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Coronavirus live news: curfew starts for millions in France; restrictions eased in Melbourne
Coronavirus live news: curfew starts for millions in France; restrictions eased in Melbourne
(32 minutes later)
Paris and several other French cities face month of restrictions; numbers soar in Europe amid new lockdowns; Melbourne lockdown eased from midnight with travel distance increased to 25km – follow live
Paris and several other French cities face month of restrictions; numbers soar in Europe amid new lockdowns; Melbourne lockdown eased from midnight with travel distance increased to 25km – follow live
Speaking later, Gove did not answer when asked why the government would not release data on the levels of compliance with the existing rules, though he insisted it was not a case being worried compliance would fall further if people saw it was already low.
Here’s a little more detail on those comments from Prof Jeremy Farrer, the member of the UK government scientific advisory group who is still recommending a short national lockdown in England. He told Sky News:
Italy has approved a new stimulus package in its 2021 budget to foster an economic rebound from the recession caused by the pandemic, its government has said after a late-night cabinet meeting.
The ruling coalition, led by the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and centre-left PD party, agreed a preliminary version of the stimulus package, a government source said, leaving final details to be hammered out.
Among measures to support the health and education system, the government will set up a €4bn (£3.54bn, $4.7bn) fund to compensate companies worst hit by lockdowns. The budget also extends temporary lay-off schemes for companies with workers on furlough and offers tax breaks to support employment in the poor south of the country.
The Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte is expected to also announce new measures to curb the steady spike in cases over recent weeks.
Indonesia has reported 4,105 new infections, taking the total to 361,867, data from the country’s taskforce shows. The data added 80 new deaths, taking the total to 12,511.
Both the number of cases and deaths in the Southeast Asian country are the highest in the region.
Farrer predicted a “tough” Christmas, saying he does not believe families in the UK will be able to come together this year as they may ordinarily do. He said the next few months were going to be a difficult period but that the country needed to get through it until vaccines and treatments were available.
The director of the Wellcome Trust also said the data he has seen suggests compliance with restrictions has been better than some think, but that they restrictions themselves have been insufficient.
Asked about vaccines, Farrer said the UK was in an “extraordinarily strong position” and that the country has access to a range of types of vaccine; more than one of which is likely to be available for use next year.
Farrer told Sky News he does not believe the whole population will need to be vaccinated immediately.
The Sage member said treatments may come even sooner than vaccines, predicting that they could be as little as three months away.
The UK government’s scientific adviser Sir Jeremy Farrar has reiterated that the best way to reduce the transmission is to introduce a national-level circuit-break lockdown. And he said that, while the government should have acted in September, it could still do so effectively now, adding.
Speaking to Sky News immediately after Gove, the member of the government’s scientific advisory group said the worst thing to do would be to wait until November to act.
Farrer added that he believed vaccines could start to become available in the first quarter of 2021.
Speaking later, Gove did not answer when asked why the UK government would not release data on the levels of compliance with the existing rules, though he insisted it was not a case being worried compliance would fall further if people saw it was already low. He would say:
But he acknowledged that part of the reason some people have not complied with the rules has been that to comply would cause serious financial hardship and said the government had therefore provided support.
But he acknowledged that part of the reason some people have not complied with the rules has been that to comply would cause serious financial hardship and said the government had therefore provided support.
Statutory sick pay, which the government has put in place for that purpose and on which many are forced to rely when self-isolating, is about a quarter of the full-time minimum wage.
Statutory sick pay, which the UK government has put in place for that purpose and on which many are forced to rely when self-isolating, is about a quarter of the full-time minimum wage.
Labour’s shadow education secretary Kate Green has said such a lockdown would give the UK a chance to “reset” before the epidemic spirals out of control. She told the same broadcaster:
Labour’s shadow education secretary Kate Green has said such a lockdown would give the UK a chance to “reset” before the epidemic spirals out of control. She told the same broadcaster:
England will not be placed under a two or three-week “circuit-breaker” national lockdown to slow the spread of the virus and give the country time to get its test and trace system up to speed, the cabinet office minister Michael Gove has said.
England will not be placed under a two or three-week “circuit-breaker” national lockdown to slow the spread of the virus and give the country time to get its test and trace system up to speed, the UK’s cabinet office minister Michael Gove has said.
He has told Sky News that there should not be “blanket restrictions” across the whole of the country even for a limited period, as the opposition Labour party have called for, when the virus is spreading less quickly in some areas than others. Gove added, however, that the government would act later if it felt it had become necessary.
He has told Sky News that there should not be “blanket restrictions” across the whole of the country even for a limited period, as the opposition Labour party have called for, when the virus is spreading less quickly in some areas than others. Gove added, however, that the government would act later if it felt it had become necessary.
The government has ignored the advice of its scientific advisers, who have said its current plan is not enough on its own to stop the second wave and that a short “circuit breaker” lockdown should be introduced.
The UK’s government has ignored the advice of its scientific advisers, who have said its current plan is not enough on its own to stop the second wave and that a short “circuit breaker” lockdown should be introduced.
Russia has recorded 15,099 new cases, pushing the national tally to 1,399,334, local officials have said. They also said 185 people died in the previous 24 hours, taking the official death toll to 24,187, and that 1,070,576 people had recovered from the virus.
Russia has recorded 15,099 new cases, pushing the national tally to 1,399,334, local officials have said. They also said 185 people died in the previous 24 hours, taking the official death toll to 24,187, and that 1,070,576 people had recovered from the virus.
They are struggling to navigate the new tier 2 restrictions in Navigator Square. The small, pedestrianised enclave at the top of the Holloway Road in Archway, north London, is a hive of activity on Saturdays. A market draws crowds who come for artisanal breads and French cheeses.
They are struggling to navigate the new tier 2 restrictions in Navigator Square. The small, pedestrianised enclave at the top of the Holloway Road in Archway, north London, is a hive of activity on Saturdays. A market draws crowds who come for artisanal breads and French cheeses.
As a result, the Archway Tavern, famous for featuring on the front cover of the Kinks album Muswell Hillbillies, has enjoyed a promising start since it reopened post-lockdown.
As a result, the Archway Tavern, famous for featuring on the front cover of the Kinks album Muswell Hillbillies, has enjoyed a promising start since it reopened post-lockdown.
After years of lying empty, it was beginning to attract a varied crowd who came for coffee in the morning, light lunches with friends and after-work drinks with colleagues at night.
After years of lying empty, it was beginning to attract a varied crowd who came for coffee in the morning, light lunches with friends and after-work drinks with colleagues at night.
On Friday night, before the restrictions kicked in, it was packed as people made the most of what could be the last hurrah of 2020. But by lunchtime yesterday, the wooden tables outside the pub were almost empty.
On Friday night, before the restrictions kicked in, it was packed as people made the most of what could be the last hurrah of 2020. But by lunchtime yesterday, the wooden tables outside the pub were almost empty.
Confusion and fear generated by the new tier 2 rules appears to be a major factor in people staying away, according to Chriss Cinçon, a bartender at the tavern.
Confusion and fear generated by the new tier 2 rules appears to be a major factor in people staying away, according to Chriss Cinçon, a bartender at the tavern.
Hello, I’m taking over the blog and will be with you for the next few hours. If you’d like to draw my attention to anything, your best best is probably Twitter, where I’m KevinJRawlinson.
Ben Doherty, signing off from an unseasonably gloomy Sydney. I’m handing over to my colleague Kevin Rawlinson in London. Thanks all for your comments (1,054 - industrious for a Sunday!) and correspondence. Be well and look after each other.
As I go, a summary of the global state of play.
Globally, there have been 39.6m confirmed cases of Covid-19, and 1.1m deaths. The US has nearly 8.1m confirmed cases, followed by India 7.4m, and Brazil 5.2m.
Europe is the emerging epicentre of the current wave: a third of all new cases worldwide are being detected in western European countries. Europe is recording more new cases than India, Brazil and the US combined.
Global coronavirus cases rose by more than 400,000 for the first time late on Friday, a record one-day increase as much of Europe enacts new restrictions to curb the outbreak.
Italy had a record daily rise in cases of 10,925 and is considering toughening nationwide restrictions in response to the increase. The Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine and Malaysia also recorded their highest daily totals since the pandemic began.
The number of deaths in Iran from Covid-19 now exceeds 30,000, with the country’s health ministry saying the total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic was now 30,123.
A two week “circuit breaker” lockdown is expected to commence in Wales on 23 October that will see all but essential retail outlets close, according to a leaked letter.
Thailand has recorded its first locally transmitted cases of Covid-19 in more than a month.
The foreign ministers of Austria and Belgium have both tested positive for Covid-19.
New Zealand, which has twice eliminated the virus, reported its first local case for 22 days.
The French Collectivity of Wallis and Futuna in the South Pacific recorded its first case for the entire pandemic.
Saudi Arabia allowed its citizens and residents inside the kingdom to perform prayers in one of the most holy religious sites in Islam, Al-Haram mosque in Mecca, for the first time in seven months.
From one end of the earth to the other. The Associated Press reports from Russia:
It’s Friday night in Moscow, and popular bars and restaurants in the city center are packed. No one except the staff is wearing a mask or bothers to keep their distance.
There is little indication at all that Russia is being swept by a resurgence of coronavirus infections.
“I believe that everyone will have the disease eventually,” says Dr Alexandra Yerofeyeva, an internal medicine specialist at an insurance company, while sipping a cocktail at The Bix bar in Moscow.
She adds cheerfully: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”.
The outbreak in Russia this month is breaking the records set in the spring, when a lockdown to slow the spread of the virus was put in place.
But, as governments across Europe move to reimpose restrictions to counter rising cases, authorities in Russia are resisting shutting down businesses again.
Some regions have closed nightclubs or limited the hours of bars and restaurants, but few measures have been implemented in Moscow, which is once again the epicenter of the surge.
On Friday, Russian authorities reported over 15,000 new infections, the highest daily spike so far in the pandemic. Moscow — with less than 10% of the population — accounts for up to 30% of new infections each day. The health minister says 90% of hospital beds for coronavirus patients have been filled. Three times this week, Russia’s daily death toll exceeded the spring record of 232.
Even these soaring virus tolls are likely undercounts; experts have cautioned that official figures around the world understate the true toll, but critics have taken particular issue with Russia’s death tolls, alleging authorities might be playing down the scale of the outbreak.
Right now, situation is “difficult” but “no restrictive measures for the economy are required,” Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova told President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
The spring lockdown hurt the country’s already weakened economy and compounded Russians’ frustration with plummeting incomes and worsening living conditions, driving Putin’s approval rating to a historic low of 59% in April, according to the Levada Center, Russia’s top independent pollster.
Analysts say his government doesn’t want to return to those darks days.
A day after winning a second term in a landslide victory, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Sunday she sees the election result as an endorsement of her government’s efforts to stamp out the coronavirus and reboot the economy.
Speaking at a cafe near her Auckland home, Ardern said she expects to form a new government within three weeks and to prioritise work on the virus response.
“We’re cracking on very quickly with the work we need to do as a new team,” Ardern said.
Her comments came as health officials reported one new case of community transmission after New Zealand went three weeks without any new infection. Officials said the man works on foreign ships at the ports, and they believe they caught his case early enough to contain the threat of further spread.
New Zealand has recorded just 1,886 known Covid-19 infections, and 25 deaths, since the beginning of the pandemic.
In the election, Ardern’s liberal Labour Party got 49% of the vote, crushing the conservative National Party, which got 27%. Ardern said the margin of the victory exceeded their expectations.
The result will give Labour an outright majority in Parliament, the first time any party has achieved that since New Zealand implemented the mixed member proportional voting system 24 years ago.
Typically parties have formed alliances to govern but this time Labour can govern in majority.
Thailand reported three additional locally transmitted cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, a day after reporting its first local infections in more than a month.
The three new patients are family members of two Myanmar nationals who previously tested positive for the virus this week in the country’s northern province bordering Myanmar, the government’s coronavirus taskforce said.
Before this week’s five cases, Thailand last reported a confirmed local transmission on 11 September. In total, Thailand has reported 3,686 cases of the virus and 59 deaths.
Thailand is currently seized by anti-democracy protests that are challenging the authority of the king and prime minister, and the authority of the country’s traditional ruling elite.
Tens of thousands have taken to the streets of Bangkok and other Thai cities, defying a government crackdown and the riot police’s water cannon. Southeast Asia Correspondent Rebecca Ratcliffe reports.
Coronavirus survives on skin five times longer than flu: study
The coronavirus remains active on human skin for nine hours, Japanese researchers have found, in a discovery they said showed the need for frequent hand washing to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pathogen that causes the flu survives on human skin for about 1.8 hours by comparison, said the study published this month in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal.
“The nine-hour survival of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus strain that causes Covid-19) on human skin may increase the risk of contact transmission in comparison with IAV (influenza A virus), thus accelerating the pandemic,” it said.
The research team tested skin collected from autopsy specimens, about one day after death.
Both the coronavirus and the flu virus are inactivated within 15 seconds by applying ethanol, which is used in hand sanitisers.
“The longer survival of SARS-CoV-2 on the skin increases contact-transmission risk; however, hand hygiene can reduce this risk,” the study said.
The study backs WHO guidance for regular and thorough hand washing to limit transmission of the virus, which has infected nearly 40 million people around the world since it first emerged in China late last year.
Airlines face a long, hard winter after a much hoped for rebound from the coronavirus crisis failed to materialise, prompting savage cost cutting programmes and fresh calls for government support.
Airline revenues plunged 80% in the first six months of the year, according to industry body IATA, but they still had fixed costs to cover - crew, maintenance, fuel, airport levies and now aircraft storage.
After a slight recovery in July as coronavirus restrictions were eased, traffic fell again in September while bookings for the winter season - which begins 25 October - are down 78% compared with a year earlier, promising more hardship to come.
One of the biggest disappointments has been the absence of highly lucrative business class travellers who prefer now to rely on tele-conferencing rather than run the risk of catching the virus.
Repeated efforts to reassure passengers that air travel is safe have failed to make much of a difference while government restrictions, including quarantines of up to 14 days for returning passengers, have only added to the pressures on the battered airline companies.
“The risk of contracting Covid-19 during air travel is really very, very low,” says Dr David Powell, medical consultant for IATA.
Testing is key to recovery
The industry as a whole is hoping that the introduction of airport testing systems will restore passenger confidence and reduce if not completely remove the need for damaging quarantine regimes.
There are already trial systems in place in several major airports around the world and on Friday France announced it would introduce quick, antigen-based testing by the end of the month.
“We are going to launch these tests at the airports, especially for departures to the United States or Italy and for arrivals from countries on the red list (of high rates of infection),” French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said on CNews TV channel.
“That way we will not have any more people arriving on French territory without having been tested,” he added.
Hong Kong and Singapore meanwhile have announced they plan a “travel bubble” to allow unrestricted flights.
Tests may help but given the damage already done and the likelihood of more to come, IATA continues to press the alarm bell, seeking more government help to keep the airlines afloat until there is at least some return to normality.
Up to now, IATA estimates governments have provided $160bn dollars in aid, loans and tax breaks so that airlines can cover current costs.
But after a disastrous summer, usually the busiest part of the year when they build up their cash reserves, airlines are not going to be able to do that during the winter, IATA head Alexandre de Juniac has warned repeatedly.
Earlier this month, United Airlines laid off 13,000 staff temporarily as it waits on the politicians in Washington to thrash out a fresh coronavirus aid package.
Low-cost pioneer Ryanair, which prides itself on not seeking state aid, announced Thursday it was cutting by a third its already reduced winter schedule.
Other airlines are thinking up completely new angles to drum up business, with companies in Asia offering “flights to nowhere” - short, circular trips for those desperate to get back into the air again and ready to pay for the privilege.
Singapore Airlines even opened up one of its giant A380 aircraft as a restaurant while some started selling their in-flight food to nostalgic, would-be but grounded passengers.
Millions of Europeans faced tough new coronavirus restrictions as governments stepped up efforts to slow the surge in infections, after the World Health Organization reported a “very concerning” 44% rise in European cases over one week.
From Saturday evening, Paris and several other French cities go under a night-time curfew that will last at least a month. England is banning mixed household gatherings in the capital and other areas, and Italy’s most populous region is limiting bar openings and suspending sports events.
The US Senate will vote on Wednesday on a $300bn Senate Republican coronavirus relief bill that is far below the estimated $2tn that Democrats have demanded.
The bill, dubbed a “skinny” relief bill for its pared-down funding, was already rejected by Democrats in September and is again expected to fail.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement Saturday that the vote would follow a standalone vote on additional Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds on Tuesday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke Saturday night and will continue negotiations, Treasury spokeswoman Monica Crowley said on Twitter.
Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said that there was progress on coronavirus testing but “there remains work to do to ensure there is a comprehensive testing plan”.
He added there are numerous other differences “that must be addressed in a comprehensive manner in the next 48 hours”.
Hammill also said “decisions must be made by the White House in order to demonstrate that the administration is serious about reaching a bipartisan agreement that provides for Americans with the greatest needs during the pandemic”.
The White House declined to comment.
On 10 October, Mnuchin proposed a $1.8tn economic stimulus proposal in talks with Pelosi but many Senate Republicans have baulked at a package that big.
Time is running out before the 3 November presidential election to reach agreement on a new coronavirus relief package.
Reports coming from around the world:
China reported 13 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for 17 October, the same as a day earlier, the health commission said on Sunday.
All of the new infections were imported, according to a statement by the National Health Commission.
As of Saturday, mainland China had 85,672 confirmed coronavirus cases, the health authority said. The Covid-19 death toll stands at 4,634.
In Germany, there were 5,587 new cases, bringing the total number of known infections in that country to 361,974, according to the Robert Koch Institute.
Another 10 people died from the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of Covid deaths in Germany to 9,777.
