to my colleagues in Australia shortly. Thank you to everyone who read the blog or followed live, and particular thanks to those who sent in tips and pointers. I hope you’re all staying safe and well, wherever in the world you’re reading from.
Before I go, here’s a summary of key events to bring you up to speed on the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic:
- OPEC members and other oil producing nations have agreed to extend their output cuts through July.
- World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic has shed doubt on whether the US Open tournament will go ahead as planned in September, saying coronavirus restrictions would make it impossible.
- The organisers of anti-racism demonstrations in Northern Ireland will be reported to the public prosecution service for breaking coronavirus locked rules, police have said. It comes after thousands turned out for protests across the UK following the death of George Floyd.
- Places of worship in the UK will reopen for individual prayer on June 15.
- California is planning to allow film, television and music production to resume from June 12, depending on coronavirus conditions at that time.
- Brazil’s president Jai Bolsonaro has defended his decision to withhold some of the official data on country’s coronavirus pandemic. The Johns Hopkins University tracker has since removed Brazil’s tallies, although the reason for this remains unclear.
Brazil’s coronavirus tallies have been removed from the Johns Hopkins university tracker, which has been a key monitor of the spread of the pandemic since its the early days of outbreak.
The reasons for this are unclear, but it follows the Brazilian president’s decision to withhold some official statistics on the country’s coronavirus spread.
France’s Palace of Versailles, one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions, reopened today, with face masks mandatory, and a one way route imposed. 80% of the palace’s visitors generally come from abroad.
“This financial model has been devastated. We have to start again,” Catherine Pegard, who runs the palace, told Reuters. “We’re not the only ones.”
The Louvre has also reopened.
Updated
Places of worship to reopen in UK for individual prayer
The UK’s housing and communities minister Robert Jenrick has announced that places of worship will reopen for individual prayer on June 15.
Pleased to announce that from 15 June, places of worship will be able to open for individual prayer. Thank you to all the faith leaders who are working with me to ensure this is done safely.
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) June 6, 2020
I know that for millions across the country this news has been long awaited. pic.twitter.com/i6uxrf1Xub
Updated
Young clubbers in the Netherlands have been trialling clubbing during the coronavirus era - complete with chairs, social distancing, and afternoon sets.
As the country races to save its night life, clubs are trying a number of measures to encourage a safe return to business.
Clubbers at Doornroosje in the eastern city of Nijmegen booked in advance to attend short sets of electronic dance music in the afternoon, and were restricted to chairs.
Promoter Jonatan Brand said the original plan had been to have the guests dance while standing in place 1.5 meters (5 feet) apart, but local authorities had instructed them to sit in chairs.
A maximum of 30 guests were allowed in the building at a time, with plans to expand to 100 in July. The event cost 10 euros, which included a drink. Shows did not sell out, and the event was also streamed online.
UK prime minister Boris Johnson may be planning to relax measures on outdoor dining and weddings, and to speed up government investment plans, reports from Sunday newspapers suggest.
According to the Sunday Times, Johnson is keen to relax planning restrictions that prevent many pubs, cafes and restaurants from using outside areas, and also to make it legal to hold weddings outside. This is currently limited to Jews and Quakers.
The newspaper also said that indoor weddings and funerals with up to 10 people attending would also be permitted from early July, while places of worship would be allowed to reopen for private prayer from June 15. The plans will be announced in the coming week, the publication said.
“Boris wants us back to normal, or as near to it as possible, before the summer,” the newspaper quoted a senior source as saying, adding the prime minister was concerned about forecasts of a sharp rise in unemployment.
A Downing Street spokesperson declined to comment.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Telegraph said Johnson planned to announce a speeding up of road improvements, and the construction of 40 new hospitals it had promised before last December’s election. They said they announcement would come in coming weeks.
“Now is the time to be even more ambitious with his plans to unite and level up the country,” a government source was quoted as telling the Sunday Telegraph.
Thanks to all those getting in touch with tips and pointers, it’s very useful and much appreciated.
If you spot anything you think we should be covering in this blog, feel free to drop me a direct message on Twitter. I won’t be able to respond to everything but I will endeavour to read it all.
Updated
The death toll in France has risen to 29,142 from 29,111 yesterday.
The number in people in hospital with Covid-19 has decreased from 12,696 on Friday to 12,479 today. The number of people in intensive care units has also decreased to 1,059, from 1,094 on Friday.
The overall number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country has risen to 153,634 from 153,055 on Friday.
Updated
California is planning to allow film, television and music production to resume from June 12, the governor’s office says. However, this is contingent on specific “conditions”, seemingly surrounding the spread of coronavirus at that time.
However, Los Angeles county remains one of the main epicentres in California, recording about half the infections and deaths in the state.
Updated
OPEC extend oil output cuts
OPEC members, led by Saudi Arabia, and other key oil producers have agreed to extend their output cuts through July, as oil prices begin to recover and coronavirus lockdowns ease.
Algerian oil minister Mohamed Arkab, who currently holds OPEC’s rotating presidency, told AFP that the agreed cut for July was 9.6m barrels per day, just slightly below the 9.7 mbpd cut for May and June.
Updated
Here are some of the most powerful photographs from todays anti-racism demonstrations around the world, which continued despite coronavirus regulations:
Updated
London’s Metropolitan Police said there were four arrests at the Black Lives Matter protests in London and that all of the suspects were in custody.
The arrests were for assault on police, criminal damage, making threats and calling for violence and an incident of dangerous driving near the US Embassy.
Updated
London’s metropolitan police force have said that the officer who was knocked off her horse by a traffic light is receiving treatment in hospital.
Her injuries are not life threatening, and the horse, which subsequently bolted, was uninjured and made its own way back to the stables.
UPDATE | The officer is currently in hospital, receiving treatment for her injuries which are not life threatening.
— MPS Events (@MetPoliceEvents) June 6, 2020
The officer fell from her horse, and we are examining the full circumstances of what took place.
The incident happened while mounted officers charged at protesters at an anti-racism demonstration in London.
Updated
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has praised the peaceful protesters in today’s anti-racism demonstration in London, but but said people who became violent “let down the cause”.
He said: “To the thousands of Londoners who protested peacefully today, I stand with you and I share your anger and your pain.
“George Floyd’s brutal killing must be a catalyst for change worldwide.
“No country, city, police service or institution can absolve itself of the responsibility to do better. We must stand together and root out racism wherever it is found. Black Lives Matter.
“To the tiny minority who were violent and threw glass bottles and lit flares - you endangered a safe and peaceful protest and let down this important cause,” he added.
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Priti Patel said violence towards police at protests was “completely unacceptable” and gave officers her “full support in tackling disorderly behaviour”.
Protests must be peaceful and in accordance with social distancing rules.
— Priti Patel (@pritipatel) June 6, 2020
Violence towards a police officer is completely unacceptable at any time.
The police have our full support in tackling any violence, vandalism or disorderly behaviour. There is no justification for it.
Writing on Twitter, she said: “Protests must be peaceful and in accordance with social distancing rules.”
“Violence towards a police officer is completely unacceptable at any time. The police have our full support in tackling any violence, vandalism or disorderly behaviour. There is no justification for it.”
She added: “We have made specific enforcement powers available to them during the pandemic to help protect the entire public.”
Updated
Here’s a summary of the key developments over the past few hours:
- Thousands of anti-racism protesters around the world have continued to demonstrate in a wave of protests triggered by the death of George Floyd in police custody in the US, despite bans on mass gatherings. You can read more about the UK protests here, and follow US developments live here.
- Protest organisers in Northern Ireland will be reported to the public prosecution service for the flouting of coronavirus rules.
- Italy reported 72 new coronavirus deaths on Saturday, down from 85 yesterday, as the country appears to be emerging from the throes of the pandemic, while the number of coronavirus cases in Canada has reached 94,335.
- World number one Novak Djokovic has shed doubt on whether the US Open tournament will go ahead in September as planned, saying coronavirus restrictions would make it impossible.
- Brazil’s president Jai Bolsonaro has defended his decision to withhold some of the official data on country’s coronavirus pandemic.
- The spokesman of Kazakh president has been hospitalised after testing positive for coronavirus, but insists there is no risk to the president.
Police and protesters clash in London
Here is more footage of the shocking moment a police horse bolted through crowds of protesters at an anti-racism demonstration in London.
It occurred after a police officer was knocked off their horse by a traffic light. Some reports on social media are suggesting they were knocked off by protesters - videos and reporters at the scene appear to confirm this is not the case, but London’s metropolitan police force said they were investigating the incident.
Protesters and police have clashed in London during the last couple of hours, with videos on social media showing bottles being thrown at the police, and some allegations that missiles were also thrown - it’s not yet clear exactly what those were. Graffiti has also been painted on buildings, and allegedly some monuments around the city centre.
However, many protesters have been condemning these actions.
Updated
Support for UK prime minister Boris Johnson is falling due to concerns about his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, three British opinion polls released today have shown.
The sharpest decline came in a poll conducted by Survation on 3 June, which showed support for Conservatives falling to 41% from 45% in the previous poll from the period between 22-26 May.
Meanwhile, support for the opposition Labour party increased by five points to 39%.
Surveys for Deltapoll and Opinium, both conducted on June 4-5, showed the Conservative lead narrowing to three percentage points.
Opinium said 47% of people surveyed disapproved of the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis while 34% approved. This marks a continuation of a steady decline in confidence in the government since the pandemic began.
The UK has experienced the highest coronavirus death toll in Europe.
Updated
Just a reminder that if you see something you think we should be reporting on in this blog, you can drop me a message on Twitter. Thanks in advance!
You can read more on the anti-racism demonstrations taking place across the UK here:
There have been clashes between police and protesters at anti-racism demonstrations in London. While my colleague Mattha Busby, who is at the scene, says it has since calmed down, here is some remarkable footage from about 45 minutes ago.
Police on horseback have been kettling protesters and charging into the crowd.
Chaos outside Downing St as police on horseback advance and protesters are kettled. Officer impaled by traffic light during charge pic.twitter.com/5aQyrhXERr
— Mattha Busby (@matthabusby) June 6, 2020
Updated
NI police will refer protest organisers to prosecutor
Organisers of anti-racism protests in Northern Ireland will be reported to be Public Prosecution Service over the breaking of coronavirus restrictions, police have said.
Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd had urged organisers to call off the rallies sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody in the US, but hundreds attended in spite of this.
Many wore face coverings and gloves as they arrived at the demonstrations, in Belfast they were handed flyers by police officers explaining social distancing rules.
Some protesters were given community resolution notices, despite organisers having marked out social distancing measurements and encouraged those attending to space out.
Todd said police estimated that some 500 demonstrators attended protests in Belfast and Londonderry.
He said that despite the cancellation of a planned protest in Newry, a “small crowd did gather but dispersed quickly on our request”.
Todd confirmed that community resolution notices had been given out, and said protest organisers would be reported to the Public Prosecution Service.
“We estimate there were less than 500 people in attendance at each event and a significant number of Community Resolution Notices (CRNS) and fines were issued in both Belfast and Derry/Londonderry,” he said.
“A number of individuals, including organisers, will now be reported to the Public Prosecution Service with a view to prosecution. We will also conduct follow up enquiries to seek to identify others who may have committed offences.”
“The Health Protection Regulations are in place to protect us all during this pandemic and it is everyone’s responsibility to adhere to them to protect our society,” he added.
Updated
Tennis star Novak Djokovic has said that participating in the US Open would be impossible because of the “extreme” coronavirus protocols in place for the tournament.
The world number one said he was not sure the tournament would go ahead.
“I had a telephone conversation with the leaders of world tennis. There were talks about the continuation of the season, mostly about the US Open due in late August, but it’s not known whether it will be held,” Djokovic told Serbia’s Prva TV.
“The rules that they told us that we would have to respect to be there, to play at all, they are extreme. We would not have access to Manhattan, we would have to sleep in hotels at the airport, to be tested twice or three times per week.”
“Also, we could bring one person to the club which is really impossible. I mean, you need your coach, then a fitness trainer, then a physiotherapist,” he said.
Djokovic suggested the keenness to go ahead with the tournament arose from economic concerns.
“They want the tournament to go ahead at any cost for economic reasons, which I understand,” he said. “But the question is, how many players are willing to accept those terms.”
World number two Rafa Nadal said this week that he would not travel to the US in the present circumstances.
The tournament, scheduled to begin on 31 August, will be the first Grand Slam to be played after the coronavirus pandemic caused the suspension of the tennis season in March. The French Open was postponed to September, while the Wimbledon championships was cancelled.
Updated
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s spokesman has been hospitalised after testing positive for covid-19, he posted on Facebook on Saturday. He said that the president’s health was not at risk.
The spokesman, Berik Uali, said that Tokayev, 67, was tested regularly, and added that additional safety measures had been taken at the presidential headquarters.
“President Tokayev continues his work as scheduled, his health is under no threat,” Uali said.
The nation has confirmed 12,511 cases of coronavirus, with 53 deaths. It ended a two-month lockdown last month, but social distancing rules and closed borders remain in place.
Updated
The Government is understood to be on track to meet its June 6 care home coronavirus testing target, despite a survey finding that some had not received testing kits.
At the more than a tenth of homes surveyed by the National Care Forum, which represents 120 not-for-profit care organisations, reported they had not received testing kits at the start of the week.
However, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) believes it is on track to have offered testing to all care homes with residents over-65 in England by Saturday, it is understood.
Updated
The number of coronavirus cases in Canada has risen to 94,335, up from 94,070 on Friday, according to the public health agency.
The country has now recorded 7,703 deaths, an increase from 7,652 the day before.
Updated
Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has defended his decision to withhold some official data on the country’s coronavirus pandemic - the world’s second largest outbreak.
On Friday, the health ministry stopped reporting a tally of confirmed cases, and its overall death toll. It also took down a website which had mapped the spread of the virus in Brazil.
“The cumulative data ... does not reflect the moment the country is in,” Bolsonaro tweeted, citing a note from the ministry. “Other actions are underway to improve the reporting of cases and confirmation of diagnoses.”
Neither Bolsonaro nor the ministry gave a reason for taking down the coronavirus mapping website, which had been a key public resource for tracking the development of the pandemic.
The government also came under fire for pushing back the release time of its daily tally of diagnoses and deaths. These figures were previously made available around 5pm, but in recent days have been released near 10pm.
Brazil has the second highest number of confirmed cases of any country in the world, with 614,941 cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. The US has the highest, with 1,901,416 confirmed cases.
Brazil has recorded 34,021 deaths as a result of the virus, according to the tracker.
This remarkable photograph shows a socially-distanced anti-racism protest in Turin, Italy, today. This is just one of a wave of demonstrations around the world calling for justice for George Floyd and an end to racism.
If you’d like to follow the latest developments in the global anti-racism demonstrations, we have a dedicated live blog which you can find here.
Italy reported 72 new coronavirus deaths on Saturday, against 85 a day earlier. The country saw 270 new cases, down from 518 the day before, the Civil Protection department said.
These figures bring the county’s total death toll since the outbreak emerged on Feb. 21 to 33,846, the agency said, the fourth-highest in the world after the United States, Britain and Brazil.
The number of people registered as currently carrying the illness fell to 35,877 from 36,976 the day before, and the total number of confirmed cases stands at 234,801. This takes Italy’s tally to the seventh highest in the world, after India overtook it a day earlier.
There were 293 people in intensive care on Saturday, down from 316 on Friday, continuing a long-running drop. As of today, 165,078 have been declared recovered from coronavirus, against 163,781 a day earlier.
The northern region of Lombardy, where the country’s outbreak is thought to have began, remains by far the worst-affected region, and accounts for 142 of the 270 new cases reported on Saturday.
Piedmont is the second-worst hit region, reporting 38 new cases. Of the country’s 20 regions, the only others to register more than 10 new cases were Lazio, with 28, Emilia Romagna with 17 and Liguria with 13.
Updated
The UK government did not consult NHS leaders or give them notice before a decision to make all hospital staff wear surgical masks from 15 June, senior healthcare chiefs have said.
Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, said healthcare workers believe last-minute decisions are being made on the hoof because of political rather than public health considerations and that announcements were being made to “fill the space” at the Downing Street coronavirus briefings.
His intervention comes after the health secretary, Matt Hancock, said on Friday that all hospital visitors and outpatients in England would have to wear face coverings, and that hospital staff must use surgical masks from the middle of the month, despite the government previously saying the evidence that face masks prevented the spread of Covid-19 was inconclusive.
In case you missed it, read the full report from my colleague Mattha Busby here:
Nearly a third of companies who have received coronavirus loans from the Bank of England are connected to tax havens, research suggests.
Analysis by TaxWatch, an investigative thinktank, claims that 14 out of the 53 businesses which have benefited from the support are either based in a tax haven, or substantially owned by a tax haven resident.
These companies have received more than £5bn in loans as part of the coronavirus corporate financing facility (CCFF) - a Bank of England scheme designed to support some of the biggest companies with credit ratings.
British Airways, whose parent company is based in Jersey, has accessed £300m of support from the scheme, and digger-maker JCB, whose parent company is located in the Netherlands, and fashion brand Chanel, whose parent company is based in the Cayman Islands, have received loans of £600m.
TaxWatch said one company receiving a loan is under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office while another is nine months late in filing its UK accounts.
Updated
Protests in Lebanon against the government’s handling of the country’s economic crisis have resumed, after subsiding for the past few months due to lockdown restrictions.
Tear gas was launched by police at several hundred protesters who had reconvened on a main square in Beirut, with most of the country’s coronavirus measures now lifted. Some protesters threw rocks at police and smashed storefronts, many wearing face masks.
Many demanded the resignation of the government, early parliamentary elections to be held, and paramilitary group Hezbollah be disarmed.
Lebanon’s financial crisis escalated in October, with a dollar crunch causing banks to impose strict controls on capital. This led to widespread protests.
Since then, the currency has lost more than half of its value on the parallel market, prices in the country have soared, and many people have been made unemployed after businesses suffered the dual blows of an economic crisis and coronavirus.
Updated
Hi everyone, I’m Molly Blackall, taking over the live blog for the next few hours. I’ll be bringing you breaking news on the coronavirus pandemic from around the world.
If you spot anything you think we should be reporting on in this blog, you can drop me a message on Twitter. Thanks in advance!
Summary
- The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has threatened to pull out of the World Health Organization (WHO) over “ideological bias”, after the US president, Donald Trump, announced the severance of all US ties with the WHO at the end of May.
- Ireland has revised its schedule for the gradual re-opening of the economy over the coming months and is set to speed up the easing of coronavirus restrictions.
- Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in London for an anti-racism rally in defiance of calls to avoid mass gatherings. It came after UK home secretary, Priti Patel, urged protesters not to gather for Black Lives Matter and George Floyd demonstrations during the pandemic.
- Madrid residents wearing face masks queued two metres apart to be among the first visitors back in the Spanish capital’s famed galleries today as the country eases out of Covid-19 lockdown measures. The Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums reopened after nearly three months of restrictions.
- Sri Lanka’s tourism industry – decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic – can reopen to foreign visitors later this summer but only under strict guidelines, officials have said.
- In the UK, a further 204 people have died after testing positive for Covid-19, according to newly released figures. It means the official Covid-19 death toll in the country is 40,465 as of 5pm yesterday, according to the Department of Health and Social Care figures, but the true number is thought to have already surpassed 50,000.
- In Turkey, people are enjoying their first weekend without Covid-19 lockdown in nearly two months after the country’s president, Tayyip Erdoğan, suddenly scrapped a stay-at-home order.
- Confirmed Covid-19 infections in Afghanistan have passed 19,000, amid a warning that the actual number of cases of the disease in the country may be much higher than official figures show.
Updated
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry – decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic – can reopen to foreign visitors later this summer but only under strict guidelines, officials have said.
Travellers will be able to visit the country from August, Sri Lanka’s tourism ministry said, but they must carry coronavirus-free certificates issued no earlier than 72 hours before boarding. Only those who will spend a minimum of five days in Sri Lanka will be allowed in.
It comes after the country was only just recovering from the devastating impact of last year’s Easter Sunday bombings, in which 279 were killed, when the pandemic halted international travel. Hotels shut, leaving tens of thousands of people jobless.
AFP reports that even with the certificates, tourists will have to take a virus test at the airport upon arrival. A further check will be done four to five days later - and a third if staying for more than 10 days.
“While this may be inconvenient it is essential to safeguard everybody and provide peace of mind,” the ministry said.
Visa fees will increase in price from $40 to $100, with visitors only allowed to stay in hotels designated by the ministry. They will not be allowed to use public transport on the island.
The country has reported 11 deaths and 1,801 confirmed infections since its first coronavirus patient was identified on 27 January. Visitor numbers to Sri Lanka dropped to 1.91 million last year, down from 2.33 million in the previous year.
Updated
UK Covid-19 deaths rise by 204, new figures show
In the UK, a further 204 people have died after testing positive for Covid-19, according to newly released figures.
It means the official Covid-19 death toll in the country is 40,465 as of 5pm yesterday, according to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) figures, but the true number is thought to have already surpassed 50,000.
According to the health department, 284,868 people have tested positive for the disease as of 9am today. But the department again failed to provide a daily figure for the number of people tested, explaining it has been “temporarily paused to ensure consistent reporting across all pillars”.
As of 9am 6 June, there have been 5,438,712 tests, with 218,187 tests on 5 June.
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) June 6, 2020
284,868 people have tested positive.
As of 5pm on 5 June, of those tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 40,465 have sadly died.
More info:
▶️ https://t.co/xXnL3FU15k pic.twitter.com/nlgNheKeZ7
Updated
In Turkey, people are enjoying their first weekend without Covid-19 lockdown in nearly two months after the country’s president, Tayyip Erdoğan, suddenly scrapped a stay-at-home order.
Cafes, restaurants and other facilities reopened on Monday as infection rates slowed and restrictions on intercity travel were lifted. Erdoğan had intended to maintain the weekend lockdown, applied to big cities since 11 April, until a public backlash.
Today people have flooded beaches and shores in Istanbul, and hundreds queued to get into parks, Reuters reports. In the capital, Ankara, day-trippers caused traffic jams.
“The last time I was here was 70 days ago,” Gulay Cevik, a housewife in Istanbul fishing in the Eminonu district told Reuters.
I would always come here to fish, but since the outbreak we’ve had to protect ourselves a bit. But I really missed it.”
Cevdet Akaydan, a 23-year-old public servant, was out swimming with his friends along the shore in western Istanbul. “It’s really nice, very clean and cool right now, it relaxes you,” he said. “Everyone should come, and go in ... You can’t explain it, you have to experience it.”
But Erdoğan has expressed concern that infections could rebound. On Friday, 930 new coronavirus cases were reported, after a drop to 786 earlier in the week. So far, 4,648 people have died from the virus in Turkey, with 168,340 infections.
“You really get giddy like a child. It’s lockdown, lockdown, lockdown,” said Cem Pehlivan, a textile worker fishing in Istanbul. “Now I feel really good, I’m comfortable and the weather’s fine.”
Updated
Madrid residents wearing face masks queued two metres apart to be among the first visitors back in the Spanish city’s famed galleries today as the country eases out of Covid-19 lockdown measures.
The Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums reopened after nearly three months of restrictions.
“I was really looking forward to coming back. To see how it has come back to life makes me very emotional,” masters student Alejandro Elizalde told Reuters, wiping away tears while viewing Diego de Velazquez’s “Las Meninas”, one of the Prado’s most famous paintings.
State-run museums were shut on 12 March as part of measures imposed to curb the spread of the disease, which has now seen the death toll top 27,000 with more than 240,000 confirmed cases. Restrictions have been lifted gradually, with Madrid one of the slowest places to ease curbs as it was among the worst hit.
The Prado and Reina Sofia are not yet fully open, but many masterpieces, including works by Velazquez and Goya in the Prado and Picasso’s “Guernica” in the Reina Sofia, are on display.
Health measures are in force, including physical distancing, reduced capacity and timed tickets for visits. Staff took visitors’ temperatures as they entered the Prado.
“It’s a really weird feeling and at the same time it’s really good because I’ve never been in the Reina Sofia with so few people,” business developer Elena Vázquez said.
Spain will further ease the lockdown in Madrid and Barcelona from Monday, when bar and restaurant patrons will be allowed to sit inside rather than just on outdoor terraces.
And in over half the country, nightclubs will be allowed to reopen, but dancing will not be permitted. The government is instead suggesting dance floor space be used for tables.
Updated
Here’s a comprehensive video explainer from my Guardian US colleague, reporter Kenya Evelyn, detailing why the unrest sparked by the police killing of George Floyd could be a defining moment for racial politics in America, and how the Covid-19 pandemic set the backdrop for the protests.
And here’s an additional piece which Evelyn has written on how Floyd’s struggles resonate with many black Americans. She writes:
While his death has come to symbolize the plight of black people navigating the criminal justice system, for many, Floyd’s life and the timing of his killing underscores the burden of being black in America, and created the spark that lit this week’s uprising.”
Updated
Confirmed Covid-19 infections in Afghanistan have passed 19,000, amid a warning that the actual number of cases of the disease in the country may be much higher than official figures show.
The health ministry has detected 582 new cases from 761 tests, according to the latest update, bringing the total number of infections to 19,551. Eighteen patients also died overnight, meaning the country’s Covid-19 death toll stands at 327. There have been 1,830 recoveries.
It comes as the health ministry has announced new measures imposed from today to help contain the spread of the virus, including that masks must be worn in public places, two-metre physical distancing must be maintained and gatherings of more than 10 people should be avoided. Elderly people should not leave their homes and workplaces must be disinfected.
At a press conference on Saturday, deputy health minister Wahid Majrooh pledged that 14 new testing labs would be launched in Afghanistan. Last week, the International Rescue Committee warned about the low capacity of testing and said the Afghan health ministry had the capacity to test 2,000 suspected patients each day, but were receiving between 10,000 and 20,000 samples each day.
Speaking at the same conference, Kabul’s governor, Mohammad Yakub Haidary, said:
I receive calls during nights and days, from ordinary people and officials, saying that their relatives are either sick or died. [The] number of infections is more than what we imagine, in Kabul, it may be more than a million as testing capacity is too low.
There is a catastrophe going on in Kabul, we have suspected deaths which we didn’t have previously, and we didn’t have burials during nights but now, we have it. I seriously ask people of Kabul and all around the country to wear masks, we will monitor and publish those who don’t wear it. Also, respect social distancing.”
Most of the new cases were reported in the western province of Herat, where 193 out of 200 tests returned positive results. Herat borders Iran – which has been badly hit by the pandemic – and the first case of the virus was reported in the province after thousands of Afghan migrants returned from the neighbouring country in February and March, fanning out across the country without being tested or quarantined. The total number of infections in Herat is 3,621 with 64 deaths.
In the capital, Kabul, 161 new cases have been recorded. In the remote province of Kunar, five patients tested all returned positive results, as seven patients died of Covid-19 overnight. In Helmand, two patients tested in the last 24 hours both were positive and the province recorded its first death.
Meanwhile, amid continuing conflict, at least 20 Afghan security forces personnel were killed in two incidents in the last 24 hours. Ten Afghan security forces were killed on Friday in an attack by the Taliban on the Zabul-Kandahar highway near the city of Qalat, in Zabul province, local officials said. Eleven members of the Afghan local police, including their commander, were killed in a roadside bomb blast in Badakhshan province on Friday night, the provincial police spokesman said.
Updated
It’s Simon Murphy here taking back the reins of the global live blog, with thanks to my colleague, Jedidajah Otte, for covering while I was on a break.
Brazil threatens to quit WHO
The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has threatened to pull out of the World Health Organization (WHO) over “ideological bias”, after US president Donald Trump announced the severance of all US ties with the WHO at the end of May.
Brazil now has the world’s third-highest number of Covid-19 deaths.
Fuelling the debate raging around the pandemic, its origins and the best way to respond, Bolsonaro criticised the World Health Organization for suspending clinical trials of the drug hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19 - a decision it reversed this week - and threatened to follow in Trump’s footsteps by quitting.
“I’m telling you right now, the United States left the WHO, and we’re studying that, in the future. Either the WHO works without ideological bias, or we leave, too,” the far-right leader told journalists.
Dubbed the “Tropical Trump”, Bolsonaro has followed the US president in his handling of the pandemic, downplaying its severity, attacking stay-at-home measures and touting the purported effects of hydroxychloroquine against Covid-19.
Updated
Dutch mink farms have begun a government-ordered mass cull amid concern that animals infected with coronavirus could transmit the illness to humans.
Infected mink have been found on 10 Dutch farms where the ferret-like animals are bred for their fur, according to the country’s Food & Wares Authority, Reuters reports.
The government ordered the cull of 10,000 mink on Wednesday after determining that affected farms could act as a long-term reservoir of disease.
Dutch mink were first infected with coronavirus by their handlers in April.
In May, the government identified two cases in which humans had been infected by sick animals - the only animal-to-human transmissions known since the global outbreak began in China.
Infected mink don’t necessarily develop signs of disease, making them potential silent sources of the pandemic virus, said Arjan Stegeman, a veterinary epidemiologist at Utrecht University who is investigating the outbreak, according to Bloomberg.
Groups opposed to the fur trade say the outbreak is another reason to close all farms.
Updated
Ireland announces plan for gradual re-opening of economy
Ireland has revised its schedule for the gradual re-opening of the economy over the coming months and is set to speed up the easing of coronavirus restrictions, Reuters reports.
From 8 June, the country will enter phase two, which will allow for people to travel within their own county, or up to 20km from their homes, and gatherings of a maximum of six people indoors.
All retail outlets can reopen, while shopping centres can reopen on 15 June. Public libraries and outdoor facilities and amenities for children can also open.
Phase three is set to begin on 29 June, when all domestic travel restrictions will be lifted, and cafes and restaurants can open with physical distancing and strict cleaning in operation. Bars can operate as restaurants where possible, and places of worship, museums and galleries can reopen, as well as hotels, hostels and caravan parks.
From 20 July, Ireland will move to phase four, which will see theatres, cinemas, nightclubs reopening where social distancing measures can function. Some sports team leagues can resume with limitations on numbers of spectators, Hairdressers and barbers, crèches, childminders and pre-schools for children of non-essential workers can open their doors again.
The government is due to review a 14-day quarantine for arrivals from abroad on 18 June. The prime minister, Leo Varadkar, said he hopes non-essential international travel can resume some time later in the summer.
The measures planned in each of the remaining phases of the plan will be reviewed if there is a sharp rise in the number of infections, hospital admissions or deaths.
Updated
Tomoya Saito, the director of the department of health crisis management at Japan’s National Institute of Public Health, explains how Japan got coronavirus under control by painstakingly tracking infections in the population.
The British home secretary, Priti Patel, has urged protesters in the UK not to gather for Black Lives Matter and George Floyd demonstrations during the pandemic.
“We are in a health pandemic across the United Kingdom, and coronavirus is a deadly virus, and of course I’d say to those that want to protest: ‘Please don’t.’
“We must put public health first at this particular time,” she said in an interview with Sky..
"To those who want to protest, please don't."
— SkyNews (@SkyNews) June 6, 2020
Home Secretary @pritipatel is urging people not to join #GeorgeFloyd protests in London because "we must put public health first at this particular time".
Get the latest on this story: https://t.co/YYqOXsFEE8 pic.twitter.com/YYBGntDypO
Updated
Hello, I’m briefly taking over from my colleague Simon Murphy while he has a break.
If you have any updates to flag you can contact me either on Twitter @JedySays or you can email me.
Summary
- India has overtaken Italy as the sixth worst-hit country in the coronavirus pandemic after another biggest single-day rise in confirmed infections. India’s health ministry reported 9,887 new cases on Saturday, bringing the official total to 236,657. It means it now has fewer confirmed cases than only the US, Brazil, Russia, UK and Spain.
- As Black Lives Matter protests continue across the world, thousands took to the streets in Sydney. Aerial footage shows demonstrators snaking through the Australian city on a Stop All Black Deaths in Custody rally. It was declared an authorised public assembly minutes before its scheduled start time of 3pm, after a court ruling was overturned.
- In Russia, 197 more people have died with coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the country’s official death toll to 5,725. There were 8,855 new cases, according to officials, pushing the total number of infections to 458,689.
- Italy hopes other EU countries will reopen their borders to its citizens on 15 June, the country’s foreign minister has said, as travel restrictions across Europe are gradually eased.
- In South Africa, as cases rise in the Western Cape province – the centre of the country’s outbreak – doctors are voicing concern about other diseases being neglected while medical attention is focused on the pandemic.
- Indonesia has reported its biggest daily rise in infections, with 993 new cases, taking its total official number to 30,514.
- In Nepal, climbers who earn a living supporting international expeditions to the summit of Everest have been left destitute by the cancellation of this year’s climbing season.
- Scientists expect to be able to declare next week that New Zealand is coronavirus-free.
Updated
Italy hopes other EU countries will reopen their borders to its citizens on 15 June, the country’s foreign minister has said, as Covid-19 travel restrictions across Europe are gradually eased.
Italy, which has the world’s fourth-highest coronavirus death toll, opened its doors to other EU citizens on 3 June, but most European countries are still largely off-limits for Italian nationals.
“15 June is an important date for many of our citizens,” Luigi Di Maio told a news conference during a visit to neighbouring Slovenia.
Germany and Switzerland have indicated that they could open their borders to Italians from that date, Di Maio said. Reuters reports that he said he hoped border openings would apply to people from all parts of Italy, including those areas worst-affected by the outbreak.
Speaking at the same press conference, the Slovenian foreign minister, Anze Logar said: “Health conditions in Italy are improving fast ... I’m looking optimistically towards 15 June.”
Italy has reported about 234,500 confirmed coronavirus cases and 33,770 deaths. Slovenia, which declared an end to its coronavirus epidemic last month, has reported 1,479 coronavirus cases and 109 deaths. It has allowed the entry of people from neighbouring Croatia, Hungary and Austria in recent weeks.
Updated
French Polynesia, which comprises more than 100 islands in the South Pacific, will open to international travel next month in a bid to salvage its vital tourism industry.
The French overseas territory, which has reported just 60 cases of Covid-19 and no deaths, stopped international flights in March amid the pandemic. But, with no tourists able to visit for three months and hotels shut, AFP reports that there have been calls to ease restrictions to help restart the ailing economy.
“We are going to open up our country even more to save jobs,” said President Edouard Fritch, adding that nearly 19,000 Polynesians have jobs in or related to the tourism sector. On 3 July citizens will be allowed to return and quarantine restrictions on arrivals will also be eased.
From 15 July, it will once again accept international tourism from its main markets in Europe and the US. “We are no longer in a health emergency, but we are facing an economic and social emergency,” said tourism and employment minister Nicole Bouteau.
Updated
In South Africa, as Covid-19 cases rise in the Western Cape province – the centre of the country’s outbreak – doctors are voicing concern about other diseases being neglected while medical attention is focused on the pandemic.
The Western Cape province, a popular tourist destination home to the coastal city of Cape Town, accounts for 66% of South Africa’s 43,434 coronavirus cases and 77% of the 908 deaths. Meanwhile, provincial authorities predict infections will almost quadruple to 100,000 in coming weeks.
AFP reports that many medical practitioners have been moved from specialised wards such as oncology and anaesthesiology to help treat Covid-19 patients – meaning a large number of other patients could be left in the lurch as a result.
Around half the staff at Cape Town’s Groote Schuur hospital have been earmarked for redeployment as the pandemic moves towards an expected peak between the end of June and the beginning of July. Experts fear this could affect planned surgeries and other services, according to AFP.
“The intense focus on Covid has created a backlog of patients with non-Covid diseases who are not able to access care,” a group of doctors from Groote Schuur wrote in the South African Medical Journal last month.
“Many cancer diagnoses and hence treatments have been delayed, as have joint replacements and cataract surgery,” the doctors said, warning that patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma had “missed appointments”. “Many are unable to access medications,” they added.
Meanwhile, several hospitals in Cape Town told AFP that they had stopped elective imaging, procedures and surgery, while outpatient clinics had been scaled down. Many patients have also avoided hospital visits for fear of contracting the virus. University of Cape Town oncologist Jeanette Parkes said all routine check-ups had been cancelled.
It is estimated that the virus will create a backlog of about 150,000 procedures in South Africa, according to the Cape Town-based professors Bruce Biccard and Lydia Cairncross in a recent article published in the country’s online Daily Maverick.
Updated
Poland is planning to extend a ban on international flights until 16 June, according to reports.
Citing a government decree, state-run news agency PAP reported the news last night.
It comes after state-controlled Polish airlines LOT restarted flights between the country’s biggest cities, including Warsaw, Gdansk, Krakow, and Wroclaw, from 1 June.
As of Friday, Poland has reported 25,410 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 1,137 deaths.
Updated
More from the Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney, which saw thousands take to the city’s streets to protest.
Aerial footage shows demonstrators snaking through the Australian city as at least 2,000 people marched on the ‘Stop All Black Deaths in Custody’ rally.
It was declared an authorised public assembly minutes before its scheduled start time of 3pm, after a court ruling was overturned.
Thousands of protesters are marching in cities and towns across Australia against indigenous deaths in custody and the killing of George Floyd in the United States.
Updated
Indonesia has reported its biggest daily rise in Covid-19 infections, with 993 new cases, taking its total official number to 30,514.
Health ministry official Achmad Yurianto reported 31 new coronavirus fatalities, bringing the country’s official death toll to 1,801.
However, it has been reported that the true number of deaths in the country – the fourth most populous in the world – could be far higher.
Elsewhere, the Philippines’ health ministry has reported seven new coronavirus deaths and 714 additional infections. It means the total confirmed coronavirus deaths in the country stands at 994, while official cases have reached 21,340.
Updated
More from the news earlier that India has overtaken Italy as the sixth worst-hit country in the coronavirus pandemic after another biggest single-day rise in confirmed infections.
India’s health ministry reported 9,887 new cases on Saturday, bringing the official total to 236,657. It means it now has fewer confirmed cases than only the United States, Brazil, Russia, Britain and Spain.
India’s official Covid-19 death toll – at 6,642 – remains relatively low compared to the other countries.
Reuters reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is attempting to jump-start the economy, which has been crippled by the epidemic, and put millions back to work. The government is easing its lockdown of the 1.3 billion population imposed in March, with restrictions loosened from Monday, but some experts are worried it is too soon.
Giridhar R Babu, epidemiologist at the Public Health Foundation of India, in particular, questioned the re-opening of religious places. “We can survive and sustain the gains without ... opening up religious places for some time,” he wrote on Twitter.
Concerts, sporting events and political rallies are still banned. On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted how India’s lockdown had helped it dampen down transmission of the disease, but warned there was a risk the cases could rise again.
“As India and in other large countries open up and people begin to move there is always a risk of the disease bouncing back up,” Dr Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s emergencies programme, told a news conference in Geneva.
People visiting places of worship will be asked to wash their hands and feet, and there will be no distribution of food offerings, sprinkling of holy water or touching of idols and holy books.
Updated
Russia's Covid-19 official death toll rises to 5,725
In Russia, 197 more people have died with coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the country’s official death toll to 5,725.
There were 8,855 new cases of the virus, according to officials, pushing the total number of infections to 458,689.
It comes after it emerged earlier this week that new mortality data from Russia’s second-largest city reignited questions about whether the country’s official tally has discounted thousands of deaths tied to the coronavirus outbreak.
St Petersburg issued 1,552 more death certificates this May than in the previous year, a nearly 32% rise indicating that hundreds of deaths tied to the pandemic are not reflected in the city’s official coronavirus death toll for the month of 171.
Updated
In Nepal, climbers who earn a living supporting international expeditions to summit Everest have been pushed into destitution by the cancellation of this year’s climbing season amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fundraising has been launched by climbers to support the community of porters, cooks and guides left without any income since the government cancelled climbing permits and stopped international flights, the Guardian reports today in a piece by Roshan Sedhai in Kathmandu, Amelia Gentleman and Pete Pattisson.
Nirmal Purja, a record-breaking Nepali mountaineer who is currently in lockdown in Winchester, is attempting to raise funds for colleagues : “The community [in Nepal] is suffering. Some people don’t even have food to put on the table. It’s the saddest thing.”
International mountaineering companies have continued to pay their staff, but the smaller ones have not. Parts of the climbing season have been cancelled in the past due to natural disasters but this is the first time a season has been cancelled in its entirety. “There are so many porters whose livelihood relies on what they carry. This is the time they make money that sustains them throughout the rest of the year,” Purja said. “No one should be starving.”
Top Nepali guides can earn between £4,000 to £12,000 a season – more than 50 % of their annual income – but thousands of helpers get by on a more precarious living. “There aren’t any tourists now. The streets are totally deserted... It’s becoming hard to survive,” said Suman Rai, a porter based in Lukla. Over half a million people working in tourism have been impacted by the lockdown, according to the department of tourism, but the government is still discussing how to support them.
Updated
As countries around the world continue to grapple with Covid-19, scientists expect to be able to declare next week that New Zealand is virus-free.
An anonymous woman in Auckland was the last confirmed case in the country, which has suffered 22 deaths with thousands also losing their jobs as a result of the economic impact of the disease.
Photograph: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
But Charlotte Graham-McLay reports from the capital Wellington that “as New Zealanders look to the hundreds of thousands of deaths recorded in other countries, there is a sense that the rest of the world faced a different pandemic, the disastrous scale of which never fully arrived here”. In the piece, she adds:
Now, providing there are no new and unexpected cases to marr the country’s 14-day streak of zero fresh instances of Covid-19, scientists say they expect to be able to declare next week that the virus has been eliminated from New Zealand – making it the first country among the OECD group of wealthy nations, and the first country that has recorded more than 100 cases to make such a statement, analysts said.”
The last person known to have contracted the virus domestically from an unknown source was diagnosed on 29 April and they remained in quarantine until 18 May, according to data provided to the Guardian by the Ministry of Health.
The health ministry says elimination of Covid-19 could be declared 28 days after the last confirmed domestic case of the illness had left quarantine – which would be on 15 June.
Nick Wilson, a public health specialist from the University of Otago, described the data as “pretty reassuring”, adding: “According to our model that would put us nearly at the 99% probability of elimination.”
Shaun Hendy, a scientist at the University of Auckland, who was involved in a study used by New Zealand’s health ministry that predicted tens of thousands of deaths if the virus was not contained, added: “There’s a very high chance that we’ve eliminated the disease domestically and there’s so few parts of the world that have the options and choices we do.”
But elimination is “an ongoing process”, New Zealand’s director general of health, Ashley Bloomfield, cautioned on Wednesday.
Updated
I’ll be handing over to Simon Murphy in the UK now. Thanks for reading.
United Airlines will close cabin crew bases in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Frankfurt, as the airline industry continues to reel from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Chicago-based airline said the move would cost 840 jobs, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.
“In the current and future environment, we simply are not able to sustain an in-flight base at these locations,” United’s senior vice-president of in-flight services, John Slater, said.
“We recognise that closing any base places a hardship on those who live near those locations.”
Updated
One estimate puts the crowd in Sydney at 30,000. A reminder the protest was considered unlawful until a last-minute decision by the NSW court of appeal.
Crowds so big at #BLMprotest Sydney that police have told me the head of the parade has already reached the park where a vigil will be held before the end of parade has left Town Hall. Estimate of 30k people. @newscomauHQ
— Benedict Brook (@BenedictBrook) June 6, 2020
Meanwhile, Black Lives Matter protests are continuing in Australia. This is the scene in Sydney.
The protest pauses to kneel in the streets of Sydney #blacklivesmatteraustralia #BLACKLIVESMATTER pic.twitter.com/Y7cycVvQND
— Laura Murphy-Oates (@lauramoates) June 6, 2020
The NHS Providers deputy chief executive, Saffron Cordery, has said NHS Trusts received “little or no consultation” ahead of the government’s announcement on imminent changes to face covering regulations.
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, said on Friday that all hospital visitors and outpatients will need to wear face coverings and hospital staff must use surgical masks as of 15 June, the Press Association reports.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman added that, while members of the public are “strongly urged” to attend hospital wearing a face covering, no one will be denied care and masks will be provided by the hospital if necessary.
But Cordery said in a statement that a lack of forewarning from the government has left NHS Trusts scrambling to find enough equipment to cater for hospital staff, patients and visitors.
“(The announcement) of compulsory mask wearing for all NHS staff working in any part of a hospital is clearly designed to help to ensure that both staff and patients are protected and feel safe,” she said.
“But, as is the case for a number of announcements throughout the pandemic, this has come with little or no consultation with the NHS frontline and without a plan in place to ensure that all trusts will have access to adequate supplies of type one and two masks.”
Cordery added that trusts were nervous about the imminent lifting of some patient visiting restrictions from 15 June.
“We know that trusts want to do all they can to ensure that patients can have contact with their loved ones while in hospital, but there is understandably nervousness and concern about opening up visiting too quickly,” she said.
“Trusts need time to put in place processes and guidance to ensure that patients can receive visitors safely and while adhering to social distancing and infection control measures.
“Important decisions like these should not come as a surprise to those expected to deliver them.”
Updated
Here is a look at how the crowd grew at a Black Lives Matter protest in the Australian city of Adelaide.
Timelapse from today's #BlackLivesMatterAustralia & #AboriginalLivesMatter protest today at Tarndanyangga (Victoria Square) in Adelaide. pic.twitter.com/7q3IIUJAHk
— Chris Johnson (@HyperNexus) June 6, 2020
You might have missed this interesting news out of the US earlier today. The NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, has said the league was wrong not to listen to listen to players who spoke publicly about racism in America.
“We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest,” said Goodell. “We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter.”
Read more on that here.
Police and organisers are now discussing extending the Sydney Black Lives Matter march to Prince Alfred Park out of concerns Belmore Park will reach capacity.
In excess of 10,000 people are marching, and many are still in the city walking, yet to reach Belmore Park.
Updated
Hello everyone, Luke Henriques-Gomes, taking over the blog from Josh Taylor. Thanks Josh.
Protesters in Sydney have begun marching from Town Hall to Belmore Park.
As they turned from Bathurst Street into Castlereagh Street, they paused to “take a knee”.
Protesters marching from Town Hall to Belmore Park, turning from Bathurst St into Castlereagh St, where they pause to "take a knee". @GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/OATgisOMeC
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) June 6, 2020
Updated
Summary
Here’s the latest on global coronavirus news:
- Australia’s deputy prime minister, Michael McCormack, has said warnings by China that its citizens are not safe from racial attacks related to the coronavirus pandemic in Australia are based on “false information”
- Tens of thousands of people have turned out for Black Lives Matter protests in cities across Australia, including in Sydney after an appeals court ruled the protest lawful
- Germany reported 407 new cases of coronavirus, while India overtook Italy in the number of confirmed cases and South Korea reported 51 new cases
- The G20 has pledged $21bn to fight coronavirus
- The Australian state of Victoria recorded no new cases of coronavirus for the first time since the pandemic began, but one Melbourne man who travelled to Bundaberg has tested positive in Queensland
Updated
“What do we want? Freedom.” @Sampa_The_Great is performing her little sister pic.twitter.com/jlZ8pI2P3a
— Luke Henriques-Gomes (@lukehgomes) June 6, 2020
The mood at Melbourne’s Black Lives Matter protest was at times mournful and often angry.
Many speakers told the crowd – which stretched a block in each direction – that Australia had a shameful history that continued to this day – pointing to the 434 First Nations people who have died in police custody since the 1991 royal commission.
Worse though was that it had taken the tragic death of an African American man, George Floyd, to draw attention to the plight of Indigenous Australians in this country.
“It’s the same story on different soil,” Ky-ya Nicholson-Ward, 17, said of what has been happening in the US and in her own country.
The speakers, who included family members of Indigenous people who had died in custody or from police actions such as Tanya Day and Kumanjayi Walker, led chants including “We can’t breathe” and “Black lives matter”. Another chant involved those at the rally hitting their chests in unison to create the sound of a heartbeat.
Warren Day, the son of Tanya, said: “It took George Floyd, an African American man, to put the spotlight on Australia’s shame.
“Four-hundred and thirty-two Aboriginal deaths in custody since 1991 and still no convictions.
“We need change and it needs to start happening now,” he added.
Those in the crowd, easily in the tens of thousands, almost all wore masks but struggled to social distance close to the stage. They carried placards with messages such as “We hear you”, “Racism is a pandemic” and “Fuck the police”.
One of the organisers, Meriki Onus, said it was one of the largest protests she had seen in the city, including the massive Invasion Day rallies that have grown in size each 26 January.
When African Australian artist Sampa The Great took to the stage to perform two songs with her younger sister, the rally briefly began to move as one. Some danced. Black lives matter, she said, “because I woke up black today, and I’m going to wake up black tomorrow”.
With that, the crowd turned on its heels and marched away from Parliament House.
Updated
Leetona Dungay, the mother of Indigenous Australian man David Dungay who died in prison in 2015, is now addressing the Sydney crowd.
She talks about how her son died while saying “I can’t breathe” – like George Floyd. Dungay said he couldn’t breathe 12 times before he died while being restrained by five prison guards at Long Bay jail hospital.
The crowd hushes to hear her.
She ends by saying black lives matter, to applause.
The crowd is again chanting “I can’t breathe”.
Updated
Some signs at the Melbourne protest. #blacklivesmatteraustralia #StopBlackDeathsInCustody @GuardianAus @joshgnosis pic.twitter.com/m5SYULcHy4
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) June 6, 2020
Police leaving Sydney Town Hall #blm #blacklivesmatteraustralia protest following court ruling pic.twitter.com/O4t0KZATlQ
— Babes (@Amazon100010) June 6, 2020
In Sydney, a police officer has told the Guardian they’ve received orders in line with the court of appeal decision, and are now treating this as a legal protest they are facilitating.
Druitt Street and much of George Street are now closed.
The same police officer told the Guardian he estimated about 4,000 people are at the protest.
Police are making efforts to spread protesters out onto the now cleared roads.
Protesters are observing space between each other, but the size of the protest has swelled so much that the 4 square metres/1.5 metres around each person appears unfeasible.
The court of appeal decision will not be published until next week.
Updated
India overtakes Italy in coronavirus cases
AP reports India surpassed Italy as the sixth worst-hit country in the coronavirus pandemic after another biggest single-day spike in confirmed infections.
The health ministry reported 9,887 new cases on Saturday, bringing the total to 236,657.
Most of the new cases are in rural areas following the return of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who left cities and towns after the lockdown in late March.
The lockdown is now largely being enforced in high-risk areas while authorities have partially restored train services and domestic flights and allowed shops and manufacturing to reopen.
Shopping malls and religious places are due to open on Monday with restrictions to avoid large gatherings.
Updated
From the Brisbane, Queensland rally where thousands have turned out, via AAP:
“We rise together and we speak in one voice against racism ... and legislation that takes away our freedom in this country ... our right to have a voice, our right to be free,” the Wangan and Jagalingou man Adrian Burragubba said.
Cheers and applause echoed through the streets as he called for justice and government-funded trauma support for families whose loved ones die in custody.
“While our people are dying in custody, our voice has gotta become louder, become a roar,” he said.
In a separate press conference, the Quandamooka woman and state environment minister Leeanne Enoch encouraged Queenslanders to speak out.
“This issue is not just about turning up for one day, it is about turning up every day,” she said.
Updated
To explain the NSW Court of Appeal decision: declaring the Black Lives Matter protest an “authorised” public assembly just now means participants are not exposed to criminal sanction. Supreme Court Justice Desmond Fagan had previously refused to authorise it on COVID-19 grounds.
— Michaela Whitbourn (@MWhitbourn) June 6, 2020
Here’s how the Sydney protest greeted the news that organisers had been successful in overturning the New South Wales supreme court ruling preventing the protest from going ahead.
Organiser Raul Bassi now making his way through the crowd shouting "We won, we can be here, we won". @GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/hK6A1sofFf
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) June 6, 2020
Updated
More from the Melbourne rally, via AAP:
One speaker remarked that it took the death of an African American man to put the spotlight on the deaths of Indigenous Australians.
“We all bleed red because we are human,” another speaker said, to shouts of support from the crowd.
“Violence has been here for a couple of hundred years and your system’s nuts,” said another speaker.
There is a strong police presence with a police helicopter overhead. The mood among protesters and police is peaceful.
Protesters are holding up banners with slogans such as “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” and “tolerating racism is racism”.
Updated
Sydney Black Lives Matter protest given green light
The New South Wales court of appeal has overturned a supreme court decision preventing a Black Lives Matter rally from going ahead in Sydney today.
The protest will now proceed starting at 3pm.
Court has ruled the protest is AUTHORISED!
— David Shoebridge (@ShoebridgeMLC) June 6, 2020
Updated
The Melbourne rally is very big, but lots of social distancing is going on.
The news chopper highlights the huge volume of people who are currently at the #BlackLivesMatter rally in #Melbourne. Looks like many are quite spread out, trying to keep their distance from others. pic.twitter.com/WEJQjpPAGn
— Christie Cooper (@ChristieCooper7) June 6, 2020
Updated
Very large crowd here in Melbourne #blacklivesmatteraustralia pic.twitter.com/dYetRgiTMG
— Luke Henriques-Gomes (@lukehgomes) June 6, 2020
We are expecting a New South Wales court of appeal decision very soon on whether the Sydney Black Lives Matter protest can go ahead.
As you can probably see by the previous posts, the protest is going ahead regardless, but it will just determine what powers police have in fining or arresting people at the protest.
Police have escorted a counter-protester from the steps of Sydney Town Hall.
A potentially ugly situation appears to have passed smoothly. A man with a sign reading "all lives matter, black and white" was booed and jostled from the steps of Town Hall, and ultimately escorted by police, which the crowd cheered @GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/Whn1J4OCnt
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) June 6, 2020
Police have a large presence around the Town Hall area, but are not asking people to leave or fining anyone.
There appear to be at least 2,000 people here now. And it’s important to note, the protest isn’t meant to begin for another half an hour.
The light rail line across George Street has also now been shut.
Organisers are frantically running around asking people to distance, which is now more feasible as the light rail track space has opened for protesters.
Protesters on the steps are chanting “whose lives matter?” To a response from the crowd “black lives matter”.
Protesters are also shouting “I can’t breath”, a reference to the words of US man George Floyd when he was being retained by a Minneapolis policeman, and died after he put his knee into Floyd’s neck for about 8 minutes.
Updated
My other colleague Calla Wahlquist is at the Melbourne rally too and has some information on the cases some of the speakers are talking about.
A member of Raymond Thomas Jr’s family is speaking now. Ray died in a horrific crash when he was chased by police in 2017. The inquest was supposed to start in April but put off due to Covid-19. Learn his story: https://t.co/qPRov4sebx #blacklivesmatteraustralia #JusticeForRay
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) June 6, 2020
“Stop the Hatred.” pic.twitter.com/K5mm3MaGNS
— Luke Henriques-Gomes (@lukehgomes) June 6, 2020
Elias Visontay reports a man holding an “all lives matter” sign in Sydney was booed and taken away by police. Other reports suggest they went to have a talk with him in a nearby chocolate shop.
A potentially ugly situation appears to have passed smoothly. A man with a sign reading "all lives matter, black and white" was booed and jostled from the steps of Town Hall, and ultimately escorted by police, which the crowd cheered @GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/Whn1J4OCnt
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) June 6, 2020
Looks like most if not all at the Melbourne rally appear to be following the advice of the organisers about wearing a mask.
Huge numbers of people at the Melbourne rally today, stretching from
— Stephanie H Convery (@gingerandhoney) June 6, 2020
Parliament all the way back to Collins St and Treasury on the south side cc @joshgnosis pic.twitter.com/LHiQDIYlCq
Another Black Lives Matter rally in Byron Bay, on the far north coast of New South Wales.
Crowds gathering in Byron Bay for the #blacklivesmatteraustralia matteraustralia march through the bay @joshgnosis pic.twitter.com/rxdHlH4w1y
— Lucy Clark (@lucykateclark) June 6, 2020
Kyah Nicholson-Ward, 17, says of what’s happening in the US and Australia. “it’s the same story on different soil.”
— Luke Henriques-Gomes (@lukehgomes) June 6, 2020
Just some more information on the Melbourne man who travelled to Bundaberg with coronavirus. The health department in Victoria has provided this information on his travels, confirming he was likely infections on his flight to Queensland:
On Monday 1 June, the man caught a Skybus from Southern Cross Station to Melbourne Airport then flew to Queensland on Virgin flight VA313, which left Melbourne at 8am. He was likely infectious.
The man is linked to a confirmed case from the Rydges on Swanston outbreak, but was not disclosed as a close contact so was not in quarantine when he left Victoria.
Updated
Raul Bassi, the organiser of Sydney’s protest who was told by the NSW supreme court yesterday the rally should not go ahead, is pacing around the Town Hall area telling people to keep to groups of 10 and observe distancing.
“They need to be in groups of 10 only, it’s very important today,” Bassi told the Guardian.
Raul Bassi, protest organiser (red shirt, left), warning people to distance and be in groups of 10 pic.twitter.com/668GqWsbHa
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) June 6, 2020
Bassi is explaining the legal issues with the protest.
Volunteers are also handing out masks and sanitising hands.
Volunteers handing out masks and sanitising hands pic.twitter.com/QUXojFfOzV
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) June 6, 2020
Protesters are already chanting “no justice no peace”.
Updated
My colleague Luke Henriques-Gomes is in Melbourne, Victoria as the Black Lives Matter protest gets under way.
Melbourne’s Black Lives Matter protest has begun. #AboriginalLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/r0MwnqiMWN
— Luke Henriques-Gomes (@lukehgomes) June 6, 2020
According to AAP, police have lined the steps of the Victorian parliament on foot and horseback, and the atmosphere is peaceful.
People are holding banners with slogans such as “united when all are equal” and “silence is violence”.
Updated
The Sydney rally isn’t due to begin for another hour but already hundreds of protesters have gathered.
Sydney rally not due to begin for another hour but protesters, and police, already gathering @GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/VmfYoFwGJz
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) June 6, 2020
Many are sitting on the steps of the Town Hall with signs that read “Black Lives Matter”, “I am sorry” and “racism is a pandemic too”.
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) June 6, 2020
There is already a noticeable police presence, with officers on foot and bikes.
Updated
Thousands have rallied in Adelaide as part of Black Lives Matter protests across Australia on Saturday, AAP reports.
Police gave special permission for the event to proceed despite Covid-19 restrictions.
The rally joined calls for justice for US man George Floyd, who died while being arrested in Minneapolis, and also drew attention to the number of Aboriginal people who have died in custody.
Many of those attending wore masks and made some efforts to socially distance, though large groups appeared to be in close contact.
Speaker Jack Buckskin welcomed the large turnout, telling the gathering whether Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal, they were all part of the same society.
“This is about us coming together as people,” he said.
“Today we stand united. Our movement happens with people.
“We want people to walk alongside us. This is what Aboriginal people have been asking for.”
Updated
Confirmed cases in Germany increase by 407
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 407 to 183,678, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Friday.
The reported death toll rose by 33 to 8,646.
Via Reuters.
South Korea reports 51 new cases of Covid-19
Via AP:
South Korea on Saturday reported 51 new cases of Covid-19, mostly in the densely populated capital region, as authorities scramble to stem transmissions among low-income workers who can’t afford to stay home.
The figures announced by South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brought national totals to 11,719 cases and 273 deaths.
At least 34 of the new cases were linked to door-to-door sellers hired by Richway, a Seoul-based health product provider.
The vice-health minister, Kim Gang-lip, said the spread of the virus among Richway sellers was particularly alarming as most of them are in their 60s and 70s.
He called for officials to strengthen their efforts to find and examine workplaces vulnerable to infections.
More than 120 infections have also been linked to a massive warehouse operated by Coupang, a local e-commerce giant, which has been accused of failing to properly implement preventive measures and having employees work even when sick.
Updated
Local women, Jessica Large, Candice Sharman and Monique Dawson, queued up to have their photo taken with Joe Williams after the protest. They said they came to the protest because “all lives matter”. Large and Sharman are both Indigenous. “I’ve seen a lot shit happen that should not,” Large said. “I wanted to come out today and show my support.”
“My grandfather was Aboriginal, so it means a lot,” said Sharman, who added that she was “devastated” to see the video of the violent arrest of the 16-year-old Aboriginal boy in Sydney this week. “They see everything that’s going on in America, how could they do that here? Australia’s meant to be a free country. I understand he might have been doing something wrong but they have other resources to control people.”
When asked about the Sydney protest being cancelled, Large said: “I understand but at the same time it’s a bit ridiculous, like everyone else was protesting in Melbourne and everywhere else. What does it matter? Really, we’ve had hardly any cases of Covid-19, and we’re only staying in our tight groups and keeping our distance from other people. Unless you’re purposefully getting close to people, there’s no risk.”
They said hearing about the police banning the Sydney protest made them even more determined to come to today’s protest in Wagga. Sharman said: “We were already planning to come but it just made us want to come 100% more.”
Updated
Speaking after the Wagga Wagga march, organiser Joe Williams said he thought the march was “beautiful”. He said Wagga Wagga was the “most progressive” community he has ever been involved with and felt hopeful that systemic change could happen. “Every person of authority was here today – the local mayor, the local member, the police – they want to see a change systematically as well, not just locally.”
But he acknowledged the size of the task: “There have been 434 deaths since the royal commission. Royal commissions are supposed to clear these things up. Where are the recommendations then that are coming from the royal commission? What we have to do is look systematically at where the issues are. How are we going to stop killing Aboriginal people in custody? That’s 200 years of oppression, that’s 200 years of mistreatment.”
Updated
While the rally organisers in Sydney are appealing the New South Wales supreme court decision to stop the Black Lives Matter protest, the police came out with this strong statement.
The community is reminded that the Supreme Court has ruled that the planned protest in Sydney’s CBD this afternoon will not go ahead due to health and safety concerns associated with COVID-19. People are being urged not to attend. Police are out in force and will enforce the law.
— NSW Police Force (@nswpolice) June 6, 2020
Big turnout for the Black Lives Matter rally in Brisbane, Queensland.
Huge turnout at the #blacklivesmatteraustralia rally in Brisbane. Crowd is calm and considerate and impassioned. pic.twitter.com/6Etx0MR0I1
— Graham Perrett (@GrahamPerrettMP) June 6, 2020
Brisbane mob I’m so proud of you
— Nathan Appo (@Elusive_Sausage) June 6, 2020
Always was always will be✊🏾
Allies thank you🖤
This is our fight...#IndigenousLivesMatter #AboriginalLivesMatter #blacklivesmatteraustralia pic.twitter.com/aH8I8yM0P3
Western Australia records one new case, two historical
Western Australia has recorded one new case of coronavirus and two historical cases.
The new case is another person in hotel quarantine after returning from overseas, while blood tests confirmed a couple who returned overseas in March also had the virus.
Quite a big rally in Adelaide, South Australia, where the Black Lives Matter protest was allowed to proceed.
...that escalated quickly @abcnews @abcadelaide pic.twitter.com/bs6QwV1mW9
— Patrick Martin (@pjournomartin) June 6, 2020
McCormack says the statement from China is “not true” because there hasn’t been waves of attacks on Chinese people in Australia.
Worth noting, that’s not correct. A survey in April recorded 178 incidents in two weeks against Asian-Australians.
Australia's deputy PM says China's travel rebuke is based on 'false information'
Australia’s deputy prime minister, Michael McCormack, says China’s warning of racist attacks for visitors to Australia is a “moot point” because the borders are still closed.
“People of China know this is a great country to visit,” he says.
He said the allegations made are based on “false information”.
He says Australia is a culture based on tolerance and respect.
Updated
Gabrielle Jackson, who is at the Black Lives Matter protest in Wagga Wagga, in southern New South Wales, reports:
At least 1,000 people marched down the main street of Wagga Wagga today in a Black Lives Matter protest march, chanting “All lives matter when black lives matter” before taking a knee and raising right fists in silence for two minutes.
The march organiser, Joe Williams – a local Wiradjuri/Wolgalu man and former Rabbitohs rugby league star – joked he’d only expected 100 people to show up as the large crowd was ushered into the town’s amphitheatre while being urged to respect social distancing rules (although Wagga has had few cases of Covid-19 and no deaths).
While acknowledging systemic problems of police brutality, Williams thanked the local police for “bending over backwards to make this happen”. He said the state member, independent Joe McGirr, the mayor and the council had been supportive of the protest.
He urged the crowd to “make it your business not to turn a blind eye” to racism. “When you hear it in your circles, pull it up. Walk with us, talk with us,” he said. “Racism ain’t a black issue, racism ain’t a white issue. Racism is a people issue and you’ve got to do your bit to stamp it out.”
Updated
Melbourne man tests positive in Queensland
AAP is reporting:
A Melbourne man was infectious with Covid-19 when he flew to Bundaberg via Brisbane for a fruit-picking job this week.
The man, in his 20s, socialised with about 15 family members and friends during an overnight stay, before flying with Virgin to Bundaberg to work at a strawberry farm, the deputy premier, Steven Miles, said.
Contact tracing for everyone who has been in contact with the man is now under way.
Four people who shared the accommodation with him have tested negative and a clinic has been set up at the farm where the man worked to test other people there.
Once landing in Bundaberg, the man was collected by his employer, staying in shared accommodation and working a shift alongside other people.
His diagnosis brings the state’s total confirmed cases to 1,061 and health officials across the state have now carried out 205,628 tests.
Updated
The latest
Here’s a summary of where we are at in coronavirus news:
- China’s ministry of culture and tourism has told Chinese citizens to avoid travelling to Australia, claiming racial discrimination and violence against Chinese people
- Organisers of a Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney are appealing a supreme court ruling preventing them from holding the protest later today
- The New South Wales police minister David Elliott has warned police are ready for people who may “flout the law” at the protest
- The World Health Organization has released guidance telling people over 60 or with health issues to wear masks when out and unable to physically distance
- Victoria reported no new cases of coronavirus for the first time since the pandemic began. New South Wales also reported no new cases
- Mexico reported 4,346 cases and 625 deaths
- The G20 has pledged $21bn to help fight coronavirus
Updated
China reports three new Covid-19 cases
Via Reuters.
China recorded three new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus as of the end of Friday, down from five the day before, the national health authority reported.
All of the cases were imported, involving travellers arriving from abroad, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on its website.
The NHC also confirmed two new asymptomatic cases, or people who are infected with the virus but do not show symptoms, compared with three the day before.
The total number of infections in China, where the virus first emerged late last year, stands at 83,030. With no new deaths reported, the death toll remained 4,634.
Sydney rally organiser appeals supreme court ruling
The organiser of the Sydney Stop All Black Deaths in Custody rally is lodging an urgent appeal after the supreme court refused to authorise it.
“The organisers have received strong advice from lawyers across the legal community that the decision has significant flaws that amount to jurisdictional error,” the Greens MP David Shoebridge said on Saturday.
“Taking the legal jargon away, the case will be that the judge got it wrong. That rally is in fact authorised and was agreed to by police.”
Shoebridge gave evidence in court on Friday in support of the rally.
The rally organiser, Raul Bassi, said he expected to have 5,000 people gather at 3pm on Saturday and was planning to have marshals policing social distancing and handing out face masks and hand sanitiser.
But after a four-hour hearing, the supreme court justice Desmond Fagan refused to approve the public assembly, citing the current coronavirus restrictions on mass gatherings.
Updated
New South Wales records no new coronavirus cases
AAP reports that Australia’s most populous state has recorded no new locally-acquired cases of coronavirus for the 10th day in a row.
No new cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed from the 12,751 tests completed in the 24 hours to 8pm on Friday, NSW Health said on Saturday.
The only infections reported since 27 May have been in hotel quarantine.
“NSW Health would like to thank those with symptoms for coming forward, getting tested and ensuring cases in the community are identified as quickly as possible,” a statement said.
“While there have no new cases recorded in the past 24 hours, the virus is likely circulating among people in the community with mild symptoms.
“As such, the risk of outbreaks and a resurgence of cases remains.”
The state no longer has any Covid-19 patients in intensive care and just 71 people being treating by health authorities.
Some 341 cases remain active.
NSW has recorded 3,110 cases in total, with 50 people dying in the state.
Updated
Police are prepared for people who flout law: NSW police minister
The NSW police minister, David Elliott, says police are prepared for people to be “flouting the law” and turning up to the Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney today.
“Police are prepared for anyone who just wants to flout the law. As tragic as it is that we are in a situation where freedom of speech isn’t as free as we would like it to be at the moment, I am concerned that some people, particularly those incited by other MPs overnight, will turn up,” he said.
He appealed for people to be peaceful and to comply with police instructions, but would not be drawn on whether police would be prepared to arrest everyone gathered.
Updated
Victoria police released data on the areas where people were fined $1652 for breaching public health orders. We’ve had a bit of a dig into the data to look at the demographics in some of the most-fined and least-fined areas:
In Stonnington, an affluent area in Melbourne’s inner east, there were 82 fines issued by Victoria police to 17 May despite the area having the state’s second-highest number of cases. Banyule, in the city’s north-east, had the third-highest number of cases but had seen only 39 fines issued.
Yet some heavily targeted areas with higher migrant populations or greater social housing density had relatively few cases. Police in Greater Dandenong, which has a high migrant population, issued 333 fines to 17 May despite there being only 15 cases recorded. Yarra, which despite being relatively affluent has a high proportion of social housing, saw 287 fines while recording only 29 cases.
Updated
G20 pledges over $21bn for coronavirus fight
Via Reuters:
The Group of 20 rich and emerging economies has pledged more than $21 billion to fight the coronavirus, the group said early on Saturday.
“The G20, with invited countries, has coordinated the global efforts to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, G20 members and invited countries have pledged over US$21 billion to support funding in global health,” the group said in a statement.
The pledges will be directed towards diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics, and research and development, the statement added.
In April the group called on all countries, non-governmental organisations, philanthropies and the private sector to help close a financing gap estimated at over $8 billion to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saudi Arabia, the current G20 chair has pledged $500 million to support global efforts to combat the pandemic. It said then it would allocate $150 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation, $150 million to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations, and $200 million to other health organisations and programmes.
At least 391,108 people have died globally from COVID-19 and more than 6.68 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus that causes it, following an outbreak that started in Wuhan, China, in early December.
Updated
@joshgnosis hundreds of people have turned out to the Wagga Black Lives Matter protest. Main Street closed to allow marchers through pic.twitter.com/TWrNxSEjz6
— Gabrielle Jackson (@gabriellecj) June 6, 2020
Mexico reports 4,346 new cases and 625 deaths
Via Reuters: Mexico’s health ministry reported on Friday an additional 4,346 cases of the novel coronavirus in the country as well as 625 new deaths, bringing the country’s confirmed total to 110,026 cases and 13,170 deaths.
Victoria reports no new cases for the first time since pandemic began
Victoria has recorded no new coronavirus cases for the first time since the pandemic began.
“We’ve been able to achieve this through Victorians doing an incredible job of keeping themselves & each other safe,” the Victorian health minister, Jenny Mikakos, tweeted.
There’s been no new #COVID19 cases confirmed since yesterday. We’ve been able to achieve this through Victorians doing an incredible job keeping themselves & each other safe. The public health advice is that the risk is not over yet so it’s up to all of us to keep it up #springst
— Jenny Mikakos MP #StayHomeSaveLives (@JennyMikakos) June 5, 2020
It comes as health authorities in the state are pleading with Black Lives Matters protesters not to go ahead with today’s protest, amid fears the virus could spread.
Organisers of the protest have told people attending to wear masks, observe social distancing, and not protest in groups larger than 20 people.
There are 178 Covid-19 cases acquired through unknown transmission.
Seven people are in hospital, with one in intensive care. So far, 1,586 people have recovered and 19 people have died in Victoria.
Updated
The NSW Supreme Court decision last night not to authorise Black Lives Matter protest did not lead to a “ban” on it, lawyers say. That is so - a police officer isn’t lurking outside every participants’ door to stop them, but protesters MAY be charged with offences if they turn up
— Michaela Whitbourn (@MWhitbourn) June 5, 2020
Just a bit more on filming resuming in California from 12 June, according to Reuters, producers will need approval from local health officials before filming can restart.
The guidelines developed by representatives from Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros, NBCUniversal and unions would require extensive coronavirus testing, daily symptom checks and other safeguards before actors and crew can return to work.
Updated
Again on the China travel warning regarding Australia, the Australian opposition spokesman for housing, Jason Clare, told the ABC there had been a “spike in racist abuse” but said Australia is one of the safest countries in the world.
“The borders are shut,” he said. “They’ll probably be shut for some time until we’ve got a treatment or a vaccine. But I’m sure I speak on behalf of all of the tourist operators up and down and right across Australia when I say that we want to get tourists back when it’s safe to do so. So I hope that the government is working with the Chinese government to ensure that when we can open the border again, we can get Chinese tourists back.”
Government MP Jason Falinski said the relationship with China was “strained” and there had been unfortunate incidents in Australia, and it was something Australia and China needed to resolve.
Updated
Summary
Good morning, and welcome to today’s global coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
I’m Josh Taylor and I will be taking you through the news this morning.
China’s ministry of culture and tourism has told Chinese citizens to avoid travelling to Australia, claiming racial discrimination and violence against Chinese people in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“There has been an alarming increase recently in acts of racial discrimination and violence against Chinese and Asians in Australia, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the ministry said in a statement reported by Reuters.
It did not give any specific examples of such discrimination or violence, but there have been reports in Australia and other countries like the US of people being racially abused due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In other coronavirus news:
- The World Health Organization has issued new guidance advising people aged over 60 or with health issues to wear a medical-grade mask when they are out and cannot physically distance
- The UK becomes the second country with 40,000 recorded Covid-19 deaths, following the US
- Sweden has recorded its third consecutive day of over 1,000 new cases
- Patients who have died or have been admitted to intensive care with Covid-19 have been found to have been deficient in vitamin K
- The US unemployment rate has dropped to 13.3%, with the US adding 2.5m jobs.
- Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has threatened to pull the country out of the World Health Organization unless it stops being a “partisan political organisation”
- Mass black lives matter protests will get under way in cities across Australia later this day, despite New South Wales police securing a court ruling banning the protest in Sydney, and the Victorian and federal governments warning against participating in the protests due to the risk of coronavirus
Updated
