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Coronavirus live news: global cases near million mark as US federal stockpile of medical equipment dwindles
Coronavirus live news: global cases near million mark as US federal stockpile of medical equipment dwindles
(32 minutes later)
Trump says personal protective gear has nearly run out; Florida, Georgia, Mississippi ordered to shelter in place; record daily fatalities in UK. Follow the latest updates.
Trump says personal protective gear has nearly run out; Florida, Georgia, Mississippi ordered to shelter in place; record daily fatalities in UK. Follow the latest updates.
The Cambodian government has been accused of manipulating the coronavirus pandemic to assert absolute power “over all aspects of civil, political, social, and economic life”, after it put forward a draft state of emergency law that includes no time limits, checks or balances, reports Rebecca Ratcliffe in Bangkok.
Russia posted its largest single-day rise in identified cases of coronavirus as the country has passed tougher measures to enforce shelter-in-place orders to slow the spread of the disease, reports Andrew Roth in Moscow.
Facing calls to declare a coronavirus state of emergency, the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, was criticised on Thursday for instead offering people free cloth masks, pointing to growing frustration for some over his handling of the crisis. PA Media reports:
In a worrying sign, a refugee camp in Greece has been placed under quarantine after 20 of its in-place residents were diagnosed with coronavirus, reports Helena Smith in Athens.
In a worrying sign, a refugee camp in Greece has been placed under quarantine after 20 of its in-place residents were diagnosed with coronavirus, reports Helena Smith in Athens.
Professor Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director of PHE, said testing is “critically important” but that social distancing is too.He told Good Morning Britain: “Social distancing is absolutely the way that we will reduce the spread of this infection and ultimately will get on top of it.”He said social distancing measures will need to stay in place until spread of the disease becomes “minimal”.
Professor Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director of PHE, said testing is “critically important” but that social distancing is too.He told Good Morning Britain: “Social distancing is absolutely the way that we will reduce the spread of this infection and ultimately will get on top of it.”He said social distancing measures will need to stay in place until spread of the disease becomes “minimal”.
The Press Association reports:
PA Media reports:
Shadow attorney general Baroness Chakrabarti said Labour wants the Government to show clarity in its testing strategy and how it will protect Britons on health and economic matters.
The UK’s shadow attorney general, Lady Chakrabarti, said Labour wants the government to show clarity in its testing strategy and how it will protect Britons on health and economic matters.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Never has an opposition wanted a government to succeed as much as we want to help the Government defeat the coronavirus, and everything I say is in that spirit.”
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Never has an opposition wanted a government to succeed as much as we want to help the government defeat the coronavirus, and everything I say is in that spirit.”
Lady Chakrabarti added: “We’re asking the Government to be transparent and to be clear... about what its plans are to deliver the kind of scale of testing that we need, both to get the NHS workforce tested but also to return as quickly as possible to community-based testing.
Chakrabarti added: “We’re asking the government to be transparent and to be clear... about what its plans are to deliver the kind of scale of testing that we need, both to get the NHS workforce tested but also to return as quickly as possible to community-based testing.
“Without widespread testing in the population, we don’t understand - having listened to experts - the way out of the lockdown.”
“Without widespread testing in the population, we don’t understand - having listened to experts - the way out of the lockdown.”
Sir Paul Nurse, chief executive of the Francis Crick Institute in London, has said its research laboratory had been repurposed so it could carry out Covid-19 tests at a rate of 500 a day by next week - rising to 2,000 a day in future.
Sir Paul Nurse, chief executive of the Francis Crick Institute in London, has said its research laboratory had been repurposed so it could carry out Covid-19 tests at a rate of 500 a day by next week - rising to 2,000 a day in future.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We hope that we can roll this out to other research institutes so that everybody can contribute.”Sir Paul added: “A metaphor here is Dunkirk - we are a lot of little boats and the little boats can be effective.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We hope that we can roll this out to other research institutes so that everybody can contribute.”
“The Government has put some big boats, destroyers in place. That’s a bit more cumbersome to get working and we wish them all the luck to do that, but we little boats can contribute as well.”
He added: “A metaphor here is Dunkirk - we are a lot of little boats and the little boats can be effective.
Sir Paul said their tests can be turned around in fewer than 24 hours, which could help get NHS staff back on the front line.
“The government has put some big boats, destroyers in place. That’s a bit more cumbersome to get working and we wish them all the luck to do that, but we little boats can contribute as well.”
Nurse said their tests can be turned around in under 24 hours, which could help get NHS staff back on the front line.
Jazz pioneer Ellis Marsalis Jr has died at the age of 85 after being diagnosed with coronavirus, his son has said. Press Association reports:
Jazz pioneer Ellis Marsalis Jr has died at the age of 85 after being diagnosed with coronavirus, his son has said. Press Association reports:
Hello this is Alexandra Topping at the helm of our global coronavirus liveblog. If you think we’ve missed a story or want to draw our attention to something please do get in touch.
Hello this is Alexandra Topping at the helm of our global coronavirus liveblog. If you think we’ve missed a story or want to draw our attention to something please do get in touch.
I’m on alexandra.topping@theguardian.com and @lexytopping on Twitter: my DMs are open.
I’m on alexandra.topping@theguardian.com and @lexytopping on Twitter: my DMs are open.
Here’s an update on some of the key UK stories we have:
Here’s an update on some of the key UK stories we have:
A shortage of moderators who combat sexual abuse online combined with children spending more time on the internet at home has created a “perfect storm” for abusers to take advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the UK’s biggest safeguarding charities has warned.
A shortage of moderators who combat sexual abuse online combined with children spending more time on the internet at home has created a “perfect storm” for abusers to take advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the UK’s biggest safeguarding charities has warned.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has said six in 10 UK firms have no more than three months of cash left as companies across the UK were suffering from a sharp and significant fall in domestic and overseas sales, threatening widespread job losses.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has said six in 10 UK firms have no more than three months of cash left as companies across the UK were suffering from a sharp and significant fall in domestic and overseas sales, threatening widespread job losses.
Virus patients more likely to die may have ventilators taken away. In a new document issued by the British Medical Association, doctors set out guidelines to ration care if the NHS becomes overwhelmed with new cases as the outbreak moves towards its peak.
Virus patients more likely to die may have ventilators taken away. In a new document issued by the British Medical Association, doctors set out guidelines to ration care if the NHS becomes overwhelmed with new cases as the outbreak moves towards its peak.
The government is to set up a virtual parliament to allow MPs to scrutinise its response to the coronavirus crisis following demands from the Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, and opposition parties.
The government is to set up a virtual parliament to allow MPs to scrutinise its response to the coronavirus crisis following demands from the Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, and opposition parties.
The World Health Organization is considering changing its guidance on whether people should wear face masks in public, prompted by new evidence that suggests doing so could help contain the pandemic.
The World Health Organization is considering changing its guidance on whether people should wear face masks in public, prompted by new evidence that suggests doing so could help contain the pandemic.
The UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has responded to mounting criticism over the UK’s failure to provide widespread testing by telling the public he had no doubt the tide would be turned if Britain’s measures were followed.
The UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has responded to mounting criticism over the UK’s failure to provide widespread testing by telling the public he had no doubt the tide would be turned if Britain’s measures were followed.
Speaking in a video posted last night from his quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19, Johnson said testing was “massively increasing” and it was “the way through” the pandemic.
Speaking in a video posted last night from his quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19, Johnson said testing was “massively increasing” and it was “the way through” the pandemic.
“This is how we will unlock the coronavirus puzzle. This is how we will defeat it in the end.”
“This is how we will unlock the coronavirus puzzle. This is how we will defeat it in the end.”
Just 2,000 of half a million NHS staff to date have tested to date. Health Minister Matt Hancock returns today after his own quarantine.
Just 2,000 of half a million NHS staff to date have tested to date. Health Minister Matt Hancock returns today after his own quarantine.
That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan for today. My colleague Alexandra Topping will take it from here.
Here are the main events from the last few hours, as the world nears a million confirmed cases of coronavirus.
Known global cases pass 935,000. According to data collected by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, 937,567 people around the world have become infected, 47,256 of whom have died. They also count 194,311 people who have recovered.
US intelligence accuses China of playing down crisis. American officials reportedly believe China has been underreporting the total number of cases and deaths. The conclusions of a classified report from the intelligence community to the White House were revealed to Bloomberg by three anonymous officials who declined to detail its contents.
Trump said that the federal stockpile of personal protective equipment is nearly empty. Trump is also resisting calls to issue a national stay-at-home order to stem the spread of the new coronavirus despite his administration’s projections that tens of thousands of Americans are likely to be killed by the disease.
A major NHS hospital almost ran out of oxygen for its Covid-19 patients on ventilators because it was treating so many people with the disease who needed help to breathe.
British Airways expected to announce suspension of 36,000 employees. IAG-owned British Airways is expected to announce a suspension of about 36,000 of its employees, BBC News reported on Wednesday.
Philippines president orders police to shoot dead residents who cause “trouble” during quarantine. Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has been widely criticised by labour groups.
Australia announced free childcare. Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has announced that parents need childcare during the crisis will be able to access it for free, and that childcare centres will remain open.
New Zealand reported its biggest one-day rise in cases. With 89 cases – including 76 positive cases and 13 probable – New Zealand has reported its highest daily rise so far, according to Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield.
Key UN climate talks, Cop26, that were due to take place in Glasgow in November have been postponed until 2021, it has been announced. The UN’s climate change chief, Patricia Espinosa has also called Covid-19 the “most urgent threat facing humanity”,
The UK’s Ministry of Defence is calling up about 3,000 reservists to help with its pandemic response. That brings the number of armed forces personnel helping manage the crisis to about 23,000.
Director of WHO “deeply concerned”. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the WHO, has said he was “deeply concerned about the rapid escalation and global spread of infection”.
UK death toll passes 2,300. The UK government has confirmedhundreds more deaths in hospitals, taking the total to 2,352. However, figures from the Office for National Statistics have already revealed that dozens more people have been dying as a result of the pandemic in care homes and other settings.
New York City death toll passes 1,000. Deaths from the coronavirus reached 1,096 in New York City as an emergency field hospital opened in Central Park. Data released by the city’s health department showed the virus was having a disproportionate effect in certain neighbourhoods, mainly Brooklyn and Queens.
Spain passes 100,000 confirmed cases. Spain has crossed the threshold of 100,000 confirmed cases, health officials have said. According to official figures, it has had more cases than any country except Italy and the US.
Poland may face a peak in coronavirus infections in April, government spokesman Piotr Muller told state radio on Thursday, adding that further curbs on people’s movements could not be ruled out. By Wednesday, 2,554 people had been infected with the virus, with 43 dead in the country of 38 million people.
The new rules of lockdown: how to stay clean, safe and two metres away from everyone
We face, among other more existential challenges, a whole new set of rules. Coronavirus has turned etiquette on its head and what once were gestures of friendship are now acts of daring. Fundamentally, society used to run on the idea that we were all welcome in one another’s space; suddenly, civility amounts to how much distance we keep between ourselves, and how much we shield others from our presence. It is one hell of a gear shift. And it is also important not to overcorrect, not to judge one another from a thousand yards, not to needlessly insult one another in situations that are not, actually, that endangering. Courtesy has never been more serious: it is the way we signal that we still care about each other, when we’re not allowed to hug. So here are some answers to the questions that we are increasingly asking.
A lot of people are quoting TS Eliot’s The Wasteland at the moment, because it starts “April is the cruellest month,” but none so well as – strangely enough – the chair of Columbia University’s surgery department, who wrote in an update:
Time for the UK front pages now.
The unfolding coronavirus testing fiasco dominates the major UK newspaper front pages after the daily death toll hit climbed to a new record and it emerged that only 2,000 NHS staff had been tested.
“Shambles” says the Mirror’s headline alongside pictures of the latest two health workers to die from the disease – including retired doctor Alfa Saadu, 68, who was volunteering at the Queen Victoria memorial hospital in Welwyn, Hertfordshire.
The Mirror also has a picture of an empty drive-through testing station in Chessington, Surrey to emphasise its point – an image also used across the width of the Times’ front page under the headline “Virus testing plans in chaos”.
The Mail focuses on the “statistic that humbles ministers” with the headline “550,000 NHS staff only 2,000 tested”, in what it calls the “latest shocking example of our testing scandal”. It goes on to claim that its reporting has “finally” stung Boris Johnson into action, and quotes the prime minister as promising to “massively increase” testing.
The Telegraph also wonders about the testing disaster with the headline “Questions without answers” over a picture of the business secretary, Alok Sharma, at Wednesday’s Downing Street media briefing. The paper – which has carried many front page pictures of Johnson portraying his policy in a positive light – says the government was unable to explain why its testing strategy was failing, why so few NHS staff had been tested and how it was going to manage an exit from the lockdown.
The FT reports on the damage to the economy and says “Jobless claims rocket by 1m as virus delivers shock to economy”.
You can read the full roundup in our story below:
A major NHS hospital almost ran out of oxygen for its Covid-19 patients on ventilators because it was treating so many people with the disease who needed help to breathe.
The incident, which occurred at a London teaching hospital last weekend, has prompted NHS bosses to urgently warn all NHS trusts in England to limit the number of people they put on mechanical ventilators and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines.
NHS England was so concerned by what happened that it told hospital bosses in a letter on Monday that the risk constituted a “critical safety concern” which could have major consequences for all patients relying on oxygen to stay alive. It told them to take a series of urgent actions to reduce the risk of their own oxygen supply suddenly running short because of heavy demand.
Global coronavirus infections near million mark after ‘near exponential growth’
Covid-19 infections are nearing the one million mark after “near exponential growth” saw global cases more than double in the past week.
The World Health Organization chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned of the approaching milestone as new cases reached almost every country and territory across the world.
“As we enter the fourth month since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic I’m deeply concerned about the rapid escalation and global spread of infection,” Tedros said.
On Wednesday evening, Donald Trump warned of “difficult days” for the US, saying: “We are going to have a couple of weeks, starting pretty much now, but especially a few days from now, that are going to be horrific.”
He again questioned China’s reported numbers on the virus: “The numbers seem to be a little bit on the light side – and I am being nice when I say that – relative to what we witnessed and what was reported.”
The comments followed a Bloomberg news story that said a classified US intelligence report had concluded that China had under-reported the total cases and deaths it had suffered. On Wednesday – the last day of available figures – China reported 82,361 confirmed cases and 3,316 deaths.
Trump’s warning came as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reportedly asked US defence agencies for 100,000 body bags, for use by civilian authorities. The White House has previously said deaths could reach 240,000.
Medical teams to be flown to cruise ships off Australian coast to treat sick crew
Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, said Australia had an obligation to provide healthcare to people who are sick and within our territorial waters, as the government began plans to fly doctors from a private company to at least seven cruise ships floating off the coast of eastern Australia.
Approximately 8,500 crew, mostly foreigners, are on board the ships.
Thanks, brands.
The Chinese city of Shenzhen has banned the eating of dogs and cats as part of a wider clampdown on the wildlife trade since the emergence of the new coronavirus, Reuters reports.
Scientists suspect the coronavirus passed to humans from animals. Some of the earliest infections were found in people who had exposure to a wildlife market in the central city of Wuhan, where bats, snakes, civets and other animals were sold. Authorities in the southern Chinese technology hub said the ban on eating dogs and cats would come into force on 1 May. “Dogs and cats as pets have established a much closer relationship with humans than all other animals, and banning the consumption of dogs and cats and other pets is a common practice in developed countries and in Hong Kong and Taiwan,” the city government said in an order posted on Wednesday. “This ban also responds to the demand and spirit of human civilization.” China’s top legislature said in late February it was banning the trade and consumption of wild animals. Provincial and city governments across the country have been moving to enforce the ruling but Shenzhen has been the most explicit about extending that ban to dogs and cats. Dogs, in particular, are eaten in several parts of Asia.
