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Coronavirus live news: Hong Kong man's second Covid-19 infection gives rise to immunity concerns Coronavirus live news: Hong Kong man's second Covid-19 infection gives rise to immunity concerns
(32 minutes later)
Man cleared of virus in April but has now tested positive again; France to impose reciprocal quarantine on travellers returning from UKMan cleared of virus in April but has now tested positive again; France to impose reciprocal quarantine on travellers returning from UK
UEFA has ruled that Slovan Bratislava and FC Pristina have forfeited European qualifying matches called off after coronavirus outbreaks at the clubs.
Both were judged to have lost 3-0 and their opponents awarded places in the next round.
The Slovaks were scheduled to play Klaksvikar Itrottarfelag (KI) in the Faroe Islands, originally on 19 August and then on 21 August, in the first qualifying round, but the entire Bratislava team was quarantined by local authorities after two consecutive positive tests in two days for one of Slovan’s players.
Pristina, from Kosovo, were due to face Lincoln Red Imps in Gibraltar on 18 August in a Europa League preliminary round.
Their players tested negative before leaving Kosovo but were tested again when they arrived in Gibraltar and several members of the delegation showed positive and the entire team was quarantined.
The match was postponed from on 18 August until 22 August and the club was allowed to bring in additional players. Unfortunately, eight players among the reinforcements tested positive and the match cancelled.
In the next qualifying round, KI will face Swiss team Young Boys and Red Imps will play Union Titus Petange from Luxembourg.
Zoom, the video conferencing app that has proved very popular with people working from home during the coronavirus pandemic, has suffered a partial failure that left thousands of people in the US, UK and across the world unable to connect to work meetings or classes.
The California-based company behind the app apologised to customers and said it was working hard to fix the problem that had left users “unable to start and join Zoom meetings and webinars”.
“We are in the process of deploying a fix across our cloud. Service has been restored already for some users. We are continuing to roll this out to complete the fix for any users still impacted,” Zoom Video Communications said on its website on Monday.
The heightened use of the company’s video meeting software during the pandemichas sent its shares up more than 300% so far this year. More than 300 million people used the service in April at the height of global lockdowns.
The number of new, confirmed cases of Covid-19 in France has risen by 1,955 compared to the previous day, although the increase in new cases was less than in previous days.The number of new, confirmed cases of Covid-19 in France has risen by 1,955 compared to the previous day, although the increase in new cases was less than in previous days.
The French health ministry said the number of deaths from Covid-19 had risen by 15 from the previous day to stand at 30,528 casualties, while the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases stands at 244,854.The French health ministry said the number of deaths from Covid-19 had risen by 15 from the previous day to stand at 30,528 casualties, while the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases stands at 244,854.
France has the seventh-highest Covid-19 death toll in the world, and the government is monitoring the figures closely to see if any new restrictions or lockdowns are needed to curb the spread of the virus.France has the seventh-highest Covid-19 death toll in the world, and the government is monitoring the figures closely to see if any new restrictions or lockdowns are needed to curb the spread of the virus.
“The circulation of the virus is progressing markedly, and is at its most intense among young adults,” the ministry said in a statement.“The circulation of the virus is progressing markedly, and is at its most intense among young adults,” the ministry said in a statement.
The number of new cases was less than the 4,897 new cases registered on 23 August, although 22 new clusters had been discovered in the last 24 hours, added the ministry.The number of new cases was less than the 4,897 new cases registered on 23 August, although 22 new clusters had been discovered in the last 24 hours, added the ministry.
Hi everyone, this is Jessica Murray taking over the blog for the next few hours.Hi everyone, this is Jessica Murray taking over the blog for the next few hours.
Please do get in touch with any story tips or personal experiences you would like to share:Please do get in touch with any story tips or personal experiences you would like to share:
Email: jessica.murray@theguardian.comTwitter: @journojess_Email: jessica.murray@theguardian.comTwitter: @journojess_
That’s all from me today. Jessica Murray will keep the blog warm throughout the evening. Here is a summary of what has been a fairly quiet day on the blog:That’s all from me today. Jessica Murray will keep the blog warm throughout the evening. Here is a summary of what has been a fairly quiet day on the blog:
A Hong Kong man has caught Covid again four months after he recovered from his first bout, in what medics says is the first confirmed case of human re-infection.A Hong Kong man has caught Covid again four months after he recovered from his first bout, in what medics says is the first confirmed case of human re-infection.
Usain Bolt may or may not have Covid — but he is definitely self-isolating.Usain Bolt may or may not have Covid — but he is definitely self-isolating.
There is “very low evidence” that using blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors to treat other patients works, the World Health Organisation has warned.There is “very low evidence” that using blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors to treat other patients works, the World Health Organisation has warned.
Nevertheless, blood plasma treatment has been given green light in the US for patients who have recovered from Covid-19 as a treatment for the disease, a day after President Donald Trump blamed the agency for impeding the rollout of coronavirus vaccines for political reasons.Nevertheless, blood plasma treatment has been given green light in the US for patients who have recovered from Covid-19 as a treatment for the disease, a day after President Donald Trump blamed the agency for impeding the rollout of coronavirus vaccines for political reasons.
French health authorities have reported a “very worrying” outbreak of Covid-19 at a naturist resort. Around 100 holidaymakers at the camp at Cap d’Agde on the Mediterranean coast near Béziers, have tested positive for coronavirus so far.French health authorities have reported a “very worrying” outbreak of Covid-19 at a naturist resort. Around 100 holidaymakers at the camp at Cap d’Agde on the Mediterranean coast near Béziers, have tested positive for coronavirus so far.
Sweden’s chief epidemiologist says he is not expecting a severe second wave of Covid this winter.Sweden’s chief epidemiologist says he is not expecting a severe second wave of Covid this winter.
Sean Ingle has more on Usain Bolt, who may or may not have Covid-19 but is certainly self isolating.Sean Ingle has more on Usain Bolt, who may or may not have Covid-19 but is certainly self isolating.
Paraguayans have reacted with indignation over a society wedding where scores of guests from the country’s political elite flouted social distancing rules and failed to wear obligatory facemasks, despite a surge of Covid-19 deaths in the country.Paraguayans have reacted with indignation over a society wedding where scores of guests from the country’s political elite flouted social distancing rules and failed to wear obligatory facemasks, despite a surge of Covid-19 deaths in the country.
The lax official response to the wedding of the daughter of Horacio Cartes – a former president and one of the country’s wealthiest people – contrasts strongly with the police’s strict enforcement of lockdown rules, which has included the use of physical punishment and tasers.The lax official response to the wedding of the daughter of Horacio Cartes – a former president and one of the country’s wealthiest people – contrasts strongly with the police’s strict enforcement of lockdown rules, which has included the use of physical punishment and tasers.
Read the full report by my colleague William Costa here:Read the full report by my colleague William Costa here:
The sprinter’s video came after a Jamaican news outlet claimed he had tested positive for Covid-19.The sprinter’s video came after a Jamaican news outlet claimed he had tested positive for Covid-19.
Nationwide Network News reported that the retired star tested positive yesterday. Bolt does not confirm if that is true, but says took a test on Saturday and is isolating while he waits for the “protocol” on quarantining from the Ministry of Health.Nationwide Network News reported that the retired star tested positive yesterday. Bolt does not confirm if that is true, but says took a test on Saturday and is isolating while he waits for the “protocol” on quarantining from the Ministry of Health.
On Friday Bolt attended his surprise birthday, along with celebrities including Manchester City footballer Raheem Sterling and Bayern Leverkusen winger, Leon Bailey.On Friday Bolt attended his surprise birthday, along with celebrities including Manchester City footballer Raheem Sterling and Bayern Leverkusen winger, Leon Bailey.
In his Twitter video, Bolt said he would be contacting all his friends and telling them to quarantine “just to be safe”.In his Twitter video, Bolt said he would be contacting all his friends and telling them to quarantine “just to be safe”.
I’ve watched it several times now and am still not 100% sure if he is saying he has Covid or not. To be fair, he did say he had just woken up, so maybe he needs a coffee.I’ve watched it several times now and am still not 100% sure if he is saying he has Covid or not. To be fair, he did say he had just woken up, so maybe he needs a coffee.
Here is the main quote — make of it what you will:Here is the main quote — make of it what you will:
Usain Bolt has responded to media claims that he has tested positive for Covid-19.Usain Bolt has responded to media claims that he has tested positive for Covid-19.
He said he has no symptoms but is self isolating and did a test on Saturday, the day after his 34th birthday.He said he has no symptoms but is self isolating and did a test on Saturday, the day after his 34th birthday.
Watch this video for yourself and decide what he is saying. It’s not entirely clear whether he has Covid or not.Watch this video for yourself and decide what he is saying. It’s not entirely clear whether he has Covid or not.
A Hong Kong man who recovered from Covid-19 was infected again four-and-a-half months later in the first documented instance of human re-infection, researchers at the University of Hong Kong said on Monday.A Hong Kong man who recovered from Covid-19 was infected again four-and-a-half months later in the first documented instance of human re-infection, researchers at the University of Hong Kong said on Monday.
The findings indicate the disease, which has killed more than 800,000 people worldwide, will continue to spread amongst the global population despite herd immunity, they said.The findings indicate the disease, which has killed more than 800,000 people worldwide, will continue to spread amongst the global population despite herd immunity, they said.
The 33-year-old male was cleared of Covid-19 and discharged from a hospital in April, but tested positive again after returning from Spain via Britain on 15 August.The 33-year-old male was cleared of Covid-19 and discharged from a hospital in April, but tested positive again after returning from Spain via Britain on 15 August.
The patient had appeared to be previously healthy, researchers said in the paper, which was accepted by the international medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.The patient had appeared to be previously healthy, researchers said in the paper, which was accepted by the international medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
He was found to have contracted a different coronavirus strain from the one he had previously contracted and remained asymptomatic for the second infection.He was found to have contracted a different coronavirus strain from the one he had previously contracted and remained asymptomatic for the second infection.
“The finding does not mean taking vaccines will be useless,” Dr Kai-Wang To, one of the leading authors of the paper, told Reuters. “Immunity induced by vaccination can be different from those induced by natural infection,” To said. “[We] will need to wait for the results of the vaccine trials to see if how effective vaccines are.”“The finding does not mean taking vaccines will be useless,” Dr Kai-Wang To, one of the leading authors of the paper, told Reuters. “Immunity induced by vaccination can be different from those induced by natural infection,” To said. “[We] will need to wait for the results of the vaccine trials to see if how effective vaccines are.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said on Monday there was no need to jump to any conclusions in response to the Hong Kong case.The World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said on Monday there was no need to jump to any conclusions in response to the Hong Kong case.
Instances of people discharged from hospitals and testing positive again for Covid-19 infection have been reported in mainland China.Instances of people discharged from hospitals and testing positive again for Covid-19 infection have been reported in mainland China.
However, in those cases it was not clear whether they had contracted the virus again after full recovery – as happened to the Hong Kong patient – or still had the virus in their body from the initial infection.However, in those cases it was not clear whether they had contracted the virus again after full recovery – as happened to the Hong Kong patient – or still had the virus in their body from the initial infection.
The preliminary number of patients in China who tested positive again once being discharged from hospital was 5-15%, Wang Guiqiang, an infectious disease specialist in China’s expert group for Covid-19 treatment, said during a press briefing in May.The preliminary number of patients in China who tested positive again once being discharged from hospital was 5-15%, Wang Guiqiang, an infectious disease specialist in China’s expert group for Covid-19 treatment, said during a press briefing in May.
One explanation was that the virus still existed in the lungs of patients but was not detected in samples taken from upper parts of the respiratory tract, he said. Other possible causes were low sensitivity of tests and weak immunity that could lead to persistent positive results, he added.One explanation was that the virus still existed in the lungs of patients but was not detected in samples taken from upper parts of the respiratory tract, he said. Other possible causes were low sensitivity of tests and weak immunity that could lead to persistent positive results, he added.
In Greece, teachers and students will be required to wear masks in class and indoor spaces when schools reopen in September, Reuters reports.
The rise in coronavirus cases in recent weeks has forced Greek authorities to gradually reimpose restrictions to curb the spread of Coronavirus.
Education minister Niki Kerameus said schools are expected to reopen on 7 September but an extension may be deemed necessary.
Mask-wearing will be mandatory in all indoor spaces of schools across the country, she said, adding that authorities will offer fabric masks for free to students and teachers.
The number of pupils in each class will be limited to 17.
On Sunday, Greece reported 284 new cases, a new daily record since its first case surfaced in February. In total, the country has registered 8,664 Covid-19 infections and 242 deaths.
Italy has started human testing of a Covid-19 vaccine, developed by scientists at the Spallanzani hospital in Rome.
The first volunteer, a 50 year old woman, told Italian news agency ANSA she was “proud and hoped to be useful to our country”.
The vaccine has been produced by the Italian biotechnology firm, ReiThera, of Castel Romano, near Rome, and doctors say they hope to produce it by next spring. Testing is currently limited to 90 volunteers, selected from over 5,000 applicants.
The scientific chief of Spallanzani, Giuseppe Ippolito, has said “Italy will not be the slave of other countries” in the vaccine field.
Health Minister, Roberto Speranza, said “Italian research has met the challenge.”
The Polish government has insisted schools will reopen next week for the first time since mid-March despite reaching a record high number of daily registered coronavirus infections late last week.
Poland was at first successful in containing the outbreak, but cases have started rising in recent weeks and on Friday authorities reported 903 new infections, the highest daily increase to date.
The rise in infections has caused concern among some parents contemplating sending their children back to class.
“Every child, teenager, goes out on the street or to the store and can get infected there. I don’t see the need to postpone the beginning of the (school) year,” Education Minister Dariusz Piontkowski told a news conference, reiterating the government’s position.
Children will not be required to wear face masks in classrooms, but individual principals may decide to impose this obligation in school halls and locker rooms. No temperature checks are to be introduced.
The ruling nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS) imposed strict restrictions in March to curb the spread of the virus and started easing them in May, which critics said was to encourage Poles to vote in the presidential election.
In July, prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki downplayed infection risks, saying Poles, including elderly citizens, should not be afraid to vote because the novel coronavirus had become a disease “like any other”.
The country of 38 million has reported 62,310 cases in all, and 1,960 deaths.
Here’s a little more detail on those comments from the World Health Organisation’s director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has warned against “vaccine nationalism” and said global competition to create one could lead to prices spiking “exponentially”, which would only prolong the crisis.
Instead, as we reported earlier, Tedros has urged countries to support the Covax vaccines facility.
Covax aims to ensure that low, middle and high-income countries all receive the vaccine in a “timely way” as soon as there is enough supply, Tedros said.
However, he warned that the scheme’s success hinged not only on countries signing up to it, but also “filling key funding gaps” for research and development work, and to support the lower-income economies involved.
An Italian hospital has said it has inoculated a first volunteer with a vaccine as part of human trials expected to last six months, Agence France-Presse (AFP) has reported.
The woman, in her 50s, received the first dose developed by the Rome-based biotech company ReiThera at the capital’s Spallanzani Institute for infectious diseases.
The trials, developed between ReiThera and Spallanzani researchers, will be carried out on 90 volunteers divided into groups by age to test the efficacy of different dosages of the vaccine, developed since March.
If the first results of phase 1 of the human trials prove positive, researchers say they will be able to proceed to phases 2 and 3 by the end of the year, on a larger number of volunteers including outside of Italy.
The vaccine has already passed pre-clinical tests on animal models. Giuseppe Ippolito, the institute’s scientific director, said:
Countries are racing to develop their own vaccines against the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed over 800,000 people around the world.
“Having an Italian vaccine means not being slaves and servants of other countries that will say ‘me first’,” said Ippolito, who said he hoped the vaccine would be ready for use by spring 2021.
Financial markets around the world have rallied strongly after the US government approved a new coronavirus treatment using the plasma of recovered patients, and as hopes rise for the development of a vaccine.
Against a backdrop of rising optimism that medical advances could help to sustain a stronger economic recovery from the pandemic, stocks in Europe climbed higher on Monday after gains in Asia overnight.
The FTSE 100 index of leading UK company shares rose by more than 100 points, about 1.9%, to trade above 6,100 after Donald Trump announced on Sunday that his administration would allow the use of convalescent plasma, a method that has been used to treat flu and measles, for Covid-19 patients.
Shares rallied across Europe after gains across the board in Asia, where Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.4%, Korea’s Kospi 200 gained 1% and China’s CSI 300 gained 0.8%.
The company manufacturing the Oxford University coronavirus vaccine has denied it is in talks with the Trump administration about fast-tracking its vaccine for emergency use ahead of November’s presidential elections, Peter Beaumont and Sarah Boseley write.
With both Russia and China pressing ahead with inoculations involving experimental vaccines yet to pass final efficacy and safety trials, the Trump administration has become increasingly frustrated with the Food and Drug Administration, which the president has tried to suggest is slowing approval of a vaccine for “political reasons”.
In a statement released following a report in the Financial Times, the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca insisted it had “not discussed emergency use authorisation with the US government and it would be premature to speculate on that possibility”.
It added that “late stage phase 2/3 trials for [the vaccine] are ongoing in the UK and other markets globally, and we do not anticipate efficacy results until later this year”. The team at Oxford University developing the vaccine directed queries to AstraZeneca.
The number of new Covid infections continues to rise in Italy, our southern Italy correspondent reports.
A further 1,210 people tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, the sharpest daily rise since May, when the country was in lockdown.
About half of the 1,210 new cases are holidaymakers returning from Croatia, Greece, Spain and Malta – but also from Sardinia.
The Italian island has been recording an increase in Covid positive tourists in recent days.
With many domestic tourists taking ferries to and from Sardinia, the mainland region of Lazio set up a testing facility at the dock at Civitavecchia, so those driving vehicles off the ferries could line up for immediate testing on their return home.
The latest cases have pushed up the overall national tally since the start of the emergency to 259,345. The death toll is 35,437.
Italy’s first wave of the pandemic was brutal, with more than 250,000 infections, peaking at about 6,000 cases a day in March. Despite the surge in coronavirus cases, the government has said there are no plans for a new lockdown.
Reuters news agency reports the latest remarks from Sweden’s top epidemiologist and architect of its unorthodox pandemic strategy.
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.