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Coronavirus live news: Brazil cases surge past 600,000 as country's death toll passes Italy Coronavirus live news: Brazil cases surge past 600,000 as country's death toll passes Italy
(32 minutes later)
New York urges protesters to get tested; Turkey announces weekend lockdown in 15 cities; US jobless claims pass 42mNew York urges protesters to get tested; Turkey announces weekend lockdown in 15 cities; US jobless claims pass 42m
Singapore has confirmed another 261 coronavirus cases, the city-state’s smallest increase in nearly two months, taking its tally to 37,183.
The lower number of cases was partly due to the fact that fewer swab-tests were conducted, the health ministry said.
Afghanistan has recorded its biggest one-day rise of new coronavirus cases as around 60% of tests over the last 24 hours came back positive, with a continued surge of transmission in Kabul and record high in Helmand.According to the latest update, the health ministry has detected 915 new cases out of 1,570 tests, marking the war-torn country’s biggest one-day rise of new infections.Afghanistan has recorded its biggest one-day rise of new coronavirus cases as around 60% of tests over the last 24 hours came back positive, with a continued surge of transmission in Kabul and record high in Helmand.According to the latest update, the health ministry has detected 915 new cases out of 1,570 tests, marking the war-torn country’s biggest one-day rise of new infections.
Nine patients also died overnight, with the total number of infections now standing at 18,969 and the death toll at 309. There have been 1,763 recoveries.Most new cases have been reported in the capital city of Kabul, where the health ministry detected 423 new cases out of 811 tests. Kabul is the country’s worst affected area with 7,556 cases.Nine patients also died overnight, with the total number of infections now standing at 18,969 and the death toll at 309. There have been 1,763 recoveries.Most new cases have been reported in the capital city of Kabul, where the health ministry detected 423 new cases out of 811 tests. Kabul is the country’s worst affected area with 7,556 cases.
The western province of Herat recorded 201 new cases out of 243 tests in the last 24 hours. Testing capacity remains low in Afghanistan and experts warn that real Covid-19 figures may be much higher.Earlier this week, the International Rescue Committee warned about the low capacity of testing and said the Afghan health ministry has the capacity to test 2,000 suspected patients each day, but is receiving between 10,000 - 20,000 samples daily.The western province of Herat recorded 201 new cases out of 243 tests in the last 24 hours. Testing capacity remains low in Afghanistan and experts warn that real Covid-19 figures may be much higher.Earlier this week, the International Rescue Committee warned about the low capacity of testing and said the Afghan health ministry has the capacity to test 2,000 suspected patients each day, but is receiving between 10,000 - 20,000 samples daily.
The IRC said:The IRC said:
Helmand province recorded 20 new cases after more than a month without new reports.Helmand province recorded 20 new cases after more than a month without new reports.
On Thursday, a newly introduced acting minister of public health, Ahmad Jawad Osmani, said in a press conference that he would bring reforms to the health sector.Osmani said the coronavirus must be fought, but that reforms in hospitals and in other service areas must also be made. He said current health services do not meet the people’s standards and need to be increased.On Thursday, a newly introduced acting minister of public health, Ahmad Jawad Osmani, said in a press conference that he would bring reforms to the health sector.Osmani said the coronavirus must be fought, but that reforms in hospitals and in other service areas must also be made. He said current health services do not meet the people’s standards and need to be increased.
New orders for German manufacturing firms saw their sharpest fall on record in April during the coronavirus shutdown, official data has shown, plunging a worse-than-expected 25.8% from March.New orders for German manufacturing firms saw their sharpest fall on record in April during the coronavirus shutdown, official data has shown, plunging a worse-than-expected 25.8% from March.
The closely-watched indicator of future industrial activity saw “the biggest fall since the beginning of the data series in 1991” just after German reunification, federal statistics authority Destatis said.The closely-watched indicator of future industrial activity saw “the biggest fall since the beginning of the data series in 1991” just after German reunification, federal statistics authority Destatis said.
The reading was down 36.6% year-on-year, it added.The reading was down 36.6% year-on-year, it added.
Destatis had previously flagged March’s 15% month-on-month plunge as the worst in the history of the industrial orders measure.Destatis had previously flagged March’s 15% month-on-month plunge as the worst in the history of the industrial orders measure.
“The collapse in new industrial orders worsened again in line with expectations in April,” the economy ministry in Berlin said, as “restrictions against the corona pandemic were in place during the whole month”.“The collapse in new industrial orders worsened again in line with expectations in April,” the economy ministry in Berlin said, as “restrictions against the corona pandemic were in place during the whole month”.
Other indicators of German industrial output have also plummeted in recent months.Other indicators of German industrial output have also plummeted in recent months.
Since January, carmakers have built fewer than one million vehicles, down more than one-third compared with the first five months of 2019.Since January, carmakers have built fewer than one million vehicles, down more than one-third compared with the first five months of 2019.
Ministers in chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government this week agreed a new €130bn ($148bn) stimulus package to get the country moving again as it gradually emerges from infection control lockdowns.Ministers in chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government this week agreed a new €130bn ($148bn) stimulus package to get the country moving again as it gradually emerges from infection control lockdowns.
The country’s biggest post-war package, includes cuts to VAT, handouts to families, and subsidies for greener transport options.The country’s biggest post-war package, includes cuts to VAT, handouts to families, and subsidies for greener transport options.
However the economy ministry said that the “given gradual loosening (of lockdowns) the worst of the industrial recession should be behind us”.However the economy ministry said that the “given gradual loosening (of lockdowns) the worst of the industrial recession should be behind us”.
Dozens of protesters in Hong Kong marched through a shopping mall on Friday, chanting pro-democracy slogans a day after thousands defied a police ban to hold a vigil for the anniversary of China’s Tiananmen crackdown in 1989.Dozens of protesters in Hong Kong marched through a shopping mall on Friday, chanting pro-democracy slogans a day after thousands defied a police ban to hold a vigil for the anniversary of China’s Tiananmen crackdown in 1989.
Protesters of all ages joined the march in the heart of the city’s financial district, which ended peacefully after an hour.Protesters of all ages joined the march in the heart of the city’s financial district, which ended peacefully after an hour.
Some held banners that read “Hong Kong independence” and “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times,” as well as the former British colonial flag, while others chanted “Glory to Hong Kong”, the unofficial anthem of the protests.Some held banners that read “Hong Kong independence” and “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times,” as well as the former British colonial flag, while others chanted “Glory to Hong Kong”, the unofficial anthem of the protests.
Thursday’s anniversary of Chinese troops opening fire on student-led protests in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square was particularly sensitive this year as the central government drafts national security laws for the Asian financial hub.Thursday’s anniversary of Chinese troops opening fire on student-led protests in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square was particularly sensitive this year as the central government drafts national security laws for the Asian financial hub.
It was the first time in 31 years that scuffles briefly disrupted what is usually a solemn day in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, which traditionally organises the world’s biggest memorial for the crackdown.It was the first time in 31 years that scuffles briefly disrupted what is usually a solemn day in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, which traditionally organises the world’s biggest memorial for the crackdown.
Officers would not have intervened if protesters had not blocked roads in the district of Mong Kok, police said on Twitter on Thursday. They had rejected the application for the vigil over concerns about the coronavirus.Officers would not have intervened if protesters had not blocked roads in the district of Mong Kok, police said on Twitter on Thursday. They had rejected the application for the vigil over concerns about the coronavirus.
A group of current and former central bankers, including the governors of the Bank of England and Banque de France, have written about the need for the world to embrace a green global economy after the coronavirus pandemic.A group of current and former central bankers, including the governors of the Bank of England and Banque de France, have written about the need for the world to embrace a green global economy after the coronavirus pandemic.
The piece is by Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England; François Villeroy de Galhau, governor of Banque de France; Frank Elderson, chair of the Network for Greening the Financial System and executive board member of the Nederlandsche Bank; and Mark Carney, UN special envoy for climate action and finance.The piece is by Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England; François Villeroy de Galhau, governor of Banque de France; Frank Elderson, chair of the Network for Greening the Financial System and executive board member of the Nederlandsche Bank; and Mark Carney, UN special envoy for climate action and finance.
The first case of Covid-19 has been recorded among the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, adding to concerns that the virus could spread rapidly among the persecuted group.The first case of Covid-19 has been recorded among the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, adding to concerns that the virus could spread rapidly among the persecuted group.
Rohingya have faced decades of oppression in Myanmar, where they are denied citizenship, face severe restrictions on their movement, and have extremely limited access to health care.Rohingya have faced decades of oppression in Myanmar, where they are denied citizenship, face severe restrictions on their movement, and have extremely limited access to health care.
Rights groups are particularly concerned about the squalid conditions in camps in central Rakhine state where around 130,000 internally displaced Rohingya remain trapped.Rights groups are particularly concerned about the squalid conditions in camps in central Rakhine state where around 130,000 internally displaced Rohingya remain trapped.
Human Rights Watch recently reported that the Burmese authorities are using the Covid-19 response measures as a pretext to further harass and extort Rohingya, and are “doubling down on a system in which they are already effectively incarcerating the population”.Human Rights Watch recently reported that the Burmese authorities are using the Covid-19 response measures as a pretext to further harass and extort Rohingya, and are “doubling down on a system in which they are already effectively incarcerating the population”.
In 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingya fled over the border to Bangladesh, following brutal campaign by the Myanmar military that has since led to a genocide case in the UN’s top court. Around 600,000 Rohingya remain in Myanmar, where the UN warns they face a continued risk of genocide.In 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingya fled over the border to Bangladesh, following brutal campaign by the Myanmar military that has since led to a genocide case in the UN’s top court. Around 600,000 Rohingya remain in Myanmar, where the UN warns they face a continued risk of genocide.
The 38 year-old man in Rakhine state who is confirmed to have the virus was tested on Monday and had returned to Myanmar from Bangladesh, officials told Radio Free Asia.The 38 year-old man in Rakhine state who is confirmed to have the virus was tested on Monday and had returned to Myanmar from Bangladesh, officials told Radio Free Asia.
This week, authorities in Bangladesh confirmed the first death from Covid-19 in the country’s refugee camps, where there are also major concerns about overcrowding, poor sanitation and limited medical facilities.This week, authorities in Bangladesh confirmed the first death from Covid-19 in the country’s refugee camps, where there are also major concerns about overcrowding, poor sanitation and limited medical facilities.
The man, aged 71, died on 31 May while undergoing treatment at the camp’s isolation center. So far, 29 people have tested positive in the camps, which host about one million Rohingya.The man, aged 71, died on 31 May while undergoing treatment at the camp’s isolation center. So far, 29 people have tested positive in the camps, which host about one million Rohingya.
The Norwegian economy contracted 4.7% in April from March but the outlook for the rest of the year now looks less bleak than it did in late April, Statistics Norway has said.The Norwegian economy contracted 4.7% in April from March but the outlook for the rest of the year now looks less bleak than it did in late April, Statistics Norway has said.
The mainland economy, which excludes the volatile offshore oil and gas production, is now forecast to drop 3.9% for the full year compared to the 5.5% fall predicted on 24 April when Norway was in lockdown.The mainland economy, which excludes the volatile offshore oil and gas production, is now forecast to drop 3.9% for the full year compared to the 5.5% fall predicted on 24 April when Norway was in lockdown.
Hello, this is Jessica Murray, I’ll be steering the live blog for the next few hours.Hello, this is Jessica Murray, I’ll be steering the live blog for the next few hours.
If you have any stories or suggestions you’d like to share, feel free to get in touch:If you have any stories or suggestions you’d like to share, feel free to get in touch:
Email: jessica.murray@theguardian.comEmail: jessica.murray@theguardian.com
Twitter: @journojess_Twitter: @journojess_
A quick look at the Guardian UK’s front page, which is leading on a pandemic exclusive: “Revealed: NHS test and trace not fully operational until September”.A quick look at the Guardian UK’s front page, which is leading on a pandemic exclusive: “Revealed: NHS test and trace not fully operational until September”.
Britain’s test-and-trace system could take another four months before it is working properly, the Guardian has learned, raising concerns about how the country might cope with a second wave of coronavirus infections. Tony Prestedge, a banker drafted in to run the NHS scheme, told staff that the programme would be “imperfect” at launch and won’t be world class until September or October. Boris Johnson had said the “world-beating” scheme would be in place by 1 June.Britain’s test-and-trace system could take another four months before it is working properly, the Guardian has learned, raising concerns about how the country might cope with a second wave of coronavirus infections. Tony Prestedge, a banker drafted in to run the NHS scheme, told staff that the programme would be “imperfect” at launch and won’t be world class until September or October. Boris Johnson had said the “world-beating” scheme would be in place by 1 June.
You can read more about this and get up to speed with all the developments in our UK Morning Briefing with Martin Farrer below.You can read more about this and get up to speed with all the developments in our UK Morning Briefing with Martin Farrer below.
Fuji Rock Festival, Japan’s biggest annual music event, will be cancelled for the first time ever due to the coronavirus pandemic, organisers said, disappointing thousands of rock-and-roll fans who flock to the outdoor festivities every year.
Since its inception in 1997, headliners at the event have included The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Cure and Kendrick Lamar. Last year, the event, held in the summer, attracted 130,000 people over four days.
“We had hoped the pandemic would abate in time to hold this summer’s festival as scheduled and were moving forward with planning,” the organisers said on their website.
“We apologise for taking so long to inform everyone of this decision.”
This year’s festival had been scheduled for three days from 21 August, with American rock band The Strokes among the acts.
Japan has been hit by around 18,000 infections and 900 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic.
US unemployment figures are due out on Friday, with some economists predicting the rate may shoot up to almost 20%.
Reuters reports that =while layoffs remained very high in the US, they eased considerably in the second half of May as businesses reopened after shuttering in mid-March to slow the spread of Covid-19.
The employment report is compiled from two separate surveys. According to a Reuters poll of economists, the survey of households is likely to show the unemployment rate jumped to 19.8% in May from 14.7% in April, which was the highest since 1948 when the government started keeping records. The survey of establishments is forecast showing non-farm payrolls dropped by 8m jobs after a record 20.537m plunge in April.
That would bring total job losses to 29.4m since March. If borne out by the new figures, that would be more than three times the jobs lost during the 2007-09 GFC, and it took six years recoup the jobs lost during that downturn.
Singapore plans to soon launch a wearable device for coronavirus contact tracing that, if successful, it will distribute to all of its 5.7 million residents, the government said on Friday.
The city-state has already developed the first-of-its-kind smartphone app to identify and alert people who have interacted with novel coronavirus carriers, but the bluetooth technology has been beset with glitches and the app is not widely used.
“We are developing and will soon roll out a portable wearable device that will ... not depend on possession of a smartphone,” foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan told parliament on Friday.
“If this portable device works. We may then distribute it to everyone in Singapore ... This will be more inclusive, and it will ensure that all of us will be protected.”
The device being developed can be worn on a lanyard or kept in a handbag and will be battery-operated, Balakrishnan said last month in an interview with Sky News Australia.
Known cases pass 6.6 million worldwide. The number of known coronavirus infections has passed 6.6 million, with 6,601,349 currently confirmed, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. Deaths are approaching 390,000, with the current toll at 389,645.
Brazil’s death toll overtakes Italy’s to become third-highest worldwide. Brazil’s total Covid-19 death toll blew past that of Italy on Thursday, as the Health Ministry reported 1,437 deaths in the last 24 hours and 30,925 additional coronavirus cases. The Latin American nation has now reported 34,021 deaths from the coronavirus, trailing only the United States and the United Kingdom.
Ebola drug remdesivir endorsed as a coronavirus treatment in Australia. The antiviral drug remdesivir has been recommended for the treatment of Covid-19 patients in Australia, by the national taskforce bringing together the country’s peak health groups.
South Africa sees record rise in coronavirus cases. South Africa has recorded 3,267 coronavirus cases in 24 hours, the biggest increase since the pandemic hit the country. Africa’s biggest industrial power now has a total of 40,792 infections, the health ministry said. It saw a rise of 56 deaths, bring the total to 848. More than half of the cases are in the Western Cape region where health services are under pressure.
New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, urged protestors to get tested for coronavirus, saying several days and nights of demonstrations in the state after the killing of George Floyd could accelerate the spread. He noted that an estimated 30,000 people have protested in the state.
Death of man after face mask arrest shines light on Mexican police brutality. Mexicans have responded with outrage after a man was found beaten to death hours after he was arrested by police officers for not wearing a face mask in public.Giovanni López, a 30-year-old bricklayer, was detained on 4 May by municipal police officers in the town of Ixtlahuacán de Los Membrillos near Guadalajara.Video of the incident emerged on Wednesday, and shows the police officers with assault rifles forcing López into a police pickup truck as bystanders plead for his release.
Covid-19 causing 10,000 dementia deaths beyond infections, UK research says. There were almost 10,000 unexplained extra deaths among people with dementia in April, according to official figures that have prompted alarm about the severe impact of social isolation on people with the condition. The data, from the Office for National Statistics in England and Wales, reveals that, beyond deaths directly linked to Covid-19, there were 83% more deaths from dementia than usual in April, with charities warning that a reduction in essential medical care and family visits were taking a devastating toll.
Argentina extends lockdown. Argentina has extended a mandatory lockdown in Buenos Aires, the capital, and some other parts of the country until 28 June, as confirmed coronavirus cases continue to rise, surpassing 20,000 earlier in the day.
Virus patients with high blood pressure twice as likely to die: study. Patients with high blood pressure admitted to hospital with coronavirus infections are twice as likely to die as those without the condition, researchers said on Friday.
Tokyo Olympics exec says must watch virus situation for Games decision. A Tokyo 2020 executive board member said on Friday that organisers will need to monitor the coronavirus situation until next spring to decide whether to hold the Summer Olympics next year, Kyodo News reported.
Turkey announces weekend lockdown in 15 cities. Turkey will impose a weekend lockdown in 15 cities as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the interior ministry said.In a statement, the ministry said bakeries and certain shops could operate during the lockdown.Turkey has had 167,410 Covid-19 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Low Covid-19 figures for Africa are “broadly accurate”, the World Health Organization’s director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, has said. There were concerns that low levels of testing, poor infrastructure and a lack of cooperation from some governments may be disguising the true extent of the disease’s spread.
US pandemic jobless claims passed 42m after another 1.9 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week. The pace of layoffs has slowed dramatically from its peak of 6.6m at the start of April as states begin to relax quarantines. Last week was the ninth consecutive week of declines.
Politicians may need to reimpose lockdown restrictions if there is a resurgence in coronavirus cases, a leading intensive care specialist has said.
Maurizio Cecconi, head of intensive care at the Humanitas research hospital in Milan and the incoming president of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, was one of three Lombardy doctors who warned the rest of Europe to “get ready” for Covid-19 in the early days of the outbreak.
Now he says society will have to “learn how to live” with coronavirus until there is a vaccine. While he is optimistic about European health authorities’ efforts to monitor the virus, he doesn’t exclude a return to tighter social controls. “If there is an increase in transmission we need to be ready to slow down again, and maybe to put [in place] restrictive measures again,” he said.
The Nikkei Asian Review reports that Japan plans to allow business travellers from certain countries to bypass the country’s two-week quarantine requirement, starting in summer this year – if they have proof of a negative test result:
The number of known coronavirus infections has passed 6.6 million, with 6,601,349 currently confirmed, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
Deaths are approaching 390,000, with the current toll at 389,645.
The figures, which are based on official and media reports, are likely to significantly underestimate the scale of the pandemic due to differing testing and recording regimes, as well as suspected under-reporting.
A Tokyo 2020 executive board member said on Friday that organisers will need to monitor the coronavirus situation until next spring to decide whether to hold the Summer Olympics next year, Kyodo News reported.The comment by lawmaker Toshiaki Endo, one of six vice presidents on the board and a former Olympics minister, marks the first time an executive from the organising committee has commented on the timing for a decision on going through with the Games, the news agency said.The Games were postponed from this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Australia’s most populous state has lodged a legal application to stop a Black Lives Matter protest occurring in Sydney, state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Friday, over coronavirus restriction concerns.
NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller says he lodged an injunction because the numbers of those attending the protest kept growing online. Protests in groups of 10 are allowed under the health order, but that if the supreme court outlaws the protest, a gathering of hundreds would be illegal.
Thousands of people have pledged to attend a protest organised in Sydney on Saturday in the wake of death of black American George Floyd in US police custody.The protest had secured permission as it originally planned to have fewer than 500 people present.
But Berejiklian said when it became clear that thousands planned to attend, the legal application was made to the state’s Supreme Court.
Fuller said:
Berejiklian spoke directly to those intending to attend:
A bubbly tale from Australia now ...
A group of schoolchildren in the state of Queensland have sent fan mail to a lonely aquarium fish in Cairns to help him overcome his coronavirus lockdown-induced despondence, AAP reports. But since the aquarium was closed due to the pandemic, one Queensland grouper began retreating to dark corners of his tank, and even stopped eating for a few weeks.Students from Torbanlea State School empathised with Chang’s plight, and made it their mission to cheer him up.“Out of nowhere we received this package in the mail, and it was addressed to Chang the Lonely Grouper,” aquarium boss Daniel Leipnik told AAP.
Inside were scores of self portraits drawn by the year one class, and a letter addressed to Chang. “When we couldn’t come to school, some of us were feeling gloomy too,” the letter read.
The aquarium was under strict instructions to attach the pictures to the other side of the acrylic.
“I thought, ‘oh maybe they might put the letter up in the staff room or something’. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that they would actually do it,” teacher Di McRae told AAP. But the aquarium did as they were told, and “it did the trick”.“He was in a cave the whole day, but then when we put the pictures up against the acrylic, he actually came out, and was watching it,” Mr Leipnik said.“People can relate to what an individual may feel like in an isolation type setting,” he said.“I think people see themselves in this giant fish.”