Hi, Helen Sullivan here. We’ve launched a new blog at the link below – head there for the latest global developments as well as key Trump news:
Summary
I’ll be handing over to my colleague Helen Sullivan in Sydney shortly – in the meantime, here’s a summary to help make sense of the various bits and pieces that have unfolded in the last few hours.
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Global cases have passed 35 million, now standing at 35,016,152 according to the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker. A total of 1,034,974 people have died around the world.
- The UK reported 22,961 new cases on Sunday – a staggering figure that Public Health England has said is ‘artificially high’ due to case reporting backlogs. This has meant the 15,841 cases that went unreported between 25 September and 2 October were added onto Saturday and Sunday’s figures, with worrying implications for the country’s contact tracing system.
- Donald Trump did not disclose his positive test result immediately, according to the Wall Street Journal. The president said on Fox News Thursday night that he was awaiting test results when he already knew about his positive rapid test result, only making the disclosure following the more thorough Covid-19 screening.
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Trump, who has been hospitalised after testing positive for the coronavirus, made a brief drive-by appearance where he waved at supporters from a car. It reportedly lasted about a minute.
- Ireland’s National Public Health Emergency Team has recommended the entire country transitions to the highest level of restrictions, Level 5. It follows 364 new coronavirus cases being reported on Sunday.
- All bars in Paris will close from Tuesday after the capital was put on maximum alert level, Reuters reported. It comes as France’s caseload rose by 12,565 to 619,190.
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Brazil has reported 8,456 more cases, taking the total to 4,915,289. Deaths rose by 365, bringing the toll to 146,352, the health ministry said.
- South Africa’s health minister said a further 1,573 coronavirus cases were confirmed on Sunday, bringing the total up to 681,289. Deaths rose by 38 to 16,976.
Brazil reports 8,456 more cases
Stepping away from the UK’s test result fiasco for a minute, here are the latest figures that have come in from Brazil via Reuters.
The South American country registered an additional 8,456 confirmed coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking the total to 4,915,289. Deaths rose by 365, bringing the toll to 146,352, the health ministry said.
Updated
From the political editor of the Liverpool Echo:
The locating of thousands more misplaced test results have pushed Liverpool’s infection rate to over 400 per 100,000 - a staggering and really scary number for a city with some of the worst historic health issues that make fighting this virus so much harder
— Liam Thorp (@LiamThorpECHO) October 4, 2020
Updated
The shadow health minister has described the reporting delays as “shambolic”.
This is just shambolic. ‘Technical problems’ means over 15,000 previously missing Covid cases added to the totals for recent days.
— Jonathan Ashworth 😷 (@JonAshworth) October 4, 2020
Were these cases followed up by contact tracing teams? Are contacts isolating? How does this impact local restrictions?
People will be alarmed. pic.twitter.com/46hOXxyvur
Scientists have called for transparency over delays in reporting coronavirus cases, which the prime minister had blamed on a “computing issue”, warnings they could hamper efforts to monitor the spread of the disease.
The number of UK lab-confirmed cases soared to nearly 13,000 on Saturday after a “technical issue” prevented many from 24 September to 1 October from being included in official data.
Health officials said all those tested received their results on time and would know they had to self-isolate if positive, but they did not explain what caused the delay or which groups it affected.
More on the reporting delays, and the implications for curbing the spread of the virus, here:
While PHE said the technical issue did not affect people getting their test results, Test and Trace and PHE joint medical advisor Susan Hopkins, has said it resulted in a delay in cases being passed into the contact tracing system.
“All outstanding cases were immediately transferred to the contact tracing system by 1am on 3 October and a thorough public health risk assessment was undertaken to ensure outstanding cases were prioritised for contact tracing effectively,” Hopkins said.
This has serious implications for Test and Trace, who will now be facing a backlog of over 15,000 people to contact and ask to self-isolate.
Updated
The total number of lab confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK has now passed 500,000.
Boris Johnson said earlier on Sunday that there was “a failure in the counting system which has now been rectified”. He told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show it was a “computing issue” and all those who had a positive test had been notified.
Michael Brodie, the interim chief executive at Public Health England, said the “technical issue” was identified overnight on Friday 2 October in the data load process that transfers Covid-19 positive lab results into reporting dashboards.
“After rapid investigation, we have identified that 15,841 cases between 25 September and 2 October were not included in the reported daily Covid-19 cases. The majority of these cases occurred in most recent days. Every one of these cases received their Covid-19 test result as normal and all those who tested positive were advised to self-isolate. NHS Test and Trace and PHE have worked to quickly resolve the issue and transferred all outstanding cases immediately into the NHS Test and Trace contact tracing system.”
Public Health England provided a breakdown of how many cases were not included in each day’s figures, which are as follows:
957 cases were not included on September 25, when the original figure given was 6,874
744 on September 26, when the original figure given was 6,042
757 on September 27, when the original figure given was 5,693
none on September 28, when the original figure given was 4,044
1,415 on September 29, when the original figure given was 7,143
3,049 on September 30, when the original figure given was 7,108
4,133 on October 1, when the original figure given was 6,914
4,786 on October 2, when the original figure given was 6,968
So we can see that, at its worst, it meant that nearly 5,000 cases were missing from daily totals
Test and Trace and Public Health England joint medical adviser, Susan Hopkins, said the issue had not prevented people receiving their test result or affected decision-making in local areas.
She said: “Our analysis now shows that this issue affected a total of 15,841 cases from the period between 25 September and 2 October, with the majority occurring in recent days. This means the total number of positive cases over this period was higher than previously reported.
“Of these, over 75% (11,968) relate to cases that should have been reported between 30 September and 2 October.
“This issue did not affect people receiving their Covid-19 test results and all people who tested positive have received their Covid-19 test result in the normal way. It also does not impact the basis on which decisions about local action were taken last week.”
UK reports 22,961 new cases, says figures are 'artificially high'
There have been a staggering 22,961 additional lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK, according to government data.
A total of 502,978 cases have been confirmed.
A message on the government’s coronavirus dashboard says: “An issue was identified overnight on Friday 2 October in the automated process that transfers positive cases data to PHE. It has now been resolved.
“The cases by publish date for 3 and 4 October include 15,841 additional cases with specimen dates between 25 September and 2 October — they are therefore artificially high for England and the UK.”
This follows a record 12,872 new cases reported on Saturday – nearly double the previous record of 7,143 – which the government explained as being due to a “technical difficulty” that led to a backlog of unreported cases being piled onto Saturday’s tally.
A further 33 deaths have been registered, taking the toll to 42,350.
Updated
Bars in Paris to shut from Tuesday
All bars in Paris will close from Tuesday after the capital was put on maximum alert level, Reuters reported.
It follows a surge in cases that saw France’s infection numbers hit 16,972 on Saturday – the highest daily number since the country began mass testing.
A new three-tier lockdown system is being planned for England, with leaked government documents paving the way for potential harsher restrictions including the closure of pubs and a ban on all social contact outside of household groups.
The draft traffic-light-style plan, seen by the Guardian, is designed to simplify the current patchwork of localised restrictions, which apply to about a quarter of the UK. It also reveals tougher measures that could be imposed by the government locally or nationally if Covid cases are not brought under control.
Called the “Covid-19 Proposed Social Distancing Framework” and dated 30 September, it has not yet been signed off by No 10 and measures could still be watered down.
Read more here:
Move Ireland to highest level of restrictions, NPHET recommends
In Ireland, the National Public Health Emergency Team has recommended the entire country transitions to the highest level of restrictions, Level 5.
The three party leaders in government are expected to have a meeting with the chief medical officer tomorrow to discuss the recommendation, RTE reported.
It follows a Sunday meeting by the group, which oversees the country’s coronavirus response, as concerns grows over Ireland’s rising number of infections.
Here is a graphic, courtesy of the Irish Times, showing the different restrictions each level entails.
In case you are wondering what Level 4 or 5 entails... pic.twitter.com/19RFUwwQBk
— Kilian Doyle (@kiliandoyle) October 4, 2020
Updated
Global cases pass 35 million
Global coronavirus cases have passed 35 million, with the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker showing 35,008,447 infections recorded.
The milestone was topped while the number of deaths stood at over one million. 1,034,818 fatalities have been registered around the world.
Here are the countries that have reported the highest numbers of cases and deaths:
Cases
- US: 7,411,716
- India 6,549,373
- Brazil: 4,906,833
- Russia: 1,209,039
- Colombia: 848,147
Deaths
- US: 209,720
- Brazil: 145,987
- India: 101,782
- Mexico: 78,880
- UK: 42,407
[Correction made to the US death figure.]
Updated
South Africa’s health minister said a further 1,573 coronavirus cases were confirmed on Sunday, bringing the total up to 681,289, according to the Cape Times.
An additional 38 Covid-19 related deaths were also registered, Zweli Mkhize said, taking the country’s toll to 16,976.
You can reach me on Twitter @cleaskopeliti.
As we continue to wait for the UK government to publish Sunday’s coronavirus statistics, there are concerns about the impact of the reporting backlog on the efficacy on Test and Trace.
The concerns I’m getting so far re this massive anomaly/backlog in Covid statistics relates to contact tracing as much as anything else. The ‘computer problem’ the PM referred to this morning appears to have resulted in massive delays in positive cases getting to contact tracers
— Jennifer Williams (@JenWilliamsMEN) October 4, 2020
Looks as if Test and Trace is the main victim of the problem with testing data. A source tells me of a huge backlog of cases waiting for contact tracing. Tales of referrals where the case was tested in mid-September https://t.co/SP4a9kHNjz
— Rowland Manthorpe (@rowlsmanthorpe) October 4, 2020
Canada’s chief public health officer said Canada is racing against the clock to prevent a massive coronavirus resurgence, as Ontario and Quebec continue to report some of their highest daily infection counts in months, CBC reported.
The chance to avoid a large comeback of the virus “narrows with each passing day,” Dr Theresa Tam said in a statement.
“It is clear that without all of us making hard choices now to reduce our in-person contacts and maintain layers of personal protections at all times, it won’t be enough to prevent a large resurgence,” Tam said.
Her statement comes as Canada’s two most populous provinces – Ontario and Quebec – move toward stricter measures in coronavirus hotspots.
1/2 To date, labs across 🇨🇦 have tested 7,563,615 people for #COVID19, w\ an average ~2.1% positive overall, for a rate of 201,217 people tested per million population in Canada. https://t.co/jrZH3tHRUo
— Dr. Theresa Tam (@CPHO_Canada) October 4, 2020
France reports 12,565 new infections
France reported 12,565 new coronavirus cases on Sunday.
This is down from the record number of new infections registered on Saturday, which saw cases jump by 16,972 in one day.
The total number of infections since the start of the epidemic rose to 619,190 cases, the French health ministry said.
The health ministry said there had been a further 32 deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 32,230.
There were 4,264 new cases of people being hospitalised over the last seven days, including 893 in intensive care units. That is slightly higher than the previous report on Saturday, Reuters reported.
The rate of positive coronavirus tests in France keeps rising, reaching 8.2% on Sunday, up from to 7.9% the previous day.
Updated
Nine NYC neighbourhoods may be heading for lockdown, mayor says
Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City, said on Sunday he is moving to shut schools and non-essential businesses in nine neighbourhoods where coronavirus clusters have been identified from Wednesday.
He also said another 11 neighbourhoods in the city are on a “watch list” because of rising positivity rates.
The lockdown is dependent on state approval. If New York governor Andrew Cuomo approves the shutdown, about 100 public schools and 200 private schools would be closed for anywhere from two to four weeks, de Blasio said. Students will have to return to remote-only learning.
New York is one of only 18 states where cases have not risen over the past two weeks, according to a Reuters analysis.
Nine states have reported record increases in Covid-19 cases over the last seven days, mostly in the upper Midwest and West where colder weather is forcing more activities indoors.
Updated
Ireland reported 364 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, with no new deaths related to the condition, according to the Irish Times.
It brings the total number of cases in the country to 38,032, while deaths remain at 1,810.
Ireland’s National Public Health Emergency Team reportedly had a last-minute midday meeting on Sunday as concern grows over the rising numbers of infections, according to a report the same newspaper.
The meeting is understood to be the first weekend meeting since spring, reportedly triggered by increasing levels of hospitalisations alongside rising caseloads.
Updated
In the UK, a health minister has been urged to apologise after he said the country will look back at its response to the coronavirus pandemic “like the Olympics” and be “extremely proud”.
The UK has reported the fifth highest number of deaths globally, with 42,407 fatalities logged by the Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker.
Labour condemned Lord Bethell’s comments as “tasteless and offensive”.
The peer made the remarks at a Conservative Party conference fringe events, after being asked where the thought the UK would rank in regards to its tackling of the pandemic.
He said: “I think there have been some outstanding pieces of delivery that have not been fully appreciated.
“And I think it will be like the Olympics, that’s when it’s all over and we look back and reflect, we will actually be extremely proud of ourselves.”
Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth said: “We have witnessed a level of suffering from this virus that was incomprehensible at the start of the year.
“For a health minister to suggest we will look back with pride and compare it to a time of national celebration is tasteless and offensive. He should apologise.”
Updated
Greece reported 229 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the total to 19,842. The country has registered a further four deaths, taking the toll up to 409.
229 new #coronavirus cases in #Greece, 4 new deaths.
— Elena Becatoros (@ElenaBec) October 4, 2020
Total confirmed cases: 19,842
Total deaths: 409
Intubated in ICU: 82
Left ICU: 223
Total tests: 1,349,123
Rapid tests: 15,019#COVID19
Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada, better known as Kenzo, died Sunday from Covid-19, his spokesperson told several French media outlets.
Aged 81, Takada was at the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a residential suburb on the western outskirts of the French capital, the spokesperson said.
Kenzo, the house he founded in the 1970s, is owned by LVMH , the world’s biggest luxury group. Takada brought a “gust of color and fresh creativity” to Paris in the 1970s, fashion news website WWD.com said.
“I was a fan of the brand in the Seventies when he started. I think he was a great designer,” WWD quoted Sidney Toledano, CEO of LVMH Fashion Group, as saying. “I’m very sad. He was a great guy.”
Reuters
Updated
As we wait for the government to publish Sunday’s UK coronavirus figures, a quick refresher on why Saturday’s stats were so alarmingly high, with 12,872 new infections reported.
This is from the government’s coronavirus dashboard:
“Due to a technical issue, which has now been resolved, there has been a delay in publishing a number of COVID-19 cases to the dashboard in England. This means the total reported over the coming days will include some additional cases from the period between 24 September and 1 October, increasing the number of cases reported.”
So it looks likely that Sunday’s figures will be higher than usual, as unreported cases from the past week will be added to the day’s tally.
This could have implications for the government’s ability to control the spread of the virus, according to Prof Devi Sridhar, chair of global public health at Edinburgh University and an adviser on coronavirus to the Scottish government.
She said: “A lot of these results from yesterday were backdated and that means your tracing is not going to work rapidly enough because for the test, trace, isolate system to work, test results have to be returned within 24 hours.”
Over in the US, Donald Trump’s doctor, Sean Conley, is giving an update about the president’s condition. There has been confusion surrounding the state of the president’s health, with conflicting reports emerging about his
condition. While Conley has been upbeat about Trump’s condition, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said there was a high-level of concern.
Here’s the gist of what we’ve heard so far today:
- Conley said Trump’s condition has “continued to improve” from Saturday
- The president was given supplemental oxygen for an hour on Friday – when asked if he has been given oxygen since, Conley said he’d “have to check with nurses” – despite being the White House physician
- Another doctor, Sean Dooley, said Trump had not had a fever since Friday morning and may even “be discharged tomorrow”
- Asked about the “confusion” around the conflicting reports – i.e. Conley vs. Meadows’ versions of events – Conley claimed Meadows was referring to Trump’s condition before his hospitalisation.
More as we get it over on the US blog:
Updated
Myanmar reports record number of fatalities
In Myanmar, volunteers are playing a crucial role in the country’s coronavirus response, with people stepping up to transport those with symptoms to quarantine centres and hospitals as the rate of increase in both cases and deaths spirals out of control.
Deaths hit a new record on Sunday, with 41 fatalities recorded – bringing the total up to 412, compared to just seven a month ago. Deaths and cases are doubling faster than anywhere in the world, according to Reuters figures.
Myanmar has one of the world’s weakest health systems, and thousands of volunteers play a vital supporting role in keeping the country afloat during the pandemic.
“Without the volunteers, I don’t think we could have survived,” Aye, a recovered patient who did not want to give her full name, told Reuters.
The country has only 1.1 critical care beds per 100,000 people, according to a study published in Critical Care Medicine Journal in January. For comparison, Thailand has nearly 10 times more.
More than 45,000 people, including Covid-19 patients, those yet to be tested, their close contacts and returning migrant workers, are being housed in buildings from schools and monasteries to government offices and tower blocks.
Paris was preparing to face a maximum coronavirus alert as France’s infection numbers hit 16,972 on Saturday – the highest daily number since the country began mass testing.
With cases surging, it looks like the government may have little choice but to clamp down on the city’s social life and businesses, with bars and cafes possibly facing complete closure from Monday.
The health minister, Olivier Veran, announced on Thursday that further restrictions could only be avoided if infection rates began to fall. Given Saturday’s striking figures, it looks likely that Veran’s warning of “no more family gatherings, no more evenings out, and a total closure of bars” may be imminent.
Statistics from the regional health agency ARS show new coronavirus cases remaining above 250 per 100,000 people in Paris – the limit for triggering the maximum alert protocol.
“There is no justification for denial,” said the ARS director for the Paris region, Aurelien Rousseau, on Sunday. “The numbers are what they are, and they are weighing heavily,” he tweeted.
The country’s total death toll from Covid-19 is 32,198 after recording 49 more fatalities on Saturday.
Updated
Hello, Clea Skopeliti here. I’m picking up the blog from my colleague Amy Walker for the next few hours as global coronavirus infections near 35 million.
You can reach me by Twitter DM or email – thanks in advance.
Summary
Here’s a summary of the key global coronavirus developments over the last few hours:
- Global coronavirus cases are approaching 35 million. As of 4pm (GMT) on Sunday, global infections since the start of the pandemic stood at 34,963,965, according to a John Hopkins University tracker which monitors country’s official statistics.
- Nine US states have reported record daily increases in new cases in the last week as cold weather forces more activities indoors. Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana and Wisconsin saw record increases in infections on Saturday, while Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Dakota and Wyoming also set new records for cases last week.
- New daily cases in Russia have passed 10,000 for the first time since May. On Sunday, the country’s coronavirus crisis centre reported 10,499 new infections – the biggest daily tally since 15 May, when the outbreak was at its peak and lockdowns were in place.
- Nearly 15,000 people in Iran’s capital Tehran have Covid-19 and 15% of them will die, according to World Health Organisation projections. Payam Tabarsi, head of infectious disease at Masih Daneshvari Hospital, who reported the projections, described the figures as a disaster.
- The world’s second largest cinema operator, Cineworld, is to shut all of its screens in the US and UK. It comes after the release of the new James Bond film was pushed back for a second time during the pandemic, pushing the already badly-hit industry to the brink.
Updated
Nine US states reported record case increases in last seven days
Nine US states have reported record increases in coronavirus cases over the last week, mostly in the upper Midwest and West where cold weather is forcing more activities indoors.
On Saturday, four states – Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana and Wisconsin – saw record increases in new cases and nationally nearly 49,000 new infections were reported, the highest for a Saturday in seven weeks, according to a Reuters analysis.
Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Dakota and Wyoming also set new records for cases last week.
Daytime highs in many of these states are now in the 50s Fahrenheit (10 Celsius). Health experts have long warned that colder temperatures driving people inside could promote the spread of the virus.
Montana has reported record numbers of new cases for three out of the last four days and also has a record number of Covid-19 patients in its hospitals.
Wisconsin has set records for new cases two out of the last three days and also reported record hospitalisations on Saturday. On average 22% of tests are coming back positive, one of the highest rates in the country.
Two senior Israeli public figures have tested positive for the coronavirus, as the country endures a second lockdown to stall steeply-rising cases.
Gila Gamliel, Israel’s environmental protection minister and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, announced she has the virus and was isolating.
A few hours later, Ayman Odeh, the country’s most prominent Arab lawmaker, said he was also infected and had a mild fever.
“I urge everyone to follow the rules - masks, distancing and hygiene,” Odeh said on Twitter.
Israel has recorded more than 264,000 cases and almost 1,700 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
Politicians have begun to sound the alarm about a second lockdown in southern Italy, which fared significantly better than the north in Spring, our Rome correspondent Angela Giuffrida reports.
In a characteristically stern but satirical video message last week, Vincenzo De Luca, the president of Campania, warned citizens in the southern Italian region that if the coronavirus infection rate continued to rise there would be another lockdown.
“There is no third way,” he said after announcing the mandatory wearing of face masks outside. “Masks must be worn on the face, not on the elbow. If the alternative is between having people dying on the street or taking a pleasant stroll, there will be no doubt … everything will close.”
He struck a more serious tone on Saturday after Italy’s most densely populated region, and one of its poorest, registered the highest daily tally of new infections in the country. After showing images of a crowd without masks outside a college and revellers in a bar where there was an outbreak, he said: “We must return to the strict behaviour of February, March and April, otherwise we get sick.”
It was partly De Luca’s no-nonsense style that enabled Campania to declare itself “Covid-free” in June, and determined his recent re-election. But three months on, authorities are counting on citizens falling into line again after a dramatic rise in infections. The daily rate more than doubled in the last week to 401 on Saturday, putting the region slightly ahead of Lombardy, where Italy’s pandemic began.
You can read the full story here:
A French housing association employee has been fired for serious misconduct after returning to his office before receiving the result of a coronavirus test that came back positive.
Sébastien Klem, 41, insisted he had no idea he had the virus and only took a test because he was driving past a diagnostic centre and saw there was no queue. “Apart from a light cough, I didn’t have any other symptom,” Klem told France3 television.
“It was a case of seeing an opportunity while I was driving. All I did was follow the government’s recommendations. The advice to get tested was all over the media. I felt on fine form and the day before I even went running.”
After taking the test in July, Klem returned to his office. That evening he received the positive result and immediately informed his employer HLM M2A, a social housing association, and self-isolated for 14 days with his four-year-old daughter.
However, a month later his employers, based at Mulhouse in eastern France, terminated his contract in a letter that read: “Despite carrying out a test on the morning of 16 July 2020, and despite the risk that you have put other colleagues in, you returned to you professional activity in the afternoon and mixed with work colleagues when you had doubts about your state of health in going and having a Covid-19 test. Your behaviour is totally irresponsible and constitutes a violation of your obligation towards safety.”
It added: “One does not get tested if one doesn’t have a suspicion [of having the virus].”
You can read the full report from our Paris correspondent, Kim Willsher, here:
Updated
India and South Africa want the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to waive intellectual property rules to make it easier for developing countries to produce or import Covid-19 drugs, a letter to the WTO shows.
In the letter dated 2 October, the two countries called on the global trade body to waive parts of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which governs patents, trademarks, copyright and other intellectual property rules globally.
“As new diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for COVID-19 are developed, there are significant concerns (over) how these will be made available promptly, in sufficient quantities and at (an) affordable price to meet global demand,” it says.
The countries said developing nations were disproportionately affected by the pandemic and that intellectual property rights, including patents, could be a barrier to the provision of affordable medicine.
The letter asks that the WTO’s Council for TRIPS recommends a waiver to the General Council, the WTO’s top decision-making body in Geneva, “as early as possible”. It does not say how much support India and South Africa have from other countries.
A draft General Council decision text submitted with the letter says the waiver should last an as yet unspecified number of years and be reviewed annually.
Nearly 5,000 people in the Iranian capital Tehran have coronavirus and 15 % of them will die according to World Health Organisation projections, Payam Tabarsi, head of the infectious disease department at Masih Daneshvari Hospital, said at the weekend. He described the figures as a disaster.
A member of the Tehran city council also reported that 136 people had died in the capital in one day, a figure that jars with official claims that only 170 people are dying nationwide each day.
Tabarsi also said he did not believe in a second or third wave of the virus, arguing the first wave never went away.
A slowly building increase in the number of infections started in late August, reaching over 3,500 a day and has now spread across the country leading to calls for a complete 2 week shutdown, similar to the circuit break once proposed by some Downing Street advisers, but never adopted.
Officials are under criticism for not doing more to enforce restrictions in workplaces, schools, roads markets and public ceremonies. Many of the powers to act have been devolved to local provinces.
In a sign that patience is running out Ghafoor Ghasempour, the governor of Karaj, announced on Sunday that the “request and request” period for the people is over and those who do not follow the health protocols will be dealt with severely. He stressed that fines and penalties are among the new measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
Over in the UK, the prime minister Boris Johnson has warned Britons to strap in for a “bumpy” winter as Covid-19 cases continue to surge.
The country, which has suffered the fifth worst death toll in the world from the virus, gradually came out of a national lockdown over summer, but many areas including major cities such as Manchester and Glasgow are subject to local restrictions.
On Sunday, Johnson said he knew many were furious over perceived confusion and inconsistencies surrounding local measures, but he was trying to strike a balance between public health and keeping the economy moving.
He told the BBC:
“I know people are furious at me and they’re furious at the government, but I’ve got to tell you, in all candour, it’s going to continue to be bumpy through to Christmas, it may even be bumpy beyond, but this is the only way to do it.”
However, he added he expected the scientific equation to change over the coming months with progress on testing and vaccines, which would enable the government to take a different approach.
“If you talk to the scientists, they’re all virtually unanimous that by the spring things will be radically different and we’ll be in a different world, that is the normal cycle of a pandemic like this,” he said.
You can keep up to date with key UK coronavirus developments over on our dedicated blog:
India hopes to receive up to 500 million doses of coronavirus vaccine by July to inoculate about 250 million people, its health minister has said.
The health ministry has recorded some 6.55 million infections, with 75,829 in the past 24 hours, while COVID-19-related deaths have totalled 101,782.
“There is a high-level expert body going into all aspects of vaccines,” Harsh Vardhan wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “We expect to receive & utilise 400 to 500 million doses & cover approx [200 million-250 million] people by July 2021.”
#SundaySamvaad
— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) October 4, 2020
States given time upto end-Oct to submit lists of priority population groups for receiving #COVID19 vaccine, where priority shall be given to health workers.
We expect to receive & utilise 400-500 million doses & cover approx 20-25 crore people by July 2021. pic.twitter.com/po5Q4YyyDR
Serum Institute of India and private companies have been teaming up with organizations from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to U.S. drug developer Novavax Inc in a scramble to secure vaccines for the country of 1.3 billion people.
India has set up committees to look into various aspects of the vaccine supply chain, including availability timelines for various vaccines, while obtaining commitments from manufacturers to ensure the maximum doses are available, Vardhan said.
He said the federal government is committed to taking all measures to ensure “fair and equitable” distribution of vaccines once they are ready.
The country, second only to the United States in caseload, has scope for higher infections as a large chunk of the population remains unexposed to the virus, a survey showed on Tuesday.
To prioritise the distribution of coronavirus vaccines, the health ministry aims to prepare a list of key personnel, such as frontline health workers, by the end of the month.
Thousands of people protested against coronavirus restrictions in southern Germany on Saturday, police in the country have said.
Despite the large turnout, organisers failed to mobilise enough people for a planned human chain around Lake Constance, while counter demonstrators also turned up in their thousands to show support for the government’s measures to control coronavirus.
Overall, police counted between 10,500 and 11,000 people taking part in the demonstrations in Konstanz on Saturday. A police spokesman added that warm weather was likely to draw in further participants to the two-day protests on Sunday. “So far the situation is calm,” they added.
Organisers of the anti-restrictions protests had initially hoped to mobilise more than 200,000 people.
In response, local authorities in southern Germany had imposed measures such as social distancing to avoid further infections and banned the use of Germany’s imperial Reichsflagge, a symbol used by neo-Nazis and other far-right groups as an alternative to the swastika flag.
Anti-lockdown marches in Germany have attracted a mixed crowd including anti-vaxxers, as well as neo-Nazis and members of far-right groups including the opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD).
In late August, protestors who stormed the steps of the Reichstag in Berlin – some bearing the Reichsflagge – during mass protests against coronavirus curbs, were condemned by leading German politicians.
Updated
Global coronavirus cases approaching 35 million
Covid-19 cases across the world are approaching 35 million, according to a John Hopkins University tracker which monitors country’s official figures.
As of Sunday (12pm GMT), cases stood at 34,937,150 since the beginning of the pandemic, although this is subject to change as government’s report their daily caseloads.
Over one million people have also died after contracting the virus. The total official death tally across the globe is currently 1,033,678, although this is also likely to increase as new figures are recorded throughout the day.
The five country’s with the highest recorded numbers of Covid-19 infections according to John Hopkins are:
1. US – 7,393,244
2. India – 6,549,373
3. Brazil – 4,906,833
4. Russia – 1,209,039
5. Colombia – 848,147
The country’s which have reported the most coronavirus-related deaths are:
1. US – 209,399
2. Brazil – 145,987
3. India – 101,782
4. Mexico – 78,880
5. UK – 42,407
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Poland’s total number of coronavirus cases passed the 100,000 mark on Sunday, according to the health ministry’s Twitter account, as infection rates surge in the country which has reported daily records three times in the past week.
While Poland’s total number of cases remains well below that in many western European virus hotspots, reaching 100,000 illustrates how the spread of Covid-19 has accelerated in a country which avoided the worst of the first wave and where in July the prime minister played down risks ahead of an election.
The country of 38 million has now reported a total of 100,074 cases of the coronavirus and 2,630 deaths. On Sunday it reported 1,934 new daily cases and 26 deaths, after performing over 25,900 tests.
The UK’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, has offered advice to US president Donald Trump following his positive Covid-19 test result.
Johnson was admitted to intensive care at a hospital in London in early April to receive oxygen treatment after he contracted the virus.
Johnson told BBC One’s Andrew Marr show on Sunday:
I’m sure that President Trump is going to be fine, he has got the best possible care.
The most important thing to do is follow his doctors’ advice.
He also pointed out the problems that obesity can have when fighting the virus – although he insisted he was not commenting on Donald Trump’s weight.
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Health journalist and former neuroscientist, David Cox, has written about the evidence of lingering heart damage after initial symptoms of Covid-19 have dissipated.
The first indications the virus could affect the heart came from the original centres of the outbreak. Peter Liu, chief scientific officer at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, recalls receiving emails first from doctors in Wuhan during January and February, and then those in Italy as the pandemic reached Europe. They described a number of patients in intensive care wards with myocarditis or inflammation of the heart muscle.
“Because of my long-standing interest in how viral myocarditis can lead to heart failure, they asked me to participate in clinical data analysis to understand the impact of Covid-19 on the heart,” he says.
In March, the findings began to emerge. Of 68 patients who had died in one particular study, doctors reported that a third of these deaths had been caused by a combination of respiratory and heart failure. In a larger study, cardiologists at the Renmin hospital of Wuhan University found that of 416 patients, nearly 20% had cardiac injuries.
You can read more about the possible long-term effects of Covid-19 on our hearts here:
Cineworld will close all of its cinemas in the UK, Ireland and the US this week because of the impact of the pandemic, Reuters news agency has reported.
It comes after the release of upcoming Bond film No Time to Die was pushed back again until April 2021. It was originally due out in April this year but had already been pushed back to November.
The Sunday Times reported that the cinema giant would close all of its 128 theatres in the UK and Ireland, putting 5,500 jobs at risk.
It added that bosses were preparing to write to UK prime minister Boris Johnson and culture secretary Oliver Dowden to warn the industry had become “unviable” because of the postponing of big releases.
Last month, Cineworld announced half-year losses of $1.6bn.
Although demand rose for tickets to Christopher Nolan’s Tenet in August and September, other big-budget releases such as Fast and Furious sequel F9 have been postponed.
New daily cases in Russia pass 10,000 for first time since May
Russia’s new Covid-19 cases have topped 10,000 for the first time since May.
On Sunday, Russia’s coronavirus crisis centre reported 10,499 new infections – the biggest daily tally since 15 May, when the outbreak was at its peak and lockdowns were in place.
The country’s death toll also climbed by 107 to 21,358 in the previous 24 hours.
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Hello, Amy Walker here. Welcome to today’s live global coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
The biggest news so far today is the US president Donald Trump’s continuing stay at a hospital after testing positive for Covid-19.
On Saturday evening, he posted a video message on Saturday evening saying that he is “doing well”, his wife Melania is “doing very well” and the next few days will be the “real test”. Meanwhile, his medical team says: “while not out of the woods yet, the team remains cautiously optimistic”.
Across the pond, coronavirus cases continue to surge in some European countries. On Saturday, France reported a daily record of 16,972 new cases, as well as 49 new deaths, while Italy recorded 2,844 new cases – its highest daily tally since April, when the country was still in lockdown.
In the UK, 12,872 new infections were reported in the 24 hours to Saturday, nearly double the number reported a day earlier, which was blamed on reporting delays from previous weeks, as it came to light that the government does not currently know Saturday’s actual number of new infections.
I’ll be keeping you up to date with today’s key developments. But first, here’s a roundup of the news over the past few hours:
- Top Trump aide Nick Luna has tested positive for Covid-19.
- Joe Biden’s campaign is committing to releasing the results of all future Covid tests the candidate takes.
- US secretary of state Mike Pompeo will depart for Japan on Sunday but will not go to Mongolia and South Korea as originally planned, after Trump’s diagnosis.
- Germany has reported 2,279 new cases, bringing the total number to 299,237. Two people were reported to have died, bringing the death toll to 9,529.
- Victoria, the state of Australia most affected, recorded just 12 new cases and one life lost in the past 24 hours. That’s the equal lowest death toll for almost a month.
- Mexico’s confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 757,953 on Saturday, according to the health ministry, with a total reported death toll of 78,880.
- Brazil on Saturday registered 599 new coronavirus deaths and 26,310 new confirmed cases.
- Tunisian authorities will ban all gatherings and reduce working hours for employees in the public sector in order to stop the rapid spread of the coronavirus
- Ireland is seeing a “significant escalation” in coronavirus infections, after reporting the highest daily death toll since May and the third-highest number of daily cases recorded to date.
- Thousands of Israelis protested again across the country on Saturday, flouting a new law meant to curb anti-government demonstrations during a new national coronavirus lockdown
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