This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen
on .
It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
Coronavirus live news: Italy deaths up by 475, biggest jump anywhere in a single day
Coronavirus live news: Italy deaths up by 475, biggest jump anywhere in a single day
(32 minutes later)
Spain closes hotels; Portugal declares state of emergency; worldwide cases pass 200,000. Follow the latest updates
Spain closes hotels; Portugal declares state of emergency; worldwide cases pass 200,000. Follow the latest updates
The Queen carried out her weekly audience with the prime minister on the phone. Boris Johnson was due to have a face-to-face meeting with the monarch at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. The Palace confirmed the audience took place by telephone.
Zuckerberg also defended Facebook’s position on coronavirus misinformation, saying he didn’t view the site’s clampdown as an attack on free speech – but that it didn’t mean the site should take the same tack about political misinformation.
Facebook is crucial in times of social distancing, Zuckerberg argued, noting that he himself was now working from home and limiting contact with others.
To that end, the company is going to roll out a feature designed to encourage the sort of grassroots organising that the site has already seen.
Facebook is launching a new coronavirus “information centre” at the top of every newsfeed and every Instagram feed, its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has said.
As with current warnings on the social network, the centre will be filled with information from national health services. But it will also have articles videos and posts aimed at encouraging social distancing and preventing the spread of the virus.
It launches tomorrow in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, the UK and the US. Zuckerberg said:
The United States is suspending all routine immigrant and non-immigrant visa services as of Wednesday in most countries worldwide due to the pandemic, a State Department spokeswoman has said.
She did not clarify which or how many countries are halting services, but said US missions abroad will continue to provide emergency visa services “as resources allow” – and that the services to US citizens will remain available. Missions will resume routine visa services as soon as possible, the spokeswoman said, without giving a date.
Meanwhile, in New York, the governor has announced new controls:
Two more people have died in Brazil, the Sao Paulo state health authority has announced. That brings the death toll in the country to three. The two people were 65 and 80 years old, the Sao Paulo Health Secretariat said.
Two more people have died in Brazil, the Sao Paulo state health authority has announced. That brings the death toll in the country to three. The two people were 65 and 80 years old, the Sao Paulo Health Secretariat said.
And the country’s health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, said more restrictive measures may be needed, as he acknowledged that the number of cases in Brazil was worse than the official tally of 291 suggested because a significant number have not yet been counted.
And the country’s health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, said more restrictive measures may be needed, as he acknowledged that the number of cases in Brazil was worse than the official tally of 291 suggested because a significant number have not yet been counted.
In the UK, the shadow foreign minister Lloyd Russell-Moyle has announced he’s tested positive.
In the UK, the shadow foreign minister Lloyd Russell-Moyle has announced he’s tested positive.
In a Facebook post, the Labour MP for Kemptown and Peacehaven said he received the test results this afternoon – after six days of waiting.
In a Facebook post, the Labour MP for Kemptown and Peacehaven said he received the test results this afternoon – after six days of waiting.
Windsor Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Royal Mews and the Queen’s Galleries in London and Edinburgh are to all close their doors to visitors.
Windsor Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Royal Mews and the Queen’s Galleries in London and Edinburgh are to all close their doors to visitors.
The Royal Collection Trust announced the tourist attractions would shut temporarily from Saturday. Royal Collection shops will also close as a precaution because of the pandemic. Refunds will be issued to those who have pre-booked tickets, the trust said.
The Royal Collection Trust announced the tourist attractions would shut temporarily from Saturday. Royal Collection shops will also close as a precaution because of the pandemic. Refunds will be issued to those who have pre-booked tickets, the trust said.
In the UK, manufacturers of hand sanitisers and gels are to have their applications for the alcohol needed for production fast-tracked, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has said.
In the UK, manufacturers of hand sanitisers and gels are to have their applications for the alcohol needed for production fast-tracked, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has said.
Demand for such products has increased sharply since the outbreak; leading to some shortages. But current rules mean any manufacturer wanting to make the products must put in applications for using denatured alcohol, like ethanol, which takes 45 working days. HMRC has said it will pushing them through in five days instead.
Demand for such products has increased sharply since the outbreak; leading to some shortages. But current rules mean any manufacturer wanting to make the products must put in applications for using denatured alcohol, like ethanol, which takes 45 working days. HMRC has said it will pushing them through in five days instead.
As many as 24,000 former healthcare workers have contacted the Irish health service to offer their help after the country’s government issued a call to arms.
As many as 24,000 former healthcare workers have contacted the Irish health service to offer their help after the country’s government issued a call to arms.
Retired doctors, nurses, therapists and university students with sufficient skills to register with the health service have been calling in, Reuters reports.
Retired doctors, nurses, therapists and university students with sufficient skills to register with the health service have been calling in, Reuters reports.
The health minister, Simon Harris, has promised there will be no financial limits to the recruitment programme and no constraint on the numbers to be hired, telling prospective candidates: “Your country needs you.”
The health minister, Simon Harris, has promised there will be no financial limits to the recruitment programme and no constraint on the numbers to be hired, telling prospective candidates: “Your country needs you.”
In the UK, education authorities are trying to work out how to live up to the prime minister’s promise that qualifications will be delivered despite end-of-year exams being cancelled.
In the UK, education authorities are trying to work out how to live up to the prime minister’s promise that qualifications will be delivered despite end-of-year exams being cancelled.
Clare Marchant, the chief executive of the university admissions service Ucas, has said:
Clare Marchant, the chief executive of the university admissions service Ucas, has said:
Germany is expanding entry restrictions to include flights from Italy, Spain, Austria, France, Luxembourg, Denmark and Switzerland, the interior ministry has said.
The new entry restrictions also apply to sea transport from Denmark, according to an interior ministry spokesman.
Reuters is reporting that two World Bank Group employees in Washington DC have been diagnosed with Covid-19. It cited a memo to workers from the World Bank Group’s president, David Malpass.
According to the report, Malpass said the diagnoses marked the first cases at the World Bank and its sister organisations, but further cases could be diagnosed in the coming days and weeks.
Both the Bank and the International Monetary Fund have advised their headquarters staff and contractors to work from home after an employee of the latter was diagnosed with Covid-19.
Norway will spend all that’s needed to protect jobs and companies during the coronavirus outbreak, its prime minister Erna Solberg has said.
Pakistan has confirmed its first deaths from coronavirus as the total number of infected patients in the country climbed to 260. The first death was reported in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where so far 19 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed.
The virus is spreading rapidly in France, Prof Jérôme Salomon, director of the French health authority, has said.
There are 9,134 people who have tested positive for the coronavirus in France, and there have been 264 deaths – an increase of 89 in the last 24 hours. Of those infected, 2,626 are in hospital; 931 of them in intensive care, half of whom are under 60 years old.
Salomon thanked the Chinese authorities who had given France one million masks.
France has carried out 4,000 tests today (42,000 since the beginning of the epidemic).
The fine for ignoring the order to stay at home was raised to €135 (£126.11) on Wednesday and those fined were told it would rise to €375 if not paid within seven days.
In and around Paris, the police and gendarmes reported they had stopped 10,000 people and verified if they had the necessary documents allowing them to be out.
The French health minister, Olivier Véran, said most people come into contact with around 50 people per day in normal circumstances. He called on everyone to reduce this to five people.
The prime minister, Edouard Philippe, said the government was to introduce a “health state of emergency”. The legal move would allow the government to “adapt our legal rules in a very temporary manner to take into account the particular situation caused by the epidemic”, Philippe said.
Angela Merkel has called the pandemic “the biggest challenge since World War Two” as she appealed to German citizens to help protect each other from the virus by restricting their social interactions.
In her first televised address to the nation in 14 years as chancellor – outside her annual New Year’s address – Merkel warned that all state-run attempts to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus would prove futile unless individuals changed their personal behaviour.
“This is serious, so take it seriously,” the German chancellor said in pre-recorded remarks that will go out on German television just before tonight’s main news programmes.
Merkel said her government was focused on the main goal of “slowing down the spread of the virus, to stretch it out over months and thus win time”, which could be used to research a vaccine and avoid overwhelming the German health service.
Earlier in the day, state and federal leaders announced their intention to double the country’s number of intensive respiratory care beds. Germany currently has around 25,000 intensive care beds with respiratory capacity.
Greek health authorities have announced there are now 418 confirmed cases in the country; an increase of 31 over the last 24 hours. Of that number, 79 are hospitalised – with 13 in critical condition, Prof Sotiris Tsiodras, the health ministry’s Covid-19 spokesman told reporters.
Those afflicted had an average age of around 70 years, he said, adding that people should continue to stay in doors.
“All of us must consider ourselves as carriers of the virus.” But, sounding a note of optimism, the infectious disease expert said doctors, worldwide, were now focused on finding a cure and the results of research and clinical tests in China, where a new drug had been tried out on 340 patients from Wuhan and Shenzhen, were “encouraging.”
The deputy minister of civil protection, Nikos Hardalias, who is coordinating government efforts to combat the disease and was also attending the briefing, said a blanket ban on groups of more than 10 people would be brought into effect tomorrow, in what has become the latest emergency measure to curb the spread of the novel virus in Greece.
A fine of €1,000 (£934.72) will be meted out to anyone caught violating the new law, he said.
While the centre right government has resisted imposing a curfew, Hardalias insisted that movement should be strictly limited. People could leave their homes to go to work, see a doctor, get provisions wherever delivery wasn’t possible, or go to a bank, post office or petrol station.
They could also go out for exercise in small groups but only if they kept a strict kept a distance from one another. Pets could also be taken out.
Israel’s government has announced it will deny entry to any person who is neither a citizen or living in the country, shutting off the state almost entirely.
Tourists and visitors were previously allowed to enter if they could prove they had a suitable place to self-isolate for 14 days, such as an apartment. As of Wednesday, according to the Population and Immigration Authority, that exception will no longer apply.
The country, where there are around 430 confirmed cases, has taken stringent measures to contain the spread, including shutting down all schools, cafes and malls. On Tuesday, the government approved a controversial measure to track people suspected or confirmed to have been infected by monitoring their phones.
Ireland’s banks are to grant a three-month payment pause to mortgage holders impacted by coronavirus.
The decision followed a week of pressure from the Irish government which told banks to show compassion and bail out the public just as taxpayers helped the country’s lenders during the financial crash in 2010.
People struggling to pay their mortgage – a likelihood given hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk – are being told to contact their bank to discuss options.
The finance minister, Paschal Donohue, made the announcement after meeting the five chief executives of retail banks and the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland.
He said the banks also agreed to defer loan repayments for business, extend credit guarantees and raise the maximum that can be spent on contactless cards to €50 (£46.78).
At least 8,248 people have died as a result of the pandemic, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The number of cases across the world reached 207,518, of which 82,104 have recovered.
Italy recorded the highest Covid-19 death toll in a single day anywhere since the outbreak began, with a further 475 deaths from the virus bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 2,978.
The UK education secretary, Gavin Williamson, told the Commons schools would not reopen after Friday for most pupils, but said the most vulnerable children and those of key workers would still be able to go in.
The announcement came after the death toll in UK surged to 104 as it was confirmed 32 more people had died in England. NHS England said all were over 59 and had underlying health conditions.
More countries went into lockdown to curb the spread of the virus, including Belgium, Greece, Portugal and Chile. Steps were also taken to limit travel in North America and in West Africa.
Donald Trump said he would invoke a federal provision allowing him to take control of the private sector. The US president signed the act giving himself authority to direct industrial production “in case we need it”.
The number of cases in New York City increased by 695 to 1,339 in 24 hours, according to the state governor, Andrew Cuomo. Across New York state, there had been 2,382 cases, he said.
Ryanair said “most if not all” flights would be cancelled after next Tuesday. The Irish airline expects to run a “very small number of flights for essential connectivity”, mainly between the UK and Ireland.
Iran reported its single biggest daily rise in deaths from coronavirus on Wednesday, saying that a further 147 had died in a nearly 15% increase that raises the death toll to 1,135 people nationwide.
Burkina Faso announced the first known Covid-19 death in sub-Saharan Africa. The country has confirmed 27 cases and it is suspected that at least 200 more people have the disease.
That’s it from me, Damien Gayle, for the day. I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Kevin Rawlinson.
