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A BioNTech laboratory in Mainz, Germany

18 November

Pfizer vaccine is 95 per cent effective overall and protects 94 per cent of people over 65

Further data about the coronavirus vaccine being developed by US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech shows that it is for all age groups, and protects 94 per cent of adults over 65. The new data, from the first set of complete results from the phase III trial, also showed that the vaccine produced no serious side effects. Pfizer and BioNTech said they will submit a request for emergency use authorisation to the US Food and Drug Administration within days, which will allow the vaccine to be used with people outside the trial. About 40,000 people participated in the trial, with half receiving two doses of the vaccine and the other half a placebo. Out of 170 covid-19 cases among trial participants, only eight were in the vaccinated group, the companies said in a . They said the vaccine worked similarly well “across age, gender, race and ethnicity demographics”. The results are encouraging because older individuals are at an increased risk of becoming severely ill and dying from covid-19, in part because the immune system weakens with age.��

The vaccine is based on similar mRNA technology to that used in the vaccine candidate being developed by US biotechnology company Moderna, which was found to be almost 95 per cent effective based on a preliminary analysis. We still don’t know if either vaccine can stop infected people from passing on the virus or how long any immunity might last. The Pfizer-BioNTech trial will continue to collect data on the safety and effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine for a further two years.

Other coronavirus news

A suggests the majority of people who have recovered from covid-19 may still have coronavirus-specific immune cells in their bodies after infection. The study, which has not been published or peer-reviewed, included 41 people who had tested positive for the coronavirus at least six months prior. It found that levels of coronavirus-specific T-cells had only decayed slightly at six months, while other antibody-producing immune cells called B-cells actually increased between one and six months after infection.��

Doctors in Switzerland said in the country. All of the 876 certified intensive care unit beds in Switzerland are occupied, the Swiss Society for Intensive Medicine said in a statement yesterday. It also advised vulnerable people to write down in a will whether they would like to receive life support in the event that they become severely ill. Switzerland a daily average of 5262 coronavirus cases in the week leading up to 17 November.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.34 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 55.8 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Will vaccines stop the pandemic?: Headlines about safe and effective covid-19 vaccines seem simple, but the truth is that the trials tell us far less than we assume about who will benefit from a vaccine.

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Vaccine hesitancy: Heidi Larson is the founder of the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and author of Stuck, a book about how vaccine rumours start. �鶹��ý spoke to her about people’s hesitancy around the first covid-19 vaccines.

17 November

Nearly 2000 people died from covid-19 in England and Wales within a week

There were 1937 deaths from in the week ending 6 November, according to the latest numbers from the . The number of people who died was 558 more than the previous week, which saw 1379 deaths. It is the second consecutive week with more than 1000 deaths involving the coronavirus across the two nations.��

These latest numbers do not reflect the potential impact of new lockdown measures in England and Wales. England entered a four week nationwide lockdown on 5 November, with Wales coming out of a 17-day “firebreak” national lockdown on 9 November. Parts of Scotland from Friday. It may take several weeks for the effects of these measures to appear in official death registration data, said Kevin McConway at the Open University in a . “If a person unfortunately dies from covid-19, that would typically be two or three weeks after they first had symptoms of the infection,” said McConway. “So maybe the current measures to reduce new infections are having an effect but it’s too early to see that in death registrations. But we absolutely can’t be sure of that yet.”

The UK government is reviewing the in England to decide which measures should be implemented when the nation’s lockdown is due to end next month, according to housing minister Robert Jenrick. “Our hope and expectation is that [the national measures] will come to an end and we’ll move back into the tiered structure, and that will see a significant easing in all parts of England – more in some parts than others, depending on the rate of infection,” Jenrick told LBC today. “We’re doing the heavy lifting in November so that we can have a somewhat easier and more normal December.”

Other coronavirus news

Pfizer is for its coronavirus vaccine candidate in four US states – Rhode Island, Texas, New Mexico and Tennessee. There have been some concerns about how the vaccine would be stored and distributed, given its ultra-low temperature formulation. “We are hopeful that results from this vaccine delivery pilot will serve as the model for other US states and international governments, as they prepare to implement effective covid-19 vaccine programs,” Pfizer said in a yesterday.

UK prime minister Boris for the coronavirus, his spokesperson told journalists today. “He took a test yesterday and that test was negative but he will in accordance with the rules on self-isolation continue to self-isolate,” the spokesperson said.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.33 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 55.2 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

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Moderna vaccine: Early results suggest the Moderna vaccine is even more effective than the Pfizer vaccine, including in older people, boosting hopes that we might end up with several vaccines against covid-19.

16 November

UK enters talks to access Moderna vaccine candidate following promising early results

A coronavirus vaccine candidate being developed by the pharmaceutical company Moderna appears to be nearly 95 per cent effective, according to early trial results released by the company today. The vaccine candidate is in phase III trials involving more than 30,000 people in the US, half of whom received a placebo. The interim analysis found 95 cases of covid-19 among trial participants, only five of which were among the vaccinated group. None of the cases among vaccinated individuals were classed as severe, compared to 11 in the placebo group. The vaccine is based on similar mRNA technology to that used in the vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, which was found to be more than 90 per cent effective based on a preliminary analysis. It still isn’t clear if either vaccine candidate can stop infected people from passing on the virus or how long any immunity might last.

Moderna to submit for an emergency use authorisation with the US Food and Drug Administration and global regulatory agencies in the coming weeks. The company expects to have approximately 20 million doses of the vaccine ready to ship in the US by the end of this year, and said it remains on track to manufacture between 500 million and 1 billion doses globally in 2021. Moderna the US with 100 million doses of the vaccine, with an option to buy a further 400 million. The European commission has a potential purchase agreement with the company for between 80 million and 160 million doses, as

The UK decided not to participate in the EU vaccine purchase scheme and does not have any pre-existing purchase agreement with Moderna. A UK government spokesperson told it is now in “advanced discussions” with the company to acquire the vaccine. “Moderna are currently scaling up their European supply chain which means these doses would become available in spring 2021 in the UK at the earliest,” the spokesperson said.��

Other coronavirus news

Coronavirus case numbers in the US have now reached a total of more than 11 million cases since the start of the pandemic, just six days after reaching the grim milestone of 10 million. As of yesterday, across the US were in hospital with covid-19 – the highest number yet. A growing number of states, including Washington and Michigan, have reimposed stay-at-home orders and other restrictions. Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump has reportedly blocked the White House coronavirus taskforce from communicating with a separate team assembled by president-elect Joe Biden. “It’s almost like passing a baton in a race […] it would be better if we could start working with them,” said senior US health adviser Anthony Fauci yesterday on show.��

UK prime minister Boris after an MP at a meeting they attended on Thursday tested positive for the coronavirus. Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, developed symptoms of covid-19 on Friday and tested positive on Sunday. Johnson had covid-19 in April and was hospitalised, before recovering. In a video today, he said he was “feeling fit”.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.31 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 54.5 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

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13 November

One in four coronavirus patients in the UK are missing out on life-saving dexamethasone treatment

Around 25 per cent of people who should receive dexamethasone as a treatment for covid-19 are not being given the medicine, according to newly released papers from the UK government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies. Researchers calculated that failure to give the treatment had led to 55 deaths. Dexamethasone is a steroid and the only known drug that reduces deaths from the coronavirus. It works by suppressing an overreaction of the immune system that can cause damaging inflammation of the lungs and other organs.

In June a UK trial showed that dexamethasone reduces the death rate of covid-19 by a third in people who are on ventilators and by one fifth in those who are receiving supplementary oxygen by other means. A consortium of UK researchers tracked the treatments given to people in hospital with covid-19 since then. The number of people who received the steroid rose over time. But even in August and September, it was – though it is unclear why.��

Other coronavirus news

The other main treatment for the coronavirus, the antiviral agent remdesivir, has had a vote of no confidence from the head of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine. In an, Jozef Kesecioglu said “remdesivir is now classified as a drug you should not use routinely in covid-19 patients”. The move comes after the largest trial of the drug found it has little or no impact on death rates. However other smaller studies suggest remdesivir does speed up recovery from the infection.

Covid-19 infections in England are still rising, although the rate of increase most recently has become slower than in the preceding weeks, according to the latest data from the. The highest infection figures are in teenagers and young adults. The number of positive tests are also rising in Wales and Scotland. In Northern Ireland the trend seems to have levelled off.

People with learning disabilities have died from covid-19 at higher rates than the rest of the population, according to a report from. In the 18-34 age group, people with learning disabilities had a death rate thirty times higher. The authors of the report say this could be because people in this group are more likely to be overweight and �� have diabetes than people outside this group. The charity Mencap told the BBC the government has failed to protect a vulnerable group.

Researchers who work with the coronavirus are testing positive for the virus even though they do not seem to be infected. The scientists work with sections of the virus’s genes that are also the target of commonly used PCR or swab tests, they have told the.

Older teenagers should not be lumped in with younger children in terms of their likelihood of catching the coronavirus, says a. The latest case figures from Scotland show that 15-19-year-olds have a similar infection rate as middle-aged adults, while figures for everyone under 15 are much lower.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.29 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 53 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Latest coronavirus news as of 5 pm on 12 November

Infections were ramping up before England lockdown

The prevalence of coronavirus infections in England surged to one in 77 people shortly before the nation’s second lockdown began, according to a . The latest round of the REACT-1 survey, which spanned the two weeks up to 2 November, found a prevalence of 1.3 per cent, up from 0.6 per cent in the previous round, done one month previously. The rise in infections support a strategy of “stringent interventions designed to get prevalence down,” says Steven Riley at Imperial College London, who took part in the research.

Since then, though, new infection numbers may have started to plateau or fall, according to a based on people using the Covid Symptom Study app. This has placed the current reproduction (R) number below 1, at 0.9. However, this survey can only report from people who have chosen to download and use the app, so the figures may not be as representative as the REACT-1 study.

Other coronavirus news

Hospital workers in England will soon start being screened for the coronavirus, whether or not they have symptoms of infection, according to . Staff who interact with patients will be asked to test themselves twice a week before coming into work. Antigen-based test kits will be sent out to the first 34 trusts this week, but the scheme will switch to more sensitive rapid genetic tests later this year, as it is rolled out more widely.

The number of people in England waiting more than a year for surgery or hospital treatment has shot up due to the pandemic. By September this year the number of those who had waited that long stood at nearly 140,000 people compared with around 1300 in September 2019, . When the UK first went into lockdown in March, nearly all routine appointments and operations were deferred, and hospitals have been trying to catch up ever since.

The explanation for why children are less likely to catch covid-19 may be a recent brush with a related coronavirus that causes colds. According to a UK , 43 per cent of children had antibodies to such a virus, compared with 5 per cent of adults. About one in five colds among children are caused by a coronavirus.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.28 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 52.3 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

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11 November

EU confirms deal to buy up to 300 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine candidate

The European Union has made a deal to of the Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccine candidate. On Monday, Pfizer announced that the is more than 90 per cent effective according to early results from its phase III trial. The bloc will be able to purchase 200 million doses initially, with an option to buy another 100 million. The US has already agreed a deal for 100 million doses at $19.50 per dose, but the EU is expected to pay a lower rate to reflect the financial support the EU and Germany gave to the vaccine’s development, an anonymous source told Reuters. The EU has separate vaccine supply deals with other vaccine candidates in trials from AstraZeneca, Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson. “This is the most promising vaccine so far,” said European commission president Ursula von der Leyen in a . “Once this vaccine becomes available, our plan is to deploy it quickly, everywhere in Europe.”

Other coronavirus news

Russian authorities said their is 92 per cent effective at protecting people from covid-19. The results are derived from a much smaller number of coronavirus infections compared to those from the Pfizer vaccine trial. The early analysis of Sputnik V was based on 20 trial participants out of 16,000 being diagnosed with covid-19, significantly fewer than the 94 cases in the Pfizer and BioNTech trial. Pfizer said it would continue its phase III trial until there were at least 164 coronavirus cases, to confirm how well it works.

The US recorded in the first 10 days of November. Several states reported record daily increases in new cases yesterday, including about 12,600 in Illinois, 10,800 in Texas and 7000 in Wisconsin. The US as a whole also reached a record number of hospitalisations yesterday, with more than 61,964 people currently in hospital with covid-19, according to the .

University students in England will be given a between 3 and 9 December to travel home before the Christmas holidays, with coronavirus tests to be carried out before they leave campus. Under the new plans, announced by the Department for Education yesterday, students who test positive would need to self-isolate for 10 days.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.27 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 51.6 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus in animals: Mink are the latest animal to get infected with covid-19, risking the prospect of a dangerous mutation that could pass back to humans. While the threat is small, there are many reasons that animals catching the coronavirus is bad news.

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10 November

Coronavirus vaccine effectiveness could be limited by vaccine hesitancy, warns UK report

About and 51 per cent in the US report being either uncertain or unlikely to agree to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, should a vaccine become widely available, according to a by two UK scientific institutions. Uptake of a future coronavirus vaccine would need to be 80 per cent or higher in order to protect communities, assuming the virus was spreading with an R number of around 2.5 to 3.0, according to a report published today by the Royal Society and the British Academy. “To achieve the estimated 80 per cent of uptake of a vaccine required for community protection, we need a serious, well-funded and community-based public engagement strategy,” said Melina Mills at the University of Oxford, who led the report, in a .��

The report also said that officials must manage public expectations for a transition period during which the use of face coverings and social distancing are still encouraged, even after the first vaccines are available. It recommended that health and care workers should be given priority for receiving a potential vaccine. People in other high-risk occupations should also be prioritised, according to the report, including teachers, bus drivers and retail workers, as well as vulnerable groups in crowded situations, such as the homeless and people in prisons.

UK health minister Matt Hancock today told Sky News that he has asked the NHS to be ready to deploy any potential coronavirus vaccine.��

Other coronavirus news

A made by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has been given by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The authorisation, announced by the FDA yesterday, applies to people who test positive and are at risk of developing a severe form of covid-19 or being hospitalised for the condition. The FDA said it only applies to people above age 12 who are newly infected, and should not be used in people already hospitalised for covid-19. Doses of the drug are limited, however – in a Eli Lilly said it expects to have enough doses to treat up to one million people by the end of the year.

A phase III trial of a coronavirus vaccine candidate being developed by Chinese company Sinovac Biotech has been suspended. paused the trial after a participant became ill. This is standard procedure in vaccine development, and allows time for researchers to determine the cause of the illness and ensure the safety of participants in the trial.��

Rapid coronavirus tests being trialled in Liverpool will also start to be , including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Nottingham and Bristol, according to the UK government.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.26 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 50.9 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Pfizer coronavirus vaccine: Pfizer and its partner BioNTech say their coronavirus vaccine is 90 per cent effective in phase III trials. How excited should we be about the news, and what questions remain unanswered?

9 November

Coronavirus vaccine candidate being developed by Pfizer is ‘more than 90% effective’

A coronavirus is “more than 90% effective in preventing covid-19”, according to early results, the . The results have been described as “reason for optimism for 2021” by Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer. Joe Biden, US president-elect, said this was “excellent news”, but warned that “the end of the battle against covid-19 is still months away” as it will take “many more months before there is widespread vaccination.”

Pfizer said that an early analysis of the results from the phase III trial found more than 90 per cent fewer symptomatic coronavirus cases among trial participants who received two doses of the vaccine candidate three weeks apart compared to those who received a placebo. So far in the trial, 38,955 people have received two doses of either vaccine or placebo as of 8 November, and there have been 94 confirmed coronavirus cases in total among them. The results have not been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal, and Pfizer said further analysis will occur once there have been 164 confirmed coronavirus cases among the participants. Pfizer is developing the vaccine in partnership with German biotechnology company BioNTech.

It still isn’t known whether the vaccine candidate can prevent people from getting infected with the coronavirus regardless of whether they develop symptoms, or whether it can prevent people from becoming severely ill with covid-19. “I think we have reason to be cautiously optimistic,” said Eleanor Riley at the University of Edinburgh in a . Pfizer said it plans to submit an application for emergency use authorisation to the US Food and Drug Administration after collecting and analysing additional data on efficacy and safety, which it expects will occur in the third week of November. If authorised, the company said up to 50 million doses of the vaccine could be available globally by the end of the year and 1.3 billion doses could be available in 2021. The UK has already ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine candidate and available by the end of the year if regulators approve it, a spokesperson for UK prime minister Boris Johnson told Reuters.

Other coronavirus news

There have been confirmed globally, according to Johns Hopkins University, and more than 1.25 million people have died from covid-19. Reuters analysis suggests a second wave of the virus in the past 30 days accounted for a quarter of the total confirmed cases.

Today marks the in Wales, with new national restrictions now in force. Groups of up to four people from different households are allowed to meet in cafes, pubs and restaurants, and shops, gyms and hairdressers can reopen.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.25 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 50.5 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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6 November

US reports record daily new cases as people wait for US election results��

The US recorded more than on 5 November, surpassing its previous record of more than 100,000 new cases reported the day before. Increases in new coronavirus infections were reported in 38 US states this week compared to the previous week, and 31 states reported record-high numbers of daily new infections, according to Johns Hopkins University.��

Coronavirus cases are surging as the country waits for the results of the US election, with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden currently the favourite to become the next president and unseat president Donald Trump. Asked about the two candidates’ different approaches to the pandemic, senior US government health adviser Anthony Fauci said last week that Biden “is taking it seriously from a public health perspective”, and that Trump is “looking at it from a different perspective” focused on “the economy and reopening the country”. He warned that the US was in for “a whole lot of hurt” during the winter months and said there would need to be an “abrupt change” in public health practices and behaviours. “It’s not a good situation,” he told the in an interview. Stephen Bannon, the former chief strategist for president Donald Trump was banned from Twitter today for in a live video posted to Facebook. Earlier this week, Trump after the election.��

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued if they can, including during the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

��Other coronavirus news

About one in 90 people in England had the coronavirus in the week ending 31 October, according to the of a random swab testing survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). They had the virus in communities in England, up from 568,100 people the previous week. However, there are early signs that the rate of increase in infections is becoming “less steep compared with previous weeks”, the ONS said in its report. During the week ending 31 October, there were an average of 45,700 new virus cases per day in England, down slightly from a seven-day average of 51,900 the previous week.

The for the UK’s R number – the average number of people each person with coronavirus infects – remains between 1.1 and 1.3, according to official figures, which is unchanged from the previous week’s estimate. An R number above 1.0 indicates the epidemic is growing.

Denmark has with a mutant form of the coronavirus from mink since June, according to its State Serum Institute, which deals with infectious diseases. The Danish government has already ordered the slaughter of all farmed mink in the country.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.23 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 48.9 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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5 November

Nationwide lockdown begins in England as Europe continues to see rising cases

England has joined other nations in Europe with a starting today and lasting at least four weeks. France has been under a new lockdown since Friday and Germany entered a partial lockdown on Monday. The new measures are in response to surging coronavirus cases across Europe. European nations recorded a 22 per cent increase in new cases and a 46 per cent rise in deaths from covid-19 in the week up to 3 November, according to the .��

Under the , pubs, bars, restaurants and non-essential shops are required to close and people have to stay home unless they have a specific reason to leave. Unlike during the UK-wide lockdown in March, schools, colleges and universities in England can remain open. People are allowed to meet one person from a different household outdoors, with physical distancing. Not obeying the rules ranging from £200 to £6400 for individuals and £10,000 for organisers of large gatherings.

Coronavirus cases in England rose by up to 28 October, an increase of 8 per cent compared to the previous week. Only 59.9 per cent of the contacts of people who tested positive for the virus during the same time period were reached by NHS Test and Trace and told to self-isolate. This is the of people reached by the scheme so far and is below the target of 80 per cent or more recommended by UK government scientific advisors. The time it takes for people to receive test results after having a swab test has reduced slightly, with 61.8 per cent now receiving a result the next day, but it is still taking longer to turn around tests than it was in June.

The UK’s furlough scheme has been . The scheme covers up to 80 per cent of the wages of people who aren’t able to work due to coronavirus restrictions, with a limit of £2500 per month. The policy will be reviewed by the government in January.����

Other coronavirus news

Coronavirus cases are , with 34 states reporting more than 1000 daily new cases and 16 states reporting peak numbers of covid-19 hospitalisations, according to . On 5 November, the US reported in a day.��

Denmark plans to cull 17 million mink to prevent mutated versions of the coronavirus from spreading to humans, which might affect the potency of potential vaccines. Health authorities discovered five coronavirus infections in the animals with mutations that were transmitted to humans.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.22 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 48.3 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Covid-19 and air pollution: We have the clearest evidence yet of a link between air pollution and the risk of dying from covid-19, suggesting air quality data could help establish priority areas for medical help.

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4 November

NHS England to move to its highest alert level as covid-19 patient numbers rise

���Բ������Ի�’s healthcare service will – its highest alert level – from midnight tonight, its chief executive Simon Stevens announced today. Alert NHS England will take over coordination of the health service’s response to covid-19 so that staff can be moved around the country and patients can be sent to other regions if covid-19 cases . There are now more than 10,000 covid-19 patients in hospitals across England, up from just over 2000 a month ago, according to . Almost 1000 covid-19 patients in England are receiving ventilation. “It is going to be a difficult period,” said Stevens at a press conference today. The last time the NHS declared the coronavirus pandemic a level four incident was . “The truth, unfortunately, is that if coronavirus takes off again, that will disrupt services,” said Stevens. “We are seeing that in parts of the country where hospitals are dealing with more coronavirus patients now than they were in April.”��

The UK as a whole today, its highest daily toll . The country reported 25,177 new coronavirus cases. Data from the covid-19 symptom tracking app run by researchers at King’s College London suggests infections across England, Wales and Scotland , with an R number of 1.0, although infections are still rising among people over 60. Official figures published last week put the R number estimate for the UK , which indicates infections are rising overall. The R number is the average number of people each person with coronavirus infects.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson has refused to rule out an in England if the planned four weeks of restrictions do not succeed in curbing coronavirus infections. Johnson told MPs, “These autumn measures to combat the surge will expire automatically on 2 December, and we will then, I hope very much, be able to get this country going again”, adding “but that depends on us all doing our bit now to make sure that we can get the R down”. ���Բ������Ի�’s second nationwide lockdown is due to start tomorrow.

Other coronavirus news

People in the world’s poorest countries until at least 2024, due to competition from wealthier countries which have secured billions of doses of vaccine candidates, a study suggests. Researchers at Duke University calculated that access to 3.73 billion doses of the most promising vaccine candidates have already been purchased by wealthier countries, with negotiations currently on-going for a further 5 billion doses. Limitations on manufacturing capacity mean it could take three to four years to produce enough doses of vaccine to immunise the global population, said the report.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.21 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 47.5 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Antibodies from survivors: Several treatments for covid-19 using the antibodies of survivors are being developed. If they work, they could even provide immunity much like a vaccine.

Europe’s second wave: Many countries in Europe are now reintroducing lockdowns, but it might already be too late to stop the second wave being worse than the first.

Germany grapples with virus: Germany has been held up as an example of how to do things right, but the country now appears to be losing control of the coronavirus amid its second wave.

City-wide testing: The UK government has announced plans to start regularly testing the entire city of Liverpool for coronavirus. Will it work, and could mass-testing be rolled out more widely?��

3 November

UK chief science adviser warns deaths could pass spring peak in six weeks without action

The UK’s chief scientific adviser warned that above levels seen during the first wave peak by mid-December if no action is taken. Patrick Vallance was answering questions from the Commons Science and Technology committee alongside ���Բ������Ի�’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty. Vallance also cautioned that hospitalisations could pass first wave levels by the end of November, and Whitty said some hospitals in the north of England are already seeing more coronavirus patients than during the spring. “It doesn’t take much increase from that to run into serious trouble,” Whitty told the committee. There are currently across England. Whitty said that figure is rising on an “exponential upward curve.” Asked whether it was likely that the planned lockdown in England could end by 2 December, Whitty said: “The aim of this is to get the rates down far enough that it’s a realistic possibility to move into a different state of play at that point in time.” MPs are expected to pass the new restrictions, due to start on Thursday, in a vote tomorrow.

Other coronavirus news

People in Liverpool in the UK will be on a regular basis, regardless of symptoms, as part of a trial of whole-city testing. Liverpool recorded 352 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in the week up to 30 October, compared to an average across England of 153 cases per 100,000 people. “This is exactly the kind of mass testing that should have been introduced months ago,” said Luke Allen at the University of Oxford in a statement. It will enable public health teams to trace both symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers, said Allen.��

Hospitals in Germany are being to free up beds and staff to deal with a surge in coronavirus patients. Uwe Janssens, president of �ұ�������Բ�’s Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI) said during�� a press conference today that hospitals in areas with the highest infection rates “should end normal operations as soon as possible.” The number of covid-19 patients in intensive care in Germany has risen from just over 360 at the start of October to almost 2400 at the moment.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.20 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 47.3 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

2 November

Earlier lockdown would have saved thousands of lives, says UK science adviser

UK prime minister Boris Johnson has announced plans to impose a , following growing pressure from public health experts and the government’s scientific advisers. Johnson that without the new lockdown, the number of covid-19 deaths would be twice as high as the first wave. At a press conference on Saturday, he presented slides showing that the NHS would be overwhelmed by December without the new restrictions, and that the healthcare system faces an “existential threat.” The new restrictions, due to start on Thursday, are expected to pass when MPs vote on Wednesday, and will last for at least four weeks.

More than a month ago the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) recommended that the UK government impose a two-week “circuit breaker” lockdown in England while keeping schools open. The government decided not to follow the advice, which was presented at a meeting on 21 September. SAGE member Andrew Hayward at University College London today said if a lockdown had been introduced earlier. “We can’t turn back the clock. But I think if we had chosen a two-week circuit-break at that time we would definitely have saved thousands of lives,” Hayward told BBC Radio 4. “Early action is essential, and waiting to see if less intense measures are going to work is really quite a dangerous way of doing things,” he said. “We have repeatedly underestimated covid and done too little too late, really, to control the virus and save both lives and livelihoods.”

Other coronavirus news

First minister of Wales Mark Drakeford has said he is concerned about people crossing into Wales from England , due to come into force in England later this week. “It’s very important Wales doesn’t become an escape for people trying to get round the new tighter restrictions being introduced in England,” Drakeford said on BBC Radio Wales today. A lockdown in Wales, which began on 23 October, is due to end in a week’s time, shortly after England goes into lockdown.

World Health Organization director-general after a person he had been in contact with tested positive for the coronavirus. “I am well and without symptoms but will self-quarantine over the coming days, in line with WHO protocols and work from home,” Ghebreyesus tweeted yesterday, adding “it is critically important that we all comply with health guidance.”

US president Donald Trump Anthony Fauci after the US presidential election. In response to calls to “fire Fauci” from crowds at a rally in Florida yesterday, Trump said: “Don’t tell anybody, but let me wait until a little bit after the election. I appreciate the advice.”

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.20 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 46.6 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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US response: A series of bad decisions and ill-judged policies, coupled with unrivalled political interference, has led to the FDA and CDC losing the trust of the public and scientists.

30 October

Growing pressure to impose nationwide lockdown in England

The UK government is under mounting pressure to implement stricter nationwide coronavirus restrictions in England as cases continue to rise. Dominic Harrison, director of public health at Blackburn with Darwen borough council, criticised the government’s tiered system of restrictions today, and called for an immediate three-week national lockdown. “We’re going to need a much harsher set of control measures that look very much more like the first total lockdown, and very much more like what France is doing,” Harrison told the . France will enter a second nationwide lockdown starting on Friday to last until at least the end of November. In France, 706 per 100,000 people are thought to be infected with coronavirus, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Blackburn has the highest infection rate in England at 740 cases per 100,000 people. suggest the case rate for the UK as a whole is currently 437.7 per 100,000 people.

Jeremy Farrar, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), told the a UK-wide lockdown should have happened already and definitely needs to now. More than a month ago, SAGE recommended that the UK government impose a two-week “circuit breaker” lockdown in England while keeping schools open, but the government chose not to follow the advice. Farrar said any further delay will be costly and will mean that subsequent restrictions will be “harder and longer”. Dominic Raab, UK minister of foreign affairs, told BBC Radio 4 today that the government was . He said the “overwhelming scientific advice” to the government was that local lockdowns were “the right way to go”.

The spread of the virus in England exceeded the government’s predicted “reasonable worst-case scenario” in a dated 14 October, released today. The government’s scientific advisory group estimated that by mid-October, there were between 43,000 and 74,000 people being infected with the virus in England each day. “This is significantly above the profile of the reasonable worst-case scenario, where the number of daily infections in England remained between 12,000-13,000 throughout October,” said the report.

Other coronavirus news

Russia’s coronavirus vaccine candidate Sputnik V could be made available to the public in Moscow , the city’s Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova said on the Russia 24 TV channel today. About 9000 people in Moscow have received doses of the vaccine candidate so far as part of an on-going trial, according to its developer. But mass vaccination of the public is not yet possible, as the necessary doses of vaccine have not been delivered yet, said Rakova.

Coronavirus infections in the US , a record daily increase for the country. Record increases in the daily number of hospitalised patients were recorded in 17 US states.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.18 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 45.2 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Preventing future pandemics: Diseases like covid-19 come from wild animals, so reducing unsustainable practices like deforestation could stop future outbreaks from happening, according to a global biodiversity report.

29 October

Coronavirus cases rising sharply in England, swab testing survey finds

Coronavirus infections in communities in England may be rising by , according to the from Imperial College London’s REACT-1 study. Using random swab testing of 85,000 people, researchers found that about one in 78 people in England had the virus between 16 and 25 October, up from one in 167 people between 18 September and 5 October. This is equivalent to 96,000 new infections each day. The researchers estimate that ���Բ������Ի�’s R number – the number of people each person with coronavirus infects – is now 1.6, up from 1.1 in late September. They estimate that infections are doubling every nine days, compared to every 29 days previously, and that they are rising across all age groups, with the largest increase in infections seen among people aged 55 to 64. “The measures that were in place over the past two months across most of Europe were clearly insufficient to prevent the new large growth of infected cases and fast spread of the virus,” said Igor Rudan at the University of Edinburgh in a . “It is particularly concerning that the fastest increase in the number of infections is being seen in the age groups of 55-64 years and 65 or more years of age,” he said. The severity of covid-19 and the risk of dying from the disease both rise with age.

Both to try to curb surging coronavirus cases. France will enter a second nationwide lockdown starting on Friday to last until at least the end of November, and Germany is imposing a one-month partial lockdown from 2 November after reporting two days with . UK housing minister Robert Jenrick today said that the in England. “We know that has some effect on bearing down on the virus but we also know it’s immensely disruptive in other regards to people’s lives and livelihoods and broader health and wellbeing, so we will do everything we can to avoid that situation,” he told Sky News. Scotland today announced a coming into force on Monday, although no areas of the nation will be put under the highest level of restrictions. ���貹����’s Catalonia region today in an effort to tackle spreading infections. The ban on entering or exiting the territory will last for 15 days.

Other coronavirus news

US government health advisers have warned that to curb the rapid spread of coronavirus cases in the middle and west of the country, according to a report from the White House coronavirus taskforce . “If things do not change, if they continue on the course we’re on, there’s gonna be a whole lot of pain in this country with regard to additional cases and hospitalisations, and deaths,” said US health adviser Anthony Fauci in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday. Thirteen US states, mainly in the midwest and west, reported record numbers of covid-19 hospitalisations on Wednesday, according to analysis by Reuters.

An in England and Wales will mean the risk score above which people are advised to self-isolate will be reduced. Lowering this threshold means people who previously wouldn’t have received a warning alert via the app will now receive an alert telling them to self-isolate. “We believe lowering the threshold is necessary to reduce the R rate and break the chain of transmission,” Gaby Appleton, director of product for NHS Test and Trace, wrote in a .

Taiwan without any domestically acquired coronavirus cases. The last case there was recorded on 12 April.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.17 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 44.6 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Long covid: Millions of people may be experiencing long-term symptoms after recovering from covid-19 – possibly because the virus is hiding from the immune system.

28 October

European countries see record high numbers of new daily coronavirus cases

Nearly half of the world’s new daily coronavirus cases are , with Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic among those . Poland today reported 18,820 new cases, Czech Republic 15,663 and Germany 14,964, the highest daily jumps recorded in these countries since the start of the pandemic. Switzerland and Slovenia also reported their highest daily increases in infections yet, while Russia and Ukraine reported their highest daily death tolls. The UK today and 310 deaths.��

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned yesterday that in its battle against the second wave of the virus. “There’s no question that the European region is an epicentre for disease right now,” the director of the WHO’s health emergencies programme, Mike Ryan, told a media briefing. “Right now we are well behind this virus in Europe so getting ahead of it is going to take some serious acceleration in what we do and maybe much more comprehensive nature of measures that are going to be needed.” Peter Piot at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine echoed Ryan during a media briefing today, saying and was therefore seeing a “resurgence” in cases. Piot is advising the European commission on coronavirus.

Many European governments are either imposing new lockdowns or considering them. Ireland and Wales have already imposed nationwide lockdowns this month, and Italy introduced strict new rules earlier this week. are expected to make decisions on new lockdowns this week. German chancellor Angela Merkel met with German state leaders today to decide whether to shut bars, leisure centres and hotels completely and whether to introduce other restrictions – nicknamed by German media – such as limits on social contact and making restaurants takeaway-only. Meanwhile, France is deciding on the extent of a planned four-week lockdown, which could come into force this Thursday.��

In the UK, one of the government’s scientific advisors said that without further lockdown measures, the number of covid-19 patients in hospitals could pass the spring peak by the end of November. Mark Walport told BBC Radio 4 that without such measures, it was “not unrealistic” that there would be with covid-19 by the end of next month – higher than the peak of 19,849 on 12 April. Currently, there are more than 9000 patients in hospital with covid-19 in the UK. “France, which has a very similar population to us, currently has about 16,000 people in hospital,” Walport said. “We’re seeing similar things in Spain.”

Other coronavirus news

China has reported its in more than two months. There were 42 new cases confirmed in mainland China on Tuesday, the highest figure since 44 cases were reported on 10 August. The spike is mainly being driven by a rise in infections in the northwestern region Xinjiang, where local authorities recently living in the city of Kashgar.

The Trump administration “ending the pandemic” was one of its major “first-term scientific accomplishments”, in a press release sent to reporters. The US has reported a record of more than 500,000 new coronavirus cases within the past week, and the number of cases is now rising in . More than 8.7 million cases and 226,000 deaths have been recorded in the US since the pandemic began.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.16 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 44.1 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Rebuilding after covid-19: The pandemic has highlighted huge weaknesses in our economic systems. �鶹��ý asked six leading economists how to redesign it to reduce inequality and save the planet.

Lockdown lifted: Australians have been celebrating the end of a strict lockdown in Melbourne after cases of coronavirus were eliminated in the state of Victoria.

27 October

More than 60,000 people in the UK have died from covid-19 since the pandemic began

The death toll from covid-19 in the UK since the start of the pandemic. In England and Wales, there were 670 deaths mentioning covid-19 on the death certificate during the week ending 16 October, up from 438 the previous week. It is the sixth consecutive week where the number of deaths has risen, according to the . The north west of England has been the region hardest hit by the second wave of coronavirus, with 229 deaths from covid-19 over the same period. Today the UK as a whole , the highest daily number of deaths in the country since 27 May.

Long-term exposure to air pollution may increase the risk of dying from covid-19

Exposure to air pollution may increase the risk of dying from covid-19, with about 15 per cent of global coronavirus deaths estimated by researchers to be attributable in part to long-term air pollution exposure. Researchers used satellite data to calculate global exposure to fine particulates – particulate matter with a maximum diameter of 2.5 micrometres, also called PM2.5 – as well as data on covid-19 deaths from the US and China, to estimate the degree to which air pollution exposure influences covid-19 mortality. They estimate that particulate air pollution has contributed to 15 per cent of global covid-19 deaths, 27 per cent in East Asia, 19 per cent in Europe and 17 per cent in North America. “When people inhale polluted air, the very small polluting particles, the PM2.5, migrate from the lungs to the blood and blood vessels, causing inflammation and severe oxidative stress,” said study author Thomas Münzel at Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany in a . “The [coronavirus] also enters the body via the lungs, causing similar damage to blood vessels,” said Münzel, which may have an “additive adverse effect on health”. The study was published in the journal .

Other coronavirus news

The percentage of people in England with coronavirus antibodies fell from 6 to 4.4 per cent between 20 June and 28 September, according to preliminary results from Imperial College London’s . The study included more than 365,000 people across England, who took finger-prick antibody tests at home. It still isn’t clear whether antibodies provide immunity to the coronavirus or for how long such immunity might last. “It would be premature to assume that this means that immunity to [the coronavirus] does not last,” said Eleanor Riley at the University of Edinburgh in a . “The study does not look at antibody concentrations, antibody function or other aspects of immunity such as T-cell immunity.” The study has not yet been peer-reviewed.

A letter signed by more than 50 MPs calls on UK prime minister Boris Johnson to for the north of England. Much of the region is currently under strict tier three rules.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.16 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 43.6 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

26 October

Oxford coronavirus vaccine seems to produce an immune response in people over 55

The University of Oxford coronavirus vaccine candidate has been found to produce an over the age of 55. The results are encouraging because older people are at an increased risk of becoming severely ill and dying from covid-19, partly because the immune system weakens with age. The finding, which has not yet been published, builds on results from July which found that the vaccine also produces an immune response in younger adults, aged between 18 and 55. The vaccine candidate is being developed by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca in partnership with the University of Oxford. “It is encouraging to see immunogenicity responses were similar between older and younger adults,” an AstraZeneca spokesperson .��

UK health minister Matt Hancock today said the government was and expects it will be ready in the first half of 2021. Hancock also said that he doesn’t rule out the possibility that some people could receive a vaccine this year. Yesterday, US health adviser Anthony Fauci said it or early December if a coronavirus vaccine candidate was safe and effective. Fauci, speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, added: “The question is, once you have a safe and effective vaccine, or more than one, how can you get it to the people who need it as quickly as possible?”��

Other coronavirus news

The city of Melbourne, in south east Australia, will from Wednesday, after more than three months. Deaths in Victoria state, of which Melbourne is the capital, accounted for more than 90 per cent of deaths from covid-19 in Australia’s second wave. But after its first day with no new coronavirus cases since June, authorities announced that restrictions could gradually be lifted. “With zero cases and so much testing over the weekend […] we are able to say that now is the time to open up,” Victoria’s premier Daniel Andrews told journalists today. From Wednesday, people in Melbourne will be allowed to leave their homes freely, and bars, shops and restaurants will be permitted to reopen.��

As coronavirus cases surge in the US, White House chief of staff “not going to control the pandemic”. Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union show yesterday, he said: “What we need to do is make sure that we have the proper mitigation factors, whether it’s therapies or vaccines or treatments to make sure that people don’t die from this.” More than 225,000 people in the US have died from covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University. The US on Saturday, almost as many as the country’s current record for daily new cases of 83,757 set on Friday.��

UK pharmacy chain Boots today announced it will start offering in November. The tests will cost £120 and will be available in selected UK stores. While a negative test result may give people peace of mind at the time it is taken, Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia told the BBC: “A negative test today tells you nothing really about whether you are going to be positive a day or two later.”��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.15 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 43.1 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Covid-19 response: Cutting transmission of the coronavirus is vital to prevent hospitals being overwhelmed and schools shutting, but also to stop it evolving.

23 October

Study finds convalescent plasma treatment is of limited benefit in covid-19

Transfusions of plasma from people who have recovered from covid-19 offer limited benefit in terms of saving lives or reducing the severity of illness, a study has found. Convalescent plasma – a component of blood from people who have recovered from covid-19 – is being collected by NHS Blood and Transplant for use in studies in the UK, and was granted an emergency use authorisation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August, despite limited evidence that it had an effect. Convalescent plasma was used as a treatment for more than 100,000 patients admitted to hospital with covid-19 in the US between April and August.

The study, which was published in the , included 426 participants across 39 hospitals in India, about half of whom were randomised to receive two doses of convalescent plasma given 24 hours apart. It found that convalescent plasma was not associated with a reduction in progression to severe covid-19 or death within 28 days. An NHS Blood and Transplant spokesperson said that UK-based studies are only infusing plasma that contains than the plasma that was used in this recent study. “This was a trial which used donations with antibody levels around 6 to 10 times lower than we are using,” they said in a statement.��

Other coronavirus news

Tests for are being used to try to predict where new outbreaks might occur. A sewage sampling programme has been piloted in the south-west of England since June, and has already detected a spike in cases in the region and , according to the UK government. The programme is now being rolled out across more than 90 wastewater treatment sites in the UK, which cover about 22 per cent of the population of England.

Parts of Nottinghamshire and West Yorkshire from Wednesday. Talks are underway between the UK government and local leaders. Tier three rules came into force today in Greater Manchester in England, and Wales will enter a 17-day lockdown starting at 6 pm. South Yorkshire in England will move into tier three from Saturday.

The antiviral drug remdesivir has been as a treatment for people hospitalised with covid-19, despite a recent World Health Organization study suggesting it has in covid-19. It is the first drug in the US to receive approval for the treatment of covid-19.

Travellers returning to Australia may soon be allowed to opt to be put under surveillance through a so they can quarantine at home, rather than in a hotel, a government review suggests.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.13 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 41.8 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

22 October

NHS Test and Trace reaches lowest ever percentage of the contacts of virus cases

For the third consecutive week, ���Բ������Ի�’s contact tracing system who had come into contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus. Only 59.6 per cent of the contacts of those who were diagnosed were reached by NHS Test and Trace and told to self-isolate in the week up to 14 October, down from 62.6 per cent the previous week and the lowest figure since the system launched in May. UK government scientific advisers recommend a target of 80 per cent or more to limit infections from spreading. “[The latest figures] show a system struggling to make any difference to the epidemic”, said James Naismith at the University of Oxford in a .��

The system also returned a record low percentage of coronavirus test results within 24 hours – just 7.4 per cent of people received their results within a day. In early June, UK prime minister Boris Johnson told parliament all covid-19 tests would be returned within 24 hours by the end of the month. “We recognise that testing turnaround times must improve and we are working hard to address this,” Johnson’s official spokesperson told the .

Other coronavirus news

People from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority groups in England are at an increased risk of getting infected with the coronavirus and dying from covid-19, and part of this excess risk remains unexplained, according to a by the UK government’s Race Disparity Unit. The report says “current evidence clearly shows that a range of socioeconomic and geographical factors such as occupational exposure, population density, household composition and pre-existing health conditions contribute to the higher infection and mortality rates for ethnic minority groups” but don’t account for all of the increased risk. In response, Chaand Nagpaul, British Medical Association council chair, to protect Black, Asian and minority ethnic people. “As we sit amid a second wave of infections, we know that about a third of those admitted to intensive care are not white – showing no change since the first peak,” said Nagpaul in a statement. “Meanwhile, Black and Asian people have been found twice as likely to be infected compared to white people.” The report suggested measures to help investigate the disparity in England, which the UK government has accepted, including on death certificates mandatory.

In a trial of a potential coronavirus vaccine, a participant who reportedly did not receive the vaccine but instead got a placebo . The individual was taking part in a trial in Brazil of a vaccine candidate being developed by AstraZeneca in partnership with the University of Oxford. In a statement, AstraZeneca said “all required review processes have been followed”, adding that “assessments have not led to any concerns about continuation of the ongoing study”. The phase 3 trial was paused in September after a participant in the UK became ill. Trials have in the UK, Brazil, South Africa and India, although they remain suspended in the US.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.13 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 41.3 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Social viruses: The coronavirus and others are no lone wolves, they cooperate and compete with one another. Understanding these social interactions could help us fight them.

21 October

South Yorkshire becomes latest region of England to face strictest virus rules��

Sheffield and Doncaster will be put under from this Saturday along with the rest of South Yorkshire. “The number of people with covid in our hospitals has doubled over the last ten days, with no signs this will relent over the coming weeks,” Sheffield city region mayor Dan Jarvis said in a statement today. “Inaction was not an option.” He said that he and other local leaders had secured £41 million in funding from the UK government to support people and local businesses once the region is moved into tier three. Yesterday, the UK government announced that tier three rules will be imposed in Greater Manchester on Friday, against the wishes of local leaders who requested more funding to support businesses. Today, UK prime minister Boris Johnson announced for the region, an increase from an initial £22 million package announced yesterday, but still less than the £65 million requested by local leaders. Tier three is the highest coronavirus alert level and means tighter restrictions on household mixing, as well as the closure of bars and pubs that do not serve meals. The Liverpool city region and Lancashire are already under tier three restrictions. By Saturday 25 October, – 13 per cent of the population – will be living under tier three rules.

Scotland is expected to move to a tiered system of coronavirus restrictions on 2 November. were today extended for another week after bars and restaurants in Scotland’s central belt area were closed on 9 October. Venues in other parts of the country are not allowed to serve alcohol indoors.

The UK as a whole today, a new daily record.

Other coronavirus news

New Zealand today, its biggest daily count since April. Two of the recent infections were locally acquired and the remainder were discovered at the New Zealand border, including 18 among Russian and Ukranian fishing crews who had arrived on a flight from Moscow. New Zealand has been widely praised for its aggressive response to the coronavirus, which is aimed at eliminating the virus from the country entirely.

Lockdowns have been reintroduced in , and Ireland will today become the to return to a full, national coronavirus lockdown. Ireland is currently recording 270.8 virus cases per 100,000 people, compared to 348.7 per 100,000 people in the UK, according to the latest figures from the (ECDC).

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.12 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 40.9 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

: So far, we haven’t seen much change in the coronavirus, but as we develop more therapies and potentially a vaccine it could mutate.

UK infection survey: The UK’s flagship covid-19 infection tracking survey by the Office for National Statistics has been deluged by complaints, with volunteers calling it an “absolute shambles” and “disappointing and frustrating”.

Navigating uncertainty: Baffling statistics and their impact on our emotions can make it hard to evaluate risk in this pandemic. But there are simple steps you can take to put risk in context and feel more confident in your decisions.

20 October

UK government imposes tier three virus rules in Greater Manchester despite local disagreement

The UK government in Westminster will from Friday despite opposition from local leaders, who say the financial support for businesses that will be forced to close is inadequate. Tier three is the highest alert level and means tighter restrictions on household mixing, as well as the closure of bars and pubs that do not serve meals. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said the government to “protect the poorest people in our communities.” UK prime minister Boris Johnson said at a televised briefing today that the region would receive £22 million in extra financial support. Burnham and other local leaders plan, which they reduced to a request for £65 million during talks with Johnson today.��

The UK government also signalled today that facing tier three rules, as cases remain high in south and west Yorkshire. If this goes ahead, one third of the UK population could be living under stricter rules within days, as Wales is set to enter a nation-wide lockdown on Friday. Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon said at a briefing today that she expects to be able to announce plans for a tiered system of later this week.��

in the Liverpool city region, which is currently under tier three rules, have signed a petition asking for their area to be moved out of tier three. The number of cases in Halton fell from 399.5 to 338.5 per 100,000 people over the week leading up to 15 October. Tier three restrictions were first introduced in the Liverpool city region on 14 October, and are also in force in Lancashire and will soon be in Greater Manchester too.

London mayor Sadiq Khan today called for a , now that London is under tier two coronavirus restrictions. “We saw the worrying consequences of increased social mixing on the streets and on public transport in the capital around 10 pm immediately after its introduction,” Khan said in a statement. “Now London and other parts of the country have moved into tier two and higher restrictions, which prohibit household mixing, the current 10 pm curfew policy makes even less sense and should be scrapped.” Under tier two rules, people are not allowed to mix with people from other households indoors, but are allowed to visit pubs or restaurants with members of their own household or support bubble.

Other coronavirus news

To break the chains of coronavirus transmission in Europe, countries need to systematically , said Mike Ryan, World Health Organization (WHO) director of health emergencies, at a virtual press briefing yesterday. “About half of our member states within the European region have experienced a 50 per cent increase in cases in the last week,” said Ryan. “If I was asked for one thing […] that might change the game here, that is: making sure that each and every contact of a confirmed case is in quarantine for the appropriate period of time, so as to break chains of transmission.” The that all contacts of people with confirmed or probable covid-19 be quarantined in a designated facility or at home for 14 days from their last exposure. “I do not believe that has occurred systematically anywhere, and particularly in countries that are experiencing large increases now,” said Ryan.

The , up from 18,804 yesterday, according to official figures. There were also 241 deaths from covid-19 – the highest daily figure recorded since 258 deaths were recorded on 5 June. Deputy chief medical officer for England, Jonathan van Tam, said during a press briefing today that he expects the upwards trend in deaths to continue.

Researchers in the UK announced plans to infect volunteers with the coronavirus as part of a “challenge trial” starting in January, although the study has not yet received final ethical approval. The initial aim of the trial will be to establish the minimum infectious dose before testing potential vaccines.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.12 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 40.5 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

UK infection trial: A UK trial that involves intentionally infecting healthy volunteers with the coronavirus will start in January if approved by health authorities. The aim is to establish the minimum infectious dose before testing potential vaccines.

Coronavirus and TB: The covid-19 pandemic has collided with the ongoing tuberculosis epidemic, leaving many without adequate medical care and stuck at home, where they could pass an infection on to others.

People walk on Llandudno Pier, Conwy, Wales

19 October

Welsh government announces temporary national lockdown to start on Friday��

Wales will enter a starting this Friday at 6 pm, First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford announced today. “The firebreak is the shortest we can make it, but that means it will have to be sharp and deep to have the maximum impact on the virus,” Drakeford told a press conference. The decision comes after the UK government decided not to follow advice from scientific advisors to introduce a similar, second UK-wide lockdown lasting two weeks to curb rising infections. A modelling study by researchers at the University of Warwick and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has suggested that a UK-wide lockdown at the end of October would halve deaths from covid-19 between then and the end of 2020. The work has been but isn’t yet published.

In Wales from Friday all mixing between households will be banned, and people will be required to stay at home and work from home wherever possible, said Drakeford. Non-essential shops, tourism and hospitality businesses will be required to close, as will community centres and places of worship. Primary school pupils and those in years 7 and 8 will return as usual after the half term break, but all other secondary school pupils will have to study at home. Universities and colleges will also remain open and continue to provide a mix of online and in-person teaching. The lockdown will last until Monday 9 November.

Other coronavirus news

Coronavirus , with Florida and Connecticut experiencing the largest seven-day increases of 50 per cent or more. Only two states, Vermont and Missouri, have seen declines in the average number of reported coronavirus cases over the past week. “We’re seeing this happen because we’re getting colder weather and we’re losing that natural social distancing that happens from being out of doors,” US health secretary Alex Azar told NBC in an interview. US president Donald Trump hosted two election campaign rallies in Michigan and Winsconsin over the weekend, with many attendees from one another. On Friday, the US recorded more than 68,000 new virus cases, the .

The 14-day quarantine period for could be reduced, with people allowed to end their quarantine after a week if they test negative for the virus. At a conference today, UK transport minister Grant Shapps said the government was discussing a new “test and release regime”, which he said would “mean a single test for international arrivals, a week after arrival.”

New today, after the country recorded a record high number of daily new cases of 11,705 yesterday. Local officials can now close public areas at 9 pm each evening, and people are no longer allowed to meet in groups of more than six.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.11 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 40.1 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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“Circuit-breaker” lockdowns: Planning regular two-week lockdowns could be better than reacting to changing covid-19 case numbers, some scientists argue – but the UK may have left it too late for this strategy.

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16 October

The Ebola drug remdesivir offers little benefit for covid-19 cases, a WHO study has found

Remdesivir, an antiviral drug initially developed to treat Ebola by pharmaceutical company Gilead, has for people in hospital with covid-19, a World Health Organization (WHO) trial has found. As part of its SOLIDARITY trial, WHO researchers tested the effects of four potential treatments, including antiviral drugs remdesivir and interferon-β1a, the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine and a combination of two HIV drugs called lopinavir and ritonavir. The results suggest remdesivir has “no meaningful effect on mortality”, said Martin Landray at the University of Oxford in a . Landray described the findings as “important but sobering”, adding that the trial “has done the world a huge favour by producing clear, independent and robust results.” The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, included 11,266 participants across more than 30 countries and found that none of the treatments had a substantial effect on covid-19 mortality or on the length of time patients spent in hospital.��

In May, remdesivir was given emergency use authorisation by the US Food and Drug Administration and was later approved for use in the UK and other countries. US president Donald Trump received the drug after he tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this month. Gilead said in a that the findings of the study were “inconsistent” with others and emphasised that the results have not yet been peer-reviewed. A separate study of about 1000 covid-19 patients conducted by Gilead earlier this month concluded that treatment with remdesivir reduced recovery time by five days compared to a placebo. The Guardian reports that on 23 September, and was given a draft of the study on 28 September as part of an agreement with the WHO to provide the drug for free. Gilead signed a contract to provide 500,000 doses of the drug with the European commission on 8 October.��

So far, the steroid dexamethasone is the only drug that has been found to improve survival in covid-19 patients.

Other coronavirus news

The UK’s R number – the number of people each coronavirus case infects – has increased from between 1.2 and 1.5 the previous week to between 1.3 and 1.5 in the most recent week, according to . This is most likely to represent the situation two or three weeks ago due to a time lag in the data used to model the R. An R number above 1.0 indicates infections are rising. The findings are in line with the latest results from a , which found that about one in 160 people in England had the coronavirus between 2 and 8 October, up from one in 240 people the previous week. Earlier this week, concerns were raised about the reliability of the survey in England, due to a growing number of people failing to respond or complete a test. In Wales about one in 390 people are estimated to have had the virus during the same period, up from about one in 500 the previous week. In Northern Ireland the figure was equivalent to about one in 250 people, also up from one in 500 the previous week.

New restrictions are being introduced in parts of the UK, as coronavirus cases continue to rise. Lancashire, England has been and will be put under new restrictions from midnight tonight. People in the region will not be allowed to mix with people from other households indoors or outdoors, and pubs and bars not serving meals will be required to shut. Ministers in Wales are expected to make a decision over the next few days on whether to for two or three weeks to prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed.

The arrived today under new “travel bubble” arrangements between the two countries. The passengers will not be required to quarantine in Australia, although they will need to do so when they arrive back in New Zealand, and they will need to pay for their own hotel stay to quarantine on their return.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.09 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 39.0 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

15 October

NHS Test and Trace reaches lowest ever proportion of the contacts of virus cases

For the second week in a row, ���Բ������Ի�’s contact tracing system of people who had come into contact with someone diagnosed with covid-19. Only 62.6 per cent of the contacts of those who tested positive were reached by in the week leading up to 7 October, down from 69.5 per cent the previous week�� – the lowest figure since the system launched in May. This is also below the target of 80 per cent or more recommended by the government’s scientific advisers to limit infections from spreading. “This needs to be fixed,” said Kevin McConway at The Open University in the UK, in a . “Arguably it’s never really been high enough, but it has fallen considerably since September. If contact tracing can’t get in touch with contacts quickly, then any contact who [has] been infected may be walking around for days unaware […] and possibly passing the infection on further.” Coronavirus cases continue to rise steeply in England, according to NHS Test and Trace. Between 1 and 7 October, 89,874 people tested positive for the virus, an increase of 64 per cent from the previous week.��

Other coronavirus news

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and other leaders in the area have tier three coronavirus restrictions unless more financial support is provided for affected workers. The Liverpool city region is currently the only part of England under tier three or very high alert level restrictions, the country’s most severe level of regional restrictions. In tier three areas, people are not allowed to mix with people from other households indoors or outdoors, including in hospitality venues or private gardens, and pubs and bars not serving meals are required to close. “If the government are convinced this approach will work […] they have to back that properly, fully financially, so it will have a chance of working,” Burnham told journalists today.

Londoners , as the city is moved to the high alert level. In a statement, London mayor Sadiq Khan said the virus is “spreading rapidly in every corner of our city”, adding that a “significant number” of boroughs are reporting an average of 100 cases per 100,000 people. Ealing currently has the of any London borough, with 144.5 cases per 100,000 people.��

The World Health Organization said surging coronavirus cases in Europe are of “great concern.” WHO regional director for Europe Hans Kluge : “The evolving epidemiological situation in Europe raises great concern. Daily numbers of cases are up, hospital admissions are up.” He said covid-19 is now the fifth leading cause of deaths in Europe.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.09 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 38.6 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Concerns raised about vital UK infection survey: The UK’s largest scheme for tracking the spread of the coronavirus – a random swab testing survey by the Office for National Statistics – is at risk of providing a misleading picture of the epidemic, as a growing share of people invited to take part fail to return any test results.

14 October

Tighter restrictions introduced in the UK and across Europe to tackle rising infections��

A came into force in England today, and Northern Ireland announced that for two weeks from 19 October, as the UK attempts to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Other European countries are also in response to sharp rises in cases. The Netherlands yesterday announced a partial nationwide lockdown, which will come into force at 10 pm today. The country recorded almost 7400 cases in 24 hours yesterday in a , and currently has a case rate of 412.2 per 100,000 people, according to the latest figures from the (ECDC). The equivalent figure for the UK is currently 283.2 cases per 100,000 people. Under the new rules in the Netherlands, bars, restaurants and cafes will be required to close for four weeks and the sale of alcohol will be banned after 8pm each evening. The Czech Republic, which currently has the highest infection rate in Europe at 581.3 cases per 100,000 people, started a three-week partial lockdown yesterday. Schools, university accommodation, bars and clubs were all told to close. New restrictions are also expected to be announced in Spain and France, where infection rates are currently 293.8 and 307.1 cases per 100,000 people, respectively.

In England, Labour leader Keir Starmer has called for tougher measures, specifically the to try and bring cases under control. At a press conference yesterday, Starmer suggested that schools could stay open but that all pubs and restaurants should close for two weeks, with only essential work and travel allowed. Starmer’s proposal echoes recommendations made by government scientific advisers , which included the implementation of a two-week lockdown, banning of contact between people from different households, closing pubs, restaurants and other venues, and moving all university and college teaching online.

Other coronavirus news

Advice for to the coronavirus – those who have conditions affecting their immune systems, some people with cancer and organ transplant recipients – will now be tailored according to the alert level in the area where they live. These 2.2 million people will be advised to take precautions and practice social distancing as cases rise, but most will not be advised to stay at home as they were during the first wave of the virus in spring, the government announced yesterday. The exception to this will include some people in tier three areas, where infection rates are highest. Patient groups, including Blood Cancer UK and Kidney Care UK, for being insufficient to support those most at risk.

The World Bank has approved $12 billion (£9 billion) of funding for buying and distributing in developing countries.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.08 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 38.2 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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13 October

UK scientific advisors recommended a short lockdown in England three weeks ago

The UK’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) that a failure to implement tighter coronavirus restrictions in England would have “catastrophic consequences.” Documents from SAGE dated 21 September, which were , included a recommendation that the government impose a two-week “circuit-breaker” lockdown to curb the spread of infections. The advisory group cautioned that “not acting now to reduce cases will result in a very large epidemic with catastrophic consequences in terms of direct COVID related deaths and the ability of the health service to meet needs.” Other recommendations from the group, which were not implemented by the government at the time, included banning all contact between people from different households, closing all bars, restaurants, cafes, indoor gyms and personal services such as hairdressers, and moving all university and college teaching online unless absolutely essential.��

At a press conference yesterday, ���Բ������Ի�’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty that new measures, namely a three-tier alert level system announced by UK prime minister Boris Johnson, “would be enough to get on top of” the coronavirus. Whitty said local authorities in areas put on very high alert would likely have to introduce further restrictions.��

Other coronavirus news

A man in the US has become the , following similar cases in Hong Kong, Belgium, the Netherlands and Ecuador. The 25-year old first tested positive for the virus on 18 April after experiencing several weeks of symptoms but then recovered and tested negative for the virus on both 9 and 26 May, according to a study published in . However, a few days after testing negative for the second time, he developed more severe symptoms, eventually requiring hospitalisation, and he tested positive for the virus again on 5 June. The man has since recovered. Although cases of coronavirus reinfection with severe illness do not appear to be common, “these findings reinforce the point that we still do not know enough about the immune response to this infection,” said Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia, UK, in a statement. Understanding immune responses to the virus and how long any immunity might last is important for vaccine development.��

Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has of its coronavirus vaccine candidate because of an unexplained illness in a study participant. This is standard procedure in vaccine development, and allows time for researchers to determine the cause of the illness and ensure the safety of participants in the trial. In September, trials of a coronavirus vaccine candidate being developed by AstraZeneca in partnership with the University of Oxford were also paused, after a participant fell ill in the UK. Trials of the Oxford-AstraZeneca candidate have since resumed in the UK, Brazil, South Africa and India, but the US trial is still on hold, pending a regulatory review. Both the Johnson & Johnson and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine candidates are based on adenoviral vectors – modified viruses that can instruct cells to produce coronavirus proteins.

Senior US government health advisor Anthony Fauci has criticised US president Donald without adequate social distancing. The president returned to the campaign trail yesterday to attend a rally in Florida less than two weeks after he tested positive for the coronavirus. “That is asking for trouble,” Fauci . He cited rising virus positivity rates in a number of US states, adding: “now is even more so a worse time to do that, because when you look at what’s going on in the United States, it’s really very troublesome.”

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.08 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 37.8 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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12 October

Restrictions tighten in parts of England as new three-tier system introduced

UK prime minister Boris Johnson for setting coronavirus rules in England, due to come into force on Wednesday subject to a debate and vote in parliament tomorrow. Under the new system, different sets of restrictions of increasing severity will apply to different regions. They will be classified as being on medium, high or very high alert based on their case rates per 100,000 people as well as the rate at which infections are rising. The Liverpool city region, which recorded 600 cases per 100,000 people in the week ending 6 October will face the tightest restrictions, classified as tier three. This will mean that those living in Liverpool and surrounding areas will not be allowed to meet people from different households indoors, while gyms and pubs will be required to shut until the measures are reviewed in a month, Johnson told parliament.��

Most areas that already have some form of additional restrictions will be classed as high alert level and put under tier two restrictions, meaning that people will not be allowed to mix with those from other households indoors. Nottinghamshire and east and west Cheshire will also be put under tier two rules, said Johnson. The medium alert level will cover most of England and will feature tier one restrictions, including the rule of six and the 10 pm closing time for pubs. Johnson said the goal of the three-tier system was to simplify and standardise local rules.

“This is not how we want to live our lives,” . “But is the narrow path we have to tread between social and economic costs of a full lockdown and the massive human and indeed economic cost of an uncontained epidemic,” he added. “We cannot let the NHS fall over when lives are at stake.”

“The introduction of a three-tier system does provide greater clarity on what will happen in parts of England to try and address the current rise in covid-19 cases,” said Linda Bauld at the University of Edinburgh in a . Bauld said the new guidelines are in line with linking infections to contact between different households and visits to hospitality venues.

Johnson also outlined financial support measures for people affected by the new measures, including the covering of wages for employees of businesses forced to close due to coronavirus restrictions as well as funding for improved contact tracing for areas on very high alert.

Other coronavirus news

The such as mobile phone screens, according to a study by researchers at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness published in . The researchers studied coronavirus particles on several common surface types across a range of temperatures, in complete darkness. They found that the virus had a half-life of between 1.7 and 2.7 days at 20°C and that viable virus particles could be isolated for up to 28 days on smooth surfaces such as mobile phone screen glass as well as banknotes made of paper and plastic. However, this is probably an overestimate because outside of these laboratory conditions, factors such as exposure to ultraviolet light could increase the chance of virus particles being destroyed.

More than before the UK first went into lockdown in March, NHS medical director Stephen Powis told a Downing Street press conference today. “If we do not take measures to control the spread of the virus, the death toll will be too great to bear,” said Powis. All hospital staff in high risk areas will now be tested for the virus regularly irrespective of symptoms, he added, and Nightingale Hospitals in Manchester, Sunderland and Harrogate have already been asked to prepare for increased numbers of patients in the coming months.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.07 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 37.60 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

9 October

Community infections continue to rise in England, swab testing survey finds

Coronavirus , according to the from Imperial College London’s REACT-1 study. Using random swab testing, researchers monitored coronavirus levels and found that about one in 170 people had the virus between 18 September and 5 October, an increase from one in 769 between 22 August and 7 September. The most recent results are based on an analysis of swabs from 175,000 people.

The UK’s R number – the number of people each coronavirus case infects – has gone down slightly for the first time in the last five weeks, from between 1.3 and 1.6 the previous week to between 1.2 and 1.5 in the most recent week, according to . This is most likely to represent the situation two or three weeks ago due to a time lag in the data used to model the R. An R number above 1.0 indicates infections are rising.

“While the R value remains above 1.0, infections will continue to grow at an exponential rate,” Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies said in documents published on Friday. “This is currently the case for every region in England and all have positive growth rates, reflecting increases in the number of new infections across the country.”��

Other coronavirus news

There was a in global new coronavirus cases on Thursday, with 338,779 cases confirmed around the world according to the World Health Organization. The spike was largely driven by a surge of infections in European countries, including the UK, which on Thursday reported a record daily increase of more than 17,000 new cases. On Friday, the UK reported 13,864 daily new cases. Some hospitals in the north of England will , health officials said on Thursday. Cases are also continuing to rise in . ���貹����’s government on Friday declared a state of emergency for 15 days to deal with surging coronavirus cases in Madrid. Almost 25 per cent of intensive care unit beds in France are occupied by covid-19 patients, with the figure rising to 40 per cent in Paris and surrounding areas. France recorded more than 18,000 new cases on Thursday. Daily new cases in Italy jumped from more than 4000 on Thursday to more than 5000 on Friday, with hotspots in the south of the country. On Friday, Germany reported more than 4000 daily new cases for the second consecutive day, with Berlin emerging as one of the hotspots in the country’s second wave.

US president Donald Trump is planning a political in Florida this Saturday and may hold a separate rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday night. The White House has not released any information about whether or not he still has coronavirus, or whether he has been tested at all since he tested positive for the virus on 2 October. In June, a rally held by the president in Tulsa, Oklahoma was by a local health official.

The Washington, DC Department of Health appealed to all White House staff and anyone who attended an event in the Rose Garden on 26 September to get tested for the coronavirus and seek medical advice, released yesterday. The letter says the appeal was prompted by the “limited contact tracing performed to date” in the White House, adding “there may be other staff and residents at risk for exposure to COVID positive individuals.”

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.06 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 36.62 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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8 October

Daily coronavirus cases rise to 17,540, up 3300 from the previous day

The UK has recorded 17,540 coronavirus , an increase of 3300 from yesterday. Deaths also rose slightly, with 77 deaths recorded within 28 days of a positive test, up from the 70 reported on Wednesday. The number of coronavirus patients in hospitals in England has also risen slightly to 3044, up from 2944 yesterday.

Other coronavirus news

���Բ������Ի�’s contact tracing system only of those who tested positive for coronavirus yet since the system launched in May. The figure is down from 72.5 per cent the previous week. It is also below the target of 80 per cent or more recommended by government scientific advisors to limit infections from spreading. In total, 51,475 people tested positive for the coronavirus in England in the week ending 30 September, a 56 per cent increase compared to the previous week.��

In England and Wales, covid-19 was the underlying cause of death in more than as many people as influenza and pneumonia combined during 2020, according to analysis by the (ONS). “The substantially greater number of deaths attributed to covid-19 does tell us that at the moment, covid-19 is a greater risk to people than influenza,” Rowland Kao at the University of Edinburgh said in a . Kao said this is unsurprising as we have a vaccine against flu but not against covid-19, and because the coronavirus is new to us, whereas some people may have acquired immunity to seasonal flu. The ONS analysis included data between January and August this year.��

Coronavirus further early next week, with possible closures of pubs and restaurants in the worst-affected areas, according to the BBC. These areas may also see bans on overnight stays away from home. An official government announcement is expected on Monday.

US president Donald Trump today said in a virtual presidential debate with Democratic candidate Joe Biden. The debate format was changed because of safety concerns after Trump tested positive for the coronavirus.�� “I’m not going to do a virtual debate,” Trump said during an interview with the Fox Business Network. “That’s not what debating is all about.”

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.05 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 36.2 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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7 October

New rules introduced in Belgium, France and Germany amid rising cases

Belgium, France and Germany are among European countries that have introduced new restrictions to try and stem surging coronavirus cases. In Belgium, all bars, cafes and event halls will be , starting at 7 am on Thursday. One in seven people in Brussels are testing positive for the virus, according to officials. In Paris and its surrounding inner suburbs, are currently occupied by covid-19 patients, according to the regional health agency. It warned that the proportion could rise to 50 per cent within two weeks without intervention. Bars, gyms and swimming pools in Paris were for at least two weeks. On Saturday, in �ұ�������Բ�’s capital Berlin, where authorities have recorded 44.2 new cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days. Bars, restaurants and off-licenses in the city will be required to shut between 11 pm and 6 am. Restrictions have been introduced limiting the number of people allowed at private and public gatherings.��

In Scotland, which recorded 1054 new coronavirus cases today, first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced , which come into force at 6 pm on Friday. Bars, pubs and restaurants will not be allowed to serve alcohol indoors for 16 days. Sturgeon described the new measures as a “short, sharp action to arrest a worrying increase in infection.”

Other coronavirus news

Diagnostic due to a supply chain failure affecting Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, which supplies diagnostic testing equipment and materials to the NHS. Roche said that issues, which are related to a move to a new warehouse, had resulted in a significant drop in its processing capacity, adding that it is prioritising the dispatch of covid-19 diagnostic and antibody tests. However, there are concerns that this strategy could delay other tests, such as those for kidney, liver and thyroid function, as well as for sepsis and other infections. Tom Lewis, a doctor at North Devon District Hospital, told the BBC his hospital’s trust had already asked staff to stop all non-urgent blood tests in the community. The problem could take up to two weeks to resolve, a Roche spokesperson told the BBC.

US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has said the next presidential debate on 15 October if US president Donald Trump still has covid-19. Biden told journalists that the debate, scheduled to take place in Miami, should only be staged in accordance with strict health guidelines, adding “if [Trump] still has covid, we shouldn’t have a debate.”

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.05 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 35.9 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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6 October

UK sees 14,452 cases in a single day, as covid-19 deaths rise for third week in a row

Today, the , almost 2000 more than on Monday. This is a record number of new daily cases, with the exception of last Sunday when the number was artificially raised to 22,961 to compensate for thousands of cases that were missed between 25 September and 2 October . The number of deaths mentioning covid-19 on the death certificate has risen in the UK for the third consecutive week, according to the . There were 234 deaths involving the coronavirus registered in the week ending 25 September, up from 158 from the week before.��

Other coronavirus news

Levels of and disruption surrounding coronavirus restrictions are rising in Europe, World Health Organization (WHO) Europe director Hans Kluge said in a today. The findings come from aggregated survey data from countries across the region. “Although fatigue is measured in different ways, and levels vary per country, it is now estimated to have reached over 60 per cent in some cases,” Kluge said. He encouraged governments to monitor community feelings and comfort regarding coronavirus restrictions and guidance, and to create public health guidance in collaboration with local communities.��

US president Donald on the White House balcony on Monday, after being discharged from hospital where he was being treated for covid-19. Before leaving the hospital, the president tweeted: “Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life.” Trump’s doctor told journalists that the president will continue to take antiviral drug remdesivir and the steroid drug dexamethasone – treatments usually reserved for severely ill covid-19 patients. “It’s a little unprecedented that anyone so early [in their disease] would be receiving [remdesivir],” Walid Gellad at the University of Pittsburgh told .

China is in talks to have its assessed by the WHO, in a step toward making them available for international use, according to Socorro Escalate, a WHO coordinator in the Western Pacific region. Escalate told an online news conference that China had held preliminary talks with the WHO to have its vaccines included in a list for emergency use. Hundreds of thousands of people in China have already been given locally developed vaccine candidates before final regulatory approval for their general use, raising .

Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European commission, said she would leave quarantine today after having been in contact one week ago with someone infected with the coronavirus, despite European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recommendations to self-isolate for 14 days. A European commission spokesperson told the that the length of von der Leyen’s self-isolation was in line with rules in Belgium, which were recently relaxed, but declined to comment on the ECDC recommendation.

Facebook today, which falsely claimed that the coronavirus was less deadly than flu, because it violated the social media platform’s rules about covid-19 misinformation. Twitter added a warning label to a similar tweet posted by Trump, and restricted interactions with the post.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.04 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 35.5 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

5 October

Nearly 16,000 coronavirus cases were missed in the UK due to a technical glitch

Almost from official daily UK case figures between 25 September and 2 October due to a technical mistake, according to Public Health England. A total of 15,841 cases were left out of the daily UK figures over the eight-day period, or about 1980 missed cases per day. The missing cases were added over the weekend, artificially raising daily UK case numbers to 12,872 for Saturday and 22,961 for Sunday. Public Health England was reportedly as a makeshift database to record lab cases. The file reached the maximum number of columns, which cut off thousands of cases.

“Some of the data, it got truncated and it was lost,” UK prime minister Boris Johnson told journalists today. Johnson said Public Health England had contacted all those who had tested positive and that efforts to trace their contacts were underway. But many researchers are concerned that it may be too late. The government’s scientific advisors that the contacts of people who test positive for the virus are tracked down and told to self-isolate within 48 hours.��

“For the test, track and trace system to have a real impact on reducing transmission of covid-19 it is essential that tests results are communicated rapidly,” Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia said in a . “People with covid-19 are most infectious at around the time that they develop symptoms so any delay in following people up will potentially expose a large number of people.”

Other coronavirus news

The White House’s medical team has said US president Donald Trump’s condition has been , and that he could be released from hospital as early as Monday. The president has received a dose of an being developed by drug company Regeneron, , a drug found to reduce the risk of death in severely ill covid-19 patients. The decision to give the president dexamethasone confused some doctors. Rochelle Walensky at Massachusetts General Hospital, told : “Generally you start the dexamethasone when you’re starting to worry that they’re heading down the wrong path. So, what happened today? Either he progressed or people are like, well, let’s just throw the kitchen sink at him.”��

On Sunday, Trump briefly left the hospital and was driven around in an SUV, from which he waved at supporters gathered outside. The move has been heavily criticised, at the hospital where the president is being treated, for putting the Secret Service agents inside the vehicle at risk of infection. The president’s short car journey also contradicts US public health advice to self-isolate when seeking treatment for covid-19.

Less than half of people in the UK can expect to receive a coronavirus vaccine, once one is available, the head of the government’s vaccine task force told the . Kate Bingham said that vaccination of everyone in the country was “not going to happen”, adding: “we just need to vaccinate everyone at risk.” If a successful vaccine is found, Bingham said the government’s goal will be to vaccinate about 30 million people. “There’s going to be no vaccination of people under 18. It’s an adult-only vaccine, for people over 50, focusing on health workers and care home workers and the vulnerable.”

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1.03 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 35.2 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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2 October

Donald Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus

US president Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump for the coronavirus, and the president is experiencing , according to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. It isn’t clear when they became infected and whether they may have infected others, but Trump’s senior advisor, Hope Hicks, tested positive for the virus on Thursday. “This raises questions about whether Hicks was the source or whether all may have been infected simultaneously by another source,” Trish Greenhalgh at the University of Oxford said in a . “The chain of infection is important,” said Greenhalgh, because it will influence the likelihood that Trump could have infected other people, for instance during Tuesday’s presidential debate. Trump has a number of risk factors for developing severe covid-19, including being male, older and overweight, said Naveed Sattar at the University of Glasgow in a . “But if he has no chronic conditions and is reasonably active […] then these may offset or attenuate his risks.” If Trump becomes too ill to lead the country, power could temporarily be transferred to the vice-president, Mike Pence, who on Friday .��

Two days before Hicks tested positive, she travelled on Air Force One with the president and his wife to the first US presidential debate in Ohio. Trump and Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden were and maintained a two-metre distance from one another during Tuesday’s debate. However, by either the Trump campaign or the White House about the potential exposure, according to a senior campaign official who attended the debate with Biden. Biden’s physician that the Democratic candidate had tested negative. On Wednesday, Hicks fell ill and was quarantined on Air Force One. That evening, Trump and the first lady attended a fundraiser at a private home in Minnesota, followed by a campaign rally in the city of Duluth.��

On Thursday, Trump travelled to New Jersey to meet supporters at his Bedminster golf club, and spoke at a fundraiser. That evening, during an interview on Fox News, Trump announced that Hicks had tested positive for the virus. After the interview, he tweeted saying he and the first lady were quarantining following Hicks’ diagnosis and awaiting their own test results. Following their positive test results in the early hours of Friday, the president and his wife are both self-isolating in the White House.

Other coronavirus news

An estimated 116,000 people within communities in England had the coronavirus between 18 and 24 September, according to the latest results from a random swab testing survey by the . This is equivalent to about one in 500 people, which is the same as the previous week, providing an early indication that infections may be levelling off following the steep increases seen in August and September. In Wales, during the same time period, an estimated one in 500 people had the virus, which is down from one in 300 people the previous week. About one in 400 people are estimated to have had the virus in Northern Ireland, up from one in 500. In England, infection rates were found to be highest among teenagers and young adults 24 and under.

The UK’s R number – the number of people each coronavirus case infects – has increased for the fourth consecutive week, up to an estimate of between 1.3 and 1.6, an increase from between 1.2 and 1.5 the previous week, according to . This is most likely to represent the situation two or three weeks ago due to a time lag in the data used to model the R. Infections across the country are estimated to be growing at a rate of between 5 and 9 per cent every day.

���貹����’s capital will enter a partial lockdown from 10 pm on Friday. The Madrid region currently has the highest case rate in Europe, with 859 cases per 100,000 people.

Poland recorded its since the start of the pandemic, with 2292 new cases confirmed on Friday, according to the country’s health ministry.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 34.3 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Can vitamin D help?: There is no definitive evidence that vitamin D protects against covid-19, but the case is growing – and most people should take a daily supplement anyway, for bone strength.

1 October

Coronavirus cases are still on the rise in England but this trend may be slowing

Infections in England continue to rise but the rate of increase may be slowing down, according to from Imperial College London’s REACT-1 study. Using random swab testing, the researchers tracked levels of the coronavirus within communities in England and found that about one in 181 people had the virus between 18 and 26 September, an increase from one in 769 between 22 August and 7 September. However, the estimated R number for England – the number of cases each case infects – had fallen from 1.7 to around 1.1, suggesting the rate at which cases are rising is slowing. There is uncertainty around this figure, which could lie anywhere between about 0.7 and 1.5. The most recent results are based on an analysis of swabs from 80,000 people.��

The study also found a rise in coronavirus cases across all age groups. Cases were also twice as high among people of black and Asian ethnicities, compared to white people – a trend seen in previous results from REACT-1. The recent rise in cases among people older than 65 is “worrying” said Julian Tang at the University of Leicester in a . “This may continue into the more vulnerable elderly population […] if we don’t act to curb the spread of this virus now.”

The from NHS Test and Trace show that the number of people who tested positive for the coronavirus in England increased by 61 per cent to 31,373 in the week ending 23 September compared to the previous week. The system reached about 72 per cent of the contacts of people diagnosed with the virus, which is below the level of 80 per cent or more recommended by the government’s scientific advisors.

Other coronavirus news

A on its own won’t be enough to curb the spread of the virus, and social-distancing measures are likely to be needed for some time, according to a report by a multidisciplinary group of researchers convened by the Royal Society in the UK. “Even if [a future vaccine] is effective it is very unlikely that we will be able to get back completely to normal,” report co-author Charles Bangham at Imperial College London told the Guardian. The report says that challenges to the success of a future vaccine include potential limitations in how well the vaccine works, hurdles in manufacturing and storage, and issues with public trust.

India has announced today, despite continued rises in daily new cases. The government said it will allow states to reopen cinemas, multiplexes and exhibition centres with 50 per cent capacity from 15 October.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 34 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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How your computer can help: Thanks to the Folding@home project, millions of people are helping scientists understand the structure of proteins in the new coronavirus, finds Layal Liverpool.

30 September

MPs will be able to vote on new coronavirus regulations for England or the UK

UK “wherever possible” on new coronavirus regulations affecting England or the UK as a whole, before they come into force, UK health minister Matt Hancock told parliament today. “I am sure that no member of this House would want to limit the government’s ability to take emergency action in the national interest as we did in March,” he added, referring to the UK’s nation-wide lockdown imposed on 23 March.��

The UK’s prime minister Boris Johnson today across the UK. “Frankly, when you have the virus going up in the way it is now in some parts of the country, you have to take strong local action,” Johnson said during Prime Minister’s Questions.��

Yesterday, the UK recorded its highest number of since the start of the pandemic, with 7143 new cases confirmed within 24 hours. Today, 7108 cases were recorded across the country. Several other European countries have seen recent record daily rises in cases, including the today, although this may be due in part to more people being tested. Yesterday, the UK also saw its highest daily death toll since 1 July, with 71 deaths from covid-19 recorded. In Scotland, seven deaths from covid-19 were recorded today, the nation’s .

Other coronavirus news

A coronavirus vaccine candidate being developed by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech has been found to induce an immune response in a trial including 60 volunteers aged 18 to 55. Most of the volunteers produced coronavirus-specific antibodies and T-cells, according to results published today in the journal . The vaccine candidate contains messenger RNA, which is used to make fragments of coronavirus protein that the body’s immune system can recognise and respond to. The UK has already secured 30 million doses of the vaccine candidate, in addition to vaccine candidates from several other companies, including 100 million doses of a candidate being developed by AstraZeneca in partnership with the University of Oxford.��

�ұ�������Բ�’s chancellor Angela Merkel today said she wanted to “at all costs”. Following a rise in cases, Merkel and the leaders of �ұ�������Բ�’s 16 states today agreed to tighten restrictions on the size of gatherings, particularly in coronavirus hotspots. People in areas with a case rate of 35 per 100,000 people or higher will have to limit private gatherings to 25 people, and those in areas with a case rate of 50 per 100,000 people or above will need to cap private gatherings at 10 people. “We want to act regionally, specifically and purposefully, rather than shutting down the whole country again – this must be prevented at all costs,” said Merkel.

US president Donald Trump and democratic challenger Joe Biden clashed over the coronavirus pandemic during the country’s first presidential debate yesterday. Trump against the virus, , including Robert Redfield, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Biden criticised Trump’s record on covid-19, saying 200,000 people “have died on his watch.”

Today, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon for people on low incomes who are asked to self-isolate. The grant will aim to help those who would lose income if they stayed at home.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 33.7 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Strict quarantine: Perth and other Australian cities have some of the world’s strictest quarantine policies. Donna Lu reports from quarantine as Australia successfully quashes its second wave of covid-19.

29 September

Confusion over new restrictions introduced in parts of north-east England

Local leaders have criticised the UK government for of tightened restrictions in north-east England. Newcastle council leader Nick Forbes told the BBC that government announcements about new restrictions lacked detail. He said, “there is a “gap between what’s announced in headlines and the details that people can understand […] what that does is sow confusion, it creates doubt, it creates uncertainty.”��

The new rules, coming into force tomorrow, will apply to Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Northumberland and Sunderland. They will extend the ban on people from different households meeting indoors to include venues such as restaurants, bars or pubs. People who break the rules could face fines up to £6400.��

UK education minister Gillian Keegan, speaking today on BBC Radio 4, was unable to clarify whether the new restrictions prevented people from meeting outdoors in pub and restaurant gardens, as well as indoors.

Separately, the UK’s prime minister Boris Johnson that another rule limiting gatherings to six people in England does not apply outdoors in the north-east. Johnson was answering media questions after a speech in Exeter. He later tweeted an apology, saying “I misspoke today” and clarified that people in the north-east “should also avoid socialising with other households outside”.��

Other coronavirus news

The number of deaths mentioning covid-19 on the death certificate has risen in the UK, according to the . There were 158 deaths involving the coronavirus registered in the week ending 18 September, up by 48 from the week before. “This is by no means a large spike in deaths,” Kevin McConway, at the Open University, said in a . “But the recent rise in the numbers of infections, shown by data from the ONS Infection Survey and the REACT-1 study from Imperial College, did not really get started until late August or early September,” said McConway. “If the rise in infections is going to lead to a corresponding rise in numbers of deaths […] – that rise in deaths mostly won’t have showed up yet.”

There has been a jump in the proportion of coronavirus cases in US children over the summer months, according to a study published online in the journal . From April to September, the proportion of cases in children rose from 2.2 to 10 per cent of all cumulative reported cases. It isn’t clear whether this is partly due to increased testing capacity, although the proportion of tests administered to under 18s has remained relatively stable at between 5 and 7 per cent since late April, the authors write in the paper. Earlier studies have suggested that children don’t get as ill with covid-19, compared to adults.

Independent SAGE, an independent group of scientists publishing advice for the UK government, says that and give university students the “right to return home.” In its latest report, the group argues that students should be allowed to return home at any point during term following a coronavirus test, and have their accommodation fees refunded.

More than 1 million people have died from covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University. UN secretary-general António Guterres as a “mind-numbing figure” and an “agonizing milestone”. Guterres : “We must never lose sight of each & every life.”

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 1 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 33.4 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

A million deaths: The coronavirus pandemic has claimed a million lives since it first emerged in Wuhan, China. How did we get here?

Young people: As a rise in cases of covid-19 is met with anti-lockdown protests, a small minority are arguing that we should let the virus rip through the young and healthy.

Europe’s second wave: Several countries in Europe are reporting more daily covid-19 cases than during the first wave in March, though the higher numbers may be due to more people being tested.

28 September

Coronavirus rates have been higher among people who have travelled abroad

Rates of people testing positive for the coronavirus within communities in England in recent weeks were , according to analysis by the . About one in 286 people who said they had travelled abroad within the previous 30 days are estimated to have tested positive for the virus on 10 September, compared to about one in 1000 who said they hadn’t. However, both groups saw increases in the rates of positive tests between 2 August and 10 September. The analysis also found that coronavirus infection rates increased more in the least deprived areas within each region, and that positivity rates were higher among people under 35 who reported having had socially-distanced contact with six or more people aged 18 to 69, compared to those over 35. The Office for National Statistics says this suggests “socially-distanced direct contact in younger age groups is an increasingly important factor in contracting covid-19.”

Other coronavirus news

The mayor of Greater Manchester today for restaurants, bars and pubs across England, which came into force last week. Andy Burnham said it was resulting in people gathering in homes and supermarkets that were “packed” once the bars closed. “This curfew is doing more harm than good,” he told BBC Radio 4. A spokesperson for UK prime minister Boris Johnson told the BBC there are no specific plans to review the policy but that all measures are kept under review. Some scientists agree that the measures could be counterproductive. “We have seen this type of measure backfire before. In March, the London Underground reduced services, hoping that only key workers would use it. Instead, we saw trains crowded with commuters,” said Flaxio Toxvaerd at the University of Cambridge in a . Scientists advising the government have previously suggested that high risk venues such as indoor pubs and restaurants should close in order to try and make sure schools can stay open, said Susan Michie at University College London in a . “We can’t have it all.”

The president of the National Union of Students, Larissa Kennedy, that students risked being “trapped” in “disgusting conditions” in their halls of residence due to self-isolation rules. The remarks came after UK culture minister Oliver Dowden on Sunday suggested that during the Christmas break if the general public is seen to be following government guidance. Thousands of students at universities including Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Glasgow and Edinburgh Napier University, are currently self-isolating in their rooms following rises in cases. “We would expect all students to be able to go home at Christmas,” a spokesperson for UK prime minister Boris Johnson today.

People in England could now face when asked. A preliminary study published last week suggested in the UK who are told to self-isolate actually do so for the full 14-days.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 998,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 33.1 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

25 September

Infection rate within communities in England and Wales continues to rise��

One in 500 people in England had the coronavirus in the week ending 19 September, up from one in 900 people the previous week, according to the latest results from a random swab testing survey by the . “It’s a worrying increase and is occurring across all age groups, particularly in the North of England and London,” said Simon Clarke at the University of Reading in a . “While it’s true that there are many more tests conducted nowadays, this is clear evidence of an accelerating spread of the virus,” said Clarke. “We can expect to see an increasing burden placed on our hospitals and a consequent increase in deaths.”��

Northern Ireland, which was included in the survey for the first time, and Wales have also seen increases in infections. One in 300 people are estimated to have had the virus in Wales and Northern Ireland during the same time period. In Wales, this figure is up from one in 500 the week before. This weekend, will be put in place in the Welsh city of Cardiff as well as in Swansea county areas and in the town of Llanelli.��

The UK’s R number – the number of people each coronavirus case infects – has increased for the third week in a row, up to an estimate of between 1.2 and 1.5, an increase from between 1.1 and 1.4 the previous week, according to . This is most likely to represent the situation two to three weeks ago due to a time lag in the data used to model the R. Infections across the country are estimated to be growing at a rate of between 4 and 8 per cent every day.

Other coronavirus news

Only 11 per cent of people for the full 14-day period, which the UK government has been aware of since June. The finding comes from a survey that began in February. Results were published online yesterday to the pre-print server and have not yet been peer-reviewed. The government’s scientific advisors recommend that 80 per cent or more of the contacts of people diagnosed with the coronavirus self-isolate for the full time period in order to help limit onward spread.��

Independent SAGE – an independent group of scientists publishing advice for the UK government – says Sweden’s success in tackling the coronavirus pandemic has been overstated. In a , the group dismissed the idea of “herd immunity” as a strategy for dealing with the UK’s epidemic in the absence of a vaccine and said it is “irresponsible and unethical to try”.

���貹����’s government has recommended imposing a due to rising cases. The capital accounts for more than a third of the country’s hospital admissions, according to local authorities. Under the new restrictions, people would be banned from travelling outside of the city but would still be allowed to leave their homes to go to work and school.

The Netherlands since the start of the pandemic, with 2777 new cases confirmed today. The country’s previous record for daily new cases was set just yesterday, when 2544 cases were recorded.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 984,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 32.3 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

When did the coronavirus first reach Europe and the US?: No cases were reported outside China until January 2020, but a study published on 10 September claims that cases in the US began to rise by 22 December. Many people there and in Europe suspect they had coronavirus around this time. Yet overall, the evidence suggests there were few cases outside China this early on.��

Birdsong during lockdown: If you thought birdsong sounded different during lockdown, it turns out you were probably right. The uniquely quiet circumstances of the covid-19 restrictions in San Francisco saw birds respond by lowering their pitch, singing sexier songs and making their songs clearer.

24 September

NHS Covid-19 app goes live in England and Wales but testing and tracing still limited

The official test and trace app for England and Wales , with more than . The app uses Bluetooth technology built into smartphones to detect people nearby and alert users if any of those people later test positive for the virus. The government is urging everyone over the age of 16 to download and use the app.��

Some users have already reported issues with the app, and it does not work on some iPhone and Android smartphones, including iPhone 6 and older models. UK health minister Matt Hancock told BBC Breakfast this morning that the app would run on the “vast majority” of smartphones in the country. But there are concerns that limitations in testing and contact tracing could negate any potential benefit of the app.��

The latest reveal that it is taking longer to return results for . Only 28.2 per cent of coronavirus tests performed in community testing centres returned results within 24 hours in the week leading up to 16 September, down from 33.3 per cent in the previous week. During the same period, NHS Test and Trace reached 74.7 per cent of the contacts of people who were diagnosed with the virus, below the level of 80 per cent or more recommended by the government’s scientific advisors.��

Just 18 per cent of people in the UK report self-isolating after developing symptoms of the coronavirus and only 11 per cent say they self-isolate after being told by contact tracers that they have been in contact with a confirmed coronavirus case, according to a by researchers at King’s College London. The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, surveyed more than 31,000 people in the UK between 2 March and 5 August.

The number of new coronavirus cases in England also went up, but less sharply than the previous week, with 19,278 people testing positive for the virus between 10 and 16 September, compared to 18,371 the week before. This small weekly increase may reflect “oddities in the reporting testing system, rather than a sudden plateau in viral cases,” said James Naismith at the University of Oxford in a .��

Other coronavirus news

The number of people in the UK diagnosed with common conditions – including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mental health conditions – was about 50 per cent lower than would normally have been expected between March and May this year, a study has found. The study, published in analysed electronic health records from 47 general practices in Salford, UK, between January 2010 and May this year. The UK went into lockdown on 23 March.

United Airlines in the US is expected to become the to some of its passengers. The firm plans to conduct a trial of the programme on flights from San Francisco to Hawaii starting on 15 October, using 15-minute rapid tests supplied by US biotechnology company Abbott.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 978,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 31.9 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Testing troubles: How the UK can get its catastrophic coronavirus testing under control.��

23 September

Volunteers will be deliberately infected with the coronavirus in first challenge trials

Healthy volunteers will be to test the effectiveness of experimental coronavirus vaccines in London next year, in the world’s first human challenge trials for coronavirus. About 2000 people in the UK have volunteered to be given one of a number of experimental vaccines and then receive a dose of the coronavirus under controlled conditions. The volunteers have joined the trial, which is due to begin in January, through advocacy group 1Day Sooner. Earlier this year the group organised an signed by prominent researchers including Nobel laureates, urging the US government to immediately prepare for human challenge trials. The researchers behind the trials, which are being funded by the UK government, told the Financial Times that the trials would play an important role in helping to identify the most promising vaccine candidates likely to move into clinical testing in early 2021.

Other coronavirus news

There were 6178 recorded across the UK today, the highest daily total since 1 May. Scotland yesterday, the highest daily figure since its epidemic began, first minister Nicola Sturgeon told a briefing today. In the Scottish city of Dundee, 500 university students have been told to self-isolate due to a . Meanwhile, in England, last Thursday for reasons related to covid-19, according to the nation’s Department for Education. Yesterday, the Isle of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall in England recorded its since the start of the pandemic.

The UK’s prime minister Boris Johnson has announced yesterday aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus, warning that the government could introduce further restrictions if people fail to adhere. “If people don’t follow the rules we have set out, then we must reserve the right to go further,” Johnson said during a televised address. However, some have questioned the logic behind the new rules. “Closing down restaurants and pubs earlier will do little to stave the spread for as long as multiple different households can interchangeably meet up,” David Strain at the University of Exeter said in a .

The official test and trace app for England and Wales will be launched tomorrow after being trialled in Newham in London and the Isle of Wight. It will be the second iteration of the app, after the first was abandoned because it struggled to detect iPhones. There are around the new app, and the government has not yet demonstrated that it is effective and ready for mass rollout, the Health Foundation charity said in a today.����

�ұ�������Բ�’s contact tracing app, the Corona-Warn-App, has been from laboratories to users during its first 100 days, according to officials. The app has been downloaded more than 18 million times since it was first launched in June and more than 90 per cent of laboratories in the country are now connected to it.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 972,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 31.6 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Asymptomatic infection: People who have the coronavirus without symptoms appear to have similar levels of the virus in their noses and throats to people with mild symptoms, a study has found. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean they are as likely to spread covid-19 as those who are sick.

Doctor’s diary: How can we deal with the long covid-19 symptoms?

22 September

New restrictions for England could last six months, UK prime minister says

People in England will be asked to work from home where possible and pubs, bars and restaurants will be required to close at 10 pm each night, under a series of announced by UK prime minister Boris Johnson today, which come into force on Thursday. Under the new rules, which Johnson today told MPs , pubs, bars and restaurants will be restricted to table service only and face masks will be compulsory for hospitality staff and non-seated customers, as well as for retail workers and taxi drivers. In Scotland, a will be extended from Glasgow and its surroundings to the entire country, and bars, pubs and restaurants will have to close at 10 pm.��

Linda Bauld at the University of Edinburgh said in a that the new measures for England are not as stringent as might have been expected, with some of them already in place in parts of the nation under local lockdowns. “What is worrying, however, is that they will be accompanied by sticks but no carrots,” said Bauld, which she says “risks rising levels of non-compliance” among the public. Shops and hospitality businesses that fail to comply to the rules on use of face coverings, contact tracing and limits on maximum group sizes, risk closure or fines of up to £10,000. Fines for individuals not wearing face coverings or following rules will be increased from £100 to £200 for the first offence.��

Cabinet office minister Michael Gove told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “if you can,” a reversal of advice from the prime minister in July, when he encouraged people to go back to workplaces.��

“The urging of people to work from home if at all possible is sensible. There should never have been encouragement of people to return to their workplace,” Michael Head at the University of Southampton said in a . “We have already seen outbreaks linked to the office environment, and there is no reason to promote an increase in numbers of commuters travelling on public transport.”

Other coronavirus news

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has of the coronavirus. The advice suggested the virus spreads through tiny droplets that can linger in the air. The World Health Organization that airborne transmission can occur in crowded spaces with inadequate ventilation but says the main route of coronavirus transmission is through larger droplets from coughs and sneezes, which can land on surfaces and get onto people’s hands. The CDC retracted its guidance yesterday, with a spokesperson telling CNN that a “draft version of proposed changes to these recommendations was posted in error.”

More than 200,000 people in the US have now died from covid-19, according to , the highest number for any nation. The country has recorded more than 6.8 million cases of the coronavirus.

Covid-19 was a factor in 1 per cent of all deaths registered across England and Wales in the week ending 11 September, according to the . The figure is among the lowest since March but there are due to recent increases in cases and hospitalisations.

No new locally acquired coronavirus infections were recorded in New South Wales in Australia today for the . Two infections confirmed yesterday were both returned travellers in hotel quarantine, according to local health authorities.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 965,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 31.3 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

21 September

New localised lockdown restrictions to come into force in parts of the UK tomorrow

Amid warnings from scientists that the UK’s epidemic is doubling every seven days, which could lead to 50,000 cases a day by mid-October, the UK has imposed new restrictions to try and limit the spread of coronavirus. The country’s chief medical officers also advised that the . According to the government’s , an alert level of 4 indicates that transmission is high or rising exponentially and warrants increased social distancing measures. The UK is currently recording around 3000 cases per day, compared to around 5000 a day at the peak of the epidemic in spring.��

Wales has now followed England in introducing , set to come into force tomorrow. In total, now face some form of additional local restrictions. From 6 pm tomorrow, people in Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend, Blaenau Gwent and Newport in Wales will not be allowed to leave those areas or to meet with people from other households. Restaurants, bars and pubs will be required to close from 11 pm each night. Similar restrictions will affect Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales as well as 10.9 million people in parts of north-west England, West Yorkshire and the Midlands starting tomorrow. Today, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon told journalists that will “almost certainly” be put in place in Scotland over the next few days as well.��

Other coronavirus news

Coronavirus today, with the exception of Auckland, where some restrictions will remain in place. “Our actions collectively have managed to get the virus under control,” the country’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern told a press conference today. There are currently 62 active cases of the virus in New Zealand, 33 of which are connected to a cluster in Auckland. Rules in Auckland will be eased further on Wednesday, with a limit on gatherings to be increased from 10 to 100 people.

Strict today. At the weekend, thousands of people in the city’s southern district of Vallecas took to the streets to protest against the new restrictions. Under the new rules people won’t be allowed to leave the areas where they live except to go to work or for emergency medical treatment.

���Ի徱��’s since it was closed due to the pandemic in March. Visitors will be required to adhere to strict physical distancing rules and the number of visitors will be limited to 5000 per day – a quarter of the usual rate.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 961,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 31.1 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Death toll: Most people still don’t have any level of immunity to the virus behind covid-19. But there is a growing risk that some of us are becoming immune to the enormous numbers that this pandemic is throwing out on a weekly basis. The global death toll from covid-19 is nearing 1 million. That is a number that we shouldn’t allow ourselves to become blasé about.

UK epidemic: The UK faces a “very difficult problem” of rising covid-19 deaths and cases if it does not change course, chief medical officer for England Chris Whitty has warned.

18 September

UK government considering short-term national lockdown in October

The UK could face a second nation-wide lockdown in October, according UK health minister Matt Hancock. In an interview today, Hancock told that the government isn’t ruling out a short-term national lockdown in October. “We do have to recognise that the number of cases is rising and we do have to act,” he said. This comes after warnings from senior scientific advisors to the government that the UK is about six weeks behind France and Spain in terms of coronavirus cases, and can expect to see a significant increase in cases by mid-October without further intervention. France set a in the country on Thursday, recording 10,593 new cases within 24 hours, according to its health ministry.

The latest estimate of the UK’s R number – the number of people each coronavirus case infects – is between 1.1 and 1.4, up from between 1 and 1.2 the previous week and between 0.9 and 1.1 the week before, according to the . The current number is representative of the situation two to three weeks ago due to a time-lag in the data used to model the R number. In documents released today, the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies warn that new infections in the UK and, according to the latest results from a by the Office for National Statistics, about one in 900 people in communities in England had the virus in the week ending 10 September, up from about one in 1400 the previous week.��

Parts of north-west England, West Yorkshire and the Midlands have become the latest areas in the UK to see . Starting on Tuesday, people in these areas won’t be allowed to mix with people from other households, and pubs and restaurants will be required to shut at 10 pm each day. “It does seem ironic that after encouraging mass attendance at pubs, cafes and restaurants through ‘eat out to help out’, that we are now contemplating restricting or closing those activities down,” said Jonathan Ball at the University of Nottingham in a . At least 13.5 million people in the country are now facing local restrictions of some kind, including 10.9 million people in England.��

Other coronavirus news

Details on a participant in the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine trial who experienced neurological symptoms, which halted the trial in early September, have been revealed in an i by the firm. The 37 year-old woman experienced symptoms of a rare neurological condition called transverse myelitis, including pain, weakness and difficulty walking, according to the report.

Israel today became the , with people required to stay within 500 metres of their homes, except if they are travelling to work.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 947,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 30.2 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

People entering Oxford Circus Station in London, England.

17 September

Steep rise in new coronavirus cases in England despite testing shortage

The weekly number of has risen sharply, as the country is experiencing testing shortages. Between 3 and 9 September, 18,371 people were diagnosed with covid-19, which is “a substantial increase of 167 per cent compared to the end of August,” according to . These may be “the last reliable figures” on the state of the nation’s epidemic for some time because of the reduced availability of tests, said Daniel Lawson at the University of Bristol in a .��

The time for tests to be returned is also taking longer. The proportion of test results received within 24 hours fell to 14.3 per cent during the same period in September, down from 32 per cent the week before. “Tests which take many days to report and action, are of no value in suppressing the pandemic,” said James Naismith at the University of Oxford in a . In June, UK prime minister Boris Johnson that all coronavirus tests would be returned within 24 hours by the end of the month.����

The to cope with the growing demand for tests. An increasing number of users are reporting receiving error messages when attempting to book tests on the site.

Other coronavirus news

Today the affecting almost two million people in the north-east of England, where case rates are particularly high. Under the new rules, which come into force at midnight tonight, people will be banned from meeting people from other households. Restaurants, bars and pubs will also be required to close at 10 pm. Affected areas include Sunderland, where the infection rate is currently 103 per 100,000 people, as well as Newcastle, South Tyneside and Gateshead, all of which have infection rates above 70, UK health minister Matt Hancock told MPs today. “The data says that we must act now,” said Hancock.��

Europe has as it encouraged countries to stick to the recommended 14-day self-isolation period for people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus. In the UK, the recommendation is currently 10 days. Other European countries, including Portugal and Croatia, are considering reducing the length of recommended self-isolation, according to the . “Knowing the immense individual and societal impact even a slight reduction in the length of quarantine can have […] I encourage countries of the region to make scientific due process with their experts and explore safe reduction options,” Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said at a press conference.

It will take at least becomes generally available to the US public, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield told a US Senate panel yesterday. In an with Fox & Friends earlier this week, US president Donald Trump said a vaccine could be ready “in a matter of weeks.”

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 942,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 29.9 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Tracking blood oxygen: Apple’s recently released Series 6 smart watch incorporates a new feature: it can measure your blood oxygen levels. The tech must have been years in the making, but the timing of its release worked well given we are in the middle of a global respiratory pandemic.

Stopping the next pandemic: Covid-19 isn’t the first pandemic humanity has faced and it won’t be the last. What has happened offers lessons about how to judge and respond to virus warnings in future.

What now?: Five scientists tell us what happens next with the covid-19 pandemic.

15 September

Widespread reports of people struggling to get coronavirus tests in England

���Բ������Ի�’s coronavirus testing system , with many people in the nation’s 10 worst-hit coronavirus hotspots unable to get tests. People trying to book swab tests on Monday in Bolton, Salford, Bradford, Blackburn, Oldham, Preston, Pendle, Rochdale, Tameside and Manchester were told that it was not possible, according to . Bolton currently has 171 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, the highest rate in England. “It seems that there are several bottlenecks in the testing procedures. These are not being made publicly available so we can only speculate that these may be limited materials for the testing process, capacity and procedural issues,” said Brendan Wren at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in a . “This needs to be addressed urgently, and if it is [a lab] capacity [problem] then university labs should be more widely deployed,” said Wren.

A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care told the Guardian: “It is wrong to say testing is not available in these areas, and our capacity continues to be targeted where it is needed most.” However, there have also been reports of testing shortages elsewhere. NHS Providers, a body that represents hospital trusts in England, told the that NHS staff are having to self-isolate, because they are unable to get tests for themselves or their family members.��

Laboratories analysing community swab tests in England were stretched to capacity as far back as August, emails seen by the revealed today. NHS England sent an email to all NHS laboratories on 24 August calling for them to support the UK Lighthouse Labs Network, a private group of labs that has been analysing community swabs, due to a “surge in capacity.”

Other coronavirus news

A report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation warns that the coronavirus on improving health around the world by “about 25 years.” The pandemic has increased poverty by 7 per cent and led to a drop in routine vaccination coverage from 84 per cent last year down to 70 per cent, according to the report. “It’s a huge setback,” Bill Gates said at a media briefing on the report’s findings today. The report also highlighted the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women, racial and ethnic minority communities and people living in extreme poverty.��

Schools in England have seen a this term compared to last year, according to the nation’s Department for Education. Official figures suggest 88 per cent of pupils attended school last Thursday, below the figure for the of about 95 per cent. Since schools reopened earlier this month, school leaders have warned that delays in testing are leading to year groups being sent home, the BBC reported.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 930,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 29.3 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

14 September

New global record for daily new coronavirus cases as WHO warns of rise in deaths in Europe

A in global coronavirus cases was recorded on Sunday with 307,930 new confirmed cases . The largest increases were in India, the US and Brazil, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO also warned that from covid-19 as soon as next month. “It’s going to get tougher. In October, November, we are going to see more mortality,” said Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, in an interview with the today. Cases in Europe have increased sharply over the last few weeks, with case rates highest in Spain and France. There are 270.7 cases per 100,000 people in Spain and 153.9 per 100,000 people in France, according to the latest 14-day cumulative figures from the . In the UK there are 51.1 cases per 100,000 people.

Other coronavirus news

Laboratory-made antibodies in UK hospitals as part of the UK’s , a large-scale clinical trial to test existing drugs as therapies for covid-19. In June, data from the RECOVERY trial provided the first evidence that a steroid drug called dexamethasone could save lives for those with severe covid-19. In the new trial of antibodies made specifically to combat the coronavirus, the first patients will be given the experimental treatment in the coming weeks. “There are lots of good reasons for thinking it might well be effective – stopping the virus from reproducing, stopping the virus from causing damage, improving survival for patients,” Martin Landray at the University of Oxford, who is co-leading the RECOVERY trial, told the BBC. “Monoclonal, or targeted, antibodies are already used to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases,” said Fiona Watt, executive chair of the Medical Research Council in the UK, in a . “The new trial will tell us whether antibodies that attack the virus can be an effective treatment for covid-19.”

An email seen by the BBC reveals that UK government chief scientific advisor Patrick Vallance argued that the UK’s coronavirus lockdown restrictions be imposed earlier than they actually were, and in response he was . Vallance referred to advice given by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies on 16 March, suggesting “additional social-distancing measures” be implemented “as soon as possible.” The UK went into lockdown on 23 March, about two months after the country’s first confirmed case, which some researchers blame for the UK’s high number of coronavirus deaths.

Israel has become the first country to announce a to begin Friday and last three weeks. It is an effort to contain a second-wave surge of new cases, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday. People will be required to stay within 500 metres of their homes, with the exception of travelling to workplaces. Schools will also be closed.

US president Donald in Nevada on Sunday, despite local officials saying it violated the state’s rule limiting gatherings to 50 people. In a statement before the rally, Nevada’s governor Steve Sisolak criticised Trump’s decision saying “Now he’s decided he doesn’t have to respect our state’s laws. As usual, he doesn’t believe the rules apply to him.”

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 925,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 29 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Coronavirus family tree: Like any other biological entity, SARS-CoV-2 has a family tree. It isn’t a very old one – the virus has only been recognised since December – but it still has tales to tell.

Racism in healthcare: Covid-19 is affecting ethnic minorities more severely, but we will never understand why if we don’t collect the right data, says Alisha Dua.

11 September

New data suggests ���Բ������Ի�’s R number could be as high as 1.7

The , according to the . Simon Clarke at the University of Reading as a “massive blow to the government’s strategy to contain the spread of covid-19.” The UK’s R number – the estimated number of people each infected person goes on to infect – is between 1 and 1.2, up from between 0.9 and 1.1 last week. This data is representative of the situation two to three weeks ago, due to a time-lag in the data used to model the R, but is in line with more recent data for England from a by researchers at Imperial College London, which suggests ���Բ������Ի�’s R number could be as high as 1.7.��

The study, commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care, tested over 150,000 people in communities in England between 22 August and 7 September and used this to model the R number. It found that 0.13 per cent of people tested positive – equivalent to 130 per 100,000 people in the population. The by the Office for National Statistics also indicate an increase in infections in communities in England and Wales in recent weeks.

The rise in cases “suggests that the recent uptick in cases is not just because of greater testing,” said Clarke in a statement. “It’s likely that the coronavirus is circulating more freely out in the community again, meaning we are likely to need greater restrictions on our lives to push the transmission rate back down again.”

Other coronavirus news

A will go live across England and Wales on 24 September, the government announced today. The new app will allow people to scan QR codes to register visits to bars and restaurants and will use Apple and Google’s method for detecting other smartphones nearby. The UK government was previously forced to abandon development of an earlier app, built on different technology, due to its inability to recognise a significant proportion of Apple and Android devices. Scotland’s app, Protect Scotland, .

Birmingham in England is being put under a . The city now has the second highest rate of coronavirus infection in England, after Bolton. There were 85.4 cases per 100,000 people in Birmingham during the week ending 7 September, up from 32 in the previous week. People in Birmingham will no longer be allowed to meet with other households.

India has recorded the in a single country since the pandemic began, with 96,551 cases recorded in the country on Thursday.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 910,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 28.2 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Reports of reinfection: In recent weeks, the first confirmed reports of people who have been re-infected with the coronavirus have begun to trickle in. Such cases suggest that, in some people at least, the immune system doesn’t develop lasting protection against the virus. How worried should we be?

10 September

Latest figures show significant jump in weekly coronavirus cases in England

The number of was 9864 in the week ending 2 September, up 47 per cent from 6732 in the previous week, according to the from NHS Test and Trace. It’s the highest number of weekly positive cases recorded since the system was launched in May. During the same week, NHS Test and Trace only managed to reach 69.2 per cent of the contacts of people diagnosed with the virus in England – below the target of 80 per cent or more by government scientific advisors to limit infections from spreading.��

Public health specialists have raised concerns about the feasibility of government plans announced yesterday to spend £100 billion on expanding testing to 10 million tests per day by early 2021. Chaand Nagpaul, council chairman of the British Medical Association told the it is unclear how these tests will work, given the “huge problems” with lab capacity. Sarah-Jane Marsh, director for testing at NHS Test and Trace for the problems with the testing scheme earlier this week. Even if testing can be expanded, concerns remain about accuracy and contact tracing capacity. Transport secretary Grant Shapps told BBC Breakfast this morning that out the plan doesn’t currently exist.

Other coronavirus news

US president Donald Trump by the coronavirus in March, during an interview with journalist Bob Woodward revealed in his forthcoming book. “I wanted to always play it down,” Trump told Woodward on 19 March. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.” Trump also acknowledged the virus was “more deadly than even your strenuous flu” as early as February – a time when he was publicly saying the virus was less of a concern than the flu.

AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot today told an online briefing that the company’s coronavirus vaccine candidate could be ready for global distribution in the first half of 2021. Trials of the vaccine, which is being developed in partnership with the University of Oxford, were put on hold yesterday after a participant developed neurological symptoms. An independent safety committee is currently reviewing data on the affected participant, said Soriot.��

Scotland’s Test and Protect system, the nation’s equivalent to NHS Test and Trace in England, today , which alerts people if they have been in close contact with someone who later tests positive for the coronavirus. Like Northern Ireland’s app, Scotland’s new app was built using the toolkit provided by Apple and Google. England doesn’t yet have a widely available equivalent app but has been testing a similar one on the Isle of Wight and in the London borough of Newham over the past month, after abandoning development of an NHS Covid-19 app built on different technology, due to its and 25 per cent of Google Android devices.

University students in England and avoid visiting their family homes in the event of local coronavirus outbreaks, according to new guidance published by the UK Department for Education today. Students with covid-19 symptoms should “self-isolate in their current accommodation”, the guidance says. It also suggests that universities group students living in halls of residence into “households” that include all of those living on the same floor or sharing communal facilities, potentially including as many as 30 students. The guidelines add that private gatherings, including those within student households, must still be limited to a maximum of six people.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 905,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 27.9 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Coronavirus and flu: Doctors are fretting about concurrent outbreaks of flu and covid-19 but some virologists are worrying about another scenario: a Frankenvirus. Could the coronavirus merge with another virus to create a new threat?

9 September

UK government plans to expand coronavirus testing to 10 million tests a day

The UK government plans to carry out 10 million coronavirus tests per day by early 2021, according to documents obtained by the . Currently, the UK’s testing capacity is 350,000 per day. As part of the new plan, £100 billion will go towards the expansion of the country’s testing programme, the documents revealed, and GSK and AstraZeneca are among firms named for supplying tests and laboratory capacity respectively.��

Martin McKee at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told the BMJ the plan is too optimistic and disregards “enormous problems with the existing testing and tracing programmes.” NHS Test and Trace in particular has been criticised for its repeated failure to reach a sufficient proportion of the contacts of people who test positive for the virus in England. Between 28 May and 26 August, the of the contacts of people diagnosed in England – below the target of 80 per cent or more by government scientific advisors.��

Jon Meeks, a biostatistician at the University of Birmingham who reviewed the documents for the BMJ, the documents “show a severe lack of science or reality. No consideration of harms that screening us all would create.” In the BMJ he raised the problem of false positives: “If you test 60 million people [with a 99% accurate test] we will be classifying a group the size of the population of Sheffield as wrongly having covid.”

Other coronavirus news

Advanced trials of one of the most promising have been put on hold after a participant became ill in the UK. Drug firm AstraZeneca, which is developing the vaccine in partnership with the University of Oxford, has voluntarily paused the trials. This is standard procedure in vaccine development, and allows time for the researchers to determine the cause of the illness and ensure the safety of participants. AstraZeneca described the action as “routine” in a statement to STAT. The vaccine candidate has already passed preliminary trials, and is now undergoing involving approximately 30,000 participants in the US as well as in the UK, Brazil and South Africa. These larger trials are designed to test whether it can prevent people from becoming infected with the coronavirus or getting ill with covid-19, as well as assessing long term safety.

Social to a maximum of six people from Monday 14 September, in an effort to tackle a recent spike in coronavirus cases. People will not be allowed to gather in groups larger than six either indoors or outdoors, with the exception of gatherings in schools, workplaces and some events such as weddings and funerals. UK health minister Matt Hancock told the BBC today that the new rule is “super simple” and will be “enforced by the police.” People could be fined between £100 and £3200 for violating the rule, he said. “We’ve seen in other countries around the world where they don’t take action then you end up with this second peak, resulting in more hospitalisations and more deaths, and we don’t want to see that here,” said Hancock.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 898,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 27.6 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Severe symptoms: An out-of-control human peptide called bradykinin could be responsible for some of the varied and sometimes deadly symptoms seen in people who have contracted the coronavirus. We already have drugs to control bradykinin, which are being tested as treatments for people with covid-19.

8 September

New restrictions could be introduced across England due to surge in cases��

The government could tighten following the recent spike in coronavirus cases. According to several reports, the government could reduce the number of people allowed to meet outdoors to six, down from the current limit of 30. Restrictions on how many people can meet indoors may also become tighter, according to Sky News. Under current guidelines, only two households can congregate indoors.��

���Բ������Ի�’s deputy chief medical officer, Jonathan Van-Tam, said the new wave of cases was because “people have relaxed too much.” Today, for the coronavirus in the UK, down from 2948 on Monday but still high compared to daily figures in recent months. John Edmunds, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies told that the UK as a whole is in a “risky period” because the country’s R number – the number of people each infected person goes on to infect – has risen above 1. An R number higher than 1 means that an epidemic is growing.��

Some measures are already tightening in some parts of the UK, including Bolton, in Greater Manchester. The town currently has the highest case rate in the country, with 120 cases of the virus per 100,000 people. Pubs and restaurants there will now have to be take-away only and stay closed between 10 pm and 5 am, UK today. The current guidance, which says people should not socialise with those from a different household, will be made legally binding, he told MPs. The number of people allowed to visit hospitals and care homes will also be reduced under the new measures. “The rise in cases in Bolton is partly due to socialising by people in their 20s and 30s. We know this from contact tracing,” said Hancock, adding “we’ve identified a number of pubs at which the virus has spread significantly.”��

Other coronavirus news

Amid increasing reports of people being told to attend drive-through testing centres hundreds of kilometres away from their homes, the director of testing for NHS Test and Trace, Sarah-Jane Marsh, an apology today for the coronavirus. Marsh described laboratory processing as “the critical pinch-point” and said “we are doing all we can to expand quickly.” Last month researchers warned that the UK would probably face a second wave of coronavirus infections in winter if the country’s testing and contact tracing system didn’t improve by September.

There were 101 deaths from covid-19 in England and Wales during the week ending 28 August, according to the latest figures from the . This is down from 138 deaths in the previous week and is also the lowest number of deaths from the disease recorded since the week ending 13 March.

A school in Nottinghamshire in England has been after its head teacher was admitted to hospital with covid-19. Pupils and staff at Trowell Primary School have been told to stay home and self-isolate until 21 September. In the week since pupils returned to classrooms, coronavirus outbreaks have been reported at dozens of schools in England and Wales. Across Liverpool, an estimated 200 pupils are self-isolating after positive covid-19 cases at five schools, while five teachers at a school in Suffolk have tested positive.Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 897,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 27.3 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

What is a vaccine and how do they work?: The latest video in our new YouTube series, Science with Sam, explains how vaccines work by training your immune system to recognise viruses and bacteria. We also take a look at the unprecedented worldwide effort to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus, and consider the challenges involved in making, testing and distributing covid-19 vaccines.

7 September

The UK recorded its highest number of daily new cases since May on Sunday

There were today, down slightly from the confirmed on Sunday, which marked the highest daily increase in cases recorded in the country since 23 May. “This is especially concerning for a Sunday when report numbers are generally lower than most other days of the week,” said Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia in a . “Sadly it is beginning to look like we are moving into a period of exponential growth in the UK epidemic and if so we can expect further increases over coming weeks,” said Hunter.

UK health minister Matt Hancock about the rise in cases, which largely among people under 25, especially those between 17 and 21. “Of course younger people can pass on the disease to their grandparents and we do not want to see that,” Hancock said yesterday. In , rises in infections among younger adults in August were followed by higher numbers of hospital admissions for older and more vulnerable people in subsequent weeks. “It’s concerning because we’ve seen a rise in cases in France, in Spain, in some other countries across Europe, and nobody wants to see a second wave here,” Hancock said today.

Hancock’s concerns about younger people transmitting the virus to more vulnerable groups are shared by the government’s scientific advisors. A endorsed by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies published last week warns there is a significant risk that reopening universities could amplify local and national transmission, adding that “it is highly likely that there will be significant outbreaks.” Because of the higher proportion of asymptomatic cases among younger age groups, cases and outbreaks are also likely to be harder to detect among student populations, says the report.

Other coronavirus news

India , the country’s health ministry reported on Sunday, setting a new global record for the number of infections recorded in a single country in one day. India has confirmed more than 4.2 million cases since the pandemic began, the second-highest number for any country after the US.

The Tokyo Olympic Games “with or without covid”, according to John Coates, vice-president of the International Olympic Committee. Previously, the committee said they would cancel the Games scheduled for July 2021 if necessary.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 889,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 27.1 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Keeping schools safe: There is wide agreement that schools must reopen, and stay open. Achieving this is fraught with unknowns, however. Although it seems that children are less likely to transmit and get sick from the coronavirus, we don’t know why that is the case. Should an outbreak occur, pupils’ families and school staff could still be at risk. In order to keep schools safe, governments must be prepared to shut down other areas of society to keep overall levels of virus transmission low.

4 September

Russia’s vaccine candidate produced antibody and T-cell responses in early-stage trial

A preliminary trial of Sputnik V suggests it is safe and induces an immune response. The vaccine was approved by Russian authorities last month, before any data had been made public or a large-scale trial had begun. In the preliminary trial, it was tested in a small group of 76 healthy volunteers. All the volunteers developed coronavirus-specific antibodies and T-cells, and none experienced serious adverse reactions, according to results published in today. However, it still isn’t clear whether the vaccine protects people from becoming infected with the coronavirus or from getting ill. This will be investigated through phase III testing, which is , and which is expected to include 40,000 people across Russia.��

Some researchers are concerned that vaccine developers may come under political pressure to release doses of the vaccine for administration to the general public, before phase III testing is complete. “A vaccine should not be used to short-cut the implementation of public health interventions that are already known to be safe and effective, until the vaccine itself has been shown to be safe and effective,” said Eleanor Riley at the University of Edinburgh, in a .��

The World Health Organization (WHO) today said it until mid-2021. “We are not expecting to see widespread vaccination until the middle of next year,” said WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris at a briefing in Geneva. Harris said phase III trials will need to go on long enough to determine how “truly protective” and safe a given vaccine candidate is.

Other coronavirus news

Preliminary findings from a study by Public Health England found among children and teachers in pre-school and primary school. Researchers took swabs from more than 12,000 children and teachers across 131 primary schools in England in June and early July, and detected only three cases of the virus. Ravindra Gupta at the University of Cambridge said the findings are not surprising, since limited numbers of children were attending schools in England during this time period. “We must not be complacent and falsely reassured,” said Gupta in a . “From September there will be more children, more mixing, more crowding and over winter less time will be spent outdoors,” he said, adding that there will be less chance to socially distance in schools in the coming months than it was possible to do in June.

New Zealand has recorded its since 28 May. A man in Auckland died after being admitted to hospital. His death is the first connected to a recent outbreak in the city, including 152 cases.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 870,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 26.3 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Social distancing: Computer scientists have used a database of public cameras to keep track of how well people are adhering to social distancing guidelines.

3 September

New funding announced for trials of rapid new coronavirus tests in the UK

The UK government today of rapid coronavirus tests, including recently developed swab and saliva tests that can be performed in 90 minutes or less. The trials will also include community pilots investigating the effectiveness of repeat testing in schools and among the general population. “We are backing innovative new tests that are fast, accurate and easier to use and will maximise the impact and scale of testing, helping us to get back to a more normal way of life,” UK health minister Matt Hancock said in a today.��

Having quicker tests could help speed up the identification of infected people and the tracing of their close contacts. But having a rapid test is “useless” if contacts can’t be identified because the tracing system is overwhelmed, Joshua Moon at the University of Sussex said in a . NHS Test and Trace has been for its repeated failure to reach a sufficient proportion of the contacts of people who test positive for the coronavirus in England. According to the , 78.5 per cent of the contacts of people diagnosed with the virus in England were reached by NHS Test and Trace between 28 May and 26 August – below the target of 80 per cent or more by government scientific advisors.

Other coronavirus news

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has notified states to prepare for the roll-out of a coronavirus vaccine within two months. “Limited covid-19 vaccine doses may be available by early November 2020,” according to CDC documents first published by the .�� And in a letter to governors on 27 August, first obtained by , CDC director Robert Redfield wrote: “CDC urgently requests your assistance in expediting applications for [vaccine] distribution facilities and, if necessary, asks that you consider waiving requirements that would prevent these facilities from becoming fully operational by November 1, 2020.” But public health researchers are concerned that the move is being driven less by evidence and instead by a political effort to rush a vaccine before the November election. Michael Osterholm at the University of Minnesota told the that “the public health community wants a safe and effective vaccine as much as anybody […] but the data have to be clear and compelling.”

Pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi will start for the first time, to assess its safety and ability to induce an immune response. If this and subsequent trials are successful, the companies have said they could be requesting regulatory approval in the first half of next year.��

A surge in to keep up. Some people with symptoms who tried to book coronavirus swab tests online told the BBC they were directed to testing centres more than 100 miles away from their homes. This could act as a “big disincentive to being tested”, Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia told the BBC, potentially limiting efforts to contain localised spikes in cases.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 864,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 26 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

2 September

Steroid drugs that reduce inflammation found to save lives from severe covid-19

A group of drugs that reduce inflammation have been confirmed with severe covid-19. In a landmark study bringing together all the trials done so far looking at the effect of steroids on coronavirus, researchers in the World Health Organization (WHO) REACT working group analysed results from seven randomised clinical trials, which included 1703 critically ill patients with covid-19. They compared the outcomes of those who had received one of three corticosteroid drugs – dexamethasone, hydrocortisone or methylprednisolone – with those who received standard care or a placebo. The researchers found that 32 per cent of those who received a corticosteroid treatment had died from the disease after 28 days, compared to 40 per cent of those who did not.��

“The evidence for benefit is strongest for dexamethasone,” Stephen Evans at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said in a . These new results, published today in the , add weight to earlier findings from the RECOVERY trial, which found that dexamethasone reduced deaths in critically ill covid-19 patients by a third for patients on ventilators and by a fifth for those receiving oxygen – the first drug shown to do so. “This analysis increases confidence that [dexamethasone] has a really worthwhile role in critically ill patients with covid-19,” Evans said. As a result of the study, the WHO is expected to update its guidance on treatment. In the UK, the for treating severely ill covid-19 patients since June.

Other coronavirus news

The in a global initiative to develop and distribute a future coronavirus vaccine, because of its association with the WHO. More than 170 countries are participating in the initiative, called COVAX, which is working to ensure the equitable and fair global allocation of a potential vaccine. “We will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization and China,” White House spokesperson Judd Deere said in a statement. The US is due to withdraw from the WHO entirely next July – a move Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has vowed to reverse if he is elected in November.

Coronavirus restrictions have been eased in parts of Greater Manchester, Lancashire and West Yorkshire in England, with the in Greater Manchester. The government today announced that restrictions on meetings between different households indoors in these areas, which were also due to be lifted today, would now remain in place due to increasing infection rates. Bolton currently has one of the highest rates of new virus cases in England, with 59 cases per 100,000 people in the week ending 29 August. Similar restrictions have also been introduced in the Glasgow area in Scotland, which has seen a over the last two days.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 858,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 25.8 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Schools reopening: Schools across England and the US are about to reopen their doors to students who have been at home for months thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. What is the best way to keep children, and school staff and parents, safe?

Face coverings in schools: Should children returning to school wear face coverings? Official advice on this has evolved during the pandemic.

Oxford vaccine: A large trial of a coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford has begun in the US. With similar trials already under way in the UK and Brazil, hopes are rising that we could find out if the vaccine works before the end of the year.

1 September

Pupils around the world return to schools with new coronavirus measures in place

Millions of for the first time since coronavirus lockdowns were introduced, including pupils in France, Poland, Russia, England and Wales as well as in Wuhan in China, where the coronavirus was first detected. Schools in England and Wales have introduced hygiene and social distancing measures in line with recently updated government guidance, including wearing of face coverings by pupils in communal areas and staggering of break times for different year groups. But a survey of 653 parents in these regions by revealed that 17 per cent were considering keeping their children out of school due to concerns about coronavirus.��

UK schools minister Nick Gibb back to school. Doing so would “help them catch up on the lost education they’ll inevitably have suffered in the lockdown period,” he told the BBC Breakfast show. A survey of thousands of teachers by the National Foundation for Educational Research suggests that in their studies following lockdown, and that the estimated learning gap between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils has risen by 46 per cent. 98 per cent of the teachers in the survey, which was conducted at the end of the last school year in July, said their than they should have been at the time.

Other coronavirus news

The UK’s prime minister that people in the UK were returning to the office in “huge numbers”, although no evidence has emerged to support the claim. A spokesperson for Johnson told the Huffington Post “people will be returning to the office after the summer break and also children going back to school gives parents some added flexibility.” The to encourage people to return to offices launched today. But in a recent of more than 6000 workers who have been working from home due to the pandemic, nine out of 10 said they would like to continue to do so.

Pharmaceutical giant Astrazeneca has expanded its agreement with UK company Oxford Biomedica to candidate. Oxford Biomedica has agreed to produce tens of millions of doses of the vaccine candidate, which is being developed by AstraZeneca in partnership with the University of Oxford. The candidate recently entered late-stage trials in the US, with 30,000 people enrolled. In a statement, AstraZeneca said its global manufacturing capacity was close to 3 billion doses.

Although there has been an in the UK, only 13 per cent of people who wear reusable face masks are maintaining them in a way that is helpful to stopping the spread of coronavirus, according to a poll of 1944 people by YouGov. The survey found that the use of face coverings in the UK increased from 38 per cent to 69 per cent from mid to late July. However, only 13 per cent of people who said they wear washable face masks also said they wash them after every use and at 60 degrees C or higher.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 851,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 25.5 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Immune response: Throughout the coronavirus pandemic there have been fierce debates over the science – when to lock down, whether face coverings help and whether children are less susceptible, for example. The latest row is over whether we have been ignoring a crucial part of our immune response to the virus: T-cells.

28 August

Children are at “strikingly low” risk of getting severely ill from coronavirus

Children are much less likely to get severe covid-19 than adults, and it is very rare for them to die from it, according to a . The study tracked 651 under-18s admitted to hospital with coronavirus between January and July in England, Scotland and Wales. Six children died, 1 per cent of the total, and they had all had other severe illnesses before the virus struck, some of which were themselves life-limiting. The authors say this is a “strikingly low” death rate compared with 27 per cent for all ages in the population as a whole over the same time period. The findings are in line with previous similar research. Young people make up 1 to 2 per cent of cases of covid-19 worldwide, although it’s not clear why they seem to be less affected.

“There have been no deaths in otherwise healthy school-age children,” Calum Semple at the University of Liverpool . “There is no direct harm from children going back to school,” he said. The findings come as some UK schools have been reopening for all their pupils for the first time since lockdown in March, with most schools in England due to be back by next week.

Other coronavirus news

The UK has announced plans for quickly immunising large numbers of people . They involve allowing a wider range of healthcare staff to give shots, such as midwives, physiotherapists and dentists, as well as pharmacists, who already administer flu vaccines. It also grants powers to approve any vaccine that is proven safe and effective before the end of the year to the Medicines Healthcare Regulatory Agency. This body will become responsible for approving all drugs and vaccines from the start of 2021 once the UK’s Brexit transition period is over.

Schools reopening in the US have found Legionnaires’ disease bacteria in their water supply, which can cause deadly pneumonia. The Legionella microbe was found in the water supply of, and experts say it could be in more.

The World Health Organization is trying to get more countries to join Covax, its coronavirus vaccine allocation scheme, . The WHO plan would see countries pooling funds so that if one vaccine succeeds, all participants will get a fair allocation. But the UN agency has struggled to get enough richer nations on board. Countries including the UK, the US and Japan have made their own deals with manufacturers developing vaccines, securing millions of doses for their own citizens.��

Several large US states have said they will not follow official federal policy to stop testing people who think they have been exposed to the coronavirus but who do not have symptoms. In a rebuke to the new testing policy announced by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), California, Texas, Florida, New York and four other states have. The CDC’s move provoked claims that it was a politically motivated move to lower the number of people testing positive ahead of the 2020 election.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 832,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 24.5 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Internet outage slows covid-19 contact tracing: Health officials were unable to trace and isolate the contacts of thousands of people who tested positive for the coronavirus in England until up to a week later.

27 August

WHO warns Europe is entering “tricky moment” as coronavirus cases climb

As some European countries have continued to report growth in covid-19 cases, governments are responding by tightening up restrictions and safety measures. France 5429 daily cases today, up from 3776 a week ago, and Italy counted 1366 cases, its biggest daily increase in more than three months and up against 642 a week ago. Daily numbers in other major European countries are relatively stable, with Spain at 7296, Germany at 1507 and the UK at 1048.

The French prime minister Jean Castex the country had seen an “undeniable surge” of cases and the epidemic “could become exponential”, with cases rising as quickly as they did in the early days of the pandemic. The virus is now circulating in 20 of the country’s 101 “departments”, up from two previously. With France’s reproduction number – the average number of people one infected person will likely infect – now at 1.4, masks will become mandatory in Paris. The 21-day Tour de France will still go ahead this Saturday.

The German government today, with a leaked plan saying private parties will be limited to 25 people and the anticipated end of a ban on large public gatherings in October will instead be extended to the end of the year.

Hans Kluge at the World Health Organization that Europe is entering a “tricky moment” as schools reopen across the continent, though he stressed that schools had not been a “main contributor” to the epidemic. Asked by �鶹��ý at a press conference today if European countries’ responses to growing cases this week are commensurate with keeping the virus in check, Maria van Kerkhove at the WHO said: “What we are seeing is countries applying different measures. What we are seeing are targeted, tailored approaches. Hopefully these are time-bound.” On measures such as mandating face coverings and limiting the size of gatherings, she said: “All of these are different tools that may need to be applied. I think what we’re seeing is this calibration, of putting in efforts to suppress transmission to keep it at a low level while allowing societies to open up. This is one of the critical things we are all trying to figure out now.”

Other coronavirus news

The number of patients getting heart disease services at hospitals in the US and UK dropped by more than half during the countries’ lockdown, researchers have found. Writing, they warned cardiology departments need to be prepared for a “significant increase in workload” in the coming months as a result.

In the UK, show that three months after the launch of ���Բ������Ի�’s contact tracing scheme, it is still falling short of reaching 80 per cent of close contacts of people who have tested positive for covid-19, the level the government’s scientific advisers say is needed. Three quarters of close contacts were reached between 13-19 August. Nearly 300,000 people have been reached since the system’s launch.

Separately, anyone in the UK on a low income who needs to self-isolate for 10 days and cannot work from home will be eligible to get £13 a day from the government in areas affected by local outbreaks,.

A drug used to help cats with another coronavirus has been found to show promise in tackling the current coronavirus outbreak. The drug, GC376, and its parent, GC373, are “strong drug candidates for the treatment of human coronavirus infections because they have already been successful in animals,”. Here’s the �鶹��ý guide to all the latest on covid-19 treatments.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 826,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 24 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Is the rush to roll out a coronavirus vaccine undermining safety? Some shortcuts are being taken in the race to get a coronavirus vaccine approved, but there are also more resources, openness and scrutiny than ever before.

26 August

Face coverings will now be mandatory for secondary school pupils in areas of England under lockdown��

Secondary school pupils in areas of England under local lockdowns will now be in all communal areas except classrooms, after the government reversed its guidance last night. The government has been under mounting pressure from headteachers to adopt a stricter policy on the use of face coverings ahead of schools reopening next month. Within coronavirus hotspots, “it probably does make sense in confined areas outside the classroom to use a face covering in the corridor and elsewhere,” UK prime minister Boris Johnson told journalists today, citing recently updated World Health Organization guidelines. The new rule won’t apply to schools in areas that aren’t under lockdown, although head teachers in any secondary school will have the flexibility to introduce their own rules. In Wales, the decision on the use of face coverings in schools will be .

Other coronavirus news

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been criticised for to say that some people without symptoms may not require a test, even if they have been in contact with someone who tested positive for the virus. The change has not been explained by CDC leaders. Leana Wen, a doctor and public health professor at George Washington University, told CNN, “These are exactly the people who should be tested,” as they are key to contact tracing.

Fewer than 40,000 cases were confirmed in the US yesterday and , after peaking on 22 July at about 70,000, though this may be due to insufficient testing. The total number of tests administered has fallen from an average of more than 820,000 per day in mid-August to about 690,000 per day in the last week or so.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 820,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 23.9 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Vaccine race: Some shortcuts are being taken in the race to get a coronavirus vaccine approved, but there are also more resources, openness and scrutiny than ever before.

Face coverings: Do you get angry when you see someone without a face covering? They might have a good reason to avoid one, even if it isn’t obvious.

25 August

UK government under pressure to review policy on face coverings in schools in England

There is on the UK government to review its policy on the wearing of face coverings in schools in England, after the Scottish government that secondary school pupils will have to wear them in communal areas from Monday. Public Health ���Բ������Ի�’s current guidance, issued in July, doesn’t recommend the use of face coverings in schools. The Association of School and College Leaders – a headteachers’ union in the UK – has criticised the lack of clarity around the rules on whether teachers and pupils can wear face coverings in schools in England. “The guidance is silent on what schools should do if staff or pupils want to wear face coverings,” the union’s general secretary, Geoff Barton told the . During a visit to the south-west of England today, UK prime minister Boris Johnson said the government is continuing to look at the changing medical evidence, adding “if we need to change the advice then of course we will.” The Welsh government has said it will on face coverings in schools.��

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization issued new guidance saying that in line with recommended practice for adults in the place where they live. Recent outbreaks in Scotland “reinforce the idea that covid-19 transmission in schools is potentially substantial”, said Rowland Kao at the University of Edinburgh in a . “Should masks be adopted, their use must be accompanied by awareness of the need for good mask hygiene and regular handwashing.”

Other coronavirus news

Two more patients have been , one in the Netherlands and another in Belgium. Yesterday, researchers at the University of Hong Kong announced that they had documented the first case of coronavirus reinfection. “That someone would emerge with a reinfection, that doesn’t make me nervous,” Marion Koopmans at Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands told Dutch broadcaster . “We have to see whether this happens more often.”��

Coronavirus cases in Spain are continuing to surge, with 175.7 cases per 100,000 people, according to the latest 14-day cumulative figures from the . This is compared to 62.8 cases per 100,000 people in France and 22.5 cases per 100,000 people in the UK. Unions in Madrid last week that the primary care system was “on the edge of collapse” due to lack of staff and capacity for testing.

People living in the after local authorities confirmed the first locally acquired cases of the coronavirus. A 48-hour lockdown went into effect on Monday evening across the territory.

Bali in Indonesia this year due to concerns about rising coronavirus cases.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 814,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 23.6 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Less deadly in Europe: It is becoming increasingly clear that people are less likely to die if they get covid-19 now compared with earlier in the pandemic, at least in Europe, but the reasons why are still shrouded in uncertainty.

Plasma treatment: Blood plasma donated by people who have recovered from covid-19 will be used as a treatment for the infection in the US. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted an emergency use authorisation for the treatment on 23 August, but the evidence that it works is lacking.

First case of reinfection: A healthy 33-year-old man is the first person confirmed to have caught the coronavirus twice, according to unpublished research from the University of Hong Kong. As details of the case emerge, researchers say there is still much we don’t know.

24 August

Researchers say they have detected the first case of coronavirus reinfection

Researchers at the University of Hong Kong say they have documented the with the coronavirus. The team analysed virus samples taken from a man when he first tested positive for the coronavirus in late March, and again when he tested positive for a second time in mid-August. They discovered several differences in the sequences of the virus from the first and second infections, suggesting the man had been infected with two separate strains of the virus, rather than one long-lasting infection. Their findings have been accepted for publication in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal.

What will the discovery mean for the dozens of vaccine candidates being developed to protect people against the coronavirus? It may indicate that being infected with the virus doesn’t necessarily protect people against future infections, David Strain at the University of Exeter in a statement. “Vaccinations work by simulating infection to the body, thereby allowing the body to develop antibodies. If antibodies don’t provide lasting protection, we will need to revert to a strategy of viral near-elimination in order to return to a more normal life,” says Strain. But Brendan Wren at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, aid it is important to take these results into context: “This is a very rare example of reinfection and it should not negate the global drive to develop covid-19 vaccines.”

Other coronavirus news

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Sunday as a treatment for severe covid-19. This is drawn from people who have recovered from infection with the coronavirus and contains antibodies to fight the virus. In a the FDA said that “the known and potential benefits of the [treatment] outweigh the known and potential risks.” More than 70,000 people in the US have received convalescent plasma as a treatment for covid-19 since March, through a programme run by the Mayo Clinic. FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn said studies have found a 35 per cent improvement in survival for covid-19 patients given the plasma.

At least have tested positive for the coronavirus less than two weeks after pupils returned to schools in Scotland. Kingspark school closed last Wednesday and pupils have been told to self-isolate until 3 September. Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon today announced that secondary school pupils in Scotland may be advised to wear face coverings, in light of new guidance from the World Health Organization. Schools in England are due to reopen in September, but a spokesperson for the prime minister today said there are no plans to review the current guidance in England for the wearing of face coverings in schools.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 809,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 23.4 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Australia’s second wave: Australia’s second wave of the coronavirus appears to be finally subsiding, but the country isn’t out of the woods yet.

Vaccine technology: Prevention is better than cure, so we should start using genetic techniques to stop dangerous animal diseases jumping to humans, say Scott Nuismer and James Bull.

21 August

Coronavirus R number in UK rises slightly but infections appear to be levelling off

In the UK, the for the R number, the number of people each coronavirus case infects, has risen to between 0.9 and 1.1, up slightly from 0.8 to 1.0 the previous week. However, due to a time lag in the data used to model the R number, this is more representative of the situation two to three weeks ago. Estimates for the infection growth rates range between -3 and 1 per cent. This suggests infections in the UK are levelling off on average, in a continuation of the trend observed over the last few weeks. This is consistent with the latest results from the by the Office for National Statistics, which suggests about 24,600 people in England – 1 in 2200 – had the virus in the week ending 13 August, compared to 28,300 people – 1 in 1900 – in the week ending 9 August

Local coronavirus restrictions in place in parts of northern England on Saturday. People from two different households in Wigan in Greater Manchester and Rossendale and Darwen in Lancashire will now be allowed to meet in homes and gardens. But restrictions will remain in place in some other parts of Greater Manchester and Lancashire, as well as in parts of West Yorkshire and in Leicester. Oldham, which had the highest rate of infections in the UK last week at 103.1 cases per 100,000 people, has avoided the introduction of restrictions but will be subjected to “a more targeted intervention”, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.��

Other coronavirus news

Travellers arriving in the UK will be required to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival, starting at 4.00 am on Saturday, UK transport minister Grant Shapps announced yesterday. There are currently 47.2 cases per 100,000 people in Croatia compared to 21.2 per 100,000 people in the UK, according to cumulative figures for the last 14 days from the . Those arriving in the UK from Portugal, which currently has a case rate of 28.5 per 100,000 people, will no longer need to self-isolate. Shapps said it would be “too difficult” for the UK to adopt a more like �ұ�������Բ�’s, affecting travellers from specific regions rather than entire countries, due to the difficulty in assessing infection patterns overseas in sufficient detail.

Coronavirus cases have been reported in �ұ�������Բ�’s capital Berlin, less than two weeks after schools reopened. Berlin was one of the first places in Germany to reopen schools after the summer break. Schools in Scotland reopened and schools in England will in September.��

South Korea recorded its since 8 March, with 324 new cases confirmed on Thursday. There have been 732 cases linked to the new outbreak so far, 56 of which have been linked to a single church in Seoul.

Lebanon has and an overnight curfew in an attempt to suppress a recent spike in coronavirus infections in the aftermath of the Beirut port explosion. The country recorded 605 new cases on Thursday, its highest daily case number so far.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 794,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 22.7 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus and flying: Is it safe to fly with the coronavirus still circulating? That depends partly on where you are. But while hard evidence is scarce, it appears the risk of being infected with covid-19 during a flight is relatively low.

20 August

WHO warns of “risk of resurgence” in Europe as Germany and Spain see cases surge

The risk of a resurgence of the coronavirus “has never been far away,” the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge said during a today. Europe in the first week of August, compared to the first week of June, when cases were at their lowest, and cases have steadily been rising in the region, in part due to the relaxation of public health and social measures, he said. Germany recorded its since April, with 1707 new cases confirmed on Wednesday. Spain recorded 3715 cases on the same day, the highest daily number there in late June. “Authorities have been easing some of the restrictions and people have been dropping their guard,” said Kluge.��

Kluge thanked young people for the sacrifices they have made to protect themselves and others from covid-19 but expressed concern about people aged between 15 and 24, who account for a growing number of cases. “Low risk does not mean no risk. No one is invincible,” he said.

Other coronavirus news

saw a 27 per cent increase in the number of people in the week ending 12 August compared to the previous week, according to the . Its latest figures state that 6616 people tested positive for the virus, whilst the number of people tested for the virus went down by 2 per cent over the same time period.

UK health minister Matt Hancock yesterday told the BBC that people in the UK should be able to return to workplaces , citing evidence from NHS Test and Trace that people have been largely catching the virus in meetings between households rather than in offices. But researchers, including microbiologist Simon Clarke at the University of Reading, to rule out the risk of transmission within workplaces and from workplaces to households. “The virus needs to be taken into homes by someone and they will have had to pick it up from somewhere else […] even a single workplace transmission could lead to multiple onward infections in a family, household or other setting.”

India reported a in coronavirus cases for the country today, with more than 69,652 cases confirmed, according to its health ministry.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 788,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 22.4 million, according to , though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Rewilding the sky: Let’s take inspiration from the way we intervene to help degraded ecosystems recover and attempt to restore the atmosphere back to full health, taking advantage of the lull in human activity under covid-19, writes Graham Lawton.

19 August

Random swab testing survey to be expanded in England and to other UK nations

Coronavirus in the UK to help monitor the spread of the virus, the government says. The random swab testing survey for coronavirus by the Office for National Statistics, which started in May, will be expanded to test more people in England as well as people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the UK’s health minister Matt Hancock announced today. In England, the survey will expand from testing 28,000 people every two weeks in the community, outside of hospitals and care homes, to testing 150,000 people. Hancock said this is in the UK.

Testing larger numbers of people will allow smaller changes in infection growth trends to be interpreted with more reliability, biologist and medical innovation researcher Michael Hopkins at the University of Sussex. It will provide a “higher definition picture of the outbreak”, helping to pinpoint at-risk groups within the population, says Hopkins. More widespread testing could also help capture people who have the virus but are asymptomatic. An analysis by the ONS published yesterday found that testing positive for the coronavirus in England reported having symptoms around the time they were tested.

Other coronavirus news

Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison after saying that coronavirus vaccination would be mandatory in Australia. Currently there isn’t a coronavirus vaccine available but there are being developed and 31 are in human trials. The Australian government recently secured access to the vaccine candidate being developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, and has now said that if the vaccine is approved it will offer it to Australian citizens . Clarifying his earlier comments about making the vaccine mandatory, Morrison said “we can’t hold someone down and make them take it”, adding that vaccination would be “encouraged.”

Almost up to 20 July compared to during the same period last year, a rare trend in light of the global pandemic. Some researchers speculate this may be due to a reduction in deaths from other respiratory illnesses, thanks to the introduction of measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus. In May, neighbouring Australia reported lower flu rates than usual, which was also attributed to coronavirus lockdown measures. New Zealand has recorded only 22 covid-19 related deaths.��

South Korea recorded its biggest daily since March yesterday, with 297 cases of the virus confirmed. Officials in Seoul have begun introducing restrictions on gatherings in the city and its surrounding area, prohibiting indoor gatherings of more than 50 people and outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 782,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 22.1 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Achieving herd immunity: Today, some headlines celebrate the fact that many places might have achieved herd immunity including Britain and pockets of London, New York and Mumbai. But others warn that millions will die before we get there. The true picture is far messier, partly because scientists don’t even agree on what herd immunity is, let alone how it might be achieved. So how will we know when populations are protected against the coronavirus?

18 August

“We need to prevent vaccine nationalism,” says WHO director-general

The World Health Organization (WHO) today , the hoarding of vaccine doses by some nations. “The fastest way to end this pandemic and to reopen economies is to start by protecting the highest risk populations everywhere,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press briefing today. “We need to prevent vaccine nationalism,” he said. The priority should be protecting essential workers and other at-risk groups, Ghebreyesus said: “If we can work together, we can ensure that all essential workers are protected and proven treatments like dexamethasone are available to those who need them.” Although there currently isn’t a vaccine available for covid-19 there are more than in development, with 31 in human trials. Several countries have already secured deals for doses of some of these vaccine candidates. The UK has at least 190 million doses, including 100 million of the vaccine candidate being developed by the University of Oxford and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.��

Separately, Takeshi Kasai, WHO Western Pacific regional director, that “the epidemic is changing.” He said that “people in their 20s, 30s and 40s are increasingly driving the spread. Many are unaware they are infected.” This increases the risk of the virus spreading to the more vulnerable,” he added.

Other coronavirus news

Public Health England will be , UK health minister Matt Hancock confirmed today. The new agency, called the National Institute for Health Protection, will combine “the expertise of Public Health England with the enormous response capabilities of NHS Test and Trace and the Joint Biosecurity Centre,” Hancock said at the Policy Exchange think tank. Dido Harding, the current head of NHS Test and Trace, will lead the new organisation initially, Hancock said. NHS Test and Trace has been for repeatedly failing to reach the proportion of contacts of people diagnosed with coronavirus that is by government scientific advisors – 80 per cent or more. Between 30 July and 5 August for instance, only managed to reach 74.2 per cent of the contacts of people who tested positive for the virus in England.��

The proportion of people in the UK who reported was 20 per cent in June, up from 10 per cent in July last year, according to a survey by the Office for National Statistics.

Voters from six US states against the country’s president Donald Trump and the postmaster general Louis DeJoy yesterday over cuts to the US postal service ahead of the upcoming general election. Many states are expecting a surge in postal ballots this year due to the pandemic.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 775,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 21.9 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Travelling abroad safely: Many countries have seen an increase in coronavirus cases, making going abroad more of a gamble. So what are the different options for managing the current risks from international travel, and which countries have got it right?

Return of covid-19 to New Zealand: New Zealand has acted swiftly to contain a new coronavirus outbreak after going 102 days virus-free, but it’s still unclear whether it can stamp it out again.

A-level students hold a sit in protest at the Department for Education over the results fiasco

17 August

A-level and GCSE grades in England to be based on teachers’ predictions instead of controversial algorithm

Pupils in England will be given A-level and GCSE rather than by an algorithm that after it was used to moderate the grades of A-level pupils last week. The algorithm, which was introduced because the pandemic disrupted the usual exam process, resulted in about 280,000 A-level pupils in England seeing their scores drop by at least one grade or more compared to their predicted results.Those from . UK education minister Gavin Williamson today announced that ���Բ������Ի�’s exams regulator, Ofqual is scrapping the algorithm, bringing policy in line with the UK’s other nations. Williamson and Ofqual chair, Roger Taylor apologised for the “distress” caused.��

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���Բ������Ի�’s health agency, by a new body specifically focused on dealing with pandemics. The new agency would be modelled on �ұ�������Բ�’s Robert Koch Institute and is expected to be announced this week by the UK’s health minister, Matt Hancock, according to a report in the . The article also indicates that Hancock plans to merge the NHS Test and Trace scheme with the pandemic response work of Public Health England. “The reports in the media of a proposed ‘axing’ of Public Health England is of huge concern,” Amitava Banerjee, clinical data scientist and cardiologist at University College London. A major restructuring of public health function, as the global covid-19 emergency continues, will divert limited resources away from public health measures such as testing and tracing, said Banerjee.��

Voters in the US are concerned about whether it is , after the country’s president Donald Trump last week said he would block additional funding required for the postal service to handle the expected surge in postal ballots this year. Many US states have been trying to make postal voting easier so that people are able to vote safely during the pandemic.

South Korea on Sunday after 197 new coronavirus cases linked to a new outbreak were confirmed on Saturday. “We’re facing a crisis where if the current spread isn’t controlled, it would bring an exponential rise in cases, which could in turn lead to the collapse of our medical system and enormous economic damage,” director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jeong Eun-kyeong said during a briefing.

New Zealand’s by a month due to an on-going coronavirus outbreak in Auckland, the country’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. Nine new cases in the new cluster were confirmed today, bringing the total to 58 cases so far.

A – immune cells that help the body fight infections – could help researchers developing vaccine candidates. The test is being developed by UK company Indoor Biotechnologies, which says early trials found that some people who had the coronavirus but tested negative for antibodies went on to test positive for T-cells. It still isn’t clear whether antibodies or T-cells provide long-lasting immunity against the virus and how long such immunity might last.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 776,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 21.7 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus and pets: Reports of pets being infected with the coronavirus have been growing, but how worried should owners be? And could pets be spreading the virus between people?

14 August

UK visitors to France could face restrictions after UK imposed quarantine on arrivals��

Travellers arriving in France from the UK could be required to quarantine for two weeks after arrival into the country, Clément Beaune, France’s junior minister for European Affairs, told journalists on Thursday. His statement came after the UK added France and the Netherlands to from which arriving travellers will be required to quarantine for 14 days. France currently has a coronavirus case rate of 34.0 people per 100,000, according to cumulative figures for the last 14 days from the , with 41.6 cases per 100,000 people in the Netherlands. The case rate in the UK is currently 17.3 per 100,000 people. The UK’s new rules are effective from 4:00 BST on Saturday 15 August and will also apply for people arriving in the UK from Monaco, Malta, Turks and Caicos and Aruba. Transport minister Grant Shapps said that there are on holidays in France.��

Other coronavirus news

Restrictions affecting will stay in place due to on-going local outbreaks, the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care announced today. People living in the affected areas in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, East Lancashire and Leicester aren’t allowed to meet with people from other households indoors or in private gardens. Oldham in Greater Manchester has experienced the largest week-on-week rise in cases in England, recording a rate of 107.5 cases per 100,000 people between 2 and 8 August, up from 57.8 during the previous week. The government says the restrictions will be reviewed again next week.��

Elsewhere in England, small wedding receptions, live indoor performances and beauty treatments from Saturday after being delayed from the original date of 1 August, UK prime minister Boris Johnson confirmed today. Bowling alleys, casinos and play centres will also be allowed to reopen.

Despite some local outbreaks, coronavirus cases across England as a whole appear to be levelling off, according to the latest results from a by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS estimates that 28,300 people in England – one in 1900 people – had the virus in the week ending 9 August, the same as the previous week.

New Zealand has by at least 12 days, the country’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. New Zealand had been free of locally transmitted coronavirus infections for 102 days until four people from the same household in Auckland tested positive for the virus earlier this week. The number of cases in the new outbreak there has since risen to 29.��

North Korea has in the border city of Kaesong after a suspected coronavirus case there, state media reported today. The World Health Organization last week said that tests on the suspected case – a man who returned to North Korea after defecting – had been inconclusive. North Korea has not reported any other cases.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 760,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 20.9 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

13 August

UK government has changed the way deaths from covid-19 are recorded in England

���Բ������Ի�’s has been revised down by more than 5000, after the UK government announced a new UK-wide standard for recording deaths caused by the coronavirus. The changes mean the removal of 5377 deaths from Public Health ���Բ������Ի�’s official record, decreasing the UK’s total numbers of deaths from the virus from 46,706 to 41,329 as of 12 August.��

People who recovered from covid-19 before dying from other causes more than a month later may have been included in the previous death toll due to the way Public Health England was collecting its data. “It had become essentially useless for epidemiological monitoring,” epidemiologist Keith Neal at the University of Nottingham, UK. From now on ���Բ������Ի�’s official death toll will only include people who died within 28 days of testing positive for the virus, bringing it in line with the other nations in the UK.��

Other coronavirus news

The number of for routine treatment was down by 67 per cent in June compared to the same time last year, according to data from NHS England. The number of people visiting accident and emergency units was also down, by 30 per cent compared to last year, as was the number going to their family doctor with symptoms of cancer and being urgently referred to a specialist , at 20 per cent lower than last year. The NHS England data also suggests more people waited longer than usual for planned procedures, such as knee and hip operations. The Health Foundation charity told the BBC that this indicates the NHS is still “nowhere close to business as usual following the first outbreak of covid-19,” and warned that long waiting times could lead to deterioration in people’s health.

The coronavirus may have been prior to the country’s new outbreak, according to New Zealand’s director-general of health, Ashley Bloomfield. The first person in the new cluster of cases started showing symptoms as early as 31 July, Bloomfield said during a media briefing in Wellington, adding that genome sequencing was underway on the original four cases to try and trace the train of transmission. Officials are also investigating the theory via refrigerated freight. New Zealand had been free of locally transmitted coronavirus infections for 102 days before four people from the same household tested positive earlier this week.��

Authorities in two cities in China said they found on imported frozen food and on food packaging. Samples of chicken wings imported to the city of Shenzhen from Brazil and packaging of frozen shrimp imported from Ecuador to a city in China’s Anhui province tested positive for the virus. It isn’t yet clear when the products became contaminated but China is increasing screening at its ports. The coronavirus can survive for up to two years frozen at -20°C but is destroyed by heating to 70°C. The says that there isn’t currently any evidence that people can catch the virus from food or food packaging.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 750,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 20.6 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Sweden’s coronavirus strategy: Sweden was one of the few European countries not to impose a compulsory lockdown. Its unusual strategy for tackling the coronavirus outbreak has both been hailed as a success, and condemned as a failure. So which is it?

12 August

Germany and Spain among a growing list of western European countries where coronavirus cases are surging

Coronavirus , with Spain recording 1418 new infections on Tuesday, and Germany detecting 1200 cases in the last 24 hours, the country’s biggest daily increase for three months. In the Netherlands, are back to about half the level they were at during the initial peak. Spain now has the highest rate of coronavirus infections in the region, with 94 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 38 in the Netherlands, 30 in France, 18 in the UK and 14 in Germany, according to cumulative figures for the last 14 days from the .��

�ұ�������Բ�’s health minister, Jens Spahn, says people returning from holiday may be the reason for the increasing number of cases in Germany, as the UK and Germany continue to warn people against non-essential travel to parts of Spain. Any holidaymakers returning to the UK from Spain are required to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. The list of countries from which all arrivals to the UK must quarantine may be 14 more countries, including France.

Other coronavirus news

The World Health Organization (WHO) is about reviewing the coronavirus vaccine candidate whose approval for use in Russia yesterday sparked criticism from researchers. Russia’s vaccine, Sputnik-V, is not on the WHO’s list of six vaccines that have reached phase III trials involving clinical testing on large groups of people. Russia’s health minister Mikhail Murashko today dismissed safety concerns expressed by foreign researchers about the rapid approval of the vaccine as “groundless.”

Lebanon announced its yesterday since the start of the pandemic, with more than 300 new cases and seven deaths from covid-19. Hospitals in the country are overwhelmed following the aftermath of the explosion in Beirut last week. WHO spokesperson Tarik Jarasevic told a UN briefing yesterday that the displacement of people due to the explosion risks accelerating the spread of the coronavirus there.

At least 800 people are estimated to have about the coronavirus during the first three months of this year, a study has found. A further 5800 people are estimated to have been admitted to hospital for the same reason during this period. The majority of the deaths and hospitalisations were due to people consuming methanol and alcohol-based cleaning products, incorrectly believing that they were cures for covid-19, according to the study, which was published in .

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 744,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 20.4 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Children at risk: A staggering 115 million children in India are at risk of malnutrition, as the world’s largest school lunch programme has been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Who should get vaccinated first?: It is August 2021, and the moment the world has been waiting for has finally arrived – a vaccine against covid-19 has passed all the tests and is ready to be rolled out. But this isn’t the end. There are more than 7.5 billion people in need of vaccination but perhaps only a billion doses available in the first six months of production. Who gets one?

Staying connected: Greeting neighbours or gossiping with a colleague can boost your health and well-being, but coronavirus lockdowns are putting that in jeopardy. Here’s how to stay connected.

11 August

New Zealand reimposes Auckland lockdown after first locally transmitted cases for 102 days

New Zealand has reported its thought to be acquired through local transmission, after going 102 days without a single reported case outside of managed isolation or quarantine. Four people within one family in south Auckland tested positive for the virus, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern said today at a press briefing. New Zealand has been widely praised for its aggressive response to the coronavirus, closing its borders to non-nationals and implementing one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, all at a time when the country had only 205 cases and no deaths from covid-19. Testing is now being ramped up in Auckland and lockdown restrictions will be reimposed there from tomorrow. Everyone except essential workers will be asked to work from home and schools will be closed for most children. Other public facilities, including bars and restaurants, will be required to close and gatherings will be limited to 10 people.��

Other coronavirus news

Researchers have expressed concerns about the today. The virus has been approved for widespread use, despite only being tested in dozens of people. “There is no data on the Russian-led vaccine for the global health community to scrutinise,” Michael Head, public health research fellow at the University of Southampton, UK. Russia’s president Vladimir Putin said one of his daughters has already been inoculated, and claimed it was safe.��

The number of contact tracers working for NHS Test and Trace will be reduced by by the end of this month, the UK government has announced. The remaining 12,000 contact tracers will work more closely with local public health authorities to help with contact tracing within communities. Between 16 and 22 July, only managed to reach 75 per cent of the contacts of people who tested positive for the coronavirus in England. Dido Harding, head of NHS Test and Trace said that having a more localised approach will ensure more contacts of coronavirus cases within communities can be reached.

Australia’s remote Northern Territory will keep its until at least 2022, according to local officials. People arriving from affected states will be required to quarantine at a hotel for 14 days at their own expense.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 737,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 20.1 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Question about the UK’s new rapid tests: Two 90-minute tests for the coronavirus will be rolled out by the UK government in the coming weeks – and while both are promising, neither has publicly available data to support its use.

Common cold virus vaccine: A vaccine that protects against one of the main common cold viruses – respiratory syncytial virus – has been shown to be safe and effective in a clinical trial and could be available by 2024.

10 August

No indication there is seasonality with the coronavirus, says WHO��

There is and it could bounce back any time, World Health Organization (WHO) leaders said at a press briefing today. Evidence suggests the coronavirus is unlike flu, which tends to spike in autumn and winter. “If you take pressure off the virus, the virus will bounce back. That’s what we will say to countries in Europe – keep the pressure on,” said Mike Ryan, WHO executive director of the emergencies program. Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead of WHO’s covid-19 response, said that the majority of the world’s population remains susceptible to the virus, and WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasised the importance of countries taking targeted action to tackle local outbreaks through methods like localised lockdowns employed in Leicester, UK.��

Other coronavirus news

The WHO says it has it needs for an initiative aimed at developing and distributing drugs, vaccines and other tools to help tackle the pandemic. “While we’re grateful for those that have made contributions, we’re only 10 per cent of the way to funding the billions required to realise the promise of the ACT [Access to Covid-19 Tools] accelerator,” Tedros said during a press briefing today.

“Greece has formally entered a second wave of the epidemic,” Gkikas Magiorkinis, an epidemiologist at Athens University and one of the scientists advising the Greek government, told journalists today. This comes after of daily new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, with 203 confirmed on Sunday.

In France, it is now compulsory to wear a face mask outdoors in certain crowded areas within Paris. Health officials said the rate of positive coronavirus tests was 2.4 per cent in the Paris area compared to the average of 1.6 per cent for people tested in the country as a whole. Other cities, including Nice and Lille, have also introduced new rules making face masks mandatory in specific outdoor areas.

It has been last detected a locally acquired coronavirus case. As of today, the country has only 21 active infections, all of which are being managed in isolation facilities. Authorities are still testing thousands of people each day. “We need to be prepared to quickly stamp out any future cases,” said New Zealand’s director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield on Sunday.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 731,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 19.9 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

7 August

The number of people estimated to have the virus in England may be levelling off

The number of people estimated to have covid-19 in England appears to be , after rising slightly in July, according to a of almost 120,000 people by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS estimates that 28,300 people outside of hospitals and care homes in England had the virus in the week ending 2 August – about one in every 1900 people. This is down slightly from the previous week’s estimate of 35,700. But it isn’t clear how infection rates may differ across different regions. In Wales, which was included in the survey for the first time, an estimated 1400 people had covid-19 in the week ending 2 August, equivalent to one in every 2200 people.

The proportion of people in the UK who say they have been wearing face coverings has gone up for the second week in a row, according to a separate ONS . In the week ending 2 August, 96 per cent of people said they had worn a face covering outside their home, up from 84 per cent in the previous week and 71 per cent the week before. The survey also found that 72 per cent of people said they had socialised with others in person, just over half of whom said they had always maintained social distancing.��

Other coronavirus news

Coronavirus vaccine trials could be undermined by the , according to researchers. In the recent trial of a coronavirus vaccine candidate being developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with AstraZeneca, fewer than 1 per cent of the approximately 1000 participants were black and only about 5 per cent were Asian, compared to 91 per cent of participants who were white. In a smaller trial of a vaccine candidate being developed by US company Moderna, 40 out of 45 participants were white. “Diversity is important to ensure pockets of people don’t have adverse side-effects,” Oluwadamilola Fayanju, a surgeon and researcher at Duke University told the Guardian.

The city of Preston in England is being placed following a rise in coronavirus cases. From midnight on 7 August residents from different households aren’t allowed to meet indoors or in private gardens. These new measures are in line with those currently in place in east Lancashire, Greater Manchester and parts of West Yorkshire.

More than have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, although health officials say this is certainly an underestimate. “We haven’t seen the peak in Africa yet,” Mary Stephen, technical officer at the World Health Organization’s regional office for Africa told Al Jazeera. Although the majority of cases confirmed so far are in South Africa, it is also performing significantly more tests than other African countries.

India has of daily new coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, with 62,538 cases confirmed on Friday. There have been more than 2 million cases recorded in the country since the pandemic began.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 715,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 19.1 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

6 August

Safety issue means 50 million medical face masks won’t be used by NHS England workers

50 million by the government in April won’t be used by NHS England due to safety concerns, according to legal papers seen by the BBC. The masks use ear-loop fastenings rather than loops that go around the head, so may not fit tightly enough. Alan Murray, chief executive of the British Safety Industry Federation told the BBC: “The face fit is either a pass or a fail and there are more fails on products with ear loops than there are on products with head harnesses.” The FFP2 respirator masks were bought as part of a £252 million contract from supplier Ayanda Capital. It isn’t clear what will happen to the masks.��

Other coronavirus news

Only 72 per cent of the for coronavirus in England in the week ending 29 July were reached by NHS Test and Trace, according to the latest figures from the Department of Health and Social Care. This is down from 76 per cent in the previous week.��

Facebook removed a on Wednesday because it violated their covid-19 misinformation policy. Twitter later suspended Trump’s election campaign account, @TweetTrump, for posting the same video, which featured Trump making false claims about children’s susceptibility to the coronavirus. A spokesperson for Twitter on Wednesday said “the account owner will be required to remove the Tweet before they can Tweet again.” Trump repeated the false claims during a press briefing yesterday.

There are now 79 cases of coronavirus linked to an , Scotland. The city was placed under a local lockdown on Wednesday, with pubs, bars and restaurants ordered to close. Extra police have also been sent to the city although Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon today told a press briefing that she hoped people would comply to the new rules voluntarily.

Belgium is expected to be this weekend, meaning travellers arriving from Belgium will be required to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. Belgium is one of a number of European countries that has seen a resurgence of the virus, with an testing positive for the virus between 26 July and 1 August, according to health officials.

People abroad will be required to take a coronavirus test, unless they are able to produce a negative test certificate that is no more than two days old, �ұ�������Բ�’s health minister Jens Spahn announced today.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 708,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 18.8 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Hiroshima and coronavirus: The nuclear bomb told us we are the greatest threat to our own survival – and the covid-19 pandemic shows the lessons still to learn, say Anders Sandberg and Thomas Moynihan.

5 August

UK should have introduced tighter border controls early in the pandemic, say MPs

The not to impose tighter border controls and quarantine rules “accelerated” the pandemic, a by the UK’s home affairs select committee has found. The report says the failure to introduce stricter border measures for arrivals allowed thousands of people with covid-19 into the UK in February and March. The report added that the government was slow to recognise the increased risk of the disease spreading from other European countries, particularly Spain. In February and the first half of March, under the government’s initial quarantine rules, travellers from China’s Hubei province, certain areas of South Korea, Iran and eventually Italy, were asked to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in the UK. The report criticises the government’s decision not to include Spain on this initial list, adding that it made a “critical error” in mid-March by ending this quarantine advice for people without symptoms arriving from other countries. Under current government rules, introduced in July, people arriving in the UK from certain countries are required to quarantine for 14 days and can be fined for failing to do so.

Linda Bauld, a public health researcher at the University of Edinburgh, UK says that “a key public health measure to contain the spread of infectious diseases is travel restrictions,” adding that measures at the border are essential and some countries, such as Vietnam and Singapore, implemented these very early on. The UK, in contrast, “acted too late,” says Bauld.��

Other coronavirus news

The city of Aberdeen in Scotland has been put under a in response to a coronavirus outbreak linked to a pub. Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon today confirmed that 54 cases have been linked to the new cluster. All pubs, bars and restaurants in Aberdeen will be required to close from 5 pm today.

Australia today recorded its since the start of the pandemic, with 739 new cases confirmed by officials, 725 of which were in the state of Victoria. 12 of the country’s new cases were recorded in New South Wales, which has introduced new quarantine rules for residents returning from Victoria.

Authorities in more than 3635 primary and secondary contacts of a man with suspected coronavirus, according to a World Health Organization official, although his test results were inconclusive.��

Most people in the UK said they if they were required to wear a mask in public on the trip or to quarantine on their return, according to a YouGov survey. The survey found that 65 per cent of respondents said they would cancel their trip if masks were mandatory at all times and 70 per cent said they would cancel if they had to quarantine when they got back to the UK.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 701,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 18.5 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

South America: While Europe is preparing hurriedly for a possible second wave of covid-19 infections, South America is yet to see the end of the first.

How to hug people: Hugging has benefits for our health that might make it worth doing despite coronavirus risks – here’s how to reduce the chance you’ll pass on the virus.

Previous updates

4 August

World faces “catastrophe” due to school closures, says UN chief

The world faces a caused by the coronavirus pandemic, UN secretary-general António Guterres said today. Getting students safely back to the classroom once local transmission of the coronavirus is under control must be a “top priority” for governments, and failing to do this “could waste untold human potential, undermine decades of progress, and exacerbate entrenched inequalities,” he said in a today.��

Since mid-July, schools have been closed in about 160 countries worldwide, affecting more than 1 billion students. In the UK, a modelling study published in suggests that current levels of coronavirus testing and contact tracing will be insufficient to prevent a second wave of the virus when schools reopen in September. In the US, teachers, support staff and parents in more than 35 school districts against US president Donald Trump’s push to reopen schools while covid-19 is still surging in many states.

Other coronavirus news

from UK government discussions on how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, says the UK Clinical Virology Network, which represents researchers in the field. Virologists say they were not consulted about the government’s purchase of new 90 minute tests for the coronavirus and other respiratory viruses from two UK companies, which was announced yesterday. The group sent a letter to government scientific and medical advisors, Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty in July but say they have not heard back. “It just seems there is a rush to do everything privately,” Will Irving, one of the signatories at the University of Nottingham, told the Guardian.

India , according to health officials, making it the seventh consecutive day that daily new cases in the country surpassed 50,000.��

Australia today increased in the state of Victoria from A$1652 (£900) to A$5000 (£2739). There has been a rise in people resisting lockdown measures, according to authorities in the state capital Melbourne.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 694,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 18.3 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Risk of UK second wave: The UK faces a second wave of coronavirus infections this winter if the country’s testing and contact tracing system doesn’t improve by the time schools fully reopen and people return to workplaces, researchers have warned.

The US has no plan: Researchers say the US is lacking a cohesive plan to tackle a massive second wave of coronavirus and highlight the lack of a strong contact-tracing programme to help contain the spread.��

3 August

New 90 minute coronavirus and flu tests to be rolled out in the UK next week

New for coronavirus, flu and other respiratory viruses will be available in hospitals and care homes in the UK from next week, the government announced today. The government says both tests can detect the coronavirus and other respiratory viruses in just 90 minutes, faster than current tests, a third of which take more than 24 hours to process. “The fact these tests can detect flu as well as covid-19 will be hugely beneficial as we head into winter,” said UK health minister Matt Hancock.

The government has secured access to 5.8 million DNA-based tests and 5000 DNA testing machines from UK-based company DNA Nudge, as well as 450,000 swab tests from another UK company, Oxford Nanopore. Currently, there isn’t any publicly available data on the accuracy of the new tests. But John Bell at the University of Oxford, who has been advising the government on testing, told the BBC that the new tests had the same sensitivity as existing laboratory-based tests. DNA Nudge their test has an accuracy of 98 per cent.

Other coronavirus news

Officials in Greater Manchester in England in response to rising coronavirus cases in the region. The declaration will allow local authorities to access extra national resources if required, with the police able to draft in the army if they need support. Since Friday, people in Greater Manchester and other parts of northern England are not allowed to meet people from other households indoors.

The US has entered a , with infections “extraordinarily widespread” in both rural and urban areas, according to the White House coronavirus task force coordinator, Deborah Birx. She said southern and western states have become hotspots for the virus and encouraged people to follow health recommendations, including wearing face coverings and practicing social distancing.

The coronavirus and “response fatigue” is a risk, according to an emergency committee advising the World Health Organization. During a meeting on Friday, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the committee: “The pandemic is a once-in-a-century health crisis, the effects of which will be felt for decades to come.”

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 690,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 18.1 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

31 July

Easing of restrictions tightened in northern England and delayed across the country

Further easing of restrictions in England are , due to recent increases in cases, UK prime minister Boris Johnson announced today. From 8 August, face coverings will become compulsory in more indoor settings, including museums and places of worship. Face coverings are already mandatory in shops, supermarkets and on public transport. “Higher risk settings” including bowling alleys, skating rinks and casinos were due to open tomorrow but will not do so until at least 15 August. Indoor performances and wedding receptions of up to 30 people will not be allowed to resume.��

The announcement comes after additional restrictions were placed on people living in Greater Manchester, parts of East Lancashire, West Yorkshire and Leicester in England, who will . The Department of Health and Social Care said people in the affected areas are allowed to go to pubs and bars but that people from different households would need to maintain physical distance. The new measures come after 1536 new cases were recorded across these northern regions in the week leading up to 27 July.��

Other coronavirus news

The UK government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies said that easing restrictions risks accelerating transmission of coronavirus at a meeting on 23 June, according to of the meeting released today. “An increase in local outbreaks is highly likely” [if restrictions are eased], the minutes said. The report also highlights the importance of effective communication by the government, saying that only 65 per cent of people recognise a cough or fever as a symptom of covid-19.��

In the UK, conservative MP Craig Whittaker has been for saying that the Muslim community and people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds in England “are just not taking the pandemic seriously.” His comments come as restrictions were tightened in parts of northern England ahead of the Muslim celebration, Eid. “This is shameless scapegoating of minorities,” a spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain told the Guardian, adding that Whittaker should apologise.��

Only about half of people in the UK said they think covid-19 is the most important issue facing the country today, according to a conducted by researchers at the University of Oxford between 16 and 22 July. The figure is down from 72 per cent at the end of April.

The was recorded today, according to state media. Vietnam had not detected any new infections for more than three months until an outbreak in Da Nang started last week. 545 cases have been confirmed in Vietnam since the start of the pandemic.

Hong Kong’s government has due to take place in September for a year, citing a recent rise in coronavirus cases. Opposition politicians are arguing that the government is using the pandemic to prevent people from voting.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 674,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 17.3 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

30 July

70 per cent of people in the UK say they are wearing face coverings

Wearing of face coverings has increased in the UK, according to a and Ipsos MORI, a UK market research firm. 70 per cent of people surveyed between 17 and 20 July said they had worn one in the last few weeks, up from 19 per cent in April. The majority of people – 81 per cent of those surveyed – said they believe that wearing a face covering helps to stop the spread of coronavirus. Since 24 July, it has been mandatory to wear one in shops and supermarkets in England, although supermarket chains, including Sainsbury’s and Asda, said they . According to the survey, only one in 20 people said they had confronted others for not wearing a mask and only one in 12 people said they had been confronted for not wearing one themselves. The researchers surveyed 2237 people aged 16 to 75.

Other coronavirus news

England had the of any European nation between late February and mid-June, according to an analysis from the . Although England had the second highest peak in death rates in Europe, after Spain, it had the longest period where deaths were above average and so had the highest level overall. At its worst, the death rate in England was almost 2.2 times higher than the five-year average – the equivalent figure for Spain was 2.5. But deaths returned to average levels more quickly in Spain than in England.

The for people who test positive for coronavirus or have covid-19 symptoms. It increased from seven to 10 days, bringing the advice in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidance.��

Former Republican presidential candidate after being ill with the disease for a month. Cain had attended US president Donald Trump’s election campaign rally in Tulsa, a large gathering that raised concerns about its role in spreading the virus, although it isn’t clear where Cain became infected.

Florida will from today until Tuesday due to concerns about Tropical Storm Isaias, which is expected to make landfall on Friday.

Australia reported a and deaths yesterday, with 723 cases confirmed and 13 deaths. Restrictions have been tightened in the state of Victoria, where the majority of the new cases were detected, and include banning people from having visitors at home. Starting on Sunday, people will also be required to wear face coverings outside.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 668,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 17 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Superspreaders: While there is no universally agreed definition of a “superspreading” event, it is sometimes taken to be an incident in which someone passes on the virus to six or more other people. Getting to the bottom of why these puzzling clusters occur could be key to gaining control of the covid-19 pandemic and stopping a second wave of cases.��

Protecting refugee camps: Coronavirus has begun spreading around refugee settlements, but in one of the world’s largest refugee camp complexes a worst-case scenario may have been avoided.��

29 July

WHO Europe director says young people may be driving recent spikes in cases��

Rising coronavirus infections among young people could be driving recent spikes in cases across Europe, said Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s Europe regional director, . Kluge said he has two daughters and understands that young people “do not want to miss a summer,” but added that they have a responsibility toward themselves, their family members and their communities. The Netherlands is among countries which have among younger people, with about a quarter of people who tested positive there last week aged 20 to 29. Earlier this week, officials in Brittany, on beaches, parks and gardens in an attempt to prevent large gatherings of young people in particular, according to local leaders. Officials in Spain have also imposed similar curfews, with required to close by midnight since Friday.��

Other coronavirus news

The US reported yesterday, the highest daily death toll recorded in the country since May. More than 149,000 people in the US have now died from the disease and more than 4.3 million cases have been recorded there since the pandemic started.

The UK has signed an agreement to purchase being developed by the pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The vaccine candidate is expected to enter clinical trials in September, and adds to 190 million doses of other coronavirus vaccine candidates secured by the UK government, including 100 million doses of a vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with AstraZeneca. Worldwide, there are more than 160 coronavirus vaccines currently in development but it still isn’t clear if any will protect against coronavirus.��

More than aimed at understanding why people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are disproportionately dying from covid-19. This funding will also go towards research on the risks posed to ethnic minority health workers, migrants and refugees, and the lack of representation from people in different ethnic groups in clinical trials testing new treatments and vaccines for covid-19. The funding comes from the UK Research and Innovation and the National Institute for Health Research.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 661,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 16.7 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Covid-19 treatments: Some trials have shown promise in helping those infected by calming an overreacting immune system or targeting the coronavirus – but which treatments actually work?

Oxford vaccine: Sarah Gilbert at the University of Oxford, the leader of the team that created the “Oxford vaccine”, speaks to �鶹��ý about how her team is making the vaccine.

Essential information about coronavirus

What is covid-19?

What are the worst symptoms and how deadly is covid-19?

You could be spreading the coronavirus without realising you’ve got it

Which covid-19 treatments work and how close are we to getting more?

What does the latest research suggest about the coronavirus in pregnancy?

What to read, watch and listen to about coronavirus

is assessing the progress of different vaccine candidates and potential drug treatments for covid-19, and ranking them for effectiveness and safety.

is a project highlighting the experiences of key workers on the frontline in the fight against coronavirus in the UK, through social media.

on Netflix is a short documentary series examining the on-going coronavirus pandemic, the efforts to fight it and ways to manage its mental health toll.

�鶹��ý Weekly features updates and analysis on the latest developments in the covid-19 pandemic. Our podcast sees expert journalists from the magazine discuss the biggest science stories to hit the headlines each week – from technology and space, to health and the environment.

is about the new science of contagion and the surprising ways it shapes our lives and behaviour. The author, Adam Kucharski, is an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and in the book he examines how diseases spread and why they stop.

is a sober documentary about the progression of a hypothetical pandemic which the BBC simulated in 2017. Fronted by science journalist and TV presenter Hannah Fry, and made with the support of some of the country’s best epidemiologists and mathematical modelers, it’s very relevant to today’s covid-19 pandemic.

Previous updates

28 July

Europe is starting to see signs of a second wave, says UK prime minister

UK prime minister Boris Johnson today said of the coronavirus pandemic. He said it is vital that people quarantine themselves when returning to the UK from places abroad where there are outbreaks. Johnson mentioned the government’s recent reintroduction of a 14-day quarantine requirement for travellers returning from Spain, and added: “We will continue, throughout the summer, to take such action where it is necessary.” ���貹����’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez described the UK’s new rules and recommendations as “unjust” arguing that in most parts of Spain the prevalence of covid-19 is lower than in the UK. Some parts of Spain, including the regions of Catalonia and Aragón, have seen a large uptick in infections recently. The rate of infection in Spain as a whole is 47.2 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 15 in the UK, according to the latest figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

A growing number of European countries are grappling with recent rises in coronavirus cases. Today the head of �ұ�������Բ�’s public health agency, Lothar Wieler said he is . “We don’t know yet if this is the beginning of a second wave but of course it could be,” Wielder said at a press conference. Belgium’s prime minister Sophie Wilmès announced a series of new restrictions on Monday, following a significant spike in infections and warned of a .

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The “limited range” and lack of speed in translating the is putting non-English speakers at risk, according to a joint sent to UK health minister Matt Hancock. The letter, coordinated by medical humanitarian organisation Doctors of the World has been signed by 30 local authorities, public health leaders and charities in the UK. The current social distancing guide for England published on 11 May has still not been translated from English by the government. Doctors of the World said it has also translated coronavirus guidance into more than 60 languages itself.

Twitter has and his son, Donald Trump Jr, because they included clips of a video containing misinformation about hydroxychloroquine, a spokesperson for Twitter told the Washington Post today. The video features false and misleading claims about the coronavirus pandemic and has been removed by Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Emirates has become the to its customers. The airline will pay medical treatment, hotel quarantine and funeral costs for passengers who catch covid-19 while travelling.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 655,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 16.5 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Coronavirus vaccine hope: Amid rising global numbers of daily coronavirus infections, a fresh flush of vaccine trial results is offering hope for the longer run.

27 July

Covid-19 is “most severe” global health emergency ever, says WHO director-general

Covid-19 is the World Health Organization (WHO) has ever declared, said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a today. More than 16 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed globally and there have been more than 648,000 deaths from covid-19 recorded since the pandemic began. It has been almost six months since the WHO declared covid-19 a public health emergency of international concern at the end of January. “Covid-19 has changed our world,” said the director-general, adding that the pandemic “has shown what humans are capable of – both positively and negatively.”��

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Restrictions are being reintroduced across Asia, as countries attempt to control new waves of coronavirus infections. In China, 61 new cases were confirmed today, the highest number of daily new cases there since April. Over the weekend, Hong Kong, South Korea, India and Australia all hit new records for daily new cases since the start of the pandemic. Officials in Hong Kong announced a today including banning gatherings of more than two people. On Sunday, North Korea reported a case of coronavirus for the first time. In Vietnam, 80,000 people in Danang, mostly domestic tourists, in the country after three residents tested positive for the coronavirus over the weekend. The new cases in Vietnam are the first recorded there in more than three months.��

Travellers for 14 days, the government announced on Sunday, with six hours notice given to returning travellers. More than�� are estimated to be in Spain on holidays at the moment. Previously, Spain had been included in a list of more than 50 countries that are exempt from the UK’s quarantine rules. Health minister Helen Whately said the government had to act “rapidly and decisively” after cases in Spain rose over the past week. Epidemiologist Keith Neal at the University of Nottingham , adding that “these decisions need to be taken rapidly as situations develop.”

For the first time in the UK, a has tested positive for coronavirus. Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, said the finding and the UK government’s chief veterinary officer, Christine Middlemiss said there is no evidence to suggest that pets directly transmit the virus to humans. The cat was tested at a laboratory in Surrey, England on 22 July and its owners had previously tested positive for covid-19. There have previously been reports of cats testing positive for coronavirus elsewhere in the world, including in Hong Kong, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and the US.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 649,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 16.2 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Covid-19 and obesity: The obesity and covid-19 pandemics have been shown to be interlinked, and both urgently require more research to provide clear evidence on how best to beat them.

Second waves: As global cases continue to soar, there has also been a worrying uptick of cases in Asia.

24 July

Free flu vaccine for everyone over 50 in England

To try to avoid health services being overwhelmed in the winter, , including everyone over 50 and those with medical conditions such as diabetes.

“This winter more than ever, with Covid-19 still circulating, we need to help reduce all avoidable risks,” Chris Whitty, the UK’s chief medical officer, said in a statement.

Large winter flu outbreaks often strain hospital resources. This winter there are fears there could be a resurgence of coronavirus as well.

The NHS will contact people who are eligible to get a free vaccine, starting with those over 65 or at high risk because of a medical condition. Later it will be offered to people aged between 50 and 64 as well, and children in the first year of secondary school, as well as all primary school children.

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Discharging people from hospitals into care homes without testing led to many avoidable covid-19 deaths in England, . In submissions to a coronavirus inquiry, the Age UK charity said older people were “catastrophically let down”, and the British Medical Association said the government’s testing and tracing approach let the virus “spread unchecked.”��

India has reported , along with 740 deaths. Only the US and Brazil are reporting more daily cases.

Northern Ireland will be the first part of the UK . The app is based on one released in the Republic of Ireland earlier this month. The health committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly has also backed a plan for eliminating coronavirus altogether.

Imperial College London is . The trial is in its first phase, and will include 120 volunteers.

Vietnam has to prevent new pandemics. China has also pledged to do the same. Some of the earliest coronavirus infections in Wuhan, China were found in people who had been exposed to wild animals at a market.

Some shops in the UK, including Sainsbury’s and Asda, have said they won’t ask staff to enforce . The rules came into force today.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 634,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 15.5 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Do blood types matter? There is some evidence that blood types can influence whether or not someone becomes infected with the coronavirus, as they do with SARS, but it is not yet conclusive.

Lockdown wildlife: Rewilding efforts have been emboldened by the sudden cessation of everyday life during the coronavirus pandemic. Scientists are seizing the opportunity to learn how best to support our wildlife, says Graham Lawton.

23 July

Risk of second wave in England because of contact tracing failings

New figures out today show ���Բ������Ի�’s covid-19 testing and contact tracing system is still failing to reach large numbers of people, sparking warnings from health leaders of a second wave of infections this winter.

Between 9 and 15 July,, but only 80 per cent of their close contacts were reached. Although that is up from around three-quarters in the scheme’s initial weeks, the figures came in the wake of showing the system was reaching far fewer people in areas with high infection rates, with just 47 per cent reached in Luton. The continued failure to reach thousands of people drew criticism from the NHS Confederation, which represents NHS leaders.

“Without a test and trace system that is consistently robust across the whole country and effective at reaching people where the disease is particularly prevalent in a timely manner, we risk a second peak that could seriously endanger public health and put the NHS in the path of a wave of infections that could overwhelm it,” said Layla McCay at the NHS Confederation,. The testing regime in England is still not hitting a target of returning results within 24 hours of a test. Just 46.8 per cent of tests carried out outside of hospitals, where the vast bulk of testing now takes place, provided a result within 24 hours.

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Coronavirus testing in England could be boosted by new walk-in testing centres by the end of October. Several hundred are planned,.

The French city of Lyon, meanwhile, has begun , which could return tests in seconds.

Elsewhere, an international team has identified the antibodies that appear to be the most potent in neutralising the coronavirus. The researchers,, said they believe some of them may be “promising candidates” for devising treatments or preventing infection.

From tomorrow, face coverings will be mandatory in shops in England, a measure which Scotland had already adopted. shows they will also need to be worn in banks and post offices, but will not be required in restaurants, pubs, hairdressers, leisure centres or cinemas.

From 1 August, people who have been shielding in Scotland will no longer have to do so,.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 624,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 15.2 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

22 July

Visits to care homes in England allowed to resume subject to approval

Visits to to resume subject to approval by local authorities and public health officials, according to new government guidance. Previously, visits to care homes were restricted. “I know how painful it has been for those in care homes not being able to receive visits from their loved ones throughout this period,” said the UK’s health minister Matt Hancock. An estimated 6 per cent of coronavirus infections in England between 26 April and 7 June were among care home residents, according to a by Data Evaluation and Learning for Viral Epidemics – an independent group of international researchers convened by the Royal Society. The updated suggests that the number of visitors be limited to one per resident and that visitors wear a face covering.��

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Australia recorded its since the start of the pandemic. 502 new cases were recorded nationally on Tuesday, with 484 in the state of Victoria alone. People in the greater Melbourne area and Mitchell Shire will be required to wear face masks in public from Thursday.

The coronavirus pandemic is showing , said Carissa Etienne, the director of the Pan American Health Organization, during a virtual briefing on Tuesday. Etienne said that because of the high burden of infectious diseases and chronic conditions in the Americas, about 30 per cent of people across the region are at an increased risk of developing severe covid-19. There have been approximately 900,000 new coronavirus cases and almost 22,000 deaths reported in the region over the past week, with the majority in the US, Brazil and Mexico.��

More than half of at home during the UK’s coronavirus lockdown, according to an analysis of nationally representative surveys by researchers at the (ONS). More than 12,000 people were surveyed on their experiences of home-schooling between 3 April and 7 June. Almost one-third of working parents said that home-schooling their children had negatively affected their work. Women were more likely than men to report carrying out educational and caring tasks during lockdown, according to a separate .

The number of to the lowest level since the pandemic began, according to new figures from the Scottish government. Six people died from the disease in the week ending 19 July, making it the twelfth consecutive week in which deaths in Scotland fell.

Almost a , according to random antibody testing of more than 20,000 people. It still isn’t clear whether antibodies provide long-lasting immunity to the virus, and the accuracy of some covid-19 antibody tests were recently called into question. But the results suggest that official case numbers in Delhi may be a vast underestimate. Delhi has reported more than 123,000 cases since the pandemic began, but the study suggests there may have been more than 6.6 million cases in the city.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 617,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 15 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Oxford vaccine: An experimental coronavirus vaccine developed at the University of Oxford produces the hoped for immune responses in people. Even though it isn’t yet clear if this means the vaccine will prevent infections, the group that made it has struck deals for companies to make 2 billion doses of it within a year.��

UK could eliminate coronavirus: A group of independent scientists has suggested that the UK has the potential to become a covid-19-free zone – though this may not be a goal worth striving for. No country has truly eliminated the coronavirus from its shores and doing so would mean making such large sacrifices in other areas of public well-being that it may do more harm than good.

21 July

Humanity will be living with the coronavirus for “many years,” says health charity chief

“Things will not be done by Christmas,” Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, a large biomedical health charity, and a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, , speaking about the UK’s coronavirus pandemic. “This infection is not going away, it’s now a human endemic infection,” he said. Even if we had a vaccine or very good treatments, “humanity will still be living with this virus for very many, many years… decades to come,” he said. Farrar’s comments come after UK prime minister Boris Johnson announced further easing of restrictions in England last week and said he hoped for a . Farrar was giving evidence to the Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee as part of an on-going inquiry into the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.��

The government’s chief medical advisor Chris Whitty today told the committee that there was in March. On 16 March, ministers were presented with evidence about the scale of the UK’s coronavirus outbreak as well as modelling data on the rate at which it was likely to spread. However, the UK’s lockdown wasn’t announced until 23 March – a week later. Whitty said that ministers “were put in an incredibly difficult position” and that the delay was “no more than you would reasonably expect for what are really very difficult things to operationalise and decide.”

��Other coronavirus news

���Բ������Ի�’s , the Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed in a letter sent to the Open Rights Group, a privacy campaign organisation. The initiative to trace the contacts of people diagnosed with coronavirus was launched without carrying out an assessment of its impact on people’s privacy. The Open Rights Group says this makes the programme unlawful as it is a requirement under the General Data Protection Regulation for any projects that process people’s personal data to carry out such an assessment. The group’s director Jim Killock told the that this lack of “basic privacy safeguards” undermines public trust in the government, which is a “crucial element in the fight against the pandemic.”

Seven US states and Puerto Rico of daily coronavirus-related hospitalisations on Monday. 59,966 new cases of covid-19 were reported in the US as a whole, continuing a downward trend since daily new confirmed cases peaked at 75,643 on 16 July. US president of himself wearing a face mask yesterday, referring to the act as “patriotic.” The president has wearing a face mask.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 611,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 14.7 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

20 July

Oxford’s coronavirus vaccine candidate appears safe and induces immune response

A coronavirus vaccine candidate being developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is in people, according to preliminary results from trials involving 1077 volunteers. People injected with the vaccine, called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, made antibodies and immune cells against the coronavirus. The trial results were . No serious side effects were found, although 70 per cent of people developed a fever or headache which could be managed with painkillers. It is not yet clear whether this vaccine candidate offers protection against infection with the coronavirus, and we won’t know whether it can stop people from becoming ill with covid-19 until we see the results of larger trials. Those trials will involve 10,000 people in the UK, 30,000 people in the US, 2,000 in South Africa and 5,000 in Brazil.��

The UK government has secured access to 100 million doses of the vaccine candidate, in addition to from US and European companies. Globally, more than 140 coronavirus vaccines are currently in development, with 23 candidates being tested in people.

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A reduced the risk of severe cases requiring a ventilator by 79 per cent in a preliminary trial of 101 patients in the UK. The treatment involves inhaling a protein called interferon beta, which is naturally produced in the body as part of the immune response to a viral infection. In the double-blind trial, half of the participants were given the protein and half were given a placebo. Those who received the drug were two to three times more likely to recover sufficiently to resume their everyday activities, according to Synairgen, the company behind the treatment. The coronavirus blocks the natural production of interferon beta in lung cells, according to Tom Wilkinson, professor of respiratory medicine at University Hospital Southampton, who led Delivering interferon directly to lungs is crucial because it is not possible to inject a high enough dose without serious side effects, he said. Although promising, the results must be treated with caution as the study size is small and the findings have yet to be peer-reviewed. “We accept this is not the largest study. It was an exploratory study,” Wilkinson said.

The seven-day average for daily has risen for the 41st consecutive day, mostly due to ongoing spikes in the number of cases in Florida, Texas and California. Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti said the county is “on the brink” of shutting down again due to the recent rise in cases.

France has made in all enclosed public spaces, with those who fail to adhere to the rules facing fines of €135 (£123). Coronavirus cases are on the rise in the north-west and eastern parts of the country, with health minister Olivier Véran warning that France has between 400 and 500 active coronavirus clusters.

Anti-mask activists on Sunday to protest the introduction of new legislation on face coverings. It will be mandatory to wear them in shops and supermarkets in England from 24 July. A survey by the conducted between 8 and 12 July found that 61 per cent of people said they used face coverings outside their homes in the previous week.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 606,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 14.5 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Eliminating covid-19: Australia was tantalisingly close to eliminating the coronavirus, but is now seeing a surge in new cases. What went wrong and can it regain control?

17 July

New plans announced for further easing of restrictions in England

UK prime minister Boris Johnson today announced in England between now and the end of the year. People in England can now use public transport for any journey, and from 25 July indoor gyms, pools and other sports facilities will be allowed to reopen across the nation. On 1 August the government will update its advice about people going to work, with employers expected to be given more responsibility to determine how and where their staff can work safely. But on Thursday, the government’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance told MPs there was on working from home. “Working from home for many companies remains a perfectly good option because it’s easy to do,” he said. Further changes to current restrictions are also planned for 1 August, including the reopening of beauticians, bowling alleys, skating rinks and casinos. Wedding receptions with up to 30 guests will also be allowed from this date.��

“It is my strong and sincere hope that we will be able to review the outstanding restrictions and allow a more significant return to normality from November at the earliest – possibly in time for Christmas,” Johnson said during a press conference at Downing Street today. But researchers have expressed concerns about the potential of a deadly second wave of coronavirus infections hitting the UK in winter. Johnson in England to prepare for a possible second wave of coronavirus and to help ease winter pressures on the health service.

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The on Thursday – a record-high number of daily new cases for the US and the world, surpassing the country’s previous record from one week ago. 14 states reported more than 1000 daily new cases, with more than 13,000 new cases confirmed in Florida alone. In the US as a whole, there have been more than 3.5 million coronavirus cases and more than 138,000 deaths from covid-19 since the pandemic began.

The UK’s health minister Matt Hancock today ordered a , after a revealed that the current method includes people who recovered from covid-19 and then died of another cause. As a result, Public Health ���Բ������Ի�’s covid-19 death tally may be an overestimate. “Anyone who has tested covid positive but subsequently died at a later date of any cause will be included on the PHE covid death figures,” Carl Heneghan at the University of Oxford, one of the researchers behind the analysis, told Sky News.

Use of , according to a recent survey by the Office for National Statistics. 61 per cent of people surveyed between 8 and 12 July said they wore a face covering outside their home, up from 52 per cent the previous week. Starting on 24 July, face coverings will be mandatory in shops and supermarkets in England, in line with advice from many scientific organisations, including the Royal Society and Independent SAGE.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 591,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 13.8 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Space Telescope launch delayed: The launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has been delayed once again. Its planned launch date has slipped from March 2021 to 31 October 2021, partially due to the coronavirus pandemic.

16 July

Scientists suggest young, healthy people could test coronavirus vaccine candidates

A group of scientists are vaccine research by volunteering to be exposed to the coronavirus in so-called “challenge trials.” The process might make it easier to see how effective different vaccine candidates are at providing protection against covid-19. Challenge trials have been used in the past to test vaccines, but they raise ethical questions about exposing healthy people to a disease for which we have no treatment to guarantee their safety. “If challenge trials can safely and effectively speed the vaccine development process, then there is a formidable presumption in favour of their use, which would require a very compelling ethical justification to overcome,” said an open signed by more than 100 prominent figures, including 15 Nobel laureates, which was sent to the US National Institutes of Health, a medical research organisation.

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The UK government is still falling short of its target of returning all covid-19 tests in England within 24 hours, according to data published today. UK prime minister Boris Johnson , saying that all covid-19 tests would be returned within 24 hours by the end of the month. But more than two weeks after the end of June, the latest show that only 50.6 per cent of people who were tested for covid-19 in the week ending 8 July received their test results within 24 hours, down from 55.3 per cent the the previous week. The figures include home tests, in addition to those performed at regional testing sites, mobile testing units and satellite testing centres across England. They also reveal that NHS Test and Trace who tested positive for coronavirus during the same time period.��

UK security officials said information about coronavirus vaccines being developed in UK, US and Canadian organisations were targeted by . The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre said a group called APT29, which it said was “almost certainly” part of Russia’s intelligence services, were targeting research groups and drug companies.��

Phase III of a coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by Chinese state-owned company Sinopharm have begun in the United Arab Emirates. The government of the UAE says�� 15,000 volunteers will be recruited in the country over three to six months. There are currently 23 coronavirus vaccine candidates in human trials, with three of them in or close to entering phase III, the final stage of testing.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 584,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 13.5 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

15 July

Moderna coronavirus vaccine candidate deemed safe in first human trial

A coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by US company Moderna and the US National Institutes of Health, a medical research organisation, is expected to become the . suggested it is safe and able to induce an immune response against the virus. Moderna plans on 30,000 people, including those whose circumstances put them at high-risk of getting infected with the coronavirus. All 45 volunteers who received the experimental vaccine as part of the phase I trial for safety were found to have developed antibodies against the coronavirus in their blood, and none had serious side effects. These volunteers were younger adults, and preliminary tests on older adults are currently under review. “No matter how you slice this, this is good news,” US government health advisor Anthony Fauci told the Associated Press. There are currently 23 coronavirus vaccine candidates in clinical trials around the world.��

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Face coverings , the UK’s health minister Matt Hancock told MPs on Tuesday. This followed the government’s earlier announcement that people in England will be required to wear face coverings in shops and supermarkets starting on 24 July. “The reason is that in offices you tend to spend a lot of time with the same people, and so the way to stop the spread of the virus in offices is to have social distancing, either two metres or one metre plus mitigations in place,” Hancock said on BBC Radio 4 today. Epidemiologist Rowland Kao at the University of Edinburgh says contact tracing is also more straightforward in offices. “Contact tracing is going to be vital in preventing a large outbreak,” says Kao, adding that reducing infections due to casual contact will play a big role in allowing contact tracing to work well.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said the “to cover the back of a cabinet minister” after minister Michael Gove was pictured entering a Pret food shop in London without a face covering yesterday. The prime minister’s spokesperson said that masks will not be required when buying takeaway food.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson today said there will be an , although it isn’t yet clear who will be leading the inquiry and when it will start. “Certainly we will have an independent inquiry into what happened,” he told parliament today, adding that now isn’t the right time for it because the UK is still in the middle of the pandemic.

New Zealand , the country’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern told journalists today. She said New Zealand would use local lockdowns to contain any new outbreaks, with nationwide lockdowns imposed if necessary. New Zealand’s strategy is aimed at completely eliminating the virus from the country.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 580,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 13.3 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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New rules on face coverings: Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, face coverings and masks have become ubiquitous in some Asian countries, but the UK public has generally been more reluctant to adopt them. Now the law is about to change. What are the new rules on face coverings in England and why did the policy change?

14 July

Restrictions reimposed around the world as global cases pass 13 million

Tighter lockdown restrictions and social distancing measures in the US, Hong Kong, the Philippines and other countries are as states and cities attempt to control new waves of coronavirus cases. The governor of California yesterday closed all bars in the state and ordered restaurants, cinemas and museums to halt indoor operations, reversing the reopening of these venues in mid-June. Today authorities in Hong Kong imposed new social distancing measures including making masks mandatory on public transport, limiting the size of gatherings to four people and closing Hong Kong Disneyland less than a month after it reopened. In Manila, in the Philippines, a quarter of a million people are expected to be put back under lockdown later this week to try to slow down the spread of infections. In the UK, tighter restrictions after a spike in coronavirus cases.��

Other coronavirus news

Face coverings will become from 24 July and the police can issue £100 fines for those who don’t comply, the government announced today. Children under 11 and people with certain disabilities will be exempt. The government has been under growing pressure from scientific organisations, including the Royal Society and the recently formed Independent SAGE, to introduce legislation making face coverings mandatory in indoor spaces. also support the use of face coverings in confined or crowded places where physical distancing isn’t possible.��

More than 5 million workers in the US are this year due to the economic impact of the pandemic, according to a , an advocacy group for healthcare consumers. This is the highest increase since the 2008 financial crisis when 3.9 million adults became uninsured, according to the report.��

The coronavirus may be able to spread from a pregnant person to their fetus, suggests a case study published in . Tests of placental samples from this case study are consistent with transmission in the womb, physician and study author Daniele DeLuca at the Antoine Béclère hospital in Paris told the . DeLuca said he suspects this isn’t the first such case, but this is the first time it has been confirmed that coronavirus was transmitted in the womb. The baby who tested positive for covid-19 developed brain inflammation a few days after birth, but he and his mother have both since recovered. The study builds on earlier, more preliminary evidence that the coronavirus can be spread via the placenta.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 574,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 13.1 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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Second wave in winter: A bad winter could bring a second wave of coronavirus infections that leads to around 120,000 deaths in UK hospitals, twice as many as the first wave, according to an estimate of a reasonable worst-case scenario.

How drug cartels get around lockdowns: Like most other industries, the illegal drug trade has been affected by the covid-19 pandemic, but it hasn’t stopped cartels from finding ways around national shutdowns and anti-narcotics police operations.��

The pandemic’s impact on other diseases: The effect of the coronavirus pandemic on healthcare for tuberculosis, malaria and HIV could lead to deaths on a scale similar to those from covid-19 in some parts of the world, a new analysis finds.

13 July

People may soon have to wear face coverings in shops in England, says Boris Johnson

People should wear face coverings in shops and the government is looking at making it , UK prime minister Boris Johnson said today. Describing face coverings as “extra insurance” to stop the spread of coronavirus, he said that the government was looking at how a change in policy might be enforced.�� Face coverings are already compulsory on public transport in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and the that people wear them in other enclosed public spaces where social distancing isn’t possible, although this isn’t mandatory. This comes as a growing number of scientists are calling for the UK government to increase legislation on face coverings. Independent SAGE, a group of scientists offering alternative advice to the UK government, in indoor spaces wherever possible, including in shops and in entertainment venues, as well as on public transport. Earlier this month, the president of the Royal Society, Venki Ramakrishnan said that not wearing a face covering should be regarded as anti-social.

Other coronavirus news

in a person’s blood may peak about three weeks after symptoms first appear, then decline rapidly, according to a preliminary study that hasn’t been peer-reviewed. The , monitored antibody levels in the blood of 65 covid-19 patients and 31 healthcare workers who’d had a positive coronavirus antibody test, between March and June. Three months after antibody levels peaked, only 17 per cent of people tested still had an antibody response with the same level of potency against the virus, the study found. In some people, antibody levels fell 23-fold over the same time period. One concern is that a short-lived antibody response might limit the ability of a coronavirus vaccine to induce immunity. But alongside antibodies, there’s evidence that other parts of the body’s immune system – such as immune cells called T-cells – may also contribute to immunity against the coronavirus and could be harnessed by a future vaccine.

Scotland for the fifth consecutive day, the nation’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced during a press briefing. But there are concerns that people travelling across the border from England may make it difficult for Scotland to achieve full elimination of the virus.��

Mexico saw record daily numbers of new coronavirus cases last week and now has , after the US, Brazil and the UK. There have been more than 299,000 coronavirus cases and more than 35,000 deaths from covid-19 in Mexico since the pandemic began. Officials in Mexico say these numbers are probably a significant underestimate, because of a limited testing capacity.

Coronavirus deaths

10 July

UK has opted out of advance purchase of coronavirus vaccine candidates with the EU

The UK government has decided . Government sources cited concerns that the programme could delay the rollout of a vaccine by up to six months while discussions about distribution take place, according to The Telegraph.��

There were also concerns about a potential limit on the number of vaccine doses that would be allocated to each country. But Alex Harris, head of global policy at the health charity Wellcome, told the that the EU’s proposed limit on vaccine doses is the best way to ensure there will be enough vaccine for those in need in the rest of the world.��

There are currently more than 100 coronavirus vaccine candidates in development. The EU is planning to spend approximately €2 billion (£1.8 billion) on the advance purchase of vaccines that are currently being developed. The UK has secured access to a vaccine currently being trialled by researchers at the University of Oxford in partnership with the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, should it prove to be effective.��

Other coronavirus news

In the UK, taxi drivers, pharmacists and cleaners are among those who will be tested for covid-19 even if they don’t have symptoms, as part of . Care workers and some NHS staff already have access to this type of testing, but the new study will include people in other professions, which regularly come into contact with large numbers of people.��

Coronavirus cases in the , where lockdown measures were reimposed last week to tackle a new outbreak, have fallen from 140 cases per 100,000 people last week to 125 per 100,000 people this week. In the UK as a whole, the number of new infections remains in decline, with infections by between 2 and 5 per cent per day.��

The UK’s R number – the estimated number of people each coronavirus case infects – , according to modelling by the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). It is still too early to determine any impact on the R of the reopening of pubs and restaurants in England on 4 July due to a two- to three-week time lag in the data caused by the delay between people becoming infected and getting tested.��

The indoors, according to released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday. On Tuesday, the WHO acknowledged emerging evidence on airborne transmission of the virus following pressure from a group of more than 200 scientists.��

Disney World is despite record numbers of deaths from covid-19 reported in Florida this week. Florida recorded 120 deaths from covid-19 on Wednesday – the highest number of daily deaths for the state so far. The US as a whole reached for the global pandemic – its second record this week – with more than 65,000 new cases recorded on Thursday.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 555,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 12.3 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Second wave: Pubs, restaurants and cafes in England welcomed customers back through their doors on 4 July, sparking warnings of a second wave of covid-19 infections. Yet there have been warnings of another wave since the country began easing restrictions, and one hasn’t materialised. Will this time be different?

Grief over covid-19: During the pandemic, more people are experiencing risk factors for prolonged grief disorder – severe, unrelenting grief that lasts for six months or more and makes it difficult to function.

9 July

UK government missed its target to return all covid-19 tests within 24 hours

The UK government missed its target of returning all covid-19 tests in England within 24 hours by the end of June, according to data published today. set the target in parliament on 3 June, saying that all covid-19 tests would be returned within 24 hours by the end of the month. But the latest show that only 54.9 per cent of people who were tested for covid-19 within communities in the week ending 1 July received their test results within 24 hours, although the number meeting the 24-hour time limit did rise from 41.3 per cent in the previous week. The figures include home tests, as well as those performed at regional testing sites, mobile testing units and satellite testing centres across England.

Other coronavirus news

The outside of hospitals and care homes in England has fallen slightly, according to the latest provisional results from a random swab testing survey by the (ONS). The ONS estimates that 14,000 people in England had covid-19 between 22 June and 5 July, down from 51,000 in the period between 8 and 21 June. But ONS modelling suggests the overall downward trend in estimated infections in communities in England has been levelling off in recent weeks.

Hunger caused by the coronavirus crisis itself, Oxfam has warned. In a published today, the charity estimates that 121 million more people could experience extreme hunger due to mass unemployment, declining aid and disruption to food production and supplies as a consequence of the pandemic. This could potentially result in as many as 12,000 deaths per day, thousands more than the peak of global daily deaths from covid-19 of 10,000 in April, according to the report.��

US president Donald Trump on Wednesday for districts that defy his demands to reopen schools in September. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention guidelines say that schools should not reopen unless desks are six feet apart and children wear face coverings, which Trump has criticised for being CDC director Robert Redfield said today that the organisation would not change the guidelines, despite pressure from the White House. New York City’s mayor Bill de Blasio also would not fully reopen in September in order to allow for social distancing, with plans for pupils to only attend classes one to three days per week.��

The US has recorded more than 3 million cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began and more than 130,000 deaths from covid-19, and the number of cases continue to surge across the country. Nine US states have now reported in total, including current coronavirus hotspots Texas and Florida.

Trump’s election campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the county, local health officials said on Wednesday. Tulsa County reported 261 new cases on Monday, a record high for the county. On the Monday before Trump’s rally in June, there were only 76 cases recorded there. Tulsa City-County Health Department director Bruce Dart said he had previously urged the Trump campaign to consider delaying the rally. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign told the AP they had gone to great lengths to ensure that people who attended the rally were protected.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 550,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 12 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Essential information about coronavirus

What is covid-19?

What are the worst symptoms and how deadly is covid-19?

You could be spreading the coronavirus without realising you’ve got it

How can countries know when it’s safe to ease coronavirus lockdowns?

What does the latest research suggest about the coronavirus in pregnancy?

What to read, watch and listen to about coronavirus

is a project highlighting the experiences of key workers on the frontline in the fight against coronavirus in the UK, through social media.

on Netflix is a short documentary series examining the on-going coronavirus pandemic, the efforts to fight it and ways to manage its mental health toll.

�鶹��ý Weekly features updates and analysis on the latest developments in the covid-19 pandemic. Our podcast sees expert journalists from the magazine discuss the biggest science stories to hit the headlines each week – from technology and space, to health and the environment.

is about the new science of contagion and the surprising ways it shapes our lives and behaviour. The author, Adam Kucharski, is an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and in the book he examines how diseases spread and why they stop.

is a sober documentary about the progression of a hypothetical pandemic which the BBC simulated in 2017. Fronted by science journalist and TV presenter Hannah Fry, and made with the support of some of the country’s best epidemiologists and mathematical modelers, it’s very relevant to today’s covid-19 pandemic.

Previous updates

8 July

UK could eliminate coronavirus with new strategy, say Independent SAGE scientists

The UK government has “given up” on trying to eliminate the coronavirus, says a new – an independent group of scientists. They propose a new strategy aimed at the complete elimination of covid-19. It would replace what the report calls the government’s “failing NHS Test and Trace system” with a locally controlled contract tracing and testing system that has more laboratory provision, as well as tighter lockdown measures and restriction of international and domestic travel.

The report also points out that the UK’s death toll has been one of the highest in the world but says it’s not too late to change that trajectory. “We believe that a clear strategy based on proven public health principles is now required to see us through the next 9 to 12 months,” says the report. But the , including epidemiologist Mark Woolhouse at the University of Edinburgh, for being overly simplistic. “This is a worthy but extremely ambitious aim,” says Woolhouse.��

Other coronavirus news

The World Health Organization (WHO) has cannot be ruled out in crowded, closed or poorly ventilated settings, after it was urged to do so in a letter signed by more than 200 scientists. The WHO has so far said that the virus is mainly spread through respiratory droplets and contact between people. But on Tuesday a WHO official acknowledged emerging evidence that the coronavirus can be spread through tiny particles suspended in the air.

The UK government’s Joint Biosecurity Centre, which was formed to advise the UK’s chief medical officers about the threat level in the UK’s four nations, will soon take a more prominent role in coordinating the covid-19 response, according to the . The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) will take a backseat and meet less frequently. Some researchers are concerned about the centre’s lack of transparency. Former government chief scientific adviser and leader of Independent SAGE David King told the that it isn’t clear how the centre operates and whether they have the right in-house expertise.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson today said he , adding that “the last thing I wanted to do was blame care workers.” In parliament, Labour leader Keir Starmer asked Johnson whether he would apologise for his earlier comments on care homes. On Monday, when asked why care home deaths in the UK have been so high, Johnson said “too many care homes didn’t really follow the procedures in the way that they could have.”

The US on Tuesday, setting another global pandemic record for cases recorded in a single day. The US set a record of more than 55,000 daily new cases . Since the pandemic began, the country has recorded more than 2.9 million cases and more than 131,000 deaths from covid-19.

The from the WHO, due to take effect on 6 July 2021. The UN confirmed it had received the notification of withdrawal from the US on Tuesday. US president Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the WHO has been widely condemned by politicians and health officials in the US. Democratic challenger if he wins the US election in November.

A new outbreak of coronavirus in Hong Kong, which , is continuing to grow. 19 new cases were confirmed by officials today bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the new outbreak to 24.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 545,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 11.8 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

How to stop the coronavirus: What can we learn from the countries that got it right – and those that got it so very wrong?

Grief over covid-19: During the pandemic, more people are experiencing risk factors for prolonged grief disorder – severe, unrelenting grief that lasts for six months or more and makes it difficult to function.

Essential information about coronavirus

What is covid-19?

What are the worst symptoms and how deadly is covid-19?

You could be spreading the coronavirus without realising you’ve got it

How can countries know when it’s safe to ease coronavirus lockdowns?

What does the latest research suggest about the coronavirus in pregnancy?

What to read, watch and listen to about coronavirus

is a project highlighting the experiences of key workers on the frontline in the fight against coronavirus in the UK, through social media.

on Netflix is a short documentary series examining the on-going coronavirus pandemic, the efforts to fight it and ways to manage its mental health toll.

�鶹��ý Weekly features updates and analysis on the latest developments in the covid-19 pandemic. Our podcast sees expert journalists from the magazine discuss the biggest science stories to hit the headlines each week – from technology and space, to health and the environment.

is about the new science of contagion and the surprising ways it shapes our lives and behaviour. The author, Adam Kucharski, is an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and in the book he examines how diseases spread and why they stop.

is a sober documentary about the progression of a hypothetical pandemic which the BBC simulated in 2017. Fronted by science journalist and TV presenter Hannah Fry, and made with the support of some of the country’s best epidemiologists and mathematical modelers, it’s very relevant to today’s covid-19 pandemic.

7 July

Everyone in the UK should wear a face covering, says Royal Society president

, the president of the Royal Society has said. In a published today, Venki Ramakrishnan said people should have face coverings with them when they leave their home and should always wear them in crowded public spaces, “particularly indoors in enclosed public spaces where physical distancing is often not possible.”��

The Nobel prize-winning biologist also said that the UK is way behind other countries when it comes to wearing masks. “You only need to go on public transport, where they are supposed to be mandatory, to see how many people are ignoring this new rule,” he said. “As we lift lockdown and people increasingly interact with each other we need to use every tool we have to reduce the risk of a second wave of infection,” he said. Ramakrishnan said not wearing a face mask should be regarded as antisocial, and that the messaging on face coverings in the UK hasn’t been strong or clear enough.

The comments came as an independent group of researchers convened by the Royal Society – called Data Evaluation and Learning for Viral Epidemics (DELVE) – published an on mask wearing. The report says there is growing evidence supporting the use of masks in all circumstances where it isn’t possible for people to stay more than one meter apart. This is in line with World Health Organization guidelines updated in June.��

Other coronavirus news

Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro said he has in an announcement on live TV to a group of reporters. Bolsanaro has repeatedly underplayed the risks of the pandemic and has publicly flouted social distancing rules, including attending anti-lockdown protests and vetoing changes to the law requiring people to wear face coverings. Brazil has recorded more than 1.6 million coronavirus cases, the second-highest number after the US, and more than 65,000 deaths from covid-19.

Only 5 per cent of ���貹����’s population , according to a study of more than 61,000 people published yesterday in – the largest such study in Europe so far.�� The findings cast further doubt on the already problematic idea that countries could naturally achieve herd immunity – a situation where a sufficient number of people within the population have been infected or vaccinated against a pathogen to limit it from spreading further. It still isn’t clear how long any form of immunity against the coronavirus might last, and accuracy of covid-19 antibody tests have been called into question. An to reach herd immunity within a population. “We are very far from achieving that number,” Marina Pollán, who led the study in Spain, told . Even if that number were achieved, it would lead to 30 million deaths from the virus worldwide.����

The Australian state of in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire for the next six weeks in an effort to tackle a new coronavirus outbreak. 191 new cases were confirmed in Victoria today – the highest number of daily new cases there since the start of the pandemic. The reimposed restrictions are expected to affect 5 million people.

Only 22 per cent of people who have tested positive for coronavirus in England reported having , a survey by the has found. The small study of 115 people who tested positive between 26 April and 27 June adds to a body of evidence suggesting that people can be infected with the virus without showing symptoms.

At least after customers tested positive for coronavirus. Pubs in England were ordered to close on 23 March but many reopened on 4 July in line with eased restrictions. All pubs in England are required to follow hygiene and social distancing guidelines, and to take contact details from at least one person per group, which they must keep for 21 days.

Almost one in six people in the UK if one became available, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a non-profit organisation. 16 per cent of 1663 adults surveyed said they would “probably” or “definitely” avoid a coronavirus vaccine. There is currently no such vaccine available, but more than 100 vaccine candidates are in development.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 539,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 11.6 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Why hasn’t the UK seen a second wave? Scientists have repeatedly warned of a second surge of covid-19 infections as restrictions ease in the UK, but it hasn’t happened – were they wrong or is it still to come?

Risk of airborne spread: Over 200 scientists have called for the world to take more precautions against the airborne transmission of the coronavirus.

6 July

10 per cent of covid-19 infections in England among health and social care workers

An estimated 10 per cent of all covid-19 infections in England between 26 April and 7 June were among healthcare workers or social care workers interacting directly with patients or care home residents, according to a published today. The research was carried out by Data Evaluation and Learning for Viral Epidemics (DELVE) – an independent group of researchers convened by the Royal Society. The report also estimates that at least 1 per cent of infections during the same time period were acquired by patients in hospital, and at least 6 per cent by residents in care homes.��

According to DELVE, not enough data has been collected to determine the ways in which coronavirus infections are being spread within hospitals. The report says that this lack of information is of particular importance in the case of Black, Asian and minority ethnic healthcare workers, who are disproportionately at risk from covid-19. It also isn’t clear to what extent infections acquired within hospitals and care settings are contributing to community spread. Collecting this data could help hospitals assess risks and take appropriate preventative measures, says the report.

Other coronavirus news

An influential group of researchers is to acknowledge the extent to which covid-19 can spread through airborne transmission. An open letter to the WHO signed by 239 researchers from 32 countries, including specialists in virology and public health, is due to be published this week. The researchers say there is emerging evidence that airborne transmission could be more important than the WHO has indicated in their guidance, and that the WHO should advise governments to implement appropriate control measures. The WHO’s guidance currently states that the virus is mainly spread between people through respiratory droplets and contact. But the letter argues that this underplays the role of aerosol spread, which involves much smaller particles that can stay airborne for longer periods of time and that can be transmitted between people over distances of more than one metre.

2.5 million were never returned to labs, causing daily coronavirus testing figures to be inflated, the Department for Health and Social Care confirmed today.

India has overtaken Russia to become the country with the , after the US and Brazil. Officials in India reported 24,912 new cases on Sunday, a record high number for the country, which has recorded more than 697,000 cases in total and more than 19,000 deaths from covid-19.��

The mayors of Houston and Austin in Texas by covid-19 cases in two weeks, after a record-high for the state of 8258 new daily cases on Saturday. The US as a whole recorded more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases on Sunday for the fourth day in a row, according to health officials.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 535,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 11.4 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

3 July

Almost 20,000 people in care homes died with covid-19 in England and Wales

19,394 people died with covid-19 in care homes across England and Wales between 2 March and 12 June, according to new data from the (ONS). The estimates that one in five with covid-19 in the 56 per cent of care homes that had at least one confirmed case. The same analysis suggests that an estimated 7 per cent of care home staff have had coronavirus since the start of the pandemic. The estimates are based on a survey of more than 5000 care homes in England by the Department of Health and Social Care, conducted between 26 May and 20 June. From next week, care home residents over 65 and those with dementia will every 28 days, and staff working in care homes will be tested weekly, the Department of Health and Social Care said today.��

Other coronavirus news

The UK government’s online dashboard for regional coronavirus cases now not just those performed in hospitals and clinics. Yesterday the dashboard was updated for the first time including figures from tests performed in people’s homes or in mobile centres within communities – known as pillar 2 tests – with a resulting increase in the number of confirmed cases. Earlier this week, local officials in Leicester complained that they hadn’t been provided with the full picture on the outbreak there due to the lack of pillar 2 data.

Government figures released today suggest the – the estimated number of people each coronavirus case infects – remains between 0.7 and 0.9, with the range for England between 0.8 and 0.9. There is a time lag in the data, however, because it can take two or three weeks for people to realise they are infected and get tested. In the UK as a whole, the number of new infections has remained relatively constant. There is variation between regions, with the data suggesting infections may be rising slightly in London and in the south-west of England.��

People arriving in England from more than 50 countries, including France, Spain, Germany and Italy, will , the Department for Transport announced today. Quarantine restrictions remain in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Ministers in Scotland and Wales have criticised the decision, with Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon describing it as .��

The US reported – a new daily global record for the coronavirus pandemic. Since the pandemic began there have been more than 2.7 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the US and more than 128,000 deaths from covid-19.��

The antiviral drug remdesivir has become the . The European Commission today conditionally approved the use of remdesivir in patients with severe covid-19, following an accelerated review process.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 522,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 10.9 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

How Cuba and Uruguay are quashing coronavirus: As coronavirus cases soar in the US, Brazil and other countries in the Americas, some countries have found strategies to contain the virus and limit deaths.

2 July

An app identified Leicester as a coronavirus hotspot two weeks ago

A smartphone app developed by researchers at King’s College London could help predict covid-19 hotspots in the UK. The COVID Symptom Study app identified Leicester as a potential hotspot as early as 17 June. Public Health England data released yesterday for the week ending 21 June revealed Leicester had the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country, with 135 cases per 100,000 people. The app also identified Barnsley and Rochdale as potential hotspots on 17 June. These areas were subsequently revealed to have the third and fourth highest number of cases in the country respectively in the week ending 21 June, according to the same Public Health England data. The latest data from the app, collected between 14 and 24 June, suggests the highest rates of new coronavirus cases in the UK are in The Midlands.��

The app models data from 3.7 million users in the UK, including their self-reported symptoms and any swab test results. Future hotspots are identified as locations that are recording more cases than their surrounding areas, are consistently in the top 10 per cent for UK case numbers, and where case numbers are accelerating.

Other coronavirus news

The UK’s education minister Gavin Williamson today outlined the government’s plan for getting . Government guidance suggests pupils in different year groups be kept apart in “b�ܲ��������”, with teachers who teach multiple year groups asked to maintain physical distance from pupils. Schools will also be given a small number of coronavirus home testing kits for children who develop symptoms. If there are two or more confirmed cases within a two week period, schools could be asked to ensure small groups of pupils and staff self-isolate.��

As many as for travellers – an arrangement where travellers between the UK and the countries in question wouldn’t be required to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival. This replaces the government’s previous plan to arrange “air bridges” between the UK and selected countries. The list of exempt countries is expected to be announced this week. But Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon today suggested Scotland wouldn’t sign up to the deal, which may delay the scheme.

The UK government’s contact tracing scheme, NHS Test and Trace, between 18 and 25 June, according to the latest figures from the Department of Health and Social Care. Overall, the figures reveal that of the 27,125 people referred to the contact tracing scheme since it started at the end of May, only about 74 per cent have been reached and asked to provide details of their contacts so far.��

A review published in the has identified supporting the use of antibody tests for coronavirus. The tests, which aim to identify the presence of coronavirus-specific antibodies that may remain in the blood after a person has recovered from the infection, failed to detect coronavirus antibodies in between 2.2 and 34 per cent of all those tested who had been infected. The World Health Organization has previously dismissed the notion of “immunity passports” for coronavirus through antibody testing, since it still isn’t clear how long any immunity against the coronavirus might last.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 517,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 10.7 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coping with the pandemic: People who watch a lot of horror films, and those who are morbidly curious about unpleasant subjects, seem to be more psychologically resilient to the covid-19 pandemic.

1 July

Covid-19 news: UK’s local coronavirus hotspots revealed

Leicester, Bradford, Barnsley and Rochdale are the in the UK, according to data that has been published by Public Health England. Leicester, which has been put into a localised lockdown, had the highest infection rate in the UK during the week ending 21 June, with 135 cases per 100,000 people, followed by Bradford with 69 cases per 100,000, Barnsley with 55 and Rochdale with 54. Local public health officials have complained about the lack of detailed information from the government on local infections in UK regions and cities, which they say is limiting their capacity to stem new outbreaks. At issue is the fact that only includes tests carried out in hospital settings, meaning that the majority of cases aren’t included in this data.

Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the British Medical Association council, told journalists today that the “whack-a-mole” strategy to contain local outbreaks previously described by UK prime minister Boris Johnson is of “no use” if the people leading local responses aren’t given the most accurate, up-to-date data. In parliament today, that local authorities had in fact been sent all of the data.

Other coronavirus news

The US has bought almost all the stocks of remdesivir for the next three months leading to in the UK, Europe and other parts of the world, according to The Guardian. Remdesivir is one of only two drugs found to be beneficial to covid-19 patients.“We have enough stock [of remdesivir] to treat every patient that needs the drug,” a spokesperson for the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care told �鶹��ý today. They also emphasised that the steroid dexamethasone, which is the first drug shown to reduce deaths in critically ill covid-19 patients, is already widely available for NHS patients.��

US government health adviser Anthony Fauci told the US senate yesterday that he wouldn’t be surprised if . Yesterday, daily new cases in the US surpassed 40,000 for the fourth time in the last five days, with the majority of the new cases coming from southern and western states. Fauci said half of all new cases came from Florida, Arizona, Texas and California.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 512,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 10.5 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Can we become immune?: There is no longer any serious doubt that our bodies can form an immune memory to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. But we still don’t know how effective that memory will be.

Carbon offsetting delayed: The UN has approved a plan to delay carbon offsetting of flights, after pressure from airlines impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Previous updates

30 June

UK deaths fall below five-year average for first time in 14 weeks

In England and Wales, the number of weekly deaths fell below the five-year average for the first time in 14 weeks, according to the . There were 65 fewer deaths compared to the five-year average in the week ending 19 June. The number of deaths involving covid-19 reached a 12-week low, with 783 deaths mentioning coronavirus on the death certificate in the week ending 19 June.

Other coronavirus news

The UK city of Leicester has become the . Shops and schools, which were reopened across England earlier this month, will close again in Leicester from Thursday. Bars, pubs, restaurants and hairdressers, which are due to re-open across the rest of England on 4 July, will remain closed in the city.����

Official daily coronavirus case numbers for UK cities and regions, including Leicester, only reveal a fraction of the real total in those areas, . Although the government publishes a UK-wide number for all confirmed covid-19 cases every day – including from tests conducted at home or in commercial labs – at a regional level the new daily cases only contain those recorded in hospitals. More than 90 per cent of new coronavirus cases recorded in Leicester are now being detected through community labs and home testing kits, and were therefore missing from the publicly released data. Peter Soulsby, the mayor of Leicester asked Matt Hancock to impose a new lockdown on Monday after saying he feared a new outbreak in the city nearly two weeks earlier. According to the FT, “hundreds of local authorities in the rest of the country are unable to see a timely picture of what is happening in their communities.”��

The World Health Organization�� (WHO) has warned that the “is yet to come” because of “the lack of national unity and lack of global solidarity.” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists yesterday that despite many countries making progress, the pandemic is still accelerating globally as more than 10.4 million coronavirus cases and 509,000 deaths have been confirmed worldwide. “Some countries are now experiencing a resurgence in cases as they start to reopen their economies and societies,” he said. He urged governments to “test, trace, isolate and quarantine,” and warned that the virus would infect many more people if countries did not start implementing the right policies.

A combination of antiviral drugs commonly used to treat HIV does not reduce the death rate among patients hospitalised with covid-19, a . The trial compared 1596 patients given the combination of lopinavir and ritonavir to 3376 patients who did not receive the drugs and received usual care. After 28 days, there was no significant difference in death rates, length of hospital stay or the need for ventilation between the two groups. However, the study did not include large numbers of people on ventilators because of the difficulty administering the drugs to them. This study was part of the larger initiative, which has been testing the effectiveness of six potential covid-19 treatments and recently found that the steroid dexamethasone reduces death rates among severely ill covid-19 patients.

The to investigate the origins of the covid-19 pandemic, it revealed yesterday. It isn’t yet clear who will be included in the WHO team or what the focus of their investigation will be. Evidence so far suggests the virus jumped from bats into humans, possibly through an intermediate animal.��

Australia is in 10 postcodes across the city of Melbourne after new clusters of cases were detected in the last few days. Starting on Thursday, people living in these areas will only be allowed to leave home for essential reasons. Gyms, swimming pools and cinemas will also be closed.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 509,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 10.4 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Lockdown measures return: Local outbreaks around the world trigger fears of a second wave of covid-19 and are forcing countries to reintroduce lockdown measures.

First drug shown to save lives: Dexamethasone is the first medicine shown to reduce deaths from covid-19. It belongs to a class of drugs called steroids, which damp down the immune system.

Scotland could eliminate the coronavirus: Scotland may be only weeks away from no new daily cases of coronavirus. As the nation gets close, cases from over the border will become a big problem.

29 June

Leicester mayor frustrated with government’s handling of outbreak

Following a recent spike in coronavirus cases, the UK city of Leicester could remain in extended lockdown while the rest of England sees restrictions eased later this week. The city’s mayor Peter Soulsby says that the government is recommending a local lockdown in the city, which would mark the first time such measures are taken. Soulsby also says he is about the outbreak in the area. “It was only last Thursday that we finally got some of the data we need but we’re still not getting all of it,” Soulsby said, speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning. The extension to the lockdown in Leicester would. In the meantime, bars, pubs, restaurants, and hairdressers are set to reopen in England on 4 July. The latest figures from Public Health England show that 866 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in the city in the two weeks up to 23 June, making up almost a third of the 2987 people who have tested positive for the virus in Leicester since the start of the pandemic.

Other coronavirus news

The has taken a “swift and very dangerous turn,” the state’s governor Greg Abbott told journalists on Sunday. The statement came as restrictions are being reintroduced across the US amid a rise in cases, and concerns that hospitals could become overwhelmed. Bars in Texas closed again last week and restaurants’ indoor seating capacity was again limited to 50 per cent. Since early June, at 50 per cent capacity, and restaurants at 75 per cent. In Florida, bars have been ordered to stop serving alcohol and in the state of California, bars in Los Angeles and six other counties were closed again yesterday. The number of new weekly, including Texas, Florida and California. Only two US states – Connecticut and Rhode Island – reported a decline in coronavirus cases last week compared to the previous week.��

A coronavirus vaccine candidate jointly developed by China’s military research unit and Chinese company CanSino Biologics has been , the company said in a filing to the stock exchange today. On 25 June, China’s Central Military Commission approved the use of the vaccine candidate by the military for a period of one year. The vaccine candidate, called Ad5-nCov, isn’t approved for commercial use. More than 100 coronavirus vaccines are currently in development.

400,000 people are under a, which surrounds Beijing. More than 300 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Beijing since a new outbreak emerged there in mid June.����

A new and highlight credible research about covid-19. Rapid Reviews: Covid-19, published by MIT Press, will provide reviews of covid-19 pre-prints – online repositories of preliminary findings that haven’t yet been independently peer reviewed.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 502,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 10.1 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Strange coronavirus symptoms: Covid-19 can have long-lived symptoms including exhaustion, weight loss and rashes. Unless we officially recognise all of these, we will struggle to identify people who may have caught it or trace their contacts.

26 June

Plan to relax 2-metre rule in England was announced��just weeks after advisers said it should stay

that the distance people should stay apart will be dropped from two metres to at least one metre in England from 4 July. But we now know that less than three weeks before the UK prime minister’s announcement, his scientific advisers were still recommending the rule should not be relaxed.

Minutes of a 4 June meeting of the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies,, said the group “continues to advise at least two metre separation where possible, given the significant reduction in risk compared to shorter distances.” The scientists said mitigation measures, such as plexiglass screens in shops, were possible in some places. Without such steps, SAGE estimates the risk of transmission at shorter distances to be 2 to 10 times greater.

The UK hospitality sector is among those lobbying for a relaxation of the two-metre guidance, and Johnson acknowledged the new step was partly to help pubs, cafes and restaurants operate. He also promised the review of the two-metre rule, including the scientific basis for changing it, would be released in the House of Commons library this week.

Concerns over adequate social distancing have come to the fore in the UK this week after incidents of public disorder in south London drew large gatherings, and hot weather led to crowded beaches in the south of England. After several weeks of declining covid-19 transmission, SAGE believes the UK’s covid-19 case numbers are levelling off, which is thought by the government’s science advisers to be partly down to restrictions being eased.

show that between 18 and 21 June, there was a doubling in the number of people meeting up with others in a personal space, such as a garden. The wearing of face coverings on public transport – which became mandatory in England on 15 June – also jumped from 62 per cent before the rule change, to 86 per cent.

Other coronavirus news

Elsewhere in the UK, show that men affected worst by the virus are construction workers and those in other “elementary occupations”, at nearly 40 deaths per 100,000 men in those jobs. For women, the hardest-hit group were those in caring occupations, with around 15 deaths per 100,000 women.

Jeremy Hunt, chair of the UK’s health and social care committee, wrote to Johnson today to note the government has still not provided answers on how many covid-19 tests are being turned around in 24 hours, seen as vital for contact tracing to be effective.

In the United States, Texas chose to pause plans to relax restrictions yesterday as figures showed rising case numbers. The US Centres for Disease Control it estimated 20 million Americans could have had the coronavirus, ten times more than previously thought.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization on Friday called for $31.3 billion of investment over a year to help an international effort to end the pandemic. involves funding hundreds of millions of tests and rapid development of a vaccine.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 490,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 9.6 million,, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

How to stop coronavirus deaths: We now know that the coronavirus kills by disrupting both our immune systems and blood clotting. But doctors are finding ways to beat this and boost survival rates.

Lasting symptoms: From extreme fatigue to weight loss, numbness, breathing difficulties and chest pain, some people’s covid-19 symptoms are proving very hard to shake.

Lung damage: Lung inflammation and blood clots caused by covid-19 can lead to scarring and long-term breathlessness and coughing in some people, for which there is no treatment.

25 June

Coronavirus cases rising in Europe following eased lockdowns, says WHO

New cases of the coronavirus rose in Europe last week, for the first time in months. The increase was driven by 11 countries that have had a “very significant resurgence”, Hans Kluge, head of the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, said today. If left unchecked, such outbreaks will “push health systems to the brink once again”.

The countries and territories with notable increases in cases are Sweden, Armenia, Republic of Moldova, North Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, and Kosovo, according to a WHO spokesperson.

Kluge said there had also been outbreaks in Poland, Germany, Spain and Israel in schools, coal mines and food production settings, but authorities there had responded quickly. “Where new clusters of cases appeared, these have been controlled through rapid and targeted interventions,” said Kluge.��

Germany, for instance, saw new daily cases rise from around 300 to over 600 last week, after an outbreak in a slaughterhouse. In response, the Guetersloh area reimposed lockdown conditions.

“There is no effective treatment yet and no effective vaccine yet, hence it’s so important we are not complacent,” said Kluge.

��

Other coronavirus news

Several US states have also seen increases in the number of new coronavirus cases. California, Florida and Texas, the three states with the biggest populations in the US, are seeing rising numbers of covid-19 infections, with several thousand new cases a day.

The first medicine found to speed recovery from coronavirus, remdesivir, has been. The drug, which works by blocking virus replication, is already being used in hospitals “off-label”.

Fourteen doctors and researchers have said antibody testing for a past infection with coronavirus is uninformative and a waste of health care staff’s time, in a. Hospitals in England were told to provide antibody testing four weeks ago, but a positive test result doesn’t mean someone is immune to the virus, so people still have to take the recommended safety precautions, the authors said.

Pregnant women in the US are more likely to develop severe covid-19, according to. The agency has found that 32 per cent of pregnant women with the virus were hospitalised, compared with 6 per cent of women in the same age group who were not pregnant.��

The UK contact tracing system has asked more than. But staff were unable to contact one quarter of those who tested positive.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 483,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 9.4 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

24 June

UK health leaders warn there is a “real risk” of a second wave

A second wave of coronavirus infections in the UK is a “real risk” and all political parties should work together to ensure the country is ready for it, warned a including presidents of the Royal College of Physicians, Surgeons, GPs and Nursing and the chair of the British Medical Association. In a , they say, “the available evidence indicates that local flare-ups are increasingly likely and a second wave a real risk. Many elements of the infrastructure needed to contain the virus are beginning to be put in place, but substantial challenges remain.”��

The letter calls for a “cross party commission” including all four nations of the UK, “that could rapidly produce practical recommendations for action.” They highlight several areas needing attention, including parliamentary scrutiny of national and local governance, procurement of goods and services, better public health coordination and the “disproportionate burden on black, Asian, and minority ethnic individuals and communities.”

In parliament today, why the NHS Test and Trace system was only able to reach just over 10,000 people in England when Office for National Statistics figures estimated that 33,000 people were infected. Johnson said the Labour leader’s numbers were misleading, prompting an intervention from the Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who asked Johnson to take back his comment.

Other coronavirus news

The UK government is not certain that the R number in England is below 1, seen by Huffington Post UK. The document, dated last Thursday, says, “we cannot preclude [the R number] being above 1” and “there is some evidence that [the R number] has recently risen in all regions and we believe that this is likely to be due to increasing mobility and mixing between households.”��

The European Union is considering blocking . People in countries with severe outbreaks of coronavirus “where the virus is circulating most actively,” would not be allowed to enter, according to an . The list of blocked nations could include the US, Brazil, Russia, Peru, Chile, Panama and Saudi Arabia.

People in with up to two other households from 10 July, and pubs and restaurants will be allowed to re-open from 15 July.

Mothers with suspected or confirmed covid-19 should be encouraged to breastfeed as the “benefits of breastfeeding substantially outweigh the potential risks for transmission”, says a .��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 478,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 9.2 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

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UK town tests entire population: Southampton is about to start testing thousands of people for the coronavirus each week, using easily collected saliva and a cheap, quick way of detecting the virus.

Pubs and data protection: Customers in UK pubs will have to provide personal information upon entry to help coronavirus contact tracing, but there are concerns about how the data will be handled.��

23 June

UK government to relax two-metre distancing rule amid warnings from scientists

The UK government is in England, despite the that coronavirus cases remain too high to loosen restrictions. The new guidance comes into effect as of 4 July, when some other restrictions will also be eased.

“Where it is possible to keep two metres apart, people should,” prime minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons earlier today. “But where it is not, we will advise people to keep a social distance of one-metre-plus.” This means keeping a metre apart, while taking other precautions, such as avoiding face-to-face seating, wearing face coverings and using hand sanitiser, Johnson went on to explain. Businesses will be encouraged to implement the use of protective screens, change office layouts and shift patterns and improve ventilation, for example.

At the same time, numerous venues will be allowed to reopen in England, including pubs, museums, cinemas, hotels, campsites and hairdressers. And members of two separate households will be allowed to meet in any setting, including indoors.

The announcement came a day after – a group of scientists operating independently of the government. Reducing distancing to one metre, indoors, will “effectively end” social distancing, say the researchers, who also point out that 97 per cent of super-spreading events occur in indoor spaces. The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) has also warned that as they reopen their societies and economies”.

Other coronavirus news

The now stands at 65,700, according to an analysis of data from the Office of National Statistics by the Financial Times. Excess deaths are a calculation of how many more deaths have occurred than would normally be expected, and include deaths from any cause.

An ongoing survey by the WHO suggests routine healthcare has been diminished in many countries as a result of the pandemic. Of the 82 countries that have responded so far, , while two-thirds report disruptions to immunisation programmes and treatment for non-infectious diseases, WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing yesterday. Mental health services, antenatal care, cancer diagnosis and treatment and services for children have also been disrupted in more than half of the countries.

Saudi Arabia is scaling back the Hajj pilgrimage. Typically, 2.5 million pilgrims make the journey from abroad. This year, . The total number of attendees will be limited to around 1000 people.

Novak Djokovic, world number one tennis player, . The announcement comes amid criticism of Djokovic’s decision to plan a tennis competition in Serbia. The Adria Tour has since been cancelled, but not before other players, including Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki, after participating in it.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 472,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 9 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

New Zealand’s success: Michael Baker, the doctor who devised New Zealand’s aggressive coronavirus response, explains what inspired his successful strategy.

Green covid-19 recovery: Around four-fifths of a citizens’ assembly on climate change in the UK wants the government’s coronavirus economic recovery measures to also help the country meet its target of slashing carbon emissions to net zero.

22 June

Lack of global leadership is the ‘greatest threat’ in fighting the pandemic, says WHO��

The greatest threat in fighting the pandemic is the , World Health Organization (WHO) director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said today at a virtual health forum organised by the World Government Summit in Dubai. “The world is in desperate need of national unity and global solidarity. The politicisation of the pandemic has exacerbated it,” he said. He also called for more countries to adopt universal healthcare, which he said was “the foundation of global health security and of social and economic development.”��

Other coronavirus news����

US president Donald Trump said he asked US public health officials to. Speaking at a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he said, “testing is a double-edged sword … when you do testing to that extent, you will find more cases. So I said to my people, ‘slow the testing down’.” Senior advisers to the White House later said was joking. The rally in Tulsa “super-spreader” event, Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University, said yesterday. More than 6000 people attended the indoor event, the first party political rally in the US since the start of the pandemic.

The WHO reported another record for the worldwide yesterday. 183,020 new cases were recorded within 24 hours on Sunday, with most occurring in the Americas including 54,771 in the US and 36,617 in Brazil.

Several large local outbreaks of coronavirus in Germany, including at the one of the largest meat processing facilities in Europe, caused a 1.06 on Friday to 2.88 today. 1331 people, more than 20 per cent of those who work at the Tönnies slaughterhouse in Gütersloh, have now tested positive for coronavirus. In response, authorities have closed the slaughterhouse, quarantined employees and their families and closed schools in the local area. Lars Schaade, vice president of Robert Koch Institute, , “since case numbers in Germany are generally low, these local outbreaks have a relatively strong influence on the value of the reproduction number.”��

The UK government is tomorrow whether or not it will relax the rule requiring people to stay at least two metres away from one another, and whether pubs and restaurants can reopen from 4 July.

Coronavirus deaths

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Should you pay for a coronavirus test?: There are many antibody tests available that can reveal if you have had and recovered from the coronavirus. Is it worth paying for one?

19 June

UK coronavirus alert level lowered from four to three

The UK’s chief medical officers today said has reduced from four to three. This level of the alert system corresponds to the virus being in general circulation, but at a level where it’s possible to gradually relax some restrictions. However, restrictions in England have already been progressively relaxed throughout June, even while the alert level remained at four – which corresponds to high or exponentially rising levels of the virus and warrants continued social distancing.

For the first time, the government today published the daily rate at which coronavirus infections are growing, alongside the UK’s R number, which remains unchanged at around 0.7 to 0.9. For the UK as a whole, the growth rate is believed to be anywhere between -2 per cent and -4 per cent, meaning that infection numbers are declining slightly. At a regional level there is a chance that new cases may be growing in London. However, the government’s science advisers believe that growth in infection numbers is unlikely.

Other coronavirus news����

People from South Asian backgrounds in the UK are 20 per cent more likely to die from covid-19 in hospital than white people, according to a preliminary that analysed data on patients at 260 hospitals. This disparity was partly explained by higher levels of diabetes, the researchers who did the study told the .��

China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that genetic analysis suggests that the coronavirus causing a new outbreak in the capital Beijing . Earlier this week, CDC director Gao Fu said the virus may have been spreading in Beijing as early as the start of May.

Microbiologists at University College London, UK, are calling for widespread surveillance of pets, livestock and wild animals to measure the prevalence of coronavirus. There have been limited studies on animal susceptibility to the virus, they wrote in a commentary published in on Thursday, with conflicting data on some animals, such as pigs.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 454,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 8.5 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Threat to Amazon’s indigenous communities: Members of indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon have contracted covid-19, fuelling concerns that the disease could devastate indigenous groups throughout South America – including uncontacted tribes in the region. Many fear whole communities could be killed if they contract the virus.

18 June

NHS Test and Trace still not reaching enough contacts of coronavirus cases

The UK government’s contact tracing scheme for England diagnosed with coronavirus between 4 and 10 June, government figures revealed today. This falls short of the 80 per cent target recommended by the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) for the second week in a row. Of the 5949 people who tested positive for coronavirus during this time, NHS Test and Trace only managed to contact 4366. Yesterday, Independent SAGE – an alternative group of scientists – published a report saying the .

In addition, not everyone contacted by NHS Test and Trace was reached quickly enough. Only 75 per cent of people who were contacted were reached within the government’s target of 24 hours. 8.6 per cent of people were only contacted after 72 hours, when the .��

The BBC the government’s covid-19 contact tracing smartphone app will now use the decentralised system supported by Apple and Google, after trials on the the government’s centralised system could only detect 4 per cent of iPhones and 75 per cent of Android phones. The app won’t be ready before winter, for it.

Other coronavirus news

350,000 people in Beijing, China have been and 22 million people in the city are now under lockdown conditions after a new outbreak of coronavirus cases linked to the Xinfadi food market. The new outbreak than first thought, due to some people not experiencing symptoms, said Gao Fu, the director of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention at a seminar on Tuesday. Officials in Beijing reported 21 new coronavirus cases today, down from 31 on Wednesday and bringing the new outbreak’s total to .

An estimated 33,000 people in England outside of hospitals and care homes had covid-19 between 31 May and 13 June, according to preliminary results from a random swab testing survey by the (ONS). This is lower than the 149,000 people thought to have been infected between 3 and 16 May and is consistent with ONS modelling that suggests the number of people testing positive in England has been falling since 26 April.

An American Airlines passenger was removed from a flight on Wednesday in accordance with the airline’s new covid-19 safety policy, introduced earlier this week.����

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 449,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 8.3 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

How many people have had coronavirus?: Statistics are trickling in from cities and countries around the world, but the figures vary hugely from 1 per cent of the population to more than half. How are these figures calculated, and which can we trust?

Viruses to watch out for: Several types of viruses could pose a global threat, not just the coronavirus that causes covid-19.

Four major global public health threats: Viral pandemics aren’t the only worry: antibiotic resistance, a drop in vaccination and other issues could rapidly put the world’s health in peril.

17 June

UK begins using dexamethasone to treat covid-19 patients

Covid-19 today after a UK trial of the drug found it could save lives. “The treatment is immediately available and already in use on the NHS,” said health minister Matt Hancock. “It is not by any means a cure but it is the best news we have had,” Hancock told parliament today. The UK’s chief medical officers say it should be used immediately, . A preliminary study found that the steroid, which is already widely prescribed for treating allergies and asthma, reduces the risk of dying from covid-19 by a third for patients on ventilators, and by a fifth for those receiving oxygen. Dexamethasone should only be taken if prescribed by a doctor.��

Other coronavirus news

Officials in Beijing, China confirmed today, bringing the total to 137 in the last six days. The city is again restricting all non-essential travel. Schools, swimming pools and gyms are . More than 1200 flights to and from Beijing have been cancelled and railway services have been reduced until at least 9 July.��

More than 1500 paediatricians and child health specialists have signed a letter to UK prime minister Boris Johnson, saying the UK government should urgently . Doctors who signed the letter, which was sent by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, told the they are concerned about the potential damage that could be caused to children’s health, wellbeing and life chances by missing school. There have also been concerns about schools reopening too early and contributing to the spread of coronavirus.

Weekly confirmed coronavirus cases are increasing in 21 US states, including Florida, Texas and Arizona, which all confirmed this week. Across the US, more than 2.1 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed, and more than 116,000 people have died from covid-19.

Major US airlines, including United Airlines and Delta Airlines, say passengers must wear a face covering or mask on their flights, and they . United Airlines said the new rule will start applying on their flights from on 18 June.��

People visiting Russia’s president Vladmir Putin will need to pass through a ”, according to Russian state media. In the tunnel, they will be sprayed with a fine cloud of disinfectant that will cover their clothes and any exposed skin. , “spraying of individuals with disinfectants (such as in a tunnel, cabinet, or chamber) is not recommended under any circumstances.”

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 444,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 8.1 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Preparing for the next pandemic: Some nations weren’t prepared for the coronavirus pandemic, others ignored best-laid plans. But getting ready for next time has to start now.

Containing an outbreak: We’ve stopped deadly outbreaks in the past. And we can do it again, says epidemiologist Adam Kucharski.

Call for international pandemic inquiry: Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of The Lancet, spoke to �鶹��ý about how the coronavirus crisis has been mishandled around the world and called for an international inquiry into the handling of the pandemic.

Essential information about coronavirus

What is covid-19?

What are the worst symptoms and how deadly is covid-19?

You could be spreading the coronavirus without realising you’ve got it

What does evidence say about schools reopening?

What does the latest research suggest about the coronavirus in pregnancy?

What to read, watch and listen to about coronavirus

, a podcast from Vice, pairs up young people with experts who can answer their questions relating to the pandemic. A recent episode focused on why people in the UK from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are being disproportionately affected by covid-19.

is a coronavirus social distancing game, where the player travels through a city and gains points for saving lives by practising social distancing correctly and collecting masks.��

is a 28-minute film from Channel 4 News showing what daily life looks like in every country from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

on Netflix is a short documentary series examining the on-going coronavirus pandemic, the efforts to fight it and ways to manage its mental health toll.

Coronavirus: : As the death toll from covid-19 rises, discover how researchers around the world are racing to understand the virus and prevent future outbreaks in our free online panel discussion.

is an uplifting Channel 4 documentary shot over 24 hours which shows how the citizens of Britain are coping under lockdown.

�鶹��ý Weekly features updates and analysis on the latest developments in the covid-19 pandemic. Our podcast sees expert journalists from the magazine discuss the biggest science stories to hit the headlines each week – from technology and space, to health and the environment.

is about the new science of contagion and the surprising ways it shapes our lives and behaviour. The author, Adam Kucharski, is an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and in the book he examines how diseases spread and why they stop.

, a video by John Burn-Murdoch for the Financial Times, uses data visualisation to explain the daily graphs that show how coronavirus cases and deaths are growing around the world.

is a sober documentary about the progression of a hypothetical pandemic which the BBC simulated in 2017. Fronted by science journalist and TV presenter Hannah Fry, and made with the support of some of the country’s best epidemiologists and mathematical modelers, it’s very relevant to today’s covid-19 pandemic.

Previous updates

16 June

First drug found to save lives in covid-19 patients

A widely available drug called dexamethasone by a third for patients on ventilators and by a fifth for those receiving oxygen, according to preliminary results from a randomised clinical trial in the UK. Dexamethasone is a steroid that is used to reduce inflammation in various conditions, including skin diseases, allergies and asthma. It is one of a range of drugs being tested as a covid-19 treatment as part of the , which has enrolled more than 11,500 patients across 175 NHS hospitals. Dexamethasone is the first drug anywhere in the world that’s been found to reduce mortality from covid-19.��

In the trial, 2104 covid-19 patients were randomly selected to receive dexamethasone and 4321 received standard care. The preliminary results suggest that treatment with dexamethasone could save one life for every eight patients receiving ventilation, and one for every 25 requiring oxygen. Researchers suggest the drug could have saved up to 5000 lives in the UK if it had been used to treat patients from the start of the pandemic, the reports. Dexamethasone should only be taken if prescribed by a doctor.��

Other coronavirus news

27 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in China’s capital Beijing today, bringing the in what is the city’s first major coronavirus outbreak since April. Chinese authorities are restricting travel out of the city and have imposed additional lockdowns in some residential areas. More than 30,000 restaurants in Beijing have been disinfected and Chen Bei, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government, told journalists today that from tomorrow.

Public Health England says in investigations of why black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups are disproportionately at risk of covid-19. Their latest report, published today, highlights several potentially contributing factors that weren’t accounted for in their published at the start of June. These factors include historic racism and poorer experiences of healthcare, which the report says could make BAME individuals less likely to seek care when needed, as well as occupational risks or pre-existing health conditions. The new report recommends collecting more data on ethnicity, particularly on death certificates.��

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday for treating covid-19. The drugs haven’t been shown to be effective against covid-19 and some studies have linked their use to heart complications in covid-19 patients. US president Donald Trump, who previously said he was taking the drug, criticised the FDA decision yesterday, telling journalists “I took it and I felt good about taking it. I don’t know if it had any impact, but it certainly didn’t hurt me.”��

New Zealand’s has confirmed its first new coronavirus cases in 24 days: , under special permission to visit a terminally ill relative. New Zealand today suspended compassionate exemptions to their quarantine rules as a result. Last week New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern declared the country coronavirus-free and almost all domestic restrictions were lifted.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 437,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 8 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Global cases pass 8 million: The coronavirus’s spread continues as the world approaches the grim threshold of half a million confirmed deaths, with 437,000 reported as of 16 June. However, researchers warn that this is still only the start of the pandemic.

15 June

New coronavirus outbreak linked to market in Beijing

36 new today, bringing the . Lockdown restrictions in Beijing were eased in May, and the city had reported no new confirmed cases – except for citizens returning from other countries – for 55 days before the new cases were detected. The new cluster of cases are thought to be linked to the city’s largest seafood and vegetable market, which has now been closed. Chinese authorities are warning citizens against travel to the capital and some lockdown restrictions have been reimposed in parts of the city.��

Other coronavirus news

A study suggesting that reducing physical distancing from two metres to one metre only minimally increases coronavirus infection risk from 1.3 to 2.6 per cent is . The study, which was funded by the World Health Organization (WHO), didn’t consider how long people were exposed for and may have oversimplified the way infection risk changes with increasing physical distance, public health and statistics researchers told The Guardian.

The UK government will in coming weeks, a spokesperson for UK prime minister Boris Johnson told journalists today. The government’s chief medical adviser Chris Whitty for as long as the epidemic continues.��

Self-reported after they went up following the introduction of lockdown in March, although reported anxiety levels are still higher than this time last year, according to a survey of 6430 people aged 16 and over by the Office for National Statistics. 37 per cent of people reported experiencing high levels of anxiety between 30 April and 10 May. This is compared to 50 per cent of people between 20 and 30 March, the period of time when the UK’s lockdown was introduced, and 19 per cent in the last three months of 2019.

Alabama, Florida and South Carolina reported on 13 June for the third day running. On the same day, Oklahoma reported its highest number of coronavirus cases for the second day in a row. Daily new cases are also rising in Louisiana. More than a dozen US states have seen a surge in covid-19 cases in recent weeks.��

The ban against travel to the US from the UK is unlikely to be lifted in the next few months, US government health adviser Anthony Fauci told in an interview last month. He warned UK travellers not to plan summer trips to the US this year and said the travel ban may need to stay in place until a coronavirus vaccine is available. UK travellers hoping to visit other parts of Europe this year also face a variety of restrictions and quarantine measures.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 434,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 7.9 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Worldwide cases approach 8 million: The coronavirus’s spread continues as the world rapidly approaches the grim threshold of half a million confirmed deaths, with 434,000 reported as of 15 June. However, researchers warn that this is still only the start of the pandemic.

Resuming international travel: Much of the world is starting to open up again, with many countries easing or planning to ease coronavirus travel restrictions. But would-be travellers face an uncertain and fast-changing situation.

Fighting multiple epidemics: A new outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus disease has emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), more than 1200 kilometres to the west of an earlier outbreak that has been spreading in the country since 2018. At the same time, the DRC is contending with the world’s largest measles outbreak and the spread of the coronavirus.

12 June

Covid-19 death rates twice as high in England’s most deprived areas

The most deprived areas in England and Wales have been outbreak compared to the wealthiest areas, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests. After adjusting for differences in age, there were 128 deaths involving covid-19 per 100,000 people in the most deprived areas of England in March, April and May, compared to 60 deaths per 100,000 in the nation’s least deprived areas. In Wales, during the same time period, the death rate in the most deprived areas was 110 per 100,000 people compared to 58 per 100,000 people in the least deprived parts of the nation.

The estimated number of people who had coronavirus in England is continuing to fall, according to provisional results from a random swab testing survey by the . The survey estimates that there were 33,000 infections outside of hospitals and care homes in England between 25 May and 7 June, down from 53,000 the previous week.��

Other coronavirus news

Three major airlines, British Airways, Ryanair and easyJet, have launched a , which they claim will devastate tourism and the economy. The new rules, which came into effect on 8 June, require passengers arriving in the UK to self-isolate for 14 days.��

Hospital morgues in India have , with some bodies now being kept on thick ice slabs as summer temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius. There have been more than 8400 deaths from covid-19 recorded in India so far. To date, over 290,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the country. India has now overtaken the UK to become the nation with the fourth-highest number of confirmed cases worldwide, after the US, Brazil and Russia.��

Millions more due to the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis, the United Nations children’s agency Unicef warned in a report released today. The crisis could also force children who are already working to put in longer hours under worsening conditions, says the report.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 422,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 7.5 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus spread in England: The south west of England has the highest rate of coronavirus spread in the UK, with an “R number” estimated to be in the range of 0.8 to 1.1.��

11 June

Covid-19 causes huge disruption to NHS cancer care, surgeries and A&E��

The National Health Service in England has revealed how much the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted its services. The number of a cancer specialist fell 60 per cent in April to 79,500, compared to nearly 200,000 in the same month last year. The number of people treated for cancer dropped to 10,800 in April, 20 per cent fewer than 2019. NHS England said the falls are partly due to people not seeking medical treatment due to concern over covid-19, but hospitals also had to delay or stop some treatments following a surge of coronavirus cases. To make up for this, NHS England has set up “covid-free” wings in some hospitals and which can travel to patients to provide chemotherapy.��

The number of routine operations, which includes hip and knee replacements, cataracts and hernia surgeries, fell to 41,000 in April, down from 280,000 in the same month last year. Data from accident and emergency services show 1.26 million people sought treatment in May, well below the 2 million in May 2019.

Other coronavirus news

���Բ������Ի�’s coronavirus contact tracing scheme was unable to reach a third of the people who tested positive for the virus in its first week of operation, new figures have revealed. The first statistics for the NHS Test and Trace system, released today, show it was able to contact 5407 of 8117 people who tested positive between 28 May and 3 June, and was unable to contact the remaining 33 per cent. The people who did respond disclosed an average of around six close contacts, or 31,794 in total, and the contact tracers managed to reach around 85 per cent of these.

Ashish Jha, the head of Harvard’s Global Health Institute, said that the total death toll in the US could even if the number of new daily deaths remains flat. “And that’s just through September. The pandemic won’t be over in September,” he told CNN. More than 113,000 people have died from coronavirus in the US so far.

The coronavirus pandemic is “accelerating” in African countries, has said. Community transmission is occurring in more than half of Africa’s 54 countries, and cases have doubled from 100,000 to 200,000 in the last 18 days, compared to the 98 days it took to reach 100,000 cases. African countries have reported a total of 5000 deaths to date, with 10 countries, including South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria, accounting for three quarters of the total cases.

The launch of the NHSX covid-19 contact tracing app across the rest of England further after the app’s developers had difficulty getting Bluetooth radio technology to measure distances effectively. An early version of the app is being trialled on the Isle of Wight and a second version was due to be tested on Tuesday, but this has now been postponed. The NHSX software differs from contact tracing app technology based on a framework developed by Apple and Google that is being used in many other countries. The in the UK are now considering adopting this approach instead.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 417,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 7.4 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

10 June

Coronavirus was introduced to the UK by travellers from mostly Spain, France and Italy

The coronavirus was introduced and spread throughout the UK by 1356 people who travelled here mostly from European countries, according to a by researchers in the Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed. The researchers analysed genetic sequences from 20,000 coronavirus cases in the UK and used this to build a family tree. This revealed the lineage of the different infections and allowed the team to trace their origins. They estimate that 34 per cent of these original coronavirus cases were people who arrived in the UK from Spain, 29 per cent from France and 14 per cent from Italy. The researchers estimate that most introductions of the virus to the UK happened in March.

Other coronavirus developments

The number of people on by the end of the year, according to a letter sent to UK prime minister Boris Johnson today from the NHS Confederation, a membership body that represents people who commission or provide NHS services. Before the pandemic, 4.4 million people were waiting for treatments, such as hernia repair, cataract removal or hip or knee replacement.

Schools in England will , said Michael Wilshaw, the former head of Ofsted, a government body responsible for inspecting schools. He said, “If you’re going to insist on social distancing and a maximum of 15 in a class, we will need double the amount of space, we will need double the amount of teachers and we’ve got to make sure we have that.”

24 per cent of people in the UK said they were experiencing at least one mental health problem in April this year, according to a by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank. This is more than double the predicted level compared to pre-pandemic data collected between 2017 and 2019. Women and young people reported the largest declines in their mental health, according to the IFS.��

Use of face coverings by the public, when combined with physical distancing or periods of lockdown, may provide an acceptable way of reopening economic activity while managing the spread of coronavirus, suggests a published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A.��

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 412,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 7.2 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

New centre of the pandemic: Coronavirus cases are rising sharply in South America, made worse by inequality, reports Luke Taylor from Bogotá, Colombia.

Coronavirus and diet: Plenty of diets offer to boost your immune system to help protect you from covid-19, but there isn’t any evidence they are true, writes James Wong.

9 June

Highest daily jump in worldwide coronavirus cases so far

The highest daily increase in worldwide coronavirus cases yet was recorded on Sunday, with 136,000 new cases confirmed, World Health Organization (WHO) director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus yesterday. “Although the situation in Europe is improving, globally it is worsening,” he said. Almost 75 per cent of the cases confirmed on 7 June were from only 10 countries, mostly in the Americas and South Asia, The reports.

Other coronavirus developments

Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, was today for saying on Monday that it is “very rare” for people to have the coronavirus without symptoms. Van Kerkhove clarified her statement today, , saying that “anywhere between 6 and 41 per cent of the population may be infected but not have symptoms.”

Primary school pupils in England will before the end of the summer term, the UK government has said. Primary schools in England reopened on 1 June to reception, year 1 and year 6 pupils and the government’s original plan was for all remaining pupils to return for the last month of term before the summer holidays start on 22 July. Head teachers previously warned that it wouldn’t be possible for school pupils to practice social distancing in classrooms.

A Public Health England is to track the prevalence of coronavirus among those who do return to school and investigate how much children spread the virus. Teachers and pupils in up to 100 schools will soon receive coronavirus swab and antibody tests.

Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificates for 44,869 people in England and Wales between the weeks ending 27 March and 29 May, data from the reveals. The number of deaths recorded as involving covid-19 in the week ending 29 May was 1822, down from the most recent peak of 8758 in the week ending 17 April. ��The total number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending 29 May was 9824, which is 20 per cent higher than would be expected based on the five-year average.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 407,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 7.1 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Covid-19 in pregnancy: 56 per cent of pregnant women with covid-19 are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, a study has revealed.

Shielding vulnerable people: On 31 May, the UK government announced that so-called shielders in England and Wales could now leave their homes. But what is the evidence behind the idea of shielding vulnerable people, and is it really safe for this to now stop?

8 June

Lockdowns prevented at least 3.1 million covid-19 deaths in Europe

An estimated 3.1 million deaths due to covid-19 were prevented by lockdowns and other coronavirus social distancing measures across 11 countries in Europe including the UK, published in Nature. 470,000 deaths were averted in the UK alone, the .��

The team analysed data on reported coronavirus deaths from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, up until 4 May. They concluded that for all 11 countries, interventions were effective enough to drive the R number – a measure of how quickly the virus is spreading – to below 1. The researchers also estimate that the lockdown introduced in the UK on 23 March reduced the country’s R number from 3.8 to 0.63 between the end of March and the start of May. Overall, the study estimates that between 12 and 15 million people across all 11 countries had the coronavirus by 4 May, about 3 to 4 per cent of their combined populations.

In the US, an estimated 60 million coronavirus infections were prevented by stay-at-home orders and other coronavirus restrictions, according to a . It estimated that 530 million infections were prevented across the US, China, South Korea, Italy, Iran and France, with 285 million estimated to have been prevented in China alone.

Other coronavirus developments

New Zealand has as of today and almost all coronavirus restrictions in the country will be lifted from Tuesday. Contact tracing will continue to be important as new cases may still emerge, New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern told journalists today.

400,000 people are in construction, manufacturing and retail. About 500 new confirmed coronavirus cases are reported daily in the city, down from a peak of almost 19,000 daily cases in the first two weeks of April. State and city officials say the number is low enough for contact tracers to be able to track every person who has been in contact with people confirmed to have coronavirus.����

People should wear face coverings in public settings including supermarkets, offices, schools, on public transport and at any social or mass gatherings, according to an update of World Health Organization (WHO) . The WHO also recommends that people wear face coverings if they are living in cramped conditions, particularly in refugee camps and slums.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 409,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 7 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Lack of UK testing data: The UK government will not say when it will resume reporting the number of people outside of hospitals and care homes being tested for covid-19, after more than a fortnight of suspending publication because of double-counting.

5 June

Estimated covid-19 infections have fallen in England

The estimated number of people who have had covid-19 in England has fallen in May, according to provisional results from a random swab testing survey by the . In the last two weeks of May, only 1 in 1000, or 0.1 per cent of people in England, were estimated to have had covid-19 – between 26 April and 8 May that number was almost 2.5 times higher. The survey, which didn’t include people in hospitals or care homes and was conducted before additional restrictions were eased in England on 1 June, also found that people who worked outside the home had 3.5 times higher estimated covid-19 rates than those who worked from home.��

Other coronavirus developments

The R number for the UK as last week, between 0.7 and 0.9. According to the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), the figure is slightly higher in England – between 0.7 and 1. It is expected that any impact of recent lockdown relaxation will start to be seen on the R, a measure of how quickly the virus is spreading, in the coming week.

A of people in the UK with heart and circulatory diseases found that half of them say they have found it harder to get medical treatment since the coronavirus pandemic began. 48 per cent of those people cited a lack of available in-person appointments and 41 per cent said they’d had to postpone or cancel a planned test, surgery or procedure. Individuals’ concerns about covid-19’s impact on the health service also played a role – 42 per cent of those surveyed said they didn’t want to put extra pressure on the NHS, and 27 per cent said they were concerned about the risk of getting covid-19 by going to a hospital or clinic. The poll surveyed 11,300 adults between 5 and 13 May, 1484 of whom have or have previously had a heart or circulatory condition.

The Lancet retracted a study that found the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine may be harmful in covid-19 patients, after three of the authors said they “can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources.” The data originated from US-based health analytics company Surgisphere and earlier this week.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has called for face coverings to be worn in all areas where social distancing isn’t possible. This follows the government’s announcement yesterday that face coverings will be on public transport in England from 15 June. THE BMA also suggested that the public should adopt face coverings now, rather than wait until the measures become compulsory.��

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 391,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 6.6 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Social bubbles: Socialising indoors with more than one household in social ‘bubbles’ during the covid-19 crisis looks unlikely to be allowed any time soon in the UK, judging from the government’s scientific advisers and new modelling.

Latest coronavirus news as of 5 pm on 4 June

People in the UK are sleeping less well under lockdown

60 per cent of people in the UK say they’ve experienced worse sleep since the lockdown was announced on 23 March, conducted by researchers at King’s College London and Ipsos MORI. Half of people surveyed said their sleep has been more disturbed than usual and 39 per cent said they have slept fewer hours per night on average. 29 per cent of people said they have slept for longer but feel less rested than usual. People who said they find coronavirus stressful or they are facing financial difficulties due to coronavirus disruptions were more likely to report experiencing worse sleep. Younger people were more likely to report sleep changes than older people, and 38 per cent of people surveyed reported having more vivid dreams than usual. The poll surveyed 2254 people in the UK aged 16 to 75 between 20 and 22 May.

Other coronavirus developments

UK transport minister Grant Shapps announced today that on public transport in England from 15 June. There will be some exemptions, for example for people with breathing difficulties.

Trials investigating the use of have been restarted by the World Health Organization (WHO). The trials were suspended based on a study that used data from US-based health analytics company Surgisphere, which is .

UK business minister Alok Sharma is after he fell ill in parliament yesterday. Some MPs had previously raised safety concerns about the return to in-person voting in parliament on Tuesday. Today, MPs were granted an emergency debate over the decision to end virtual voting, which will take place on Monday.��

At least 80 million children under the age of one are estimated to be because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to data from the WHO and other non-governmental organisations. Many of these children live in South East Asia and Africa. Countries including Nepal, Cambodia and Ethiopia are currently experiencing outbreaks of preventable deadly diseases, including measles, cholera and yellow fever.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 386,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 6.5 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus and carbon dioxide levels: Lockdowns and economic slowdowns during the coronavirus pandemic have had no visible impact on the amount of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere, according to new data which shows levels of the greenhouse gas hit record highs last month.��

Measuring social distancing: As lockdowns lift and restrictions begin to ease around the world, a range of quirky ways of judging a 2 metre social distance are being suggested.

3 June

NHS Test and Trace system not tracing enough contacts of coronavirus cases

The NHS Test and Trace system, which is designed to identify people who might have been exposed to people who have tested positive for coronavirus, only reached 38 per cent of known contacts of people diagnosed with coronavirus, according to leaked data obtained by . The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), the government’s official advisory group for the pandemic, say the system needs to reach 80 per cent to be effective. Out of 4634 contacts provided to NHS Test and Trace by people who were confirmed to have coronavirus between 28 and 31 May, only 1749 were contacted.

Other coronavirus developments

The World Health Organization and several countries changed their policies on covid-19 treatments on the basis of data from a which is now being questioned, a has revealed. The data used in the study were provided by US-based health analytics company Surgisphere, and suggested that the anti-malarials hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine could increase the risk of death in covid-19 patients, which led to the suspension of clinical trials investigating whether these drugs could be used to treat covid-19. But the Lancet has released an “” about the validity of the data, a step sometimes made before a study is retracted. There are also about a separate that also used data provided by Surgisphere.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson told MPs today that the government’s current alert level for coronavirus, a system designed to inform people about the severity of the pandemic, . This contradicts the government’s own guidance, which under the current alert level of 4, says current restrictions must remain. The Times that Johnson hoped to reduce the virus alert level from 4 to 3 to justify the easing of restrictions this week, but the change was prevented by Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England.

Removing coronavirus restrictions too quickly and having to reintroduce lockdowns will be worse for the global economy than gradually easing restrictions, according to a published in Nature Human Behaviour today. The study modelled three different scenarios for lifting lockdowns, including one in which restrictions are relaxed gradually over 12 months and two where all restrictions are lifted immediately but then reintroduced within one year. The researchers found that the impact of supply-chain losses on global GDP in the scenario with gradual easing was projected to be about 10 to 20 per cent lower than in the scenarios with recurrent lockdowns.

Black people received a disproportionately high number of fines for lockdown breaches in London . Of the 973 fines issued between 27 March and 14 May, black people received 26 per cent despite only making up 12 per cent of London’s population.

Coronavirus deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 381,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 6.4 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Why are UK deaths so high?: The UK has the highest number of absolute excess deaths in the week ending 20 March of any country in Europe. Why have there been so many coronavirus deaths in the UK?

Coronavirus vaccine: 124 coronavirus vaccines are currently in development, 10 of which are already being tested in people. But will any of them work?

Essential information about coronavirus

What is covid-19?

What are the worst symptoms and how deadly is covid-19?

You could be spreading the coronavirus without realising you’ve got it

What does evidence say about schools reopening?

What does the latest research suggest about the coronavirus in pregnancy?

2 June

Covid-19 death for severe cases is 70 times higher in people over 80

People over 80 in England who are hospitalised with covid-19 are 70 times more likely to die compared to people under 40, according to a . According to the report, the probability of death is about three times higher for people aged 40 to 49, nine times higher among those aged 50 to 59, 27 times higher for those in their 60s and 50 times higher for those in their 70s. However, these probabilities were calculated from cases where people had severe enough symptoms to get tested for covid-19. The analysis did not take milder cases into account.

The data also shows that black people are between two and three times more likely to be diagnosed with coronavirus than white people, and death rates from covid-19 are highest among people from black and Asian ethnic groups. People of Bangladeshi ethnicity had the highest risk of death of any ethnic group, around twice the risk compared to white people. People of Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Other Asian, Caribbean and Other Black ethnicity had between a 10 and 50 per cent higher risk than white people.��

The analysis didn’t take people’s occupation or pre-existing health conditions into account, which may go some way to explain the differences in infection and death rate between ethnic groups. However, suggest these factors don’t fully explain the disparity.

Other coronavirus developments

Keeping two metres away from other people is much more effective at limiting the transmission of coronavirus than one metre, with the risk halving for every additional half metre of distance up to three metres, according to a review of 172 studies published in . Wearing a face covering and eye protection can also significantly reduce the spread of the virus.

There were 56,308 more deaths in England and Wales between 27 March and 22 May than would normally be expected, according to the .

The is misleading, unclear and difficult to understand, David Norgrove, the head of the UK Statistics Authority, wrote in a letter to health minister Matt Hancock today. Norgrove said the way the government presented the numbers seemed to be designed to show “the largest possible number of tests, even at the expense of understanding.”

UK government will no longer take place at weekends, and prime minister Boris Johnson is now set to lead the televised press conferences once a week.

China took more than a week to release the sequenced genome of the coronavirus, according to recordings of World Health Organization meetings in the week of 6 January obtained by the . Chinese authorities also delayed the release of diagnostic tests and other data about patients which was needed to evaluate the coronavirus epidemic.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 376,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 6.3 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

UK contact tracing plans criticised: The UK government has been criticised for lifting some coronavirus lockdown restrictions without contact tracing measures fully in place to deal with any resulting covid-19 outbreaks.

1 June

Restrictions eased in England despite warnings from public health directors

The NHS Test and Trace programme is not robust enough to support the UK government’s easing of coronavirus restrictions and prevent a resurgence of virus cases, according to an by the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH), a body that represents public health directors, specialists who oversee public health activities in UK local authorities. The ADPH says restrictions should not be eased because the daily death toll is not consistently falling, particularly in care homes. They also say that easing restrictions too quickly will make it hard to calculate the R number for the disease, a measure of how fast coronavirus infections are spreading.

The includes people being allowed to meet outdoors in groups of up to six, while maintaining a two metre distance between people from different households, as well as the reopening of car showrooms and outdoor markets.

Pupils in reception, Year 1 and Year 6 in England were allowed to return to school today, but 46 per cent of parents and carers may have kept their children at home, a by the National Foundation for Educational Research suggests.

Other coronavirus developments

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the world has , and more than 373,000 people are confirmed to have died from the disease.

The UK government has not about how many people are tested for coronavirus since 22 May. The official numbers, which say there were 115,275 tests performed on 30 May with a capacity for 205,634 tests, also on the same person.

Only 197 cases of influenza virus were confirmed in Australia this May, compared to 30,567 in the same month last year, according to . This huge decrease in flu cases may be due to social distancing measures introduced to limit the spread of coronavirus. Australia’s flu season usually peaks during its winter months, from June to August.

There is in New Zealand, according to the latest figures from New Zealand’s health ministry.

Coronavirus numbers

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

UK contact tracing plans criticised: The UK government has been criticised for lifting some coronavirus lockdown restrictions without contact tracing measures fully in place to deal with any resulting covid-19 outbreaks.

29 May

14 per cent of people in the UK said they have had friends or family visit them at home, conducted between 20 and 22 May by researchers at King’s College London and Ipsos MORI. Only 5 per cent of people reported having broken lockdown restrictions in this way in a similar survey done between 1 and 3 April.

The poll surveyed 2254 people in the UK aged 16 to 75. Of these, 92 per cent of people said they are maintaining a two metre distance from other people in public spaces in accordance with government guidelines and 38 per cent are wearing a face mask or covering outside.��

The survey found that 40 per cent of people think they will catch the coronavirus by the end of the year. 35 per cent of people said they had delayed seeking medical advice or treatment for non-coronavirus conditions and 17 per cent said they’d had to delay or cancel treatment due to disruptions caused by the pandemic. Almost half of those surveyed – 48 per cent – reported feeling more anxious and depressed than usual.

Other coronavirus developments

The remains at 4, which corresponds to high or rising virus transmission, a Downing Street spokesperson told journalists today. Further easing of restrictions in England is set to begin on Monday, despite the suggesting that an alert level of 4 warrants continuation of “current social distancing measures and restrictions.” There were 1887 positive tests for coronavirus in the UK on 27 May.

More than 200 schools which had reopened in South Korea on Wednesday were today due to a new outbreak of coronavirus. The country reported 79 new cases on Thursday, the highest number in two months.

Brazil reported a new on Thursday, according to the country’s health ministry. There have been more than 438,000 coronavirus cases confirmed in Brazil so far, the second-highest number of any country, after the US.

The , Russia, has been revised from 639 to 1561. The revised figure includes 169 cases where tests had initially been negative but where post-mortem examinations confirmed coronavirus as the cause of death. It also includes more than 700 people who died of other causes that were made worse by a confirmed coronavirus infection.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 361,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 5.8 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus in the brain: From loss of smell to stroke, people with covid-19 are reporting strange neurological issues that challenge our understanding of the disease – and how to treat it.

How to lower your coronavirus risk: The coronavirus is still circulating yet many countries are taking steps to relax restrictions. If you have been asked to return to work or send your children back to school, how can you minimise the risk of infection to yourself and your family?

28 May

���Բ������Ի�’s test and trace system won’t be fully operational until end of June

���Բ������Ի�’s test and trace system, which is designed to identify people who might have been exposed to people who have tested positive for coronavirus, until the end of June, Dido Harding, who is leading the scheme, told MPs today. UK prime minister Boris Johnson in place and able to track 10,000 people a day using text, phone and email by 1 June. Harding also described the NHS covid-19 contact tracing app, which was meant to launch on , as “the cherry on the cake rather than the cake itself.”

In England, people will be starting on Monday, and in Scotland, groups of up to eight people from outdoors from tomorrow. groups of up to six people to meet outside from 18 May. People from different households will still be required to keep a distance of two metres.

Other coronavirus developments

There have been more than 100,000 deaths from covid-19 in the US since the outbreak began, according to , the largest number of any country. The number of daily new confirmed cases has been in 18 states, including California, Florida and Louisiana. In New York, the country’s worst-hit state with more than 369,000 cases in total, the number of daily new cases has fallen to around 1,200, down from a peak in early April of over 10,000 a day.

An analysis by the Financial Times suggests the UK had the second highest rate of coronavirus deaths . The UK registered 59,537 more deaths than would normally be expected to occur since the week ending 20 March, a death rate of 891 per million people, higher than Italy and the US, and second only to Spain. The FT analysis also found a link between countries that locked down earlier in their outbreaks and lower death tolls.

Boris Johnson’s senior aide Dominic when he drove to Barnard Castle in April, but the incident does not warrant further action, Durham police said in a statement today.

An estimated 133,000 people in England outside hospitals and care homes had covid-19 between 11 and 24 May, according to results from a random swab testing survey in England by the . The figure is down slightly from 148,000 between 27 April and 10 May.

UK health minister Matt Hancock responded today to a to clarify that the government’s target of 200,000 coronavirus tests per day by Sunday doesn’t refer to the number of tests actually performed. Instead it refers to the .

The number of passengers arriving in the UK by plane in April was 99 per cent lower than it was in the same month last year, according to a Home Office published today. 112,300 passengers arrived in the UK by air in April this year, down from about 3.8 million in March and 7.1 million in January.��

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 356,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 5.7 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

27 May

Johnson admits the UK was unprepared for the coronavirus crisis

“We didn’t learn the lesson on SARS and MERS,” UK prime minister Boris Johnson from the House of Commons Liaison Committee, referencing the government’s pandemic planning and a lack of capacity at Public Health England to detect outbreaks of coronavirus around the country. He also said that there would not be an official inquiry to investigate whether his senior aide broke lockdown rules. More than have now called for Cummings’ resignation.

During the meeting, Johnson announced that ���Բ������Ի�’s test and trace system will be launched tomorrow. Under the new system, contact tracers will ask people who test positive for coronavirus to self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of symptoms, and to provide details of any recent close contacts. The secretary of state will have the if they do not isolate voluntarily. The government announced earlier today that localised lockdowns, including , could be used to control outbreaks in areas of England that see increases in confirmed coronavirus cases.

The UK could reduce the number of new coronavirus infections passed on by each person, lessening the spread by 5 to 15 per cent, if the country implemented targeted contact tracing. This is the finding of a report published today by (DELVE), a data analytics group at the Royal Society in the UK. DELVE modelled the spread of coronavirus in the UK, taking into account how people interact with each other in various settings, including households, workplaces and schools.

Their report says a test and trace type scheme could be an important part of an overall strategy to contain the epidemic, particularly if the country’s R number is around 1. Almost all countries that have managed to control their covid-19 epidemics have enacted and maintained substantial testing and contact tracing efforts from early on in their epidemics, according to DELVE committee chair Venki Ramakrishnan.

Other coronavirus developments

The Americas are , according to the World Health Organization director for the Americas, Carissa Etienne. “Latin America has passed Europe and the United States in daily infections,” she said, adding that “now is not the time for countries to ease restrictions.” There are more than 2.4 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the region and more than 143,000 deaths, including more than 24,000 in Brazil alone.

A Human Rights Watch report published yesterday suggests than the most recently reported figure of 11 deaths, due to limited availability of reliable testing. Venezuela has confirmed more than 1200 cases so far.

More than 6.5 million people in Wuhan, China, about 80 per cent of the city’s population, have been , according to Chinese state media. Authorities say the testing is necessary to prevent a second wave of infections, though Jin Dongyan, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong, told the New York Times that testing 100,000 people would have been sufficient.

New Zealand from hospital and hasn’t confirmed any new cases for five days in a row, said Ashley Bloomfield, the country’s director general of health, during a press conference today. He said there are currently 21 active coronavirus cases in New Zealand.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 351,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 5.6 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus in the brain: From loss of smell to stroke, people with covid-19 are reporting strange neurological issues that challenge our understanding of the disease – and how to treat it.

How to lower your coronavirus risk: The coronavirus is still circulating yet many countries are taking steps to relax restrictions. If you have been asked to return to work or send your children back to school, how can you minimise the risk of infection to yourself and your family?

Essential information about coronavirus

What is covid-19?

What are the worst symptoms and how deadly is covid-19?

You could be spreading the coronavirus without realising you’ve got it

What does evidence say about schools reopening?

What does the latest research suggest about the coronavirus in pregnancy?

What to read, watch and listen to about coronavirus

, a podcast from Vice, pairs up young people with experts who can answer their questions relating to the pandemic. A recent episode focused on why people in the UK from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are being disproportionately affected by covid-19.

is a coronavirus social distancing game, where the player travels through a city and gains points for saving lives by practising social distancing correctly and collecting masks.

is a 28-minute film from Channel 4 News showing what daily life looks like in every country from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

on Netflix is a short documentary series examining the on-going coronavirus pandemic, the efforts to fight it and ways to manage its mental health toll.

Coronavirus: : As the death toll from covid-19 rises, discover how researchers around the world are racing to understand the virus and prevent future outbreaks in our free online panel discussion.

is an uplifting Channel 4 documentary shot over 24 hours which shows how the citizens of Britain are coping under lockdown.

�鶹��ý Weekly features updates and analysis on the latest developments in the covid-19 pandemic. Our podcast sees expert journalists from the magazine discuss the biggest science stories to hit the headlines each week – from technology and space, to health and the environment.

is about the new science of contagion and the surprising ways it shapes our lives and behaviour. The author, Adam Kucharski, is an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and in the book he examines how diseases spread and why they stop.

, a video by John Burn-Murdoch for the Financial Times, uses data visualisation to explain the daily graphs that show how coronavirus cases and deaths are growing around the world.

is a sober documentary about the progression of a hypothetical pandemic which the BBC simulated in 2017. Fronted by science journalist and TV presenter Hannah Fry, and made with the support of some of the country’s best epidemiologists and mathematical modelers, it’s very relevant to today’s covid-19 pandemic.

Previous updates

26 May

Poll reveals declining trust in UK government before Cummings crisis

Only 38 per cent of people supported the UK government’s change to coronavirus restrictions announced on 10 May, compared to 90 per cent of people who said they supported the lockdown measures announced on 23 March, at King’s College London and Ipsos MORI.

The measures brought in on 10 May largely affected England. They included a stronger emphasis on people going to work if they are unable to work from home, encouraging people to avoid public transport as much as possible, letting people exercise outside more than once a day and allowing people to meet up with one person from a household other than their own, providing the meeting takes place outside and at a distance of at least 2 metres.

The poll, which surveyed 2254 people in the UK aged 16 to 75, was conducted between 20 and 22 May, before it emerged that prime ministerial aide Dominic Cummings drove more than 260 miles from home with his son and ill wife in March, at a time when the UK government was telling the nation to “stay at home”.

Cummings told a press conference in the that his actions did not break the government’s rules. But behavioural scientists have expressed concerns that his actions have undermined the government’s authority and could encourage people to disregard the country’s coronavirus restrictions.

Junior minister Douglas Ross resigned today, “Mr Cummings’ interpretation of the government advice was not shared by the vast majority of people.” More than 30 Conservative party MPs have called for Cummings to resign.

Other coronavirus developments

UK prime minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday that department stores and small independent , with car dealerships and open air markets allowed to reopen on 1 June. Only shops that are “covid secure” will be permitted to reopen. There will be limits on the number of shoppers allowed inside, and restrictions on how people move around. There may also be screens in place and hygiene stations on arrival.

According to the latest provisional data published by the UK’s Office for National Statistics, 41,220 deaths involving covid-19 had been registered in England and Wales by 15 May. In the UK, more than a quarter of deaths in the seven-day period ending 15 May involved the disease.

The Ebola drug remdesivir has been approved for use in the UK for the treatment of coronavirus patients. Preliminary results published in the on 22 May suggest remdesivir speeds up recovery in patients with severe covid-19.

Yesterday the World Health Organization as a covid-19 treatment after an observational study published in found no evidence that either hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine are beneficial for covid-19, and that using these drugs to treat covid-19 patients may be harmful.

Scotland will launch a on Thursday. Under the scheme, anyone with covid-19 symptoms will be advised to get tested immediately, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon said today during a press conference. They will then be asked to provide details of everyone they have been in close contact with to enable these people to be contacted by contact tracers.

A , which has now been fixed, may have exposed sensitive personal information including the name, national ID, health status and location data of more than 1 million users, according to Amnesty International.

Russia confirmed over the last 24 hour period, the highest daily number for the country so far. There have been more than 362,000 coronavirus cases confirmed in Russia – the third-highest number after the US and Brazil – and more than 3800 deaths since the outbreak began.

Spain has from more than 28,000 to 26,834 after it emerged that some deaths had been counted twice and that some people who thought to be infected turned out not to be.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 346,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 5.5 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Cummings crisis: Behavioural scientists that have been advising the UK government have expressed concern that the Dominic Cummings crisis has damaged public trust and put compliance with coronavirus restrictions at risk.

Further lockdown easing: The UK plans to further ease coronavirus restrictions as the number of new cases is in decline. But the number of cases in the country remains high and it isn’t clear whether the large-scale testing and contact tracing infrastructure needed to prevent the number of cases from rising will be ready in time.

21 May

Delaying the reopening of primary schools in England on 1 June by two weeks could halve the risk to each child of being exposed to an infectious classmate, according to a report by the Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, a recently-formed group of scientists that is seeking to provide alternative advice to the UK government. The group say that modelling suggests that waiting until September would reduce this risk further, to less than the risk to children of road traffic accidents.

The group is chaired by former government chief scientific advisor David King and is separate from the official SAGE committee that advises the UK government.

“The crucial factor allowing school reopening around the world has been the presence of well-functioning local test, trace and isolate protocols – something that is now accepted will not be in place in England by early June,” the report says. It adds that before schools can reopen, it is important to confirm that daily new coronavirus infections are decreasing and that schools have access to personal protective equipment.

However, the models used by the independent group to calculate the risk to children have not yet been published in detail. Meanwhile, documents released by the official SAGE committee and the government today revealed that the UK’s Department of Education did not model the impact of�� schools in England reopening on 1 June as part of work in which the department examined nine possible scenarios relating to schools for SAGE.��

Other coronavirus developments

An observational study published today in found no evidence that either of the antimalarial drugs hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine are beneficial for covid-19. The study also suggests that using these drugs to treat covid-19 patients may be harmful, although randomised controlled trials are needed to confirm this. Several trials are currently underway.

The UK’s R value – the number of people each coronavirus case infects – has been estimated to be . Because of a lag in the data used to determine the R value, this reflects the situation about two or three weeks ago.

In the UK, some coronavirus , the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England confirmed yesterday. According to the , 140,497 tests were performed on 21 May but only 80,297 people were tested. According to The Telegraph, the discrepancy may be due to counting nasal and saliva samples from a single person as separate tests. Earlier this month, UK prime minister Boris Johnson set a target of conducting by the end of May.

People arriving in the UK from other countries if spot checks by health officials reveal they have failed to follow guidelines to self-isolate for 14 days after their arrival in the UK, the government announced today. The rule will come into force on 8 June, and will only have exceptions for lorry drivers, seasonal farm workers and medical officials with UK citizenship, and people arriving from the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The . Australia’s “successful containment” of the virus “means travellers coming from Australia would pose a low risk to the rest of the world,” according to Australia’s trade, tourism and investment minister Simon Birmingham.

Brazil confirmed its so far, with 19,951 cases reported by the country’s health ministry today. Brazil has confirmed more than 310,000 cases since the outbreak began, the third-highest number of any country after the US and Russia. There are growing concerns that of the pandemic, as Mexico, Chile and Peru are also struggling to contain major outbreaks.

6088 new coronavirus cases were announced in India today, the the country has confirmed so far. This brings ���Ի徱��’s total number of confirmed cases to more than 119,000. Meanwhile Amazon has announced it will hire to meet rising demand for online shopping during the country’s ongoing coronavirus lockdown.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 333,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 5.1 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus drugs: Several hundred trials of potential treatments for the coronavirus are now underway around the world. Early results suggest a few might slightly reduce the risk of dying from covid-19, but we won’t know for sure until larger trials have been completed.

How the coronavirus is affecting wildlife: While the lockdowns in many countries have allowed animals to roam more freely, they have also cut off crucial sources of funding for conservation work and given poachers free rein to operate.

Animals benefiting from lockdowns: There are some instances in which coronavirus restrictions may be benefitting certain species, such as bees and humpback whales.

22 May

Time is running out to prevent a second surge of infection in the UK

The NHS Confederation, a membership body that represents people who commission or provide NHS services, has warned of the urgent need for a UK contact tracing strategy. “Our members are concerned that unless there is a clear strategy, then there must be a greater risk of a second wave of infections and serious health consequences,” chief executive Niall Dickson wrote sent to the UK’s health and social care minister Matt Hancock yesterday. “We would therefore urge you to produce such a strategy with a clear implementation plan ahead of any further easing of the lockdown.”��

Dickson welcomed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s new to trace 10,000 new coronavirus cases per day by 1 June, adding that “delivery and implementation will be critical, and we await further details.” However, he said that a strategy for tracing contacts “should have been in place much sooner”.

Other coronavirus developments

An international randomised controlled hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine can prevent people becoming infected with coronavirus began in the UK today. More than 40,000 healthcare workers in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America who regularly come into contact with covid-19 patients will receive either hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine or a placebo over the next three months. There is no clear evidence that either of these drugs are�� useful for covid-19, but Brazil’s yesterday suggesting doses for their use in the treatment of coronavirus.��

The rapid spread of coronavirus in the southern hemisphere means the US is , according to Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The worldwide number of confirmed coronavirus cases passed 5 million today, according to . More than 328,000 people around the world are known to have died from covid-19.

Less than half of people aged 18 to 29 say they are completely complying with the UK government’s social distancing rules, according to an of more than 90,000 people in the UK by researchers at University College London. Self-reported levels of complete compliance were highest among people over the age of 60 at about 65 per cent. The average across all age groups was less than 60 per cent.

Hundreds of people in Dagestan in southern Russia have died with what’s being reported as “community-acquired pneumonia”, a local doctor has told the . “Our hospital is full of covid cases, but only a tiny handful of patients have a confirmed diagnosis,” he said. More than 317,000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Russia so far, the second-highest number worldwide. More than 3000 covid-19 deaths have been reported.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 329,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 5 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

The coronavirus is evolving: Viruses, like the coronavirus causing covid-19, can evolve rapidly. Knowing how and why they change should help us beat this pandemic and prevent future ones.

Previous updates

20 May

UK aims to recruit 25,000 covid-19 contact tracers by June, as app is delayed��

UK prime minister Boris Johnson told MPs today that he is confident that the government will have recruited 25,000 coronavirus contact tracers by the start of June, which he says will provide the capacity to . Johnson said 24,000 contact tracers have already been recruited.��

In April, health secretary Matt Hancock said the government hoped to recruit 18,000 contact tracers by mid-May, to coincide with the planned release of the NHS covid-19 contact tracing app. But the widespread release of the app, currently being trialled on the Isle of Wight, has now been delayed until June. There are also ongoing concerns about privacy. In a , security researchers wrote that there should be a legal requirement that all data collected by the app is deleted at the end of the coronavirus crisis, rather than being anonymised or repurposed.

Other coronavirus developments

The UK government prioritised coronavirus testing in hospitals over care homes because of limited availability of tests, the justice secretary Robert Buckland told today. “We needed to make a choice,” he said. According to the , there were more than 14,000 deaths involving covid-19 in care home residents in England between 13 April and 15 May.

The UK of daily coronavirus tests conducted includes diagnostic tests being performed by researchers to monitor the spread of coronavirus, rather than to confirm suspected cases. When these monitoring tests (and ) are discounted, only 69,900 tests were carried out on 15 May compared to the government’s reported 136,486. The government’s daily testing target is 100,000.

The UK government’s policy to reopen will not be followed by at least 18 local authorities, which have indicated they won’t force schools in their area to reopen. A government spokesperson told The Guardian that there won’t be sanctions for councils overseeing schools that don’t reopen.

Shops and restaurants reopened today in the US state of Connecticut, the last state to partially ease coronavirus restrictions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published today, including in classrooms, buses to leave every other row empty and face coverings to be used when physical distancing is not possible.

Brazil recorded , the country’s highest number of daily deaths so far. More than 271,000 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Brazil, and more than 17,000 people have died.

The president of the World Bank, David Malpass, said today in a statement that the pandemic and resulting economic slowdown , “erasing much of the recent progress made in poverty alleviation.”

New Zealand’s prime minister or other forms of flexible working could encourage domestic tourism and help the country recover from the economic impact of the pandemic.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 324,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 4.9 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Is it safe to ease lockdowns?: By April this year, around half of the world’s population was under some kind of lockdown. Such restrictions helped slow the spread of the coronavirus. As new cases decline in many places, countries are beginning to ease restrictions. How can we know it is safe to do so?

Drop in global emissions: Global carbon emissions are likely to see their steepest fall this year since the second world war, according to researchers who say coronavirus lockdown measures have already cut them by nearly a fifth. But the team warns that the dramatic drop won’t slow climate change.

Your questions answered: Our reporters answer your questions on coronavirus and covid-19.

19 May

UK government advised to ‘urgently’ build up contact tracing capacity

The UK House of Commons science and technology committee based on evidence from its on-going inquiry into the role of science in the country’s pandemic response. These include a call for the government to “urgently” build up capacity for contact tracing. The committee emphasised the importance of contact tracing in easing UK lockdown measures and preventing a second wave of infections.

The committee also recommended that the government be more transparent about the scientific advice it receives, asking that the published list of Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) members be updated regularly. They also suggested the government set out a plan for tackling infections spread by people who do not have any covid-19 symptoms, and called for the systematic recording of the ethnicity of everyone who dies from the disease.

The committee also urged the government to publish its rationale for concentrating coronavirus testing in a limited number of Public Health England laboratories, rather than making use of testing capacity at a large number of public, private, university and research institute labs.

“Greater transparency around scientific advice; putting capacity in place in advance of need, such as in testing and vaccines; collecting more data earlier and learning from other countries’ approaches are some of the early lessons of this pandemic that are relevant to further decisions that will need to be taken during the weeks and months ahead,” said the committee’s chair, MP Greg Clark.

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the UK rose to 2.1 million people in April, up from 1.2 million in March, according to the . April was the first full month of coronavirus social distancing restrictions in the UK. People on the government furlough scheme were not included in the total.

Other coronavirus developments

In a letter to the , US president Donald Trump accused the organisation of being and said he would ��unless it committed to “substantive improvements”. US health secretary Alex Azar told the UN’s world health assembly today that the WHO’s response to the pandemic had “cost many lives.” Zhao Lijan, a spokesperson from China’s foreign ministry, said the to shift the blame for its own mishandling of the crisis. Today China’s president Xi Jinping over two years to help fight coronavirus.

At a meeting of restaurant executives yesterday, Trump told reporters he is to protect himself from the coronavirus. There is no evidence that the drug can protect people from getting infected and the drug can have dangerous side effects.

More in care homes in the UK have died from covid-19. Martin Green of Care England, a charity which represents care homes, told MPs at the health and social care committee that planning for the pandemic had been inadequate and patients in hospitals with coronavirus symptoms had been .

In Sweden, up to 14 May, according to the country’s public health agency. Sweden has imposed relatively few social distancing restrictions so far during the pandemic in comparison to many European countries.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 320,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 4.6 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Smoking and covid-19: A number of studies suggesting smokers are less likely to catch coronavirus have led to headlines saying that smokers are “protected” against covid-19 – but this probably isn’t the case.

Water quality tests stopped in England: People swimming at beaches and lakes across England this summer will probably never know if the water was dirty – officials have stopped routine testing because of the coronavirus crisis.

The R number: The basic reproduction number, also known as the R or R0, is the average number of people a person with an infectious disease is likely to infect in the future. Find out more about how it is calculated.

Lockdown cooking science: If you’re looking for ideas for fun kitchen projects to amuse yourself during lockdown, here are 13 lockdown cooking projects along with the science of how they work.

18 May

Mixed progress on coronavirus vaccines as US stocks jump

A preliminary test in only eight volunteers suggests the first coronavirus vaccine to be tested in people seems to be against the virus. Antibodies generated by the volunteers were able to stop the virus from replicating in human cells in the laboratory and the levels of antibodies in their blood were similar to those previously detected in recovered covid-19 patients. Tal Zaks of Moderna, the US firm developing the vaccine, said that if the next stages go well, it could be widely available by the end of this year or early next year.

The sharply today following the announcement. However, it remains to be seen if such speedy testing and manufacturing of a vaccine is really possible – no vaccine has ever been produced in less than five years.

Meanwhile, a trial of another vaccine, developed by researchers at the University of Oxford found it wasn’t able to stop with the coronavirus. None of the vaccinated monkeys developed pneumonia, however, suggesting it may offer some protection against severe covid-19.��

There are currently more than 100 vaccines for the coronavirus in various stages of early development.

Other coronavirus developments

The UK has added anosmia – loss of or change in sense of smell – to the list of self-isolation. However, other symptoms such as are still not included on the government’s list.

The UK, the European Union, Australia and New Zealand are among those pushing for an independent the World Health Organization’s (WHO) . WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the UN’s World Health Assembly today that an investigation would be initiated “at the earliest opportunity.”

Brazil now has more than 241,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the highest number of any country after the US, Russia and the UK. Hospitals in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city are running out of beds, according to the city’s mayor, Bruno Covas. The country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, participated in an anti-lockdown protest in Brasilia on Sunday.

Some countries across Europe have begun to ease travel and border restrictions as they . Italy’s prime minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree to allow tourists from abroad to enter the country from 3 June. Food and drink outlets, shops and some tourist attractions reopened today in Italy, as well as in Portugal, Belgium, Denmark and Poland, with social distancing measures in place.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 315,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 4.7 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

New coronaviruses: Seven new coronaviruses have been discovered in bats in Gabon, but their potential to spill over into humans and cause a covid-19-like pandemic isn’t clear.

Global food crisis: The covid-19 pandemic’s impact on hunger around the world could be worse than when food prices spiked calamitously in 2007 and 2008, a leading food security expert warns.

We can’t forget the climate: The coronavirus pandemic may be the biggest crisis most of us have faced, but we can’t afford to tackle our crises one at a time and let politicians off the hook on climate change.

15 May

UK’s estimated coronavirus infection rate is now between 0.7 and 1

The UK’s coronavirus R value – the estimated number of people each person infects – is now between 0.7 and 1, for emergencies (SAGE). Five days ago, UK prime minister Boris Johnson said R was between 0.5 and 0.9. The government’s science advisors say the increase is not a reflection of coronavirus restrictions being eased in England this week, but rather due to a lag in the data that is used to model the R value. We won’t know how easing restrictions has impacted the current R value for another three weeks.

Other coronavirus developments

Only 1500 of a total of 18,000 coronavirus contact tracers – just over 8 per cent – have been recruited by the UK government by its mid-May deadline, a . The government had previously refused to say exactly how many contact tracers it had employed.

Up to for National Health Service (NHS) treatment by autumn, UK ministers heard yesterday. Hospital capacity could be cut by 30 per cent as trusts attempt to implement social distancing among staff and patients.

16 health unions have asked the UK government to provide (PPE) for doctors and nurses before the NHS reopens services that were cancelled during the covid-19 peak. This comes as evidence has emerged suggesting by NHS managers not to share their concerns about PPE.

US citizens should prepare to face the according to a whistleblower who was recently removed from his position as a government public health official. Rick Bright, who was ousted from his role leading a federal agency in charge of vaccine development in April, told a US congressional committee that the “window is closing to address this pandemic” and criticised the Trump administration’s lack of planning.

There have been for a month and only 91 patients are currently receiving treatment for the disease. 623 people are in isolation for suspected or confirmed coronavirus.

The first coronavirus cases have been detected in . The densely populated camps are home to more than 1 million people, with an estimated 60,000 to 90,000 people per square kilometre living in small shelters.
�ұ�������Բ�’s in the first quarter of this year, according to data released by the country’s federal statistics authority, the biggest contraction since the 2008 financial crisis.

Slovenia has become the to declare its coronavirus epidemic over, after daily new confirmed cases remained below seven for the last two weeks.

Restrictions to limit the spread of coronavirus were , Australia, with pubs and clubs reopening.

Large areas of London will become by cyclists and pedestrians as coronavirus restrictions are eased, mayor Sadiq Khan has announced.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 303,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 4.4 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

No evidence for ‘Madagascar cure’: The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that a herbal drink promoted by the president of Madagascar as a cure for covid-19 should be tested to see if it is effective. The WHO has no evidence the drink works, according to the head of the group’s Africa office.��

Coronavirus safety measures: Ventilation must be improved in buildings and aeroplanes to reduce the risk of covid-19 spreading via the air, according to recommendations from several organisations. But it isn’t clear if this advice is being followed.

14 May

More than 36 million US citizens have filed for unemployment since start of pandemic

Another 3 million US citizens filed for unemployment benefits last week, since mid-March, about 22 per cent of the US workforce. The total number of people who have lost their jobs is because many states still have a backlog of claims to get through.

Other coronavirus developments

Brazil has become a hotspot for coronavirus infections as the country confirmed and 749 more deaths yesterday. The total number of confirmed cases is now more than 190,000, the sixth highest in the world. �� a lack of adequate testing means the true number of cases could be ten times higher.��

A coronavirus antibody test developed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche has been approved for use by Public Health England. UK health minister Edward Argar said the test “”. Unlike other forms of testing, antibody tests detect whether someone has been previously infected with the coronavirus, rather than whether they are infected with it now. However, it remains unclear whether people who have recovered from the virus are immune to reinfection.

Provisional results of a random swab testing survey in England by the UK’s Office for National Statistics estimates that 148,000 people (0.27 per cent) outside of hospitals and care homes between 27 April and 10 May.

The worldwide, UN secretary general António Guterres said today, with frontline healthcare workers, older people and people with pre-existing mental health conditions particularly at risk. “We must help them and stand by them,” he said.

Japan has that restricted people’s movements to tackle the spread of coronavirus. The order still applies in Tokyo, Osaka and other areas where new cases are still being detected daily.

Every country in Africa has now recorded at least one coronavirus case, with on the continent to confirm an infection.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 298,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 4.3 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Risks in planes and offices: Ventilation must be improved in buildings and aeroplanes to reduce the risk of covid-19 spreading via the air, according recommendations from several organisations, including the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

Previous updates

13 May

UK economy shrank 2 per cent in the first three months of 2020

UK GDP fell by 2 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, the of the UK’s economy since the 2008 financial crisis. Rishi Sunak, the chancellor of the exchequer, said, “It is now very likely that the UK economy will face a significant recession this year, and we’re already in the middle of that as we speak.” The Bank of England predicts that the UK economy could shrink by as much as 14 per cent in 2020.

In England some people who aren’t able to work from home returned to work today, as part of the . Despite the government urging people to avoid public transport if they could, some commuters said buses and trains were too crowded to practice social distancing.

Other coronavirus developments

It could be as long as “four or five years” before covid-19 is under control and the pandemic could “potentially get worse”, according to the World Health Organization’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan. , she said a vaccine “seems for now the best way out,” but it could stop working if the virus mutates.

UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer criticised prime minister Boris Johnson and the government about the extent of the in parliament today. Starmer also questioned the decision to stop publishing international comparisons of covid-19 deaths at the government’s daily TV briefing, shortly after the UK became the country with the second highest official death toll.

In the US, on an average day last week compared to the previous six weeks. Businesses in many states including Texas and Florida have started to reopen after governors allowed stay-at-home orders to lapse, often against government health advice.

Brazil recorded its in the number of covid-19 deaths. 881 new deaths were registered yesterday, bringing Brazil’s total death toll to more than 12,400.

The European Commission has outlined national borders, compensate people for cancelled flights and ensure social distancing at holiday resorts, in an attempt to support the travel and tourism industries.��

One type of amid suspicion that it may be linked to two hospital fires in which six covid-19 patients were killed.

���Ի徱��’s prime minister Narendra Modi worth £220 billion, equivalent to 10 per cent of the country’s GDP.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 293,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 4.2 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus in pregnancy: A growing number of case studies suggest that, while pregnant people don’t seem to be at greater risk of the coronavirus, covid-19 is linked to a higher rate of caesareans and preterm births, and the virus may be able to cross the placenta to a fetus.

Cheap and easy coronavirus test: Trials to develop a cheap and easy $1 coronavirus testing kit that produces results in less than 10 minutes are under way in Senegal. If it works, the test could be a vital tool in sub-Saharan Africa.

Covid-19 self test accuracy: Essential workers in the UK are now among those being sent home testing kits for coronavirus. This involves swabbing the inside of your own nose and the back of your throat, but how useful are the results?

: The world’s richest countries are guilty of a “myopic international response” to the coronavirus crisis that will hurt the world’s poorest people and the global fight against the disease, warns David Miliband, CEO of the US-based International Rescue Committee (IRC).

12 May

UK job retention scheme for workers extended until October

The UK’s job retention scheme, which pays 80 per cent of furloughed employees’ wages up to £2500 a month, will be until October. Rishi Sunak, the chancellor of the exchequer, said that from August employees will be allowed to work part-time while furloughed, but the government will require companies to shoulder some of the costs of furlough payments. The scheme currently covers the salaries of 7.5 million workers, a quarter of the UK’s workforce, and costs the UK government about £14 billion a month.

Other coronavirus developments

Head teachers have warned that the government’s on 1 June is not feasible. Paul Whiteman, head of the National Association for Head Teachers, told MPs that it wouldn’t be possible to comply with the government’s new guidance recommending a maximum class size of 15 pupils.

Northern Ireland has unveiled a coronavirus restrictions, which includes advice for and is more cautious than the plan for England. Unlike England, Northern Ireland is sticking with the “stay home” messaging – along with Scotland and Wales – rather than switching to “stay alert.”

Russia now has 232,243 confirmed coronavirus cases, the second-highest after the US. The number of new covid-19 cases and deaths are .

White House staff have been at work after two members of staff tested positive for coronavirus, although administration officials said the rule isn’t expected to apply to president Donald Trump or vice president Mike Pence.

US health adviser Anthony Fauci has warned of and multiple new outbreaks of coronavirus if states allow businesses to reopen too soon. The World Health Organization has also asked countries to show “extreme vigilance” when easing coronavirus restrictions.

All in China, where the first coronavirus cases were confirmed, will be tested for the virus, according to Chinese state media. This comes after were confirmed there over the weekend.

Iran will , despite a rise in confirmed infections in some parts of the country.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 287,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 4.2 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

UK approach criticised: An independent group of scientists has published a damning assessment of how the UK government has handled the coronavirus.

Bluetooth contact tracing: Testing in real-world scenarios has raised doubts about whether apps will be able to use Bluetooth to reliably track people who have been in close proximity to covid-19 cases.

Drones enforce social distancing: In India, police are using AI-equipped drones developed by US start-up Skylark to monitor evening curfews and the distance between people who are outside during the day.

11 May

People in England can return to work if they can’t work from home

Restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus are being this week, but many have criticised the government with a new slogan telling people to “stay alert”, which replaces previous advice to “stay at home.” In a video message broadcast on Sunday evening, prime minister Boris Johnson announced the following changes to the government’s policy in England, which are and will come into effect from Wednesday 13 May:

• Employees can return to work if they can’t work from home and if their work place is open, but they should try to avoid using public transport to get there. This applies to essential shops, but excludes restaurants, pubs, and gyms.
• Face coverings are advised in places like shops or on public transport, but will not be made compulsory.
• People will be able to from a household other than their own, but only if they meet in a public place and stay at least two metres apart.

These new policies mean that social distancing rules in England are now different from the advice given to UK citizens in Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon said people to “stay at home”, and also rejected the new slogan.

Some with passengers this morning following last night’s announcement.

Other coronavirus developments

Two people who work in close proximity to US president Donald Trump and vice president Mike Pence have , and several senior staff including government health adviser Anthony Fauci are now self-isolating for two weeks. The White House said that vice president Pence will not alter his routine or self-quarantine.��

Doctors in the US have reported a wide range of possible effects of covid-19 on the body, including .

The by early August according to researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Many states are continuing to ease restrictions despite failing to meet .

The covid-19 pandemic is causing a in the US, according to a report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Parents’ concerns about potentially exposing their children to covid-19 may be a contributing factor.

Wuhan, China, has detected its since its lockdown lifted in early April. Five cases were confirmed in a single residential community on 10 May.

Coronavirus restrictions are in a growing number of European countries. People in France are now allowed to walk outside without a permit and in some parts of Spain people can now meet in bars and restaurants with outdoor spaces.

In New Zealand this week with domestic travel resuming and restaurants, shops, gyms and playgrounds reopening. The country is very close to wiping out covid-19 entirely.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 283,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 4.1 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Drones to enforce social distancing: In India, police are using AI-equipped drones developed by US start-up Skylark to monitor evening curfews and the distance between people who are outside during the day.

Easing coronavirus lockdowns in Africa: After many African countries took quick action to stop the coronavirus spreading, attention is now turning to what will happen as several nations begin easing lockdown restrictions in one of the world’s most vulnerable regions.

New Zealand close to wiping out coronavirus: New Zealand is tantalisingly close to wiping out covid-19, but does that mean that life there will be able to go back to normal?��

7 May

Black people in England and Wales almost twice as likely to die from covid-19

Black people in England and Wales are with coronavirus than white people, according to a study by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which combined census and covid-19 deaths data.

The study showed that even after accounting for age, levels of deprivation in different areas and how healthy people said they were at the time of the 2011 census, black people are still more likely to die of covid-19. People from Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities were found to have between a 30 and 80 per cent higher risk than white people.��

Other coronavirus developments

US president Donald Trump has said the worse than Pearl Harbor or 9/11 and blamed China for not doing more to stop it. Trump and his secretary of state Mike Pompeo both recently claimed that the virus came from a laboratory in Wuhan. Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said this week that the virus was not manufactured, and that it “evolved in nature and then jumped species.” The official daily death toll in the US than 3,000 by 1 June.

Nearly 3.2 million over the last week, bringing the total to 33 million since the country’s covid-19 shutdowns started in mid-March.

The Bank of England said that the by 14 per cent this year, the country’s sharpest ever recession.

UK prime minister in its consideration of easing coronavirus restrictions. Johnson will outline the government’s plans for the next three weeks at 7PM BST on Sunday, but any changes .

400,000 personal protective equipment gowns flown into the UK from Turkey to meet NHS demand have and will be returned.

The first of almost 15,000 Indian citizens from 12 different countries is expected to take off today. Citizens wishing to return will need to pay for their own tickets and will only be able to board if they aren’t showing covid-19 symptoms.

International Airlines Group, which owns British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus, has said there will be . Passenger demand is not expected to recover to 2019 levels until at least 2023.

London’s Notting Hill Carnival, one of the UK’s largest annual events, has been .

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 264,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 3.7 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus studies: With researchers, journals, politicians, journalists and social media influencers all capable of espousing misleading or unverified scientific findings, it pays to be able to recognise the telltale signs of a study that might be poor.

Changing our behaviour: Human behaviour is key to the spread of coronavirus, so government scientists are trying to control our decisions. Does it work, and what happens when they get it wrong?

6 May

UK coronavirus official death toll passes 30,000 – the second highest in the world

The UK now has the highest recorded death toll from covid-19 in Europe and the second highest in the world, . Total deaths in the UK have reached 30,076, compared to 29,684 in Italy, previously the highest in Europe. The number of deaths in care homes in the UK continue to rise, and today prime minister Boris Johnson said he the situation there. He said a “huge effort” had been made to provide more personal protective equipment and he set a new target of 200,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of May.

Other coronavirus developments

US president Donald Trump said the country’s “indefinitely.” Yesterday he suggested that the group, led by vice president Mike Pence, would be over the next few weeks. A statistical model created by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington by 4 August if states continue to relax social distancing measures.

German chancellor Angela Merkel announced today. Larger shops will now be allowed to reopen as long as they comply with strict hygiene rules, and people from two different households can now meet. Germany is now at a point “where we can say that we have reached the goal of slowing down the spread of the virus,” said Merkel.

Airbnb as people in Europe start planning holidays. If the outbreak remains under control, people in Germany , according to the country’s federal tourism commissioner Thomas Bareiss. Italy’s prime minister Giuseppe Conte recently said Italians would be able to go on holiday this summer.

High school students have been allowed back to school for the first time since schools closed there in January. More than 57,000 students were allowed to sit university entrance exams but had to abide by social distancing rules, wear face masks and arrive at staggered times. Junior and middle school students have not yet returned. No new deaths from coronavirus have been reported in China since 27 April.

Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist advising the government whose research influenced changes to the UK’s coronavirus policy, has after he broke social distancing rules.

Unemployment reach 1 million this year, up 640,000 people on last year, according to a report from the .

Heathrow airport is to start checking the temperature of passengers in immigration and other areas of the airport, and is urging the UK government to come up with a list of to deal with coronavirus. The airport’s CEO John Holland-Kaye said, “If you want to get the UK economy started again, you have to get the aviation sector started again.” Heathrow said it expected passenger numbers in April to fall as much as compared to the same month last year.

More than two-thirds of people surveyed across 20 countries in Africa, including Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa, say they would if they had to stay at home for 14 days, has revealed.

The Australian government has admitted that their required on some iPhones.��

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 258,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 3.6 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Deadly or harmless: Why is coronavirus deadly for some, but harmless in others? To figure out what makes some people more vulnerable to severe cases of covid-19, we need to rethink what we know about infection.

Testing for key workers: Many countries are focusing coronavirus testing on people who have covid-19 symptoms. But regularly testing all essential workers would have more of an impact.

Misleading science: Amid the global coronavirus outbreak, a second epidemic of preliminary, unverified and misinterpreted research has broken out. Can it be fixed?

Essential information about coronavirus

What is covid-19?

What are the worst symptoms and how deadly is covid-19?

You could be spreading the coronavirus without realising you’ve got it

What does evidence say about schools reopening?

How and when will the coronavirus lockdowns end?

What to read, watch and listen to about coronavirus

is a 28 minute film from Channel 4 News showing what daily life looks like in every country from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

on Netflix is a short documentary series examining the on-going coronavirus pandemic, the efforts to fight it and ways to manage its mental health toll.

: As the death toll from covid-19 rises, discover how researchers around the world are racing to understand the virus and prevent future outbreaks in our free online panel discussion.

is an uplifting Channel 4 documentary shot over 24 hours which shows how the citizens of Britain are coping under lockdown.

�鶹��ý Weekly features updates and analysis on the latest developments in the covid-19 pandemic. Our podcast sees expert journalists from the magazine discuss the biggest science stories to hit the headlines each week – from technology and space, to health and the environment.

is about the new science of contagion and the surprising ways it shapes our lives and behaviour. The author, Adam Kucharski, is an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and in the book he examines how things spread and why they stop.

, a video by John Burn-Murdoch for the Financial Times, uses data-visualisation to explain the daily graphs that show how coronavirus cases and deaths are growing around the world.

is a sober documentary about the progression of a hypothetical pandemic which the BBC simulated in 2017. Fronted by science journalist and TV presenter Hannah Fry, and made with the support of some of the country’s best epidemiologists and mathematical modelers, it’s very relevant to today’s covid-19 pandemic.

Previous updates

5 May

Europe’s first known coronavirus case may have been in December

A man who was for suspected pneumonia may have had covid-19 as early as 27 December, according to a . France reported its first cases of coronavirus on 24 January, and these were among the first that were detected in Europe. World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Christian Lindmeier has now for similar cases in order to provide a clearer picture of how and when outbreaks began. The testing result may not be conclusive however – it could possibly be a false positive.

Other coronavirus developments

Anthony Fauci, a lead member of the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, has warned that any easing of restrictions in the US in the country’s covid-19 death toll. “How many deaths and how much suffering are you willing to accept to get back to what you want to be some form of normality, sooner rather than later?” he said.

India eased yesterday, despite an increase in new confirmed cases. The country’s strict five week lockdown has particularly affected the country’s 40 million migrant workers, preventing many from working in cities or from travelling home.��

The UK’s NHS coronavirus contact tracing app is being . If successful, the app could be made available across the UK within weeks, although concerns have been raised over privacy and the covid-19 outbreaks.

The popular app developed by King’s College London and a team of international researchers in southern Wales five or more days in advance. Nearly 3 million users regularly report their health using the app every day.��

The UK government’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance has said that in some settings. The UK government does not currently recommend face masks for the general public, in accordance with WHO guidance, but the Scottish government has suggested that people cover their faces in shops and public transport. More than 50 countries including have made cloth face masks mandatory for the general public in some scenarios including visiting shops or using public transport.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 252,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 3.6 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Contact tracing app: The UK government will begin trials of its coronavirus contact tracing app this week, but officials yesterday declined to say how much impact it would actually have on slowing the spread of covid-19.��

4 May

Scientists advising UK government coronavirus response revealed

The names of were revealed today, including 50 of the 52 scientists who sit on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) committee. The government had previously been criticised for a about who has been providing the scientific advice that has been informing it’s response to the pandemic.

Of the 50 named scientists, 38 have expertise in virology, infectious diseases, epidemiology, medicine, public health or statistics, according to �鶹��ý analysis. Five people with expertise in psychology or behavioural science have also been involved.

Over the weekend, David King, a former scientific adviser to the UK government, , prompted by concerns over a lack of transparency. The panel, which is calling itself the Independent SAGE, held its first meeting .

Other coronavirus developments

In Italy, 4.4 million people returned to work today as the country after a two month lockdown which began on 9 March. Italy was the first country in Europe to have a serious covid-19 outbreak and there have been at least 28,000 deaths due to coronavirus there. Yesterday there were 174 deaths, the lowest daily count since 10 March, the day after the lockdown went into effect.

Researchers in Germany estimate that . 1.8 million people in Germany may have contracted the virus to date, about 10 times the official number, according to their .

The European Commission has launched a focused on developing a vaccine and plans to host a virtual fundraising event to encourage donations from philanthropists and other governments. It aims to raise more than £6.6 billion (€7.5 billion) to make up for a funding shortfall for the World Health Organization and other organisations that are fighting the pandemic.

The number of in a regular wellbeing survey has more than doubled since late 2019, according to the UK’s Office for National Statistics. Between 20 and 30 March this year, more than 20 per cent of people reported low levels of happiness. People’s main concerns were personal wellbeing, their jobs and the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on their finances.��

A draft of the to ease social distancing restrictions and allow more people back to work has been published by Buzzfeed, which includes staggered working hours and relaxing the requirement to stay more than 2 metres away from other people.

London’s NHS Nightingale hospital is expected to be . The converted ExCeL conference centre in east London has the capacity to treat up to 4000 people, but a maximum of only 100 people have been treated there at one time so far. A spokesperson for London’s NHS Nightingale said the fact that it was never close to full capacity was a “mark of success”. It’s one of ten temporary hospitals built to deal with the covid-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 248,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 3.5 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Contact tracing app: The UK government will begin trials of its coronavirus contact tracing app this week, but officials today declined to say how much impact it would actually have on slowing the spread of covid-19.��

1 May

UK government hits 100,000 daily tests target by including unanalysed tests

UK health secretary Matt Hancock said that the government carried out 122,347 coronavirus tests yesterday, hitting his target of performing 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of April. However, according to Health Service Journal, the that haven’t yet been taken or analysed. As many as 52,000 of the tests which the government said happened on 30 April were merely sent out by post.

According to , the actual number of people who were tested yesterday was 73,191. The government states that the 122,347 figure includes tests processed through government laboratories, plus tests sent to satellite labs or posted to individuals.

Other coronavirus developments

The , according to researchers at the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy in Minnesota. They suggest the fact that people without symptoms can spread the virus means the pandemic might not be under control until about two-thirds of the world’s population is immune to the virus. It still isn’t clear how long any immunity to the coronavirus might last, however.��

More than 1 million people with confirmed cases of covid-19 have recovered, according to data collated by . This figure doesn’t include people who weren’t tested and then recovered.

The UN has warned that essential vaccines because the pandemic has delayed shipments by air. “Unicef is calling for support to unlock a massive backlog in vaccine shipments,” said Unicef spokesperson Marixie Mercado.

The covid-19 death rate for people from black African backgrounds is than for white people in England and Wales, according to the . Emerging data suggests the UK epidemic is hitting ethnic minorities harder.

The number of covid-19 of England and Wales compared to the least deprived areas, according to the UK’s Office for National Statistics. The deprived areas had 55.1 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with 25.3 in affluent areas.

The US director of national intelligence has confirmed that the or engineered, contradicting president Donald Trump who to have seen evidence that that coronavirus came from a Chinese laboratory.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said he is for another month. The current emergency will expire on 6 May. Abe said he will rely on expert advice.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 233,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 3.2 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus dreams: If you feel you’ve been dreaming a lot more recently, the coronavirus crisis and lockdown measures could be to blame. Changes in sleep patterns may mean that many of us are dreaming more or remembering more of the dreams that we have, while the looming threat of the virus may have affected the nature of the dreams themselves.

Australia: Lockdown measures designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus in Australia seem to also be suppressing the country’s flu season.��

30 April

Global CO2 emissions could fall 8 per cent in 2020 due to drop in energy demand

The economic effects of the pandemic could cause a , according to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). “This is a historic shock to the entire energy world. Amid today’s unparalleled health and economic crises, the plunge in demand for nearly all major fuels is staggering,” said IEA director Fatih Birol. “It is still too early to determine the longer-term impacts, but the energy industry that emerges from this crisis will be significantly different from the one that came before.”

In Europe, a report out today estimates that there were 11,000 fewer deaths due to air pollution in the 30 days ending 24 April.

Other coronavirus developments

South Korea today for the first time since February, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.��

no new confirmed coronavirus cases for the fifth day running.

More than unemployment benefits in the last six weeks. State agencies are so overwhelmed with requests that many millions more may have been unable to claim.

The on record in the first quarter of 2020, as countries around the world introduced restrictions to combat coronavirus. A preliminary estimate of GDP between January and March suggests a contraction of 3.8 per cent, worse than during the 2008 financial crisis.

The UK government said it carried out 81,000 coronavirus tests in the last 24 hours, missing its target by the end of April.

Pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca has agreed to help currently being developed by researchers at the University of Oxford in the UK if it is found to be effective.��

66,000 tonnes of could be produced in the UK, unless there is a switch towards reusable masks, according to a report from researchers at University College London, UK.

Climate activist to the United Nations Children’s Fund to help protect children from the consequences of the pandemic. Thunberg’s foundation was awarded the money by the Danish NGO Human Act for her global activism.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 228,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 3.2 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Covid-19 and air pollution: Are you more likely to die of covid-19 if you live in a polluted area?

UK contact tracers: The UK government has refused to say how many covid-19 contact tracers it has employed, with less than three weeks to go until its target of recruiting 18,000 of them by mid-May.

Coronaviruses from history: Four coronaviruses cause around a quarter of all common colds, but each was probably deadly when it first made the leap to humans.

Consumerism and pandemics: Hyperconsumption adds to environmental destruction, bringing people into contact with animal viruses that can spark pandemics. We have to avoid the temptation to rely on it to get us out, writes Graham Lawton.��

29 April

Nearly half the global workforce could lose their livelihoods due to the pandemic

Nearly half the global workforce – more than 1.6 billion people – due to coronavirus restrictions and lockdowns, according to a UN International Labour Organization report. These include many informal workers, such as domestic workers, agricultural workers and street vendors, who may not have worker benefits or social protection.

“For millions of workers, no income means no food, no security and no future,” said the organisation’s director general Guy Ryder. “As the pandemic and the jobs crisis evolve, the need to protect the most vulnerable becomes even more urgent,” he said.

Other coronavirus developments

A has been certified as compliant with European Union safety standards. The company which developed the antibody test, Abbott, claims it is highly sensitive when used 14 days after a person first developed symptoms. It is still not clear whether people with antibodies are protected from reinfection and how long such protection might last.

US GDP fell 4.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, the largest quarterly fall since the 2008 financial crisis and exceeding economists’ forecasts of a 4 per cent decline.��

US president Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday to compel during the pandemic, despite hundreds of workers falling ill. Unions and worker advocates argue that closures are necessary to limit the spread of coronavirus.

The , making up about a third of confirmed cases worldwide. More than 58,000 people have died from covid-19 in the US, Vietnam war.

Millions of women will be unable to access contraceptives and face unwanted pregnancies, gender-based violence and other harmful practices due to the pandemic, according to new projections from the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency.

The to include care home residents and staff. People over 65 and those who have to leave home for work will also be eligible for testing if they develop covid-19 symptoms. The UK government says it is by tomorrow. in the 24 hours up to 09.00 on 28 April.

Germany has until 14 June. It was originally due to end on 3 May.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 218,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 3.1 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus vaccine: Trials of experimental coronavirus vaccines are already under way, but it’s still likely to be years before one is ready and vaccination may not even be possible.

How many people have really died?: Looking at how many more people are dying than usual gives an idea of the coronavirus pandemic’s true effect – and suggests a far higher death toll.

28 April

Worldwide confirmed cases pass 3 million

There have been more than 3 million confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide and more than 211,000 deaths, according to the latest figures from .��

Almost a third of the confirmed cases are in the US, which remains the worst affected country with more than 56,000 deaths. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) modelling indicates that in the US in coming weeks but could be substantially slowed by increased social distancing. Several states including Georgia, Texas, Michigan, Hawaii and Alaska have already .

Other coronavirus developments

A third of all are happening in care homes, according to figures from the UK’s Office for National Statistics for the week ending 17 April. The daily death toll in hospitals has been falling since 8 April.
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced that all people aged for covid-19. Sturgeon also said that should be worn while shopping or using public transport.

France will only on 11 May if the number of new confirmed coronavirus cases falls to less than 3000 per day, French prime minister Edouard Phillippe told parliament today. There were 3743 in France today, although the average number of daily confirmed cases over the past 2 weeks is 2162.

The postponed Tokyo Olympics will be because it will be too “difficult to hold the games unless the pandemic is over in the rest of the world”, according to Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori. The games are currently scheduled to run from 23 July to 8 August next year.

Germany has agreed a £7.8 billion (€9 billion) , which, like many other airlines, has been affected by pandemic travel restrictions.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 211,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 3 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Long-term mental health: Lessons from natural disasters and the military can help guide our responses to help people’s long-term mental health during the covid-19 pandemic.

UK contact tracing target: The UK government has set a new target of recruiting an army of 18,000 coronavirus contact tracers by the middle of May, to be in place for the launch of the NHS contact tracing app.

27 April

All covid-19 patients discharged from Wuhan hospitals

Wuhan, where the coronavirus pandemic began, the outbreak’s last covid-19 patient. The whole of China new coronavirus cases on Saturday. Social distancing restrictions are still in place, but are being gradually reduced, with almost 50,000 high school students returning to class in Beijing today.

Since the outbreak began, China has reported more than 83,000 cases and more than 4,600 deaths, according to the latest figures from .

Other coronavirus developments

An analysis by the suggests the global death toll for covid-19 may be almost 60 per cent higher than official counts according to excess death statistics from 14 countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says , which would allow people who have been been infected with coronavirus to move around after they recover, are a bad idea. “There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from covid-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection,” according to a .

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will focus “almost entirely” on the coronavirus pandemic in the near future. Bill Gates told the FT. The foundation, which has a $40 billion endowment, has already committed $250 million to fighting the pandemic.

UK prime minister Boris Johnson returned to work today, more than three weeks after testing positive for covid-19. He said it is for the country to relax restrictions.

Doctors in the UK to an inflammatory syndrome appearing in children that may be related to covid-19 after a rise in cases in the last few weeks.

Italy’s prime minister Giuseppe Conte has said that people will be able to visit their families and factories will be allowed to reopen , in a step towards ending the lockdown that has been in place there since early March.

People in Germany are now on public transport and, in most regions, within shops. German authorities across the country are beginning to ease restrictions by re-opening certain shops and schools.

New Zealand says it has . Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the , with new confirmed cases in single figures for several days and only one new confirmed case reported on Sunday.

More than 1 million Australians downloaded a called COVIDSafe within hours of its release by the government.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 207,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 2.9 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus genetic risk: Half a million people who have volunteered their genetic information for scientific research will not be informed if researchers discover that they are genetically vulnerable to the coronavirus.

UK’s coronavirus science advisors to be revealed: A list of people who have been giving scientific advice to the UK government during the coronavirus crisis is set to be published imminently, following concerns over a lack of transparency.

Latest coronavirus news as of 5 pm on 24 April

World leaders launch covid-19 plan without US involvement

Global leaders are launching an to accelerate the development of coronavirus drugs, tests and vaccines and ensure equal access to all countries, but the US is not involved. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel were among leaders participating in a video conference to announce the plan. US president Donald Trump recently criticised the WHO’s handling of the pandemic and .��

WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the group. “We are facing a common threat which we can only defeat with a common approach,” he said.

Other coronavirus developments

The company that owns Dettol and Lysol has issued a strong warning its products under any circumstance after Donald Trump falsely be used as a treatment for coronavirus. Disinfectants are hazardous substances, which can be poisonous if ingested.

The hair salons, gyms and other non-essential businesses, even as coronavirus deaths continue to rise.��

A new website for reached capacity and was within hours of being opened by the government.

The Czech Republic for outbound travel after official figures showed a decline in the rate of confirmed covid-19 cases. The country was among the first in the Schengen area to close its borders on 16 March.

In Iran and Pakistan there are concerns about the reluctance of officials now that the holy month of Ramadan��has begun. Many Muslims in the US are opting for video conferencing instead of meeting in person for meals and prayers.

Japanese officials are investigating an which has been docked in Nagasaki for almost three months. As of yesterday 47 crew have tested positive for the virus but it remains unclear how the outbreak started.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 192,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 2.7 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Contact tracing: Many countries are using covid-19 contact tracers to help tackle the pandemic. But what is it like to be a contact tracer and what do they do?

Antibody testing: A few initial surveys looking at how many people have antibodies against the coronavirus have suggested that far more people have been infected than previously thought. But we need to be very cautious about these preliminary results.

Coping with lockdown: The coronavirus pandemic is likely to be bad for our mental health, as many people are now experiencing the effects of social isolation, financial distress and the potential loss of loved ones. Virtual sessions and mental health apps have been touted as a potential solution.

Putting things into perspective: The coronavirus pandemic is making life feel slower than ever, but observing timescales across the universe can bring us some comfort, writes Chanda Prescod-Weinstein.

Latest coronavirus news as of 5 pm on 23 April

Up to half of Europe’s coronavirus deaths have been in care homes

from covid-19 in Europe were in care homes, according to Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Europe. Describing the finding as , Kluge said that many care homes may be “providing pathways for the virus to spread” and the problem has been made worse because care home workers are “overstretched, underpaid and unprotected.”

Yesterday, the UK government’s chief medical adviser in care homes “sadly because this is a very vulnerable group.”

Other coronavirus developments

in sub-Saharan Africa this year compared to 2018, because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on access to mosquito nets and anti-malarial drugs. “Countries have a critical window of opportunity now to ensure malaria services are maintained even as the virus spreads,” said WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

More than 15 per cent of the US workforce has now filed for unemployment benefits. filed jobless claims in the last week, bringing the total since mid-March to 26.4 million. The US house of representatives will for small businesses and hospitals.

The UK’s budget deficit is expected to see according to Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank. The deficit is expected to reach as high as £260 billion, he said.

German chancellor Angela Merkel has said to help member states cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. EU leaders are for the most severely affected countries but details are yet to be finalised.

to help support the global fight against the covid-19, according to a spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Ryanair’s chief executive Michael O’Leary has said to comply with social distancing rules. “Either the [Irish] government pays for the middle seat or we won’t fly,” he said.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 185,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 2.6 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus in waste water: We don’t know exactly how many people have been infected with the coronavirus due to a lack of comprehensive testing, but we could begin monitoring about 2 billion people worldwide right now, simply by looking for the pathogen in sewage.

BCG vaccine trial: A trial is planned to test whether the BCG vaccine, used by some countries to protect against TB, may also offer some protection against covid-19.

Essential information about coronavirus

What is covid-19?

What are the worst symptoms and how deadly is covid-19?

Can you catch the coronavirus twice?

You could be spreading the coronavirus without realising you’ve got it

How and when will the coronavirus lockdowns end?

What to read, watch and listen to about coronavirus

: As the death toll from covid-19 rises, discover how researchers around the world are racing to understand the virus and prevent future outbreaks in our free online panel discussion.

is an uplifting Channel 4 documentary shot over 24 hours which shows how the citizens of Britain are coping under lockdown.

�鶹��ý Weekly features updates and analysis on the latest developments in the covid-19 pandemic. Our podcast sees expert journalists from the magazine discuss the biggest science stories to hit the headlines each week – from technology and space, to health and the environment.

is about the new science of contagion and the surprising ways it shapes our lives and behaviour. The author, Adam Kucharski, is an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and in the book he examines how things spread and why they stop.

, a video by John Burn-Murdoch for the Financial Times, uses data-visualisation to explain the daily graphs that show how coronavirus cases and deaths are growing around the world.

is a sober documentary about the progression of a hypothetical pandemic which the BBC simulated in 2017. Fronted by science journalist and TV presenter Hannah Fry, and made with the support of some of the country’s best epidemiologists and mathematical modelers, it’s very relevant to today’s covid-19 pandemic.

Previous updates

22 April

Warning of a second coronavirus wave in the US

A second wave of coronavirus cases in the US could be even worse than the first, according to the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Robert Redfield. He said a second wave would coincide with the flu season and put .

The US has more than 820,000 confirmed cases and more than 45,000 deaths from covid-19, the highest in the world, according to the most recent figures from .��

Other coronavirus developments

The , according to a Financial Times analysis of “excess deaths” data from the country’s . The government death toll stands at 18,000 deaths as of 22 April.��

, a temporary hospital for covid-19 patients in London, UK, due to there not being enough nurses.

The over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Missouri attorney general Eric Schmitt says residents have suffered significant economic damages because China did not do enough to stop the spread of the virus. A spokesperson from China’s foreign ministry says US courts have no jurisdiction over the Chinese government.

���貹����’s for a third time to 9 May. Prime minister Pedro Sanchez says the lockdown could start to be gradually phased out towards the end of May. Spain has the most confirmed coronavirus cases of any European country.

A developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has been given regulatory approval for human testing. There are at exploratory or pre-clinical stages, but only a small number have been given the greenlight for clinical testing, and development of a viable vaccine is expected to take at least a year.

in the first quarter of 2020, twice as many as predicted by analysts, as people turned to streaming to provide entertainment amid coronavirus travel restrictions.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 179,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 2.5 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Mental health during the pandemic: From social isolation to working on the front line, the mental health challenges of the pandemic are wide reaching. We ask experts how to protect ourselves.

Protect chimps, says Jane Goodall: We must protect chimpanzees from being exposed to covid-19, Goodall told �鶹��ý. “It is a big worry,” she says. “Once the virus gets into them, which I pray it won’t, then I don’t know what can be done.”

Zoom call misunderstandings: Video calling on platforms like Zoom is growing in popularity as the world adapts to travel restrictions. But not getting enough sleep may make you misread emotions on video calls.

21 April

Pandemic likely to increase the number of people facing hunger

The , according to the United Nations World Food Programme. If no action is taken to support people in low and middle-income countries, more than 265 million people will be in crisis and will find it difficult to source or pay for food by the end of 2020, up from 135 million in 2019.

Other coronavirus developments

US president Donald Trump has said that due to the pandemic, but it’s unclear whether Trump would be legally allowed to carry out the order.

Confirmed cases of coronavirus since last week, rising to more than 9000, the highest in southeast Asia. Many of the new infections have been reported in government-built dormitories that house up to 200,000 migrant workers, some with up to 20 people in a single room.

” from official government death tolls, according to a New York Times analysis of data from 11 countries and regions including Spain, England, Wales, France and New York City.��

The UK’s said there were 18,516 deaths of all causes in the week that ended on 10 April, the highest figure for any week since a in 2000.

Milan has announced a by reallocating 35 km of street space from cars to cyclists and pedestrians.��

, with the price of a barrel of Brent crude falling to below $20 today, the lowest price since 2002.

Australia’s second biggest airline due to the impact of the coronavirus but is continuing to operate all scheduled flights. In the UK, entrepreneur Richard Branson, a 10 per cent owner of Virgin Australia, is seeking financial aid from the UK government to support Virgin Atlantic.

Coronavirus numbers

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Covid-19 is hitting ethnic minorities harder: People from an ethnic minority are disproportionately affected by covid-19. Researchers say the reasons are rooted in existing social and healthcare inequalities.

Can breathing exercises help?: Deep breaths and forced coughs might help clear mucus but are unlikely to help people with a dry cough and mild cases of covid-19 – contrary to much advice circulating on social media.

20 April

Pro-gun groups promote social distancing protests in the US

On Friday, US president Donald Trump posted a endorsing protests against social distancing measures in Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia. Over the weekend, more protests took place, including in Denver, Colorado, where to block drivers on the way to gatherings.

An investigation by the Washington Post found that the protests were set up by a small group of far-right, pro-gun activists with ties to the husband of education secretary Betsy DeVos. More than 95 per cent of Democrat and 70 per cent of Republican voters , according to recent polling.

More than 760,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 40,000 deaths have been reported in the US, according to the latest figures from , although this will be an underestimate.��

Other coronavirus developments

The drop in demand for transport caused by the pandemic helped , down from pre-pandemic prices of $60 a barrel.

No yesterday for the first time since 5 March.

for the first time since 11 March. 399 people were confirmed to have died of covid-19 yesterday, the lowest number in four weeks.

The for its response to the coronavirus pandemic after the Sunday Times reported that Boris Johnson missed five Cobra meetings about the virus between January and the start of March.�� The Department of Health and Social Care has issued a .��

The , which covers up to 80 per cent of employee wages up to a limit of £2500 per month, opened this morning. Up to 8 million people are predicted to apply for the scheme.

People who have recovered from coronavirus in the UK are as part of a potential clinical trial to learn whether their antibodies could help fight the disease.

Non-essential shops in some German states reopened today, as the country continues to gradually ease some of its restrictions.��

Millions of people in India working in farming, fisheries and plantations were allowed to return to work as the government in order to avoid food shortages.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 166,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 2.4 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Game-changing treatment: We keep hearing claims that this or that drug will be a game changer in the coronavirus pandemic. But what would a treatment really need to do to be a true game changer?��

End-of-life decisions: The coronavirus pandemic is forcing people to confront dilemmas around how much medical care should be given at the end of life. The emergency situation means doctors and patients are having to rush controversial decisions about turning down certain treatments, say palliative care experts.

UK coronavirus science advice: Key scientific data and advice the UK government is using to guide its covid-19 response won’t be published until the pandemic ends, according to Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser.����

Caroline Criado Perez speaks to �鶹��ý about gender biases in the time of coronavirus on the Big Interview podcast and our YouTube channel.��

Previous updates

17 April

Death toll in Wuhan revised up by 50 per cent

China has up by 50 per cent to 3869 from 2579, saying the total number now accounts for deaths at home and delays in reporting. The in its handling of the crisis or sharing of data.��

French president Emmanuel Macron has of the outbreak, saying “there are clearly things that have happened that we don’t know about”.

UK social distancing extended

The UK has confirmed that its social distancing measures will last for at least another three weeks and financial support for furloughed employees will be extended for an additional month .��

Foreign minister Dominic Raab that need to be met before restrictions will be eased including a “sustained and consistent” fall in the daily death rate and adequate testing.

Health minister Matt Hancock said that 18,000 coronavirus tests are being carried out in the UK each day. The country is now less than two weeks away from the government’s target of doing 100,000 daily tests. Hancock said the vast majority of the tests so far were NHS swab tests for patients and key workers, and that antibody tests – which could show a person has had the virus and is immune – were still not ready for clinical use. In March, the government paid £16 million up front to two Chinese companies for untested .��

The public unless scientists say it is necessary, according to transport minister Grant Shapps. It is unclear whether cloth face masks minimise the spread of the coronavirus, but many places around the world, including New York, have made it mandatory to wear them outside.��

Other coronavirus developments

in the first quarter of this year, as factories and businesses were forced to close due to the coronavirus outbreak. This is the first reported drop in the country’s GDP since the 1970s.

to state governors recommending a three-phase approach to reopening their economies, but acknowledged that it is up to individual state governors to decide how to relax restrictions.

�ұ�������Բ�’s health minister Jens Spahn has said the and that the German healthcare system has “at no time been overwhelmed.”

to treat covid-19 patients, with over 5000 participants, has been set up in the UK and hopes to have answers about whether or not some drugs improve outcomes “within weeks.”

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 147,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 2.1 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Contact tracing apps may not work: As countries search for ways to exit lockdown and avoid or manage a second wave of covid-19 cases, many have turned to the promise held by contact tracing apps. But there is growing evidence that it will be difficult to make them work.

Covid-19 in men: We know that older people are more vulnerable to covid-19, but another major risk factor has emerged: being male. Why are men more likely to get worse symptoms and die from covid-19?

UK’s coronavirus science advice won’t be published until pandemic ends: “It’s disgraceful,” says Allyson Pollock, director of the Institute of Health and Society at Newcastle University, UK, who was one of dozens of experts who published a letter in��The Lancet medical journal last month arguing that government advisors should be more transparent.

Coronavirus crisis could cut UK electricity needs: The coronavirus-led shutdown of large parts of the economy is likely to cut the UK’s electricity needs dramatically this summer, potentially by as much as a fifth.��

16 April

Millions more claim unemployment benefits in the US

Another , bringing the total for the last four weeks to 22 million claims. That’s about 13 per cent of the country’s entire workforce, the highest unemployment rate since the start of the second world war.

President Donald Trump is later today but many state leaders have said they are not ready to relax restrictions and that the decision on how best to proceed without causing a second wave of infections depends on testing capacity

Yesterday the US reported 4811 deaths, the highest daily death toll of any country. More than 640,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 31,000 deaths have been reported in the US according to .

Other coronavirus developments

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, offered an for not offering enough support at the start of the country’s covid-19 crisis. Italy has reported more than 21,000 deaths from coronavirus, the highest number in any European country. “Too many were not there on time when Italy needed a helping hand,” she told the European Parliament.

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, ��should not refuse to extend the negotiating period for a post-Brexit trade deal, as this would add to uncertainty during the coronavirus pandemic. If a deal is not signed by 31 December 2020, the UK and EU would trade on World Trade Organization terms which would include new taxes and restrictions on traded goods.

The until a coronavirus vaccine has been found, according to Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist advising the government whose research previously influenced changes to the UK’s coronavirus policy. However, Mark Woolhouse, an epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh, UK, recently told �鶹��ý that waiting for a vaccine wasn’t a good plan: “I do not think waiting for a vaccine should be dignified with the word ‘strategy’. It’s not a strategy, it’s a hope.”

A has received regulatory approval in the UK, and the government has confirmed an order for 15,000.

Germany has become the latest of several European countries to announce a in coming weeks. Stores up to 800 square metres will be allowed to reopen as long as they follow strict hygiene measures, according to chancellor Angela Merkel.

EasyJet is exploring the option of once coronavirus travel restrictions are lifted. EasyJet’s entire fleet of aircraft have been grounded since 30 March. It is unclear whether such measures would do anything to lessen the spread of the virus on board planes.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 139,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 2 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Intensive care doctors share their stories: Three doctors reveal what it was like at the heart of Hubei province’s coronavirus crisis, as the epidemic peaked in Wuhan and spread across the world.

Why are men more likely to get worse symptoms and die from coronanvirus? The difference does not appear to be caused by differential rates of infection: a New York study, for example, found that equal numbers of men and women catch the virus. But men are more likely to progress to severe illness and death.

15 April

Worldwide coronavirus cases pass 2 million

There have now been more than 2 million confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide according to the latest figures from , although the true number of cases will be much higher. The total number climbed from 1 million to 2 million confirmed cases in less than two weeks, and more than 600,000 cases have been recorded in the US alone.

Other coronavirus developments

, China, in February has been closed and put on standby. More than half of all new cases of coronavirus in China since the start of April have come from abroad, many travelling which are now closed.

for the first time yesterday in 36 days. Health minister Chen Shih-chung said identifying, isolating, and tracing all contacts of people infected with coronavirus was the reason no new cases were detected.

South Korea held an to minimise spreading the coronavirus. Voters, many of whom were wearing masks and gloves, were told to stand at least 1 metre apart from one another and before entering the polling station, everyone’s temperature was taken. Anyone whose temperature was above 37.5C would be taken to a separate area to vote, away from other people.

US president Donald Trump has said (WHO) although it’s still unclear how this change will be implemented. The US is the largest individual contributor to the WHO’s funding, of the WHO’s $6 billion budget last year. UN secretary-general António Guterres said now was .

New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern and other government ministers will take a with those affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

Many countries in Africa have introduced lockdowns in response to the pandemic, but there are . A large number of people in many African countries rely on daily cash earned in markets to buy food.

for people working in farming, banking and public works, but transport services and most other businesses are to remain shut. The country’s national lockdown was recently extended and will now end on 3 May. In some cities, news of the extension prompted , demanding that they be allowed to return home to their villages.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 129,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 2 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Post-viral fatigue: Conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome have been linked to viral infections, so it’s possible that the covid-19 virus may go on to trigger similar conditions.

Relationships during lockdown: Robin Dunbar has spent decades studying relationships, social bonding and the importance of touch and grooming in forging and sustaining our ties to others. As much of the world remains in lockdown, unable to meet loved ones and friends in person, �鶹��ý caught up with him to ask what implications this might have.

14 April

Some European countries begin easing restrictions

Some are allowing certain non-essential workers to return to their jobs this week, most notably in Spain, which has been one of the countries worst affected by the pandemic. More than 300,000 people who work in construction and manufacturing who cannot work from home will be allowed to return, but schools and restaurants will remain shut.��

Austria plans to open most shops including malls and hairdressers from 1 May, but restaurants and hotels will remain closed and cloth face masks will be mandatory for everyone outdoors. In Italy, bookshops and children’s clothing shops opened today and in Denmark this week, some nurseries and schools will allow children to return. German chancellor Angela Merkel will in a meeting on 15 April.

In France, until 11 May. The UK government and may introduce further restrictions including banning outdoor exercise if people don’t follow social distancing laws. However, the UK lockdown has been less restrictive than in other countries, and has not applied to many jobs that cannot be conducted from home, including construction. According to the Office for National Statistics, .

In the US, which has the most confirmed cases and deaths of any country in the world, president Donald Trump has said he wants to ease restrictions from In a press conference yesterday he claimed he had “total” authority to lift the lockdown, drawing criticism from state governors including New York governor Andrew Cuomo who said Trump was

until at least 3 May, according to prime minister Narendra Modi. The lockdown was originally scheduled to end today. Modi said some restrictions in regions outside of infection hotspots would be eased on 20 April to help poorer people who are dependent on daily wages.

Other coronavirus developments

Two of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi, say they will work together on a coronavirus vaccine, which .

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist Gita Gopinath has said that the coronavirus crisis , a 3 per cent decline in the global economy.

A study has suggested that to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 121,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 1.9 million, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Ebola and coronavirus: Fresh cases of Ebola have been detected just days before the deadly epidemic in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo was to be declared over. The problem is made worse by the emergence of coronavirus in the DRC last month.

How to end lockdown: An end to lockdown is many weeks away for some nations, but decisions on how to do it need to be made now so we can make preparations and communicate it clearly.��

9 April

Worldwide cases pass 1.5 million

More than 1.5 million confirmed cases have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 90,000 people have died, according to the latest figures from .

Yesterday more than for the second day in a row, while in the UK the daily . Spain, the country with the highest number of detected cases in Europe, – lower than the previous two days.��

Other coronavirus developments

More than 6 million people filed for last week, bringing the total number of claims in the last three weeks above 16 million. Two people in the US have been charged with after threatening to spread the coronavirus.

to cut government funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) and criticised the organisation’s response to the pandemic for being “China centric” and for withholding information. Lawrence Gostin, a public health law professor at Georgetown University, was insufficient for its role and should be increased.

Italy’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, has warned that the European Union (EU) risks failing as a political project unless member countries share the financial cost of the coronavirus crisis. Conte called upon the EU to rise to the challenge of UK prime minister Boris Johnson in intensive care with covid-19.

are being disproportionately impacted by the outbreak according to the non-profit Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre. A to be occurring in the US.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 90,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 1,500,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Do facemasks work?: As cases of covid-19 continue to rise in many countries, many people are choosing to wear a face mask when out in public – but do they work?

Fever can help the immune system: Fever is a pain, quite literally, but new evidence hints at its purpose. Here’s what you need to know.

Coronavirus and internet use: The covid-19 pandemic has many of us stuck at home. The result could completely reshape how we use the internet, writes Annalee Newitz.

As one epidemic ends, another begins: The WHO is set to declare the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola epidemic over on Sunday, but now the country must pivot to fight covid-19 instead.

8 April

Lockdown lifted in Wuhan

The since 23 January was lifted today, four months after the world’s first reported coronavirus cases were detected there last year.

People with a “green” code on a government-issued smartphone health app are now allowed to leave the city, and train, road and rail connections have reopened. Some limits on transport remain and schools will stay closed for now.

Other coronavirus developments

The number of confirmed , with more than 500 deaths across the continent from covid-19 so far.

The on Tuesday, with more than 1800 deaths.

UK Prime Minister after he spent two nights in intensive care in hospital being treated for covid-19.

Mauro Ferrari, the president of the European Research Council (ERC), the EU’s most prestigious scientific research organisation, has resigned and criticised the EU’s coronavirus response. Ferrari wanted the ERC to provide funding for a large-scale programme to support scientists researching covid-19, but .

and ferrets, but replicates poorly in dogs, pigs, chickens and ducks, according to a study. The virus is thought to have originated in bats, although it is not known if the virus crossed over into other animals before it first spread to humans.��

Researchers are investigating whether people who have recently recovered from mild coronavirus infections can become infected again. A preliminary study found that 175 recently-recovered individuals had unexpectedly , which might be too low to provide protection.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 83,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 1,400,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

The worldwide death toll has passed 83,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 1,400,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Protecting children: Children will face many hidden negative effects from the new coronavirus, but it’s not too late to avert them, says Paul Ramchandani.

Covid-19 risk for underlying conditions: Does a cell surface protein explain why the coronavirus is more likely to kill people with diabetes or heart disease? Researchers are trying to find out.

Coronavirus uder control in Australia: Early signs suggest Australia is starting to beat the coronavirus, with the rate of new infections slowing for more than a week. How is it achieving this and will the trend continue?

7 April

No new deaths in China and hope of a plateau in New York

for the first time since the outbreak started. Concerns remain about a being brought into China by people arriving from abroad. A total of 32 new cases were confirmed in China today, all of whom had arrived from other countries.

There are hopes that the outbreak . The state reported 599 deaths yesterday, on par with previous days. Over 4800 people have died of coronavirus in New York, nearly half the national death toll.Other coronavirus developments

The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, spent the night in intensive care with covid-19, and is reported to be in a stable condition in hospital. Although he did receive oxygen support, he did not require ventilation, Cabinet Office minister .US president Donald Trump has said he working on experimental coronavirus drugs to approach Boris Johnson’s doctors and offer their help.

votes in the Democratic presidential primary today, as well as electing a state supreme court judge. The state’s governor tried to call off the election because of the risk to public health, but his decision was overruled by the state supreme court.

African-Americans by covid-19, according to data from some states, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are not releasing data on race or ethnicity at a national level.

Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe in seven urban centres with high numbers of covid-19 cases, including Tokyo. The country reported seven more deaths yesterday, bringing the country’s total to 91. as the UK and EU have yet to agree a timetable for video-conferencing to replace meetings that were disrupted by the pandemic.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is to set the baseline from which air traffic growth will be judged to pre-pandemic levels, saying that setting the baseline would create an “inappropriate economic burden.”

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 78,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 1,300,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus exit strategies: How do we get out of lockdown? There are three main strategies for leaving coronavirus lockdown, but each risks a dangerous second wave and further lockdowns if things don’t go as planned.

What is an ECMO?: An ECMO machine is a life support machine that takes over the function of the heart and lungs. It’s different from a ventilator, which enhances the function of a patient’s own lungs.��

Post-pandemic fiction: Resident Evil 3 provides a glimpse into post-pandemic fiction, writes Jacob Aron. The game is a remake of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, which was released for the original PlayStation in 1999.

6 April

Daily death tolls decline in Europe’s worst-hit countries as US braces for “peak death week”

In Europe, Italy and Spain have the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths from covid-19, but infections appear to be slowing and the number of new deaths in both countries has been falling for several days in a row. The number of deaths in one day in Spain peaked on Thursday last week, when 950 people died; yesterday, the Spanish government reported 637 deaths. The number of deaths in Italy peaked with , compared with 525 deaths reported yesterday.��

The lockdown measures in both countries have been extended, with restrictions in Spain set to last until at least 25 April. Silvio Brusaferro, head of Italy’s public health institute, says that to a “significant slowdown in the spread” of the virus.

The US, which is now the worst-affected country in the world, is , according to White House officials. US surgeon general, Jerome Adams, warned that “the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans’ lives.” US president Donald Trump pointed to the as “the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Some lockdown measures are gradually being lifted in Europe including in start reopening non-essential shops, with strict hygiene measures, next week. The , with more shops allowed to reopen from 9 April. Danish prime minister Mette Frederikse, announced last week that .

Other coronavirus developments

The stock markets on , as investors appear to welcome signs that coronavirus outbreaks are stabilising in some of the worst-affected countries, including Spain and Italy.

Scientists have warned that a large stock of , failing to detect up to half of coronavirus cases.

for tests after testing positive for coronavirus 10 days ago.

similar to that seen in China during lockdown. Scientists detected a drop in nitrogen dioxide emissions over several cities including Paris, Milan and Madrid.

. The tiger is one of seven big cats to be diagnosed.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 70,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 1,200,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus death toll has little meaning: With all the unknowns about covid-19, any numbers you hear about the global death toll or how long restrictions will last should be taken not just with a pinch of salt but with a sack of it.

How realistic is Contagion?: The 2011 film Contagion is one of the few Hollywood productions that realistically portrays the process of science – both its successes and frustrations. Scientists race to develop ways of fighting back against a fictional deadly virus, which kills people within days of infection.

3 April

Worldwide cases pass one million

have begun to plateau in some European countries, including Italy and Spain, although cases and deaths continue to accelerate in the UK and the US. More people in the UK have died with coronavirus than in China, according to today’s figures from .

In the US hospitals across the country are coming under increasing strain. In Louisiana, the and there are concerns that the state could run out of hospital beds. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has ordered the from facilities in the state. Florida has issued a stay-at-home order – over the past week .

There have now been more than one million confirmed coronavirus cases diagnosed across the globe, though the true number of cases will be much higher. More than 55,000 people have died from covid-19.

UK government faces questions over testing

UK health secretary, Matt Hancock, has by the end of the month, following criticism of the UK’s coronavirus testing strategy.
Last month, Boris Johnson promised to move up to 25,000 tests a day with a goal of 250,000, but .

The new testing target for England includes the , to check whether people have already had the virus, in addition to the existing swab tests, which determine whether a person is currently infected. Antibody tests are still being validated and the government says they won’t roll them out if they aren’t effective.

Other coronavirus developments

Following widespread debate over whether people should wear masks in public spaces, a new study has found that surgical face masks seasonal human coronaviruses and influenza viruses. It is not yet clear whether these findings could be extended to more severe coronaviruses, such as the covid-19 virus, as the study did not include any participants with covid-19, SARS or MERS.

The White House is expected to advise US citizens in coronavirus hotspots to to help limit the spread of the virus.

Authorities in Mumbai, India, are , one of the planet’s most densely populated areas where up to 1 million people live in cramped and unsanitary conditions.

A North Korean official has claimed that with coronavirus. The claim has been met with significant scepticism, given that North Korea shares borders with China and South Korea – two of the worst affected countries globally.

There are concerns that the across the country. More than 250,000 people attended the horseracing meeting between 10 and13 March.

The after spending weeks at sea with passengers ill and dying of covid-19 aboard. The Coral Princess cruise ship, which was turned away from Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 19 March, is expected to arrive in Florida on Sunday.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 55,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 1,000,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Death rate: Why we still don’t know what the death rate is for covid-19.

Impact on poorer countries: The covid-19 pandemic may prove disastrous for the world’s poorest people, including those living in slums and refugee camps.

China’s wildlife trade: China’s ban on eating and trading wildlife due to the coronavirus crisis could become law within the next three months, according to conservationists.

Best sci-fi to stream: Looking for something to do during lockdown? These are the best science fiction TV shows to stream right now.

Getting the health benefits of nature: Going out into the natural world is good for your health and mind, and you can still get some of the same benefits even when stuck inside.

2 April

New York City hospitals and morgues overwhelmed

A doctor in New York City the situation in hospitals as “apocalyptic, complete chaos.” They said, “We just aren’t able to offer people a proper standard of care – like sitting and talking to them about their treatment – and it’s getting worse day by day.” Some of the morgues in the city are already .��

US unemployment claims hit new record

, reflecting thehuge impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy. The job losses have mostly affected people who work in retail, restaurants, travel, hotels and leisure industries. The previous weekly unemployment record was set a week earlier, at 3.3 million. with the large numbers of people filing for benefits.

Other coronavirus developments

The Indian government has launched a that alerts people if they have crossed paths with someone infected with the virus. The app, called Aarogya Setu or “bridge to health”, uses the smartphone’s location data and Bluetooth to check where infected people are and to alert users in their vicinity. Similar technology has been used in China.

The US coast guard is directing , even if they are owned by Miami based companies. All ships with more than 50 people on board have been advised that they may be sequestered indefinitely.

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has announced that . The government has pledged A$1.6 billion to ensure childcare centres remain open, provided they do not charge parents.

A preliminary study has suggested that , but more research is needed to confirm the link. The to see if it protects people against covid-19.

Amid the lockdown, with photographs taken in various cities at midday.

Coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 49,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 960,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

What drugs work?: To fight the new coronavirus, researchers are investigating more than 60 drugs, including remdesivir and hydroxychloroquine and brand new ones.

Orangutans under threat: Orangutans and other endangered great apes are at greater risk because of the threat of covid-19, according to researchers.

Covid-19 and climate change: Our approach to covid-19 can also help tackle climate change. We can’t lose sight of the climate emergency when dealing with the covid-19 pandemic, say Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac.

1 April

Deaths in Italy plateau, while deaths in US and UK continue to accelerate

More than 12,000 people in Italy have died with covid-19 so far, but the number of new cases of coronavirus in , and the number of new deaths each day is plateauing. The continue until at least the middle of April, according to health minister Roberto Speranza.��

New cases and deaths continue to accelerate in the UK and the US. Yesterday US president Donald Trump 100,000 and 240,000 people will die in the US from the outbreak. The president for downplaying the expected impact of the crisis over the last two months.

Other coronavirus developments

Governments around the world are considering whether to recommend that everyone wears face masks in their daily lives. Taiwan has on trains and buses, and Austria for supermarket shoppers. The US Coronavirus Task Force is that everyone wears face masks, as is .

In the UK, there is continuing . The government has blamed a of the required chemicals, but the UK Chemicals Industry Association have . A seems to World Health Organization advice about testing.

Amid uncertainty about the pandemic, Saudi Arabia has asked Muslims planning to take part in the annual Hajj pilgrimage to .

, the videoconferencing app now being used by millions of people as more countries are under lockdown.��

Elon Musk announced yesterday that , which he said the firm would give them to hospitals worldwide for free, within Tesla delivery regions.

has captured the conversion of London’s ExCeL exhibition centre into one of the NHS Nightingale field hospitals built to cope with the expected surge of covid-19 patients.

Coronavirus cases

The worldwide death toll has passed 44,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 880,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

The hunt for patient zero: Growing evidence suggests the covid-19 outbreak may not have started at Wuhan’s Huanan Seafood Market in December after all. Finding its origins may help us stop it happening again.

New York City: The coronavirus outbreak in New York City is already overwhelming hospitals. Last week, the focus of the outbreak in the US shifted from the west coast to New York City.

Will the spread of covid-19 be affected by changing seasons? The factors that cause flu to decline in spring might apply to covid-19 too. But we don’t know yet if warm weather can curb the spread of the coronavirus.

31 March

Planes grounded as flight demand continues to fall

to and from London’s Gatwick airport. The airline will continue operating limited flights from London Heathrow on a significantly reduced timetable. This comes after .

from the US government because of the impact of the pandemic.

With flights grounded and energy consumption slashed, global carbon dioxide emissions are likely to drop by at least 0.3 per cent in 2020, and perhaps as much as 2.2 per cent. But no credible environmentalists say the response forced by the pandemic is a solution for climate change, Adam Vaughan reports.

Other coronavirus developments

of asymptomatic covid-19 cases starting tomorrow, according to the head of the national disease control bureau. There is evidence that the virus is mostly being spread by people with mild or no symptoms.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are . Current guidance is that healthy people don’t need masks or face coverings. Any new advice would make it clear that the general public should not wear medical masks, including surgical and N95 masks, as they are in short supply and needed by healthcare workers.

A to see if it protects people against the coronavirus. Healthcare workers in Melbourne, Australia, will receive the vaccine as part of a trial. The BCG vaccine is known for its and has also been .

Popular video chat and game app Houseparty has claimed it is a victim of corporate sabotage after that downloading the app leaves users vulnerable to hacking.

For the first time since the second world war, the .

Latest coronavirus numbers

The worldwide death toll has passed 40,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 820,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Antibodies and antibody testing: Antibodies are Y-shaped proteins produced as part of the body’s immune response to infection. Antibody tests take advantage of the microbe-specific antibodies that remain in the blood after a person has recovered from an infection.

Pandemics and our fascination with dying: Pandemics of the past can teach us about the current one, says John Troyer, who studies how we use technology to alter the experience of death.

30 March

Government interventions ‘averted 59,000 deaths’ in 11 countries

Government interventions across 11 European countries have already saved 59,000 lives, according to a from scientists at Imperial College London which includes Neil Ferguson, whose modelling has informed the UK’s coronavirus strategy. The researchers modelled the impact of social distancing, school closures, lockdowns and the banning of large gatherings in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

New breathing aid developed for covid-19 patients

A will soon undergo clinical trials in several London hospitals. The device can deliver oxygen to the lungs without the need for a ventilator. It was designed and built in under a week as part of a collaboration between engineers and doctors at University College London and Mercedes Formula One.

The new device has already been approved by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and, .

Restrictions extended

US president Donald Trump has said until at least 30 April. This follows a warning from the US government’s leading infectious disease expert, Anthony Fauci, over the weekend that the .��

It could be , according to the UK’s deputy chief medical officer. UK prime minister Boris Johnson said that to help in the fight against the virus.

Virgin Atlantic and EasyJet flight attendants are at the new NHS Nightingale Hospital in east London. due to the pandemic.

Other coronavirus developments

Hungary’s parliament has granted the country’s prime minister Viktor Orban that some argue amount to a . Elections will be stopped, parliament will not sit and the government will be able to imprison people for charges such as “spreading fake news.”

As a result of ���Ի徱��’s lockdown, thousands of migrant workers have been facing day-long walks to get back home from cities like Delhi and Mumbai, and . At the weekend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi .

have been set for 23 July to 8 August 2021, while the Paralympics will happen from 24 August to 5 September 2021.

Latest coronavirus cases and deaths

The worldwide death toll has passed 35,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 740,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

What you can do to help: The new coronavirus is upending our lives, but simple actions can slow its spread, help our neighbours, foster a sense of togetherness and rejuvenate our immune systems.

A message from Greta Thunberg: We must fight the climate crisis and pandemic simultaneously, Thunberg told �鶹��ý.

Previous updates

27 March

US overtakes China with highest number of cases

The of any country with 86,000 positive tests, overtaking China. yesterday.

China will including those with valid Chinese visas and residence permits from tomorrow in an effort to limit the import of new coronavirus cases.

In Italy, there are . The most recent numbers from the northern region of Lombardy indicate that the epidemic there may be slowing down.

Other coronavirus developments

The .��

The UK department of health is reported to have previously about providing healthcare workers with certain protective equipment during a flu pandemic, because of the cost of stockpiling it.

The UK’s privacy watchdog approved the use of to track and monitor behaviour to fight the spread of coronavirus.

The world’s top condom producer has expressed after a lockdown in Malaysia, where the company’s factories are based. Malaysia is South East Asia’s worst affected country.

UK prime minister and is now self-isolating. He says he will continue to lead the government’s response remotely. The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has also tested positive for the virus, while Chris Witty, the chief medical adviser, also says he has experienced symptoms and is now self-isolating at home.

Coronavirus cases

The worldwide death toll has passed 25,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 560,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Antibody test: The UK has ordered 3.5 million antibody tests designed to reveal whether people have been infected with the new coronavirus, but will a home antibody test for covid-19 really be a game changer?

Does a high dose of virus make covid-19 worse?: Emerging research indicates that the relationship between infection and covid-19 severity may be complex and perhaps different from that of other respiratory illnesses.

UK epidemic expected to peak in a month: UK science advisers expect that the coronavirus epidemic will reach its peak in a month’s time, according to their most recent analysis.

Coronavirus and weather forecasting: The coronavirus pandemic could make weather forecasts less accurate, due to the reduction in flights by commercial airliners, which carry meteorological instruments.

Previous updates

26 March

Covid-19 impact will be “worse than the global financial crisis”

The impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the global economy will be , according to the World Trade Organization’s director general, Roberto Azevêdo.

The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, has asked G20 leaders to to boost its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

in a decade in the first quarter of this year, according to data released on 26 March. The country is planning for a deep recession.

Numbers released from the US Labor Department today revealed that a record last week. The US Senate recently passed a of approximately $2 trillion.

In India, the government announced a of financial support. This comes about the prospects for the millions of daily-wage earners in the country, after it went into lockdown earlier this week.

The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, will have up to 80 per cent of their wages covered by the government during the pandemic.

Other coronavirus developments

A study of , China, found that 9 per cent of the infants had covid-19 symptoms but no deaths were reported. It remains unclear whether the virus can transmit from a mother to a fetus during pregnancy.

China’s Civil Aviation Administration has announced they will in and out of the country to prevent a second coronavirus outbreak.

The UN’s food body has warned that protectionist measures brought in by national governments during the pandemic could lead to .

This year’s without spectators, according to France’s sports minister. The race is due to start on 27 June.

Coronavirus cases

The worldwide death toll has passed 23,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 510,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

How long does the coronavirus stay on surfaces?: Research conducted on the new coronavirus and others similar to it, such as SARS, suggest the virus can spread through particles in the air and via contaminated surfaces. How does this happen?

Life-or-death choices: If there’s a shortage of ventilators, how will doctors decide which covid-19 patients get one? This is the grim question doctors around the world are currently grappling with.

25 March

Coronavirus antibody test could be available within days

The UK government has ordered more than 3 million finger prick antibody tests that could be . The tests could reveal whether someone had covid-19, but they are to show that they work properly. It is also still not known whether it’s possible to develop long-lasting immunity to the coronavirus.

Travel restrictions lifted in Hubei province

China’s Hubei province today, with the exception of Wuhan, where restrictions won’t be eased until 8 April.

In Malaysia, which is currently the worst-hit country in South East Asia, the for two more weeks.

Other coronavirus developments

in countries under lockdowns. It’s estimated that a quarter of the world’s population is currently under lockdown and, although Facebook usage is up, the tech giant’s advertising revenue is falling.

The White House and the Senate have agreed a to help ease the economic impact of coronavirus in the US.

in several countries, including England and Wales, to ease pressure on jails caused by more staff taking sick leave and self-isolating, the BBC reports.

Epidemiologist Neil Ferguson gave evidence to the UK’s parliamentary select committee on science and technology today as part of an inquiry into the nation’s response to the pandemic. He said that he is “reasonably confident” that the health service will be able to cope during the predicted peak of the epidemic in two or three weeks, because of expected increases in National Health Service capacity and on-going travel restrictions.

This comes as the UK government has confirmed that it is not participating efforts to secure more personal protective equipment and ventilators for the NHS.

for covid-19. He has mild symptoms but is otherwise in good health, according to a spokesperson.

Coronavirus cases

The worldwide death toll has passed 19,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 440,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

24 March

Plans to lift lockdown in Wuhan

Residents of Wuhan in Hubei province will be allowed to if they are given the all-clear from a health app issued by Chinese authorities. The city has been under complete lockdown since 23 January. People in other areas of Hubei from tomorrow.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the of the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump has controversially suggested that the .

Olympics postponed to 2021

The Tokyo . Many other major sporting events, including Six Nations Rugby, the UEFA European Football Championship and the London Marathon have also been postponed.

Other coronavirus developments

India has announced a of its 1.3 billion citizens for 21 days. This comes after the WHO warned yesterday that the .

Ivory Coast and Senegal have both . Ivory Coast has begun to introduce confinement measures, while Senegal will introduce a curfew from dusk to dawn.

A of a simulated Singapore published in The Lancet has estimated that a combination of physical distancing interventions, including quarantine for infected individuals and their families, school closures, and workplace distancing is most effective at reducing the number of coronavirus cases.

Researchers are inventing to help tackle the pandemic. A new ventilator has already been used to treat a person in the UK.

In the UK, the government said a decision to temporarily allow was published in error.

Coronavirus cases

The worldwide death toll has passed 17,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 390,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Spread without symptoms: You could be spreading the coronavirus without realising you’ve got it. Studies suggest peak infectiousness may occur before people even realise they are sick.

Why the US is so vulnerable: The economic and healthcare policies pursued by the US in recent years have failed to prioritise public health and made it vulnerable to a pandemic.

Greta Thunberg may have had covid-19: Climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg says she may have had covid-19 and has self-isolated. “I don’t want to put anyone else at risk,” she told �鶹��ý.

What is a virus?: For something so small, viruses have a huge impact on the world. They are the most abundant organisms on Earth, and probably played a pivotal role in the origin of life.

23 March

“The pandemic is accelerating”

The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as the number of deaths from covid-19 passed 15,000.

Stricter lockdowns

The UK government is considering to force people to distance themselves from others, while the lockdown in Italy has already been with all non-essential businesses now closed.

100 million people are now under in India and more than 1000 people have been arrested in for breaking a nationwide curfew declared on Friday.

The world’s busiest international airport in will suspend all passenger flights for two weeks from 25 March. All domestic flights in will be grounded from 25 March onwards.

Other coronavirus developments

There are early signs that , according to the head of the country’s public health institute, Lothar Wieler. South Korea today reported the since the peak on 29 February.

The first two cases of coronavirus have been reported in the Palestinian territory of , where about two million people live in overcrowded cities and refugee camps. Syria is after the Health Ministry reported the first case of coronavirus on Sunday.

A prominent member of the International Olympic Committee will be postponed. Australia and Canada have already announced they won’t be sending teams to compete.

Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook has donated 720,000 to healthcare workers in the US. Over the weekend, the billionaire co-founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, millions of face masks, testing kits and other equipment to countries in Africa.

Coronavirus cases

The worldwide death toll has passed 15,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 360,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Cause for concern in the UK: The UK guidance on coronavirus seems to rely heavily on a single model of the outbreak, which some scientists suggest contains systematic errors.��

David Attenborough on coronavirus: Attenborough shares his thoughts on everything from climate change to coronavirus. “I don’t think that we can draw a big moral lesson about how we are treating nature so badly that she’s kicking back,” he says. “I think it’s just part of life.”

How hand sanitiser works: Alcohol-based hand sanitisers, with at least 60 per cent alcohol, destroy the coronavirus by damaging its fatty outer layer.

20 March

UK government to cover affected workers’ wages

The UK government has announced that it will pay 80 per cent of wages up to £2,500 a month for employees who are not working during the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme will last at least three months, backdated to 1 March, and it could be extended for longer if necessary. UK pubs and restaurants will also close, mirroring moves in other countries around the world.

Coronavirus vaccine trials get underway��

Researchers at the University of Oxford in the UK are for a vaccine against coronavirus in humans. Normally vaccines are tested in animals first, but the trial has been accelerated due to the speed of the coronavirus outbreak.

The first human trial of a vaccine to protect against the covid-19 coronavirus began in the US . Other vaccines are in development in Germany and China. Development of an will also be important to confirm whether people have acquired immunity to the coronavirus.

Other coronavirus developments

China reported on Wednesday and Thursday. All new cases reported on those two days were from returning travellers who are thought to have contracted the virus while outside China. Nasa’s pollution monitoring satellites have detected a which is thought to be partly due to the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Schools are to reopen in but with strict social isolation rules for teachers and children who have recently been abroad. Singapore was one of the first countries to be hit by the virus, in late January.

More , border closures and travel restrictions came into effect around the world today. Argentina has imposed a and has closed borders to non-nationals. Curfew has been imposed in and a stay-at-home order has been announced in the US state of .

Police on the a man for allegedly failing to self-isolate, and he could face a fine of up to £10,000 or a three month prison sentence. In the UK, more than 65,000 are being asked to return to work to help fight the virus.

Documents from the UK’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) suggest that of coronavirus would need to be in place for “at least most of a year” in order to prevent healthcare services from becoming overwhelmed.

Coronavirus cases

The worldwide death toll has passed 10,000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 240,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Fighting the pandemic: To fight the coronavirus pandemic effectively we need lots more data. Evidence from China so far suggests the way to get on top of the covid-19 outbreak is through rapid testing, isolation and quarantine rather than lockdowns and big travel restrictions.��

19 March

China reports no new local cases��

For the first time since the outbreak began in late December, China reported that yesterday there were of the coronavirus. The in Wuhan, China, once there are no new cases for 14 days, according to the . In Italy, the number of people who have died .

The probability of dying after developing symptoms of covid-19 in Wuhan, where the new coronavirus was first detected, was 1.4 per cent as of 29 February, according to a . This is lower than was previously thought.

Other coronavirus developments

The European Central Bank has launched an package to ease the economic impact of the pandemic, and the Bank of England cut the base interest rate from 0.25% to 0.1%, a record low.

More have been put into place around the world to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Australia and New Zealand have completely closed their borders to foreigners and, in the UK, up to 40 stations are to be shut.��

On-going lockdowns in France and Italy into April. ���Ի徱��’s population of 1.3 billion have been asked to observe a on Sunday to test the country’s ability to respond to the coronavirus crisis.

At a press briefing, Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, said it is now highly improbable that the virus . Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, said it was not possible to put a timeline on when the country will be able to relax its measures for controlling the virus.

In the world of sports, there is still no sign of the Tokyo Olympics being postponed or cancelled, but all will be suspended until at least 30 April.��

Coronavirus cases

The worldwide death toll has passed 9000. The number of confirmed cases is more than 220,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Understanding the virus: Scientists are working around the clock to understand the biology of the covid-19 virus and how it infects human cells, which will help us design treatments to stop it.

Comment: UK politicians are invoking science to defend their policies but even the ‘best science’ doesn’t have the final word on covid-19.

Coronavirus origin: No, the covid-19 virus is not a bioweapon and it was not made in a lab.

Who is the WHO: Find out more about the organisation guiding global responses to the pandemic.

18 March

Travel bans come into effect around the world

Germany joined France, Spain and Italy in closing schools, closing non-essential shops and urging its citizens to stay at home as much as possible. As the EU’s new 30-day travel ban came into effect today, at �ұ�������Բ�’s largest airport, Frankfurt Am Main. for more than 60 kilometres on the motorway at the German-Polish border as Poland introduced border controls. that London could be “locked down” imminently with similarly strict rules on being outdoors to that seen in Spain and Italy.Several countries in Africa have also announced , including Nigeria, and, in South America, Brazil has to Venezuela. The will also close temporarily.

, including in Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Norway and the United Arab Emirates, are now urging their citizens to as the coronavirus spreads.��

Other coronavirus developments

The UK has announced that it is closing schools from Friday, except for the children of key workers in the NHS, police and supermarkets. Schools will be asked to make provisions for the children of these key workers and to look after the most vulnerable children. for the year.

The Trump administration has outlined a to support the US economy. This follows the UK government announcement of a yesterday. Despite this, share prices in Europe, the US and Asia continue to fall.

Several foreign countries have cancelled or postponed their national team training camps for the which are still scheduled to take place in July. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) told the they are committed to finding a solution with the least negative impact for the athletes, while protecting the integrity of the competition and the athletes’ health.

A drug used in Japan to treat new strains of influenza at treating the coronavirus, but it doesn’t appear to be effective in more severe cases, medical authorities in China have said. Following confusion over the use of ibuprofen by people with suspected or confirmed covid-19, the UK’s National Health Service has now to treat coronavirus symptoms, unless their doctor has told them otherwise. In a statement, they said “there is currently no strong evidence that ibuprofen can make coronavirus (covid-19) worse.”��

Neil Ferguson, the Imperial College London scientist who led research that is reported to have influenced changes to the UK’s coronavirus policy, has developed covid-19 symptoms and is self isolating.

Coronavirus cases

The worldwide death toll has passed 8000. The number of confirmed cases is now over 200,000, according to the from Johns Hopkins University, though the true number of cases will be much higher.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Coronavirus vaccine: Researchers are racing to develop a vaccine against covid-19 within 12 to 18 months. This will mean relying on untested techniques – and that comes with its own risks.

Travel restrictions: Australia has announced major restrictions on overseas travel, large gatherings, and visits to aged care homes in an effort to limit the spread of covid-19. The country is still in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.��

17 March

WHO on how countries can beat coronavirus

The World Health Organization (WHO) said today a combination of actions by governments including more testing and contact tracing could save lives. “The experience of China and others shows testing and contact tracing, combined with social distancing measures and community mobilisation, when put in place quickly and effectively, can prevent infections and can save lives,” said Hans Kluge at the WHO, during an update on the situation in Europe.

He said the virus could be beaten back by solidarity within communities and between countries. “These are unprecedented times. It is important that countries work together, learn from each other and harmonise the efforts.” Asked by �鶹��ý about the new measures announced by the UK yesterday, he said he applauded them. “We are pleased to see the UK is getting into the mainstream and stepping up its efforts.”

UK health service under pressure

The UK’s chief scientific advisor Patrick Vallance said today there were probably around 55,000 cases in the country, as official cases jumped to 1950, up 407 on yesterday. By comparison to the roughly 8000 annual deaths from the flu he said it would be a “good outcome” if the UK’s new measures kept coronavirus deaths to below 20,000.

“But I mean it is still horrible; that’s still an enormous number of deaths and an enormous pressure on the health service,” Vallance told MPs on the . Asked why schools had not closed yet as they have in other countries, he said it did not have as much impact as other measures at slowing the virus’s spread, and it had “complicating effects”, including children mixing with grandparents, and the impact on the National Health Service workforce. But he said: “It’s absolutely still on the table.”

The chief executive of the NHS, Simon Stevens, said in response to the crisis the health service was freeing up 30,000 of 100,000 acute care beds for coronavirus patients. He also announced the NHS was stopping all non-urgent surgery from 15 April for three months. Stevens added the UK had access to more than 8000 ventilators for intensive care now, and would soon have around 12,000. But he would not be drawn on whether that would be enough to cope with the peak of the epidemic.

Other coronavirus developments

A in France at midday, requiring anyone leaving their home to sign a document declaring that they are doing so for a permitted purpose, including exercise or buying food.��

Human volunteers with an experimental covid-19 vaccine for the first time as a clinical trial in Seattle gets under way, and the�� for the virus have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, which should greatly increase testing capacity.��

Amazon says an extra 100,000 workers to respond to a surge in demand for online services.��

France’s health ministry that popular anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen could worsen the effects of the . Experts say more evidence is needed.��

The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has promised £330 billion worth of government-backed loans and guarantees and additional measures to support businesses and households including small cash grants and mortgage holidays. the UK government must act like a war-time government.

Coronavirus cases

The worldwide death toll has passed 7500. Keep up with the best data on the from Johns Hopkins University.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Analysis suggests UK still not doing enough: The UK is introducing��stronger measures��to tackle the spread of the��coronavirus, but some of the science that helped inform this approach suggests it still won’t be enough to avoid a large number of deaths.

Social distancing: Governments around the world are responding to the covid-19 pandemic and social distancing is a central aspect of plans to limit the spread of the coronavirus. But what is social distancing and how do you do it?��

16 March

The UK government has announced that everyone in the country should avoid “non-essential” travel and should voluntarily avoid pubs, clubs and theatres.

Governments around the world continued to limit travel and close borders. In Europe, Germany with five countries. The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that there should be a ban on all non-essential travel from outside the European Union for 30 days with exemptions for long-term residents, family members of EU nationals and diplomats.

have imposed strict bans on travel from the worst affected countries.

In the US, to the UK and Ireland came into effect. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut of restaurants, bars and cinemas. Australia’s prime minister said would have to self-isolate for 14 days, or risk prison and fines.

In Italy, Lombardy’s governor says has slowed slightly, but cases in Italy and Spain are still increasing much more rapidly than they did in China, as.

Coronavirus cases

The worldwide death toll has passed 6500. Keep up with the best data on the from Johns Hopkins University.

Latest on coronavirus from �鶹��ý

Testing is key: The WHO’s assistant director general Bruce Aylward tells �鶹��ý that effective quarantine is essential for tackling the coronavirus, but this cannot happen without extensive testing for covid-19. Read our full interview with Bruce Aylward.

Pregnancy and babies:��According to initial reports based on small numbers of people, pregnant women and their babies do not seem to be more vulnerable to covid-19 than other groups of people, but doctors warn that it is too early to know for sure. Early reports suggest the virus doesn’t pass from mother to baby via breast milk, but health bodies are advising new mothers who are infected with the virus to take precautions while breastfeeding, such as washing their hands and wearing a facemask.

Psychological responses: When facing uncertainty, we are motivated to take actions that increase our sense of control over the situation, explains psychologist Rachel McCloy. Unfortunately, this can lead to behaviours such as panic buying, which do not actually help to control the virus and may make the situation worse.