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Coronavirus live news: France to impose reciprocal quarantine on travellers returning from UK Coronavirus live news: France to impose reciprocal quarantine on travellers returning from UK
(32 minutes later)
France to impose 14-day quarantine; China ‘has been vaccinating’ key workers; Trump authorises plasma treatment amid attacks on FDA France to impose 14-day quarantine; ‘Very low evidence’ for plasma therapy authorised by Trump — WHO; India cases top 3 million
Asked about schools reopening, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead at the WHO, said that while most children had mild or asymptomatic infections, “there are young children that can develop severe disease and there are children who have died from severe infection.” Reuters news agency reports the latest remarks from Sweden’s top epidemiologist and architect of its unorthodox pandemic strategy.
She says many studies are underway to establish the risks to children and their families. “What we see from some of the preliminary results is that there is some difference in the transmission rate among the younger children and teenagers. So we do need to differentiate between different age groups,” she said. Sweden is likely to see local outbreaks but no big second wave of Covid-19 cases in the autumn, such as inundated hospitals a few months ago, Anders Tegnell said on Monday.
Sweden has been an outlier in Europe’s fight against the novel coronavirus, keeping businesses, restaurants and most schools open throughout the pandemic, while not recommending the use of face masks, which remain a rare sight on city streets.
Per capita, Sweden has suffered many times more COVID-19 deaths than its Nordic neighbours, though not quite as many as Europe’s worst-hit countries such as Belgium, Spain and Britain.
New cases, hospitalisations and mortality have fallen sharply over the past couple of months. With most Swedes having returned from summer vacations and schools reopening last week for the new semester, there are concerns the country could see a second wave of infections.
In an interview with broadcaster TV4, Tegnell said:
With the Swedish death toll nearing 6,000 people, including many nursing home residents who succumbed during March, April and May, Tegnell and the pandemic strategy he champions has divided opinion both at home and abroad.
A group of scientists that has long been critical of the country’s response, sometimes engaging in fierce argument with Tegnell, this month warned of a renewed spread of the virus as schools reopened, calling on authorities to step up safeguards.
“I think one should always be worried about this disease because it is constantly causing new mischief and is very unpredictable,” Tegnell said. “But that we would return to the situation we had during the spring - we don’t see that.”
The European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, is investigating the circumstances surrounding Irish commissioner Phil Hogan’s attendance at a golf event that may have breached Covid guidelines.
Brussels said Hogan, the EU’s trade commissioner, had given an account of his actions to the president, but she had requested further clarification from him.
European commission spokesman Dana Spinant told reporters there were “moral aspects” involved in the need to follow coronavirus rules, as well as legal ones:
Hogan was asked on Saturday by Ireland’s prime minister and deputy prime minister to consider his position after his attendance at a golf dinner caused public outrage and led to other political resignations.
Hogan offered his initial apology on Friday only after the prime minister, Micheál Martin, demanded one.
A quick diversion from the WHO press briefing to bring you the latest news from Spain, from our correspondent Stephen Burgen.
The Catalan government has called on citizens to rigorously follow existing measures designed to contain the virus after the region registered 1,766 new cases over the past 24 hours, the fifth consecutive day of more than 1,000 new infections. No deaths were reported in the same 24-hour period.
“Come what may, we have to go back to work and we have to go back to school,” the regional president, Quim Torra, told a news conference. He said the next three weeks before school starts are vital and called for everyone to limit social activity. Meetings of more than 10 people, private and public, are prohibited.
Torra announced that between 15 September and 15 November, 500,000 tests would be carried out in primary and secondary schools. Alba Vergés, the Catalan health minister, said 70% of infections arose from social and family gatherings.
Over the past 14 days Spain has had Europe’s highest rate of infection, 152.7 per 100,000 inhabitants (compared with 9.89 in mid-June) and continues to have the highest overall number of cases in western Europe, ahead of the UK where the 14-day infection rate is 22.3 per 100,000. In Madrid and Aragón, 15% of PCR tests are positive, three times the WHO’s recommended maximum of 5%.
The Madrid government has asked people to avoid what it calls unnecessary gatherings such as family reunions but at the same time insists they should go to work. The outbreaks have led Apple to close its stores in the capital. In a bid to limit new infections, all bars, restaurants and parks have been closed in the Madrid municipality of Tielmes, while a 14-day lockdown has been imposed on the towns of Cantalejo and Carrascal in Castilla y León.
Despite the many restrictions and widespread compliance, including wearing masks indoors and outdoors, the situation in Spain continues to deteriorate. One explanation put forward by Jonay Ojeda, a specialist in preventive medicine in Madrid, is that after the lockdown ended, responsibility for managing the pandemic passed to the 17 autonomous governments, making a coordinated response all but impossible. Ojeda says the national health ministry took its eye off the ball and accuses it of a lack of leadership.
Donald Trump on Sunday announced the emergency authorisation of convalescent plasma, a method involving taking plasma from people who have recovered from Covid-19, for coronavirus patients.
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the WHO, stressed that it was still unproven and that there was “very low evidence” it was safe and effective.
“There are a number of clinical trials going on around the world looking at convalescent plasma … but only a few of them have reported on results. The results are not conclusive. The trials have been relatively small and the results in some cases point to some benefit but have not been conclusive. We have been tracking this and do ongoing … reviews to see where the evidence is shifting or pointing at and the moment it is still very low evidence,” she said.
Dr Bruce Aylward, senior adviser to the director general of the WHO, warned that the side-effects of convalescent plasma ranged from mild chills and fevers to more severe lung problems and circulatory overload.”
Asked about schools reopening, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead at the WHO, said that while most children had mild or asymptomatic infections, “there are young children that can develop severe disease and there are children who have died from severe infection”.
She says many studies are under way to establish the risks to children and their families. “What we see from some of the preliminary results is that there is some difference in the transmission rate among the younger children and teenagers. So we do need to differentiate between different age groups,” she said.
The focus should be on getting transmission down in the community, she stressed, saying “everyone has agreed how important it is that schools can reopen safely”.The focus should be on getting transmission down in the community, she stressed, saying “everyone has agreed how important it is that schools can reopen safely”.
A question from a journalist in Bosnia, who asks whether Balkan countries should put in orders for the Russian vaccine.A question from a journalist in Bosnia, who asks whether Balkan countries should put in orders for the Russian vaccine.
Dr Bruce Aylward, senior advisor to the director-general of the WHO, said it won’t recommend any vaccines that haven’t passed through its “pre-qualification emergency use licensing programme”. Dr Bruce Aylward, senior adviser to the director general of the WHO, said it would not recommend any vaccines that had not passed through its pre-qualification emergency use licensing programme.
None have yet passed that milestone.None have yet passed that milestone.
There is a question at the WHO press conference about the Russian vaccine programme.There is a question at the WHO press conference about the Russian vaccine programme.
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the WHO, says the organisation has asked the Russians to share data on efficacy. “Safety needs to be assessed short term but also long term as some side effects are only picked up later on,” she says. Dr Soumya Swaminathan, the chief scientist at the WHO, said the organisation had asked the Russians to share data on efficacy. “Safety needs to be assessed short term but also long term as some side-effects are only picked up later on,” she said.
There are 30 trials at various stages of development across the world, she adds. There are 30 trials at various stages of development across the world, she added.
Earlier this month Russia became the first country in the world to license a coronavirus vaccine when the president, Vladimir Putin, announced its approval ahead of conventional phase 3 testing. Earlier this month, Russia became the first country in the world to license a coronavirus vaccine when the president, Vladimir Putin, announced its approval ahead of conventional phase 3 testing.
At the time of the announcement the vaccine had not passed the advanced trials normally required to prove it works before being licensed, a major breach of scientific protocol. Russian officials claimed the vaccine would provide lasting immunity to Covid-19 but offered no proof.At the time of the announcement the vaccine had not passed the advanced trials normally required to prove it works before being licensed, a major breach of scientific protocol. Russian officials claimed the vaccine would provide lasting immunity to Covid-19 but offered no proof.
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead for Covid-19 at the World Health Organization, has been asked by an Australian reporter about a case of someone being reinfected with Covid after recovering.Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead for Covid-19 at the World Health Organization, has been asked by an Australian reporter about a case of someone being reinfected with Covid after recovering.
She says that while people do develop an immune response, it is not clear how long that response lasts. A lot of work is going on to establish how long this immunity lasts. Many studies are underway.She says that while people do develop an immune response, it is not clear how long that response lasts. A lot of work is going on to establish how long this immunity lasts. Many studies are underway.
She said there have been more than 24m cases recorded across the globe to date and it is important to put the reinfection case into context.She said there have been more than 24m cases recorded across the globe to date and it is important to put the reinfection case into context.
“I don’t want people to be afraid. We need people to understand that if they are infected, even if it is only a mild case, they do develop an immune response,” she says.“I don’t want people to be afraid. We need people to understand that if they are infected, even if it is only a mild case, they do develop an immune response,” she says.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, has appealed to countries across the world to contribute more to Covax, a global effort to develop a vaccine against Covid-19.Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization, has appealed to countries across the world to contribute more to Covax, a global effort to develop a vaccine against Covid-19.
Some 172 countries are involved in the programme, he said.Some 172 countries are involved in the programme, he said.
At a press conference (which we are carrying live on this blog), he said more money is “urgently needed to move the portfolio forward”. The goal is to deliver at least 2bn safe, effective vaccines by the end of 2021.At a press conference (which we are carrying live on this blog), he said more money is “urgently needed to move the portfolio forward”. The goal is to deliver at least 2bn safe, effective vaccines by the end of 2021.
Ghebreyesus insists it is not all doom and gloom. “There is light at the end of the tunnel. As I said last week, we can do it,” he said.Ghebreyesus insists it is not all doom and gloom. “There is light at the end of the tunnel. As I said last week, we can do it,” he said.
Thanks for following everyone. I am now handing over the blog to my colleague Helen Pidd. Below is a summary of the latest developments:Thanks for following everyone. I am now handing over the blog to my colleague Helen Pidd. Below is a summary of the latest developments:
French authorities will in the coming days reciprocate Britain’s decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France, the junior minister for European affairs said on Monday.French authorities will in the coming days reciprocate Britain’s decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France, the junior minister for European affairs said on Monday.
The Chinese government has been administering a coronavirus vaccine candidate to selected groups of key workers since July, a senior health official has said. Zheng Zhongwei, the head of the national health commission’s science and technology centre, told state media organisation CCTV on Sunday the government had authorised “emergency use” of a Sars-Cov-2 vaccine for workers including health workers and border officials.The Chinese government has been administering a coronavirus vaccine candidate to selected groups of key workers since July, a senior health official has said. Zheng Zhongwei, the head of the national health commission’s science and technology centre, told state media organisation CCTV on Sunday the government had authorised “emergency use” of a Sars-Cov-2 vaccine for workers including health workers and border officials.
Boris Johnson has issued a plea to parents to send their children back to the classroom when schools reopen in September. The UK prime minister said the risk of contracting coronavirus in schools is “very small”, and that pupils face greater harm by continuing to stay away from the classroom.Boris Johnson has issued a plea to parents to send their children back to the classroom when schools reopen in September. The UK prime minister said the risk of contracting coronavirus in schools is “very small”, and that pupils face greater harm by continuing to stay away from the classroom.
The number of daily coronavirus cases recorded in Italy has nearly doubled in the past five days, rising to more than 1,200 on Sunday. Italy recorded 1,210 cases in the past 24 hours, compared with 642 on Wednesday, latest official figures showed.The number of daily coronavirus cases recorded in Italy has nearly doubled in the past five days, rising to more than 1,200 on Sunday. Italy recorded 1,210 cases in the past 24 hours, compared with 642 on Wednesday, latest official figures showed.
French regional health authorities on Sunday said there had been a “very worrying” outbreak of coronavirus at a naturist holiday resort on France’s Mediterranean coast, with 100 holidaymakers so far testing positive. The Cap d’Agde resort in the Herault region, hugely popular among naturists, reported 38 positive tests on Monday and a further 57 on Wednesday, the regional health authority said.French regional health authorities on Sunday said there had been a “very worrying” outbreak of coronavirus at a naturist holiday resort on France’s Mediterranean coast, with 100 holidaymakers so far testing positive. The Cap d’Agde resort in the Herault region, hugely popular among naturists, reported 38 positive tests on Monday and a further 57 on Wednesday, the regional health authority said.
The Irish prime minister, , called on European trade commissioner Phil Hogan to give the public absolute assurances he did not break Covid-19 when he travelled to a golf dinner that has caused outrage in his native Ireland.The Irish prime minister, , called on European trade commissioner Phil Hogan to give the public absolute assurances he did not break Covid-19 when he travelled to a golf dinner that has caused outrage in his native Ireland.
Marin said Hogan was adamant he did not breach a local lockdown while he was staying in County Kildare but given there was a discrepancy between the commissioner’s public statements on the issue, he needed to provide a full public account.Marin said Hogan was adamant he did not breach a local lockdown while he was staying in County Kildare but given there was a discrepancy between the commissioner’s public statements on the issue, he needed to provide a full public account.
“I need absolute … the public needs absolute assurances that the restrictions that were imposed in Kildare were not breached. That to me would be very, very serious indeed,” Martin, who called for Hogan to consider his position on Saturday, told national broadcaster RTE.“I need absolute … the public needs absolute assurances that the restrictions that were imposed in Kildare were not breached. That to me would be very, very serious indeed,” Martin, who called for Hogan to consider his position on Saturday, told national broadcaster RTE.
Hello everyone. I am running the Guardian’s global live feed from London. Please do keep in touch with me and share any thoughts, comments or news tips via any of the channels below. Thanks in advance.Hello everyone. I am running the Guardian’s global live feed from London. Please do keep in touch with me and share any thoughts, comments or news tips via any of the channels below. Thanks in advance.
Twitter: @sloumarshInstagram: sarah_marsh_journalistEmail: sarah.marsh@theguardian.comTwitter: @sloumarshInstagram: sarah_marsh_journalistEmail: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com
French health authorities have reported a “very worrying” outbreak of Covid-19 at a naturist resort in the south of France.
Around 100 holidaymakers at the camp at Cap d’Agde on the Mediterranean coast near Béziers, have tested positive for coronavirus and the results of further 310 tests are awaited.
A further 50 naturists who had been at the resort and returned home also tested positive, according to the authorities. The number of positive tests at the holiday resort was four times higher than that in the village where it is situated.
The regional health authority said the situation was “very worrying”.
“More than 800 tests were carried out last week.The results of those tests showed almost 30% were positive among the people who had been to the naturist village at Cap d’Agde,” said the regional health authority in a statement.
“The results of these biological analyses relate to 278 tests carried out on Wednesday 19 August … 58 were positive. We are awaiting the results of 310 tests carried out on Friday.” It called for a strict respecting of the prevention and protection rules at the resort.
More Covid-19 tests were due to be carried out at the naturist resort on Monday.
In its latest figures released on Sunday evening, France reported 4,897 new coronavirus cases in the previous 24 hours. The country is carrying out more than 700,000 Covid-19 tests a week, the health minister, Olivier Véran, said, but experts say the increase in new cases cannot be explained by the increase in testing.
The rate of infection number is now 1.34, meaning every 10 people infected are passing the virus on to more than 13 others. The figure has been rising since the end of June.
There are 333 clusters under investigation in France, 32 more than the previous 24 hours. There were 29 new patients admitted to hospital with the virus, and six new patients taken into intensive care during the same period.
There was one death recorded in French hospitals, bringing the official total number of deaths attributed to Covid-19 in France to 30,513.
Out of France’s 101 departments, 38 are listed as being of moderate or substantial risk with Covid-19.
The incidence of coronavirus in France reached a peak on 3 April before gradually declining to a low in June. It began rising again around mid-July. However, the number of patients requiring intensive care has remained stable for several weeks, suggesting the virus is spreading but is less serious.
French authorities will in the coming days reciprocate Britain’s decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France, the junior minister for European affairs said on Monday.
Britain said on Friday travellers from the UK to France would be required to self-certify that they are not suffering from coronavirus symptoms or have been in contact with a confirmed case within 14 days preceding travel.
Since 15 August British authorities have also required travellers returning from France to self-isolate upon their return due to high Covid-19 infection rates in France.
“We will have a measure called reciprocity so that our British friends do not close the border in one single way,” the French junior European affairs minister Clément Beaune told France 2 television.
“For travellers returning from the United Kingdom, there will probably be restrictive measures decided in the next few days by the prime minister and by the defence council.”
Residents in China’s north-western Xinjiang region have complained on social media about the harsh coronavirus lockdown measures in the sensitive region after a local outbreak.
China - where the disease first emerged - had largely brought domestic transmission under control through lockdowns, travel restrictions and testing, but sporadic regional outbreaks have emerged.
A new cluster in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi in mid-July prompted fresh restrictions. A total of 902 cases have been officially reported in the outbreak.
Officials said earlier this month that they had “effectively contained” the spread of the Urumqi cluster, and there have been no new cases reported in the last eight days.
But hundreds of local residents flooded local social media forums in recent days to complain about harsh conditions, including many being forced to stay home.
After some of these comments were removed – China’s internet is heavily censored – users tried to flood local forums on the Twitter-like Weibo platform in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Social media users shared photos of front doors sealed with steel crowbars, and locks installed by community workers.
“Why can’t prefectures with no cases remove the lockdown? Why do you need to lock down the whole of Xinjiang?” read one comment on Weibo, which received thousands of likes.
South Korea’s capital on Monday ordered masks to be worn in both indoor and outdoor public places for the first time, as it battles a surge in coronavirus cases centred in the densely populated metropolitan area.
In May, the city government ordered that masks be worn on public transport and in taxis, but a recent spike in cases has health officials worried that the country may need to impose its highest level of social distancing, known as phase 3.
“If we can’t stop it at this stage, we have no choice but to upgrade to the third phase of social distancing,” President Moon Jae-in told his top aides. “The raise to phase 3 is by no means an easy option.”
Under phase 3, schools and business will be urged to close, inflicting more damage on Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 266 new cases as of midnight on Sunday, down from 397 a day earlier but another in more than a week of triple-digit daily increases.
Overall, South Korea has reported 17,665 coronavirus cases and 309 deaths.
Russia reported 4,744 new coronavirus cases on Monday, pushing its confirmed infection tally to 961,493, the fourth largest in the world. Authorities said 65 people had died over the past 24 hours, pushing the official death toll to 16,448.
The FTSE 100 jumped on Monday, tracking Asian markets as US regulators authorised a Covid-19 treatment over the weekend, while AstraZeneca rose on a report the US government was considering fast-tracking its experimental vaccine.
The drugmaker gained 1.5% and was the top boost to the FTSE 100 as the report said one option being explored would involve the US health regulator awarding “emergency use authorisation” in October to the potential vaccine.
The export-laden FTSE 100 was up 1.2% after ending Friday with its first weekly loss in three as fresh Brexit concerns compounded fears over the UK’s post-pandemic economic recovery.
The blue-chip index has gained about 23% from its March lows, but lagged the US benchmark S&P 500, which is scaling record highs on historic fiscal and monetary stimulus and hopes that the worst of the pandemic’s economic damage was over. On Sunday, the US Food & Drug administration said it authorised the use of blood plasma from patients who had recovered from Covid-19 as a treatment for the disease.
The UK’s mid-cap FTSE 250 rose 0.5%, led by financial, industrial and consumer discretionary stocks.
Russian authorities may this week announce the resumption of international flights to France, Hungary, Malta, Cyprus, Jordan, Egypt and China’s Shanghai, the Izvestia newspaper cited unnamed airport and airline sources as saying on Monday.
Russia grounded international commercial flights during the coronavirus lockdown earlier this year and has so far only resumed flights to London, Turkey, Tanzania and Switzerland.
Russia has confirmed the world’s fourth largest tally of coronavirus cases. It has recorded close to 5,000 new cases of the virus on a daily basis for the last several weeks.
Hello everyone. I am taking over the Guardian’s global live feed this morning from London. Please do keep in touch with me and share any thoughts, comments or news tips via any of the channels below. Thanks in advance.
Twitter: @sloumarshInstagram: sarah_marsh_journalistEmail: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com
That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan for today. Thanks for following along.
For those readers who are just tuning in, you can find a summary of the key developments from the last few hours here.
My colleague Sarah Marsh will be bringing you the latest for the next while.
The commute completely transformed Britain. Is it over for ever?
It is 7.45 on a Monday morning and I am heading for the office. It is my first visit to the Guardian for more than four months, but the prime minister wants us back at work. Commuters are reliable, law-abiding creatures of habit, cogs in a greater machine; I am doing what I am told.
Before Covid-19, in the rush-hour, you would often have to ruck and maul just to get on to a train. Today, there are only three people, masked and well-distanced, in the carriage. It does not get much busier as the journey continues. A couple more at Willesden Green, once a rural area with a few grand houses – until about 1870, when the builders moved in and began turning it into a working-class suburb for a new breed of commuter: