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.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/may/02/coronavirus-live-news-dr-fauci-blocked-from-testifying-on-us-response

The article has changed 46 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 41 Version 42
Coronavirus live news: Malaysia rounds up migrants as UN warns of crackdown on vulnerable Coronavirus live news: Malaysia rounds up migrants as UN warns of crackdown on vulnerable
(32 minutes later)
Somalia reports rapid rise in Covid-19 deaths; 98 people die in one New York nursing homeSomalia reports rapid rise in Covid-19 deaths; 98 people die in one New York nursing home
European leaders have pledged to raise billions of pounds to help find a vaccine and treatments for Covid-19 as part of an “international alliance” fighting the disease.
An online pledging conference due to be held on Monday will aim to pull in £6.6bn in funding to support the global response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Norway and senior EU officials told of how the outbreak had “caused devastation and pain in all corners of the world”.
They wrote in the Independent:
The politicians declared their support for the World Health Organisation and backed the recent launch of the “Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator”. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust were also said to be joining forces with the leaders. Funding will be directed to health organisations such as CEPI, Gavi, the Vaccines Alliance, the Global Fund and Unitaid.
There have been 421 new deaths 4,970 further confirmed coronavirus cases in Brazil over the last 24 hours, the health ministry has announced.There have been 421 new deaths 4,970 further confirmed coronavirus cases in Brazil over the last 24 hours, the health ministry has announced.
The nation now has 95,559 confirmed cases of the virus and 6,750 deaths. New cases increased roughly 5.4% on Saturday from the previous day, while deaths rose by roughly 6.7%.The nation now has 95,559 confirmed cases of the virus and 6,750 deaths. New cases increased roughly 5.4% on Saturday from the previous day, while deaths rose by roughly 6.7%.
On Tuesday, Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro shrugged off news that the country had recorded a record number of deaths within 24 hours. “So what?” he told reporters. “I’m sorry. What do you want me to do?”On Tuesday, Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro shrugged off news that the country had recorded a record number of deaths within 24 hours. “So what?” he told reporters. “I’m sorry. What do you want me to do?”
Since Brazil confirmed its first coronavirus case on 26 February, Bolsonaro has continually minimised the pandemic and purposefully undermined physical distancing guidelines.Since Brazil confirmed its first coronavirus case on 26 February, Bolsonaro has continually minimised the pandemic and purposefully undermined physical distancing guidelines.
Families in a city just outside Mexico’s capital have protested to demand news about their relatives who have coronavirus and urge for the return of the bodies of the dead after videos showed corpses inside a hospital.Families in a city just outside Mexico’s capital have protested to demand news about their relatives who have coronavirus and urge for the return of the bodies of the dead after videos showed corpses inside a hospital.
One video of the Las Americas general hospital in Ecatepec that was posted to social media showed several bagged bodies on stretchers, some in a small room and others outside lined against a courtyard wall.One video of the Las Americas general hospital in Ecatepec that was posted to social media showed several bagged bodies on stretchers, some in a small room and others outside lined against a courtyard wall.
“The only thing I demand is that they give me the full body of my son,” Maria Dolores Carrillo told television program Imagen on Friday evening after her son died at the hospital.“The only thing I demand is that they give me the full body of my son,” Maria Dolores Carrillo told television program Imagen on Friday evening after her son died at the hospital.
Ecatepec, a working class city of more than 1.7 million inhabitants outside Mexico City, has registered 407 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 28 deaths, according to data from Mexico’s health ministry. It is among the Mexican municipalities worst affected by the coronavirus.Ecatepec, a working class city of more than 1.7 million inhabitants outside Mexico City, has registered 407 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 28 deaths, according to data from Mexico’s health ministry. It is among the Mexican municipalities worst affected by the coronavirus.
State of Mexico authorities said in a statement that the Las Americas hospital, which is run by the state health ministry, would try to hasten deliveries of bodies to families.State of Mexico authorities said in a statement that the Las Americas hospital, which is run by the state health ministry, would try to hasten deliveries of bodies to families.
YouTube have deleted conspiracy theorist David Icke’s account.YouTube have deleted conspiracy theorist David Icke’s account.
The video-sharing site said the 68-year-old former footballer violated its policies on sharing information about coronavirus.The video-sharing site said the 68-year-old former footballer violated its policies on sharing information about coronavirus.
The former footballer has made controversial unproven claims about the virus on several internet platforms, including one that it is linked to the 5G mobile network.The former footballer has made controversial unproven claims about the virus on several internet platforms, including one that it is linked to the 5G mobile network.
The video service, owned by Google, told the BBC:The video service, owned by Google, told the BBC:
The ban follows a similar move by Facebook, who removed Icke’s page from their site on Friday.The ban follows a similar move by Facebook, who removed Icke’s page from their site on Friday.
The Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) claimed Icke’s conspiracies over Covid-19 have been viewed more than 30m times and welcomed the move.The Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) claimed Icke’s conspiracies over Covid-19 have been viewed more than 30m times and welcomed the move.
CCDH’s chief executive Imran Ahmed said:CCDH’s chief executive Imran Ahmed said:
Icke, the self-described ground breaking author and public speaker, tweeted: “YouTube delete David Icke - the man the Elite are terrified of - after complaint from CCDH. The reason is made-up. Where are you gutless media? Silent or cheering.”Icke, the self-described ground breaking author and public speaker, tweeted: “YouTube delete David Icke - the man the Elite are terrified of - after complaint from CCDH. The reason is made-up. Where are you gutless media? Silent or cheering.”
Businessman Warren Buffett has given an upbeat assessment of the US’ ability to withstand crises.Businessman Warren Buffett has given an upbeat assessment of the US’ ability to withstand crises.
The 89-year-old Buffett spoke at Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, which was held virtually for the first time, without shareholders, because of the pandemic. The meeting was streamed by Yahoo Finance.The 89-year-old Buffett spoke at Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, which was held virtually for the first time, without shareholders, because of the pandemic. The meeting was streamed by Yahoo Finance.
Buffett said the potential impact of the pandemic, which has already had a serious impact on the global economy, had a “extraordinarily wide” range.Buffett said the potential impact of the pandemic, which has already had a serious impact on the global economy, had a “extraordinarily wide” range.
But he remained optimistic that the US would weather it successfully and cited its emergence from crises such as World War Two and the influenza pandemic a century ago.But he remained optimistic that the US would weather it successfully and cited its emergence from crises such as World War Two and the influenza pandemic a century ago.
“This is quite an experiment,” Buffett said. “I remain convinced ... that nothing can basically stop America.”“This is quite an experiment,” Buffett said. “I remain convinced ... that nothing can basically stop America.”
The annual meeting came hours after Berkshire reported a record almost $50bn billion first-quarter net loss following the market meltdown.The annual meeting came hours after Berkshire reported a record almost $50bn billion first-quarter net loss following the market meltdown.
Saudi Arabia is to isolate an industrial area of the eastern city of Dammam from Sunday, preventing entry and exit until further notice, to curb the spread of coronavirus, the state news agency has said.Saudi Arabia is to isolate an industrial area of the eastern city of Dammam from Sunday, preventing entry and exit until further notice, to curb the spread of coronavirus, the state news agency has said.
Freight shipments will be able to come and go from the area, Dammam Second Industrial City, SPA said, citing an interior ministry official. The decision allows vital factories to operate at a third of their capacity, SPA added.Freight shipments will be able to come and go from the area, Dammam Second Industrial City, SPA said, citing an interior ministry official. The decision allows vital factories to operate at a third of their capacity, SPA added.
A number of Gulf states have implemented lockdowns in parts of cities where large numbers of low-paid mostly foreign workers live and work in close proximity.A number of Gulf states have implemented lockdowns in parts of cities where large numbers of low-paid mostly foreign workers live and work in close proximity.
Boris Johnson has said that doctors were considering intubating him while he was in intensive care with coronavirus.Boris Johnson has said that doctors were considering intubating him while he was in intensive care with coronavirus.
The prime minister told the Sun On Sunday:The prime minister told the Sun On Sunday:
Johnson told the paper “the bloody indicators kept going in the wrong direction” and that he kept asking himself: “How am I going to get out of this?”Johnson told the paper “the bloody indicators kept going in the wrong direction” and that he kept asking himself: “How am I going to get out of this?”
He said:He said:
Johnson said he was “in denial” initially about how serious his illness was, and that doctors were right to “force” him to go to St Thomas’s where he spent three nights in intensive care.Johnson said he was “in denial” initially about how serious his illness was, and that doctors were right to “force” him to go to St Thomas’s where he spent three nights in intensive care.
Here is our inside story of his illness from a fortnight ago.Here is our inside story of his illness from a fortnight ago.
Children aged five to 11 could return to school from Monday 1 June as part of government plans to gradually ease lockdown measures, the Sunday Telegraph has reported.Children aged five to 11 could return to school from Monday 1 June as part of government plans to gradually ease lockdown measures, the Sunday Telegraph has reported.
Boris Johnson is to reveal the UK government’s plans to edge the country back to normal in an address next Sunday, according to the paper. It cited plans to ask companies to routinely test asymptomatic staff to isolate those who are infected and allow workplaces to reopen.Boris Johnson is to reveal the UK government’s plans to edge the country back to normal in an address next Sunday, according to the paper. It cited plans to ask companies to routinely test asymptomatic staff to isolate those who are infected and allow workplaces to reopen.
Whitehall sources told the newspaper that pupils from Year’s 10 and 12 would form the first wave of secondary school children returning to school at a later date, so long as the current reduced infection rate holds.Whitehall sources told the newspaper that pupils from Year’s 10 and 12 would form the first wave of secondary school children returning to school at a later date, so long as the current reduced infection rate holds.
The earmarked date for return of primary schoolchildren – which will undoubtedly face questions – is said to be intended to minimise the threat to early development and help parents swiftly return to work.The earmarked date for return of primary schoolchildren – which will undoubtedly face questions – is said to be intended to minimise the threat to early development and help parents swiftly return to work.
Schools have been closed for the vast majority of children since 23 March, but the children of key workers were allowed to continue going in. Schools in Ireland, which shares a land border with the UK, are to remain closed until September.Schools have been closed for the vast majority of children since 23 March, but the children of key workers were allowed to continue going in. Schools in Ireland, which shares a land border with the UK, are to remain closed until September.
The Sunday Times reports that the government will only tweak the lockdown this week, encouraging building sites to reopen, relaxing rules on outdoor activities and urging people to cover their faces on public transport.The Sunday Times reports that the government will only tweak the lockdown this week, encouraging building sites to reopen, relaxing rules on outdoor activities and urging people to cover their faces on public transport.
On Wednesday, the education secretary Gavin Williamson said schools across England would reopen in phases, with headteachers given as much notice as possible.On Wednesday, the education secretary Gavin Williamson said schools across England would reopen in phases, with headteachers given as much notice as possible.
The news comes as a new poll suggests that fewer than one in five of the British public believe the time is right to consider reopening schools, restaurants, pubs and stadiums.The news comes as a new poll suggests that fewer than one in five of the British public believe the time is right to consider reopening schools, restaurants, pubs and stadiums.
The prime minister’s former business adviser Andrew Griffith wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that “every additional day the phone rings unanswered in ‘lockdown’ Britain is an order lost to an overseas competitor whose own economy is open for business”, as opposed to the world’s fifth largest economy.The prime minister’s former business adviser Andrew Griffith wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that “every additional day the phone rings unanswered in ‘lockdown’ Britain is an order lost to an overseas competitor whose own economy is open for business”, as opposed to the world’s fifth largest economy.
Coronavirus deaths in Canada have risen from 3,223 to 3,446, as confirmed cases increased by about 2,000 to 55,572, official data released earlier today shows.Coronavirus deaths in Canada have risen from 3,223 to 3,446, as confirmed cases increased by about 2,000 to 55,572, official data released earlier today shows.
Inmates at a prison in Manaus, a Brazilian city deep in the Amazon that has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, briefly took seven prison guards hostage earlier today in protest against conditions and the suspension of visits, authorities said.
The rebellion came as the coronavirus outbreak overwhelms public services in Manaus, with authorities burying victims in mass graves and warning residents of an imminent shortage of coffins after 357 died from the disease.
The inmates rioted to create a distraction as others built a tunnel underneath the prison walls, but police foiled the scheme after raiding the prison and freeing the guards.
Dozens of family members had gathered outside the prison complaining of conditions inside the jail, including insufficient food, cells without electricity, and lack of proper medical attention for inmates. Some told Reuters that the spread of the coronavirus throughout the city was making their concerns more urgent.
There were no reported deaths. However, 10 prison guards, two police officers and five inmates were said to have been not seriously injured.
The UK government is facing renewed criticism after being forced to admit that “a small number” of coronavirus tests sent to homes cannot be processed due to absences of return labels, which include tracking codes.
“We are urgently seeking to resolve this so anyone affected can either be provided with a new label or order a replacement kit online, which won’t be counted in the daily figures,” a spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care told Sky.
Earlier today, the British health secretary, Matt Hancock, was accused of changing the criteria for counting Covid-19 tests after he claimed victory in reaching the target of 100,000 a day.
Critics said that a large proportion of the 122,000 tests counted on Friday had been mailed to addresses but not yet carried out.
Now, however, it appears that some of those tests are useless.
Some more cheer! From the former soldier canoeing in his garden pond to a distanced dance to Whigfield’s Saturday Night in Dublin (here’s the original).
The exposed, austere islands of the Outer Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland, carry the beautiful Gaelic name of Innse Gall, or “islands of the strangers”. Against a backdrop of big skies, lonely farmhouses and sandy beaches, physical distancing comes easily here.
In small communities, such as those on Uist, isolation and the vast open spaces have preserved the local population from the devastation wrought elsewhere by the Covid-19 pandemic. Like everywhere else, lockdown has been strictly enforced and observed. Travel has been highly restricted – only lorry drivers and essential workers have been allowed on to the ferries since 16 March. And, as of last week, this archipelago of six principal islands linked by causeways has had no confirmed cases so far.
It is this very particular geographic and social profile that has led ministers to see islands such as Uist as the perfect location in which to test strategies to end the lockdown. The notion has been floated by several scientists and endorsed by Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, who said last week there was “scientific justification” for piloting measures such as contact tracing to “relax measures at a progressively greater rate” on some island communities before the rest of the UK.
So are islanders rushing to volunteer to throw off the shackles of lockdown? Not a bit. In fact some want it to go on even longer.
The flamingos which flocked to a lake in Mumbai, India – seemingly due to a marked decrease in pollution – have been pictured wading in huddles.
Saudi Arabia will take strict and painful measures to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan has said in an interview adding that “all options for dealing with the crisis are open”.
“We must reduce budget expenditures sharply,” Jadaan said in comments released ahead of the interview’s broadcast by Al Arabiya TV. No details of possible measures were disclosed.
The world’s largest oil exporter is suffering from historically low oil prices, while measures to fight the new coronavirus are likely to curb the pace and scale of economic reform.
Saudi Arabia’s central bank foreign exchange reserves fell in March at their fastest rate in at least 20 years, hitting their lowest since 2011, while the kingdom slipped to a $9bn budget deficit in the first quarter as oil revenues collapsed.
It comes after reports suggested that the scale of the coronavirus outbreak in the kingdom – which has been under strict lockdown since 25 March – could be larger than official estimates.
The White House has blocked Dr Anthony Fauci from testifying to Congress, saying it would be “counterproductive” for the senior member of the White House coronavirus task force to talk about the government’s response to the pandemic in a House committee hearing.
Donald Trump, meanwhile, welcomed Mitch McConnell’s move to recall the Senate to Washington despite the office of the Congress doctor reportedly telling Republicans they will not be able to screen all 100 senators for Covid-19 on Monday.
The president also called the Democratic House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, “crazy” for not recalling the House and moved to remove a health department watchdog who wrote a critical report on the government’s pandemic response.
Yemen has reported three new coronavirus cases, two in Aden and one in Taiz province, the national emergency committee has announced, raising the number of diagnosed infections in the war-torn country to 10 with two deaths.
The news led the governor of Taiz to announce that he was closing the province’s borders for two weeks, with the exception of supplies of food and other essential goods, in order to prevent the virus from spreading.
The deaths were announced on Thursday and the victims were reportedly brothers who died at a hospital in the southern port city of Aden.
The virus has now been diagnosed in three provinces in the vulnerable country, in which five years of war has devastated large swathes. The new case in Taiz had been in contact with the southwestern province’s first infection which was announced on Friday, the emergency coronavirus committee said.
The United Nations has said it fears the coronavirus could be spreading undetected among an acutely malnourished population with inadequate testing capabilities. An estimated 10m Yemenis are on the brink of famine and many millions more are without access to healthcare.
Fighting in Yemen between the Houthi rebels and forces loyal to the exiled government escalated last month despite a ceasefire designed to help the war-torn country focus on containing the coronavirus pandemic.
The World Health Organization has said it fears that Covid will impact Yemen severely as the population has some of the lowest levels of immunity to disease compared with other countries.
Yemen is also split into rival power centres. On Wednesday the Aden-based government’s emergency coronavirus committee voiced concern that Houthi officials were not admitting a coronavirus outbreak in Sanaa. The group’s health authorities said all suspected cases there had tested negative.
The number of people who have died from coronavirus in France has risen by 166 to 24,760, while hospitalisations for the disease and the number of those in intensive care units with the illness continued to decline, the French health ministry announced.
It comes after there were 218 new deaths recorded on Friday.
Dozens of Rohingya believed to be from one of several boats stuck at sea due to coronavirus restrictions have landed on the coast of Bangladesh, according to a government official.
Some of the 43 people who arrived were sent to Bhasan Char, a remote island where authorities had previously planned to house Rohingya, the official told Reuters.
Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project monitoring group, said the group that landed on Saturday had likely come on a small boat from one the larger vessels still at sea, believed to be carrying hundreds of people.
Hundreds of Rohingya are stranded on at least two trawlers between Bangladesh and Malaysia, rights groups say.
The United Nations has urged authorities to let the boats land, but anti-refugee sentiment is surging in Malaysia.
Another boat, carrying hundreds of Rohingya who were starving after weeks at sea, landed in Bangladesh in mid-April. Survivors said several dozen died on board.
For years, Rohingya from Myanmar and Bangladesh have fled by boat for Thailand and Malaysia when the seas are calm between October and April.