April 29, 2020 Glastonbury Community Uncategorized 0

  • A total of 26,097 patients had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Tuesday, Public Health England said. It was the first time the daily death toll figures took into account deaths in care homes and the community as well as those in hospitals between 2 March and 28 April. It marked an increase of 3,811 on the previous figure.
  • Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds announced the birth of a healthy baby boy at a London hospital on Wednesday morning. With offers of congratulations coming in from across the political spectrum and from world leaders, Downing Street confirmed the PM will take paternity leave later in the year, rather than now. He spoke with the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer about the coronavirus response this afternoon. No 10 declined to say whether the baby was born prematurely nor to disclose any further details about the birth.
  • The UK will fall behind other countries if it doesn’t publish an exit plan soon, Sir Keir Starmer told Dominic Raab during PMQs. Starmer pointed to countries including France, Germany, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales, which deal with issues including reopening schools and some businesses. Starmer said that “delay risks not only falling behind other countries, but also the successful four-nation approach so far”.
  • Schools are expected to reopen “in a phased manner”, Gavin Williamson said. The education secretary said he could not give a date but told MPs that Sage is looking at how a phased reopening of schools could work in line with the scientific advice.
  • More migrant health and care workers on the frontline will be automatically granted free visa extensions, the Home Office confirmed. As well as doctors, nurses and paramedics, the extension will now apply to midwives, radiographers, social workers and pharmacists. Family members and dependents of healthcare workers who die as a result of contracting the virus will also be offered immediate indefinite leave to remain.
  • Air passenger numbers are down 99% compared with a year ago, the home secretary said. Priti Patel told MPs that testing was not taking place at the border, a decision based on advice from Sage, which maintained such measures would have “a negligible impact”.
  • And the government insisted it was still aiming to achieve 100,000 tests per day by the end of Thursday (tomorrow). The PM’s spokesman told the lobby briefing that 43,563 coronavirus tests were provided in the 24 hours to 9am yesterday and that there was capacity for 73,400 tests to be carried out.

 

Summary

  • The official global death toll passed 225,000, according to Johns Hopkins University data, with the official toll at 227,644. At least 3,193,961 people have been infected worldwide.
  • South Korea reports no new domestic cases for first time since 29 February. South Korea reported on Thursday no new domestic coronavirus cases for the first time since its 29 February peak, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
  • Trump says China wants him to lose 2020 election. Trump said that coronavirus has “upset very badly” the US trade deal with China, and that China “will do anything they can to have me lose in 2020.”Trump does not see the 2020 election as being a referendum on his handling of the pandemic, he said.
  • Donald Trump has said the federal government will not be extending its coronavirus social distancing guidelines once they expire on Thursday. Meanwhile, the number of Americans who have died of coronavirus surpassed 60,000, a toll far higher than any other country.
  • China’s Forbidden City will reopen on Friday, three months after it closed due to the coronavirus crisis – the latest signal that the country has brought the disease under control. The sprawling imperial palace was shut down on January 25.
  • Japan expected to extend state of emergency by a month. Japan’s government is expected to extend a nationwide state of emergency for another month, after the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, described the coronavirus outbreak as “severe”.
  • US drug trial shows ‘clear cut’ effect, says top medic. While a Chinese trial demonstrated no “significant clinical benefits” to administering the antiviral drug remdesivir to Covid-19 patients, a separate trial in the US shows a “clear-cut” effect, according to the head of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr Anthony Fauci.
  • Police called after New York funeral home puts bodies in trucks. Police were called to a Brooklyn funeral home Wednesday after it resorted to storing dozens of bodies on ice in rented truck, the Associated Press reported.
  • More cases of ‘Covid-linked’ syndrome in children. Doctors around the world have reported more cases of a rare but potentially lethal inflammatory syndrome in children that appears to be linked to coronavirus infections. Nearly 100 cases of the unusual illness have emerged in at least six countries, with doctors in Britain, the US, France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland now reported to be investigating the condition.
  • South Africa’s virus cases jump past 5,000 after highest daily rise. The number of coronavirus cases in South Africa surged past the 5,000 mark on Thursday after it saw the largest single-day jump to date, health ministry figures showed. A total of 354 new cases were confirmed on Thursday, bringing the overall total to 5,350, and the number of fatalities spiked by 10 to 103.
  • Half world’s workers ‘at risk of unemployment’. The International Labour Organisation has warned that almost half the global workforce – 1.6 billion people – are in “immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed” by the economic impact of Covid-19, Philip Inman, a Guardian economics writer, reports.
  • Brazil sees record increase in cases. Brazil has reported a record increase in cases, with its ministry of health confirming 6,276 more infections in a 24-hour period, taking the country’s total to 78,162.
  • Ireland looks set to extend its lockdown, despite growing calls to ease restrictions and salvage the economy.The taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, said on Wednesday that new cases of Covid-19 infections, deaths and intensive care admissions appeared too high to start relaxing rules that are to expire on 5 May.
  • Swiss government extends ban on large public events. The Swiss government has extended its ban on public events exceeding 1000 people until the end of August, even as it announced the easing of some other restrictions on sporting events, shops, restaurants and museums.
  • Sweden passes 20,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus. The total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Sweden rose past the 20,000 mark on Wednesday, after the Nordic country reported another 681 infections.
  • Five coronavirus cases have been reported in Aden, southern Yemen, by the country’s internationally recognised government, raising the prospect that the war-ravaged country will soon also have an outbreak of the new disease.
  • China’s parliament is to hold its annual meeting from 22 May – more than two months later than planned. Conditions for holding the meeting have been met as the coronavirus situation has improved, decision makers said.
  • Russia’s coronavirus case tally neared the 100,000 milestone,after the country reported 5,841 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing its overall nationwide tally to 99,399, Reuters reports.
  • The coronavirus outbreak needs to be contained before 2021 Olympics can go ahead, the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said. “The Olympic Games must be held in a way that shows the world has won its battle against the coronavirus pandemic.”