Covid news - live updates: Coronavirus cases rising in Spain, France and Greece as Boris Johnson accused of 'actively ignoring' bereaved families
Lockdown restrictions have been reimposed across the Aberdeen area after 54 new cases emerged in a coronavirus cluster.
First minister Nicola 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.
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.
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s rolling coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
Here are the main stories from across the globe:
- Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has criticised Boris Johnson's government for being "too slow to act" throughout the coronavirus pandemic. He warned the nation is at a "crucial point" in the fight against coronavirus and that Britain faced "a long and bleak winter" if immediate steps were not taken to ensure the country was better prepared for a second wave.
- The UK has agreed a multi-million pound joint investment with French speciality vaccines company Valneva to upgrade a manufacturing facility and increase production capacity for a possible Covid-19 vaccine.
- A group of MPs has said that the lack of quarantine restrictions for people arriving into the UK during the earlier stages of the pandemic was a “serious mistake”.
- Virgin Atlantic could run out of money by the end of September if creditors do not approve a £1.2 billion bailout package, a court has heard.
- The global death toll from Covid-19 surpassed 700,000 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, with the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico leading the rise in fatalities. Nearly 5,900 people are dying every 24 hours from Covid-19 on average. That equates to 247 people per hour, or one person every 15 seconds.
- Australia's Victoria state reported a record rise in new Covid-19 cases and deaths on Wednesday, as it prepared to close much of its economy to control a second wave of infection that threatens to spread across the country.
- The US says Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar will visit Taiwan in the coming days in the highest-level visit by an American Cabinet official since the break in formal diplomatic relations between Washington and Taipei in 1979.
- The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 741 to 212,022, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Wednesday. The reported death toll rose by 12 to 9,168, the tally showed.
'All children will be returning to school in September'
Schools minister Nick Gibb has confirmed the government's position that all children will return to school in September.
He told Sky News: "We're very clear that all children will be returning to school in September, including in areas of local lockdown such as Greater Manchester.
"It is hugely important for children's education, for their wellbeing, that they do return to school and schools are working enormously hard in preparation for September to make sure that the risk of transmitting the virus within the school environment is kept to an absolute minimum.
"We have issued very detailed guidance to schools about hygiene, about keeping children in these bubbles - class-sized bubbles in primary schools, year-group bubbles in secondary schools - making sure children aren't unnecessarily mixing with other children in the school, staggered lunch breaks, staggered play times, doing everything that we can to minimise contact - one-way systems through schools and so on - so that children are safe in school."
Asked whether the government would consider closing pubs and restaurants to ensure all children can return to school safely in September, Mr Gibb replied: "Our priority is to make sure that children are back in school with their friends."
UK agrees joint investment with Valneva to boost vaccine production
Britain has agreed a multi-million pound joint investment with French speciality vaccines company Valneva to upgrade a manufacturing facility and increase production capacity for a possible Covid-19 vaccine.
Britain said in July it had agreed in principle to buy 60 million doses of a Valneva vaccine, with an option to purchase 40 million more if it proved safe, effective and suitable.
The government did not disclose the exact size of the investment, and had previously said it was in talks about providing funding for the facility in Livingston, Scotland.
Valneva has previously said it is aiming for clinical trials of its vaccine to start in November or December this year.
Professor Ferguson sounds warning over reopening of secondary schools
Professor Neil Ferguson, the former coronavirus advisor to the government, has warned that the reopening of high schools could increase the country’s R rate by much as 0.5.
The epidemiologist and professor of mathematical biology said that primary schools were of little concern, compared to the risk posed by larger secondary schools, colleges and universities.
Although the evidence remains incomplete for now, teenagers are capable of spreading Covid-19 as well as adults, Prof Ferguson said.
“The risk then is that big schools, comprehensives, universities link lots of households together, reconnect the social network which social distancing measures have deliberately disconnected,” he told BBC Radio 4.
“That poses a real risk of amplification of transmission and case numbers going up quite sharply.”
He added that the reopening of secondary schools could increase the R value “by as much as a half or as little as 0.2.”
“Given we’re at R 1, we don’t want R going up to 1.5,” he said.
Virgin Atlantic could ‘run out of money’ by end of September
Virgin Atlantic could run out of money by the end of September if creditors do not approve a £1.2 billion bailout package, a court has heard.
Without a restructuring and injection of new cash, it is projected that the airline's cash flow would drop to "critical levels" by the middle of next month and it will "run out of money altogether" by the week beginning 28 September.
The airline unveiled a restructuring plan to secure its future, involving only private funds, last month.
The proposal needs to secure approval from creditors under a court-sanction process.
UK made serious mistake over border policy, say MPs
Home Affairs Select Committee chairwoman and Labour MP Yvette Cooper said the government's slowness to impose quarantine restrictions on those arriving into the UK was a "serious error".
It comes as a report published by the Home Affairs committee said a lack of border measures earlier in the pandemic was a "serious mistake".
Ms Cooper told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "At a time when other countries were introducing stronger border measures, the UK was lifting them and we heard detailed evidence that shows that thousands of people with Covid-19 would have arrived into the country or come back to the country at that time as a result.
"That escalated the pace and scale of the epidemic so many more people caught Covid-19."
She added: "We saw evidence that even just a couple of days after the Government lifted their guidance you had an estimated 900 people arriving in a day with Covid-19 who then weren't asked to isolate and we just see no science behind that decision at all.
"I think it's that lack of science, the lack of transparency, that is so concerning."
Australia fears contagion as Victoria state reports record coronavirus deaths
Australia's Victoria state reported a record rise in new Covid-19 cases and deaths on Wednesday, as it prepared to close much of its economy to control a second wave of infection that threatens to spread across the country.
The second-most populous state in Australia reported a daily high of 725 new Covid-19 cases and a record 15 deaths despite having reimposed a lockdown on Melbourne, the state capital with a population of 5 million people, four weeks ago.
New South Wales and Queensland states introduced new measures to limit the spread of the new coronavirus, which has claimed 247 lives across the country of 25 million people.
In Victoria, the state government imposed a night curfew and tightened restrictions on people's movements across greater Melbourne on Sunday, and ordered most businesses to stop trading from Wednesday night in a massive blow to the national economy.
Government has one month to fix test and trace, says Labour
The government has one month to fix its test and trace system or face the threat of a “long and bleak winter”, Labour has warned.
Sir Keir Starmer said the nation is at a “crucial point” in its fight against coronavirus and that Britain needs to take immediate steps to ensure the country is better prepared for a second wave.
Writing in The Guardian, the MP for Holborn and St Pancras said: "On the occasions that the government has acted at pace, it has too often done so without a clear plan. Trying to get answers and clarity from the prime minister is a frustrating experience.
"His repeated refusal to accept that test and trace isn't functioning properly is a roadblock to fixing the issues and restoring public confidence."
The NHS Test and Trace programme has recently come under fire for not reaching enough people who have tested positive or their close contacts, with researchers warning that the system in its current state would not be enough to stave off a second wave in the winter.
Sir Keir also stressed that reopening schools for the new term must be a priority and further steps needed to be taken to ensure the NHS was ready to cope with another potential spike in infections.
"Any steps the government makes to regain the trust of the British people will have Labour's full support," he wrote.
Ukraine recorded a record daily jump of 1,271 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the council of security and defence said.
The number of infections has increased sharply in Ukraine in the past two months as authorities have eased some restrictions, allowing cafes, churches and public transport to reopen.
Health minister Maksym Stepanov urged people to obey broader restrictions that are still in place.
"Ukrainians, the fight against coronavirus is impossible without you. The rules are very simple - the use of masks, antiseptics and a distance of 1.5 meters. Following these simple rules significantly reduces the risk of disease," Mr Stepanov told a televised briefing.
The total number of cases rose to 75,490, including 1,788 deaths and 41,527 recovered as of 5 August.
Pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops should all close before schools during any local or national lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus, the children’s commissioner for England has said, reports political correspondent Ashley Cowburn.
Arguing that children were too often treated as “an afterthought” during the first lockdown, Anne Longfield said if the country experiences a second wave of Covid-19 then youngsters must be “at the heart” of any government planning.
Publishing a briefing paper on putting children first in future lockdowns, she insisted that education must be prioritised over other sectors and be “first to open, last to close”.
“When only a limited amount of social interaction is feasible, the amount accounted for by education must be protected – at the expense of other sectors/activities,” the paper added.
New Zealand's unemployment rate showed a surprising improvement to 4 per cent during the midst of the nation's virus lockdown, although the headline number does not tell the full story and joblessness is likely to increase in the months ahead.
Still, the figure was far better than most people expected and came as welcome news to the government led by prime minister Jacinda Ardern ahead of a general election next month.
The figures from Statistics New Zealand showed the unemployment rate in the quarter ending June fell from 4.2 per cent in the previous quarter. But the number of hours worked also fell a record 10 per cent and the number of people not in the labor force rose.
Because people who are not actively seeking work are not counted as unemployed, the figures did not reflect many job losses because most people couldn't search for jobs during the lockdown. And many workers have been protected by a government-funded wage subsidy scheme during the pandemic which is due to expire next month.
Hong Kong has reported 80 new cases of Covid-19 and four additional deaths, while new cases in mainland China fell to just 27.
Hong Kong saw cases spike in a new wave of infections, but new daily cases have now fallen back into the double digits.
Authorities in the semi-autonomous Chinese city have ordered masks be worn in all public places, slapped restrictions on indoor dining, banned many activities and increased testing for coronavirus. Hong Kong has recorded a total of 3,669 cases and 42 deaths from Covid-19.
Of mainland China's cases, 22 were in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, whose capital and largest city Urumqi has been the centre of China's latest outbreak.
China has reported 4,634 deaths among 84,491 cases since the virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
Deputy political editor Rob Merrick has more here on the Home Affairs Committee and its recent findings into the UK’s border policy during the height of the pandemic.
The failure to enforce quarantines for arriving travellers has been blamed for making the impact of coronavirus “far worse” than if restrictions had been imposed.
It meant many hundreds of Covid-infected passengers arrived every day – particularly from Spain, Italy and France – as the UK stood “almost unique” in rejecting border checks, the committee says.
London mayor says he hasn't spoken to PM since early May
London mayor Sadiq Khan said he has not spoken to prime minister Boris Johnson since 10 May.
He told Good Morning Britain it is "not good enough" to be left to talk to individual ministers who only know what is happening in their portfolio.
He said "the prime minister knows what is going on in all the departments and must be in charge of the detail".
Mr Khan added that he and local leaders need information on a range of issues, including the health, economic and social consequences of any measures, and "what the plan is if the virus rises in our city".
He urged the government to "work with us" and with local leaders, adding: "By the way, scrutiny is a good thing.
"If you are challenged and the tyres are kicked, it leads to better decision-making and a safer car."
Covid-19 has ‘indirectly harmed’ patients, warn doctors
Doctors are "gravely concerned" about the deterioration of their patients' health during the coronavirus pandemic, leading medics have said.
Many services were paused while the NHS focused on treating Covid-19 patients and other urgent and emergency care.
But the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) said that doctors are worried that their patients' health may have worsened as a result of service disruptions during the pandemic.
It comes as an RCP poll found that 60 per cent of doctors worry that patients in their care have suffered harm or complications following diagnosis or treatment delays during the pandemic.
The survey of 1,029 senior doctors and consultants, conducted at the end of last month, found that 94 per cent are concerned about the general indirect impact of Covid-19 on their patients.
Only 5 per cent of doctors feel that their organisations are fully prepared for a potential second wave of Covid-19, the survey found.
No need to wear face coverings in school, government insists
Schools minister Nick Gibb said the guidance remains that secondary school pupils will not have to wear face coverings in school.
The minister told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "As I said, we are led by the science."
Asked why over-11s must wear face coverings in shops and on public transport but not in schools, he said: "Well, that is what the science tells us.
"Within a school, of course, you're not with people that you don't meet normally, you see these same children every day, so there are different circumstances - when you're on public transport for example, when you're encountering people you've not come across or met before.
"And that is why you have different rules and things like face coverings for public transport and being in shops from where you are with the same people in the same bubble day in and day out.
Scientists say they may have discovered a new route to protect nerve cells in mice, which, if it can be replicated in humans, could prevent multiple sclerosis-related disability.
Researchers have already identified an existing, readily available diabetes drug, pioglitazone, which can trigger the natural process in mice cells and could become a potential treatment to halt the progression of the disease.
MS sufferers can become disabled because of damage to their nerve cells, which are stripped of the protective coating called myelin. Over time patients can find it harder to walk, talk and eat.
South Africa sees dip in new virus cases but warns of return
South Africa's health minister on Wednesday reported decreasing rates of new confirmed cases of Covid-19 but warned that vigilance must continue "to prevent a renewed surge."
South Africa has 521,318 confirmed coronavirus cases, the fifth highest in the world and more than half of all reported cases in Africa, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
So far South Africa has recorded 8,884 Covid-19 deaths, although studies of excess mortality rates indicate the actual toll could be higher.
The rapid spread of infections in poor, overcrowded urban centres in Cape Town, Johannesburg and other cities threatened to overwhelm public hospitals, but health minister Zwelini Mkhize told reporters that so far the health system has been able to cope.
"Our hospitals have been battered but we have not breached our hospital capacity," he said. "Our wards are full and our ICU beds are full, but not to complete capacity. And the field hospitals that we constructed still have space."
There have been adequate supplies of oxygen for severely affected patients, he said. ( An elderly man is tested for Covid-19 in Alexandra, Johannesburg)
Philippines confirms 3,462 more coronavirus cases and 9 deaths
The Philippines' health ministry on Wednesday reported 3,462 new coronavirus infections and nine additional deaths.
In a bulletin, the ministry said total infections had risen to 115,980, putting the tally just behind Indonesia's 116,871 cases, which is the highest in East Asia.
Coronavirus deaths in the Philippines have reached 2,123.
Another cruise ship in Norway stalled amid infection fears
A cruise ship with 123 passengers on board and a crew of 85 docked Wednesday in the Norwegian harbour of Bodoe but no one could disembark after a former passenger from Denmark tested positive for the coronavirus upon returning home.
"We take the situation very seriously," mayor Ida Pinneroed told Norwegian broadcaster NRK, adding that authorities were in contact with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health on whether the remaining passengers should be tested. The crew will be tested.
In a statement, ship owner SeaDream Yacht Club said "we sincerely hope that there is no Covid-19 on board, and we are not aware of any other guests or crew who are infected or have any symptoms, but we are taking all necessary precautions."
The ship owner said the former passenger on Tuesday was found to be positive for the virus during a routine check upon arrival in Denmark. The person had no symptoms of Covid-19 during the voyage and traveled home from Tromsoe on 2 August as planned.
Meanwhile, the number of people on another Norwegian cruise ship, the MS Roald Amundsen, who have tested positive for the virus has reached 44, authorities said. It is not clear how that outbreak began.
