UK foreign secretary to lead country; China reports no deaths from Covid-19
- UK live blog: PM spends night in intensive care
- Boris Johnson moved to intensive care after his condition worsens
- Global leaders send messages of support to Boris Johnson
- At a glance - latest developments
- See all of our coronavirus coverage
The number of confirmed new coronavirus cases in the Netherlands rose by 777 to 19,580, health authorities said on Tuesday, as a slowing trend in the rate of increase continued, reports Reuters.
Deaths increased by 234 to 2,101, the Netherlands’ Institute for Health said in its daily update, though it underlined that the death figures it reports on Tuesdays include some patients who died over the weekend and were reported later.
Good afternoon. I’m Gregory Robinson, taking over the live blog for the next hour. If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter to share insight or send tips, I’m on @Gregoryjourno or send me an email at gregory.robinson@guardian.co.uk
Boris Johnson does not have pneumonia, Downing Street has said, Andrew Sparrow reports.
Until now ministers and No 10 have refused to give a clear answer to this question. But asked if the PM has been diagnosed with pneumonia, the spokesman at a daily briefing to political journalists said: “That is not the case, no.”
The prime minister has been stable overnight and remains in good spirits. He is receiving standard oxygen treatment and breathing without any other assistance. He has not required mechanical ventilation or non-invasive respiratory support.
On Monday I reported that dozens of doctors were arrested in Quetta, Pakistan, after fighting with police during a demonstration about the lack of safety equipment available to them for treating patients with the coronavirus.
Today the Pakistani military has promised that it is to dispatch an emergency shipment of medical supplies to the city, the Associated Press reports.
The UK could see as many as 66,000 Covid-19 deaths during the first wave of the current pandemic, more than a third of the expected death toll across Europe, according to modelling by a US university.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine estimated that approximately 151,680 people were likely to die from the virus across the continent. The institute estimates 81,766 deaths for the whole of the US.
We are expecting a foreboding few weeks for people in many parts of Europe. It seems likely the number of deaths will exceed our projections for the United States
The death toll in many countries is compounded by demand for hospital resources well in excess of what is available. For example, peak demand in the UK is expected to total 102,794 hospital beds needed compared to 17,765 available, 24,544 ICU beds compared to 744 ICU beds available, and 20,862 ventilators needed (with data currently unavailable on ventilators available).
Calls are growing for EU countries to accept refugees held at the continent’s periphery, as the escalating outbreak fuels fears that the virus could rampage through overcrowded facilities.
The spectre of coronavirus striking severely overcrowded refugee camps in Greece has hovered menacingly for months, writes Helena Smith, the Guardian’s Athens correspondent.
Related: 'Coronavirus doesn't respect barbed wire': concern mounts for Greek camps
In Spain the number of daily deaths has risen to 743 – the first increase after four consecutive days of falling numbers, Ashifa Kassam reports from Madrid.
One day earlier, the daily death toll stood at 637. The country has reported 13,798 deaths from the virus, making it the hardest hit in the world after Italy.
Wearing face masks or respirators in public is now mandatory in Ukraine, after a range of new measures were implemented on Monday to further try to curb the spread of Covid-19.
People in the eastern European country are also now restricted from gathering outdoors in groups of more than two people, except those with children, with youngsters under the age of 16 banned from leaving home unaccompanied at all.
The number of deaths worldwide from the coronavirus has passed 75,000 since the outbreak was first identified at the end of 2019, according to the tally of official statistics kept by Johns Hopkins University.
The Maryland, US-based research university has been compiling statistics since the first case of Covid-19 was reported in China 97 days days ago, on 31 December.
Health authorities in Malta have reported that further 52 confirmed cases of coronavirus detected in the past 24 hours, increasing the southern European republic’s total number of cases to 293.
It is the largest daily number of new Covid-19 infections since the outbreak began in Malta last month, the Times of Malta reports. But the Maltese health minister, Chris Fearne, insisted the increase was in line with predictions.
The number did not take us by surprise. The only surprise is that they came today and not days ago. We were expecting these figures last week.
Officials in a number of French cities and towns have announced they plan to make face masks mandatory for locals when they leave home in an effort to prevent the coronavirus spreading, Kim Willsher, the Guardian’s Paris correspondent, reports.
The first is Nice, in the south, where the centre-right mayor Christian Estrosi said all inhabitants will be sent a mask within the next eight to 10 days that they can reuse for a month. He promised to give further information on Wednesday.
This is Damien Gayle taking over the global coronavirus news blog now, and for the next eight or so hours.
If you have any tips or comments for our coverage - and I’m particularly asking for your help in pointing out any gaps in topics or from countries we’ve not well covered - please do send me an email at damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or send me a direct message via my Twitter profile, @damiengayle.
I am going to be passing the blog over the colleague Damien Gayle now. Thanks to everyone who has followed this morning. I appreciate all your messages.
Iran’s coronavirus death toll rose to 3,872 with 133 deaths in the past 24 hours, health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur told state TV. The total number of cases climbed to 62,589, with 2,089 new infections, while 3,987 infected people were in a critical condition, he said.
French authorities have tightened their lockdown measures in the capital by banning Parisians from outdoors sports activity between 10am and 7pm local time, aiming to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.
The move came after many French politicians and doctors expressed dismay at the fact that the streets of Paris still feature people jogging or congregating near markets, despite government orders to get people to stay in as much as possible.
The city’s police and mayor’s departments said in a joint statement that, from Wednesday, outdoor sports would no longer be permitted between those conventional daytime hours. People looking to go for a run would have to do so between 7pm and 10am.
France has confined residents to their homes since 17 March to stem the spread of the virus. The measures have been extended until 15 April, and are likely to be extended again.
The pace of coronavirus deaths in Spain increased slightly on Tuesday for the first time in five days, with 743 people succumbing overnight to reach a total of 13,798.
That compared with 637 people who died during the previous 24 hours in the nation with the second highest toll of fatalities from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Total cases rose to 140,510 on Tuesday from 135,032 on Monday, the health ministry said.
Indonesia confirmed on Tuesday 247 new coronavirus infections, taking the total to 2,738, said a health ministry official.
Achmad Yurianto, the official, reported 12 more deaths, taking the total to 221, while 204 people had recovered. More than 14,300 coronavirus tests have been carried out.
Lothar Wieler, the head of public health body the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), has just held his twice-weekly briefing this morning in which he said it was not yet time to relax the measures in place in Germany to slow down the spread of the virus.
Wieler said the death rate would continue to rise as older people were increasingly contracting the illness, after many more younger people had it at the beginning. The average age of those with the illness is still lower than elsewhere, at 49, he said.
Wieler announced the introduction of a new digital app to help in the fight, called Corona Data Spender App (Corona Data Donor App) through which users can voluntarily contribute their health data to be analysed by the RKI, which would help see how the virus is spreading. The app is available for smart watches or fitness armbands and is free to download.
“If we have a big enough sample group our scientists can draw conclusions about the virus,” Wieler said. He compared it to a similar app used in the US to monitor the flu wave. The app works by collating the data of a user such as weight, height, sex, pulse, heart rate, sleep patterns, as well as their post code, and being able to register when that person was showing indications that they may have contracted coronavirus.
“It can recognise changes in temperature, if the individual is less active, or their sleep is disturbed,” Wieler said. “It is a supplement to other measures, but in my opinion a very useful one.”
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has sent a message of “enduring appreciation and good wishes” to health workers around the world for World Health Day.
“I want to thank all those working in the healthcare profession for your selfless commitment and diligence as you undertake vitally important roles to protect and improve the health and well-being of people,” the Queen said.
“My family and I send our enduring appreciation and good wishes.”
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The Philippines’ health ministry on Tuesday reported 14 new coronavirus deaths and 104 additional infections.
Deaths have reached 177 and total cases 3,764, health secretary Francisco Duque told a news conference.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier in the day extended to the end of April strict quarantine measures on the country’s main island implemented to contain the outbreak.
A number of French cities, including Nice, have announced they plan to make face masks mandatory for those who go out.
The mayor of Nice, the capital of the French Riviera, has said all city inhabitants will receive a mask within eight to 10 days that they can reuse for a month.
Dozens of prisoners in a Pakistani jail have contracted the novel coronavirus, officials have said, with more than 150 additional inmates potentially infected as cases of Covid-19 continue to soar in the country.
At least 49 inmates at a jail in the eastern city of Lahore have tested positive, according to a tweet by the provincial chief minister late Monday.
Afghanistan has recorded its biggest one-day rise in number of infections to coronavirus in last 24 hours amid a surge of infections in Kabul and Kandahar.
Total number of infections to Covid-19 stands at 423 now with 56 new confirmed cases. Twenty seven cases of these new cases were recorded in Herat, the third-largest city of Afghanistan. It is the country’s worst affected area with 257 infections.
A health ministry spokesman warned that the virus has now spread into society with most of the new positive cases from people have had not travelled to Iran.
Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has declared a state of emergency to fight new coronavirus infections in major population centres.
He also unveiled a stimulus package he described as among the world’s biggest to soften the economic blow.
Abe announced the state of emergency targeting the capital Tokyo and six other prefectures – accounting for about 44% of Japan’s population – for a period of about one month.
It is too early to talk about an easing of new cases of coronavirus in Germany, the head of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases has said.
“We need to wait a few days to see if there is a trend in the reports,” Lothar Wieler, president of the RKI, told reporters.
The RKI said earlier on Tuesday that Germany’s confirmed coronavirus infections rose by 3,834 in the past 24 hours to 99,225 on Tuesday, rising again after four consecutive days of drops.
Japan has sought to reassure people there is no need for panic buying with prime minister Shinzo Abe due to announce a state of emergency to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Abe will hold a news conference at 7pm (1000 GMT) to announce the measures for the capital, Tokyo, and six other prefectures.
Tokyo has seen coronavirus infections more than double to 1,116 in the past week, accounting for the highest number of patients in the country. Nationwide, cases have climbed past 4,000 with 93 deaths as of Monday.
Minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries Taku Eto called on shoppers to stay calm.
Indonesia has approved a request by the Jakarta administration to impose further large-scale social restrictions on the capital, the epicentre for novel coronavirus cases in the country.
President Joko Widodo has focused on combating the spread of the disease through social distancing policies, but has resisted the tough lockdown measures adopted in many countries.
Official data shows the virus has infected 2,491 people in the world’s fourth most populous country and killed 209, though a low level of testing and data showing a spike in funerals in Jakarta indicates the toll could be higher. A large portion of Indonesia’s confirmed cases are in the city region.
On Tuesday, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto signed a central government order, giving approval for the Jakarta government to impose a range of social restrictions in the city region over the next two weeks, with state agencies helping to implement them.
The restrictions include limiting religious events, defence-related activities, socio-cultural activities, and the closing of schools and workplaces.
Finland announced tougher controls to further reduce arrivals from its neighbours including Sweden, where measures to tackle the coronavirus have been less severe and infection rates higher.
The two countries’ land border in Lapland is usually crossed by thousands of workers and families every day, although traffic across the Swedish and Norwegian borders has fallen by 95 percent since the government banned all but essential traffic on March 14, Finland’s Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo told a press conference.
Nearly 140 campaign groups and charities urged the IMF and World Bank, G20 governments and private creditors to help the world’s poorest countries through the coronavirus crisis by cancelling debt payments.
The call, spearheaded by the British-based Jubilee Debt Campaign, comes a day before a Group of 20 working group tasked with the coronavirus response for developing countries is due to meet.
Separately, Ghana Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, who chairs the Development Committee advising the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), singled out China - Africa’s largest bilateral creditor - to do more to relieve its debt burden.
The Jubilee Debt campaign urges the immediate cancellation of 69 poor countries’ debt payments for the rest of the year, including to private creditors, estimating that it would free up over $25 billion for the countries, or $50 billion if extended through 2021.
Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp has restricted users to sharing forwarded content one chat at a time after a jump in messages touting bogus medical advice since the start of the coronavirus crisis.
The pandemic, which has killed more than 70,000 people worldwide, has been accompanied by what the World Health Organization (WHO) has called an “infodemic” of misinformation, prompting governments and other authorities to urge social media companies to do more to combat the problem.
WhatsApp, which has more than 2 billion users worldwide, said in a blog post it made the change after observing a “significant increase” in the number of forwards since the start of the coronavirus crisis.
“We believe it’s important to slow the spread of these messages down to keep WhatsApp a place for personal conversation,” the statement said.
Hello, I am bringing you the latest updates on the global live feed, giving you up to date news on coronavirus from around the world.
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Sweden will run large deficits in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak and the effects on the central government budget will be seen from April, the debt office said in a statement on Tuesday.
It’s a tender greeting, albeit one adapted to the times of Covid-19.
The photo, snapped by Spanish photojournalist Unai Beroiz as he visited his 90-year-old grandfather, shows their hands pressed against each other, separated by a narrow sliver of window.
Aitona. Tan cerca, tan lejos.
Huarte/Uharte.
1 de abril 2020
2020ko apirilaren 1a.
©Unai Beroiz. pic.twitter.com/lvO3qjFnNK
The British government declined on Tuesday to say who had responsibility for the UK’s nuclear codes while Boris Johnson is treated in intensive care for Covid-19 complications.
When asked by the BBC if Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had been handed the nuclear codes while Johnson receives treatment, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said: “There are well developed protocols which are in place.”
“I just really cannot talk about national security issues,” Gove said.
The UK is one of the world’s five official nuclear weapon states and has four nuclear submarines armed with Trident II D5 ballistic missiles loaded with nuclear warheads. The UK has a stockpile of about 215 nuclear warheads, though about 120 are operationally available.
Only the British prime minister can authorise a nuclear strike. Such an order would be transmitted to one of Britain’s nuclear submarines with a special set of codes.
Wishing PM swift recovery.
Dominic Raab now deputising.
Listening to Micheal Gove on TODAY - it is important to have 100% clarity as to where responsibility for UK national security decisions now lies.
We must anticipate adversaries attempting to exploit any perceived weakness.
The London stock market rallied 3% in opening deals on Tuesday, despite news that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was battling the coronavirus in an intensive care unit.
Johnson, who spent the night in intensive care with a deteriorating case of coronavirus, has been given oxygen but is not on a ventilator, senior cabinet minister Michael Gove said.
Samsung Electronics expects higher first-quarter profits, it said, as millions of people working from home in coronavirus lockdowns turn to cloud data services, pushing up demand for its chips.
The pandemic is wreaking havoc across the global economy –Samsung itself had operations suspended at 11 overseas assembly lines – and is widely expected to cause a recession.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: “It really does bring it home when somebody like Boris is struck down.”
But he added that government will always carry on.
He told BBC Breakfast: “Government will always continue. The people are there, the support’s there. Whatever happens, no matter how bad it is, the country continues, government continues.”
Sir Lindsay said: “What we’ve got to do is wish this prime minister well, a speedy recovery. I don’t think it’s going to be as quick as one expects, but we’ve got to get him back to the helm.
“But, in the meantime, government will always continue, people pull together.”
Finland’s government has extended and tightened border controls restricting travel to and from the country until 13 May in order to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The country has followed with mounting concern neighbouring Sweden’s liberal pandemic strategy, fearing cross-border commuters could speed up the spread of the virus in northern parts of Finland, which has an ageing population and limited intensive care resources.
“The government’s aim is to further reduce movement in the inherent commute area across the borders with Sweden and Norway,” Finland’s government said in a statement.
Finland had recorded 2,176 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 27 deaths by Tuesday, while Sweden’s numbers stood at 7,206 and 477 deaths, according to Reuters.
Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe will on Tuesday declare a state of emergency in parts of the country, including Tokyo, over a sharp rise in coronavirus infections.
“I have decided that a situation gravely affecting people’s life and the economy has occurred. This evening, I plan to call a government headquarters meeting and declare a state of emergency,” Abe said Tuesday.
British prime minister Boris Johnson is not on a ventilator but has had some oxygen support and if his condition changes the government will make an official statement, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said on Tuesday.
“He’s not on a ventilator no,” Gove told LBC radio. “The prime minister has received some oxygen support and he is kept under, of course, close supervision.”
Gove also spoke on the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme and said if there were any changes to Johnson’s condition there would be updates. “The decisions made by the medical team require medical expertise so it’s important people like me don’t second guess them but support the work they do.”
Michael Gove says that the decision on the lockdown exit strategy will be taken ‘collectively’
‘We are very very conscious people find the lockdown challenging but we do have to follow the lockdown strategy at the moment
‘As the PM’s case reminds us this can hit anybody’
Hello, I am bringing you the latest updates on the global live feed, giving you up to date news on coronavirus from around the world.
As ever, your insight, news tips and comments are very welcome. Please do share anything you think it relevant with me via any of the channels below. I will try to respond to as many of you as I can. Thanks in advance.
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Mainland China reported on Tuesday a drop in the number of new coronavirus cases after closing its borders to virtually all foreigners to curb imported infections.
It comes as the central city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, had no new deaths for the first time.
China had 32 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Monday, down from 39 cases a day earlier, the national health commission said. All of the 32 cases involved travellers arriving from overseas, compared with 38 imported cases a day earlier.
The overall number of imported infections so far stands at 983, the health authority said.
Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province, reported only two new confirmed cases in the past 14 days. It is due to allow people to leave the city on Wednesday for the first time since it was locked down on Jan. 23 to curb the spread of the virus.
Sharing an interesting article on the Guardian about hope that explores how in the midst of fear and isolation, we are learning that profound, positive change is possible.
Related: 'The impossible has already happened': what coronavirus can teach us about hope
1/ The last few weeks here in the ICU have been really hard. The days ahead will be even harder. But each day as we face the harsh realities of this disease we are also reminded of the strength and generosity of our community.
5/ Thank you @raastawala for the rice, daal, curry trio and the chance for a shameless plug for our new instagram (check us at @londoncriticalcare) pic.twitter.com/JLLEYc5ViP
The negotiations over the UK’s future relationship with the EU are going nowhere fast. Following a phone call between the UK’s chief negotiator David Frost and the EU’s deputy head of taskforce, both sides could only say they would try and arrange a new timetable for remote negotiations next week.
The two sides have swapped their rival legal texts for a future treaty and analysis is said to be ongoing but actual negotiations over that text seems to be proving difficult.
Following the phone call on Monday afternoon, a European commission spokesman said: “Last week, the EU and the UK provided clarifications at technical level on their respective legal texts. Clara Martínez Alberola and David Frost spoke by phone this afternoon to take stock of this work. Both sides will remain in contact this week.”
China must do more to help ease the debt burden of African countries facing economic calamity as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Ghana’s finance minister said.
Speaking with the Center for Global Development, Ken Ofori-Atta said Europe may also need to offer special drawing rights – a form of foreign exchange reserves managed by the International Monetary Fund – to shield Africa from commercial debt defaults.
Virginia Giuffre, an American advocate of justice for sex trafficking victims who accused Prince Andrew of abusing her as part of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, is in hospital and being tested for coronavirus. Giuffre tweeted to share her experiences of being afraid and having a fever as well as breathing difficulties.
I’m so scared right now, having trouble breathing, fever & cough. Getting tested for Covid-19 praying it’s not positive pic.twitter.com/GfAzxut82Q
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I am about to hand over to my colleague in London, Sarah Marsh. Thanks for reading today and if you want to get up to speed on the latest developments, you can find a summary of the top stories below.
Related: Coronavirus latest: at a glance
Reuters is reporting that Germany has recorded another 3,834 cases of Covid-19, bringing its total number of cases to 99,225, with 1,607 deaths.
For those of you looking for an update on Boris Johnson’s condition, there has not been a statement so far this morning. The last statement from No 10’s is about the PM being moved to intensive care on Monday evening. You can read it here.
This special report by the BBC’s medical correspondent, Fergus Walsh, on an intensive care unit at University College London hospital, has been retweeted many times over in the past few hours. Definitely worth a look.
We all have a role to play in fighting this disease, and people of all ages can be affected pic.twitter.com/83dTGlITcj
The Conservative MP Michael Tomlinson member for Mid Dorset and North Poole, has tweeted his support for Boris Johnson, and also a Dorset dawn.
This picture doesn’t quite do justice to the glorious dawn in Dorset. Praying that today brings some better news for our Prime Minister @BorisJohnson - get well soon Prime Minister. pic.twitter.com/2MpVV6yKPG
Sky News UK is reporting that MPs have been told police should be issued with spit guards to prevent offenders coughing on them after claiming they have Covid-19.
MPs have been told that all police officers should be issued with spit guards to prevent some offenders biting, coughing and spitting at officers after claiming they have #COVID19 https://t.co/aGF4PmHVKg
Guardian coronavirus opinion today includes a piece by Polly Toynbee: Your money or your life? Coronavirus has sparked the latest culture war
And, in features, you can also read about: Hydroxychloroquine: how an unproven drug became Trump’s coronavirus miracle cure
The Guardian’s Long Read today is about what coronavirus can teach us about hope. In the midst of fear and isolation, we are learning that profound, positive change is possible, writes Rebecca Solnit.
You can read the full story here:
Related: 'The impossible has already happened': what coronavirus can teach us about hope
As much of the world’s attention is focussed on the progress of Boris Johnson, China has announced its first day with no deaths from Covid-19 since daily briefings began.
You can read our global wrap of this angle of the story below:
Related: China reports zero daily deaths from coronavirus for the first time since January
If social media is anything to go by, many people in the UK have had a sleepless night, anxious to hear news about Boris Johnson.
The UK papers publish some grave front pages about the PM’s move to intensive care.
Tomorrow's front page: Sick Boris faces fight for life #tomorrowspaperstoday https://t.co/pONirpx7Pa pic.twitter.com/XExOH0HHVW
Tuesday's @DailyMailUK #MailFrontPages pic.twitter.com/2xwxZFTvSw
Tomorrow’s Telegraph front page: “Johnson in intensive care”#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/n1t2F9zHTQ
Related: 'Full-scale emergency': what the papers say about Boris Johnson's move to intensive care
Here is a summary of the main points so far:
Our correspondent in India, Hannah Ellis-Petersen reports that people in Mumbai’s largest slum, Dharavi, home to 1 million, are “very afraid” of the impact of the coronavirus on their lives.
Related: 'We are very afraid': scramble to contain coronavirus in Mumbai slum
Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam has defended and supported an accusation against public broadcast RTHK that it breached the “One China” principle by asking a World Health Organisation about Taiwan’s response to the pandemic and its exclusion from WHO.
In an interview which quickly went viral last month, RTHK’s Yvonne Tong asked WHO advisor Bruce Aylward whether the organisation would reconsider Taiwan’s membership, which has long been objected to by Beijing.
As we have been reporting, world leaders have been sending messages of support to the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, the latest from Japan, Justin McCurry writes:
Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has become the latest world leader to send his support to Boris Johnson. In a tweet on Tuesday afternoon, Abe, who within hours will declare a state of emergency in Tokyo and six other prefectures, addressed the British prime minister as “my dear friend,” adding, “my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, as you fight for a swift recovery. The people of Japan stand with the British people at this difficult time”.
To my dear friend @BorisJohnson , my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, as you fight for a swift recovery. The people of Japan stand with the British people at this difficult time.
Well, that Australian press conference, with all its caveats, is probably some of the best news we have heard on coronavirus for some time. Many Australians will be breathing a sigh of relief that things seem to be somewhat stable at the moment, but will also hopefully heed the PM Scott Morrison’s plea to STAY AT HOME this Easter.
One day to go! More than 80 trains at the #Wuhan station are ready to resume operation. Starting from Wednesday, outbound transport will resume after the city hit the “pause” button for more than 2 months. #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/NjtDR5nVGY
Australia’s chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, is now looking at what could have happened in Australia if no restrictive measures had been put in place. he says the demand would have been for 35,000 ICU beds – way beyond Australia’s capacity.
Unmitigated scenario @joshgnosis pic.twitter.com/DaW6NTXCqq
He is showing the new modelling that shows the “curve” is being bent in Australia but “complacency is our biggest risk”.
We are now hearing from Australia’s chief medical officer, Prof Brendan Murphy.
He reports the latest figures, including 5,844 cases in Australia, 44 deaths, fewer than 100 cases in ICU, fewer than 40 people on ventilators.
He say the states are looking at educational impacts and looking at how rest of year will be managed.
He said he is leaving those issues to states an territories, but said: “We want to ensure parents who cannot provide a learning environment, that they don’t have to choose between their children’s education and feeding their children.”
Morrison says modelling of coronavirus cases in Australia will be released later today. “You will have what we have... it is the full complement of what we have available to us.”
He says it is theoretical, and is not based on case data, and does not predict what will happen in Australia in terms of how many will contract the virus or will die from the virus, or how long it will last in Australia.
“We are on the right track: controlling spread, boosting the health system and buying time.”
Morrison extends his concerns and support to UK PM Boris Johnson who is in intensive care in London.
Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, is speaking at a press conference now. He is urging all Australians to abandon any Easter holiday travel plans or risk undoing all the good that has been achieved by existing isolation measures
Japan’s government is considering including sex workers in a scheme to compensate freelancers for loss of income as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, after being accused of occupational discrimination.
The daily payments of ¥4,100 (£30) are intended to help parents who have been unable to work due to school closures that began early last month.
Sex workers, however, are currently ineligible for financial help, prompting an advocacy group to call on the health ministry to include them.
“The government programme helps encourage discrimination and prejudice against people working in the sex industry,” Yukiko Kaname, the head of Sex Work and Sexual Health, told Kyodo news agency.
“Illegal shops and ties with crime syndicates are the operators’ problems. The workers are not at fault and their children do not bear any responsibility,” Kaname said.
Ministry officials denied charges of discrimination. “There were problems in the past when subsidies were given to shops with ties to crime syndicates and those operating illegally,” an official said.
The health minister, Katsunobu Kato, said last week there were no plans to adjust the programme, adding that it would be “inappropriate” for people working in the commercial sex industry to receive state support.
But this week the chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, told MPs the government would “review” the scheme after coming under pressure to explain how it planned to help vulnerable workers during the crisis.
Here is a summary of the main points so far:
I reported a few minutes ago on China’s daily coronavirus figures, including that all infections were from abroad. But the bigger point that I think should be pointed out is that for the first time since the National Health Commission began publishing daily updates on 25 January, the country has recorded no deaths.
Over the past two weeks, the death toll has hovered between one and seven. Over the past two weeks, of the 55 deaths reported in China, 51 were in the city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began.
For those of you who may have missed this earlier, here’s Donald Trump talking about Boris Johnson’s admission to intensive care and the US drug companies he has asked to offer help with regards to the UK PM’s treatment.
New Zealand’s health minister has been demoted after he ignored national lockdown rules and drove his family to a beach 20km from his home.
Last week Dr David Clark was photographed going for a mountain bike ride 2km away from his Dunedin home. He apologised for the incident, saying it showed poor judgment at a time when all New Zealanders were being urged to stay at home and only exercise in their local area.
The Guardian’s Today in Focus podcast is about the stricken Zaandam cruise ship, which finally docked in Florida last Thursday. It’s sister ship, the Rotterdam, was also allowed to dock, after both were refused port at other destinations.
Related: Zaandam: onboard the coronavirus-hit cruise ship
In case you missed it, a British Labour MP, the member for Rochdale (Greater Manchester), Tony Lloyd, was admitted to hospital on Monday. The 70-year-old shadow Northern Ireland secretary was “stable and responding to treatment” at Manchester Royal Infirmary, his family said.
China has released its daily coronavirus figures, which include 32 newly confirmed cases that were all imported. There were no cases no new deaths.
In Hubei province, the centre of the outbreak, there remain 518 confirmed cases (515 cases in Wuhan), including 184 severe cases (181 cases in Wuhan). Wuhan is due to lift its travel restrictions on Wednesday for residents who have a green health code.
The row over the sacking of the US navy commander, Captain Brett Crozier, who complained that not enough was being done to help his sailors who were stuck on the US Theodore Roosevelt off Guam, with coronavirus onboard last week, has taken another turn.
In his marathon White House press briefing a few hours ago, President Trump came to Captain Crozier’s defence: “His career prior to that was very good. So I’m going to get involved and see exactly what’s going on there because I don’t want to destroy somebody for having a bad day,” Trump said, while stressing that Crozier should not have circulated the memo that called for more help for his crew because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Acting @SECNAV just issued an apology to the Navy for his comments today. pic.twitter.com/G7Q5YWigHK
US deaths from coronavirus stand at 10,783, according to the Johns Hopkins university tracker. There are 366,614 confirmed cases of Covid-19, as of 02.00GMT on Tuesday.
There was quite a startling figure tweeted by the ABC White House producer, Elizabeth Thomas, that showed African American fatalities in Louisiana from Covid-19 accounted fo 70% of deaths in the state
BREAKING NEWS: Louisiana just released COVID-19 data which shows that African-Americans account for 70% of ALL DEATHS in the state.
African-Americans makes up roughly 32% of the population. #COVID19
Sobering data:
72% of our #COVID19 deaths have been in black Chicagoans.
But black Chicagoans make up just 30% of the city.@cbschicago #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/X07mnBfiI2
A statement from the industrial giant 3M said it was announcing a plan with the Trump administration to import 166m N95 face masks, also known as respirators, to fight the Covid-19 outbreak. The company also committed to further collaboration to fight price gouging and counterfeiting in what has become an intense market for global supplies of personal protective equipment.
“I want to thank President Trump and the Administration for their leadership and collaboration,” said 3M chairman and CEO Mike Roman. “We share the same goals of providing much-needed respirators to Americans across our country and combating criminals who seek to take advantage of the current crisis. These imports will supplement the 35m N95 respirators we currently produce per month in the United States.”
Spain declared Monday a fourth consecutive drop in the number of coronavirus-related deaths with 637 over the past 24 hours, the lowest number in nearly two weeks.
Fatalities, which were sharply down on the record 950 on Thursday, brought the total deaths in the country to 13,055, second only to Italy, with 16,500.
Japan’s prime minister is expected to declare a state of emergency on Tuesday, after several major regions saw a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, especially in the capital Tokyo.
“We hope to declare a state of emergency as early as tomorrow after listening to the opinions of the advisory panel,” Abe told reporters on Monday evening.
Related: Japan poised to declare state of emergency over coronavirus
The governors of New York and New Jersey pointed to tentative signs on Monday that the coronavirus outbreak was starting to plateau but warned against complacency as the nationwide death toll topped 10,000 and the number of known US infections surpassed 350,000.
New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, said coronavirus-related deaths statewide reached 4,758 as of Monday, an increase of 599 from Sunday, on par with an increase of 594 during the previous 24 hours. On Friday, the state’s death toll increased by 630.
British media heavyweight, Andrew Neil, whose resume includes the BBC, the Spectator, Sky News and the Sunday Times summed up the mood in London.
Normal party politics is suspended in Britain tonight. All people of good will hope for the Prime Minister’s speed recovery. He is in good NHS hands.
Good luck to @BorisJohnson and the doctors and nurses caring for him and best wishes to his family who must be sick with worry. I have often criticised him and his politics but I sincerely hope he gets through this and can return to lead the country through this crisis
A number of world leaders have tweeted their support for Johnson, including this from the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
I send all my support to Boris Johnson, to his family and to the British people at this difficult moment. I wish him a speedy recovery at this testing time.
Get well soon @BorisJohnson. Thinking of you, your family and all our UK friends at this tough time.
Related: Global leaders send messages of support to Boris Johnson
While Johnson is in hospital, the UK’s foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, will be running the country’s coronavirus response. He is expected to chair the emergency Cobra meetings and cabinet meetings as the government makes crucial decisions related to the pandemic, including whether and when to alter restrictions on movement.
President Trump has been holding his daily White House briefing on coronavirus, in which he paid tribute to Boris Johnson, saying he had “found him to be a fantastic person, a fantastic warm strong smart guy. He loves his country, you see that. He fought like hell for his country. But intensive care is big stuff, really big stuff...”
Trump also said:
We’re very saddened to hear that [Johnson] was taken into intensive care this afternoon, a little while ago, and Americans are all praying for his recovery. He’s been a really good friend. He’s been really something very special: strong resolute; doesn’t quit; doesn’t give up.
And I’ve asked two of the leading companies – these are brilliant companies. Ebola, Aids, they’ve come with the solutions and just have done incredible jobs – and I’ve asked them to contact London immediately. They’ve really advanced therapeutics ... and they have arrived in London already, the London office has whatever they need.
If you are just joining our coverage of the day’s coronavirus developments, it’s been a dramatic few hours of news, with the British prime minister moved to intensive care in hospital after his condition from Covid-19 deteriorated.
Johnson was moved to the critical unit at St Thomas’ Hospital on Monday evening. He was understood to be conscious when he was moved to intensive care at about 7pm, as a precaution should he require ventilation to aid his recovery.
One of the features of Covid-19 in all countries seems to be that many more men become seriously ill than women – especially in the over 40 age group. Also we know that people under about 60 seem to have a higher chance of making a recovery from critical illness with Covid-19 than older people.
But there is no doubt this turn of events means Boris Johnson is extremely sick.
Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
The main news today is that the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, has been admitted to intensive care in a London hospital, as he battles Covid-19. He was moved into ICU at 7pm London time as a precaution in case he needed ventilation.
We’re very saddened to hear that [Johnson] was taken into intensive care this afternoon, a little while ago, and Americans are all praying for his recovery. He’s been a really good friend. He’s been really something very special: strong resolute; doesn’t quit; doesn’t give up.
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