We are closing this live blog now, but you can stay up to date on all of the developments on our new coronavirus live blog below.
Summary
-
France became the latest European country to toughen its coronavirus measures, declaring a public health state of emergency and imposing a curfew on Paris and eight other cities. The French president Emmanuel Macron announced night restrictions for some 20 million people across Paris, Rouen, Lille, St Etienne, Lyon, Grenoble, Montpellier, Marseille and Toulouse. The curfew will be in place between 9pm and 6am from Saturday and will remain in force for at least four weeks. Anyone violating the curfew will be fined 135 euros. Here is the moment Macron announced the measures.
- The German chancellor Angela Merkel announced tougher measures on gatherings and the wearing of face masks. She urged young people to do their part to halt the spread of the coronavirus after private parties were repeatedly blamed for localised outbreaks in German cities.
- Spain will close bars and restaurants across Catalonia for the next 15 days following a surge in cases, as the country tackles one of the highest rates of infection in Europe, with nearly 900,000 cases and more than 33,000 deaths. All bars and restaurants in the region will be limited to a takeaway and delivery service for two weeks from Thursday night. Shops and markets will operate at 30% capacity, gyms, cinemas and theatres at 50%, and children’s play areas will close at 8pm.The strict measure comes after the weekly total cases in Catalonia rose from 7,000 to 11,000 over the course of a few days.
- Measures also came into force across the Netherlands, including restrictions on alcohol sales and new mask requirements.
-
Tough measures are to be introduced in Portugal from Thursday as the country reported a new record in cases. Gatherings will be limited to five people. Weddings and baptisms can be attended by a maximum of 50, but university parties will be banned. Fines for businesses which do not comply with the rules will be doubled from an upper limit of 5,000 to 10,000 euros. The prime minister, Antonio Costa, will also submit a proposal to parliament to make face masks compulsory in crowded outdoor spaces, and use of the government’s tracing app StayAway Covid compulsory for some workforces.
- Northern Ireland announced a four-week closure of pubs and restaurants. The devolved government announced plans to tighten restrictions on social gatherings and extend the mid-term school break to counter soaring case numbers there. Infection rates “must be turned down now or we will be in a very difficult place very soon indeed,” the first minister Arlene Foster said.
- Ireland’s prime minister Micheal Martin announced a raft of new curbs along the border with Northern Ireland, including the closure of non-essential retail outlets, gyms, pools and leisure centres. Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan moved to Level 4 of its five-step framework of Covid-19 constraints and banned almost all visits to homes across the country.
- Iran announced new travel restrictions affecting Tehran and four other major cities, as well as new single-day records in both Covid-19 deaths and new infections.
- Iraq’s death toll since the start of the pandemic passed 10,000 people.
Brazil has registered another 749 coronavirus deaths over the last 24 hours and 27,235 new cases, the nation’s health ministry said on Wednesday.
The country has now registered 151,747 total deaths, the second highest tally globally, and 5,140,863 total confirmed cases.
The German chancellor Angela Merkel urged young people to do their part to halt the spread of the coronavirus after private parties were repeatedly blamed for localised outbreaks in German cities.
“We must call especially on young people to do without a few parties now in order to have a good life tomorrow or the day after,” Merkel said at a news conference after agreeing additional measures against coronavirus with the heads of Germany’s 16 states.
Ireland’s government moved three counties on its open border with Northern Ireland - Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan - to Level 4 of its five-step framework of Covid-19 constraints and banned almost all visits to homes across the country.
Northern Ireland announced the strictest curbs seen in the UK since early summer on Wednesday in response to a rapid rise in cases that the Irish prime minister Micheal Martin described as “hugely worrying.”
The new Irish measures mean all non-essential retail will be banned until 10 November in the first counties to be moved to Level 4. Martin said he wanted to continue to assess the impact of the recently imposed Level 3 curbs elsewhere for the next week.
Updated
The measures Germany takes in the coming days and weeks will be decisive in determining how well the country makes it through the coronavirus pandemic, the chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Wednesday.
“We are already in a phase of exponential growth, the daily numbers show that,” she said after a meeting in which she and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states agreed on tougher measures to control the spread of the virus.
The US president Donald Trump’s 14-year-old son Barron tested positive for Covid-19 but exhibited no symptoms, after both of his parents contracted the virus, first lady Melania Trump said on Wednesday.
“Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms,” the first lady said in a statement. She said Barron has since tested negative for the virus.
UK government ministers want to place universities in England into lockdown for two weeks before Christmas, with students told to remain on campus and all teaching carried out online, the Guardian has learned.
Under the plan, which is in its early stages, universities would go into lockdown from 8 December until 22 December, when all students would be allowed to return to their home towns.
The move is designed to deliver on Boris Johnson’s pledge to “get students home safely for Christmas” but prevent the spread of the virus by limiting mixing between the student body and wider community in the weeks before more than a million students travel home.
Infection rates in some university cities are significantly higher among students than in the general population. Under the plan, students with Covid-19 or its symptoms, and those who have been in contact with them, would have to remain in their accommodation for as long as their quarantine period demands.
Michelle Donelan, the universities minister for England, is to hold talks with representatives of Universities UK and other higher education leaders on Thursday in an effort to persuade them to back the plan.
Richard Adams and Sally Weale have the story:
Residents of major French cities including the Paris region are to be confined to their homes between 9pm and 6am, Emmanuel Macron has said, as governments across Europe battle to contain record numbers of Covid-19 infections.
The French president used a prime-time TV interview on Wednesday to announce the curfew, which will be in place for four weeks from midnight on Saturday and will affect nine cities including Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse and Lille.
Macron said:
The situation is worrying but not out of control. We are in a second wave that is happening all across Europe.
France’s health ministry on Wednesday announced 22,950 new coronavirus cases and said 32% of the country’s intensive care beds were occupied by patients with Covid-19. The government restored a national state of health emergency minutes before the president spoke.
Macron said the objective was to reduce the number of new infections per day to between 3,000 and 5,000, and he warned that the country would have to live with the virus until at least next summer.
He said:
We have to act. We need to put a brake on the spread of the virus. We have to reduce the number of social contacts … of festive contacts, that are taking place. It will demand a big effort from everyone – but it is necessary.
A full nationwide lockdown would be “disproportionate”, Macron said, and state aid would again be available to employers in sectors that would be most affected, such as hospitality and entertainment.
“People will have to forget about night-time visits to restaurants or to friends’ houses,” he said. Essential trips during curfew would still be allowed, but people breaking the new rules would face a fine of €135 (£120).
Catch up on the latest from Europe in tonight’s roundup here:
Here is some more detail on the tougher restrictions being introduced in France from Saturday.
"You can still travel round France. You can still go to a holiday home, or meet with family members, but even within your family, you have to wear a mask if you haven't been tested...this is not a disproporionate reaction"
— Adam Parsons (@adamparsons) October 14, 2020
Macron said there should be no more than six people around the table for family gatherings, to try to curb the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic. Exceptions could be made for people with more than six people in their immediate family.
Anyone violating a curfew to be imposed in major cities would be fined 135 euros, Macron said.
While the curfew lasts, people would have to forget about night-time visits to restaurants or to friends’ houses, the president added. Essential trips during curfew would still be allowed.
As we reported a few minutes ago, he said there would be no restrictions on public transport, and people would still be able to travel between French regions without restrictions.
As Macron is announcing new restrictions to contain the spread of the virus, including curfews imposed on Covid-19 hotspots, France has reported another 22,591 new confirmed coronavirus cases, the daily tally exceeding 20,000 for the third time in six days.
The cumulative number of confirmed cases rose to 779,063 and the seven-day moving average of new cases per day increased more than a record 17,000 figure for the third day running.
Hospitalisations and deaths linked to the disease also keep rising. The death toll rose by 104 in the last 24 hours, bringing the tally to 33,037, making France the ninth country in the world to have recorded more than 33,000 Covid-related fatalities.
Macron said that anyone out during curfew would need to have a good reason, and this meant no more going to restaurants or visiting friends after 9pm.
Anyone breaking curfew rules would be fined, the president said.
He added that there would be no restrictions on public transport and no travel restrictions between regions of France.
Announcing the measures, Macron said France’s intensive care units were under a level of pressure that cannot be sustained and the spread of the virus had to be slowed.
He said the goal was to slow the spread and protect others, adding:
We need to get from 20,000 cases per day to 2 or 3,000.
Macron announces curfew for Paris and eight other cities
The French president Emmanuel Macron has announced a curfew during which everyone must be at home between 9pm and 6am for the Paris region, as well as the cities of Rouen, Lille, St Etienne, Lyon, Grenoble, Montpellier, Marseille and Toulouse. The curfew will begin on Saturday and will last for four weeks, he said.
Addressing the nation to announce the new restrictions, Macron said the pandemic was “worrying” but that “we have not lost control of the situation”. Though the virus was spreading throughout France, a second national lockdown would be disproportionate, he said.
Updated
In a statement announcing the state of emergency, giving officials greater powers to impose new measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, the French government said:
The Covid-19 epidemic constitutes a public health disaster which, by its character and its severity, puts at risk the health of the population. It justifies the declaration of a state of emergency so that measures can be adopted ... which are strictly proportionate to the public health risks.
The statement did not say what action the government would take, but the adoption of a state of emergency gives the authorities statutory powers to impose tough measures.
The president Emmanuel Macron is expected to detail the measures being planned when he gives an interview on national television at around 8pm.
French media reported that night restrictions between 9pm and 6am was one of the measures Macron would unveil.
The French government previously declared a public health state of emergency in March, when hospitalisations caused by the epidemic were near their peak. At the time, the authorities used their extra powers to order people to stay at home except for essential work, buying food or taking one hour of daily exercise.
The state of emergency was lifted in mainland France in July, after the number of Covid-19 cases subsided. But since then, the virus has surged back, with the prime minister Jean Castex saying France was in the midst of the second wave of the virus.
French health authorities reported on Wednesday that the number of people being treated in hospital for Covid-19 went above the 9,100 threshold for the first time since 25 June, continuing an upward trend that experts fear might overwhelm the hospital system.
Ahead of the French president Emmanuel Macron’s address to the nation, due to begins shortly, this is from Sky’s Adam Parsons
France has declared a public health state of emergency, which will come into effect on Saturday. More details to come when Macron speaks
— Adam Parsons (@adamparsons) October 14, 2020
It allows the government to take restrictive measures, such as curfew or lockdown. The previous state of emergency ended on July 10th
— Adam Parsons (@adamparsons) October 14, 2020
More from AFP on the French government re-imposing a state of public health emergency to contain the spread of Covid-19.
The move, announced shortly before the president Emmanuel Macron is to appear on national television to announce fresh coronavirus measures, will allow “measures proportional to the health risks to be taken”, and will enter into force on Saturday, according to minutes from a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
France was facing “a health catastrophe”, the minutes said.
The state of health emergency is a legal framework allowing the government to take strict measures to fight the pandemic - such as the nationwide lockdown during the spring - and needed to be renewed after it expired in July.
France declares public health state of emergency
A public health state of emergency has been declared in France, giving officials greater powers to impose new measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, according to Reuters.
Announcing the decision in a statement, the government said the epidemic was a public health disaster which endangered the health of the population and justified the adoption of strict measures.
The government’s statement did not say what action it would take, but the adoption of the state of emergency gives the authorities statutory power to impose tough measures.
Emmanuel Macron, the president, is expected to detail the measures being planned when he gives an interview on national television at around 8pm on Wednesday.
French media reported that a nightly curfew between 9:00 pm and 6:00 am was one of the measures Macron would unveil.
Malta reported 111 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, the country’s highest daily figure yet.
That may not seem much but, according to a reader who asked for her name to remain withheld, if the population of Malta were the same as the UK, it would be equivalent to something in the region of 14,000 new cases.
Also on Wednesday, a 59-year-old man became Malta’s 45th coronavirus victim.
Malta has registered 4,048 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic in March, including 44 deaths.
Ireland has reported 1,095 new confirmed cases of coronavirus - the highest daily number in the country since 10 April - and five new deaths.
As of midnight Tuesday 13th October @hpscireland has been notified of 1,095 confirmed cases of #COVID19.
— Department of Health (@roinnslainte) October 14, 2020
There is now a total of 45,243 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.
Further information: https://t.co/lx1E5hp4bL
The president of the Philippines has said he wants to the country’s entire population of about 113 million people to be vaccinated against coronavirus, but that priority would be given to the poor, the police, and the military.
“All should have the vaccine without exception,” Rodrigo Duterte said in a late-night televised address.
Duterte repeated that he prefers COVID-19 vaccine supplies to come from either Russia or China. Both have submitted applications to conduct clinical trials for their inoculations in the Philippines.
“For me, either China or Russia, I am OK,” Duterte said.
Apart from China’s Sinovac Biotech and Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute, the Philippines is also evaluating Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen unit’s application to conduct Phase 3 trials of its Covid-19 vaccine.
It has had talks with other potential vaccine suppliers, including US drugmaker Pfizer and Moderna.
The Philippines recorded 1,910 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, and 78 more fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 346,536 cases, the highest in Southeast Asia, and 6,449 deaths.
The number of children in Spain being treated for poisoning after ingesting hand-sanitising gels has surged since the coronavirus pandemic has made the product a ubiquitous part of everday life, the country’s toxicology institute has said.
According to Reuters, the Spanish national toxicological and forensic institute said on Wednesday the total reported intoxications from those gels so far this year, at 874, was almost 10 times the number reported in all of 2019.
Children, especially toddlers, accounted for almost two-thirds of the cases. Most of them had swallowed the gel, while a much smaller proportion got it in their eyes, or had been intoxicated after inhaling the product.
“Most common symptoms were digestive tract irritation, vomiting, diarrhoea, coughing, red eyes, tears or blurring vision,” the institute said in a report.
About 80% of the cases had symptoms that “reversed in a short time”.
The four or five cases of serious gel poisoning in the country involved only adults, according to a spokeswoman for the Justice Ministry, which oversees the institute. No fatalities were reported, she said.
In Spain, sanitising-gel dispensers are now available at all train stations, stores, schools and public bathrooms, where they are free of charge, as well as in private homes and cars.
Italy reports new record in daily infections
Italy’s coronavirus infections reached 7,332 on Wednesday – the highest daily increase recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, writes Angela Giuffrida, the Guardian’s Rome correspondent.
There were 43 more fatalities, bringing the death toll to 36,289.
The biggest increase was in Lombardy, where there were 1,844 new cases, followed by Campania in the south, Veneto and Lazio.
The number of people hospitalised for Covid-19 also increased by over 400 to 5,470 within the last 24 hours, with 539 people in intensive care.
A doctors’ union has warned that if Italy’s daily infections reach the same level as in France then hospitals would hold up for no more than two months.
Walter Ricciardi, the scientist advising the health ministry on the pandemic, said on Wednesday that new cases in Italy could eclipse 16,000 a day by the beginning of November if not sooner.
The government has ruled out a new national lockdown, saying they would instead target specific areas. However, Andrea Crisanti, a top scientist, said a Christmas lockdown “could be the order of things”.
“You could reset the system, lower the transmission of the virus and increase contact tracing. As we are, the system is saturated,” he added.
Cases have leapt since economic activity resumed after the summer holidays, with many experts criticising packed public transport.
Earlier on the blog we posted an AFP report about a study that had found coronavirus lockdowns earlier this year had caused a bigger drop in carbon dioxide emissions than even the second world war.
Now AFP have tweeted a graphic to go along with that story.
Pressure drop: how pandemic lockdowns have caused an unprecedented drop in carbon dioxide emissions@AFP pic.twitter.com/iosCxhjhOA
— AFPgraphics (@AFPgraphics) October 14, 2020
Romania has joined the slew of European countries reporting record numbers of new confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 4,016 added to its tally on Wednesday.
The country of 19 million people has a total of 164,477 confirmed cases and 5,601 deaths. More than two-thirds of the confirmed cases were reported since the end of July, according to the Associated Press.
The US-based news agency reports:
The surge in new infections comes as authorities in Bucharest are considering a partial reopening of cinemas, theaters and restaurants following the recommendations of the National Center for Supervision and Control of Infectious Diseases (CNSU).
Romanian authorities ordered the shutdown of all indoor restaurants, theaters, movie cinemas, gambling and dance venues in the capital in early October. If the recommendations are approved, cinemas, theaters and restaurants will re-open on Thursday with reduced capacity, depending on the number of registered cases in their areas.
City officials have banned larger gatherings such as weddings and baptisms and may impose mandatory mask wearing outdoors.
Updated
As much of Europe sinks back into coronavirus lockdown restrictions, with soaring case numbers suggesting it is in the grip of a second wave, and no vaccine yet in sight, in Russia scientists have registered their second coronavirus vaccine and, they reckon, they are on their way to a third.
Vladimir Putin, the president, announced the registration at a meeting with cabinet members on Wednesday. Russia’s state owned news agency, Tass, quoted Putin as saying:
I would like to begin with pleasant news that the Novosibirsk-based Vector center has registered a second Russian coronavirus vaccine EpiVacCorona.
As far as I know, we have a third candidate vaccine from the Chumakov center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Clinical trials of the latest vaccine, developed by the Vector State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (quite a name), began on volunteers in July, and it was officially licensed on 30 September.
According to Tass, the vaccine contains synthetic peptide antigens that are fragments extracted from the virus. Those are said to provoke an immune reaction against coronavirus, helping to develop immunity.
Russia registered its first coronavirus vaccine, the Sputnik V jab, on 11 August. It was largely greeted with scepticism in the west, but is being trialled in some other countries.
Clinical trials on a third vaccine, developmed by the Chumakov Federal Scientific Center for Research and Development of Immune and Biological Products, at the Russian Academy of Sciences, will begin in in Kirov and St Petersburg on 19 October.
People in France are preparing for new coronavirus restrictions, ahead of a nationally televised interview by the president, Emmanuel Macron, in which he is expected to speak about the virus.
French media reports say Macron will step up efforts on social media to press the need for virus protections among young people, according to the Associated Press.
France’s government has already put Paris, seven other cities and the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe under maximum virus alert, closing bars, banning student parties and capping the size of gatherings.
Covid-19 patients occupy a third of intensive care units nationwide. France reported about 180 positive cases per 100,000 people during the last week and higher concentrations in some cities.
France has 798,000 confirmed cases and nearly 33,000 deaths.
New restrictions for Portugal amid new record rise in cases
Tough measures are to be introduced in Portugal from Thursday and plans are afoot to make mask wearing and use of a contact tracing app compulsory for some people, as the country a new record in cases.
On Wednesday afternoon, Portugal’s health authorities reported 2,027 new cases of coronavirus infection, shattering a previous record of 1,646 recorded last Saturday. Seven new coronavirus-related deaths were reported.
The latest figures came hours after the prime minister, Antonio Costa, announced strict new limits on gatherings and heavier penalties for rule-breaking businesses, according to Reuters.
From Thursday, gatherings will be limited to five people. Weddings and baptisms can be attended by a maximum of 50, but university parties will be banned. Fines for businesses which do not comply with the rules will be doubled from an upper limit of 5,000 to 10,000 euros.
Costa will also submit a proposal to parliament to make face masks compulsory in crowded outdoor spaces, and use of the government’s tracing app StayAway Covid compulsory for some workforces.
BREAKING: #Portugal 🇵🇹orders new restrictions as #coronavirus cases rise:
— Mia Alberti (@mialberti) October 14, 2020
⚠️Mandatory use of masks in public⚠️
🔴Public gatherings limited to 5 ppl
🔴Family gatherings (weddings) limited to 50 ppl
🔴Fines up to 10,000€ for businesses not following rules pic.twitter.com/8sa9WWZS9F
Portuguese PM @antoniocostapm:
— Mia Alberti (@mialberti) October 14, 2020
"We know there's fatigue regarding the limitations imposed in our lives. Let's beat that fatigue to win this marathon. The regulation of our own conscience is needed to prevent and control the evolution of this pandemic." https://t.co/uTn89D4CAE
Portugal, a nation of just over 10 million people, initially won praise for its quick response to the pandemic, recording a comparatively low 90,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 2,110 deaths.
But the country reported over 1,000 new cases in a single day for the first time since April last week and hit a record high of 1,646 cases on Saturday, in line with the rise in cases across Europe after a summer lull.
The pandemic is set to leave lasting scars on the Portuguese economy, with the government predicting gross domestic product to contract 8.5% this year.
YouTube to censor anti-coronavirus vaccine content
YouTube has announced it is to remove videos making claims about Covid-19 vaccines that “contradict expert consensus from local health authorities or the World Health Organization.”
The video sharing site, which is owned by Alphabet, the US tech conglomerate that also owns the Google search engine, said on Wednesday it was expanding its “Covid-19 medical misinformation policy.”
In a statement, YouTube said:
A Covid-19 vaccine may be imminent, therefore we’re ensuring we have the right policies in place to be able to remove misinformation related to a Covid-19 vaccine from the platform.
The expanded Covid-19 Medical Misinformation policy will include specific information stating that any content that includes claims about Covid-19 vaccinations that contradict expert consensus from local health authorities or the World Health Organization (WHO) will be removed from YouTube.
The kinds of claims it would be censoring included suggestions that “the vaccine will kill people or cause infertility,” or that “microchips will be implanted in people who receive the vaccine.”
In its statement, YouTube said it had already removed more than 200,000 videos “related to dangerous or misleading Covid-19 information” since early February, including content that “disputes the existence or transmission of Covid-19”, discourages people from seeking medical help or promotes “medically unsubstantiated methods”, or that “explicitly disputes the efficacy of WHO / local health authority recommended guidance on social distancing and self isolation.”
Updated
Following our post earlier about the Pope’s promise to try harder to maintain social distancing at his engagements, here is video of Francis keeping his distance ...
Pope Francis stayed a safe distance from well-wishers at his weekly general audience after concerns that he was getting too close to large crowds https://t.co/2yv2d1TULT pic.twitter.com/KNtCwk3CvV
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 14, 2020
Health authorities in Poland have said they have enough hospital beds and respirators for now to tackle the pandemic, after doctors in the country earlier warned that the health care system was becoming overloaded.
The country of 38 million has recorded 141,804 confirmed coronavirus cases so far and 3,217 deaths, after record 6,526 new coronavirus infections and 116 deaths today. The opposition and doctors have accused the government of not preparing the health system for a second wave and the spike in Covid-19 patients.
But Wojciech Andrusiewicz, a spokesman for the health ministry, insisted: “There is no risk of shortages.”
As of Wednesday, Covid-19 patients occupied 6,084 hospital beds and were using 467 ventilators out of around a 1,000 available overall, compared with 5,669 and 421 respectively a day earlier, Reuters reported.
Berlin has eschewed polite public messaging on the coronavirus in favour of a more direct reminder of the rules by flipping the bird to people who won’t wear a mask, writes Philip Oltermann, the Guardian’s Berlin bureau chief
An ad placed in local papers by the German capital’s senate as part of a public information campaign shows an elderly woman presenting her outstretched middle finger to the camera, next to the words: “A finger-wag for all those without a mask: we stick to corona rules.”
Coronavirus is taking a heavy toll on international football in Africa, according to this Reuters video report.
Senegal canceled a friendly match against neighbors Mauritania, hours before kick-off, after eight members in the visitor's camp were found to be COVID-19 positive pic.twitter.com/sVr1t18DYv
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 14, 2020
Moscow is to draft university students into primary schools to replace older and vulnerable teachers, as Russia reports record numbers of coronavirus infections but resists a fresh lockdown, reports Theo Merz for the Guardian from the Russian capital.
Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of the Russian capital, announced on Wednesday that high schools would remain closed next week after an extended autumn holiday, with about half a million students moved to distance learning.
But primary schools will reopen, with trainee teachers and recent graduates brought in to run some classes under the “remote supervision” of experienced staff. This would protect older teachers and those suffering from chronic diseases, Sobyanin said.
The announcement follows moves by health services in Russia and elsewhere to enlist medical students in the fight against Covid-19.
Sobyanin said the decision was “not easy, but necessary” as Moscow continues to register about 5,000 new Covid cases a day. He said the city had decided to keep primary schools open because younger pupils were less at risk and it was harder for working parents to leave them by themselves.
Russia has reported record numbers of daily infections for much of the past week, and on Wednesday they exceeded 14,000 for the first time. The previous day Russia recorded its highest number of daily fatalities since the start of the pandemic, with 244 deaths.
Parts of west Africa are on the brink of a “hunger crisis” as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Save the Children has warned.
The number of children in Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Chad needing urgent humanitarian support to eat and stay in school has risen by 60% since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, it said.
Based on the results of a “household economic analysis”, conducted in all four countries between May and July, the NGO estimated that 4.8 million children under 15 need help, compared to about 3 million before the outbreak.
Mauritania has had a 460% increase in need for food aid, Niger has seen a 201% increase and Chad has seen a 155% increase, Save the Children said.
Mateo Caprotti, west and central Africa programme director for Save the Children, said:
Nearly 5 million children under 14 may not have enough food to meet their daily nutritional needs while their families struggle to make ends meet because of the pandemic.
Often in these situations children’s education becomes a casualty. Millions of families across west Africa are being forced to make difficult decisions about buying food or paying for healthcare or education, as they can no longer afford them all. Covid-19 is squeezing an already vulnerable population. It’s vital we don’t forget them.
The region is now on the brink of a hunger crisis. Without life-saving treatment, many thousands could die from completely preventable and treatable causes.
Like in any emergency, children continue to bear the brunt, with millions now struggling to access nutritious food, safe drinking water, healthcare, education and other social services that have been seriously disrupted.
Updated
The Catalan government has announced that all bars and restaurants in the region will be limited to a takeaway and delivery service for two weeks from Thursday night following a surge in cases, writes Sam Jones, the Guardian’s Madrid correspondent.
Shops and markets will operate at 30% capacity, gyms, cinemas and theatres at 50%, and children’s play areas will close at 8pm.
The strict measure comes after the weekly total cases in Catalonia rose from 7,000 to 11,000 over the course of a few days.
“This is a painful measure and we know that,” said the acting regional president, Pere Aragonès. “But it’s a necessary measure and we need to act now.” The alternative, added Aragonès, would be even stricter measures.
“We need to act with absolute commitment,” he said. “We need a huge collective effort built on individual efforts to change or day-to-day habits so that we can once again reopen these social spaces.”
Intensive care units in Belgium will hit capacity by mid-November if new coronavirus cases continue to increase at the current rate, health authorities have warned, as the country registered 7,360 new cases.
Yves Van Laethem, spokesman for Belgium’s Covid-19 crisis centre, said:
We will reach our maximum capacity of 2,000 beds by mid-November in ICUs if this kind of increase continues. We absolutely need to avoid this scenario.
Van Laethem said 152 new patients were admitted every day in Belgian hospitals over the past week, up 80%. The number of daily deaths rose 56% in that period.
It demonstrates the power of this exponential growth. It starts slowly, grows little by little, then finishes with an explosive situation.
On average, more than 5,000 new daily cases have been diagnosed last week, an increase of 93% compared to the previous seven-day period. The number of new infections is now doubling every seven days, Van Laethem said, according to the Associated Press.
But it’s not time for panicking, we are not in the same situation as we were in March-April. Stricter measures can help us modify the curve.
So far, Belgium has reported 173,240 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and 10,244 coronavirus-related deaths.
The government last week introduced a series of new restrictions including local curfews, closing bars in Brussels for at least a month and limiting indoor sports activities. Health authorities have urged residents to limit social encounters and to use a tracing app.
Updated
Switzerland hits new record in daily infections
Switzerland has recorded its highest single day increase in coronavirus infections, with 2,823 new cases recorded on Wednesday - nearly double the figure for the day before.
The figure is the latest peak in a new wave of cases to hit the Alpine nation, and comes a day ahead of an emergency coronavirus “crisis summit” called to determine how a second lockdown can be avoided.
So far, there have been a total of 68,704 laboratory-confirmed cases of coronavirus in Switzerland; 5,167 people have been treated in hospital for Covid-19; and 1,816 have died coronavirus-related deaths, according to public health authorities.
Hi this is Damien Gayle back on the blog after a quick break, with thanks to Jessica Murray for keeping things ticking over while I was away. Remember you can contact me with any news from your part of the world, via email to damien.gayle@theguardian.com; or via Twitter DM to @damiengayle.
Iran reports highest daily toll since February
Iran’s has reported 279 coronavirus deaths in the previous 24 hours, the highest daily tally recorded since February, bringing total fatalities to 29,349.
Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV that 4,830 new cases, also a record high, were identified in the past 24 hours, pushing the total number of cases to 513,219.
Iran’s health minister Saeed Namaki told state TV that three days of travel restriction would be imposed from Thursday in five cities, including in Tehran, where the spread of the disease were at its highest level.
Namaki warned of “very difficult months” ahead in the country.
To fight rising infections, the government on Saturday made face mask-wearing in public places in Tehran mandatory, warning that violators will be fined. Authorities plan to impose the same restrictions in other large cities.
Angela Merkel is hosting the premiers of Germany’s 16 federal states in Berlin this afternoon, in a meeting that her chief of staff said could have a “historical dimension” in view of spiralling infection rates.
Germany’s disease control agency on Wednesday recorded 5,132 confirmed infections in the last 24 hours, a level not seen since 11 April.
Merkel and regional leaders are at odds over a new rule that bans states from hosting visitors from hotspots unless they can show a recent negative test – some states, including populous North-Rhine Westphalia, have already said they won’t comply.
According to German media reports on Wednesday morning, the chancellor is also keen for the states to agree a newly lowered threshold for infections that would trigger curfews and mandatory mask-wearing in public spaces.
Crowd-loving Pope Francis has promised to do better at keeping his distance from the faithful, after his relaxed attitude to virus restrictions raised eyebrows in recent days.
“Forgive me if I greet you from a distance,” Francis said at the end of his weekly general audience, held in a large Vatican hall.
I would like, as I usually do, to come close to you and greet you, but... it is better to keep your distance.
“ believe that if all of us, as good citizens, respect the prescriptions of the authorities, it will help to put an end to this pandemic.
The Argentine, who has rarely been seen wearing a mask since the virus first took hold in Italy in February, had been snapped by photographers several times in recent weeks joking with prelates who were also without masks.
The 83-year old, who had part of one lung removed in his youth, was also seen kissing the hands of newly ordained priests.
Francis said that as soon as he got near the faithful “everyone approaches and piles up”.
“The problem is that there is a danger of contagion. So, if everyone wears a mask and keeps their distance, we can continue with the audiences”, he said.
Four Swiss guards tested positive over the weekend, the Vatican said, without specifying whether they had been in contact with the pontiff.
Three other positive cases have been detected in recent weeks among Vatican residents and nationals.
Croatia reported 748 new Covid-19 infections on Wednesday, a daily record, with the capital Zagreb also registering a record of 211 new cases.
The previous record of 542 new cases was reported a week ago.
Since the pandemic began Croatia, a country of around 4 million people, has had 21,741 cases with 334 deaths.
Currently there are 3,210 active cases, or around 1,000 more than a week ago.
From this week, Croatia tightened measures in the fight against the spread of Covid-19.
Wearing face masks is obligatory indoors in public places, bars and restaurants must close at midnight with restrictions on the number of customers permitted, and organisers of public gatherings of more than 50 people must seek approval at least five days in advance.
Croatia’s smaller northwestern neighbour Slovenia, with around 2 million people, also reported a record-high number of new infections on Wednesday, reaching 707 daily cases.
Russia reports record daily cases for second day in a row
Russia saw a record daily increase in coronavirus cases on Wednesday for the second day in a row as Moscow introduced online learning for many students in a bid to contain the rapidly spreading virus.
Although the number of new infections has been steadily rising in recent days, the authorities have said they see no need to impose any lockdowns or restrictions on economic activity.
Russia’s coronavirus taskforce said it had recorded 14,231 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the most of any day since the pandemic began.
In the same period 239 people died, it said, bringing the death toll to 23,205. On Tuesday, it reported 13,868 new cases and 244 new deaths.
Home to nearly 13 million people, Moscow has been the area of the country hardest-hit by the pandemic, reporting more than 4,500 new infections on Wednesday.
Sergei Sobyanin, the city’s mayor, said students from the sixth to the 11th grade would be taking online classes for a two-week period starting on Monday, while younger students would continue attending school as usual.
Updated
More from Japan, where a supercomputer has shown that humidity can have a significant effect on the dispersion of virus particles. The finding points to an increased risk of coronavirus contagion in dry, indoor conditions - a major problem for the northern hemisphere as we move into winter.
There is a solution, Reuters reports (but it’s going to cost you):
The finding suggests that the use of humidifiers may help limit infections during times when window ventilation is not possible, according to a study released on Tuesday by research giant Riken and Kobe University.
The researchers used the Fugaku supercomputer to model the emission and flow of virus-like particles from infected people in a variety of indoor environments.
Air humidity of lower than 30% resulted in more than double the amount of aerosolised particles compared to levels of 60% or higher, the simulations showed.
The Riken research team led by Makoto Tsubokura has previously used the Fugaku supercomputer to model contagion conditions in trains, work spaces, and class rooms.
Notably, the simulations showed that opening windows on commuter trains can increase the ventilation by two to three times, lowering the concentration of ambient microbes.
“People’s blind fear or unfounded confidence against the infection of COVID-19 is simply because it is invisible,” Tsubokura said.
Tokyo will host an international gymnastics meet next month that could offer clues as to how the city plans to address the coronavirus pandemic at next summer’s Olympics, writes Justin McCurry, in the Japanese capital.
Athletes traveling from overseas for the 8 November event will not be required to quarantine for 14 days, according to the Japan Gymnastics Association, but will have to be tested for Covid-19 less than 72 hours before they leave their respective countries and undergo daily testing while in Japan.
Japan currently requires people arriving from overseas to self-quarantine for two weeks in an attempt to prevent a major outbreak of the virus, which has infected more than 90,000 people in the country and killed 1,651.
In addition, the gymnasts will only be permitted to travel between their hotels, training facilities and the competition’s venue Yoyogi National Gymnasium, the association said.
The event will feature 32 athletes from Japan, Russia, China and the US who will compete in front of a maximum of 2,000 spectators inside the 13,000-seat venue in central Tokyo.
“Someone has to take up the running. I hope [the competition] will be of help in hosting the Tokyo Games,” the International Gymnastics Federation president, Morinari Watanabe, told reporters this week.
Japan’s government and Tokyo 2020 organisers are eager to prove that the country will be able to ensure the safety of more than 15,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes when the Games open on 23 July.
The Olympics were originally scheduled to take place this summer but were postponed by a year in March as the virus spread rapidly across the globe.
Japanese organisers are reportedly sifting through a number of proposals for a Covid-secure Olympics, with border controls and athletes’ movements among the biggest challenges.
Organisers must also decide how to accommodate thousands of team and event officials, journalists and sponsors, and whether to relax travel restrictions on spectators arriving from overseas or ban non-Japanese sports fans altogether.
Italy doctors union issues hospital capacity warning
If the daily rate of coronavirus cases in Italy reaches the same level as France then hospitals would be able to cope for just two months, a doctors’ union chief said, writes Angela Giuffrida, the Guardian’s Rome correspondent.
The warning from Carlo Palermo, head of the Anaao-Assomed union, came after admission to intensive care jumped by 13.7% within 24 hours. Italy registered 5,901 new infections on Tuesday. Hospitalisations have steadily risen in recent weeks to 5,076, of which 514 people are in intensive care.
Palermo said:
Italy’s hospitals can cope for at least five months and, at the moment, the situation is manageable.
But if we were to witness an exponential rise in cases, as is happening in other countries like France, the hospital system would not hold up for more than two months.
Walter Ricciardi, the scientist advising the health ministry on the pandemic, also warned on Wednesday that new cases in Italy could eclipse 16,000 a day by the beginning of November. He said:
In reality, the rhythm in the growth [of new cases] is so strong we could reach that figure even sooner.
Italy last week made it obligatory for face masks to be worn outside and advised them to be worn inside homes when families are grouped together or when there are guests. The government has also strongly recommended that people host no more than six guests in their homes for gatherings. Restaurants and bars must now close at midnight. The government said lockdowns would be targeted but has so far ruled out a new national lockdown.
The World Bank has said it hopes to support the vaccination of up to 1 billion people with $12bn of financing for developing countries to finance the purchase and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments.
The organisation, which lends money to low- and middle-income countries, said the “envelope” is part of an overall package of up to $160bn through June 2021 to help developing countries fight the pandemic.
The World Bank Group president, David Malpass, said:
We are extending and expanding our fast-track approach to address the COVID emergency so that developing countries have fair and equal access to vaccines.
Access to safe and effective vaccines and strengthened delivery systems is key to alter the course of the pandemic and help countries experiencing catastrophic economic and fiscal impacts move toward a resilient recovery.
Around the world, researchers are working on developing more than 170 potential Covid-19 vaccines. The Associated Press reports that the richest countries have already locked up most of the world’s potential vaccine supply until the end of 2021, while the so-called Covax project, which aimed to deliver vaccines to poorer people, is facing shortages of money, cargo planes, refrigeration and vaccines themselves.
The World Bank added in a statement about the new financing:
In addition to purchasing Covid-19 vaccines, the WBG financing will also support countries to access to Covid-19 tests and treatments, and expand immunization capacity to help health systems deploy the vaccines effectively. This includes supply chain and logistics management for vaccine storage handling, trained vaccinators, and large-scale communication and outreach campaigns to reach communities and households.
The regional government of Madrid has denied suggestions that it has been manipulating information in an attempt to make the epidemiological situation in and around the capital look better than it really is, writes Sam Jones, the Guardian’s correspondent in the Spanish capital.
Doubts have been raised over the lag in reporting cases in the region, parts of which have been placed under a partial lockdown by the Socialist-led central government.
On Tuesday night the national health minister, Salvador Illa, referred to the delay in obtaining final case numbers from the Madrid regional government, and also pointed out the number of PCR tests being carried out in the region had dropped by 40% over the past few weeks.
“I’m very worried by the drop in PCRs,” he said. “I know they’re doing antigen tests, but it worries me.”
The conservative regional government, which has accused the central government of overstepping its powers by ordering the limited confinement, hit back on Wednesday morning.
The regional justice minister, Enrique López, described the claims as slanderous in a television interview.
“It’s a lie that we’re changing data to bring down the [infection] curve,” he told TVE.
He repeated the regional government’s assertion that the lockdown was politically motivated, adding: “The people of Madrid won’t forget this confinement because it’s political.”
The regional government said the same number of tests was being done, but that the decision had been made to switch to antigen tests because they were better, cheaper and quicker.
Updated
Greenhouse gases fell more in the first half of 2020 than during the 2008 financial crisis and even than during the second world war, according to a study.
As governments ordered strict movement restrictions and curfews in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus, emissions from transport, power and aviation plummeted, researchers found.
The French state-backed news agency AFP has the story:
Using data including hourly electricity production, vehicle traffic from more than 400 cities worldwide, daily passenger flights and monthly production and consumption figures, they determined that the emissions drop was the largest in modern history.
They suggested some fundamental steps that could be taken to “stabilise the global climate” as countries look to recover from the economic shock of the pandemic.
They noted, however, that emissions had rebounded to their usual levels by July 2020, when most nations had eased lockdown measures.
Zhu Liu from the Department of Earth System Science at Tsinghua University in Beijing said the study was the most accurate yet undertaken on the pandemic’s effect on emissions.
“We were able to get a much faster and more accurate overview, including timelines that show how emissions decreases have corresponded to lockdown measures in each country,” said Zhu, lead author of the study published in Nature Communications.
Updated
Hello, this is Damien Gayle taking the reins on this liveblog now. As ever, I’ll be bringing you the latest updates and developments in coronavirus-related news from around the world.
If you have any tips or suggestions for things I could be covering on here, please do drop me a line, either via email to damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or via Twitter DM to @damiengayle.
Warning Polish healthcare system becoming overloaded
Poland has reported a record 6,526 new coronavirus infections and 116 deaths today, with doctors warning the healthcare system is becoming overloaded.
The country of 38 million has now recorded 141,804 confirmed coronavirus cases and 3,217 deaths.
Reuters reports:
Poland’s ruling nationalists have prided themselves on acting swiftly and containing the pandemic in the spring, when the government launched strict curbs on social life, closing schools and shopping malls among other measures.
But the opposition and doctors have accused the cabinet of not preparing the health system for a second wave and the spike in Covid-19 patients. Immunologist Pawel Grzesiowski told private radio RMF the country was “on the brink of disaster”. He said Poland should be doing more testing, closing schools and supporting doctors in their fight against the pandemic. Instead, he said, it was trying to blame doctors for the difficult situation.
The government spokesman said the situation for hospital patient care was under control.
On Tuesday the government said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had tested negative for Covid-19 and would continue to quarantine after coming into contact with a person who tested positive.
Broadcaster Polsat News said on Wednesday Zygmunt Solorz, one of the country’s richest men and owner of the television station, had tested positive for Covid-19.
Earlier this week, the chief executive of state investment fund PFR said he was ill with the virus and other officials and business leaders have said they have tested positive.
Updated
The Czech Republic has imposed a three-week partial lockdown shutting schools, restaurants, bars and clubs. Public consumption of alcohol is also banned.
The country has the highest new infection rate per 100,000 people in Europe.
Read Robert Tait’s full report from the Czech Republic here:
Germany records more than 5,000 daily cases for first time since April
Germany has recorded more than 5,000 new daily coronavirus infections for the first time since April, according to the Robert Koch Institute.
5,132 infections and 43 deaths were reported on Tuesday.
A number of German states have agreed that residents of high-risk areas should not be allowed to stay in hotels in other parts of the country. German chancellor Angela Merkel said she was “watching with great concern” the situation in Europe where transmission figures continue to rise. Merkel said:
I must say the situation continues to be serious.
Updated
My thanks to a reader in Singapore, who alerted me to some positive news in the country.
Singapore reported four imported cases but zero local cases yesterday, for the first time in nearly six months.
Today five new cases have been reported, two local and three imported. The full story can be found here at Channel News Asia.
Our academic reader reminds us that community transmission in Singapore has already been minimal for several months, with most cases appearing in a handful of isolated dormitory clusters which house migrant workers and saw the worst of the outbreak.
The country has had more than 57,000 cases but has recorded 28 deaths. “This is likely due to various factors, but also at least in part due to Singapore’s excellent healthcare,” writes our reader, who prefers to remain anonymous.
This piece (from July) from ABC in Australia looks at how they did it: implemented a “circuit breaker” short lockdown, then when the lockdown was eased other measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing were strictly enforced.
In migrant dorms were cases rose sharply they were isolated, older vulnerable workers were taken to separate isolation centres. Wages were paid and workers were given food, wages, health care and internet access.
Testing was ramped up and health workers who spoke the native languages of the workers were also deployed to the dorms.
After getting the “second wave” under control the government deployed teams of experts to anticipate where potential ‘weak spots’ could lead to a ‘leakage’ of the virus.
Last month, Singapore distributed tens of thousands of wearable track and trace devices (designed for people without smart phones) that can track who a person has interacted with, the BBC reported.
In May, the Government Technology Agency (GovTech), made the use of its SafeEntry system mandatory this includes all workplaces, shopping malls, hotels, schools and educational institutes, healthcare facilities, supermarkets, and hairdressers and taxis. he digital check-in system will also be extended to include taxis.
Updated
A micro-piece of good news (we’ll take what we can get) from Italy, where Corriere della Sera reports that Stefano Lancilli, a 55-year-old policeman hospitalised at the height of the Lombardy outbreak in northern Italy, has finally left hospital. He tested positive for Covid-19 seven months ago in Codogno. He told the newspaper: “it’s a very tough virus.”
Updated
Israel delays decision to reopen after second lockdown
Israel has extended its second lockdown until midnight on Sunday, delaying the decision to reopen the country as infection rates continue to remain high.
With about 3,000 confirmed cases a day despite a nearly four-week lockdown, the government said additional days were needed to see “a clear-cut, definite and continual decline in morbidity”.
The prime minister’s office and health ministry said in a joint statement that the government would assess on Thursday if some preliminary steps, such as opening some small businesses and nurseries, can be taken next week.
Facing some of the highest daily infection rates in last month, Israel was one of the first countries to impose a second national lockdown.
Updated
Some governments around the globe are introducing digital surveillance and data collection tools that could pose a lasting threat to citizens’ rights, according to a report by research institute Freedom House.
In their fight against the coronavirus, some governments are introducing digital surveillance and data collection tools that could pose a lasting threat to citizens' rights, according to a new report by research institute Freedom House. https://t.co/jxhyqJ13De
— CNN (@CNN) October 14, 2020
The Freedom on the Net 2020 report, an assessment of 65 countries released Wednesday, accused some governments of using the virus as a pretext to crack down on critical speech, according to a CNN report.
Michael J. Abramowitz, president of Freedom House, which is funded by the US government, said:
The pandemic is accelerating society’s reliance on digital technologies at a time when the internet is becoming less and less free. Without adequate safeguards for privacy and the rule of law, these technologies can be easily repurposed for political repression.
CNN reports:
Nowhere has that approach been more apparent than in China, according to Freedom House, which rated the country worst for internet freedom for a sixth year in a row.
Since the coronavirus outbreak emerged in Wuhan last December, China has deployed every tool in its internet control arsenal -- from digital surveillance, to automated censorship, and systematic arrests - to stem the spread, not only of Covid-19, but of unofficial information and criticism of the government, researchers found.
But the report found the practices were not unique to China. Authorities censored independent reporting in at least 28 countries and arrested online critics in 45 countries, it stated.
Governments from Bangladesh to Belarus blocked reporting and websites that contradicted official sources, revoking credentials and detaining journalists who challenged their statistics. In Venezuela, the government barred a website with information about Covid-19 created by the opposition, while journalists were detained and forced to delete online content about the virus’s spread in hospitals.
Though misinformation about the coronavirus is a pandemic of its own, Freedom House says that at least 20 countries including Thailand, the Philippines and Azerbaijan imposed excessively broad restrictions on speech, many of them new or expanded laws policing “false” information, according to the report.
Allie Funk, the report’s co-author and a senior research analyst for technology and democracy at Freedom House, said the impact of the oppression could be long-lived:
People may be less likely to report on certain issues because they don’t want to face criminal penalties or they don’t want to face targeted harassment or violence from pro-government supporters online.
Updated
In the UK prime minister Boris Johnson has said “all that basic stuff” like the need for hand washing, social distancing and masks is essential if “we’re going to come out of this and allow people to have anything like a normal Christmas”.
But my colleague Haroon Siddique has spoken to a WHO official who stated: “It’s way too early to think about Christmas.”
What are the prospects of the holiday season going ahead “as normal” where you are? Are you making plans?
Updated
Moscow is to introduce online learning for many students from Monday in a bid to contain Covid-19, Reuters reports.
The measure will apply to students in the sixth to 11th grades for a two-week period, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a post on his website.
Pupils from first to fifth grade will return to school on Monday after a two-week holiday that was put in place to prevent them contracting and spreading the virus, he said.
Older students would study online at home because they accounted for two-thirds of the children infected with the virus, said Sobyanin.
He said:
The decisions that we have made today are not easy but are simply necessary taking into account both the epidemiological situation and the need for schoolchildren to receive a quality education.
As of Tuesday, Russia had recorded 1,326,178 infections, with 339,431 in Moscow.
The city of nearly 13 million people has also opened two temporary hospitals and ordered businesses to have at least 30% of staff working remotely.
Updated
Malaysia’s King Al-Sultan Abdullah has postponed all meetings scheduled for the next two weeks due to coronavirus curbs, according to a senior palace official.
Reuters reports that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is bidding to replace prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, met the king on Tuesday to prove he has a “convincing” parliamentary majority to form a new government.
The king had been scheduled to meet top leaders from key political parties to verify support for Anwar, but all appointments have been postponed due to a two-week partial lockdown in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur and the state of Selangor which took effect on Wednesday, said palace comptroller Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin.
New dates will only be decided after the curbs are lifted, said Ahmad Fadil.
Good morning from London, from where I’ll be looking after the liveblog for the next few hours this morning. Please do get in touch if you have story suggestions or comments. I’m on alexandra.topping@theguardian.com or @lexytopping on Twitter. My DMs are open.
Updated
That’s it from me, signing off from Sydney. I’m handing over to my colleagues in London, where it’s morning. My thanks for your company and correspondence. Be well, and look after each other.
Global infections pass 38 million
- The number of infections worldwide has passed 38 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. There have now been 38,130,829 infections around the world since the virus emerged at the end of last year while 1,086,056 have died.
- The US drugmaker Eli Lilly has paused clinical trial of its antibody treatmen LY-CoV555 because of a safety concern. The announcement comes one day after Johnson & Johnson said it was forced to pause a high-profile trial of its experimental coronavirus vaccine because a volunteer fell ill.
- Iran, the crucible of coronavirus in the Middle East, smashed two grim records this week, reporting its largest number of deaths in a single 24 hours since the outbreak started in March, and the largest number of new infections.Iranian health officials openly admit Iran is deep into its third, and biggest, wave of the disease, and evidence suggests an exhausted and impoverished country is struggling to cope.
- Finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s 20 leading economies will hold virtual talks on Wednesday to figure out how to reboot the world economy in the aftermath of the pandemic. The World Bank has committed another $12bn to help fund treatments in developing countries.
- Oxfam said the world’s response to global food insecurity was “dangerously inadequate”, days after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the UN’s World Food Programme. The ngo said that funding for 55m people facing extreme hunger in seven worst-affected countries - Afghanistan, Somalia, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen - was “abysmally low”.
- The French president, Emmanuel Macron, will give a televised address to the nation on Wednesday against a backdrop of a sharp rise in cases. He is expected to announce further restrictions to prevent the spread.
- Donald Trump has held his second rally since being given the all-clear from the virus, addressing a packed event in Johnstown, Pennslyvania. In Florida, his Democratic rival Joe Biden was wooing older voters by claiming that Trump’s handling of the pandemic showed didn’t care about them.
Updated
Iran is one of the worst-hit countries in the world and passed two unwanted records this week – its largest number of deaths in a single 24 hours since the outbreak started in March, and the largest number of new infections.
Covid-19 has so far killed 29,070 Iranians, according to official statistics, including 254 on Wednesday alone, just down on the daily record set on 12 October of 272. Many believe the actual numbers are much higher.
Patrick Wintour, our diplomatic editor, reports on how the “exhausted and impoverished” country is coping with a third wave of the coronavirus.
Here’s Patrick’s full story:
Bulgaria reported 785 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, setting a daily record for a fourth time in a week as infections keep rising, official data showed.
The Balkan country now has 25,774 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 923 deaths. A total of 1,307 people are hospitalised and 63 are in intensive care, data from the coronavirus information platform showed.
Health officials have urged people to wear protective face masks on public transport and in indoor spaces and to maintain social distancing to avoid the need for tougher restrictions.
'Dangerously inadequate' response to global food insecurity
The international community’s response to global food insecurity is “dangerously inadequate”, the NGO Oxfam said in a new report Tuesday, published just days after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the UN’s World Food Programme.
“The threat of ‘Covid famines’ and widespread extreme hunger is setting off every alarm bell within the international community, but so far sluggish funding is hampering humanitarian agencies’ efforts to deliver urgent assistance to people in need,” Oxfam wrote.
“The international community’s response to global food insecurity has been dangerously inadequate,” said the report Later Will Be Too Late.
The NGO complained that funding for 55m people facing extreme hunger in seven worst-affected countries - Afghanistan, Somalia, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen - was “abysmally low”.
In five of the seven countries, donors had so far given “no money at all” for the coronavirus-related nutrition assistance part of the UN’s $10.3b humanitarian appeal, the report said.
“As of today, donors have pledged just 28% of the UN Covid appeal that was launched back in March this year,” Oxfam said.
Every sector - gender-based violence, protection, health, and water, sanitation and hygiene - were “chronically under-funded,” Oxfam said.
“But some of the worst funded sectors are food security and nutrition.”
Last Friday, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the World Food Programme for feeding millions of people from Yemen to North Korea, as the coronavirus pandemic pushes millions more into hunger.
Founded in 1961 and funded entirely by donations, the UN body helped 97m people last year, distributing 15b rations to people in 88 countries.
Updated
Coronavirus clusters have emerged in Australia’s two most populous states, officials said on Wednesday, prompting the most populous, New South Wales, to delay easing some restrictions.
Australia is one of the most successful countries to combat the virus, recording 904 deaths and around 245 active cases according to official tallies.
The NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said she was concerned the state was on the cusp of another major community transmission, after 11 new cases were locally acquired and a cluster appeared in the southwest Sydney suburb of Lakemba.
She said the easing of some social restrictions involving restaurants and weddings would now be put on hold.
“We were going to further ease restrictions in relation to hospitality venues,” Berejiklian said. “I’m still hopeful we can ... As long as more people come along and get tested.”
Victoria, the state at the epicentre of Australia’s second wave, logged five deaths and seven new coronavirus cases overnight. A second and third regional flare up is threatening a hoped for easing of harsh lockdown restrictions in place since mid-July.
Restrictions in the state capital Melbourne include widespread retail closures and only two hours outside for recreation.
Three cases in the town of Shepparton, north east of Melbourne, were seeded by a truck driver travelling up from the city two weeks earlier who had not fully disclosed his travel to contact tracers until well after the event.
This has raised concerns the virus had been spreading unchecked in the town, health officials said. Lines for testing in Shepparton have been up to six hours long on Wednesday.
Here’s just half the line waiting to get tested at @GVHealth2 this morning following the news of the #sheppartonoutbreak @WINNews_She pic.twitter.com/i2Kck5c2xM
— Renee Arndt (@reneearndt_) October 14, 2020
“The have to tell us the full story. To have visited a large regional town, and not tell us, is just not the right thing to do,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews told a press briefing, adding that the matter had been referred to Victorian (the state, not the era) police.
Andrews is due to announce significant easing measures on Sunday.
For those in Australia (or interested in our antipodean endeavours), follow developments here:
Updated
G20 finance ministers and central bankers are set to hold talks Wednesday aimed at spurring global recovery from a coronavirus-triggered recession while considering a proposal to extend debt relief for crisis-hit poor countries.
The virtual talks, hosted by current G20 president Saudi Arabia, come a day after the International Monetary Fund warned that global GDP would contract 4.4 percent in 2020 and the damage inflicted by the pandemic would be felt for years.
The meeting will “discuss updates to the G20 Action Plan - supporting the global economy through the COVID-19 pandemic,” G20 organisers said in a statement.
The group will also discuss “the progress made on the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) and its proposed extension into 2021,” the statement added.
The 20 most industrialised nations had pledged in April to suspend debt service from the world’s poorest countries through the end of the year as they faced a sharp economic contraction caused by the pandemic.
The World Bank and campaigners have called for the debt suspension initiative to be extended through the end of 2021, while charities such as Oxfam say it needs to be stretched through 2022.
But World Bank President David Malpass on Monday warned G20 countries may only approve a six-month debt relief extension because “not all of the creditors are participating fully” to help poor nations weather the health crisis.
The talks, chaired by Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan and central bank governor Ahmed al-Kholifey, come as the surging health crisis continues to batter the global economy and triggers unemployment on a massive scale.
Huge injections of government aid have kept economies from plunging further in 2020, but the continued presence of Covid-19 means the outlook is highly uncertain, the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook on Tuesday.
The recession has been less severe than expected but still deep and “the ascent out of this calamity is likely to be long, uneven, and highly uncertain,” IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath said.
Northern ireland set for tough new restrictions
Northern Ireland is set to re-enter a tough lockdown after executive ministers agreed to closures of schools, pubs and restaurants, Press Association reports.
The UK news agency says it “understands pubs and restaurants will close for four weeks, with the exception of takeaways, while schools will close for two, one of which will cover the half-term Halloween break”.
Some shops will remain open, as will churches and gyms for individual training, so the measures will not be as severe as those imposed in March and April.
PA said an announcement is expected to be made during a special sitting of the Northern Ireland assembly in Belfast later on Wednesday.
It comes after Derry and Strabane council area recorded the highest infection rate in the UK and Ireland, with a seven day average of 970 cases per 100,000 people.
But the move amount to some of the harshest measures in the UK which is battling with a severe spike in cases. Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour opposition, has piled pressure on Boris Johnson’s government by calling for a national “circuit-breaker” lockdown for two weeks to stem the rise in daily cases which reached 15,000 on Tuesday alone.
Germany has recorded another 5,132 cases, taking its total to 334,585, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday.
The reported death toll rose by 40 to 9,677, the tally showed.
Like many other countries in Europe such as france, Russia and the Netherlands, Germany is fighting to contain a second wave of the virus.
Stock markets in Asia Pacific are down today after Wall Street took fright at the suspension of two treatments in the US – but not as much as first was feared.
Sydney is off 0.1%, Tokyo about the same, and Shanghai has lost 0.46% and Hong ong 0.23%.
The wider tory is that the US dollar held on to gains it made when stocks fell in New York. The British pound wa strading above $1.30 on Tuesday but slipped to $1.294, while the Australian dollar is down about half a percent at US71.65c. The euro is also down at $1.17.
Finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s 20 leading economies will hold virtual talks on Wednesday to figure out how to reboot the world economy in the aftermath of the pandemic.
They will also consider a proposal to extend debt relief for crisis-hit poor countries when they begin the talks hosted by the current G20 president, Saudi Arabia.
The discusson comes a day after the International Monetary Fund warned that global GDP would contract 4.4% this year and that the damage inflicted by the pandemic would be felt for years.
An Indian fan of Donald Trump has reportedly died of a heart attack after he stopped eating when the US president was stricken with coronavirus.
Bussa Krishna, a 33-year-old farmer from Telangana state, has apparently worshipped Trump like a deity for years, according to the Indian Express newspaper’s online edition.
But relatives became concerned when he stopped eating after learning of his hero’s illness and he died after collapsing on Sunday, the paper said.
Australia might have an enviably low number of coronavirus cases, but that does not mean that the country is immune to economic hardship from the pandemic as news from South Australia today shows.
The historic West End brewery in Adelaide is to close after catering to thirsts for 160 years.
Although the inner-city brewery had been operating under-capacity for some time, decliniung demand for draught beer in pubs during the pandemic was the final straw, according to its owners Lion.
Here’s the full story:
In Australia, where the number of new cases could be counted on your fingers and two toes, the premier of New South Wales has expressed concern about the number of people coming forward for testing.
Gladys Berejiklian said she wants to see about 20,000 people to get tested per day to ensure they are picking up every chain of transmission. On Monday the number was 7,000. There are 8.2 million people in NSW, so that’s one in 410 people.
Follow all the developments in Australia, where NSW actually recorded more cases (12) in the past 24 hours than Victoria (7), the worst hit state.
Donald Trump is speaking at a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
In common with his rally in Florida on Monday, there is little sign of social distancing among the faithful.
Johnstown, PA pic.twitter.com/uFV2QupCqR
— Jérôme Cartillier (@jcartillier) October 13, 2020
Mexico has reported 4,295 new cases of Covid-19 and 475 more fatalities.
The country has racked up 825,340 cases and 84,420 deaths.
People with poor numerical literacy are more susceptible to misinformation about Covid-19, a survey conducted in five countries says.
Researchers at Cambridge University found that the most consistent predictor of decreased susceptibility to misinformation about Covid-19 was numerical literacy – the ability to digest and apply quantitative information broadly.
The study involved putting sample groups from Ireland, Spain, Mexico, the US and the UK through three different numeracy tests, writes our science correspondent, Natalie Grover.
Here’s her full story:
On the same theme, a survey of journalists covering the pandemic has found that Facebook is the biggest source of misinformation about the crisis.
My colleague Amanda Meade has the details:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/oct/14/facebook-greatest-source-of-covid-19-disinformation-journalists-say
Global cases pass 38 million
The number of infections worldwide has passed 38 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
There have now been 38,032,320 infections around the world since the virus emerged at the end of last year. Millions have recovered from the virus but 1,084,336 have died.
The rise in new cases is being driven by spikes in Europe, the US and India, although the latter’s tally of 55,342 on Tuesday was its lowest single day total since August. The country has 7,175,880 cases, second only to the US with 7,852,008.
Updated
The World Bank has given a boost for treatments in the developing world after approving $12bn in new funding to finance the purchase and distribution of Covid-19 vaccine, tests and treatments.
The money, part of a $160bn package pledged by the organisation to developing countries, will include technical support to recipient countries so they can prepare for deploying vaccines at scale.
The funding is aimed at signalling to drug makers that there will be demand for the treatments and the infrastructure to distribute them.
Today our Board approved up to $12b in financing to support developing countries with the purchase and distribution of #COVID19 #vaccines, tests, and treatments. This builds on our emergency response programs already reaching 111 countries https://t.co/coPQFGmLU0
— World Bank (@WorldBank) October 13, 2020
Market confidence dented by treatment setbacks
The setbacks with the Eli Lilly antibody drug and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have dented confidence among investors in the world’s financial markets.
Wall Street’s three major indices closed down on Tuesday night – the S&P500 fared worst losing 0.63% – and markets in Asia Pacific have begun Wednesday in the red.
Australia’s ASX200, which reached a seven-month high on Tuesday, has been open for about 30 minutes and is off 0.2%, although that is not as much as forecast earlier.
APAC Opening Calls:#ASX 6162 -0.72%#NIKKEI 23530 -0.23%#HSI 24650 +0.19%#NIFTY 11906 -0.22%#A50 15943 +0.27%#TWSE 12917 -0.02%#IGOpeningCall
— IGSquawk (@IGSquawk) October 13, 2020
Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets and Stockbroking in Sydney, said the recent optimism in the markets was predicated on scientists finding a viable vaccine.
The v-shaped recovery scenario that has driven risk markets higher is dependent on the availability of an effective vaccine. While there are many other groups in the race for this vital development, the withdrawal of two major players raises concerns.
Eli Lilly pauses trial of antibody treatment
The US drugmaker Eli Lilly has suspended its clinical trial of its Covid-19 antibody treatment because of a safety concern.
The announcement comes one day after Johnson & Johnson said it was forced to pause a high-profile trial of its experimental coronavirus vaccine because a volunteer fell ill.The compnay does not yet know if that person was given the vaccine or a placebo.
Lilly said earlier this month it was applying for emergency use authorization (EUA) for the antibody drug, LY-CoV555, for patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 based on data from another clinical trial.
Donald Trump touted the Lilly drug, along with the antibody treatment from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals that he received for his Covid-19, as tantamount to a cure in a video he posted last week.
Updated
In the United States, Joe Biden has been using Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic to woo older voters in the key swing state of Florida.
Speaking to about 50 people at a community center in Broward county in southern Florida, Biden said the president had recklessly dismissed the threat that the virus had posed to their at-risk population.
“To Donald Trump, you’re expendable. You’re forgettable. You’re virtually nobody. That’s how he sees seniors. That’s how he sees you,” Biden said.
Meanwhile, a poll by Opinium Research and the Guardian shows that the Democratic challenger is 17 points ahead – one point more than shown in a CNN poll earlier this month.
Our man in Washington, David Smith, has the full story:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/13/election-poll-biden-leads-trump-17-points
Covid-19 may cause sudden and irreparable hearing loss, according to a study by scientists at University College London.
The research, published in the journal BMJ Case Reports, highlights the case of a 45-year-old man with asthma who was admitted to intensive care with Covid, ventilated, and given drugs including the antiviral remdesivir and intravenous steroids.
A week after leaving intensive care he developed a ringing sound – tinnitus – and then hearing loss in his left ear. None of the medications would be expected to lead to hearing loss, the team said.
Here is the full story by our science correspondent, Nicola Davis:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/13/covid-may-cause-sudden-permanent-hearing-loss-uk-study
The world’s number golfer, Dustin Johnson, has become the latest sports star to test positive for the virus.
Johnson, who is American, tested positive at the weekend and has withdrawn from this week’s US PGA Tour event in Las Vegas. He joins footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and tennis star Novak Djokovic among the top sportspeople to catch the virus.
Here’s the full story:
Emmanuel Macron to give national TV address
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, is expected to make a significant announcement about additional national lockdown measures when he gives a televised address to the country on Wednesday.
New Covid-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths all spiked further in France on Tuesday it is expected that Macron could unveil new restrictions.
France’s five largest cities – Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse and Lille – are among nine metropolitan areas already on maximum alert, meaning bars and gyms are closed and restaurants operate under strict sanitary conditions.
French health authorities reported 12,993 new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, up on Monday’s 8,505, but down from Saturday’s record of 26,896 and Sunday’s 16,101.
Good morning/afternoon/evening. I’m Martin Farrer and this is the new global coronavirus blog. These are the main developments in the past few hours.
-
Global cases of coronavirus are set to pass 38 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. Deaths around the world stand at 1.083 million.
-
UK opposition leader Keir Starmer has for national “circuit-breaker” lockdown of at least two weeks in England as the death toll from Covid-19 soared to a four-month high. The Labour leader said the prime minister Boris Johnson had “lost control of the virus”. Full story here.
-
Dutch bars and restaurants ordered to close to stem surge in coronavirus cases. The Dutch government announced the new round of measures on Tuesday as the number of cases in this country surged in recent weeks to a daily record of nearly 7,400.
- Italy announces new restrictions. Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte on Tuesday imposed new restrictions on gatherings, restaurants, sports and school activities in an attempt to slow a surge in novel coronavirus infections.
- Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive for coronavirus. The 35-year-old is said to be “doing well, without symptoms, and in isolation”, with no further positive tests reported in the squad before Portugal’s Nations League match against Sweden on Wednesday.
- Dustin Johnson, the world’s number one golfer, has also tested positive and has withdrawn from this week’s US tour event in Las Vegas.
- Facebook is the greatest source of misinformation about the virus around the world, according to a survey of journalists covering the story around the world.
-
Russia’s regulator has granted approval for a trial of its controversial Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine on people aged over 60. In August Russia approved the vaccine for use after less than two months of human testing, including a dose administered to one of Vladimir Putin’s daughters.
- The Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki tested negative for Covid-19. Morawiecki went into quarantine after he had contact on Friday with a person who has tested positive. A government spokesman said the prime minister had no coronavirus symptoms and continued to fulfil his duties.
-
Ireland’s government offered more support on Tuesday to those hit hardest by some of Europe’s toughest Covid-19 restrictions. The budget stimulus package was described as “unprecedented in the history of the state” by Reuters.
- Russia reports record daily coronavirus cases and deaths. On Tuesday, the country’s coronavirus crisis centre said 13,868 new cases had been reported in the past 24 hours, pushing the overall number of infections to 1,326,178.
Updated
