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Coronavirus: UK to partly reopen churches, Australia BLM protests defy health pleas – live updates Coronavirus: UK to partly reopen churches, Australia BLM protests defy health pleas – live updates
(32 minutes later)
Britain announces 15 June opening of churches for individual prayer; Black Lives Matter demonstrators pepper-sprayed in Sydney; global cases top 6.8mBritain announces 15 June opening of churches for individual prayer; Black Lives Matter demonstrators pepper-sprayed in Sydney; global cases top 6.8m
Western Australia has recorded no new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours. The state’s total remains at 599, of which 31 are considered active cases. Of the active cases, 10 are Western Australians, one is from interstate and 20 are crew members from the Al Kuwait live export ship. The state Department of Health says there have been 115,507 COVID-19 tests performed in WA to date. Of those tested, 20,193 were from regional areas.
Germany has reported 301 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total to 183,979, according to the Robert Koch Institute. The reported death toll has also risen by 22 to 8,668.
The Australian Capital Territory has recorded its first Covid-19 case since 25 April, after a man in his 40s who had recently returned from overseas tested positive. ACT Health says he has been in quarantine since his arrival from overseas. A small number of close contacts have been identified and are also in quarantine. The man is the only known active case in the territory, which has had 104 cases in total. The ACT’s chief health officer, Dr Kerryn Coleman, said this most recent case would be recorded as overseas-acquired. “We are confident there has been no risk to the broader ACT community,” Coleman said. “The case is, however, a good reminder of the ongoing pandemic and the need for our community to continue to observe physical distancing and hygiene measures, and for people to stay home if they are unwell. The case is also a demonstration of how important it is for us to maintain a high level of testing in the community.” The ACT has conducted 20,379 negative tests to date. “We expect that as restrictions are lifted and the movement of people around Australia increases, it is likely that cases will continue to be diagnosed around Australia, including in the ACT,” Coleman said.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has for the second time vetoed emergency legislation passed to regulate the Central American country’s coronavirus policy and usher in a gradual reopening of its economy, Reuters reports.Bukele’s legal counsel, Conan Castro, said Bukele had vetoed the law backed on May 30 by Congress because it breached a number of constitutional guarantees including the rights and health of workers and cooperation between organs of government.Castro was speaking to reporters at a news conference in San Salvador with other members of Bukele’s legal team.Bukele, who has been at loggerheads with Congress for weeks over coronavirus policy, had vetoed a similar law in May on the grounds it put the public’s health at risk. He had said he would do the same with the law passed last weekend.Bukele has imposed some of the toughest measures in the Americas against the pandemic, repeatedly clashing with lawmakers over the scope of the lockdown he is pursuing.Bukele’s administration is also ready to sanction any companies that restart operations on Monday without proper authorization, Labor Minister Rolando Castro told reporters at a separate news conference in the capital.The country has recorded 2,934 coronavirus cases and 53 related fatalities.
The coronavirus crisis is battering media outlets across Africa that were already struggling for cash and often facing pressure from hostile authorities, Agence France-Presse reports.The coronavirus crisis is battering media outlets across Africa that were already struggling for cash and often facing pressure from hostile authorities, Agence France-Presse reports.
In Kenya some media houses slashed wages by up to half, in Uganda a leading weekly halted printing, and in Namibia hours have been reduced and redundancy schemes fast-tracked. Qasim Akinreti, the chairman of the Lagos Union of Journalists said Nigeria had “lost hundreds of jobs in the past four months.”In Kenya some media houses slashed wages by up to half, in Uganda a leading weekly halted printing, and in Namibia hours have been reduced and redundancy schemes fast-tracked. Qasim Akinreti, the chairman of the Lagos Union of Journalists said Nigeria had “lost hundreds of jobs in the past four months.”
The speed and severity of the current crunch has sparked calls for government bailouts - with private papers in Cameroon even holding a “dead press” day to denounce a lack of action.The speed and severity of the current crunch has sparked calls for government bailouts - with private papers in Cameroon even holding a “dead press” day to denounce a lack of action.
Authorities in some countries have heeded the pleas for help. Kenya’s national regulator on Friday unveiled what it called a “historic” fund worth just under $1 million to help some 150 broadcasters weather the storm.“This challenge of COVID-19 has squeezed life from television and radio stations,” said David Omwoyo, the head of the Media Council of Kenya.Officials from Nigeria’s journalist union said it had appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to provide emergency aid to distressed media. But there are fears that state aid would only increase political interference in sectors around Africa that are already often dominated by powerful vested interests.Just as the spread of the virus has caused revenues to dwindle, it has also posed unprecedented logistical challenges to media outlets. While the official figures - more than 170,000 infections and 4,700 deaths across the continent - have risen slower than elsewhere on the planet, governments have still imposed tough restrictions.Lockdowns have hampered reporting, social distancing has forced journalists to work remotely with poor internet or electricity supplies, and protective equipment has added new costs.Authorities in some countries have heeded the pleas for help. Kenya’s national regulator on Friday unveiled what it called a “historic” fund worth just under $1 million to help some 150 broadcasters weather the storm.“This challenge of COVID-19 has squeezed life from television and radio stations,” said David Omwoyo, the head of the Media Council of Kenya.Officials from Nigeria’s journalist union said it had appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to provide emergency aid to distressed media. But there are fears that state aid would only increase political interference in sectors around Africa that are already often dominated by powerful vested interests.Just as the spread of the virus has caused revenues to dwindle, it has also posed unprecedented logistical challenges to media outlets. While the official figures - more than 170,000 infections and 4,700 deaths across the continent - have risen slower than elsewhere on the planet, governments have still imposed tough restrictions.Lockdowns have hampered reporting, social distancing has forced journalists to work remotely with poor internet or electricity supplies, and protective equipment has added new costs.
A man who flew to Queensland, Australia, while infectious with Covid-19 appears to have not yet caused an outbreak, Australian Associated Press reports.The number of active coronavirus cases statewide has dropped to three and there have been no new positive tests overnight. The 24-year-old flew to Brisbane on Monday, where he socialised with friends and family, before flying to Bundaberg, checked into shared accommodation and worked a shift at a strawberry farm.Health officials are trying to track down everyone he came in contact with during his flight and while in Brisbane and Bundaberg.Contact tracing is under way for anyone who travelled from Melbourne to Brisbane on Virgin VA313 on Monday and from Brisbane to Bundaberg on Virgin VA2905 on Tuesday.Queensland’s borders remain closed, but the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, is making a pitch for intrastate travel with the slogan - “good to go”. “One in 10 Queenslanders work in the tourism industry and they’ve been doing it tough, but because of our health response, we can now open up Queensland and Queensland is good to go.”A man who flew to Queensland, Australia, while infectious with Covid-19 appears to have not yet caused an outbreak, Australian Associated Press reports.The number of active coronavirus cases statewide has dropped to three and there have been no new positive tests overnight. The 24-year-old flew to Brisbane on Monday, where he socialised with friends and family, before flying to Bundaberg, checked into shared accommodation and worked a shift at a strawberry farm.Health officials are trying to track down everyone he came in contact with during his flight and while in Brisbane and Bundaberg.Contact tracing is under way for anyone who travelled from Melbourne to Brisbane on Virgin VA313 on Monday and from Brisbane to Bundaberg on Virgin VA2905 on Tuesday.Queensland’s borders remain closed, but the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, is making a pitch for intrastate travel with the slogan - “good to go”. “One in 10 Queenslanders work in the tourism industry and they’ve been doing it tough, but because of our health response, we can now open up Queensland and Queensland is good to go.”
Fengman district in Northeast China’s Jilin Province has downgraded its Covid-19 response level to low, meaning the country no longer considers any of its regions to be at high risk of the virus, according to the state-backed Global Times.Fengman district in Northeast China’s Jilin Province has downgraded its Covid-19 response level to low, meaning the country no longer considers any of its regions to be at high risk of the virus, according to the state-backed Global Times.
The Global Times quoted a health expert who warned sporadic infections were still possible, however, and that people should not lower their guard. “We should adapt to anti-epidemic normality in daily life,” Wang Peiyu, deputy head of Peking University’s School of Public Health, told Global Times.The Global Times quoted a health expert who warned sporadic infections were still possible, however, and that people should not lower their guard. “We should adapt to anti-epidemic normality in daily life,” Wang Peiyu, deputy head of Peking University’s School of Public Health, told Global Times.
Australia’s finance minister, Mathias Cormann, this morning called Black Lives Matter protesters reckless, selfish and self-indulgent, after tens of thosands took to the streets across the country.Australia’s finance minister, Mathias Cormann, this morning called Black Lives Matter protesters reckless, selfish and self-indulgent, after tens of thosands took to the streets across the country.
Cormann used an interview on Sky News to launch a full-throated attack on participants in yesterday’s rallies in several Australian cities because the protests proceeded in contravention of current health advice to avoid mass gatherings.Cormann used an interview on Sky News to launch a full-throated attack on participants in yesterday’s rallies in several Australian cities because the protests proceeded in contravention of current health advice to avoid mass gatherings.
“It’s quite irresponsible what we’ve seen there,” Cormann said. “As I think about the heartbreak of families who haven’t been able to attend funerals for their loved ones because they were doing the right thing by taking the health advice, my heart just goes out to them.“It’s quite irresponsible what we’ve seen there,” Cormann said. “As I think about the heartbreak of families who haven’t been able to attend funerals for their loved ones because they were doing the right thing by taking the health advice, my heart just goes out to them.
“I mean, as they see people going recklessly to these sorts of demonstrations, that must be just awful for them to watch. I think it is incredibly selfish. It’s incredibly self-indulgent. And yes, it does impose unnecessary and unacceptable risk onto the community.”“I mean, as they see people going recklessly to these sorts of demonstrations, that must be just awful for them to watch. I think it is incredibly selfish. It’s incredibly self-indulgent. And yes, it does impose unnecessary and unacceptable risk onto the community.”
The deputy leader of the opposition, Richard Marles, acknowledged that protests in the middle of a pandemic were a “vexed issue” but he said Cormann’s rebuke on Sunday was “tone deaf”.The deputy leader of the opposition, Richard Marles, acknowledged that protests in the middle of a pandemic were a “vexed issue” but he said Cormann’s rebuke on Sunday was “tone deaf”.
Marles said he would not attend any mass gathering in contravention of the Covid-19 health advice, but he said prime minister Scott Morrison’s suggestion that anxiety about institutional racism was being imported from the US “is patently ridiculous”.Marles said he would not attend any mass gathering in contravention of the Covid-19 health advice, but he said prime minister Scott Morrison’s suggestion that anxiety about institutional racism was being imported from the US “is patently ridiculous”.
“To say to those who are standing up against it and to do something about it, that this is an act of selfishness and indulgence, is wrong,” Marles said on the ABC’s Insiders program this morning.“To say to those who are standing up against it and to do something about it, that this is an act of selfishness and indulgence, is wrong,” Marles said on the ABC’s Insiders program this morning.
An International Cricket Council board meeting on Wednesday could see the global governing body uphold a recommendation to prohibit the use of saliva in order to stop the transmission of the coronavirus, Agence France-Presse.An International Cricket Council board meeting on Wednesday could see the global governing body uphold a recommendation to prohibit the use of saliva in order to stop the transmission of the coronavirus, Agence France-Presse.
Bowlers traditionally get the ball to move or swing in the air, thereby making it harder for batsmen to hit, by applying shine to one side via sweat - which can still be used - or saliva.Bowlers traditionally get the ball to move or swing in the air, thereby making it harder for batsmen to hit, by applying shine to one side via sweat - which can still be used - or saliva.
However, as a temporary measure to combat COVID-19, the ICC’s cricket committee has suggested banning the use of saliva.However, as a temporary measure to combat COVID-19, the ICC’s cricket committee has suggested banning the use of saliva.
It seems unlikely cricket chiefs will row back from the saliva ban but former South Africa paceman Shaun Pollock, even though he is a member of the ICC cricket committee, gave current swing bowlers a glimmer of hope by suggesting health checks in place for next month’s behind closed doors three-Test series between England and the West Indies might make it redundant.It seems unlikely cricket chiefs will row back from the saliva ban but former South Africa paceman Shaun Pollock, even though he is a member of the ICC cricket committee, gave current swing bowlers a glimmer of hope by suggesting health checks in place for next month’s behind closed doors three-Test series between England and the West Indies might make it redundant.
“I think the environment that’ll end up being created is almost going to be like a bubble,” Pollock told the Following On Cricket Podcast. “People will get tested, they’ll go into a two-week camp where they’re just going to sit and monitor how the conditions of their bodies change.“I think the environment that’ll end up being created is almost going to be like a bubble,” Pollock told the Following On Cricket Podcast. “People will get tested, they’ll go into a two-week camp where they’re just going to sit and monitor how the conditions of their bodies change.
“And if there are no symptoms, it doesn’t really matter about shining the ball then, because you’re in the bubble and no one you come into contact with will have coronavirus.“And if there are no symptoms, it doesn’t really matter about shining the ball then, because you’re in the bubble and no one you come into contact with will have coronavirus.
“So you can just get on with normal proceedings.”“So you can just get on with normal proceedings.”
Here is an update from my colleagues Luke Henriques-Gomes in Melbourne and Elias Visontay in Sydney on the Australian Black Lives Matter protests.Here is an update from my colleagues Luke Henriques-Gomes in Melbourne and Elias Visontay in Sydney on the Australian Black Lives Matter protests.
Here is a further update from Reuters on Brazil, which removed from public view months of data on its Covid-19 epidemic on Saturday.Here is a further update from Reuters on Brazil, which removed from public view months of data on its Covid-19 epidemic on Saturday.
The health ministry in Brazil - which has the world’s second-largest coronavirus outbreak - removed the data from a website that had documented the epidemic over time and by state and municipality.The health ministry in Brazil - which has the world’s second-largest coronavirus outbreak - removed the data from a website that had documented the epidemic over time and by state and municipality.
The ministry also stopped giving a total count of confirmed cases, which have shot past 672,000, more than anywhere outside the United States, or a total death toll, which passed Italy this week, nearing 36,000 by Saturday.The ministry also stopped giving a total count of confirmed cases, which have shot past 672,000, more than anywhere outside the United States, or a total death toll, which passed Italy this week, nearing 36,000 by Saturday.
“The cumulative data ... does not reflect the moment the country is in,” Bolsonaro said on Twitter, citing a note from the ministry. “Other actions are underway to improve the reporting of cases and confirmation of diagnoses.”“The cumulative data ... does not reflect the moment the country is in,” Bolsonaro said on Twitter, citing a note from the ministry. “Other actions are underway to improve the reporting of cases and confirmation of diagnoses.”
Bolsonaro has played down the dangers of the pandemic, replaced medical experts in the health ministry with military officials and argued against state lockdowns to fight the virus, hobbling the country’s public health response. Neither Bolsonaro nor the ministry gave a reason for erasing most of the data on the covid.saude.gov.br website, which had been a key public resource for tracking the pandemic.Bolsonaro has played down the dangers of the pandemic, replaced medical experts in the health ministry with military officials and argued against state lockdowns to fight the virus, hobbling the country’s public health response. Neither Bolsonaro nor the ministry gave a reason for erasing most of the data on the covid.saude.gov.br website, which had been a key public resource for tracking the pandemic.
The Australian state that has been the second hardest-hit by coronavirus, Victoria, has reported four new cases, taking it to a total of 1,685, Merran Hitchick reports from Sydney.
Victoria has 70 active cases, including two in intensive care. The state’s chief health officer, Prof Brett Sutton, said there was ongoing evidence of community transmission in north and west Melbourne. He urged anyone who attended a Black Lives Matter protest yesterday to get tested if they developed any symptoms at all.
“While our testing message applies to all Victorians, it is especially relevant to residents in the north and west,” Sutton said on Sunday. “Our clear advice was not to attend yesterday’s protest as thousands of people flooding the city was a risk. If you attended and go on to develop any symptoms no matter how mild - it is critically important that you go and get tested.”
Of the new cases, Sutton said, one was a household contact linked to an outbreak last month at Fawkner McDonald’s. The three other cases were in returned travelers in hotel quarantine.
Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, has reported no new cases in the past 24 hours from 9,207 coronavirus tests. One previously counted case has now been ruled out, so the state has had a total of 3,109 cases altogether. There are 70 active cases and no Covid-19 patients in intensive care. NSW Health says testing clinics are open across the June long weekend, though there is reduced availability at some sites, and urges residents to get tested even if they only have mild symptoms. Locations and opening hours are available here.
Panama’s government on Saturday said it would reintroduce restrictions on the movement of people in two provinces following increases in new cases, Reuters reports.From Monday, Panama will re-apply restrictions to stem the transit of people in the provinces of Panama, which includes the capital city, and Panama Oeste, the government said. The curbs will alternate between men and women, as well as in accordance with the numbers on identification cards.Nadja Porcell, director general of health, said in a televised address that the country was tightening its containment measures because the public was failing to uphold sanitary guidelines amid a recent surge in internal travel.
The curbs are a setback for Panama, which on June 1 switched from applying a total lockdown to a night curfew and began reopening the economy, allowing non-metals mining operations to restart, as well as public-sector construction.During the past 24 hours, Panama’s confirmed cases of coronavirus infection increased by 541 to 16,004, while fatalities rose by 16 to 386 in total, the government said.
China reported six new cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, three more than the previous day, Reuters reports.Five of the new cases, recorded by late Saturday, involved travellers arriving from abroad, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on its website. One locally transmitted case was found in the southern island province of Hainan.The NHC also confirmed five new asymptomatic cases, or people who are infected with the virus but do not show symptoms, compared with two the previous day.The total number of infections in China, where the virus first emerged late last year, stands at 83,036. With no new deaths reported, the death toll remained 4,634.
In Australia, the government is extending its support to the aviation sector to ensure the industry is sustained during the Covid-19 pandemic, Australian Associated Press reports.More than $1.2bn of measures have been provided to support the air industry, while the government said it would ensure Australians have access to domestic air travel as coronavirus restrictions are relaxed.Deputy prime minister Michael McCormack said the funding would “ensure Australian airlines and operators can maintain essential air services as we map out our economic recovery.”The Domestic Aviation Network Support program will be extended to September 30, to maintain major domestic air routes and the Regional Airline Network Support program will be extended from September 30 to December 31, to ensure essential flights continue to regional communities.The government will also allow leased federal airports to seek partial relief from land tax charges to December 31 in line with state government land tax relief arrangements.
Brazil reported an additional 904 coronavirus deaths and 27,075 new cases over the last 24 hours, Reuters reports.On Saturday, the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, threatened to pull out of the World Health Organization (WHO) over “ideological bias”. This follows US president Donald Trump announcement at the end of May that the US would sever all ties with the WHO.
Bolsonaro criticised the World Health Organization for suspending clinical trials of the drug hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19 - a decision it reversed this week - and threatened to follow in Trump’s footsteps by quitting.
“I’m telling you right now, the United States left the WHO, and we’re studying that, in the future. Either the WHO works without ideological bias, or we leave, too,” he said.
Bolsonaro has followed the US president in his handling of the pandemic, downplaying its severity, attacking stay-at-home measures and touting the purported effects of hydroxychloroquine against Covid-19.
Brazil is the second harest hit country for coronavirus cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. It has registered 35,930 total coronavirus deaths and 672,846 confirmed infections.
More than half of Australians have felt challenged by their living situation during the Covid-19 outbreak, with many feeling very lonely, Australian Associated Press reports.
A survey of more than 730 people conducted in May by support provider Relationships Australia looked into how people’s relationships have been affected by the coronavirus restrictions.
The data suggests that 45% of people either agreed or strongly agreed they felt very lonely during May.
The survey suggests relationships with partners were more likely to be negatively affected during this time, with 42% of people experiencing a negative change in their relationship with their partner.Just over half (55%) of respondents were challenged by their living arrangements. The data, published today, suggests people who lived with their family reported an increase in the time and effort spent on their family relationships with 83% of respondents saying it had been necessary at the time.Meanwhile, more than 90% of people reported no significant changes in their relationships with friends, children, parents, neighbours and colleagues.
One of Thailand’s most popular tourist destinations, Phuket, will reopen its beaches next week as the country continues to ease its lockdown measures, the Bangkok Post reports.The country has avoided a major outbreak, recording a total of 3,104 cases since January, and no community transmission for almost two weeks. Thailand’s tourism industry, however, has been hard hit by the suspension of global travel, and it is feared that the country’s economy could contract by as much as 6% this year. Phuket airport will reopen for domestic travel on 15 June, but Thailand remains shut to international travellers.The government has said it is liaising with hotels to provide an additional 9,000 rooms to use as quarantine facilities for Thai citizens who are returning from abroad. All returnees are required to spend 14 days in state quarantine and undergo two coronavirus tests. In addition to the standard state quarantine process, which can involve staying in military or relatively basic hotel facilities, some high-end hotels are now offering luxury quarantine packages.
Opec, Russia and allies have agreed to extend record oil production cuts until the end of July, prolonging a deal that has helped crude prices double in the past two months by withdrawing almost 10% of global supplies from the market, Reuters reports.
The group, known as Opec+, also demanded countries such as Nigeria and Iraq, which exceeded production quotas in May and June, compensate with extra cuts in July to September.
Opec+ had agreed in April that it would cut supply by 9.7m barrels per day (bpd) during May-June to prop up prices that had collapsed due to the coronavirus crisis. Those cuts were due to taper to 7.7m bpd from July to December.
Mexico’s health ministry on Saturday reported 3,593 new confirmed cases of coronavirus and 341 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 113,619 cases and 13,511 deaths, Reuters reports.The government has said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.
The number of coronavirus cases globally now stands at 6,852,810, according to Johns Hopkins University data.Social-distancing guidelines have been increasingly challenged by global protests over the killing of George Floyd, prompting concerns that cases could surge in some areas. Hundreds of thousands have marched in the US, while in Australia, tens of thousands of people turned out for protests across Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and elsewhere. Public health officials have voiced concern that demonstrators and police at anti-police brutality protests could spur Covid-19’s spread. Heavily criticized police techniques, such as using teargas and pepper spray on protesters, intensify this risk.
Some of the hardest hit countries are beginning to ease their lockdown measures. In the US, which has the highest number of confirmed cases globally, (1,917,080) some tourist hubs are reopening, including Universal Orlando and Las Vegas’s famed casinos. Meanwhile, in the UK, places of worship will open for individual prayer from 15 June.
In other developments:
Brazil’s president Jai Bolsonaro has defended his decision to withhold some of the official data on country’s coronavirus pandemic.
OPEC members and other oil producing nations have agreed to extend their output cuts through July.
World number one tennis player Novak Djokovic has shed doubt on whether the US Open tournament will go ahead as planned in September, saying coronavirus restrictions would make it impossible.
California is planning to allow film, television and music production to resume from June 12, depending on coronavirus conditions at that time.
The organisers of anti-racism demonstrations in Northern Ireland will be reported to the public prosecution service for breaking coronavirus locked rules, police have said. It comes after thousands turned out for protests across the UK following the death of George Floyd.
If you have contributions for the coronavirus global live blog please do email me rebecca.ratcliffe@theguardian.com, or I’m @rebeccarat on Twitter.