Top story: ‘Attack from the Invisible Enemy’
Hello, I’m Warren Murray presenting the stories to get up with this morning.
Donald Trump has announced he will sign an executive order “temporarily” banning immigration into the US because of the “attack from the Invisible Enemy”, meaning the coronavirus pandemic. David Smith, the Guardian’s bureau chief in Washington, writes that nearly all visa processing by the state department has been on hold anyway, including immigrant visas, with asylum claims in effect suspended and thousands swiftly returned to Mexico without due process. The Democratic congressman Don Beyer wrote: “From the beginning Trump has flailed about seeking someone to blame for his own failure … Immigration has nearly stopped and the US has far more cases than any other country. This is just xenophobic scapegoating.”
After US oil prices dipped below zero for the first time on record, Trump played it down as only “short term”. US oil prices have started to recover after oil producers ran out of space to store the oversupply of crude sparked by the virus crisis.
Singapore has reported a record 1,426 new coronavirus cases, mostly among foreign workers, pushing its total number of confirmed infections to 8,014. This represents the highest number of cases in south-east Asia. Hong Kong has announced an extension of the city’s social distancing measures for another 14 days – its chief executive, Carrie Lam, said “now is not the time to let down our guard”. In Australia, the local Virgin-branded airline – one of the two major domestic airlines – is going into administration while continuing basic flight services and aiming to recapitalise. It comes after Richard Branson said he would mortgage his Necker Island resort as he urged the UK government to provide a bailout for Virgin Atlantic that has so far been denied.
In Britain, with Boris Johnson still recuperating, Rishi Sunak, Michael Gove and Liz Truss are known to be among those raising concerns about the impact of a lengthy shutdown on the economy, and on health conditions outside of coronavirus, since excess deaths from other causes appear to have risen too. But other ministers appear to have taken on board the latest evidence from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) that any relaxation of lockdown measures could trigger an exponential rise in cases. Here is where major figures in the government stand.
Keep up with the latest developments at our live blog – and here are things as they stand at a glance.
There’s more in our Coronavirus Extra section further down … and here’s where you can find all our coverage of the outbreak – from breaking news to factchecks and advice.
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Kim has heart surgery – The North Korean ruler, Kim Jong-un, has undergone heart surgery, it is believed, with some reports saying there is, or was, “grave danger” to his health. As is perennially the case with North Korea, the full story is unclear, but it would explain Kim’s highly unusual absence from an event to mark the anniversary of the birth of his grandfather – and the country’s founder – Kim Il-sung. Kim’s health had deteriorated in recent months due to heavy smoking, obesity and overwork, said the Daily NK website, which is run mostly by escapees from North Korea. Some observers speculated Kim was limiting his public appearances as a precaution against the coronavirus pandemic – in which North Korea claims not to have recorded a single case.
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Press freedom in decline – The UK has again slipped down the World Press Freedom Index, in large part due to threats made to reporters in Northern Ireland. The journalist Lyra McKee was murdered last April while reporting on unrest in Derry – no one has been charged – while police inappropriately obtained warrants to raid the homes of the investigative reporters Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey, who spent almost a year on bail without charge after reporting on apparent collusion between police and suspected murderers in a 1994 massacre. The annual list produced by Reporters Without Borders concludes the UK has slipped two places to number 35 on the list, below countries including Costa Rica, Ghana and South Africa. The top spot went to Norway for the fourth year running.
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That’s moor like it – Short-eared owls, curlews and mountain hares have returned to West Yorkshire moorland that was devastated by fire a year ago, the National Trust has said. Rangers feared whole populations were wiped out when about 700 hectares (1,730 acres) of peatland on Marsden Moor were scorched after a disposable barbecue fire got away.
National Trust staff worked through the winter to repair the habitat for wildlife and to put in place measures to prevent future fires from spreading, helped by £100,000 from a public fundraising appeal. The trust has warned that the threat of fire remains and urged people to take care at a time when fire services are stretched by coronavirus.
Coronavirus Extra
“In politics admitting a mistake is seen as a form of weakness. It’s quite the opposite in science, where making mistakes is a cornerstone of knowledge.” The theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili on the tension inherent in needing to act without delay on coronavirus using the best available information, but adapt quickly when new evidence dictates – and how this can fuel an incorrect public perception that the experts mustn’t know what they are doing.
How long should you remain in isolation after you first show symptoms of Covid-19? The UK government guidelines recommend seven days, whereas the World Health Organization advises 14. To get to the bottom of this apparent disparity, Nicola Davis discusses viral shedding with Dr Charlotte Houldcroft and asks what the evidence currently tells us.
Dancing your way through lockdown, literally, figuratively or vicariously? From Robbie Fairchild’s electric escape to Francesca Hayward’s head-spinning pirouettes, here are five joyful homemade clips rounded up by Lyndsey Winship, the Guardian’s dance critic.
The next London fashion week is going to be held entirely digitally, and will merge its womenswear and menswear shows, its organisers have announced. The event in June will feature interviews, podcasts and digital showrooms that will also be open to the public, following the lead of fashion weeks in Shanghai and Moscow.
Today in Focus podcast: The WHO under attack
The World Health Organization has been at the forefront of the global response to new diseases and with differing outcomes. It was hailed for the way it dealt with Sars but pilloried for its handling of Ebola. Now, with its biggest challenge yet, it is in the crosshairs again as Donald Trump threatens to withdraw funding.
Lunchtime read: When touch is out of reach
Touch is essential to our wellbeing, from the time we are babies. It’s how we transmit meaning, care, love and community. Our sudden loss of it has been agonising, writes Eve Ensler.
Sport
Tennis star Novak Djokovic’s views reflect how thin the line is between finding solace in spirituality and potentially projecting dangerous narratives, like opposing vaccination. Links between the outbreak of coronavirus in Liverpool and the Champions League tie at Anfield attended by more than 3,000 Atlético Madrid supporters should be explored, a government scientist acknowledged. Most of Arsenal’s first-team players and all the coaching staff have agreed to take pay cuts of up to 12.5% over the next year, although a handful are understood still to be in discussions about the deal. Eddie Jones has claimed the coronavirus crisis will result in the rise of more hybrid players when rugby resumes and has given his backing to proposed sweeping changes to the international calendar. With live sport on hold, Nicky Bandini looks back on Internazionale’s 2009-10 season, and how José Mourinho banded together a collection of gifted rejects with a point to prove then defied history to win the lot.
Business
US crude oil bounced back into positive territory after a historic plunge below zero that shocked investors and pushed down stock prices and Asian currencies. Futures for May delivery of West Texas Intermediate rose nearly $39 but were still just $1.76 a barrel. The contract expires at the end of trade on Tuesday, which is pushing investors to clear them from their books at any price, and June prices at $22 per barrel point to some relief. Asian equity markets followed Wall Street lower. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell half a per cent. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1%, while bonds and the dollar held gains. The pound is sitting on $1.240 and €1.144 while the FTSE is a projected 1.6% down at time of writing.
The papers
Richard Branson puts showmanship to the fore on the front of the Telegraph as he seeks to pressure the UK government into loaning £500m to keep Virgin Atlantic going: “Branson puts Necker on the line”. The main story though is criticism from within No 10 of Matt Hancock’s pledge of 100,000 tests a day. The Guardian splashes with experts’ warning that fatalities could shoot up if lockdown is eased now. Our striking front-page photograph points to special pictorial coverage inside of the fight against coronavirus at University hospital in Coventry.
The Mirror reports on “Test failure” saying less than a fifth of the Hancock target is being met as test sites “lie empty”. The Metro (“Virus kills 100 front line staff”), the Express (“Honour their sacrifice”) and the i (“NHS medics: save our staff”) continue to draw attention to the deadly price being paid by some NHS staff. The expert advice relayed by the Times is that “Facemasks for public risk NHS shortage” – an argument for the government not to make them mandatory for the general public.
In the FT: “US oil price crashes beyond zero as coronavirus crashes demand” – fill the bath while it’s cheap. “Grand bold duke” – the Sun on Prince Philip who has praised key workers in the fight against coronavirus. The paper uses this to take a shot at Prince Harry for his social distancing of the British tabloids. The Mail warns of a “Plague of virus web scammers” – the head of GCHQ wants us to take extra care online. It also covers “The Harry Texts” – messages filed in high court papers as the Duchess of Sussex sues the Mail on Sunday’s publishers for running excerpts from a private letter to her estranged father.
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