The death toll in Brazil exceeds that of Spain as the country becomes the fifth-worst affected.
Reuters reports that Brazil’s health ministry has said another 1,124 people have died, taking the total number of fatalities to 27,878. That surpasses the 27,121 deaths researchers at Johns Hopkins University believe Spain has suffered.
Brazil, which now has the second-largest outbreak in the world, also registered 26,928 additional cases.
British experts have warned of the folly of terminating Washington’s relationship with the WHO during a pandemic. Dr Stephen Griffin, an associate professor in the School of Medicine, University of Leeds, said:
There is no logic to the move by President Trump to sever links with the WHO. Pandemics are, by definition, a global crisis. To not face Covid-19 with a united front seems futile.
Given the scale of the outbreak in the US, this action appears nothing short of an attempt to refocus attention away from how this has been handled.
Dr Gail Carson, the director of network development at the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium, said during a pandemic is not the time to make health political. The consultant in infectious diseases at the University of Oxford, added:
If there was a time not to make health political it is now, when the world is in the throes of a pandemic. Now is the time for solidarity and to stand together to end the pandemic as soon as we can and to save lives.
Is this US government decision going to do good to all?
WHO stands for the health of all of us and should not be ‘punished’ by any country in the middle of a pandemic because of an opinion, certainly not before any action review process has taken place.
Now is not the time to weaken the world’s leading health agency, who has shown strong leadership with strong technical messages throughout this pandemic.
Sir Jeremy’s comments appeared to be a reference to those made by Edmunds; a professor of infectious disease modelling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who was quoted as saying:
We cannot relax our guard by very much at all. There are still 8,000 new infections every day in England without counting those in hospitals and care homes. If you look at it internationally, it’s a very high level of incidence.
The issue is, clearly there’s a need to try and get the economy restarted and people back to their jobs and so on, and also there’s a social and a mental health need to allow people to meet with their friends and families.
I think many of us would prefer to see the incidence driven down to lower levels because that then means that we have fewer cases occurring before we relax the measures.
I think at the moment, with relatively high incidence and relaxing the measures and also with an untested track and trace system, I think we are taking some risk here.
UK government adviser questions PM's plan to ease lockdown
The UK government is lifting lockdown restrictions too early, a member of its own advisory committee has warned.
Sir Jeremy Farrar, the director of the Wellcome Trust and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), has tweeted what appears to be a reference to comments made by his Sage colleague Prof John Edmunds, who said the government is “taking risks” by relaxing measures from Monday.
Covid-19 spreading too fast to lift lockdown in England. Agree with John & clear science advice. TTI has to be in place, fully working, capable dealing any surge immediately, locally responsive, rapid results & infection rates have to be lower. And trusted https://t.co/ZmYKs4Go3W
Egypt records most deaths and infections in one day since outbreak began
Egypt registered 1,289 new cases and 34 deaths, the health ministry has said, marking another record of daily increases on both counts despite stricter curfew rules.
That brought the total number of fatalities to 879 and confirmed cases to 22,082, of which 5,511 people have recovered.
Infections rose this week during Eid al-Fitr celebrations, at the end of the Ramadan fasting month, despite the government bringing forward a curfew by four hours to 5pm (EET, 4pm BST) and banning public transport for six days since Sunday.
Trump’s announcement that he is pulling the US out of the WHO came three weeks ahead of an ultimatum he laid down earlier this month.
On 19 May, the US president sent a four-page letter to the WHO director general Dr Tedros warning he would permanently cut US funding of the WHO and reconsider US membership if the organisation did “not commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days”.
He has made the break only 10 days later, falsely claiming that “China has total control over” the global health body. Trump said:
We have detailed the reforms that it must make and engage with them directly, but they have refused to act because they have failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms. We will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization and redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs.
The move will confirm the suspicions of many in the WHO and in western capitals that the US was seeking reforms and a dialogue was a smokescreen for a politically-motivated break with the WHO.
Beth Cameron, a biologist and former senior official in the National Security Council tweeted:
There aren’t words for how much this decision will hurt the US, our global partners, and our ability to to impact the #COVID19 pandemic that is a threat to our national and global peace and security. https://t.co/DjRzHCgwAK
A senior Downing Street aide did not follow the spirit of the UK’s lockdown rules when he made repeated trips away from his residence, the former prime minister Theresa May has said.
Her successor, Boris Johnson, has refused to sack Dominic Cummings, despite anecdotal evidence lending weight to experts’ concerns his transgressions are harming the country’s public health efforts during an epidemic that has killed tens of thousands of people in the country.
Among various defences put forward by Johnson’s allies was the claim that Cummings had not breached the government-ordered lockdown in either its letter or spirit.
Police have since concluded his actions might have breached the country’s lockdown rules, tempering their language only for fear of police officers being considered to have declared him guilty without a trial.
In a letter to her constituents seen by the Daily Mirror, May said she can “well understand the anger” of people who obeyed the guidance.
What this matter has shown is that there was a discrepancy between the simple messages given by the government and the details of the legislation passed by parliament.
In these circumstances, I do not feel that Mr Cummings followed the spirit of the guidance.
I can well understand the anger of those who have been abiding by the spirit of the guidance given by the government and expect others to do so.
May said the focus on Cummings was “detracting from the most important task” of dealing with the epidemic.
Donald Trump said he was terminating the US’ relationship with the World Health Organization. Trump, who has previously said he would withhold funding from the organisation, says the US will now redirect funds to other bodies.
Russia suffered its biggest daily increase in deaths, with 232 more in 24 hours pushing the nationwide total to 4,374. Officials say 8,572 new infections have been confirmed, bringing the national tally to 387,623. Russia has the third highest reported total of cases in the world after the United States and Brazil.
Iran identified more new coronavirus cases in a day than at any time since early April, with 2,819 more people testing positive on Friday. Kianoush Jahanpour, the Iranian health ministry spokesman, said that 50 more people had died in the same period, raising the total death toll to 7,677. Out of 146,668 cases, 114,931 people have recovered.
Health authorities in South Africa said the country has a backlog of nearly 100,000 unprocessed tests as it and other countries on the continent face difficulties in obtaining essential supplies. “This challenge is caused by the limited availability of test kits globally,” the health ministry said.
Plans to reopen more than 800 schools in South Korea were shelved as the country battled a renewed outbreak. The country’s easing of lockdown measures went into reverse, with museums, parks and art galleries closed again on Friday for two weeks amid a resurgence in infections. It was originally reported only 200 schools due to reopen would remain closed.
A Nordic rift opened up over proposals to ease coronavirus border restrictions, with Sweden excluded from Norwegian and Danish plans to reopen to tourists from some countries next month. The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, and the Norwegian prime minister, Erna Solberg, say most restrictions will end on 15 June.
UK, France, Spain and Italy were among the countries excluded from Greece’s border reopening. The country to reopen its airports in Athens and Thessaloniki to arrivals from 29 countries from 15 June, the start of the tourist season. Visitors from 16 EU countries – including Germany, Austria and Denmark – will be allowed in.
Only half of the people in the UK who develop symptoms were self-isolating for at least a week, according to the government’s scientific advisers. The revelation raises questions about the success of the country’s test, trace and isolate strategy, which scientists say is needed to contain future outbreaks.
Employers will be asked to contribute to pay the wages of staff sent home under the The UK’s furlough scheme, the country’s chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said, adding that it cannot continue indefinitely. Employers will be asked to pay national insurance and employer pension contributions from August and towards people’s wages in September.
Making the announcement earlier, Trump accused the WHO of failing to adequately respond to the pandemic because he believes it is controlled by China. He also noted that the body was much more dependent on funding from Washington than on that from Beijing.
The US is the largest single source of financial support to the WHO and its exit is expected to significantly weaken the organisation.
Trump also mischaracterised the WHO’s recommendations on travel restrictions, claiming it had strongly resisted his early efforts to ban travel from China.
In reality, the WHO’s director general suggested international travel bans were of limited public health benefit and could be counter-productive, but did not call for them to be abandoned altogether. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that, where restrictions were introduced, they should be limited and proportionate. The Trump administration introduced limited restrictions, which came later date than those put in place by many other nations.
Trump, who was still publicly dismissing the virus as a “hoax” when the WHO raised the global risk to its highest level, alleged that the body had misled the world on the dangers in the early stages, under pressure from Beijing’s officials, whom he also accused of ignoring their reporting obligations to the WHO.
Trump, who has been embroiled in a long-running diplomatic clash with Beijing, has criticised the WHO for being too forgiving of China since the outbreak began.
As he faces criticism of his handling of the epidemic in the US, he has sought to highlight China’s status as the pandemic’s origin. In mid-April, Trump announced the US was freezing payments to the WHO for 60 to 90 days pending a review of the organisation’s handling of the crisis.
The US president Donald Trump has said he is terminating the nation’s relationship with the World Health Organization. Trump, who has threatened to withhold funding from the organisation, says the US will redirect funds to other bodies.
The pharmaceutical company Sanofi has temporarily stopped recruiting new Covid-19 patients for two clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine and will no longer supply the anti-malaria drug to treat Covid-19 until concerns about safety are cleared up, it has said.
The moves come after the World Health Organization paused its large trial of hydroxychloroquine, prompting several European governments to ban the use of the drug, also used in rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
That dealt a major blow to hopes for a treatment, touted by the US president Donald Trump, as drugmakers and governments race to find ways to treat patients and control the spread of the virus.
Portugal has given the green light to the third phase of its lockdown exit, but some restrictions will remain in Lisbon due to localised outbreaks in industrial hubs and outskirts.
From 1 June, shopping malls, childcare centres, gyms, cinemas, theatres and other cultural venues can reopen across most of the country but with capacity restrictions.
Gatherings of up to 20 people will be allowed, and the 50% capacity rule on restaurants in place since their reopening on 18 May will be lifted.
But in Greater Lisbon, where most recently reported cases were located, gatherings remain limited to ten people, and shopping malls stay closed until at least Thursday. The country’s prime minister Antonio Costa said:
Unfortunately, the evolution in Lisbon is significantly different from the rest of the country. But as I said at the beginning, I have no shame in taking a step back if necessary.
The UK’s prime minister Boris Johnson and Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have discussed the pandemic this evening, Downing Street says. A spokeswoman said:
The two leaders agreed on the importance of working together internationally to deal with and defeat the coronavirus pandemic.
They discussed the importance of the UK and Turkey’s economic and trade relationship and their shared goal to build on it in the future.
They also agreed to keep working together on important regional and geopolitical issues, including the crises in Libya and Syria.
The prime minister extended an invitation to President Erdoğan to attend the UK-hosted Global Vaccine Summit on 4 June, which aims to raise vital funds to save the lives of millions of children around the world.
Russia suffered its biggest daily increase in deaths, with 232 more in 24 hours pushing the nationwide total to 4,374. Officials say 8,572 new infections have been confirmed, bringing the national tally to 387,623. Russia has the third highest reported total of cases in the world after the United States and Brazil.
Iran identified more new coronavirus cases in a day than at any time since early April, with 2,819 more people testing positive on Friday. Kianoush Jahanpour, the Iranian health ministry spokesman, said that 50 more people had died in the same period, raising the total death toll to 7,677. Out of 146,668 cases, 114,931 people have recovered.
Health authorities in South Africa said the country has a backlog of nearly 100,000 unprocessed tests as it and other countries on the continent face difficulties in obtaining essential supplies. “This challenge is caused by the limited availability of test kits globally,” the health ministry said.
Plans to reopen more than 800 schools in South Korea were shelved as the country battled a renewed outbreak. The country’s easing of lockdown measures went into reverse, with museums, parks and art galleries closed again on Friday for two weeks amid a resurgence in infections. It was originally reported only 200 schools due to reopen would remain closed.
A Nordic rift opened up over proposals to ease coronavirus border restrictions, with Sweden excluded from Norwegian and Danish plans to reopen to tourists from some countries next month. The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, and the Norwegian prime minister, Erna Solberg, say most restrictions will end on 15 June.
UK, France, Spain and Italy were among the countries excluded from Greece’s border reopening. The country to reopen its airports in Athens and Thessaloniki to arrivals from 29 countries from 15 June, the start of the tourist season. Visitors from 16 EU countries – including Germany, Austria and Denmark – will be allowed in.
Only half of the people in the UK who develop symptoms were self-isolating for at least a week, according to the government’s scientific advisers. The revelation raises questions about the success of the country’s test, trace and isolate strategy, which scientists say is needed to contain future outbreaks.
Employers will be asked to contribute to pay the wages of staff sent home under the The UK’s furlough scheme, the country’s chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said, adding that it cannot continue indefinitely. Employers will be asked to pay national insurance and employer pension contributions from August and towards people’s wages in September.
We often report news from Sweden, which as a country which has not imposed mandatory measures to curb the spread of coronavirus is a subject of intense interest for those following the outbreak’s spread around the world.
However, little is said about another European country that has done even less to respond to the outbreak. Belarus - labelled “Europe’s last dictatorship” by some observers - has made almost no changes to adapt to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Belarus has stood out for its lack of official response since the start of the pandemic, with Alexander Lukashenko, who has been president since 1995, repeatedly disputing the seriousness of the virus. The country has ignored insistent calls from the World Health Organisation to implement social distancing and ban mass events, holding a large military parade in the capital Minsk, on 9 May. Presidential elections are scheduled for 9 August and candidates are campaigning as normal.
A ByCovid19 volunteer brings protective shields to be stored to a warehouse in Minsk. Photograph: Sergei Gapon/AFP/Getty Images
On Friday, the health ministry reported 906 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, taking the total in the country of 9.5 million to 40,765, according to Russia’s Tass news agency. The daily death toll was five on Friday, down from a peak of seven on 12 May, adding to an official total of 224 since the outbreak began.
Earlier this week, AFP, the French news agency, reported that volunteer groups in the countries had stepped in to bring supplies of protective equipment to hospitals. Its reporter met a group called ByCovid1, who were taking sacks of protective suits and face masks, funded by donations, to a hospital in the small town of Chervyen, about 40 miles west of the capital Minsk.
One of the coordinators, Andrei Tkachev, told AFP the true scale of the outbreak could be much higher. “Unfortunately the statistics from the hospitals are very depressing. And they are different from what is published officially: they are much worse,” he said.
Greece might be high on the list of many people’s summer holiday destinations, but for Britons dreaming of getting away the country will be out of reach for some time yet, writes Helena Smith, the Guardian’s Athens correspondent.
The UK was not included on a list of 29 countries released by Athens on Friday deemed to fit an “epidemiological profile” that makes travel from them relatively safe.
And further afield, residents of Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, South Korea were also told they could visit.
But the epidemiological profile “sadly” did not apply to Britain, said government officials, aware that the UK is one of Greece’s biggest markets. Last year close to 4 million Britons travelled to Greece, with most heading to its extensive archipelago, which has remained remarkably Covid-free.
As Madrid’s spring evenings warm into summer nights, cinemagoers are parking up to watch Grease. In Munich, they are taking al fresco seats to follow the adventures of a communist kangaroo with a penchant for boozy chocolates, and in Prague they are witnessing a croaky vigilante work out some profound childhood traumas.
As Europe begins to stir from its Covid-19 lockdown, people bloated by two-month boxset binges have a new way to feed their entertainment needs as they emerge, blinking, into the daylight. Or, rather, the twilight.
Openair cinemas in Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic and Greece have reopened in recent days, albeit at reduced capacity and with the novel strictures of physical distancing. Our reporters in the three countries have investigated Europe’s new entertainment boom.
