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Coronavirus live news: record rise in new cases in Brazil as deaths near 6,000
Coronavirus live news: Trump claims 'he has seen evidence virus started in Wuhan lab'
(32 minutes later)
Covid-19 outbreak increasing across Africa, WHO warns; Russian prime minister diagnosed with coronavirus; Spain assigns time slots for outdoor activities
Record rise in cases in Brazil; outbreak increasing across Africa, WHO warns; Russian prime minister diagnosed with coronavirus
That awkward moment in the press conference on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Trump added he could say why he has a high degree of confidence that the virus originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
He also said it was possible that China either could not stop the spread of the coronavirus or let it spread.
When asked if he has seen anything that gives you a “high degree of confidence” that coronavirus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, President Trump replied: “Yes, I have.”
Trump’s reflections on the death toll in the US.
A bizarre moment from Trump about the Office of the Director of National Intelligence concluding Covid-19 “was not manmade or genetically modified” but investigations into the origins of the outbreak are ongoing.
Trump added an extension of $600 unemployment payments is being looked at. On relations with China, he declined to say whether he holds Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, responsible for any misinformation about coronavirus.
In his White House briefing, President Trump said the government has provided more than $1 billion in grants to networks that help Americans who are older or disabled.
Portugal’s government has announced the country’s football league, the Primeira Liga, can resume behind closed on doors from May 30.
Portugal’s government has announced the country’s football league, the Primeira Liga, can resume behind closed on doors from May 30.
“This return of football will only be for the Primeira Liga and with tight restrictions,” Prime Minister António Costa said. “The games will be played behind closed doors, with no spectators in the stands, whatever the stadium, be it a league match or the Portuguese Cup final.” Costa earlier announced his strategy to progressively lift lockdown measures imposed six weeks ago. The three-phase plan, starting on Monday, will open up different sectors of the economy every 15 days starting with small neighbourhood shops, hairdressers, car dealerships and bookshops.
“This return of football will only be for the Primeira Liga and with tight restrictions,” Prime Minister António Costa said. “The games will be played behind closed doors, with no spectators in the stands, whatever the stadium, be it a league match or the Portuguese Cup final.” Costa earlier announced his strategy to progressively lift lockdown measures imposed six weeks ago. The three-phase plan, starting on Monday, will open up different sectors of the economy every 15 days starting with small neighbourhood shops, hairdressers, car dealerships and bookshops.
Less than 24 hours after Los Angeles became the first major US city to offer free coronavirus tests, a website used for sign-ups strained under the demand as appointments were completely booked for anyone not showing symptoms. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the free testing on Wednesday, saying they are available to anyone in the county of roughly 10 million people, although priority would be given to healthcare workers and people showing symptoms of Covid-19. He said: “If you think you have Covid-19, if want the reassurance that you do not, if you’ve been around people that you have seen with symptoms, get a test.
Less than 24 hours after Los Angeles became the first major US city to offer free coronavirus tests, a website used for sign-ups strained under the demand as appointments were completely booked for anyone not showing symptoms. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the free testing on Wednesday, saying they are available to anyone in the county of roughly 10 million people, although priority would be given to healthcare workers and people showing symptoms of Covid-19. He said: “If you think you have Covid-19, if want the reassurance that you do not, if you’ve been around people that you have seen with symptoms, get a test.
“You can’t put a price on the piece of mind of knowing that you can’t infect somebody around you.” The tests were funded in part by CORE, a nonprofit organisation co-founded by actor Sean Penn, using a $375,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.
“You can’t put a price on the piece of mind of knowing that you can’t infect somebody around you.” The tests were funded in part by CORE, a nonprofit organisation co-founded by actor Sean Penn, using a $375,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, denies claims that a report alleging disinformation tactics by the Chinese government during the pandemic was edited because of pressure from Chinese authorities. Borrell said the original version was changed because his staff wanted to “avoid inaccuracies in our terminology”. He added: “It was decided by the staff without any interference or pressure from outside or inside. We do not shy away from calling out clear disinformation cases by China, which are in the report.”
The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, denies claims that a report alleging disinformation tactics by the Chinese government during the pandemic was edited because of pressure from Chinese authorities. Borrell said the original version was changed because his staff wanted to “avoid inaccuracies in our terminology”. He added: “It was decided by the staff without any interference or pressure from outside or inside. We do not shy away from calling out clear disinformation cases by China, which are in the report.”
Amazon announced it had revenues of $75.4bn in the first three months of the year – equating to over $33m an hour.
Amazon announced it had revenues of $75.4bn in the first three months of the year – equating to over $33m an hour.
The US vice-president Mike Pence wore a mask today as he toured a General Motors facility in Indiana which is now making ventilators after coming under fire for failing to wear one earlier this week.
The US vice-president Mike Pence wore a mask today as he toured a General Motors facility in Indiana which is now making ventilators after coming under fire for failing to wear one earlier this week.
On Tuesday he visited a clinic in Minnesota but failed to cover his face despite it being in violation of the facility’s policy. He was pictured surrounded by healthcare staff all wearing masks.
On Tuesday he visited a clinic in Minnesota but failed to cover his face despite it being in violation of the facility’s policy. He was pictured surrounded by healthcare staff all wearing masks.
Hundreds of protesters, some armed, gathered inside Michigan’s state Capitol in Lansing objecting to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s request to extend emergency powers to combat COVID-19.
The protest appeared to be the largest in the state since April 15, when supporters of President Donald Trump organised thousands of people for “Operation Gridlock,” jamming the streets of Lansing with their cars to call out what they said was the overreach of Whitmer’s strict stay-at-home order.
The slow reopening of state economies around the country has taken on political overtones, as Republican politicians and individuals affiliated with Trump’s re-election promoted such protests in electoral swing states, such as Michigan.
Many people at Thursday’s “American Patriot Rally”, including militia group members carrying firearms and people with pro-Trump signs, appeared to be ignoring state social distancing guidelines as they clustered together within six feet of each other.
Here’s a report from our South American correspondent Tom Phillips outlining the growing concerns in Brazil over Bolsonaro’s approach to coronavirus. The president has previously attacked what he termed the “hysteria” over Covid-19, sacked his health minister and has sabotaged efforts to enforce social distancing measures.
Brazil has reported a record 7,218 confirmed new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, raising the total to 85,380, Reuters reports the health ministry saying on Thursday.
The death toll rose by 435 to 5,901, it said.
There has been outrage in the country over the approach of the far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro. Earlier in the week, when asked by reporters about deaths exceeding the 5,000 figure, he said: “So what … I’m sorry. What do you want me to do?”
The California governor, Gavin Newsom, has ordered beaches in Orange County to close until further notice.
He made the announcement, days after tens of thousands of people in Orange County packed beaches during a sunny weekend.
The governor said he hoped the order would not last very long, but felt it was necessary to protect public health. He said the order only applied to beaches in Orange County. Several California coastal communities have allowed beaches to be open with some restrictions.
A group of Serbian opposition leaders staged a protest during an evening curfew to voice their criticism of the populist government’s measures against the new coronavirus.
Also on Thursday, thousands banged pots and blew whistles from their windows and balconies, even as authorities eased a previously announced 83-hour curfew planned for the upcoming weekend.
Serbia’s populist government in mid-March introduced some of the harshest measures in Europe, imposing a state of emergency, banning people over 65 years old from leaving their homes and imposing daily and weekend curfews.
Government critics have insisted that the authorities of the autocratic President Aleksandar Vučić have used the state of emergency to curb democracy and media freedoms. Vučić has denied this.
Leaders of several opposition parties gathered at the start of the curfew at 6pm, holding speeches outside the Serbian parliament building in Belgrade. They wore masks but didn’t fully respect social-distancing measures.
No opposition supporters were invited to the protests, but some supporters of the government showed up, shouting at the opposition leaders. No major incidents were reported.
The curfew initially was meant to last until Monday morning to prevent people from socialising during the May Day holiday, but the government earlier on Thursday shortened the ban, following public pressure. Serbia has reported 9,009 infections while 179 people have died. The Balkan country has started easing the measures, but experts have warned that the situation is still volatile.
The number of deaths from Covid-19 in Peru has surpassed 1,000, the country’s ministry of health said on Thursday.
The ministry said the number of deaths had risen to 1,051 from 943 the previous day, while the number of cases had risen by 3,045 to 36,976.
Peru has the second highest number of confirmed cases and deaths in Latin America.
Police and soldiers closed a busy food market in the capital Lima after mass rapid testing confirmed more than 160 of its traders had tested positive.
South Africa reported another 297 positive cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the total in the country to 5,647, the health department said.
“The total number of tests conducted to date is 207,530, of which 10,403 were done in the last 24 hours,” the Ministry of Health said. Deaths remained at 103.
Wednesday’s increase of 354 in infections was the highest in a 24-hour cycle.
South Africa’s five-week strict national lockdown ends on Friday, but with only a clutch of industries being allowed to operate in a bid to keep the economy going while keeping the spread of the virus at bay.
A rise in cases of Covid-19 across northern Nigeria has seen several states controversially deport hundreds of “almajiris” - mostly children, studying in Islamic boarding schools - back to their states of origin.
The states, most in Nigeria’s majority Muslim north, say the deportations are to halt the spread of Covid-19. Yet the deportations of mostly vulnerable children appear to be spreading it across states where the capacity to trace and test for Covid-19 is extremely limited.
This afternoon, the Kaduna state government, in north-west Nigeria, said 16 new cases of Covid-19 were of almajiris, recently deported from neighbouring Kano state, where hundreds of unexplained deaths have occured in the last week.
Doctors in Kano told the Guardian there has been a rise in pneumonia cases in recent weeks, heightening fears of a Covid-19 outbreak.
The mass deportations of vulnerable children, who may have Covid-19 has caused alarm in Nigeria.
Almajiris, enrolled in conservative Islamic schools, are often sent away from their homes without school fees, with many resorting to begging on the streets. As extreme poverty has grown, the system has become increasingly exploited.
In the last 6 months, several almajiri schools have been shut after it emerged thousands were being enslaved, tortured and sexually abused.
Authorities have been accused of ill treatment, with reports of almajiris being left in other states without protection.
State-to-state deportations are contentious yet do occur in Nigeria, where state rights are sensitive.
The increasing deportations of these children, some of whom appear to have Covid-19, moving between poor states with limited health services is worrying.
Their health infrastructure to test or trace for the spread of Covid-19 is severely limited. Nigeria overall is struggling to boost testing, with just 13,000 tests administered.
The number of confirmed infections across the country is relatively low - 1.728 - but the daily rise in new cases has been gradually accelerating.
The New York state governor, Andrew Cuomo, said the New York subway will close between 1am and 5am from 7 May to allow the MTA to disinfect the carriages, train and stations, to protect essential workers from contracting coronavirus.
The Czech Republic will allow cultural and sports events involving up to 100 people to go ahead from 11 May as part of the next phase of relaxing restrictions imposed to combat the spread of the coronavirus, officials said.
This will include cinema screenings, theatre performances and religious services. The move comes sooner than the government had originally planned after it said the spread of the virus was now contained.
Large events, however, such as music festivals due this summer with thousands of people, will not take place, the culture minister, Lubomír Zaorálek, said.
The country of 10.7 million people is cautiously opening up its economy after it shut schools, shops and restaurants in March and imposed a lockdown.
The Czech Republic has seen the number of new cases drop below 100 for the past eight days, and the number of active cases has also been on the decline.
Stores of up to 2,500 square metres reopened on Monday.
From 11 May, shopping malls and larger shops are also set to reopen, along with outdoor restaurants and pubs, hairdressers, and museums.
The last phase is due on 25 May with restaurants, pubs and hotels returning to action.
