Coronavirus news – live: Raab says UK closer to easing lockdown but nation told it may have to 'live with virus for years'
Coronavirus testing was extended to all those with symptoms over the age of five as a the UK's warned the public they may have to learn to live with the disease for years.
Professor Jonathan Van Tam warned that the autumn and winter may provide even better conditions for Covid-19 during the daily briefing at Downing Street.
It followed the addition of anosmia to a continuous cough and a high temperature on the official list of Covid-19 symptoms which should prompt people to self-isolate and book a test.
Meanwhile Northern Ireland announced it was relaxing restrictions to allow gatherings of up to six people. In Italy, businesses such as bars, restaurants and hairdressers will be free to reopen, while Spain is set to relax its restrictions outside of Madrid and Barcelona, with groups of up to 10 people free to meet.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s rolling coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
Here are the latest developments from across the world:
- Britain's rail network started running more services on Monday, raising concerns that more people will start to use trains which could lead to crowding at stations and onboard amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. Network Rail, the country's state-owned infrastructure operator, said that it will introduce around 3,000 more trains per day on Monday but that social distancing means that capacity is constrained to about 10 to 13 per cent of normal levels.
- Children are "not the primary drivers of Covid-19 spread" in schools, according to a study reportedly being considered by the Government. A senior member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) subcommittee on schools told The Daily Telegraph that the Government had examined the Australian study as it considers a phased reopening of primary schools from June 1.
- Japan's economic growth plunged into recession in the first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic diminished production, exports and spending. The Cabinet Office reported on Monday a drop of 3.4 per cent annual pace in seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product, or GDP, the total value of a nation's goods and services, for the January-March period, compared to the previous quarter.
- India has recorded its biggest single-day surge with 5,242 new cases and 157 deaths, taking the country's infection tally to more than 96,000, the most in Asia. The country has now 3,029 fatalities due to Covid-19.
- China, which reported just seven new cases on Monday, is maintaining tighter social distancing rules in parts of the northeastern province of Jilin after a cluster of cases of unknown origin turned up in the area. Two of the new cases were in Jilin and residents were being required to show certificates of health, including a recent negative nucleic acid test, if they wished to leave Jilin city.
- Italy and Spain are among a number of European countries that are set to further ease their lockdown restrictions today. Most businesses in Italy, including bars, restaurants and hairdressers, will be free to reopen after more than two months of nationwide lockdown measures. Spain is set to relax its restrictions outside of Madrid and Barcelona, with groups of up to 10 people free to meet.
- The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 342 to 174,697, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday. The tally showed deaths rose by 21 to 7,935.
- The number of global infections is approaching the five million mark, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. To date, there are 4,716,513 confirmed cases of Covid-19 worldwide. At least 315,187 people have died from the virus so far. The number of deaths in the US is approaching 90,000, with 89,562 confirmed fatalities so far and 1,486,757 infections.
England's rail network has expanded its running services as the government attempts to reopen the country’s economy, raising concerns that more people will start to use trains which could lead to crowding at stations and onboard.
Network Rail, the country’s state-owned infrastructure operator, said that it will introduce around 3,000 more trains per day on Monday but that social distancing means that capacity is constrained to about 10 to 13 per cent of normal levels.
Train operators have put in place one-way systems at stations, floor markings with social distancing reminders, new cleaning measures and security staff for crowd control to make sure services are safe for use during the coronavirus pandemic.
Government advice states that people should only take the train if there is no other way to travel as part of efforts to reserve services for key workers who have no other means of getting to work.
For the last eight weeks, trains have been running to a Sunday-style timetable after train companies cut services to about half the usual number of trains on 23 March as the country went into lockdown.
The increase on Monday will put them at levels similar to a Saturday timetable, but some way off a usual weekday when about 24,000 trains run.
Network Rail chief executive Sir Peter Hendy has meanwhile said that face coverings are not mandatory for passengers but "we are all very keen in the rail industry" for people to wear them.
On how a two-metre social distance will be enforced on the railway, he told BBC Breakfast: "Passengers are sensible. This is a national crisis of unprecedented proportions.
"We are relying on people to be sensible. We are doing our best too."
A number of hard-hit European countries are set to further ease their lockdown restrictions today amid falling death tolls.
In Italy, businesses such as bars, restaurants and hairdressers will be free to reopen for the first time in two months.
Catholic churches are preparing for the resumption of Mass, but there will be strict social distancing in place to prevent the transmission of Covid-19.
On Sunday, prime minister Giuseppe Conte acknowledged he is taking a “calculated risk” by lifting such measures. However, the country is showing signs of progress in controlling the outbreak, having reported consistent drops in the number of daily recorded deaths.
In Spain, restrictions outside of Madrid and Barcelona are set to be relaxed, with groups of up to 10 people free to meet. Bars and restaurants will also be be allowed to reopen their outside spaces from Monday.
The country is now "very close" to stopping the transmission of the virus, the head of the emergency health centre, Fernando Simon, said on Sunday.
Japan's economic growth plunged into recession in the first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic diminished production, exports and spending.
The Cabinet Office reported on Monday a drop of 3.4 per cent annual pace in seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product, or GDP, the total value of a nation's goods and services, for the January-March period, compared to the previous quarter.
The annual pace gives what the rate would be when continued for a year. For just the quarter, the drop was 0.9 per cent.
Exports dived 21.8 per cent. Private residential investments slipped nearly 17 per cent, and household consumption edged down 3.1 per cent.
Analysts say things are expected to get worse, as the world's third-largest economy undergoes its biggest challenge since World War Two.
Japan is in a technical recession, defined as two quarters straight of contraction, as its economy contracted 1.9 per cent in October-December.
Britain still in talks with France over quarantine exemption, says culture minister
The UK is still in talks with France over whether French travellers should be exempt from a requirement for a 14-day quarantine when they arrive in the country, culture minister Oliver Dowden said on Monday.
"Discussions are ongoing with the French on that," he told Sky News.
The two countries had said earlier this month that Britain would not impose quarantine to travellers coming from France at this stage, but the UK government has still not set out the full details.
Ryanair reports increase in profits - but expects 'difficult' year ahead
Ryanair has reported a 13 per cent increase in profits to 1 billion euros (£890 million) for the year ending March but warned that it faces a "difficult" year ahead following the impact of coronavirus.
The discount airline said it saw an increase in passengers for the full year but has operated fewer than 1 per cent of its scheduled flights since the start of April.
It also told investors that it has sufficient funds to "weather Covid-19 and emerge stronger when the crisis passes".
Children 'not primary spreaders' of Covid-19, says data considered by government
Children are "not the primary drivers of Covid-19 spread" in schools, according to a study reportedly being considered by the Government.
A senior member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) subcommittee on schools told The Daily Telegraph that the government had examined the Australian study as it considers a phased reopening of primary schools from 1 June.
The paper by the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance considered all coronavirus cases in the schools of New South Wales, the country's most populous state.
It found that "children are not the primary drivers of Covid-19 spread in schools or in the community. This is consistent with data from international studies showing low rates of disease in children and suggesting limited spread among children and from children to adults".
The source cited by the Telegraph described the data as being a "very useful and interesting piece of research".
It follow the deputy chief medical officer for England, Dr Jenny Harries, saying Sage had modelled seven different scenarios for reopening schools.
(The government is planning to start a phased reopening of schools from 1 June)
Union demands greater clarification over transmission risk in schools
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, has called for greater clarification on whether schools pose a high transmission risk for Covid-19.
Plans to start a phased reopening of schools from 1 June has been met with resistance from parents and teachers, who have described the government's current strategy as unsafe.
Mr Whiteman told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Specifically around the transmission from children to adults, we've been told over the weekend - it's been asserted by the government publicly over the weekend - that there isn't the level of risk that we fear.
"However, we haven't yet seen the scientific underpin of that. There's been some commentary and I want to invite the government today to write to me so that I can talk to the 31,000 school leaders that we represent, particularly in the primary sector, and say this is why the government has made that assessment."
Australia's call for Covid-19 investigation picks up support
A draft resolution pushed by the European Union and Australia calling for an independent review into the origins and spread of the coronavirus has support from 116 nations at the World Health Assembly, almost enough for it to pass.
The resolution on Covid-19 will be put forward on Tuesday if it gains backing from two-thirds of the 194 members of the assembly, the governing body of the World Health Organisation. China had strongly opposed Australia's call last month for an international investigation into the pandemic.
Names on a draft resolution seen by Reuters on Monday showed support from 116 members was locked in, although Australian foreign minister Marise Payne said negotiations were ongoing and she did not want to pre-empt the outcome.
The resolution was "an important part of the conversation we started, and I am very grateful to the efforts of those in the European Union and those many drafters who have been part of the negotiations for the past few weeks," she said.
The resolution was comprehensive and included a call for "an examination of the zoonotic origins of the coronavirus", Ms Payne added.
Australia - which has reported only 99 deaths from the novel coronavirus - says it wants to prevent a repeat of the pandemic that has paralysed economic activity around the world, and is not looking to cast blame.
Hundreds to benefit from plasma treatment after 1,000 units donated
Around 500 people are to benefit from an experimental treatment for Covid-19 after 1,000 units of plasma were donated from recovered patients.
From Monday, between 11 and 14 hospitals will take part in the trial, with "many more" to follow as the collection programme expands, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) said.
It is hoped the treatment, known as convalescent plasma, will help patients whose bodies are not producing sufficient antibodies to fight the virus.
NHSBT said it is collecting up to 100 units of donated convalescent plasma a day, with 994 units received by Friday morning.
With each patient receiving two units each, it is hoped the donated plasma could help around 500 people.
The NHSBT said it is now able to collect convalescent plasma at all 23 of its permanent donor centres.
Premier League could show more matches on free-to-air, says culture minister
The Premier League could show more matches on free-to-air TV platforms once it resumes, including during the normally protected 3pm slot on a Saturday, culture minister Oliver Dowden has said.
Making the games available on free platforms could help to prevent fans from turning up outside the stadium for games that are being shown behind closed doors, Mr Downden added.
"It is likely to (resume) mid June at the earliest," he told BBC Breakfast on Monday. "It would be a good thing to do if we can and I'm also looking as we do it at increasing the number of matches that could be free to air so people wouldn't be tempted to leave their homes to watch it.
"There is a rule at the moment that at 3pm you can't show matches on TV because people were watching it in the football stadiums, clearly that is not going to be the case anymore, so some of those slots may be available for free-to-air."
Despite the new measures that have been put in place to expand England's rail services, reports from this morning suggest that people are continuing to avoid major train stations and public transports.
One of those commuting from King's Cross on Monday was a police officer returning home from a night shift.
PC Jason Kelly, who was on his way to north Hertfordshire, told PA News: "Up until a week ago, in the early morning there were only two people on the train.
"When they changed the lockdown last week that went up to about 30 or 40 people."
He was not confident passengers would be able to stick to social distancing measures once numbers rise further.
"For some people it's just like a normal day, people have got fed up with it (coronavirus), they've had enough."
India has recorded its biggest single-day surge with 5,242 new cases of coronavirus and 157 deaths due to Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the country's infection tally to more than 96,000, the most in Asia.
The country now has 3,029 reported fatalities due to Covid-19.
The surge in infections comes a day after the federal government extended a nationwide lockdown to 31 May but eased some restrictions to restore economic activity and gave states more control in deciding the nature of the lockdown.
Authorities are largely attributing the recent surge in infections to the return of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers to India's villages, which have weaker health infrastructure.
India had eased its lockdown rules on 4 May and even allowed migrant workers to travel back to their homes, a decision that has resulted in millions of people being on the move for the last two weeks.
All domestic and international passenger flights remain prohibited in the country. Metro services, schools, colleges, hotels and restaurants also remain shuttered nationwide.
Most of the infections reported in India are from its major cities. Mumbai, the financial capital, alone has registered almost 20 per cent of the total cases. (The recent surge in infections has been attributed to the return of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers to India's villages)
South Korea has reported 15 new coronavirus cases and one more death, bringing its totals to 11,065 cases and 263 fatalities.
South Korea's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday said it believed 10 of the new cases were linked to passengers arriving from abroad.
Only two new cases were reported from the Seoul metropolitan area, where tens of thousands were tested in recent weeks after health officials discovered dozens of infections linked to club goers.
Officials have expressed hope that the transmissions are waning and plan to move ahead with a phased reopening of schools, starting with high school seniors on Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Police Department wants to test everyone its officers arrest to determine whether they are infected with the coronavirus.
Police chief Michel Moore told the department's civilian oversight body last week that jails are testing all new arrivals, but the results take days to come back.
He said real-time data from a rapid-result test would help authorities isolate sick detainees, keep others detained in local jails safe and quickly alert officers to any potential exposure.
Mr Moore is asking city officials to purchase a rapid-result testing system, but it's unclear whether such a system will produce accurate test results.
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro greeted hundreds of supporters — and joined some in a series of push-ups — who had gathered before the presidential offices on Sunday to back his open-the-economy drive even as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps across the country.
Demonstrators in Brasilia and Sao Paulo defied local stay-at-home orders to join the pro-Bolsonaro rallies at a time when the president is facing increasing pressure over his handling of the pandemic, which has killed more than 15,000 Brazilians.
"We hope to be free of this question soon, for the good of all of us," Mr Bolsonaro told the crowd in Brasilia. "Brazil will come back stronger."
Mr Bolsonaro later invited a group of about 20 paratroopers, who were taking part in the protest, to join him on the stoop of the presidential office.
The men, wearing camouflage trousers, black Bolsonaro T-shirts and red berets, swore allegiance to the president and his family, stretching their right arms, before some joined him in a series of push-ups.
Supporters have gathered daily at the presidential residence, with larger crowds turning out on weekends. (Jair Bolsonaro met with anti-lockdown protesters on Sunday)
Hospitals have been refusing requests for caesarean sections during the Covid-19 outbreak despite official guidance and NHS England advice that they should go ahead, reports health correspondent Shaun Lintern.
Multiple NHS trusts have told women preparing to give birth since March that requests for a caesarean section will not be granted due to the viral pandemic.
It has led to accusations from the charity Birthrights that the coronavirus outbreak is being used as an excuse to promote an ideology that more women should have a natural birth.
During the coronavirus crisis some women have been forced to give birth alone due to bans on partners attending hospital. Hospitals changed their policy after new visiting rules were released.
Beijing petition offices to remain closed as China reports 7 new cases
China reported seven new coronavirus cases Monday and officials said central government petition offices in Beijing, where people come from across the country to register complaints, will remain closed for the time being as a virus-control measure.
No new Covid-19 deaths have been reported in China in more than a month, although some have been announced retroactively after further tests were performed.
A total of 82 people remain in treatment while another 450 are under isolation and monitoring as suspected cases or after testing positive for the virus without showing symptoms. China has reported 4,634 deaths among 82,954 cases since the virus was first detected in the central industrial city of Wuhan.
With the decline in cases, China has moved to restart schools and reopen businesses and industries. However, some government offices that tend to attract large numbers of people in restricted spaces have largely remained closed to the public.
Central government petition offices are a particular concern because complainants often travel considerable distances to Beijing where they might live for weeks or months in substandard accommodations awaiting a response.
Hospitals in Oregon to treat patients with promising treatment drug
Hospitals in the US state of Oregon will be provided with an experimental drug that has shown some promise treating the coronavirus, health officials have said.
The Oregon Health Authority says that the state has received enough doses of remdesivir to treat all patients who met the medical criteria for using the drug as of Saturday.
Recent early results for the drug suggested it could help patients recover from the coronavirus faster, although longer-term data is still needed to confirm any benefit.
The health authority is not taking a position on whether it should be used or not, leaving that decision up to doctors and their patients.
