Mike Pence, the US vice president, has claimed the Trump administration has made “remarkable progress” in tackling Covid-19 – despite a jump in cases in southern states – in his first coronavirus task force briefing in two months. His comments came after the country set a new daily record for infections.
Some US states have tightened restrictions amid rising cases, with Texas and Florida clamping down on bars and restaurants.
Boris Johnson has warned of a potentially “serious spike” in coronavirus cases if people continue to “take liberties” with social-distancing rules. Health secretary Matt Hancock warned ministers had the power to close beaches if people flout rules, but No 10 said they would stay open for now.
As the fall semester looms over students, education officials, staff, and health professionals, many campuses have yet to settle on firm answers as to what the upcoming academic year could look like, writes Danielle Zoellner.
Uncertainty hinges largely on how the coronavirus pandemic will continue its spread throughout the United States at the start of August.
Will states still be reporting peak case numbers and a lack of ICU hospital beds? Or could the social distancing measures implemented across the country largely diminish the virus’ impact?
With three more days before the government is expected to reveal details of “air bridges” between Britain and other European countries, concern is growing that key destinations could be left out.
There are fears in the travel industry that Portugal may be left out of the initial list.
Government accused of ‘reverse engineering’ quarantine policy with air bridges
‘Other countries are wondering why the UK is making things so complicated,’ said Paul Charles of Quash Quarantine campaign groupBrazil has recorded more than 46,000 new cases of coronavirus and a further 990 deaths in the last 24 hours.
It brings the totals to 55,961 deaths and 1,274,974 cases, according to the health ministry.
Scientific adviser criticises government's mixed messaging
“Mixed messaging” on the lifting of lockdown restrictions is weakening the coronavirus guidance, a scientific adviser to the government has said, as police in London warned they were preparing to deal with significant public disorder this weekend.
Robert West, who sits on Sage’s Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B), said attempts by ministers to encourage people to return to shops and pubs had been “problematic” at this stage in the pandemic.
‘Mixed messaging’ on lockdown easing is weakening coronavirus guidance, Sage member says
Warning comes as Metropolitan Police says it is preparing for weekend disorder in LondonNew York, New Jersey and Connecticut are the latest states to enact 14-day quarantines on arrivals to try to check the spread of the coronavirus.
Few details have emerged so far, but the the states' governors are expected to target travellers from more than a half-dozen hot-spot states.
The measures could include making new arrivals fill out forms and National Guard members knocking on doors to check on the progress of their self-isolation.
"Right now, I think you're going to find that a lot of people who maybe were thinking about flying to Connecticut from Miami Beach or Dallas-Fort Worth are going to take a pause," Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said. "I think most of them will be staying at home. That's what I want to have happen."
Nearly 9,000 new cases in Florida
Florida has reported a record breaking increase in coronavirus cases in the state, forcing the reimplementation of lockdown measures, writes Louise Hall.
The state reported 8,942 new covid-19 cases on Friday, a drastic increase from its previous record of 5,511 on Wednesday.
The stark increase marks the 19th day in a row that the state has hit a new average high in the number of daily cases, around a 77 per cent surge from last week.
The White House has cancelled Donald Trump's planned weekend at his Bedminster golf resort amid New Jersey's request that travellers who have visited states with coronavirus spikes self-quarantine for 14 days.
Mr Trump has recently visited Arizona, which has seen a surge in cases and hospitalisations, and a county in Wisconsin on Thursday that its state government says has a "high" Covid-19 activity level.
White House silent on reason for Trump cancelling weekend golf club trip
'It has nothing to do with that,' White House spokesman says of president's recent travel into Covid-heavy areasGovernor Gavin Newsom has said that he wants an agricultural Southern California county to reimpose stay-home orders amid a surge in positive coronavirus tests.
Imperial County, with a population of 175,000 people on the border with Mexico, has been the slowest to reopen amid high rates of positive tests compared to the rest of the state.
Governor Newsom also announced that San Francisco is pausing plans to reopen businesses on Monday, such as hair salons, museums and outdoor bars.
Costa Rica will open its international airports on 1 August to tourists from countries that have "controlled transmission" of coronavirus, health minister Daniel Salas has said.
Starting this weekend, Costa Rica will also open more public spaces such as movie theaters, shopping centers and beaches in most of the country, Mr Salas added.
With new coronavirus cases surging in Texas and Florida, officials in both states today ordered bars to close again and imposed tighter restrictions on restaurants, setting back efforts to reopen their economies.
Governor Greg Abbott gave bars in Texas until midday today to shut, while Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation told bars to immediately stop serving alcohol on their premises.
The announcements marked a major step back by both states - two of the early drivers in attempts to re-open the economy - and an acknowledgement that infection figures had grown too worrisome to stand pat.
Florida today announced a startling 8,942 new Covid-19 cases. That number was a leap from the state's previous record of 5,511 new daily cases, reached on June 24.
Total US cases rose 40,751 on Thursday, a record daily increase.
The novel coronavirus, now spreading through the smaller towns of Brazil's interior, risks returning to major cities in a so-called "boomerang effect," as a lack of specialised medical treatment forces patients into larger urban centres.
The impact of a potential second wave of new cases in urban centres could complicate attempts to reopen businesses and get the economy going again, experts said.
"The boomerang of cases that will return to the [state] capitals will be a tsunami," said Miguel Nicolelis, a leading medical neuroscientist at Duke University who is coordinating a coronavirus task force advising the state governments of Brazil's northeast.
Brazil, home to the world's second-worst coronavirus outbreak behind the United States, has over 1.2 million cases of the virus, which has killed nearly 55,000 people.
On most days, it is spreading faster in Brazil than in the United States, the top country by cases.
The virus initially came to Brazil through airports and spread mostly in its largest cities, but since late May it has been spreading faster in the interior of the country.
Research has found new couples are committing to one another faster than ever.
Olivia Petter speaks to people about how lockdown has sped up how they would usually date:
Contact tracing
A successful contact tracing strategy would require around 80 per cent of contacts of symptomatic cases to be traced and isolated rapidly, according to documents presented to the government.
A paper prepared by the SPI-M, a subcommittee of Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), suggests tracing and isolation of non-household contacts should take place "ideally within two days of symptom onset for the index case".
It said that around 30 contacts would be needed to be traced per symptomatic case, adding that benefits "would be marginal" beyond that number.
Test, Trace, Isolate (TTI) has been at the forefront of the Government's strategy to gradually move the country out of lockdown.
Recent figures have shown NHS tracers have failed to get hold of 24 per cent of people since May 28.
It meant at least 5,062 people with Covid-19 did not provide their close contacts to the NHS between 28 May and 17 June.
Additional reporting by Press Association
Prime minister Scott Morrison branded the panic-buying “ridiculous” as he urged people to stop, adding: “I’m sure it will pass as it did last time and there’s no need for it."
We have previously reported Texas governor Greg Abbott's decision to shut down bars in Texas again and scale back restaurant dining as coronavirus cases surge to record levels.
Clay Jenkins, a Democrat judge who is Dallas County's top official, commented: "The doctors told us at the time, and told anyone who would listen, this will be a disaster. And it has been.
"Once again, the governor is slow to act. He is now being forced to do the things that we've been demanding that he do for the last month and a half."
Coincidentally, vice president Mike Pence - who today claimed the Trump administration has made "remarkable progress" during the coronavirus pandemic, is due to visit Texas this weekend.
Both he and the governor will attend an indoor "Celebrate Freedom" service at a Dallas megachurch on Sunday.
The following day voting begins in Texas for the postponed GOP primary runoffs, ahead of a Republican convention due to go ahead in Houston in July.
Consumer confidence
Consumers in southern US states were less optimistic about economic conditions in June than residents in areas that proceeded more cautiously and followed the advice of health experts.
Southern states, including Texas, South Carolina and Florida, which had reopened by mid-May, are reporting a surge in cases of the respiratory illness.
The University of Michigan said on Friday its measure of consumer sentiment rose only 0.5 point among residents in the South in June.
In western US, where coronavirus infections have also jumped despite early adoption of stringent measures to slow the spread of the disease, consumer sentiment increased 3.3 points in June.
In contrast, sentiment among residents in the country's northeast - where economies are gradually being reopened - soared by a record 19.1 points this month.
"While most consumers believe that economic conditions could hardly worsen from the recent shutdown of the national economy, prospective growth in the economy is more closely tied to progress against the coronavirus," said Richard Curtin, the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers chief economist.
Additional reporting by Reuters
The number of confirmed new coronavirus cases in the US hit an all-time, one-day high of about 40,000 on Thursday - eclipsing the mark set during one of the deadliest stretches in late April.
The figure, released today, represents a resurgence that has led some governors to back track or at least pause the reopening of their states.
Arizona, Texas and Florida are among the states that have been hit hard.
Nevada's governor has ordered the wearing of face masks in public - including in Las Vegas casinos.
With new coronavirus cases surging in Texas and Florida, officials in both states ordered bars to close again and imposed tighter restrictions on restaurants on Friday, setting back efforts to reopen their economies.
Arizona has also postponed further efforts to reopen.
The daily number of confirmed infections on Thursday soared past the previous high set on 24 April of 36,400, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
'The time will come when fans can celebrate together'
Liverpool fans are being urged to celebrate the club's Premier League triumph at home as police believe more gatherings are planned after thousands filled the streets outside Anfield.
Supporters packed the area around the ground after 10pm on Thursday when the club claimed the title as the final whistle blew in the match between Chelsea and Manchester City.
Merseyside Police said it understood some people were "looking to come together" to mark the team becoming champions of England for the first time since 1990 again on Friday night, but warned fans to wait for official celebrations.
Assistant Chief Constable Jon Roy said: "We understand people want to celebrate Liverpool becoming Premier League champions for the first time in 30 years, and the time will come when fans can celebrate together with the team and applaud their achievement, but now is not that time."
Additional reporting by Press Association
France's coronavirus death toll has risen by 26.
The health ministry said on Friday a total of 29,778 people have died in hospitals and nursing homes after testing positive for the virus.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Florida bans drinking alcohol at its bars
Florida has banned alcohol consumption at bars across the state after its daily confirmed coronavirus cases neared 9,000, a new record that is almost double the previous mark set just two days ago.
Officials have attributed much of the new outbreak to young adults flocking to bars after they reopened in most of the state about a month ago, with many of them ignoring social-distancing restrictions aimed at lowering the virus's spread.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
