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Coronavirus live news: Singapore reopens schools; Abu Dhabi closes borders Coronavirus live news: Singapore reopens schools; Abu Dhabi closes borders
(32 minutes later)
Dr Fauci says he hasn’t spoken to Trump in two weeks; New Zealand to consider easing restrictions earlier; Mexico deaths pass 10,000 Wuhan doctor who worked with whistleblower dies; Dr Fauci says he hasn’t spoken to Trump in two weeks; Mexico deaths pass 10,000
At least 20 journalists have died from Covid-19 in Peru as reporters, photographers and camera operators raced to cover the pandemic’s spread through the country, often without protective equipment, writes Dan Collyns in Lima.
The number throws into sharp relief the risks and precarious work conditions which face journalists covering the global pandemic in the Andean country, which, after Brazil is Latin America’s worst-hit with more than 164,000 Covid-19 cases and 4,500 deaths.
Peru is not the only country in the region to report the death of journalists from Covid-19. At least 12 journalists have reportedly died from the virus in Ecuador’s hard-hit city of Guayaquil, about eight in Brazil, and at least one in Nicaragua, among deaths in other countries.
Around the world, at least 117 journalists have died as a result of the coronavirus pandemic in 31 countries, according to one estimate by the Swiss NGO the Press Emblem Club.
“This pandemic has stripped bare the labour conditions for journalists in Peru,” said Zuliana Lainez, secretary general of Peru’s National Journalists Association, known as the ANP.
At least six journalists died in Peru’s hard-hit Amazon city of Iquitos, four in the capital Lima, and others on the country’s northern coast, a coronavirus hotspot, according to the ANP. Dozens more journalists are reportedly recovering from the virus.
About half of the victims were working when they became infected, Lainez reported, and most were freelancers while just four worked for national media outlets.
Over 5,000 more people across Africa have tested positive for coronavirus, according to the latest update from the World Health Organisation’s regional office for the continent.
According to the UN health agency, there had been more than 150,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus reported between the 54 countries in Africa on Tuesday morning, of which 63,000 patients had recovered and 4,200 had died.
South Africa was the worst affected country by number of cases, while Egypt, on the other end of the continent, had recorded the most deaths.
This is Damien Gayle taking the reins on the live blog now, for the next eight or so hours. If you have any comments, tips or suggestions for our coverage, please drop me a line, either via email to damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or via Twitter direct message to @damiengayle.
The number of new jobseekers in Spain was close to 27,000 in May, around 10 times lower than in March and April during the coronavirus lockdown, the labour ministry said today.
Spain imposed a nationwide lockdown on 14 March to slow the spread of the virus, and that month it counted more than 302,000 new jobseekers, followed by another 280,000 in April.
But in May, as the lockdown was gradually eased, the government counted a total of 26,573 new jobseekers in the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy, where the total number of unemployed stands at 3.8 million. At the end of March, the National Statistics Institute (INE), which calculates figures in a different way, gave Spain’s jobless figure as 3.31 million.
These figures do not count those who have been furloughed. Between mid-March and the end of May, a total of 3.7 million people were furloughed under a plan rolled out by the labour ministry. But when the furlough scheme draws to a close as planned at the end of June, unemployment figures could rise again.
The government has urged employers not to cut jobs in the six months following the furlough period but layoffs are expected.
In May, as the lockdown was eased, the number of new jobseekers in the construction sector fell by almost 7% compared with April. In industry and agriculture, the figure remained stable but it grew by 1.5% in the service sector which has borne the brunt of the crisis, particularly due to the loss of significant numbers of temporary jobs in tourism.
In the first quarter, Spain’s unemployment rate jumped to 14.4%, INE figures showed. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates unemployment in Spain could soar to 20.8% in 2020, while the government expects a figure of 19%.
Concerts have been allowed to restart in Portugal, with the country’s prime minister, Antonio Costa, attending a show performed by Bruno Nogueira and Manuela Azevedo in Lisbon last night:Concerts have been allowed to restart in Portugal, with the country’s prime minister, Antonio Costa, attending a show performed by Bruno Nogueira and Manuela Azevedo in Lisbon last night:
Britain’s statistics watchdog has again warned the health secretary, Matt Hancock, that figures on coronavirus tests remain “far from complete and comprehensible”.Britain’s statistics watchdog has again warned the health secretary, Matt Hancock, that figures on coronavirus tests remain “far from complete and comprehensible”.
In a strongly-worded letter, Sir David Norgrove, chairman of the UK Statistics Authority, said the way the Government presented the figures appeared to be aimed at showing “the largest possible number of tests, even at the expense of understanding”. The government has faced repeated criticism for its daily testing figures, in which it counts in its headline figure the number of tests posted out to people as well as the number of those completed. It is also not clear from the government data how many of the tests carried out are repeat tests on the same person.In a strongly-worded letter, Sir David Norgrove, chairman of the UK Statistics Authority, said the way the Government presented the figures appeared to be aimed at showing “the largest possible number of tests, even at the expense of understanding”. The government has faced repeated criticism for its daily testing figures, in which it counts in its headline figure the number of tests posted out to people as well as the number of those completed. It is also not clear from the government data how many of the tests carried out are repeat tests on the same person.
Norgrove said the government’s current statistics figures were misleading people during the daily No 10 briefing as they often do not explain how the headline figure on the number of tests has been calculated.Norgrove said the government’s current statistics figures were misleading people during the daily No 10 briefing as they often do not explain how the headline figure on the number of tests has been calculated.
He said the way the tests were presented at the televised press conference gives “an artificially low impression of the proportion of tests returning a positive diagnosis”.He said the way the tests were presented at the televised press conference gives “an artificially low impression of the proportion of tests returning a positive diagnosis”.
Norgrove said it was also “hard to believe the statistics work to support the testing programme itself,” adding that they “still fall well short” of the statistics code of practice which Hancock has said he supported. He added:Norgrove said it was also “hard to believe the statistics work to support the testing programme itself,” adding that they “still fall well short” of the statistics code of practice which Hancock has said he supported. He added:
You can read the letter in full below:You can read the letter in full below:
Across Europe, those who have coped with coronavirus are aware the world has changed dramatically. Here we ask some of them about life after lockdown:Across Europe, those who have coped with coronavirus are aware the world has changed dramatically. Here we ask some of them about life after lockdown:
What will restaurants look like when they reopen? We asked three experts:What will restaurants look like when they reopen? We asked three experts:
Antibody testing in Israel suggest that around 200,000 people, and potentially as many as 270,000 in the country, have had coronavirus, amounting to around 2.5% of the population. “The data arising from the survey is generally similar to the information and surveys we’ve seen in other places,” professor Daniel Cohen of Tel Aviv University’s School of Public Health, who organised the testing, told Haaretz. “For example, we see that there’s a higher rate of exposure among men than among women. Among women the rate of infection is 1.2%, compared to 2.6% among men.” The survey showed that 3.6% of people aged between 40 and 59 had had the infection, but only 0.8% of those aged 0 to 19.Antibody testing in Israel suggest that around 200,000 people, and potentially as many as 270,000 in the country, have had coronavirus, amounting to around 2.5% of the population. “The data arising from the survey is generally similar to the information and surveys we’ve seen in other places,” professor Daniel Cohen of Tel Aviv University’s School of Public Health, who organised the testing, told Haaretz. “For example, we see that there’s a higher rate of exposure among men than among women. Among women the rate of infection is 1.2%, compared to 2.6% among men.” The survey showed that 3.6% of people aged between 40 and 59 had had the infection, but only 0.8% of those aged 0 to 19.
A Wuhan doctor who worked with the coronavirus whistleblower Li Wenliang died of the virus last week, state media reported today, becoming China’s first Covid-19 fatality in weeks.A Wuhan doctor who worked with the coronavirus whistleblower Li Wenliang died of the virus last week, state media reported today, becoming China’s first Covid-19 fatality in weeks.
Hu Weifeng, a urologist at Wuhan Central Hospital, died on Friday after being treated for Covid-19 and allied issues for more than four months, state broadcaster CCTV said. He is the sixth doctor from Wuhan Central Hospital to have died from the virus, which emerged in the central Chinese city late last year.Hu Weifeng, a urologist at Wuhan Central Hospital, died on Friday after being treated for Covid-19 and allied issues for more than four months, state broadcaster CCTV said. He is the sixth doctor from Wuhan Central Hospital to have died from the virus, which emerged in the central Chinese city late last year.
Cases have dwindled dramatically from the peak in mid-February as the country appears to have brought the outbreak largely under control. The official death toll in the country of 1.4 billion people stands at 4,634, well below the number of fatalities in less populous nations.Cases have dwindled dramatically from the peak in mid-February as the country appears to have brought the outbreak largely under control. The official death toll in the country of 1.4 billion people stands at 4,634, well below the number of fatalities in less populous nations.
Wuhan Central Hospital has yet to give a formal statement on Hu’s death. In early February it said some 68 staff members had contracted coronavirus.Wuhan Central Hospital has yet to give a formal statement on Hu’s death. In early February it said some 68 staff members had contracted coronavirus.
Hu’s condition became a national concern after Chinese media showed images of him with his skin turned black due to liver damage. Fellow doctor Yi Fan showed similar symptoms, but recovered and has since been discharged from hospital.Hu’s condition became a national concern after Chinese media showed images of him with his skin turned black due to liver damage. Fellow doctor Yi Fan showed similar symptoms, but recovered and has since been discharged from hospital.
The death of their colleague Li Wenliang in February triggered a national outpouring of grief and rage against the government as he documented his final days on social media. The 34-year-old ophthalmologist was reprimanded by authorities after he warned colleagues about the virus in late December. Beijing has since named him a national martyr, but suppressed much of the dissent and criticism sparked by his death.The death of their colleague Li Wenliang in February triggered a national outpouring of grief and rage against the government as he documented his final days on social media. The 34-year-old ophthalmologist was reprimanded by authorities after he warned colleagues about the virus in late December. Beijing has since named him a national martyr, but suppressed much of the dissent and criticism sparked by his death.
Other medical whistleblowers at Wuhan Central Hospital - including emergency unit director Ai Fen - have told Chinese media they were punished by authorities for speaking out.Other medical whistleblowers at Wuhan Central Hospital - including emergency unit director Ai Fen - have told Chinese media they were punished by authorities for speaking out.
China has not released a complete figure of the number of medical worker deaths from Covid-19, but at least 34 medics have been awarded posthumous honours by health authorities. In February the National Health Commission said some 3,387 health workers had been infected.China has not released a complete figure of the number of medical worker deaths from Covid-19, but at least 34 medics have been awarded posthumous honours by health authorities. In February the National Health Commission said some 3,387 health workers had been infected.
City-wide testing that began in mid-May found no new cases of Covid-19 in Wuhan, and 300 asymptomatic cases. A total of 9.9 million people were tested between 14 May and 1 June. China does not count asymptomatic cases, meaning people who are infected with the virus but do not exhibit symptoms of the disease, as confirmed cases.City-wide testing that began in mid-May found no new cases of Covid-19 in Wuhan, and 300 asymptomatic cases. A total of 9.9 million people were tested between 14 May and 1 June. China does not count asymptomatic cases, meaning people who are infected with the virus but do not exhibit symptoms of the disease, as confirmed cases.
Following news today of the first Rohingya refugee to die of Covid-19 in Bangladesh, the country has reported 2,911 new cases, the most they have reported in a single day, from 12,704 samples tested. This takes the total number of confirmed infections in the country over 50,000, to 52,445. There were 37 deaths, 33 men and four women, taking the country’s total to 709.Following news today of the first Rohingya refugee to die of Covid-19 in Bangladesh, the country has reported 2,911 new cases, the most they have reported in a single day, from 12,704 samples tested. This takes the total number of confirmed infections in the country over 50,000, to 52,445. There were 37 deaths, 33 men and four women, taking the country’s total to 709.
Malaysian health authorities today reported 20 new coronavirus cases, bringing the cumulative total to 7,877 cases. The health ministry also reported no new deaths, keeping total fatalities at 115.Malaysian health authorities today reported 20 new coronavirus cases, bringing the cumulative total to 7,877 cases. The health ministry also reported no new deaths, keeping total fatalities at 115.
Indonesia has reported 609 new confirmed infections, taking their total to 27,549, and 22 deaths. 1,663 people have now been confirmed as having died of Covid-19 in the country.
The French coronavirus tracking app, StopCovid, is due to be rolled out at midday today, local time. It will allow anyone who is diagnosed with Covid-19 to warn those with whom they have been in contact in the previous two weeks so they can be tested if they develop symptoms.
Cédric O, France’s secretary of state for the economy responsible for digital technology, said the government wanted to encourage people to download the app, particularly those living in cities where contacts, especially on public transport, are of concern.
Announcing a further easing of lockdown restrictions last week, the prime minister Édouard Philippe said the government “guaranteed” the app would not infringe people’s privacy or be used to collect data on geolocalisation. France’s highest authority for the protection of privacy and data has approved StopCovid and the parliament approved its use last week. “It is an instrument for fighting the virus, not a weapon,” Philippe said.
Apple and Google launched the first contact tracing application API late last month but France, keen not to rely on the US technology firms and wishing to retain “national sovereignty” over the process, developed StopCovid as an independent project. Apple and Google reportedly offered to work with the French government, which turned down the offer considering the companies posed data protection risks. Apple then refused to help with a means of allowing the Bluetooth to work on its phones while the StopCovid app is closed (on iPhones, Bluetooth works only when the app is open).
Cedric O accused the US companies of not cooperating. “Apple could have helped us make it work even better on the iPhone. They didn’t want to do that, for a reason that I can’t quite understand,” he said. “That a large company that has never done so well in economic terms does not help a government fight the crisis, we will have to remember that when the time comes.”
StopCovid will alert anyone who has had “prolonged contact” - meaning more than 15 minutes at less than 1-metre distance – with a person with Covid-19.
Today is the Festa della Repubblica, Italy’s national day, and the Frecce Tricolori have been doing their thing over Rome:
We have updated our world map with the latest statistics from around the world:
My colleague Bethan McKernan, the Guardian’s Middle East correspondent, reports on the migrants passing through war-torn Yemen:
More here:
Russia has reported 8,863 new coronavirus cases and 182 deaths in the past 24 hours. The figures are similar to those reported on Monday (9,035 cases and 162 deaths) and bring the nation’s tally to 423,741 confirmed cases, and 5,037 deaths.
A 71-year-old man has become the first Rohingya living in vast refugee camps in Bangladesh to die from coronavirus, an official said today. Health experts have long warned that the deadly virus could race through the vast network of settlements housing almost a million refugees in the country’s southeast.
“He died on 31 May. But last night we got the confirmation that he died of Covid-19,” said Toha Bhuiyan, a senior health official in the Cox’s Bazar district.
The fatality was in Kutupalong, the largest of the camps, which is home to roughly 600,000 people. The man was among at least 29 Rohingya to have tested positive for the virus in the camps. Bhuiyan said the victim died in an isolation centre run by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders and was buried in the camp the same day.
“We are going to speak to administrators in the camp and alert people about the death,” Bhuiyan said, adding they were trying to find people the deceased had been in contact with.
Mahbubur Rahman, head of the health department in Cox’s Bazar district, told AFP officials were waiting for a full report on the death. A UN spokesperson said they would comment later.
Last week about 15,000 refugees were placed in quarantine as the number of cases increased, while Bangladesh and UN authorities have prepared seven isolation centres with the capacity to treat more than 700 patients inside the camps. Aid workers say many of the refugees know very little about the virus. They blame this partly on local authorities cutting off access to the internet in September to combat what they said were drug traffickers and other criminals.
A couple of days ago Abu Dhabi announced that they would be closing their borders for a week, starting today.
This was the queue to get in this morning:
Indonesia has cancelled the haj pilgrimage this year for people in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation due to concerns over the coronavirus, the religious affairs minister said on Tuesday.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of Indonesians go on the haj to Saudi Arabia, with places allocated according to a quota system. The quota for this year was 221,000, with more than 90% of places already allocated. The average wait for a place on the pilgrimage is 20 years.
Dewi, an employee of a telecommunications company in Jakarta and registered to perform the pilgrimage this year, told Reuters that while she had waited six years, she had made peace with the news. “If that is the decision, I will accept it,” said Dewi, who did not want to give her full name. “After all, I believe that everything happens with God’s permission.”
Medellin’s phased reopening is being mirrored across South America. Some of Brazil’s hardest hit cities, including the jungle metropolis Manaus and coastal Rio de Janeiro, are starting to allow more activity. Bolivia’s government has authorised reopening most of the country and the government of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro unwound restrictions, while Ecuador’s airports were resuming flights. Here is a report filed last night by AP:
The executive director of the World Health Organization’s emergencies program, Mike Ryan, expressed concern over South America’s climbing contagion, telling reporters Monday that the region had become an “intense zone of transmission for this virus,” which had not yet reached its peak. “Clearly the situation in many South American countries is far from stable. There is a rapid increase in cases and those systems are coming under increasing pressure,” he said.
Data from the WHO’s Pan American Health Organization shows the region’s seven-day rolling average of new cases continues rising, due in large part to Brazil, which accounts for more than half the total.
Manaus, the Amazon rainforest’s largest city, was the first Brazilian metropolis whose health care system collapsed. For weeks, overwhelmed intensive-care units were unable to admit patients, deaths at home surged and a city cemetery buried bodies in mass graves.
Such burials continue, yet the capital of Amazonas state on Monday began loosening its clamp on non-essential businesses. Amazonas registered 818 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases above 40,000. There are more than 500,000 confirmed cases in Brazil, the second most in the world, and experts believe the true toll to be much higher due to insufficient testing. Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian city with the second-most cases after Sao Paulo, on Monday announced it would begin gradually relaxing restrictions the following day. Already a city in its metropolitan region, Sao Joao de Meriti, started allowing salons, auto mechanics, and hotels to operate on Monday.
“Brazil tends to look at Europe, and the problem is that there they did one or two months of strict quarantine and are now reopening,” said Renato Mendes Coutinho, a specialist in mathematical biology at Covid-19 BR Observatory, an independent group of more than 50 Brazilian researchers. “The difference is that the lockdown they implemented and the restriction measures were much more efficient and thorough.”
Ecuador was one of the first South American nations hit, with grim scenes of people leaving corpses outside their doorsteps in Guayaquil through March and April. The nation’s caseload continues to surge, yet its airport will resume international flights on 3 June, according to Nicolas Romero, the airport’s spokesperson, though he said arriving passengers must spend 15 days in quarantine, without specifying how such quarantine will be enforced. The airport in the country’s capital, Quito, recorded its first flight in 80 days on Monday, and flights to Miami and Houston will take off on 4 June. “It has just been one flight so far, but the important thing is the message it gives, of flying safely,” Luis Galarraga, the airport’s spokesperson, told The Associated Press.
Marcos Espinal, director of PAHO’s communicable diseases department, said by phone that reopening too soon could cause harm in certain places that aren’t yet ready. “If you’re in the middle of the epicenter, we don’t recommend to open,” Espinal said from Washington. “People’s lives are precious, and there shouldn’t be any negotiations of that.”
Venezuela on Monday allowed barbershops, beauty salons, auto shops, construction sites and banks to begin operations, along with other sectors. The nation is dialing down restrictions because it has reported relatively low Covid-19 impact: 1,510 cases and 14 deaths. Experts have roundly criticised Venezuela’s data as suspicious.
Bolivia on Monday instituted a so-called “dynamic quarantine” in most of the country, keeping parks and shows shuttered while resuming work, commerce and public transport, even as contagion continues rising.
The government’s public works minister, Ivan Arias, suggested Monday that men shave their beards and moustaches to prevent infection. The Health Ministry’s epidemiological director, Virgilio Prieto, offered less optimism about recalibrating the nation’s quarantine, admitting it “could bring about an explosion of the new coronavirus.”
Having seen first-hand the worst of the virus’ damage in Europe, Jesus Gomez-Gardenes, an associate professor in physics and computational epidemiology at the University of Zaragoza, in Spain, looks on South America’s rush to reopen with concern. “Opening their doors when we have recent growth in the number of daily cases is something that could be, or is, a catastrophe,” he said.