That’s it for this blog for today. I’ll be taking you through the latest developments for the next few hours at the link below:
Summary
- New coronavirus study reveals increased risks from middle age. The first comprehensive study of Covid-19 deaths and hospitalisations in mainland China has revealed in stark detail the increase in risk for coronavirus patients once they reach middle age.
- France sees its worst daily death toll. French health authorities have reported 418 new deaths, taking the total to 3,024 or an increase of 16%. The country has become the fourth to cross the 3,000 fatalities threshold after China, Italy, and Spain.
- Global cases pass three quarters of a million. Johns Hopkins University researchers, who have been keeping track of the spread of the virus, say the global number of cases is now at least 755,591.
- Global death toll passes 37,000. According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, at least 37,140 people have now died as a result of the outbreak. The institution says it has counted 745,308 confirmed cases worldwide, while at least 156,875 people have recovered.
- Italy records hundreds more deaths – but a slower infection rate. The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has climbed by 812 to 11,591, the country’s civil protection agency says, reversing two days of declines in the daily rate. But the number of new cases rose by just 4,050; the lowest nominal increase since 17 March. A total 101,739 people have now tested positive.
- Virus poses ‘existential threat’ to South America’s indigenous communities. Indigenous leaders from across the continent are warning that the outbreak poses an “existential threat” to them. Tribes in the Amazon and Chaco regions are urging governments to ensure their territories are protected against outsiders possibly carrying the coronavirus.
- Tens of thousands of people stranded abroad will be flown back to the UK by airlines including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Titan Airways on chartered planes as part of a partnership between the government and private enterprise announced by the country’s foreign secretary, Dominic Raab.
- Israeli prime minister in self-isolation. Benjamin Netanyahu and his key advisers isolate themselves after one of the prime minister’s aides tested positive for the coronavirus.
- Concerns over powers secured by Hungary’s nationalist PM. Viktor Orbán secures sweeping new powers to fight the outbreak. The country’s parliament passed a law submitted by his government handing Orbán an open-ended mandate, triggering criticism by the domestic opposition, human rights groups and the Council of Europe, Europe’s main rights forum, as it contains no clear timeframe.
- Dubai’s Expo 2020 to be postponed. The six-month multibillion-dollar trade fair that organisers had hoped would attract 25 million visitors will not go ahead as scheduled in October. Dubai was pinning many of its economic forecasts on the trade it was expected to generate.
- Austria makes face masks compulsory for shoppers. Introducing the requirement is a “necessary step” to help to prevent the airborne transmission of the virus, says the Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz. Shoppers are to be handed masks covering their mouthes and noses at the entrance of supermarkets from Wednesday.
UK firm won’t pay higher sick pay as Covid-19 ‘less severe than flu’
A senior executive at one of Britain’s biggest outsourcing companies has told workers he believes coronavirus is “less severe” than normal influenza in a message explaining why they will not receive any special sickness benefits.
During a negotiation with a trade union last week over sick pay for refuse collectors during the pandemic, a head of human resources at Amey plc, a services company with prison, defence and council contracts and a £2.3bn-a-year turnover, said that “when compared with many other diseases such as normal influenza, the impacts [of Covid-19] on the individual are currently actually less severe”.
The claim was described as “shocking” by the GMB trade union, which was negotiating for better sick pay on behalf of refuse collectors in the London borough of Ealing, where the company has the waste contract. Despite being classed as key workers by the Cabinet Office, the rubbish collectors are only being offered the contractual minimum, which in many cases is understood to be statutory sick pay of £94.25 a week.
Trump is speaking as the US – with 160,020 cases according to Johns Hopkins University – has almost TWICE as many confirmed coronavirus cases as China, with 82,198.https://t.co/1ZPsRQcasC
— Helen Sullivan (@helenrsullivan) March 30, 2020
Updated
Another claim: that American tests are “better than any country in the world”.
The Guardian’s Maanvi Singh in California:
“In fact, some of the initial coronavirus tests sent out to states were seriously flawed – some did not even work. Part of the problem came from the CDC insisting it would manufacture the tests itself.
Other countries – after their first coronavirus case – swiftly asked private companies to develop their own tests. South Korea, which recorded its first case on the same day as the US, did so within a week
The US only allowed laboratories and hospitals to conduct their own tests on February 29, almost six weeks after the first case was confirmed.
“‘The federal agency shunned the World Health Organization test guidelines used by other countries and set out to create a more complicated test of its own that could identify a range of similar viruses,’ ProPublica reported.”
Hi, this is Helen Sullivan taking over the blog from my colleague Kevin Rawlinson.
US president Donald Trump is still addressing reporters at the White House, which means we are hard at work fact checking.
Trump was asked when the US will catch up with South Korea and other countries in terms of testing per capital. “It’s very much on par,” Trump says of the US testing numbers.
So, Is testing in the US on par with other countries?
My colleague Adam Gabbatt answers this one:
“The US, as of Monday afternoon, had conducted about 287 tests per 100,000 people in the US (with huge variations depending on the county, city and state). This compares to 709 per 100,000 in South Korea and 600 per 100,000 in Italy.”
New coronavirus study reveals increased risks from middle age
The first comprehensive study of Covid-19 deaths and hospitalisations in mainland China has revealed in stark detail the increase in risk for coronavirus patients once they reach middle age.
The analysis found that while the overall death rate for confirmed cases was 1.38%, the rate rose sharply with age – from 0.0016% in the under 10s, to 7.8% in 80s and over.
The study showed only 0.04% of 10 to 19-year-olds required hospital care compared with more than 18% of those in their 80s and above.
Dramatic rises were seen among middle-aged groups too, with 4% of people in their 40s needing hospital treatment and more than 8% of patients in their 50s.
The WHO chief, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has asked world leaders to take the poor into account when ordering lockdowns. They will struggle for their “daily bread” as more and more countries implement lockdowns, Dr Tedros has said.
UK police chiefs are drawing up new guidance warning forces not to overreach their lockdown enforcement powers after withering criticism of controversial tactics deployed to stop the spread of coronavirus, the Guardian has learned.
The intervention comes amid growing concern that some forces are going beyond their legal powers to stop the spread of Covid-19, with one issuing a summons to a household for shopping for non-essential items and another telling locals that exercise was “limited to an hour a day”.
About a third of workers at an Amazon delivery site in central Italy have gone on strike, a union representative says, citing a request for enhanced safety measures.
A company representative has claimed activity at the site in Calenzano, near Florence, has not been affected and said it had already cut deliveries and stepped up safety measures to protect both its direct employees and independent couriers.
Around 300 people work at the site, more than two-thirds of them independent couriers delivering parcels for the world’s largest online retailer.
Ford will produce 50,000 ventilators over the next 100 days at a plant in Michigan, in the USA, the company has said.
Working in cooperation with General Electric’s healthcare unit, another 30,000 units can then be made per month, the Ford Motor Company says. The firm adds that the simplified ventilator design has been cleared by the US’s Food and Drug Administration, can meet the needs of most Covid-19 patients and relies on air pressure without the need for electricity.
Survivors of domestic violence will be housed in hotel rooms paid for by the state, the French gender equality minister, Marlène Schiappa, says. She has announced that pop-up counselling centres will also be set up after figures showed the number of abuse cases has soared during the first week of the country’s lockdown.
Schiappa has said about 20 such centres will open in shops around the country so women could drop in for help while getting groceries, according to a report by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The French government also announced an extra €1m (about £890,000) for anti-domestic abuse organisations to help them respond to increased demand for services.
British officials took part in four meetings where EU projects to bulk-buy medical kit were discussed – the earliest in January, according to official minutes that heap doubt on government claims of missing an email.
Last week Downing Street claimed that it failed to take part in an EU scheme to source life-saving ventilators and other kit to treat coronavirus because it accidentally missed the deadline.
No 10 initially said it did not take part because the UK was no longer a member of the EU and was “making our own efforts”. After critics accused Boris Johnson of putting “Brexit over breathing”, Downing Street clarified that missing out was an error and it would consider participating in future. It is understood the UK claimed not to have received an email from the EU asking it to participate.
EU minutes seen by the Guardian show that a British official joined eight out of 12 EU health security committee meetings dedicated to the Covid-19 outbreak since the group was set up earlier this year, shortly before China’s Hubei province was put into lockdown.
In the UK, an NHS nurse working during the coronavirus outbreak in the UK received a standing ovation from her family as she returned home from a shift.
Her son shared a video on Twitter and said: “We as a family have been welcoming our mum home from work as a hero. She is a nurse in the NHS in Britain and is working so hard every day! We will continue to do this every time she returns home from work”
Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, Pope Francis’ vicar for the diocese of Rome, has become the highest-ranking Catholic official known to have tested positive.
De Donatis’ office has said he was tested for the virus after feeling unwell and has been admitted to a Rome hospital. His closest aides had gone into voluntary quarantine as a precaution.
A pope is also the bishop of Rome but appoints someone to act as his vicar to administrate the diocese. De Donatis, 66, is not believed to have had personal contact with Pope Francis recently.
Updated
The lockdown imposed upon Italians is being extend at least until Easter, the country’s health minister Roberto Speranza says. Italy’s been under lockdown for three weeks and the restrictions were due to end on Friday.
Montenegro becomes the latest nation to introduce lockdown measures to curb the spread of the virus as it tells citizens to stay indoors from 7pm to 5am on working days and from 1pm to 5am on weekends.
Barring key workers who will be issued with special permits, Montenegrins who ignore the restrictions face fines or detention.
The nation, a Nato member and EU membership candidate, has reported 91 cases and one death. It has already introduced an array of measures to fight the contagion, including the closure of borders, ports and marinas, a ban on public gatherings and a shutdown of schools.
Botswana has recorded its first three cases, Reuters quotes they country’s health minister, Lemogang Kwape, as saying. According to the news agency, Kwape has told state television the three people who have tested positive are in quarantine and had recently travelled to Britain and Thailand.
Over in Greece, political figures have been prompted to volunteer half of their salaries over the next two months to help the cash-strapped state combat the novel virus.
Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the country’s first female president who assumed the post this month, says she will be handing over 50% of her wage to a special fund created to deal with the economic fallout from the virus. Bank of Greece governor Yannis Stournaras followed suit.
The prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, had called on his cabinet and MPs in his ruling centre-right New Democracy party to do the same.
Greece was among the first European countries to enforce tough measures to stop the virus spreading; closing schools, restaurants and shops. The country’s tourist industry – on which much of its economy depends – has been devastated, insiders say, with holiday packages cancelled and hotels shut.
The Greek health authorities announced that confirmed cases had risen to 1,212, although the rate of new infections had dropped markedly from 95 cases on Sunday to 56 on Monday. The death toll now stands at 43 people. Of that number, 32 are male; reflecting the higher mortality rates among men who fall victim to Covid-19.
In the UK, a Conservative MP has reported a pub in his constituency to the police, alleging they were allowing people in to drink despite the ban. Lee Anderson wrote on Facebook:
Madness. On Saturday I was told the Blue Bell pub had been having lock-ins. I reported this to the police. Swift action caught them in the act and the culprits are being dealt with. I told you I would shop you and anyone else thinking of doing the same the think on.
The British poet Michael Rosen is ill in hospital having suffered from flu-like symptoms. His family says he’s spent the night in intensive care but is now stable:
From Michael's family: Michael is very poorly at the moment. Having spent a night in ICU, he is now doing "ok, stable, alert" and was able to go to a ward yesterday. Thank you very much for all your kind concern. Emma x @underthecranes @J0e_R0sen
— Michael Rosen (@MichaelRosenYes) March 30, 2020
It’s not clear whether his condition is related to coronavirus. A week ago, he tweeted:
Day 8
— Michael Rosen (@MichaelRosenYes) March 23, 2020
Have had no chest pains
No persistent cough
So all along it could have been a heavy flu and not corona.
Today the fevers are ebbing.
In their place a deep muscle exhaustion. In every corner.
Updated
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has tested negative, his spokesman has said.
PM Netanyahu's, his family's and staff's #coronavirus tests all came back negative. However, he will remain quarantined until further instructions are issued by the ministry of health.
— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) March 30, 2020
Israel’s health ministry regulations generally require 14-day self-isolation for anyone deemed to have been in proximity to a carrier, with the duration reduced for the number of days that have passed since the suspected exposure.
Finland is extending its measures to contain the outbreak by one month until 13 Mayits prime minister, Sanna Marin, has said.
In the past weeks, Finland has closed roads from Helsinki to the rest of the country, restricted traffic across its borders, banned public meetings of more than 10 people, closed schools for most pupils and urged people to stay at home as much as possible. Local authorities have confirmed 1,313 Covid-19 cases and 13 deaths.
France sees its worst daily death toll
French health authorities have reported 418 new deaths, taking the total to 3,024. The country has become the fourth to cross the 3,000 fatalities threshold after China, Italy, and Spain.
The daily government tally only accounts for those dying in hospital but authorities say they will very soon be able to compile data on deaths in retirement homes, which is likely to result in a big increase in registered fatalities.
The health agency director, Jérôme Salomon, told a news conference the number of cases has risen to 44,550, an increase of 11% in 24 hours. Salomon said 5,107 people were in a serious condition needing life support, up 10% compared to Monday, an increase speeding up again after slowing for two days.
Global cases pass three quarters of a million
Johns Hopkins University researchers, who have been keeping track of the spread of the virus, say the global number of cases is now at least 755,591.
The institution collects figures from the World Health Organization and other international bodies, as well as media reports, national governments and other sources. Given the differing levels of testing capacity and concerns that some countries are understating their cases, the true scale of the outbreak is likely to be even greater.
Nearly half of respondents to a international poll say they think their governments are doing too little to tackle the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
In what has been claimed as the single largest global opinion poll on official responses to the global outbreak, 32,631 people in 45 countries were asked to judge their governments’ efforts to battle Covid-19.
People in Thailand were most sceptical about official action against the spread of the disease, with 79% saying their government was doing too little, followed by Chile with 76%, Spain, 66%, France, 64%, and Japan, also with 64%.
The country where most people were satisfied with their government’s response was Vietnam, where 62% thought the government was doing the right amount. In Saudi Arabia, a third of respondents thought the government was doing too much.
The poll was carried out by Dalia Research. You can read more results on their website.
Updated
Summary
Global death toll passes 35,000
According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, at least 35,307 people have now died as a result of the outbreak. The institution says it has counted 745,308 confirmed cases worldwide, while at least 156,875 people have recovered.
UK death toll surpasses 1,400
The Department of Health and Social Care says 134,946 people have been tested for the virus, with 22,141 returning as positive. Official figures show that, as of 5pm on Sunday (BST), 1,408 people across the country have died.
Italy’s records hundreds more deaths – but slower infection rate
The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has climbed by 812 to 11,591, the country’s civil protection agency says, reversing two days of declines in the daily rate. But the number of new cases rose by just 4,050; the lowest nominal increase since 17 March. A total 101,739 people have now tested positive.
US ‘faces hundreds of thousands of deaths’
As many as 200,000 people in the US may die even if Washington plays its response to the outbreak “almost perfectly”, according Dr Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for the White House coronavirus taskforce.
“If we do things together well, almost perfectly, we could get in the range of 100,000 to 200,000 fatalities,” she told told NBC News’ Today. We don’t even want to see that … the best-case scenario would be 100% of Americans doing precisely what is required, but we’re not sure … that all of America is responding in a uniform way to protect one another.”
Rescue flights to repatriate Britons
Tens of thousands of people stranded abroad will be flown back to the UK by airlines including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Titan Airways on chartered planes as part of a partnership between the government and private enterprise announced by the country’s foreign secretary, Dominic Raab.
Israeli prime minister in self-isolation
Benjamin Netanyahu and his key advisers isolate themselves after one of the prime minister’s aides tested positive for the coronavirus.
It is a precautionary measure and officials say the 70-year-old leader is unlikely to have been infected. Netanyahu is due to undergo a coronavirus test. A previous test he took was negative.
‘Existential threat’ to South America’s indigenous communities
Indigenous leaders from across the continent are warning that the outbreak poses an “existential threat” to them. Tribes in the Amazon and Chaco regions are urging governments to ensure their territories are protected against outsiders possibly carrying the coronavirus.
Concerns over powers secured by Hungary’s nationalist PM
Viktor Orbán secures sweeping new powers to fight the outbreak. The country’s parliament passed a law submitted by his government handing Orbán an open-ended mandate, triggering criticism by the domestic opposition, human rights groups and the Council of Europe, Europe’s main rights forum, as it contains no clear timeframe.
Dubai’s Expo 2020 to be postponed
The six-month multibillion-dollar trade fair that organisers had hoped would attract 25 million visitors will not go ahead as scheduled in October. Dubai was pinning many of its economic forecasts on the trade it was expected to generate.
Austria makes face masks compulsory for shoppers
Introducing the requirement is a “necessary step” to help to prevent the airborne transmission of the virus, says the Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz. Shoppers are to be handed masks covering their mouthes and noses at the entrance of supermarkets from Wednesday.
Updated
The healthcare system in Gaza risks being overrun if just a few dozen people in the territory become infected with the coronavirus, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has said. There are currently just 93 ventilators available in local hospitals.
According to the latest reports from the strip, as of Friday it had nine patients confirmed to have been infected with coronavirus, with dozens more samples being tested and more than 1,700 people in quarantine centres after returning from abroad.
Community transmission is not thought to yet be taking place. However, with nearly 2 million people in one of the most densely populated territories on the planet, an outbreak could spread fast. In a statement issued on Sunday, the PCHR said:
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Gaza Strip preparedness and capacity to face the Coronavirus at the present time is only sufficient for cases up to 100 or 150; however, if the cases increase, the fragile healthcare system would be incapable of responding to large numbers of patients.
The situation requires the intervention of UN bodies, international and local organizations to exert all efforts and provide the necessary equipment, devices, supplies, medicine and medical crews.
The heath ministry of the United Arab Emirates has reported 41 new confirmed coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, pushing the total number of cases in the country to 611, Akhtar Mohammad Makoii reports.
The ministry also reported two deaths from Covid-19 in the same period, raising the total number of deaths to five.
One patient was an Arab male, 48 years old, with preexisting medical conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. The second was a 42-year-old Asian male who also suffered from heart disease, the health ministry said in a statement.
The country also has tightened restrictions to contain spread of virus. On Monday, education ministry said “distance learning” will continue until the end of 2019-2020 academic year.
A deserted beach on Ireland’s Copper Coast hosts a unique tribute to health care workers, courtesy of sand artist Sean Corcoran.
This sand artist paid a unique tribute to frontline healthcare workers on a deserted beach near his home in Co Waterford... #InThisTogether #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/MtQGOTQh6U
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 30, 2020
The British Virgin Islands, a British overseas territory, has become the latest country to defy the US state department by soliciting medical help from Cuba.
Andrew Fahie, the BVI premier, said the territory had asked Cuba to send up to 30 doctors to help with its response to the coronavirus pandemic. Fahie said he was now waiting to see whether the UK would ‘support’ the territory’s request for this ‘invaluable assistance’ from Cuba, BVI News reports.
There are currently two confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in the BVI, with test results on nine other patients still due to come in.
Cuba has so far sent medical teams to over a dozen countries battling coronavirus outbreaks.
Before dawn hundreds of British travellers had gathered outside the Holiday Inn hotel opposite Lima’s shuttered international airport, Dan Collyns reports from Lima.
Many more joined the queue by 7am to be registered and taken by bus to a nearby Grupo Aéreo Ocho military airbase to board two BA charter planes later on Monday.
Backpackers Thea Parson and Alice Stuttaford, both 22, are among around 500 of Britons leaving the Peruvian capital on the last two repatriation flights with 332 seats each.
“I think it’s incredibly worrying what we’re going to come home to,” said Stuttaford.
“We feel very sorry that our Australian friends weren’t offered charter flights and now they could be stranded in Peru for months,” she added.
Heading home to the UK; Thea Parsons & Alice Stuttaford are among 100s of Brits leaving #Lima #Peru on the last 2 repatriation flights. But some Brits are still stuck in Peru’s lockdown and unable to get out..#ukstuckinPeru pic.twitter.com/c0MtuBNI6l
— Dan Collyns (@yachay_dc) March 30, 2020
Other Britons were being bussed to Lima on four different routes across the country and flown in from the cities Arequipa and Cusco, said Lieutenant Colonel James de St John-Pryce from Global Crisis Response.
“Success for me is not turning people away because it means not a single seat left empty,” he added.
“We’re making sure the most vulnerable are in the planes first,” said Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson Gabriella Guymer-Dadies. “The support will continue to anyone left behind.”
UK FCO officials brief stranded travellers on repatriation plans in #Lima, #Peru. Two Boeing 777 charter planes will fly more than 500 of them back to the UK. But some Brits still can’t leave lockdown-ed Peru. pic.twitter.com/0ja2L9NjKY
— Dan Collyns (@yachay_dc) March 30, 2020
Updated
Italy records 812 daily deaths - but slower infection rate
The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy climbed by 812 to 11,591, the civil protection agency said on Monday, reversing two days of declines in the daily rate, Reuters reports.
However, the number of new cases rose by 4,050, the lowest since 17 March, hitting a total 101,739 from 97,689 previously. On Sunday, 5,217 cases were recorded, and 5,974 on Saturday.
Of those originally infected nationwide, 14,620 had fully recovered on Monday, compared with 13,030 the day before. There were 3,981 people in intensive care, up from a previous 3,906.
Italy has registered more deaths than anywhere else in the world and accounts for more than a third of all global fatalities from the virus.
Updated
Amazon indigenous leaders warn of "existential threat" of Covid-19
Indigenous leaders from across South America on Monday issued a warning that the coronavirus poses an “existential threat” to their communities, AFP reports.
Indigenous peoples have lived with the threat of infectious diseases for centuries – it is estimated that their population in South America decreased by a quarter between 1492-1650 due to viruses and bacteria carried over by colonisers.
Now with billions confined to their homes as the world tries to slow its unprecedented spread, tribes in the Amazon and Chaco regions are urging governments to ensure their territories are protected against outsiders possibly carrying the coronavirus.
Claudette Labonte, from the Congress of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) said:
Indigenous people living in voluntary isolation are especially vulnerable to infectious disease as they don’t have any immunity at all against most diseases.
We call on governments to intensify surveillance and protection of indigenous territories, many of which are invaded by miners, drug traffickers, loggers, land-grabbers and tourists.
Michael McGarrell, from the Patamona Nation of Guyana and human rights coordinator for COICA, told AFP that indigenous communities were essentially defenceless against new diseases.
We run the risk of being impacted, the reason being that many of our communities don’t have the required facilities to deal with any outbreak.
Because they are small and have a communal way of life, coronavirus is a danger to them. We’re calling on governments to ensure that systems are put in place to cater for our needs.
Updated
The government of Grenada, a tiny Caribbean nation of around 110,000 people, is to enforce a seven-day total lockdown, with 24-hour curfew, from Monday night, the Jamaica Gleaner reports.
Grenada has so far reported nine confirmed cases of Covid-19. The strict lockdown comes after people failed to observe measures already imposed to try to slow the spread of the disease, said health minister Nicholas Steele.
Announcing the new measures in a radio and television broadcast on Sunday night, Steele said:
Every time you break or ignore guidelines to quarantine when you have been exposed, you are potentially taking the life of one of our citizens. Maybe you are prepared to take the gamble, but unfortunately it’s not only to your detriment. You are endangering the lives of each of us.
He added:
Lives are at stake. Your life is at stake. Your grandmother’s life is at stake. Your father’s life is under threat. My life and that of my family are under threat, and so is my neighbour’s. Whole families stand to be wiped out. From the halls of the palace to the seat of prime ministers, to the village slums, Covid-19 has shown that it respects no one.
Updated
The UK government has conceded it will not be able to repatriate thousands of Britons stranded in New Zealand for some time after a telephone call between Dominic Raab and the country’s foreign minister Winston Peters, Lisa O’Carroll reports.
British Nationals in New Zealand - see below to hear the latest update on the New Zealand COVID-19 situation from British High Commissioner @LauraClarkeUK ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/H9Ff3bqKTN
— UK in New Zealand (@UKinNZ) March 29, 2020
The British high commissioner, Laura Clarke, told Britons trying to get out of the country that there would be no immediate fixes because the country’s lock down and the closure of international flights made it near impossible.
In a video statement she said there up to 9,000 people now registered with the embassy for repatriation purposes and they were working with airlines including Singapore, Emirates, Qatar, Malaysian Airlines, Cathay Pacific to get people out when it would be possible.
The New Zealand government level four Covid guidance is now absolutely clear in limiting domestic flights and transport to essential works only. That means if you are not close to your departure airport you are going to struggle to get on an international flight home.
The New Zealand government has also put a pause on all repatriation or charter flights until at least 31 March
We know this makes things really difficult and we are working hard to find a way through.
We are working closely with the New Zealand authorities to find out how people are going to be able to get to airports in a way that is compliant with New Zealand’s Covid guidance
That is one of the things that our foreign secretary Dominic Raab discussed with New Zealand’s foreign minister Winston Peters this morning.
I should be clear though that there aren’t going to be immediate fixes to that. It will take at least until the end of March and possibly longer.
I know that is not the news that you want to hear but I think it’s really important to be frank.
Expo 2020 trade fair in Dubai to be postponed
The multibillion-dollar Expo 2020 trade fair scheduled to take place in Dubai this October is to be postponed, AFP reports.
Organisers had hoped to attract 25 million visitors to the six month event, with Dubai pinning many of its economic forecasts on the trade it was expected to generate.
Expo 2020 Dubai director general Reem al-Hashimi said
Many countries have been significantly impacted by COVID-19 and they have therefore expressed a need to postpone the opening of Expo 2020 Dubai by one year,” .
The UAE and Expo 2020 Dubai have listened. And in the spirit of solidarity and unity, we supported the proposal to explore a one year postponement.
The United Arab Emirates has announced 611 cases of coronavirus, and five deaths. It has enforced extensive lockdown measures to curb the spread of the disease including an ongoing nighttime curfew.
The government of Cyprus is to introduce new, tighter measures to slow the spread of coronavirus on the Mediterranean island, the Cyprus Mail reports.
On Monday, health minister Constantinos Ioannou announced the imposition of a nighttime curfew, from 9pm to 6am, with a fine of €300 for those found disobeying the ban on movement.
Residents are only allowed to leave their homes once a day and only after receiving permission after sending a text message to an official number.
Shops, including supermarkets, bakeries and grocers, are to be closed on Sundays. Cars are restricted to three occupants – including the driver.
The new restrictions come into force from 6am on Tuesday.
Cyprus took measures early to prevent the spread of coronavirus, says Reuters. Ahead of most European nations it partially sealed its borders on 14 March, then extended the shutdown to all air links on 21 March.
But a weekend spike in cases worried authorities. Thirty-five new cases recorded on Sunday night – more than double the number reported on Saturday – have brought Cyprus’ total to 214 cases. There have been six recorded deaths.
Updated
Nigeria is to impose a strict lockdown on Lagos, Africa’s biggest city, and Abuja, the capital, from tonight in one of the most ambitious efforts so far to enforce distancing measures on the continent, Jason Burke, the Guardian’s Africa correspondent, reports.
The lockdown in the two Nigerian cities is for two weeks. There have been 111 confirmed cases of covid-19 and one death so far in the continent’s most populous state.
As elsewhere in Africa, there are serious concerns about how lockdowns will affect millions who live in poor, overcrowded neighbourhoods, living hand to mouth off from daily earnings.
City authorities have pledged to provide basic provisions to some 200,000 households but Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, is already facing financial strain following the recent collapse in the price of crude.
A reader in Uzbekistan, a part of the world for which news is hard to come by, has written in to report on the measures taken there to tackle coronavirus.
There are 144 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the central Asian country, after 11 more people were diagnosed, its ministry of health said in a statement on Monday.
Uzbekistan confirmed its first case of coronavirus on 15 March, in an Uzbek woman who returned from France. On the same day, authorities imposed a quarantine in all preschools and educational facilities and cancelled all mass gatherings, Radio Free Europe reports. On 24 March, the government closed the borders, and since Friday travel between regions within the country has been restricted.
In the capital, Tashkent, cars, taxis and public transport are banned amid heavy restrictions on movement around the city. The reader, who asked not to be named but said he was writing from the capital, said:
This is very harsh for relatively mild epidemiological situation (unless they are lying to us, and I think they do not), which may lead to actually worse outcome, because now older people, who live by themselves cannot ask their children to bring them food and forced to go to local stores
Updated
Who is most at risk from coronavirus, and why?
The best thing to do when trying to understand a new virus like Covid-19 is to look at the data.
In this video, the Guardian’s science correspondent Hannah Devlin uses the latest figures to explain who is most at risk of contracting this coronavirus, why men are more likely to die from the disease, and the reasons health workers could be particularly vulnerable.
Police in Zimbabwe on Monday began enforcing a three-week lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.
So far six people in the southern African country have been confirmed to be carrying the virus, and one person has died. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared “total” lockdown, curtailing movement, closing most shops and suspended flights in and out, AFP reports.
Police checkpoints controlled access to the central business district in Harare, the capital, while elsewhere truckloads of police armed with batons patrolled, ordering people back to their homes.
As officers in riot gear dispersed people at the Copacabana minibus terminus, a policewoman shouted through a loudspeaker:
We don’t want to see people here on the streets. We don’t want to see people who have no business in town just loitering. Everyone to their homes.
This is Damien Gayle taking over the world news live blog for the next few hours. If you have any news from your part of the world that you think we might have overlooked, please email me at damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or contact me via my Twitter profile, @damiengayle - my DMs are open.
Banks in cash-strapped Lebanon have suspended dollar withdrawals until the airport reopens, after authorities grounded flights to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The country’s international airport in Beirut has been closed for almost two weeks as part of measures to stem Covid-19 in Lebanon, where 446 official cases and 11 deaths have been reported.
The AFP newswire reported that the flight hub is to remain closed until at least 12 April, a date until which all non-essential workers have been told to remain at home across the country.
Updated
Concern as powers handed to Hungarian prime minister to counter Covid-19
Sweeping new powers to fight the coronavirus outbreak with an open-ended mandate have been secured by Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, after parliament passed a law submitted by his government with a strong majority of the ruling Fidesz party.
Orbán, who has gradually increased his power during a decade in power, had asked for an extension of a state of emergency that would give his nationalist government the right to pass decrees to handle the coronavirus crisis.
The legislation has triggered criticism by the Hungarian opposition, human rights groups and the Council of Europe, Europe’s main rights forum, as it contains no clear timeframe.
Today is the day an EU member state becomes a full-on dictatorship, as Viktor Orbán will seize unlimited power in Hungary. https://t.co/xoEyUcOkwh pic.twitter.com/HhSbUHttPn
— Andrew Stroehlein (@astroehlein) March 30, 2020
As of Sunday morning, Hungary had 408 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 13 deaths, although the real figures are likely to be higher.
The country has been under a partial lockdown, with people discouraged from going outside except for essential activities, and schools, restaurants and many shops closed.
Updated
There have been 154 new coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia in the last 24 hours, the health ministry has announced, pushing the total number of infections to 1,453. No death has been recorded in the same period.
Sixteen cases are related to travel and were in quarantine since they arrived to the kingdom, while 138 new cases had direct contact with previously confirmed cases.
Updated
A couple in Northern Ireland who were married for 53 years died within hours of each other after contracting coronavirus.
Christopher Vallely, 79, and his wife Isobel, 77, died over the weekend in the same room at the Mater hospital in Belfast.
Christopher was hospitalised and placed in isolation 10 days ago after showing symptoms. Isobel was hospitalised last Thursday and died on Saturday night, a day after their wedding anniversary.
Christopher was moved to the room she had occupied after his condition worsened. He died on Sunday, 12 hours after his wife. Both had underlying conditions: Isobel had a stroke last year and Christopher was recently diagnosed with lung cancer.
“They were amazing parents,” their daughter Fiona Vallely told the Irish News. “And they would have done anything for anybody. They were fantastic people and they did not deserve to go this way.”
Christopher Vallely (79) , who was known as Arty, and his wife Isobel (77), died within 12 hours of each in the same room at the Mater Hospital #coronavirus https://t.co/1kFwi3rCkK
— The Irish News (@irish_news) March 30, 2020
Updated
A motorsport chief has revealed he suggested that his Red Bull team’s drivers should try to become infected with coronavirus as it is the “ideal time” with the season on hold.
The start of the 2020 F1 season has been decimated by the global pandemic, with the opening six races of the year either cancelled or postponed. As things stand, the first grand prix of a truncated season will be in Canada on 14 June but that will almost certainly change in the coming days.
Red Bull’s Helmut Marko told Austrian television station ORF that he came up with a plan in which his driver pairing Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon – as well as the AlphaTauri duo Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat – contract Covid-19 in an attempt to have them fit and healthy when the season finally begins.
“We have four Formula One drivers and eight or 10 juniors,” he said.
“The idea was to organise a camp where we could bridge this mentally and physically somewhat dead time and that would be the ideal time for the infection to come.
International Olympic Committee confirms new Tokyo Olympics dates
The Tokyo Olympics will take place between 23 July and 8 August next year, the International Olympic Committee has confirmed
The statement from the IOC followed a meeting of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee.
The committee also confirmed the new dates for the Paralympic Games, which will take place from 24 August to 5 September.
Updated
While the Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has claimed that vodka and saunas can counter coronavirus, the UK polling company YouGov has been looking at the bogus claims that have taken in some Britons.
Vodka and saunas will ward off #COVID19, according Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko. Here are the top bogus claims that fool Brits:
— YouGov (@YouGov) March 30, 2020
32% - Vodka can be hand sanitiser
28% - It survives on surfaces for a month
21% - It came from a lab in Chinahttps://t.co/4uO2FAHEBa pic.twitter.com/fijpKEc8fr
Updated
Between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths if US response "perfect" - official
The US could get in the range of between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths if the response to the pandemic was executed “almost perfectly”, according to a senior official involved in coordinating the response at a national level.
Dr Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for the White House coronavirus taskforce, told NBC News’ Today: “If we do things together well, almost perfectly, we could get in the range of 100,000 to 200,000 fatalities.”
“We don’t even want to see that … the best-case scenario would be 100% of Americans doing precisely what is required, but we’re not sure … that all of America is responding in a uniform way to protect one another.”
Birx also spoke about the possibility of social distancing measures expanding for another month, saying: “I think everyone understands now that you can go from five to 50 to 500 to 5,000 cases very quickly.”
“We see this in many metropolitan areas. We’re very worried about every city in the United States and the potential for this virus to get out of control.”
Updated
The French education minister, Jean-Michel Blanquer, has sought to reassure the public that the long two-month summer holidays in July and August will go ahead and that he is hopeful schools will reopen across the country on 4 May.
However, Blanquer said this date depended on the epidemic being “behind us”.
Talking to Europe 1 radio on Monday morning, the minister added: “The summer holidays will be maintained.”
It remains to be seen whether the French president, Emmanuel Macron, will overrule this. While ministers insist the coronavirus lockdown is not a “holiday”, all agree that the post-pandemic return to work will require everyone making an extra effort if the country is to avoid a deep economic recession.
France has, meanwhile, evacuated 36 coronavirus patients from hospitals in the hard-hit Alsace region in the east to hospitals in less affected areas using medically adapted TGVs.
Two specially modified trains carried patients from Mulhouse and Nancy to hospitals in western France. The patients are reportedly on ventilators but their conditions show “no complications”.
Each train carriage has been turned into an intensive care unit for four patients, and a team of at least six medics and nurses, according to the French health ministry.
Around 80 French patients from Alsace have also now been transferred to hospitals in neighbouring Luxembourg, Germany and Switzerland.
Jean Rottner, president of the Grand-Est regional council, tweeted his thanks to France’s “German, Swiss and Luxembourg friends” for their support.
Une chaîne de soins unique et exceptionnelle s’est mise en place depuis la @regiongrandest.
— Jean ROTTNER (@JeanROTTNER) March 29, 2020
Merci à toutes les régions françaises et à nos amis allemands, suisses et luxembourgeois 🇩🇪 🇨🇭 🇱🇺 pour leur soutien à efficace. pic.twitter.com/4n20eAs3r5
The Grand-Est region of France has around 3,777 people in hospital with the coronavirus, 786 of whom are in intensive care. There have been 757 deaths due to Covid-19 in the region.
The latest French coronavirus figures to be given by the head of the French health authority, Jérôme Salomon, at 19.15pm local time.
Updated
US navy relief ship about to reach New York
A Navy hospital ship with 1,000 beds is making its way into New York Harbour to help relieve the coronavirus crisis gripping the city’s hospitals, according to the Associated Press news agency.
The USNS Comfort, which was sent to New York City after 9/11, will be used to treat non-coronavirus patients while hospitals treat people with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
New York State governor Andrew Cuomo was expected to greet the vessel when it reaches the harbour and docks at a Manhattan cruise ship terminal.
In addition to the 1,000 beds, the Comfort has 12 operating rooms that could be up and running within 24 hours.
The ship’s arrival comes as New York state’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak climbed Sunday above 1,000, less than a month after the first known infection in the state. Most of those deaths have occurred in just the past few days.
Updated
The inhabitants of Montaldo Torinese, a village in Italy’s northern Piedmont region, have so far been spared coronavirus, leading some to believe they are being protected by the “miracle water” that, according to legend, cured Napoleon Bonaparte’s troops of pneumonia.
Montaldo Torinese lies about 11 miles (19km) from Turin, the regional capital where as of Saturday 3,658 people were infected with the virus. Across Piedmont, the fourth worst-affected region in Italy, there were 8,206 cases as of Sunday.
The water from the well in Montaldo Torinese, a village of 720 inhabitants, is believed to have helped cure Napoleon’s troops, who had set up camp in the village in June 1800 before a battle in nearby Marengo.
Updated
Cases of coronavirus in the Netherlands have risen by 884 to 11,750, according to the Dutch broadcaster RTL.
There have been 93 new deaths. The latest figures came as the Dutch news agency ANP reported that problems on telecommunications networks in the Netherlands were affecting communications at some hospitals.
ANP said networks operated by KPN, Vodafone and Ziggo were among those affected. ANP cited reports from hospitals in the north and east of the country.
A spokesman for Ziggo, the country’s largest cable provider which also offers phone and internet services, confirmed parts of its fixed-line telephone network had faced disruptions, without saying whether hospitals were affected.
Updated
Austria makes face masks compulsory for shoppers
Austria is making it compulsory for shoppers to wear facial masks in supermarkets.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Monday morning announced that introducing the requirement was a “necessary step” to help to prevent the airborne transmission of the virus.
Shoppers are to be handed masks covering their mouth and nose at the entrance of supermarkets from Wednesday, the chancellor said. Kurz said the masks were not the same protective masks used by medical staff and weren’t designed to “protect” those wearing them but only to stop them spreading infections further.
While wearing the masks in supermarkets will be compulsory, people are encouraged to also wear them in other “social situations”.
By Monday morning, the alpine state had 9,131 confirmed infections with the Covid-19 virus and 108 people who had died as a result of an infection.
Updated
India’s shutdown has been catastrophic for the poor, as well as Muslims who were driven from their homes by recent sectarian carnage and are without food or shelter, reports Amrit Dhillon in New Delhi.
Drivers, maids, auto-rickshaw drivers, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, artisans and street vendors buy lentils or vegetables to feed their families from the day’s earnings. There are no reserves, well-stocked freezers, or anything saved for a rainy day. As one daily wage labourer said: “If the coronavirus doesn’t kill me, hunger will.”
For the Muslims whose lives have been devastated by the riots, all of this applies, but worse. With no homes, makeshift camps have become last sanctuaries, unless they could depend on the charity of relatives who put them up.
Many are grieving for loved ones who were beaten to death, lynched or set on fire. The pain of losing a home is still fresh. Now the coronavirus is battering them all over again.
Updated
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in self-isolation after aide tests positive
Benjamin Netanyahu and his key advisers have placed themselves in self-isolation after one of the prime minister’s aides tested positive for the coronavirus.
The decision was a precautionary measure and officials said the 70-year-old leader was unlikely to have been infected. Netanyahu is due to undergo a coronavirus test. A previous test he took, from 15 March, was negative.
Although Netanyahu was not in close contact with Rivka Paluch, an adviser for parliamentary affairs, he would self-isolate while an epidemiological investigation is completed.
Israel has reported more than 4,300 cases of the coronavirus, with 15 fatalities.
Updated
Tokyo Olympics rescheduled to start in July 2021
The Tokyo Olympics have been rescheduled and will now July 23 - August 8, 2021.
Updated
Summary
Global infections pass 730,000
Covid-19 infections worldwide have risen to 732,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. The US had the most cases, with over 142,000; Italy was second with nearly 98,000; and Spain has passed China’s 82,000 cases with 85,000. Italy still had the highest death toll, with nearly 10,800. Spain was second with 7,340. More than 2,500 people have died in the US.
Lockdowns increase in cities across the world
Europe’s largest capital and Africa’s most populous city have gone into lockdown and countries including the US have prolonged and tightened already strict confinement orders as the coronavirus epidemic continues to spread across the globe. Moscow on Monday imposed strict isolation measures after many residents ignored official requests to stay indoors. In Italy, which accounts for a third of all global deaths from Covid-19, the government meanwhile warned citizens should be ready for a lengthy confinement that would only be lifted gradually.
UK spread shows early signs of slowing – key adviser
The spread of coronavirus in the UK is showing early signs of slowing, according to Prof Neil Ferguson, a key epidemiologist advising the government. Ferguson, whose modelling informed the government’s decision to impose a lockdown, said the data was showing signs that social distancing measures were beginning to work, although it has not yet had an effect on the number of daily reported deaths
Spain logs slight fall in number of deaths
Spain, one of the European countries worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic, has logged a slight fall in the number of people dying from the disease after days of record death tolls. Figures released by the ministry of health recorded that 812 people died from the virus between Sunday and Monday. The news came as Fernando Simón, the head of Spain’s centre for health emergencies and the public face of the government’s response, awaited the results of testing after displaying symptoms of Covid-19.
Trump says keeping US deaths under 100,000 would be ‘a very good job’
Donald Trump has acknowledged the scale of possible fatalities from Covid-19 in the US, while extending social distancing rules until 30 April. The president said if his administration kept deaths under 100,000 it would have done a “very good job”, bringing him closer in line with the top US diseases expert, Anthony Fauci, who suggested on Sunday deaths could reach 200,000. Trump also claimed his push to reopen the country by Easter had only been “aspirational”, now saying he hoped normality might return by 1 June.
Tokyo Olympics set for July 2021 as Wimbledon cancelation looms
Organisers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are in final-stage discussions to hold the opening ceremony for the rescheduled Games on 23 July 2021, according to reports in Japan. In the UK, Wimbledon organisers are set to announce the cancellation of the 2020 tournament on Wednesday due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a senior German tennis official.
Concern over infections spread by asymptomatic people in China
Asymptomatic people may be infecting others in China despite officials saying the risk of this is low, it has emerged. As China relaxes lockdown measures and people return to work, authorities are concerned about the possibility that asymptomatic carriers will continue spreading the virus.
New breathing aid to be mass-produced if trials successful
A breathing aid that should help keep coronavirus-19 patients out of intensive care has been developed in Britain by a group including University College London researchers and the Mercedes Formula One team. Mercedes said that they can distribute up to 1,000 a day of the trials set to start this week are successful.
Australia begins tighter restrictions
New rules restricting group meetings outside to just two people came into force on Monday, as children’s playgrounds, outdoor gyms and skateparks were closed in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus. So far the country has more than 4,000 cases and 16 deaths.
Aviation industry continues to suffer
The virus has continued to wreak havoc in the aviation sector. EasyJet has grounded its entire fleet of aircraft for at least two months while Virgin Atlantic has reportedly asked the UK government for emergency financial help. Thai Airways International said it may permanently reduce the number of aircraft types it deploys once the coronavirus outbreak ends.
Two of Brazil’s most iconic football stadiums - Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã and the Pacaembu in São Paulo - are being converted into Covid-19 field hospitals as the country braces for an explosion of coronavirus cases.
The Pacaembu - whose turf has been graced by giants of Brazilian football including Pelé, Socrates and Ronaldo - is expected to open on Wednesday as a 200-bed clinic for coronavirus patients who do not require intensive care treatment.
“From what we have seen in Asia and Europe, the hospital system will fast become overloaded if we don’t have parallel infrastructure,” told Brazilian television network Globo on Sunday night.
The Maracanã - which has hosted two World Cup finals, in 1950 and 2014 - will also reportedly be turned into a hospital in early April.
Other Brazilian cities turning football stadiums into temporary hospitals include Boa Vista in the Amazon state of Roraima and Fortaleza in northeast Brazil.
As of Sunday Brazil had officially confirmed 4,256 cases and 136 Covid-19 deaths - the majority in Rio (17) and São Paulo (98). Those numbers are expected to rise significantly in the coming days as testing increases and the virus spreads. Brazil’s health ministry has warned the hospital system could collapse by the end of April.
Spain overtakes China in the number of coronavirus cases
The latest figures from the health ministry show that Spain now has more coronavirus cases than China, where the disease erupted at the end of last year.
Spain has a total of 85,195 cases, while China has 82,198. The statistics reveal that healthcare workers account for about 14% of Spain’s cases.
The Spanish government has warned that intensive care units around the country are working at the limits of their capacity, and that the pressure on them will continue to be enormous even when the number of new cases peaks.
Updated
The death toll in Switzerland from coronavirus has reached 295 people, the country’s public health bureau has said, rising from 257 on Sunday.
The number of confirmed cases increased to 15,475 from 14,336 on Sunday, Reuters reported. The country has the ninth largest number of confirmed cases, according to the John Hopkins University global dashboard.
Updated
Europe’s largest capital and Africa’s most populous city have gone into lockdown and countries including the US have prolonged and tightened already strict confinement orders as the coronavirus epidemic continues to spread across the globe.
Moscow on Monday imposed strict isolation measures after many residents ignored official requests to stay indoors, confining citizens to their homes unless for a medical emergency, to travel to essential jobs, shop for food or medicines or walk their dogs.
The prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, asked authorities across Russia to prepare similar orders as the country began a “non-working” week declared by the president, Vladimir Putin. Facial recognition cameras will police the measures in the capital, which has reported more than 1,000 confirmed cases.
On the other side of the world, the 21 million inhabitants of Lagos in Nigeria, which has recorded one death from Covid-19, also entered a two-week lockdown, a measure experts have warned could prove difficult if not impossible to enforce in a city where millions live in poverty and rely on daily earnings to survive.
In Italy, which accounts for a third of all global deaths from Covid-19, the government warned citizens should be ready for a lengthy confinement that would only be lifted gradually. “We are in a very long battle,” the government medical adviser, Luca Richeldi, said on Monday. “Through our behaviour, we save lives.”
The regional affairs minister, Francesco Boccia, said all talk of reopening was inappropriate and irresponsible. “The measures expiring on 3 April will inevitably be extended,” Boccia said. “We all want to go back to normal. But we will have to do it by turning on one switch at a time.”
Updated
The Tokyo Olympics will open on 23 July next year, Japan’s Nikkei business newspaper has reported, without citing sources.
The paper said the International Olympic Committee, the Japanese government, the Tokyo metropolitan government and the Tokyo 2020 organising committee had agreed that the Games will end on 8 August 2021.
The summer Games, which had been scheduled to open on 24 July this year, were postponed last week due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Updated
Asymptomatic people may be infecting others in China despite officials saying the risk of this is low, reports the Guardian’s Lily Kuo in Shanghai.
As China relaxes lockdown measures and people return to work, authorities are concerned about the possibility that asymptomatic carriers will continue spreading the virus.
For the last two weeks, health authorities have reported an almost zero rate of local transmission of the virus, with almost all new cases coming in from outside the country. But critics say officials are downplaying the outbreak by not including asymptomatic cases.
China has not released data for the number of asymptomatic cases, but Chinese researchers estimated that 59% of those who contracted the virus had mild or no symptoms.
Documents seen by the South China Morning Post reportedly showed more than 40,000 asymptomatic patients that would not have been included in China’s total number of infections of more than 80,000.
Updated
Slight fall in number of deaths in Spain
Spain has logged a slight fall in the number of people dying from the coronavirus after days of record death tolls.
According to the latest figures, released by the ministry of health, 812 people died from the virus between Sunday and Monday.
The virus has so far claimed 7,340 lives in Spain, and the country has confirmed a total of 85,195 cases, up from 78,797 yesterday.
Spanish authorities said 838 people died from Covid-19 between Saturday and Sunday, and 832 between Friday and Saturday.
Meanwhile, Fernando Simón, the head of Spain’s centre for health emergencies – and the public face of the government’s response thanks to his daily briefings – is awaiting confirmation that he has tested positive for the virus.
The virus was apparently detected last night, according to the government.
Updated
The organisers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are in final-stage discussions to hold the opening ceremony for the rescheduled Games on 23 July 2021, according to Japan’s Asahi TV.
The broadcaster cited cited unnamed sources for the reported plan, which comes after it was announced last week that the Games would be postponed to next year.
Updated
Iran death toll at 2,757 - Iranian officials
The death toll in Iran has increased to 2,757, according to health officials there.
Reuters also report that Iranian state media say officials now put the number of infections at 41,495 .
Those figures are up from the 38,309 infections and 2,640 deaths which the John Hopkins University global dashboard had recently recorded.
The official Iranian figures have been treated with scepticism in some quarters. Satellite images of mass graves in the city of Qom earlier this month suggest the country’s coronavirus epidemic was even more serious than the authorities are admitting.
Another suspected casualty of Covid-19 in the British government has emerged, the prime minister’s senior adviser, Dominic Cummings.
That’s according to the Daily Mail’s political editor.
Dominic Cummings has developed symptoms of coronavirus over the weekend and is now self-isolating. No 10 source says he remains 'in contact'
— Jason Groves (@JasonGroves1) March 30, 2020
Updated
George Soros, the 89-year-old billionaire financier, has said that his Open Society Foundations would contribute €1m to Hungary’s fight against coronavirus.
“The Covid-19 pandemic knows no boundaries, not between countries, communities, religions or people,” Soros said in a statement.”
“I was born in Budapest, in the middle of the Great Depression, barely a decade after the Spanish flu left thousands of dead in Budapest,” he said. “I lived through World War II, the Arrow Cross [a Hungarian far-right party] rule, and the siege in the city. I remember what it is like to live in extreme circumstances.”
The funding comes despite years of hostility and vilification by Hungary’s ruling party towards Soros investments in Hungary, where the philanthropist has been the target of antisemitic tropes.
Updated
The charity Oxfam has called for a package of nearly $160bn (£130bn) in immediate debt cancellation and aid to fund a global emergency and public health response to help prevent millions of deaths as a result of Covid-19.
It said the funding would enable poor countries to take action to prevent the spread of the disease and improve health systems to care for those affected.
Danny Sriskandarajah, the chief executive of Oxfam GB, said: “Coronavirus is bringing misery and suffering to rich and poor. But for millions of people in overcrowded refugee camps without clean water, already weakened by hunger and disease, and in countries with little or no health facilities the impact could be catastrophic.
Updated
Images of the Taliban’s efforts to counter Covid-19 have surfaced in Afghanistan, which reportedly includes distributing masks in areas it controls.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, tweeted that a campaign had started in Paktika province:
د صحت کمیسیون له لوري د پکتیکا ولایت برمل ولسوالۍ کې هم د کرونا وایرس د مخنیوي او عامه پوهاوي په اړه کمپاین ترسره شو. pic.twitter.com/Rs0LAoYa5q
— Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) March 30, 2020
The Taliban have continued to launch attacks, killing 13 members of the security forces in one incident, an Afghan news source reports.
Afghanistan’s health ministry has reported 27 new Coronavirus cases in last 24 hours, pushing the total number of infections in the country to 145, Akhtar Mohammad Makoii reported earlier for the Guardian.
Updated
The Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has said he has contracted Covid-19 and has been working in isolation.
The owner of the energy holding group EPH was quoted on Monday by the Czech Republic’s Blesk and E15 newspapers, both part of the media group he owns, as saying he tested positive on 12 March and has been in quarantine since.
Kretinsky, 44, is the highest-profile Czech who has tested positive for the virus, Reuters reported. The Czech Republic has reported 2,837 confirmed cases as of Monday morning.
Updated
The deaths of more than 50 doctors from coronavirus in Italy must serve as an urgent warning to the British government on personal protective equipment, according to the British Medical Association (BMA), the trade union for UK doctors.
The chair of the BMA, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, told Sky News this morning: “I’m getting messages from doctors still saying that there are shortages or they are having to ration equipment.”
"I'm getting messages from doctors still saying that there are shortages or they are having to ration equipment."@TheBMA's Dr Chaand Nagpaul says we need to ensure that health workers have enough personal protective equipment. #KayBurley#COVID19: https://t.co/RzzfrJ9SH5 pic.twitter.com/ckV2WprWe8
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 30, 2020
Updated
Wimbledon cancellation looms - German tennis official
Wimbledon organisers will announce the cancellation of the 2020 tournament on Wednesday due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the German Tennis Federation (DTB) vice-president, Dirk Hordorff.
All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) officials earlier said the event, due to begin on 29 June, would not be played behind closed doors and postponement was not without significant risk and difficulty.
Controversy has also been building elsewhere in the tennis world after French Open organisers stunned the tennis world by unilaterally postponing the clay-court grand slam at Roland Garros from May until late September because of the pandemic.
The French Tennis Federation (FFT) came under criticism from tennis players around the world at the lack of communication as the new dates clashed with several other events already featuring on the calendar.
Hordorff said that either the FFT would go ahead with the new dates and feel the wrath of the entire tennis world or they have the option to start working with others to draw up a plan that makes sense for everyone.
“They will be deprived of the points and they will degenerate into a chaos event,” he said.
Updated
First day of a more restrictive lockdown in Spain
Spain is beginning its first day of even more restrictive lockdown after the government banned all non-essential workers from leaving their homes in a bid to arrest the spread of the coronavirus.
As the official order was not published until late last night, some businesses are being allowed an extra day to put their affairs in order before observing the ban from tomorrow.
The country has so far recorded almost 80,000 cases of the virus and logged another record single-day toll yesterday after 838 people died between Saturday and Sunday.
The Madrid regional government has declared a mourning period for those killed by the disease, ordering flags to be flown at half-mast on official buildings and asking for a minute’s silence starts midday each day.
Updated
The Scottish government has finally launched a volunteering scheme for members of the public to help during the coronavirus crisis, in a collaboration with the British Red Cross, the NHS and a volunteering agency.
The “Scotland cares” campaign will target retired or former NHS workers, people who want to bolster public services as “community reserve volunteers” or thirdly, those hoping to help community groups and charities in their areas.
A scheme launched in England by the health secretary, Matt Hancock, on Tuesday last week has seen more than 700,000 people volunteer to help the NHS support 1.5 million vulnerable people, nearly triple the original 250,000 target.
Scottish ministers have not set a target for their scheme but volunteers will be asked to use the Ready Scotland website, where they will be redirected to the three options offered to register their interest.
Volunteers will be told they must still observe the stay-at-home rules in force during the lockdown, so are limited to one trip per day and must only take part if they are not required to self-isolate.
Shirley-Anne Somerville, the Scottish cabinet secretary for social security and older people, said: “By providing this national portal we will be able to connect people to where their contribution is most needed in their local community, ensuring everyone can play their part in helping Scotland come through this pandemic.”
Updated
Afghanistan’s health ministry has reported 27 new coronavirus cases in last 24 hours, pushing the total number of infections in the country to 145.
Twenty-four of the new cases were confirmed in the western province of Herat, which is the worst affected area with 106 infections and borders Iran.
Citing “unofficial numbers”, the Afghan ambassador in Iran said yesterday that about 50 Afghans have died of coronavirus in Iran so far.
Herat’s governor has extended a partial curfew and warned that “difficult days are ahead” and asked people to respect the rules and stay at home.
Meanwhile, the Taliban established their own committee to distribute information about the coronavirus and have been reportedly distributing masks and soaps in the areas they control.
Afghanistan has reported three deaths of coronavirus and five recoveries so far.
Updated
There has been more carnage in the aviation sector, with airlines in Thailand and Britain both indicating the extent of their distress.
A senior government official in Thailand has said Thai Airways International Pcl has just said it may permanently reduce the number of aircraft types it deploys once the coronavirus outbreak that has caused the company to ground most of its fleet ends.
Thai Airways is grounding 69 of its 82 jets following a drop in passenger volume and route cancellations from the increased border restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the state-owned airline said in a statement earlier.
In the UK, Easyjet has has grounded its entire fleet of more than 300 planes.
The company said in a statement: “As a result of the unprecedented travel restrictions imposed by governments in response to the coronavirus pandemic and the implementation of national lockdowns across many European countries, easyJet has, today, fully grounded its entire fleet of aircraft.”
Updated
An investigation has been launched after pictures of a British footballer surfaced online following an incident in which a Range Rover crashed into parked cars.
West Midlands police said they were called to the Dickens Heath area of Solihull on Sunday just before 10am where the two parked cars suffered minor damage. The force said the driver left his details with a member of the public before leaving on foot.
Images surfaced online on Sunday of a damaged white Range Rover as well as a picture that appeared to show the Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish in slippers and a bright blue hoodie.
Less than 24 hours before the incident, the midfielder launched a video appeal for people to stay at home during the government-enforced lockdown. In the video, he said: “To help save lives you must stay at home. Only leave your house to buy food, buy medicine or to exercise and always remember to stay at least two metres apart. This is urgent, protect the NHS, stay home, save lives.”
Stay Home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives.#StayHomeSaveLives @NHSuk pic.twitter.com/AIN4AzwNcR
— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish) March 28, 2020
Updated
Britain’s prime minster, Boris Johnson, has made his second appearance since going into self isolation last week after testing positive for coronavirus, saying in a message posted on Twitter that 20,000 former NHS staff have returned to help battle the virus.
Thanks to everyone who has been staying at home.
— Boris Johnson #StayHomeSaveLives (@BorisJohnson) March 29, 2020
By delaying the spread of the disease we can reduce the pressure on our NHS, and that's how we hope to save many thousands of lives.#StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/kxdqItMYSE
There was also more evidence of the way which the pandemic is turning recent political orthodoxies on their head, when he stressed “there really is such a thing as society”.
Johnson did not name Margaret Thatcher, the former conservative prime minister who issued an endorsement of pure individualism in 1987 when she told a magazine “There is no such thing as society,” but his comment will raise eyebrows.
He went on to say: “We are going to do it, we are going to do it together. One thing I think the coronavirus crisis has already proved is that there really is such a thing as society.”
Updated
UK rate of infection may be slowing - expert
The coronavirus epidemic may now be “just about” slowing in the UK, according to Prof Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London, an academic who has been highly influential in shaping the UK government’s strategy.
The indicators he was talking about did not include deaths, but he said new hospital admissions appeared to be slowing slightly.
“It has not yet plateaued but the rate has slowed down,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. This was a trend that was also happening in other European states.
However, he went on to say that “critical data” that could help determine what was happening was missing, although that will change when new testing kits designed to find out whether someone has had the virus will be rolled out.
This would hopefully happen within days, if not weeks.
Updated
Some people in the UK are still not getting the message about the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and the government needs to be more inventive with its information campaign, a police chief has said.
David Jamieson, the police and crime commissioner for the West Midlands, said certain demographics in the country were struggling to access important information due to language barriers. Other groups, including teenagers, were also not being reached because of the way information was being distributed.
The West Midlands has emerged as a hotspot for transmissions and deaths from the virus. Earlier this week, the government said it was investigating anecdotal evidence suggesting people’s religious convictions and fears of social isolation could be leading to a sharp rise in the number of coronavirus transmissions in the area.
Updated
Tokyo Olympics organising committee president Yoshiro Mori has said he is expecting a call from International Olympics Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach this week to decide new dates for the Games, Reuters reports.
Last week, the IOC decided to delay the Tokyo Games, which had been scheduled to begin in July, due to the coronavirus.
Updated
Russia’s prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, has asked regional governors to consider imposing the type of coronavirus restrictions already in place in Moscow.
That’s according to Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency.
Updated
The deaths of the first British doctors from Covid-19 have intensified pressure on ministers to accelerate the supply of protective equipment and address growing fears among frontline staff that they risk catching and spreading coronavirus.
It’s an issue that’s likely to loom large today and into the week. A senior official from a major London local authority has just been on BBC Radio 4 in the last few minutes telling how he and his staff had to appeal to the public to help them procure protective equipment needed to deal with the pandemic in its area of south London.
As the UK’s death toll from the virus rose to 1,228 over the weekend, two surgeons were confirmed to have died in what the NHS medical director described as “a stark reminder to the whole country that we all must take this crisis seriously”.
The doctor pictured on a number of today’s front pages posted here is Amged El-Hawrani, a 55-year-old ear, nose and throat consultant, who died on Saturday at Leicester Royal Infirmary. Adil El Tayar, 63, an organ transplant specialist, died on Wednesday at West Middlesex University Hospital in London, it emerged. Both had contracted Covid-19.
The Guardian leads with that issue on its front page today
GUARDIAN: Pressure to provide equipment grows after two UK doctors die #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/wuTTuyOriV
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) March 29, 2020
Updated
It will be a week today since the UK went into a full lockdown, and a suggestion at a Downing Street press conference by a senior British medical official that social distancing measures could be in place for six months or more dominates the front pages of many of the morning newspapers.
It include The Times, which also has a story of how police have planned to drop investigations of some crimes if the virus led to shortages of staff.
TIMES: Britain faces 6 month of curbs #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/pP4nLF28Dp
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) March 29, 2020
EXPRESS: 6 months for Britain to get back to normal #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/RhzQxZWbos
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) March 29, 2020
TELEGRAPH: Return to ‘normal life’ may be six months away #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/5wN3Qhfyd7
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) March 29, 2020
Trials to start on new mass-produced UK breathing aid
In the UK, a breathing aid that should help keep coronavirus-19 patients out of intensive care has reportedly been developed by a group including University College London researchers and the Mercedes Formula One team.
University College engineers, medical clinicians, and technicians from Mercedes hope to distribute the machine through NHS hospitals pending successful trials this week, the BBC has reported.
Mercedes said that they can distribute up to 1,000 a day of the trials are successful.
The device is a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure or CPAP machine, which delivers oxygen to the lungs without the need for a ventilator and patient sedation.
The BBC says the device has gained regulatory approval and says Mercedes is confident that, provided the apparatus performs well in trials, it could produce up to 1,000 of them a day for distribution throughout hospitals.
This is Ben Quinn picking up the blog now in London
Looking for a distraction? Here are 25 of our favourite long reads
Summary
That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan – a person who got sunburned while working from home – for today.
I’ll now be handing over to my colleague Ben Quinn.
Below are the most important updates from the last few hours. There’s an altogether briefer summary here, in our Coronavirus: At a Glance series.
- The coronavirus pandemic could cause UK economic output to plunge by an unprecedented 15% in the second quarter of the year and unemployment to more than double, according to dire forecasts.
- The lockdown in the UK to try to slow the spread of coronavirus could go on for six months and the country may not return to its normal way of life until the autumn, a key government doctor has said.
- New York state’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak climbed above 1,000, less than a month after the disease was first detected in the state, AP reports.
- Tokyo recorded its biggest daily increase in Covid-19 cases on Sunday, as authorities identified large infection clusters in and around the capital.
-
Japan will expand its entry ban to include citizens travelling from the US, China, South Korea and most of Europe amid a rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the Asahi newspaper reported on Monday.
- Vietnam’s prime minister on Monday asked major cities to prepare for possible lockdowns to stop the spread of coronavirus as the number of confirmed cases in the south-east Asian country reached nearly 200, Reuters reports.
- Argentina will extend a mandatory nationwide quarantine period until the middle of April.
- South Korea will provide emergency cash payments to many families and draw up a second supplementary budget soon to ease the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
- US warned coronavirus could kill as many as 200,000. Dr Anthony Fauci, the leading US government infectious disease expert, said the coronavirus toll could be between 100,000 and 200,000 Americans.
-
The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 33,000 people. The total number of confirmed cases is at 716,101, according to Johns Hopkins.
-
Trump extended social distancing guidelines to 30 April, saying. “Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won.”
- Italy has said it will extend its month-long lockdown as the number of deaths in the country increased by 756 to reach 10,779. There are now 97,689 confirmed cases in Italy. The death toll in the country’s worst affected region, Lombardy, has slowed.
- Moscow, Russia has announced a citywide lockdown beginning tomorrow, confining residents of the city of nearly 12 million people to their homes to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The restrictions are some of the most severe in the Russian capital’s history.
- Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, has ordered a lockdown in Lagos and the capital city of Abuja, AFP reports. Nigeria has recorded 97 confirmed coronavirus cases and one death.
- The finance minister of Germany’s Hesse state, Thomas Schäfer, has killed himself after apparently becoming “deeply worried” about how to deal with the economic impact of coronavirus.
- The Syrian health ministry has announced the country’s first coronavirus death, as the total number of cases comes to nine.
- Mexico has asked its 130 million citizens to stay at home for a month. The country’s president has previously been criticised for not doing enough to deal with the crisis.
Updated
The number of global confirmed coronavirus infections stands at 723,328, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been 34,005 deaths and 151,991 recoveries.
The 10 countries with the highest number of infections are as follows – seven of these, including the UK, are in Europe:
- US: 143,025
- Italy: 97,689
- China: 82,152
- Spain: 80,110
- Germany: 62,435
- France: 40,723
- Iran: 38,309
- UK: 19,784
- Switzerland: 14,829
- Netherlands: 10,930
Updated
Japan and South Korea tighten borders as US faces up to 200,000 Covid-19 deaths
Japan and South Korea are poised to tighten restrictions on overseas visitors in renewed efforts to prevent “imported” cases of the coronavirus, as American authorities warned that the US could face 200,000 deaths.
Japan will expand its entry ban to include people travelling from the US, China, South Korea and most of Europe, local media reported on Monday. The measure will apply to foreign nationals who have been to any of the listed regions within 14 days of arriving in Japan.
Japanese citizens – irrespective of where they have travelled to – and foreigners who have travelled outside the banned areas will be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days and watch for symptoms of Covid-19, Kyodo news agency quoted sources as saying.
The government may also ban entry from, and travel to, some countries in south-east Asia and Africa, the Asahi newspaper said, citing a few government sources. Japan has already imposed an entry ban on arrivals from affected areas of China and South Korea, as well as more than 20 countries.
The US is now at the centre of the coronavirus pandemic. In a press briefing on Sunday, Donald Trump said it would be “a very good job” if the country could keep deaths to 100,000 after Dr Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious diseases expert, said the nation could see 200,000 deaths.
Trump extended social distancing rules until 30 April and said he hoped normality would return by 1 June. On Sunday New York state passed a grim milestone, recording its 1,000th death.
The US president also undermined his plea for unity by uttering falsehoods, verbally abusing reporters and implying health care workers were stealing masks, without providing evidence.
The Australian share market finished up 7% on Monday ahead of the country’s government announcing a new spending package as the closing bell rang.
Health stocks led the charge, with Mayne Pharma and Ansell both skyrocketing by more than 25% and Estia surging more than 15%.
Mining services group Parenti Global was the biggest loser among top 200 companies, falling 7%, and buy-now-pay-later fintech Afterpay slumped 3.7% as short-sellers built significant stakes in the company.
You can get in touch with me directly with news, tips or questions on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
Here is a roundup of the top stories in the UK this morning:
Pressure is mounting on ministers to speed up the provision of protective equipment amid fears among NHS staff that they risk catching coronavirus and spreading it to the public at large. As two surgeons became the first doctors to die from the disease in Britain, staff lobby groups attacked continuing shortages of gear such as masks and gowns and there were further calls for increased testing of workers. The UK’s death toll rose to 1,228 over the weekend and Jenny Harries, deputy chief medical officer, said restrictions on everyday life could last for six months. Cabin crew staff laid off by airlines could be retrained to work in emergency hospitals to help ease personnel shortages.
The coronavirus emergency is expected to reduce UK economic output by a whopping 15%, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research. The unprecedented fall would dwarf the 2.2% reduction seen during the 2008-09 financial crisis. Among the worst-hit sectors will be pubs, shops and restaurants, where thousands of businesses could collapse because of the lockdown rules.
Donald Trump has extended the US lockdown to the end of April after bowing to pressure from medical experts not to try to open up parts of the economy by Easter. He also said that keeping US deaths at 100,000 would be a “very good job” hours after administration expert Anthony Fauci said 200,000 Americans could die. Meanwhile, New York passed the grim milestone of 1,000 deaths.
Around the world, almost 34,000 people have died from Covid-19 and 720,000 have been infected. Here is our latest at-a-glance summary and we will have all the developments throughout the day on our coronavirus live blog.
Student cap – University admissions will be capped this year in order to avoid a free-for-all that could leave some institutions without enough students as the coronavirus wreaks chaos in the higher education sector. It will be the first time numbers have been capped since 2015. The move is designed to offset the expected fall in the number of overseas students, which it is feared could lead to certain universities taking more domestic candidates and leaving other, less prestigious institutions with empty lecture theatres.
Sussex security – The US will not pay for security for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after they reportedly moved to California, Donald Trump said on Sunday night. Harry and Meghan are believed to have left Vancouver in Canada for US before the border closed between the two countries last week. Trump tweeted that he was “a great friend and admirer of the Queen and the UK” but his government would not pay for the security costs. The couple denied they had asked the US for help and said they would be footing their own bill.
Toads saved – The cancellation of fell running races in Yorkshire will likely save hundreds of migrating toads from being squashed underfoot. A toad protection group said hundreds of the creatures have been trampled by fell runners in previous years because the popular “bunny runs” hosted by the Wharfedale Harriers every April take place close to a pond where the toads mate.
Updated
It’s time for a roundup of the UK front pages on the dystopian morning of Monday, 30 March 2020.
GUARDIAN: Pressure to provide equipment grows after two UK doctors die #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/wuTTuyOriV
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) March 29, 2020
Tomorrow's @independent front page #tomorrowspaperstoday To subscribe to the Daily Edition: https://t.co/XF8VnDpHYF pic.twitter.com/UfCX9lZNdJ
— The Independent (@Independent) March 30, 2020
TIMES: Britain faces 6 month of curbs #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/pP4nLF28Dp
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) March 29, 2020
Monday's Financial Times: "Top health official warns of more than 100,000 virus deaths in US"#BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday (via @hendopolis) pic.twitter.com/d21bw45vrG
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) March 29, 2020
TELEGRAPH: Return to ‘normal life’ may be six months away #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/5wN3Qhfyd7
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) March 29, 2020
Monday's Express: "6 months for Britain to get back to normal "#BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday (via @hendopolis) pic.twitter.com/K29zmGLAIW
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) March 29, 2020
At least somebody’s reporting the most important news of the day:
MAIL: @realDonaldTrump - we won’t pay for Megxit #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/WnSySHyo9l
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) March 29, 2020
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has announced a AU$1,500 per fortnight “job keeper” payment to businesses.
The payment, made per employee, will last for at least six months.
My colleague Amy Remeikis sums it up:
- The payment will be made to businesses, to keep employees on their payroll.
- There will be no higher payment for higher earners.
- That will work out to about 70% of the average wage (my calculation).
- Businesses will have to prove they are paying it to their employees.
- The partner income test for Centrelink payments has increased from $48,000 to $79,000 a year.
- The new measures will cost about $130bn
Astrophysicist gets magnets stuck up nose while inventing coronavirus device
An Australian astrophysicist has been admitted to hospital after getting four magnets stuck up his nose in an attempt to invent a device that stops people touching their faces during the coronavirus outbreak.
Dr Daniel Reardon, a research fellow at Melbourne’s Swinburne University, was building a necklace that sounds an alarm on facial contact, when the mishap occurred on Thursday night.
The 27 year-old astrophysicist, who studies pulsars and gravitational waves, said he was trying to liven up the boredom of self-isolation with the four powerful neodymium magnets.
“I have some electronic equipment but really no experience or expertise in building circuits or things,” he told Guardian Australia.
“I had a part that detects magnetic fields. I thought that if I built a circuit that could detect the magnetic field, and we wore magnets on our wrists, then it could set off an alarm if you brought it too close to your face. A bit of boredom in isolation made me think of that.”
However, the academic realised the electronic part he had did the opposite – and would only complete a circuit when there was no magnetic field present.
“I accidentally invented a necklace that buzzes continuously unless you move your hand close to your face,” he said.
“After scrapping that idea, I was still a bit bored, playing with the magnets. It’s the same logic as clipping pegs to your ears – I clipped them to my earlobes and then clipped them to my nostril and things went downhill pretty quickly when I clipped the magnets to my other nostril.”
Reardon said he placed two magnets inside his nostrils, and two on the outside. When he removed the magnets from the outside of his nose, the two inside stuck together. Unfortunately, the researcher then attempted to use his remaining magnets to remove them.
Senior WHO adviser appears to dodge question on Taiwan’s Covid-19 response
A senior advisor at the World Health Organization (WHO) appeared to hang up on a journalist who asked about Taiwan’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, and then did not answer further questions because they had “already talked about China”.
It comes amid continued criticism of the WHO’s approach towards both Taiwan and China. Taiwan has been excluded from participating in the World Health Assembly after heavy lobbying from China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory.
Wow, can’t even utter “Taiwan” in the WHO? You should set politics aside in dealing with a pandemic. FYI @WHO, 450+ news reports from 40+ countries so far positively covered #Taiwan’s handling of #COVID19. These reports do not mistake us as part of China & #TaiwanCanHelp. JW https://t.co/KbupbUb7NG
— 外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MOFA_Taiwan) March 29, 2020
On Friday Hong Kong’s RTHK interviewed Dr Bruce Aylward, a Canadian physician and epidemiologist, and assistant director-general at the WHO.
The interview, conducted via video-link, was about international responses to the pandemic, and in particular Taiwan’s, where they have recorded a low rate of infection and low rate of fatalities.
Asked by the RTHK reporter, Yvonne Tong, if the WHO would reconsider Taiwan’s membership, Aylward didn’t respond for several seconds, before saying he couldn’t hear the question.
Tong offered to repeat it but he cut in: “no, that’s OK, let’ move to another one then.”
“I’m actually curious to talk about Taiwan as well,” Tong said.
Aylward then appeared to either hang up the call, or get disconnected. RTHK called Aylward back, and Tong asked if he could comment “on how Taiwan has done so far in terms of containing the virus”.
Aylward responded: “Well, we’ve already talked about China. And when you look across all the different areas of China, they’ve actually all done quite a good job.”
“With that I’d like to thank you very much for inviting us to participate,” he said, ending the conversation.
This is really stunning. Beijing’s power over the speech of a Canadian WHO official. https://t.co/ZUaEeOcKQi
— B. Allen-Ebrahimian (@BethanyAllenEbr) March 28, 2020
Updated
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Germany has risen to 57,298 and 455 people have died of the disease here, statistics from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed on Monday.
Cases rose by 4,751 compared with the previous day while the death toll climbed by 66, the statistics showed.
Germany has been testing around 120,000 people a week, according to NPR, which is partly why this daily rise in confirmed cases is so high.
Germany’s testing rate has also led to its mortality rate seeming lower than in other countries – with more tested, fewer people as a proportion of confirmed cases are dying.
The highest number of cases, 13,989, are in the southern state of Bavaria, where the disease first appeared in Germany.
Updated
People are recreating classic artworks in coronavirus quarantine
What is an art enthusiast to do, now galleries and museums around the world have closed their doors? The Getty museum, based in Los Angeles, has a suggestion: recreate famous works of art using household items.
The institution issued the challenge to its Twitter followers on Thursday last week: choose your favourite artwork, recreate it using three items lying around your house and share it with the world on social media.
We challenge you to recreate a work of art with objects (and people) in your home.
— Getty (@GettyMuseum) March 25, 2020
🥇 Choose your favorite artwork
🥈 Find three things lying around your house⠀
🥉 Recreate the artwork with those items
And share with us. pic.twitter.com/9BNq35HY2V
The responses have ranged from the hilarious to the impressive, with recreated artworks including classics such as Master of Saint Cecilia’s Madonna and Child, the anonymously created Virgin, Saint Elizabeth, and the Infants John the Baptist and Christ; as well as modern works such as Helen Frankenthaler’s Mirabelle – now featuring strategic but perhaps inadvisable use of that precious commodity, toilet paper.
Madonna and child.https://t.co/ZbnVeToUPE pic.twitter.com/7Vkl91CF6D
— Getty (@GettyMuseum) March 25, 2020
The Virgin, Saint Elizabeth, and the Infants John the Baptist and Christ, but now with more unicorns...https://t.co/EUDgg7362Y pic.twitter.com/uSqoPFGF2d
— Getty (@GettyMuseum) March 26, 2020
The Getty museum is not the first to suggest whiling away self-isolation with ad hoc art experiments.
Its tweet was predated by a few days by an Instagram account, @covidclassics, created by “four roommates who love art … and are indefinitely quarantined”.
Vietnam asks cities to prepare for possible lockdown
Vietnam’s prime minister on Monday asked major cities to prepare for possible lockdowns to stop the spread of coronavirus as the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country reached nearly 200, Reuters reports.
“Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have to review and update plans to battle the virus, and have to stand ready for city lockdown scenarios,” Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in a statement.
“Vietnam has entered the pandemic’s peak period, major cities have to speed up and take advantage of each hour and minute to carry out defined measures,” Phuc said.
The Vietnamese government has ordered a halt on inbound flights, cut domestic flights, stopped public gatherings and temporarily shut down non-essential services until 15 April at the earliest.
It has also launched an aggressive quarantine and contact-tracing programme to curb the spread of the virus after an influx of infections brought in by Vietnamese citizens escaping outbreaks elsewhere and by foreign visitors.
Vietnam has confirmed 194 infections but has had no reported deaths, according to the health ministry. More than 75,000 people are in quarantine. The country aims to keep the number of infections under 1,000.
Summary
- Tokyo recorded its biggest daily increase in Covid-19 cases on Sunday, as authorities identified large infection clusters in and around the capital.
-
Japan will expand its entry ban to include citizens travelling from the United States, China, South Korea and most of Europe amid a rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the Asahi newspaper reported on Monday.
- Argentina will extend a mandatory nationwide quarantine period until the middle of April.
- South Korea will provide emergency cash payments to many families and draw up a second supplementary budget soon to ease the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
- The coronavirus pandemic could cause UK economic output to plunge by an unprecedented 15% in the second quarter of the year and unemployment to more than double, according to dire forecasts.
- New York state’s death toll from the coronavirus outbreak climbed above 1,000, less than a month after the disease was first detected in the state, AP reports.
- The lockdown in the UK to try to slow the spread of coronavirus could go on for six months and the country may not return to its normal way of life until the autumn, a key government doctor has said.
- US warned coronavirus could kill as many as 200,000. Dr Anthony Fauci, the leading US government infectious disease expert said the coronavirus toll could be between 100,000 and 200,000 Americans.
-
The coronavirus pandemic has killed over 33,000 people. The total number of confirmed cases is currently at 716,101, according to Johns Hopkins.
-
Trump extended social distancing guidelines to 30 April, saying. “Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won.”
- Italy has said it will extend its month-long lockdown as the number of deaths in the country increased by 756 to reach 10,779. There are now 97,689 confirmed cases in Italy. The death toll in the country’s worst affected region, Lombardy, has slowed.
- Moscow, Russia has announced a citywide lockdown beginning tomorrow, confining residents of the city of nearly 12 million people to their homes to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The restrictions are some of the most severe in the Russian capital’s history.
- Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari has ordered a lockdown in Lagos and the capital city of Abuja, AFP reports. Nigeria has recorded 97 confirmed coronavirus cases and one death.
- The finance minister of Germany’s Hesse state, Thomas Schäfer, has killed himself after apparently becoming “deeply worried” about how to deal with the economic impact of coronavirus.
- The Syrian health ministry has announced the country’s first coronavirus death, as the total number of cases comes to nine.
- Mexico has asked its 130 million citizens to stay at home for a month. The country’s president has previously been criticised for not doing enough to deal with the crisis.
Hungary: jail terms for spreading coronavirus misinformation
Hungary is set to pass a new law on coronavirus that includes jail terms for spreading misinformation as critics warn that the nationalist prime minister Viktor Orbán could be given carte blanche to rule by decree, with no clear time limit.
Hungary’s parliament, in which Orbán’s Fidesz party has a two-thirds majority, looks set to pass the bill on Monday in spite of opposition from other political parties, who had demanded a time limit or sunset clause on the legislation.
The bill will also introduce jail terms of up to five years for intentionally spreading misinformation that hinders the government response to the pandemic, leading to fears that it could be used to censor or self-censor criticism of the government response.
And more on some of the strict penalties that countries are imposing for people evading quarantine requirements. Hong Kong has just used theirs to send someone to jail.
According to local media a 31-year-old man has become the first Hong Konger to be sentenced to jail time for violating a home quarantine order. He was sentenced to three months, after pleading guilty to one count of giving false or misleading information to an authorised officer.
RTHK reported the man admitted to giving officials at Shenzhen Bay Port a fake address when he arrived earlier this month.
The defendant said he knew he made a mistake, but was homeless and wanted to avoid being sent to a quarantine camp.
The magistrate said he was selfish and showed disregard for society, and had shown no intention of cooperating with officials.
Penalties for violating quarantine orders in Hong Kong carry penalties of up to HK$25,000 or six months jail.
A fairly full-on story coming out of Australia today. A 30-year-old man who returned to Sydney from Jordan breached the government’s orders for all returning travellers to self-isolate for 14 days three times in 24 hours.
He has been arrested and appeared in court, where he was denied bail, The Australian newspaper reports. The police minister from the state of New South Wales has called for the “harshest penalties available” to be imposed, including forcing the man to watch footage of the mass transportation of coffins in Italy.
“Its an outrageous abuse of the community’s trust,” NSW Police Minister, David Elliot told The Australian.
“I would encourage the magistrate to consider the harshest options available. I would also like part of his punishment to include forcing him to watch the footage of coffins being transported, en masse, by the military in Italy and Spain.”
A 30 year old Sydney man who breached self isolation orders 3 times on return from Jordan 12 days ago denied bail by magistrate, with Police Minister urging harshest penalties, inc 6 months jail & compulsory viewing of Italian coffin convoys @australian https://t.co/oMmrp8doNB
— deborah cornwall (@deborahcornwall) March 30, 2020
A bit more now on the new travel bans in Japan and South Korea, which are poised to tighten restrictions as they intensify efforts to prevent “imported” cases of the coronavirus.
Japan will expand its entry ban to include people travelling from the US, China, South Korea and most of Europe, local media reported on Monday. The measure will apply to foreign nationals who have been to any of the listed regions within 14 days of arriving in Japan, while Japanese citizens and foreigners who have traveled outside the banned areas will be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days and watch for symptoms of Covid-19, Kyodo news agency quoted sources as saying.
Japan has already imposed an entry ban on arrivals from affected areas of China and South Korea, as well as more than 20 European countries.
South Korea, meanwhile, will require all travellers from overseas to undergo two weeks of quarantine from April, Yonhap news agency said on Monday. Visitors who are unable to provide an address in the country will be told to stay at government-designated facilities at their own expense, it added.
Of the 105 new cases reported on Saturday, 41 involved people arriving overseas: 23 from Europe, 14 from the Americas and four from unidentified Asian countries.
Singapore’s central bank eased monetary policy Monday as the city-state, seen as a bellwether for the health of global trade, heads for a deep recession due to the coronavirus pandemic, AFP reports.
The easing echoes moves made by other countries and comes after data last week showed the city-state suffered its sharpest contraction in the first quarter since the global financial crisis.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore said it had flattened the slope of the band at which the local dollar is allowed to move against a basket of currencies of its major trading partners - effectively weakening the local unit.
Instead of using interest rates, trade-reliant Singapore manages monetary policy by letting the local dollar rise or fall against a currency basket of its trading partners.
“Major uncertainty remains. The recovery in the global economy will depend on the epidemiological course of the pandemic and the efficacy of policy responses,” the central bank said.
MAS was supposed to issue its next policy statement in April but brought it forward as the country reels from the economic impact of the virus.
The financial hub is one of the world’s most open economies, and is usually hit hardest and earliest during any global shock.
Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 2.2 percent in the first quarter compared with the previous year - the worst decline since the 2009 financial crisis, according to advance estimates released last week by the trade ministry.
The ministry has downgraded its growth forecast, projecting GDP will fall by up to four percent this year.
You can get in touch with me directly with news, tips or questions on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
The New Yorker has published a fiery interview with Richard A. Epstein, a professor at New York University School of Law, who wrote an article – apparently circulated among Trump staffers – that at one stage suggested 500 people would die from the Covid-19 in the US.
Below is a short extract. The interviewer is journalist Isaac Chotiner:
New Interview: I spoke with law professor Richard Epstein, whose controversial article on coronavirus circulated in the Trump administration, about why he believes many coronavirus models are wrong, and the dangers of sloppy science during a pandemic. https://t.co/kpurftthzw
— Isaac Chotiner (@IChotiner) March 29, 2020
I know, but these are scientific issues here.
You know nothing about the subject but are so confident that you’re going to say that I’m a crackpot.
No. Richard—
That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it? That’s what you’re saying?
I’m not saying anything of the sort.
Admit to it. You’re saying I’m a crackpot.
I’m not saying anything of the—
Well, what am I then? I’m an amateur? You’re the great scholar on this?
No, no. I’m not a great scholar on this.
Tell me what you think about the quality of the work!
O.K. I’m going to tell you. I think the fact that I am not a great scholar on this and I’m able to find these flaws or these holes in what you wrote is a sign that maybe you should’ve thought harder before writing it.
What it shows is that you are a complete intellectual amateur. Period.
O.K. Can I ask you one more question?
You just don’t know anything about anything. You’re a journalist. Would you like to compare your résumé to mine?
No, actually, I would not.
Then good. Then maybe what you want to do is to say, “Gee, I’m not quite sure that this is right. I’m going to check with somebody else.” But, you want to come at me hard, I am going to come back harder at you. And then if I can’t jam my fingers down your throat, then I am not worth it. But you have basically gone over the line. If you want to ask questions, ask questions. I put forward a model. But a little bit of respect.
US Democratic frontrunner and former deputy president Joe Biden has issued a “challenge” to president Donald Trump on Twitter:
I am issuing this challenge to the President: in the next 48 hours, direct the production and distribution of respirator masks, gloves, protective face shields and gowns to fill every supply request made by a governor to the federal government.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) March 30, 2020
Lives are at stake.
Biden has been criticised in recent days for seeming to have disappeared from the national stage after his first live-streamed town hall, on 13 March, was hampered by audio and technical difficulties.
“Biden’s absence inspired the Twitter hashtag #whereisJoe, which was promoted and shared by supporters of his Democratic rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, before being picked up by the Trump campaign,” my colleagues Daniel Strauss and Lauren Gambino wrote over the weekend:
South Korea to provide emergency cash payments to famillies
More on South Korea now, which reported 78 new coronavirus cases on Monday, keeping the rate of infections fairly steady.
Reuters reports that South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in said on Monday that the government will provide emergency cash payments to many families and draw up a second supplementary budget soon to ease the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
The cash payments will be made to all households except the top 30% by income.
The president said the extra budget should receive parliamentary approval in April.
The daily number of new infections in South Korea has been hovering around 100 or less for the past three weeks, but authorities have tightened border checks as small outbreaks continued to emerge and the number of imported cases rose. At least 13 of the latest cases were overseas travellers, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showed.
The KCDC said the national tally stood at 9,661, while the death toll rose by 6 to 158. It added that 195 more people had recovered from the virus for a total of 5,228.
South Korea announced on Sunday that all overseas arrivals will have to undergo two weeks of mandatory quarantine starting on April 1.
Updated
New Zealand’s website for reporting Covid-19 rule-breakers crashes amid spike in lockdown anger
So many New Zealanders have reported their neighbours to the authorities for breaking lockdown rules that a new police website to record such incidents crashed.
More than 2,000 people rang an emergency police line last week to report rule-breakers. As a result, a dedicated website was set up in the hope it would dissuade them from ringing 111.
But since going live over the weekend, the website has crashed at least once due to high demand, and registered more than 4,000 reports of bad behaviour – including people playing rugby or frisbee, and holding impromptu “corona parties”.
Police commissioner Mike Bush said the “vast majority” of New Zealanders were complying with lockdown rules, and were “passionate and determined” to make others toe the line as well.
Tokyo record biggest daily increase in cases
Tokyo recorded its biggest daily increase in Covid-19 cases on Sunday, as authorities identified large infection clusters in and around the capital.
The additional 68 cases brings Tokyo’s total to 430 - by far the highest among Japan’s 47 prefectures. The newly identified infections included 27 at a hospital where 96 people are now known to have been infected.
In addition, 88 cases have been found among staff and residents at a facility for people with intellectual disabilities in Chiba prefecture, east of the capital.
The outbreak has infected more than 1,800 people in Japan, with 55 deaths as of Sunday afternoon, excluding 712 cases and 10 deaths from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was quarantined in Yokohama last month.
The virus claimed its first high-profile victim, with public broadcaster NHK reporting on Monday that Ken Shimura, a 70-year-old veteran comedian and TV personality, had died on Sunday after being hospitalised earlier this month.
I’m deeply saddened by the loss of Ken Shimura. He had a genious way to make us laugh. Rest In Peace 😔🙏
— João Paulo Oliveira (@JPdeOliveira) March 30, 2020
A recent spike in cases in Tokyo, including those with no known source of infection, has raised speculation that the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is considering declaring a three-week state of emergency from Wednesday - a measure that would enable the governors of affected prefectures to instruct residents not to leave their homes except to shop for food and to receive medical care.
The governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, last week requested Tokyo’s 14 million residents to stay indoors over the weekend, while the governors of neighbouring areas also asked people to avoid nonessential travel into the capital over the same period. Koike has also asked people to avoid large gatherings, including cherry blossom-viewing parties, and to refrain from eating out in the evening until at least 12 April.
She said Tokyo was facing an “important phase in preventing an explosive rise in the number of infections”.
Brazilian president Lair Bolsonaro visited a market area just outside the Brazilian capital on Sunday to press home his case for keeping Latin America’s largest economy ticking instead of locking down activities to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
But Bolsonaro office’s social media campaign “Brazil can’t stop” was banned on Saturday by a federal judge and ran into a barrage of criticism from state governors, politicians, public health experts and even his own health minister.
In Taguatinga, a low-income suburb of Brasilia, Bolsonaro stopped in a normally bustling market square to speak to a man selling barbecued meat on skewers.
“We have to work. There are deaths, but that is up to God, we cannot stop,” the man said, according to a video posted on the president’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. “If we do not die of the illness, we will die of hunger.”
Bolsonaro said he had maintained that Brazilians need to keep working to earn their incomes while taking precautions not to catch Covid-19. He has also lashed out at state and municipal officials who, in steps aimed at saving lives implemented tough lockdowns, closed non-essential businesses and banned public meetings, even in churches.
Twitter removed the video of Bolsonaro speaking to the street vendor. Twitter said in a statement it recently changed its worldwide rules on content that counters public health recommendations and could put people at greater risk of transmitting Covid-19.
More on China now, which reported a drop in new cases for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday, as Beijing seeks to stamp out the risk of a second wave of infections by shutting its borders to foreign travellers and cutting international flights.
The National Health Commission said in a statement on Monday that 31 new coronavirus cases were recorded on Sunday, including one locally transmitted infection, dropping from 45 cases a day earlier.
The government is now exhorting businesses and factories to reopen for business as it rolls out various fiscal and monetary stimulus to drive a recovery from what many now expect to be an outright economic contraction in January-March.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said the government will adjust support policies for small and medium-sized firms promptly as the situation develops to protect them from the impact of the coronavirus.
Chinese firms should actively resume operations and production even as coronavirus prevention efforts continue, Xi also said during a Sunday visit to Ningbo, a major port city in eastern Zhejiang province, according to state media.
Hubei province, where the coronavirus outbreak first emerged in late 2019, reported no new cases for the sixth consecutive day on Sunday after the province of 60 million people lifted its traffic restrictions and resumed some domestic flights to other parts of China.
Beijing remains worried about the risk of a second wave of the epidemic triggered by cases involving travellers coming to China who were infected overseas.
China has barred foreigners from entering the country and ordered airlines to slash the number of international flights into the country. The vast majority of the so-called imported cases reported to date have been Chinese nationals, many of whom are students.
Argentina extends nationwide quarantine to mid April
Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez said on Sunday that the country would extend a mandatory nationwide quarantine period until the middle of April.
The quarantine, which restricts non-essential workers from leaving their homes apart from to buy groceries or medicines, has seen the South American country’s streets virtually emptied, while its major grains industry has faced some disruption.
The tough measure was initially until the end of March. It will now be in place until the end of the Easter Holy Week, Fernandez said, which would mean it would be lifted on 12 April.
“We are going to extend the quarantine until the end of Easter. What do we aim to achieve? To keep the transmission of the virus under control,” he said in a televised message.
Fernández added that the initial results of the compulsory isolation since March 20 looked “good”. The country has recorded 820 coronavirus cases with 20 deaths, although the increase in cases has shown some signs of slowing in recent days.
Updated
Still in the US: an outbreak of the new coronavirus at a Tennessee nursing home has spread to dozens more of its residents and staff members, Governor Bill Lee’s office said Sunday night.
The hospital statement said a total of two of the nursing home patients have died. It did not disclose whether they had tested positive for the virus, AP reports.
Test results released Sunday show 59 additional residents of the Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing tested positive for the virus, while 33 members of the nursing home’s staff with confirmed cases are now isolated at their homes, the governor’s office said in a news release. The facility is in Gallatin, northeast of Nashville.
Sumner Regional Medical Center said Sunday on Facebook that 42 patients from the nursing home have been admitted and are in isolation after some tested positive for the virus. It said the 59 additional residents were in the process of being transported Sunday and Monday to the hospital.
Trump says keeping US Covid-19 deaths to 100,000 would be a ‘very good job’
Donald Trump has extended America’s national shutdown for a month, bowing to public health experts, and scientific reality, and warning that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is yet to come.
Speaking in the White House Rose Garden, the US president claimed that, if his administration keeps the death toll to 100,000, it will have done “a very good job” – a startling shift from his optimistic predictions of a few days ago when he said he hoped to restart the economy by Easter.
“If we have between 100,000 and 200,000 we’ve all together done a very good job,” Trump says, about up to 200,000 Americans dying of #COVID19.pic.twitter.com/ricnlAbKKK
— Jason Sparks (@sparksjls) March 30, 2020
Trump also undermined his plea for unity by uttering falsehoods, verbally abusing reporters and making incendiary allegations that implied health care workers were stealing masks, without providing evidence.
The extended deadline marked a humiliating retreat for the president who, having squandered six precious weeks at the start of the pandemic, more recently complained that the cure is worse than the problem and floated Easter Sunday as a “beautiful timeline” for reopening big swathes of the country.
On Sunday he claimed this had only been “aspirational” as his advisers urged him not to move too hastily. He announced the initial 15-day period of social distancing urged by the federal government, which was due to expire on Monday, would be extended to 30 April, and said he hoped normality might return by 1 June.
The guidelines recommend against big group gatherings and urge older people and anyone with existing health problems to stay at home. People were also urged to work at home when possible and avoid restaurants, bars, non-essential travel and shopping trips.
‘Papua New Guinea is not prepared’: 4,000 nurses to strike over Covid-19 readiness
Lyanne Togiba reports from Port Moresby.
Four thousand nurses are expected to participate in strikes across Papua New Guinea this week over concerns that the Pacific nation lacks the medical supplies and funding to handle a potential coronavirus outbreak.
The industrial action follows a sit-in by nearly 600 nurses in the capital of Port Moresby on Thursday over concerns about the lack of personal protective equipment for medical staff.
Gibson Siune, the general secretary of the PNG Nurses Association said the majority of the association’s members, which represents roughly 20% of the country’s nursing workforce, would participate in the protests for as long as it took until their concerns were heard by the national government.
“Around 4,000 nurses throughout the country are expected to participate in this protest,” he said.
The country recorded its first confirmed case of Covid-19
on 20 March, an imported case from a foreign mine worker who has since been sent to Australia for treatment. A 14-day state of emergency came into effect on Tuesday imposing a curfew on the country’s roughly eight million residents and restricting travel across the country.
Opinion: How Jonathan Van Ness became my quarantine coach
“Queer Eye’s beloved hair and self-care expert has a free fitness app. Could his workout tapes get an exercise-avoidant writer ‘quarantoned’ in the time of coronavirus?” writer Kate Leaver asks:
I’m a few days into coronavirus-sanctioned social distancing when I think, “How am I going to exercise?” I impress myself with this thought because fitness is not ordinarily an ardent concern of mine.
Moving my body will allegedly help with my continuing sanity, though, so I resolve to do some home workouts. The only person I can realistically tolerate instructing me to switch on my core is glorious bearded Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness, who has a series of free exercise videos on the FitOn app. I just know he’s going to describe a hamstring stretch as “gorgeous” and it’s the only thing that makes yoga palatable to me.
Indian doctors being evicted from homes over coronavirus fears
Hannah Ellis-Petersen reports for the Guardian from Delhi with Shaikh Azizur Rahman in Kolkata.
Doctors and medical workers in India are being ostracised from communities, evicted from their homes and forced to sleep in hospital bathrooms and on floors over fears they may be carrying coronavirus.
In cases reported across the country, healthcare professionals described the growing stigma they are facing from their neighbours and landlords, resulting in many being refused taxis, barricaded from their own homes, or made homeless.
One doctor who is overseeing a coronavirus rapid response team asked to remain anonymous to avoid trouble with the authorities, described how two fellow medics had requested to stay with him after their landlords had become increasingly hostile to them and asked them to leave their homes.
“Their landlords said that since they are working in hospitals, they will bring the infection home and spread it among others,” he said. “Many doctors around India have already complained about the same.”
He added: “Quite a few doctors have decided to spend the next few days in the restrooms of hospitals because they have lost their apartments or could not get into the apartments because of the hostility from the people of their community.”
“If we have between 100,000 and 200,000 we’ve all together done a very good job,” Trump says, about up to 200,000 Americans dying of #COVID19.pic.twitter.com/ricnlAbKKK
— Jason Sparks (@sparksjls) March 30, 2020
South Korea has reported 78 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 9,661.
South Korea reports 78 new cases of coronavirus bringing the total number of cases in the country to 9,661. https://t.co/pkZoLhDkuZ
— Laura Bicker (@BBCLBicker) March 30, 2020
US president Donald Trump said on Sunday that he thinks landlords “are going to take it easy” on rent in April, as the first of the month looms:
Trump's message to people who are facing eviction on April 1 is "I think landlords will take it easy" 😳 pic.twitter.com/4RVHM4C4fv
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 29, 2020
Trump’s statements have inspired renters to tweet.
This first one is a reference to the Netflix documentary show Tiger King, which has occupied many hours of many, many people’s self isolation:
Just two incredible texts from my landlord pic.twitter.com/JbwoTHvZvw
— Gus (@goldisacks) March 29, 2020
Marina Abramović:
Me and my landlord on April 1st pic.twitter.com/HyusSfxpT4
— Mike Nouveau (@MikeNouveau) March 29, 2020
An old but timeless viral skit repurposed:
Landlords on April 1st pic.twitter.com/MFZIIdA1QS
— Nick Walker (@nw3) March 29, 2020
Ken Shimura, a Japanese comedian who was one of the first Japanese celebrities to come forward about his infection with the virus, has died.
【速報 JUST IN 】コメディアンの志村けんさん死去 新型コロナ感染で肺炎発症 #nhk_news https://t.co/SkK4h89YvD
— NHKニュース (@nhk_news) March 30, 2020
Shimura was hospitalised with the virus on 25 March. He had been set to star in a new film by director Yoji Tamada, called “God of Cinema”.
Updated
A reminder that you can reach out me with news, tips or questions on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
In Australia, here is a roundup of the new nationwide new restrictions from my colleague and fellow blogger Amy Remeikis.
These come into effect at midnight on Monday.
Indoor and Outdoor Public gatherings
National Cabinet agreed to limit both indoor and outdoor gatherings to two persons only.
Exceptions to this limit include:
- People of the same household going out together;
- Funerals – a maximum of 10 people;
- Wedding – a maximum of 5 people;
- Family units.
Individual states and territories may choose to mandate and/or enforce this requirement.
National Cabinet’s strong guidance to all Australians is to stay home unless for:
- shopping for what you need – food and necessary supplies;
- medical or health care needs, including compassionate requirements;
- exercise in compliance with the public gathering requirements;
- work and study if you can’t work or learn remotely.
National Cabinet agreed that playgrounds, skate parks and outside gyms in public places will be closed. Bootcamps will be reduced to two persons, including the trainer.
Japan extends entry ban
Japan will expand its entry ban to include citizens travelling from the United States, China, South Korea and most of Europe amid a rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the Asahi newspaper reported on Monday.
The government may also ban entry from and travel to some countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, the Asahi said, citing a few government sources.
A third person infected with the coronavirus has died in Taiwan, the government said late on Sunday, as the number of cases on the island approached 300.
According to previously announced data, the person was a man in his 40s who was infected while overseas, and had returned to Taiwan having been on holiday in Austria and the Czech Republic.
Taiwan said earlier on Sunday that its virus case total had risen to 298.
China has released its figures for the day. The number of reported infections due to local transmissions stands at just one, with 30 “imported” cases, according to the country’s National Health Commission.
The commission said in a statement on Monday that four new deaths were reported, putting the cumulative death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in the mainland at 3,304 at the end on 29 March.
Total number of infections to date rose to 81,470.
Updated
New York state death toll passes 1,000
New York state has surpassed a grim milestone as its death toll from the coronavirus outbreak climbed above 1,000, less than a month after the disease was first detected in the state, AP reports.
New York City reported in the evening that its toll had risen to 776. The total number of statewide deaths isn’t expected to be released until Monday, but with at least 250 additional deaths recorded outside the city as of Sunday morning, the state’s total fatalities was at least 1,026.
The virus and the disease it causes, Covid-19, has torn through New York with frightening speed.
The first known infection in the state was discovered on 1 March in a health care worker who recently returned from Iran. Two days later, the state got its second case, a lawyer from the suburb of New Rochelle.
Malaysia’s Top Glove Corporation Bhd, which makes one in every five plastic gloves globally, expects a product shortage as demand from Europe and the United States spikes because of the widening coronavirus outbreak is exceeding its capacity, Reuters reports.
The company has extended shipping times to cope with the demand surge, Executive Chairman Lim Wee Chai told Reuters by phone on Friday.
Lim said orders received in the past few weeks, mainly from Europe and the United States, were almost double the company’s production capacity. Top Glove can produce 200 million natural and synthetic rubber gloves a day.
An update from Panama now, where Patrick Greenfield and Erin McCormick report that the covid-19 stricken Zaandam cruise liner and its sister ship will start crossing the Panama canal tonight, the Guardian understands.
The number of people with flu-like-symptoms on a Covid-19 stricken cruise ship off the coast of Panama has risen by almost a third in two days, from 138 to 179.
The Central American country earlier reversed a decision to stop the vessels from crossing.
Passengers and crew have been told to close their curtains, close all portholes and stay off verandahs while both vessels cross from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean.
Both the Zaandam and the Rotterdam will then head to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Bosses speed up automation as virus keeps workers home
Almost half of company bosses in 45 countries are speeding up plans to automate their businesses as workers are forced to stay at home during the coronavirus outbreak.
Some 41% of respondents in a survey by the auditing firm EY said they were investing in accelerating automation as businesses prepared for a post-crisis world.
The news comes just days after figures showing that 3.3 million people have filed for unemployment in the US. That is by far the highest number ever recorded, and a jump from less than 300,000 the week before. In the UK, 477,000 people applied for universal credit in just nine days.
“The human cost is the most tragic aspect of this crisis, not only in terms of the lives lost, but also the number of livelihoods at risk,” said Steve Krouskos at EY.
In more good-uses-of-time-spent-in-self isolation news:
This dude’s dad really looks like the food critic from Ratatouille 😂 pic.twitter.com/l4RWPrUbR3
— First We Feast (@firstwefeast) March 29, 2020
Staying with the US for now, here is a summary of the latest developments:
- Trump declares he will be extending the virus guidelines to 30 April. The president said the “peak and death rate is likely to hit in two weeks” during the daily coronavirus task force briefing. “Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won,” Trump said. “That would be the greatest loss of all.”
- Fauci warns coronavirus could kill as many as 200,000 Americans. Dr Anthony Fauci, the leading US government infectious disease expert, offered a grim prediction on the Covid-19 death toll on Sunday morning, but cautioned the figure is a ‘moving target’ that could easily be wrong.
- Pelosi accuses Trump of costing US lives with coronavirus denials and delays. The top Democrat in Congress delivered a devastating critique of Donald Trump, accusing the president directly of costing American lives through his constant denials and delays in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
- Andrew Cuomo says he expects ‘rolling apex’ of cases in New York. “The number of cases are still going up, so you’re still going up towards an apex,” the New York governor said. “But the rate of the doubling is slow, which is good news.”
- Donald Trump in ‘near tie’ with Joe Biden, new poll finds. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll puts former vice-president ahead by 49% to 47% among registered voters.
In New York city, where mayor Bill de Blasio said earlier that he had asked the federal government to deliver 400 more ventilators to city hospitals by Wednesday and warned that without reinforcements the city will run out of masks, gowns and other hospital supplies in a week, a 68-bed field hospital is being built in Manhattan’s Central Park.
Samaritan’s Purse, a charity run by Christian evangelical preacher Franklin Graham, built a similar temporary facility in Italy to help deal with the crisis there.
He said the New York City version could be up and running Tuesday.
I’m in Central Park - they’re building field hospitals for coronavirus patients pic.twitter.com/agpcmVNnXh
— carolynryan (@carolynryan) March 29, 2020
Dozens of prisoners broke furniture and torched buildings during a riot in a Thai jail on Sunday sparked by fears of a coronavirus outbreak in the facility, AFP reports.
During the violence some convicts escaped from the Buriram prison where more than 2,000 are held, the justice ministry said. Seven have been arrested.
Local media showed footage of black smoke billowing from the prison’s multiple blocks in the country’s northeast, and a Corrections Department official said drones were deployed to investigate what weapons the prisoners were using.
Six prisoners were injured in the melee by broken glass, according to Narat Sawetana, director general of the Corrections Department. More than 1,500 prisoners had to be evacuated before the rioting could be stopped.
Thailand has recorded 1,388 cases of the coronavirus, including seven deaths.
At least two prisoners in the country have caught the highly contagious virus.
In a bid to prevent outbreaks in jails, authorities have banned visitors and are quarantining new inmates for 14 days.
Similar panic over the coronavirus sparked a prison riot in the Colombian capital of Bogota last Sunday that killed 23 inmates.
Coronavirus forecast to cut UK economic output by 15%
The coronavirus pandemic could cause UK economic output to plunge by an unprecedented 15% in the second quarter of the year and unemploymentto more than double, according to dire forecasts.
The deepest recession since the financial crisis is now all but unavoidable, according to analysts at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), after businesses shut up shop and consumer spending fell dramatically as a result of lockdown restrictions.
The centre said it expected the economy to have shrunk marginally in the first three months of the year by 0.5%, followed by the steepest economic contraction since comparable records began more than 20 years ago.
The predicted slump would dwarf the 2.2% contraction in the fourth quarter of 2008 as the banking crash took hold, marking by far the worst three-month period since at least 1997.
In the US, the family of John Prine, one of the most influential figures in folk and country music, says the singer-songwriter is critically ill and has been placed on a ventilator while being treated for Covid-19-type symptoms.
A message posted on Prine’s Twitter page Sunday said the Angel from Montgomery singer has been hospitalized since Thursday and his condition worsened on Saturday.
“This is hard news for us to share,” Prine’s family said. “But so many of you have loved and supported John over the years, we wanted to let you know, and give you the chance to send on more of that love and support now. And know that we love you, and that John loves you.”
Prine’s wife and manager, Fiona Whelan Prine, this month said she had tested positive for the coronavirus. She said the couple were quarantined and isolated from each other.
The 73-year-old Prine has twice fought cancer. Most recently, he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2013 and had part of a lung removed.
The number of people with flu-like-symptoms on a Covid-19 stricken cruise ship off the coast of Panama has risen by almost a third in two days, from 138 to 179.
Holland America Line, who runs the Zaandam cruise liner, confirmed that nobody else had died on board after four elderly passengers passed away earlier this week. The cause of death has so far not been stated.
On the Zaandam 69 guests and 110 crew are ill with flu like symptoms. On Friday, 53 guests and 85 crew were sick on the cruise liner, where two people have so far tested positive for covid-19.
The Zaandam and its sister ship the Rotterdam are preparing to pass through the Panama canal after the Central American country reversed a decision to stop the vessels from crossing. Hundreds of asymptomatic passengers were moved to the Rotterdam over the weekend. None have presented with flu-like symptoms so far.
On Sunday evening, it was still unclear whether the two boats would be allowed to dock in Fort Lauderdale after local authorities raised concerns about the health risks the crew and passengers pose to the local population.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis has called for President Trump to intervene in the situation and has suggested the vessels should be redirected to nearby Navy bases.
Hundreds of worshipers attend Louisiana church service
Hundreds of worshippers attended services at a Louisiana church on Sunday, flouting a ban on large gatherings, angering neighbours and seemingly turning a deaf ear to their governor, who once again warned that hospitals could soon be overwhelmed with new cases of the coronavirus, AP reports.
An estimated 500 people of all ages filed inside the mustard-yellow and beige Life Tabernacle church in Central, a city of nearly 29,000 outside Baton Rouge.
Assistant ministers and worshippers who stood outside the front doors and in the parking lot of Life Tabernacle told news reporters to leave, saying cameras would not be allowed on the property and they had been told not to talk to the news media.
Summary
Hello and welcome to today’s live coronavirus pandemic coverage with me, Helen Sullivan.
I’ll be taking you through the unprecedented lockdowns, economic measures and more unusual effects of the crisis for the next few hours. You can reach out me with news, tips or questions on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
- The lockdown in the UK to try to slow the spread of coronavirus could go on for six months and the country may not return to its normal way of life until the autumn, a key government doctor has said.
- US warned coronavirus could kill as many as 200,000. Dr Anthony Fauci, the leading US government infectious disease expert said the coronavirus toll could be between 100,000 and 200,000 Americans.
-
The coronavirus pandemic has killed over 33,000 people. The total number of confirmed cases is currently at 716,101, according to Johns Hopkins.
-
Trump extended social distancing guidelines to 30 April, saying. “Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won.”
- Italy has said it will extend its month-long lockdown as the number of deaths in the country increased by 756 to reach 10,779. There are now 97,689 confirmed cases in Italy. The death toll in the country’s worst affected region, Lombardy, has slowed.
- Moscow, Russia has announced a citywide lockdown beginning tomorrow, confining residents of the city of nearly 12 million people to their homes to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The restrictions are some of the most severe in the Russian capital’s history.
- Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari has ordered a lockdown in Lagos and the capital city of Abuja, AFP reports. Nigeria has recorded 97 confirmed coronavirus cases and one death.
- Up to 1,000 British nationals stranded in Peru were being repatriated on Sunday night by the foreign office.
- The finance minister of Germany’s Hesse state, Thomas Schäfer, has killed himself after apparently becoming “deeply worried” about how to deal with the economic impact of coronavirus.
- The Syrian health ministry has announced the country’s first coronavirus death, as the total number of cases comes to nine.
- New York City mayor Bill de Blasio said the city will run out of critical medical supplies, including ventilators, by next Sunday, 5 April. In a tweet, he said: “We’re at war and ventilators are our ammunition.”
- The UK death toll has increased by 209 in the last 24 hours, lower that Saturday’s record rise of 260, bringing the total number of deaths in the UK to 1,228.
- Mexico has asked its 130 million citizens to stay at home for a month. The country’s president has previously been criticised for not doing enough to deal with the crisis.
Updated
