Coronavirus news – live: Boris Johnson accused of 'actively ignoring' bereaved families, as lockdown reimposed amid 'significant outbreak' in Aberdeen
Lockdown restrictions are to be reimposed across the Aberdeen area after 54 new cases emerged in a coronavirus cluster, Scotland‘s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.
Ms Sturgeon said that 191 contacts have been traced in relation to the cluster. She said that the rise in cases has contributed to a greater fear there was a “significant outbreak” in the city. As a result, restrictions will be reimposed in the Aberdeen City Council area.
A Home Affairs Committee has meanwhile concluded that the “inexplicable” failure to quarantine travellers to the UK fuelled the Covid-19 pandemic and led to unnecessary infections and deaths.
Greater Manchester police vow to crack down on businesses flouting local lockdown rules
Authorities in Greater Manchester have vowed to crack down on pubs, restaurants and supermarkets continually flouting Covid-19 regulations.
Targeted enforcement will take place at establishments where social distancing is not taking place and customers are not wearing face coverings.
New lockdown restrictions were introduced in the region from midnight on July 31, as well as other parts of northern England, following a spike in Covid-19 cases. It led to Greater Manchester Police's busiest weekend for coronavirus-related calls in nine weeks with reports of more than 750 illegal gatherings.
Canary Islands tourists offered financial cover for virus-related issues by regional government
All Spanish and foreign tourists visiting the Canary Islands will have any potential coronavirus-related costs covered by the regional government in an attempt to rescue the tourist season after a new spike in infections in Spain.
Such costs include health expenses or the extension of holidays in case of a compulsory quarantine while on the islands.
The move will take effect this week and is the first of its kind in Spain as the tourism-dependent nation seeks to reassure visitors after Britain dealt a blow to the sector by imposing a compulsory quarantine for anyone coming from Spain.
The travel policy will be managed by French insurer AXA and will include health-related repatriations, the Canary Islands regional government said in a statement. It will last for one year and will exclude health conditions that were known of before the traveller concerned came to the islands.
"It will help the economic recovery of the archipelago," Yaiza Castilla, the regional official in charge of tourism, said in a video published on Twitter.
Greeks told to stick to rules amid late spike in cases
Greeks must stick to rules aimed at containing the coronavirus more closely than ever, the country's prime minister said on Wednesday, warning of new restrictions if a worrying rise in daily cases does not abate.
Greece reported 124 new cases on Wednesday, part of a surge of what appears to be mainly domestic infections.
"Any form of complacency is unjustified," Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. "We still don't know how ...many months we will be forced to live with the virus."
In spring, Greece fared better than other countries in controlling the spread of Covid 19 mainly due to targeted lockdowns followed by nationwide curbs imposed during March.
Mayor of Luton steps down after being caught flouting lockdown rules
The Mayor of Luton has stepped down from his role after breaching lockdown rules.
Councillor Tahir Malik was photographed at a crowded garden party at a time the town was considered to be a hotspot for the virus.
Following his resignation, Cllr Malik said: “Once again I regret my actions which were below the standard of my position and would like to sincerely apologise to the people of Luton for attending this gathering which was in breach of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
"There is no excuse for what I did – I should have known better and I accept full responsibility for my actions"
Trump's niece says president should face charges for coronavirus response
Mary Trump, niece of president Donald Trump, says that her uncle should face criminal charges for his response to the coronavirus pandemic.
In an appearance on The Dean Obeidallah Show on SiriusXM, the president’s niece said that he was liable for American deaths caused by his actions.
“If you have it in your power to save somebody’s life but stand by and do nothing, isn’t that negligent homicide or something like that?” she said in Tuesday’s interview.
“If you are actively withholding personal protective equipment from a state because a governor isn’t nice enough to you and people end up dying, how is that not a crime?”
Spain reported 1,772 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, marking the biggest jump since a national lockdown was lifted in June and beating the previous day's record rise.
The rate of increase in new cases, which does not include data from two regions, sharply rose from the previous day, while one more death was registered, bringing the total to 28,499.
Cumulative cases, which include results from antibody tests on people who may have recovered, increased to 305,767 from 302,814, the health ministry said in a statement.
Tesco's plans to axe cleaners during pandemic put shoppers at risk, say customers
More than half of Tesco‘s customers think that the UK’s largest supermarket chain is putting shoppers at risk with plans to axe thousands of professional cleaners during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a poll.
Last month, Tesco announced it would get rid of contracted cleaners in its Express and Metro stores, with shop-floor staff taking on the work instead.
But a survey by Survation on behalf of Organise, a network that helps employees manage campaigns, found that most customers disagree with Tesco’s new approach.
Biden will not travel to Milwaukee to accept nomination - report
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden will not travel to Milwaukee to accept his party's White House nomination because of concerns over the coronavirus, news agency Associated Press has been told.
The decision would mark the latest blow to traditional party nominating conventions that historically have marked the start of fall general election campaigns.
Mother disappears on 'pandemic road trip' after home-schooling son for three months
A California woman has gone missing after she left home for a “pandemic road trip,” according to her family.
Authorities are searching for Erika Lloyd, 37 of Walnut Creek, California, who disappeared over a month ago after setting off on a long haul drive to Joshua Tree National Park on 14 June, ABC News reported.
Her family told ABC affiliate KESQ that Ms Lloyd went on the trip to help take her mind off the ongoing pandemic.
Boris Johnson has been accused of "actively ignoring" the families of people who have died from coronavirus after he and other government ministers refused to meet or engage with them, reports policy correspondent Jon Stone.
At a hearing of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on coronavirus on Wednesday, MPs were told by bereaved survivors that the prime minister had "pretty much ignored us" despite being sent three letters.
Covid-19 Families for Justice, which wants a judge-led inquiry into the government's handling of coronavirus, is made up of 1,450 family members who have lost loved ones as a result of the pandemic.
Group members said they believed the government does not want to engage with bereaved people because it would amount to "acknowledging that we do have a huge death toll" and raise questions about the UK government's handling of the disease.
Poland plans to fully reopen schools in September despite Covid-19 spike
Poland intends to fully reopen its schools on 1 September, the education minister said on Wednesday, despite a recent renewed spike in coronavirus infections.
The country was initially successful in containing the outbreak, but cases started rising after restrictions on public gatherings were eased. On Tuesday authorities reported the fourth record daily increase in a week, with 680 new infections.
Poland, a nation of 38 million people, had recorded a total of 48,789 cases and 1,756 deaths as of Wednesday.
"We want students to come back to normal education in schools from September," said education minister Dariusz Piontkowski.
He said the ministry would impose strict hygiene and safety rules for schools, as well as criteria under which some schools could switch to online or a mix of online and in-class instruction in case of local infection spikes.
Wearing masks in classes would not be mandatory.
"We are not planning to limit the number of students in class. If there is an epidemic threat, the headmaster may adopt a solution where the number is limited or some students come to school and others learn online," Mr Piontkowski added.
Doctors say Turkish Covid-19 outbreak worse than reported as hospitalisations swell
Doctors in Turkey's coronavirus hotspots say hospitals are filling up with more cases than are reflected in the official nationwide count, which resurged above 1,000 this week.
Intensive care units (ICUs) and emergency rooms in hospitals set aside for COVID-19 patients are at capacity in the capital Ankara and the southeastern city of Gaziantep, medics associations from those regions told Reuters this week.
The government, which lifted a partial lockdown in June to restart the economy, sounded its own warning on Tuesday when the health minister described the 1,083 new Covid-19 cases as a "severe" rise after a four-day holiday weekend.
In response, authorities rolled out new inspections and enforcement measures, including fines for not wearing masks or maintaining social distancing. New cases had hovered just below 1,000 for more than three weeks, according to official figures.
But Aysegul Ates Tarla, head of the Gaziantep-Kilis Medics' Chamber, said a single hospital in the region logged 200 new cases in one day recently, with the infection rate among health workers especially high.
In Ankara, Ali Karakoc, general secretary of its Medics' Chamber, said roughly 1,000 people test positive in the capital each day and he blamed what he called a premature easing of lockdown measures in June.
"Patients are being made to wait on gurneys for hours or are being sent home. Even those who have pneumonia are sent home because they cannot find a place," he said, adding Covid-dedicated beds were now full.
Aberdeen lockdown to be enforced with extra police
Extra police officers will be on the streets in Aberdeen to ensure residents comply with the reintroduced lockdown rules.
First minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the tightening of restrictions across the Aberdeen City Council area following a “significant outbreak” in cases.
Residents should not enter each other's homes or travel more than five miles and bars, cafes and restaurants must close from 5pm on Wednesday.
Police Scotland deputy chief constable Will Kerr said: "It's really important that people follow the instructions and guidance from the Scottish Government.
"To support that, we will have additional patrols in Aberdeen, where local restrictions have been reintroduced.
"Our approach to these local restrictions will reflect the consistent approach taken by Police Scotland since the outset of this pandemic, and our officers will continue to engage, educate and encourage people to comply, as we all support the public health efforts to stop the spread of the virus.”
Gambia coronavirus cases surge 60 per cent in a week
Coronavirus cases in Gambia, mainland Africa's smallest country, have surged over 60 per cent in the last seven days to nearly 800 cases, health ministry data showed on Wednesday.
Authorities attributed the rise to people relaxing their guard on protective measures that had so far kept Gambia's case total the lowest in Africa. Testing has also increased in the country, where the number of deaths is 16.
"There is increased enforcement of mask-wearing and other measures across the country," government spokesman Ebrima Sankareh said.
Gambia will increase police, paramilitary, marine and immigration presence on its border as scores of Senegalese return from celebrating Eid al-Adha in neighbouring Senegal, which has recorded over 10,400 cases, he added.
The health ministry said six people who were confirmed cases are still at large, while two other positive cases have fled from a treatment centre in the capital.
Three cabinet ministers have tested positive for Covid-19, the government said on Sunday, while health minister Ahmadou Lamin Samateh is in self-isolation.
Opinion: The chancellor's clampdown will come in a government-wide spending review this autumn – a big event, as the first to set departmental budgets for three years ahead since 2015, writes political columnist Andrew Grice.
Pfizer announces deal with Canada for experimental Covid-19 vaccine
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc and German biotech firm BioNTech SE on Wednesday said they had signed a deal to supply Canada with an experimental coronavirus vaccine.
Deliveries of the BNT162 mRNA-based vaccine candidate are planned over the course of 2021, subject to clinical success and Health Canada approval, the two companies said in a statement. They did not reveal financial details.
There are no approved vaccines for the illness caused by the coronavirus, but 19 vaccines are being tested in humans around the world.
NHS England reports 13 more hospital deaths from Covid-19
A further 13 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals to 29,371, NHS England has said.
Patients were aged between 52 and 92 years old and all had known underlying health conditions.
Another three deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.
Public Health Wales has meanwhile said that a further two people have died after testing positive for Covid-19, taking the total number of deaths in the country to 1,568.
The number of cases in Wales increased by 14, bringing the total number confirmed to 17,374.
Natural history museum visitors overjoyed as venue reopens
Visitors to the National History Museum have expressed their delight as the venue opened its doors for the first time in months.
People queued outside the London museum on Wednesday morning to become some of the first members of the public to go inside since it was forced to close at the start of the coronavirus outbreak.
A range of new safety measures have been put in place, including mandatory pre-booking, a reduction in the museum's capacity and social distancing rules.
Jen White, a 36-year-old production manager, travelled with her children from Manchester for a visit to the museum.
She told the PA news agency: "I have been home schooling these guys, so we have been literally cooped up in the house.
"I just wanted to get out and educate them somewhere that is not a home school setting.
"I think when they get in they will be wowed because we have never done this before."
Slots to visit the museum this week are fully booked, while 80 per cent of the tickets for next week have also already been sold, according to a spokesman for the venue.
Ahead of the reopening, museum staff carried out conservation work on exhibits including the 25.2 metre-long blue whale skeleton named Hope, which is suspended in the entrance. (Members of the public enter the lobby during the reopening of the Natural History Museum)
Israel’s military creates task force to tackle coronavirus
The Israeli military said it was establishing a coronavirus task force aimed at cutting the chain of infection in the country.
In a statement, the military said the new task force would begin operating next week and connect all the different bodies under one umbrella.
The unit, headed by a brigadier general, will operate a sampling centre, a quarantine centre, recovery hotels, an evaluation complex and an epidemiological investigations centre.
The move looks to give the country's largest organisation overall responsibility for contact tracing at a time when the government has come under fire for its handling of the pandemic.
The ministry of defence has long advocated utilising the military's vast infrastructure and resources to combat the spread of the virus but has been rebuffed till now because of inter-government squabbling.
Israel received praise for its early handling of the coronavirus crisis and imposing tight movement restrictions.
But since reopening the economy in May new cases have spiked to record highs, with upwards of 2,000 infections a day.
