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Sunday 23 August 2020 21:06
England’s chief medical officer has backed Boris Johnson on the “moral duty” to reopen schools just weeks after warning of the risks involved.
Professor Chris Whitty said the evidence clearly showed they would suffer more harm if they did not return as planned next week.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation advised that children aged 12 and over should wear face masks in order to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
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After expressing frustration at the slow pace of approval for coronavirus treatments, President Donald Trump was set to announce the emergency authorisation of convalescent plasma for Covid-19 patients.
The announcement will come after days of White House officials suggesting there were politically motivated delays by the Food and Drug Administration in approving a vaccine and therapeutics for the disease that has upended Trump’s reelection chances.
On the eve of the Republican National Convention, Mr Trump was set to issue the emergency order — which would make it easier for some patients to obtain the treatment — in a news conference this evening, according to White House officials.
The blood plasma, taken from patients who have recovered from the coronavirus and rich in antibodies, may provide benefits to those battling with the disease. But the evidence has been inconclusive as to how it works or how best to administer it.
Pakistani authorities have closed about two dozen hotels in a scenic tourist destination in the country’s northwest after dozens of hotel employees tested positive for the coronavirus.
According to Maqbool Hussain, a district government official, the move to place high-risk areas of Shogran, Naran and Kaghan under lockdown was aimed at containing the spread of the virus.
He said as many as 47 hotel employees who tested positive for Covid-19 were quarantined at the hotels where they worked.
The measures came hours after Pakistan reported only four new Covid-19 fatalities in the past 24 hours, the fewest deaths reported in a day since March. That announcement raised hopes that Pakistan is on the right path to fully containing the new virus despite having a fragile health system.
The NFL has revealed that several positive Covid-19 tests were found on Saturday by one of its testing partners, and the Chicago Bears said they had nine false positives.
The league has asked the New Jersey lab BioReference to investigate the results “while the clubs work to confirm or rule out the positive tests.” The NFL did not identify the teams or say how many tests were positive.
Two teams, Washington and Detroit, said they are practising Sunday, while Cleveland has called off its workout.
Peru nightclub crush kills 13 people after police raid over lack of social distancing
At least 13 people died in a crush as partygoers tried to flee a Lima nightclub raided by police because it was in breach of coronavirus restrictions.
People were crushed to death or suffocated as around 120 people tried to escape the Thomas Restobar club on Saturday, national police and government officials said.
Local media reported that the victims were in their 20s.
More below:
Pushing for breakthroughs in treatments for the coronavirus, White House officials have suggested – with nothing to back up the claim – that there were politically motivated delays by the Food and Drug Administration in approving a vaccine and therapeutics for the disease.
It comes after Mr Trump tweeted sharp criticism on the process to treat the virus, which has killed more than 175,000 Americans and imperiled his reelection chances.
“The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics,” he wrote. “Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives!”
“This president is about cutting red tape,” said White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. “He had to make sure that they felt the heat. If they don’t see the light, they need to feel the heat because the American people are suffering.”
Restrictions have been placed on care homes across Tayside, Scotland as authorities try to stem the spread of a coronavirus outbreak.
Indoor visits to the premises are due to restart across Scotland on Monday, if deemed safe to do so.
However, the Tayside Incident Management Team (IMT) said this was not possible given the ongoing management of the cluster associated with the 2 Sisters factory, as well as other localised cases in the area.
Dr Emma Fletcher, associate director of public health for NHS Tayside, said: “The NHS Tayside Health Protection Team and colleagues in the three Health and Social Care Partnerships in Angus, Dundee and Perth and Kinross, together with other partner agencies, determined that the reintroduction of indoor visiting should not go ahead in Tayside at this time due to the ongoing situation at the factory and a number of other clusters and positive cases.
“We know that this will cause a level of anxiety and disappointment amongst care home residents and their loved ones, however we must ensure that we do everything we can to protect care home residents, staff and their families as we continue to address the challenges that Covid-19 presents.”
Finding the pandemic scary? A Japanese group is trying to take people’s minds off Covid-19 – by putting them in coffins surrounded by chainsaw-wielding zombies.
“The pandemic is stressful, and we hope people can get a bit of relief by having a good scream,” said Kenta Iwana, coordinator of production company Kowagarasetai – “Scare Squad” – which is putting on the 15-minute shows.
The French health ministry has reported 4,897 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, marking the highest daily level since the end of a two-month lockdown in May to combat the pandemic.
However despite the surging caseload the ministry said the total coronavirus deaths in the country had risen by just one in the past 24 hours to 30,513.
Lockdown restrictions are set to be lifted at midnight in Aberdeen in a bid to bring the city broadly in line with the rest of Scotland, the nation’s government said.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I am grateful to people in Aberdeen – the local authority and health board, local businesses, and everyone who lives there – for complying so well with the rules that were put in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“In particular I am grateful for the understanding of the businesses that were required to close in order to help beat the virus.
“It’s due to the commitment of people in the city, as well as world class contact tracing that means we are now able to lift some of these measures from Monday and then again from Wednesday, but it is vitally important that everyone follows the FACTS rules in order to prevent an outbreak of this scale occurring again.
“That way we can move forward and get our economy, our society and our lives generally back to as much normality as possible.”
Poll finds majority of Republicans believe 170,000 coronavirus deaths is ‘acceptable’ number
A majority of Republicans in the US believe the number of deaths from the coronavirus is “acceptable,” and hold positive views of the US response to the pandemic – a poll has suggested.
The new poll showed a significant partisan divide over how each party sees the health emergency, which is killing some 1,000 Americans every day.
Fifty-seven percent of Republicans surveyed agreed with the statement that the number of coronavirus deaths in the US — which this week reached over 176,000 — was “acceptable.”
More below:
13 crushed to death attempting to flee Peruvian night club as police enforced lockdown
At least 13 people were crushed to death or asphyxiated in Peru as partygoers tried to flee a Lima nightclub after it was raided by police for hosting a party in violation of coronavirus restrictions.
At least six were injured, including three police officers, as around 120 people tried to escape the Thomas Restobar club in Lima’s Los Olivos district on Saturday night when police arrived to break up the event national police and government officials said.
The club’s owners, a married couple, were detained, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday. In an earlier statement the ministry blamed the deaths on the “criminal irresponsibility of an unscrupulous businessman.”
Peru ordered the closure of nightclubs and bars in March and banned extended family gatherings on 12 August to fight what is Latin America’s second highest Covid-19 infection rate. A Sunday curfew is also in effect.
The day-to-day number of new coronavirus cases in Italy has climbed for a seventh straight day with 1,210 confirmed infections registered, the highest daily increase since 12 May.
With airports testing many arriving travellers, two regions with busy airports – Lombardy, which includes Milan, and Lazio which includes Rome — led the day’s new caseload numbers, according to Health Ministry figures.
Lombardy, where some 40 per cent of the nation’s known cases have occurred during the pandemic, registered 239 new infections since Saturday, while Lazio counted 184.
Once among the hardest hit nations in Europe, Italy has managed to maintain relatively low rates of infection compared to the rest of the continent – with lower new case averages than Germany, France, Spain and the UK since early June.
Florida has broken through the 600,000 mark for confirmed coronavirus cases while reporting one of its lowest daily totals in two months, continuing a downward trend that began five weeks ago.
Florida reported 2,974 new cases today, only the second time since 22 June that fewer than 3,000 new cases have been tallied in a day. The other time was Monday, when 2,678 cases were reported.
Sundays and Mondays often have a low number of reports as not all hospitals send in their figures on the weekend.
The daily total peaked July 15 when more than 15,000 cases were reported, but has been declining since.
Hospitalisations due to COVID-19 have also been declining. Late Sunday morning, 4,578 patients were being treated for the disease in Florida hospitals compared to Saturday’s 4,773. It is a drop of almost 800 since Thursday.
Hospitalisations peaked at above 9,500 on July 23.
UK daily figures released
The UK government reported 1,041 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, down from 1,288 on Saturday.
Six people died after testing positive for the virus, compared with 18 on Saturday and bringing the total to 41,429.
Joe Biden said he would “listen to the scientists” if they recommended that the US be shut down again to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Speaking in his first joint interview with running mate Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee criticised Donald Trump’s rush to reopen after a nationwide lockdown as a “fundamental flaw” in his handling of the pandemic.
Richard Hall reports:
‘I would listen to the scientists’: Biden willing to shut US down again to stop coronavirus
Shutdown of migrant residences ordered in Sicily
Sicily’s governor has ordered all migrant residences on the Italian island to be shut down by Monday amid fears over a surge in coronavirus cases.
Some migrants on the island have tested positive but returning holidaymakers have so far accounted for far more of Italy’s recent infections.
Governor Nello Musumeci ordered all centres housing migrants on Sicily to close by Monday and that all migrants arriving on the island by sea be transferred elsewhere.
Mr Musumeci acknowledged that his order could be overturned by Italy’s national government, who are ultimately in charge of migrant policy.
Johnson backed by Whitty on reopening schools
England’s chief medical officer backed Boris Johnson on the “moral duty” to reopen schools just weeks after warning of the risks involved.
Professor Chris Whitty said the evidence clearly showed they would suffer more harm if they did not return as planned next week.
Kate Devlin reports:
Johnson backed by Whitty on reopening schools just weeks after warning of risks
EU trade commissioner apologises for attending society dinner during pandemic
The European Union Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan apologised on Sunday after he faced calls to resign after attending a golf society dinner that may have breached Covid-19 restrictions.
The Irish representative had been asked by Taoiseach Micheal Martin to reconsider his position after sparking public outrage by attending the dinner on the night after restrictions in Ireland were tightened.
Mr Hogan said in a statement: “I acknowledge my actions have touched a nerve for the people of Ireland, something for which I am profoundly sorry.
“I realise fully the unnecessary stress, risk and offence caused to the people of Ireland by my attendance at such an event, at such a difficult time for all, and I am extremely sorry for this.”
Pakistan reports fewest daily deaths since March
Authorities in Pakistan reported only four new deaths from the coronavirus on Sunday, the lowest daily total since March.
The announcement has raised hopes that Pakistan is on the path to containing the virus despite having a fragile health system.
The country’s total number of cases now stands at 292,765 with 6,235 deaths, according to government figures.
South Korea cases continue steep rise
South Korea reported 397 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, as the resurgence of the coronavirus continues.
South Korea’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention linked 297 of the new cases to the Seoul metropolitan area, home to half of the country’s 51 million people.
Sunday marks the highest number of new cases in a single day since 7 March, when the virus was in its first wave in the country.
South Korea has now seen triple-figure rises for ten consecutive days.
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