science

Coronavirus live news: France says UK quarantine will lead to reciprocal measures as global deaths pass 750,000


Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest from around the world for the next few hours.

Get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.

The UK government has confirmed that six countries, including France, will be removed from its travel corridor list, following a surge in Covid-19 cases.

Arrivals into the UK from France, the Netherlands, Malta, Monaco, Aruba and Turks & Caicos will have to quarantine for 14 days on their return or face a fine, will come into effect at 4am on Saturday. The UK will be “ruthless” over quarantine, UK PM Boris Johnson said.

France’s secretary of state for European affairs has responded to said the decision, saying the move would lead to “reciprocal measures” across the Channel.

The UK decision comes after the Joint Biosecurity Centre and Public Health England indicated a significant change in Covid-19 risk in all six destinations.

The French health ministry reported 2,669 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, setting a new post-lockdown daily high for the second day in a row and taking the country’s cumulative total of cases to 209,365.

Department for Transport officials said that data from France shows that over the past week there has been a 66% increase in newly reported cases.

There has been a consistent increase in newly reported cases in the Netherlands over the past four weeks, with a 52% increase in newly reported cases between 7 and 13 August.

Over the past week, there has been a 273% increase in newly reported cases in Turks & Caicos, a 1,106% increase in newly reported cases in Aruba, and Malta has had a 105% increase.

Here are the key developments from the last few hours:

  • Global coronavirus deaths passed 750,000. The coronavirus pandemic has now killed more than 750,000 people worldwide, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University tracker. Almost half of the deaths reported worldwide were in the four worst hit countries: the United States (166,118), Brazil (104,201), Mexico (54,666) and India (47,033).
  • France reported a new post-lockdown peak in daily Covid-19 cases. The French health ministry reported 2,669 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, setting a new post-lockdown daily high for the second day in a row and taking the country’s cumulative total of cases to 209,365.
  • The WHO downplayed the danger of coronavirus latching on to food packaging. The World Health Organization urged people not to be afraid of the virus entering the food chain, after two cities in China said they had found traces of the coronavirus in imported frozen food and on food packaging.
  • Germany admits delay in thousands of virus test results. The Bavarian premier, Markus Söder, has been forced to apologise over an embarrassing delay to thousands of coronavirus test results, just as Germany is seeing a new surge in virus cases.
  • Spain’s daily infections spike to 2,935 but officials insist rise is not second wave. Spain reported 2,935 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, the highest number since the country’s lockdown ended and up from 1,690 recorded the previous day, although officials argued the situation remained manageable.
  • Brazil death toll from Covid-19 passes 105,000. Brazil reported 60,091 new cases of coronavirus and 1,261 deaths from the disease caused by the virus in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Thursday.Brazil has registered 3,224,876 cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll from Covid-19 has risen to 105,463, according to ministry data.
  • Exposure to air pollution may increase risk of Covid death, major study says. Long-term exposure to air pollution may increase the risk of death from Covid-19, according to a large study by the Office for National Statistics.
  • Air passenger numbers to drop 60% in Europe in 2020: IATA. Air passenger numbers in Europe are expected to drop by 60% in 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis, the global aviation industry has said, with the recovery looking highly uncertain.
  • Iraq reports record daily Covid-19 cases. Iraq’s health ministry has reported 3,841 new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, a record since the first infection was registered in February.
  • Germany reports highest daily cases since start of May in “unsettling” trend. Germany has reported 1,445 new coronavirus infections in 24 hours, the highest level since 1 May, according to the Robert Koch Institute, which said the “trend is unsettling”.
  • Trans-Tasman travel bubble ‘on pause’ amid new Covid outbreaks across Pacific. A Trans-Tasman bubble allowing travel between Australia and New Zealand is “on pause” after new Covid-19 outbreaks, and may be delayed until after NZ’s general election, possibly until next year.
  • Brazil’s coronavirus death toll passed 105,000. A further 1,261 deaths from Covid-19 were recorded in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Thursday. Another 60,091 new cases were reported, bringing that tally to 3,224,876 since the pandemic began.





READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.