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Coronavirus US live: experts urge caution on first holiday weekend of summer as deaths pass 94,000 Biden draws criticism for saying voters who back Trump ‘ain’t black’Pictures show Donald Trump wearing mask after Ford factory rowDisney World staff go weeks without unemployment benefitsWhy coronavirus is devastating California’s Pacific IslandersCoronavirus – latest global updatesGet a fresh perspective on America – sign up to our First Thing newsletter 6.55pm BSTDonald Trump says “America needs more prayer, not less.” The president just demanded places of worship reopen for in-person services and he talked about guidelines being issued for “communities of faith”. 6.50pm BSTPress briefing with Donald Trump begins.The president ...

Why we might not get a coronavirus vaccine Politicians have become more cautious about immunisation prospects. They are right to beCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIt would be hard to overstate the importance of developing a vaccine to Sars-CoV-2 – it’s seen as the fast track to a return to normal life. That’s why the health secretary, Matt Hancock, said the UK was “throwing everything at it”.But while trials have been launched and manufacturing deals already signed – Oxford University is now recruiting 10,000 volunteers for the next phase of its research – ministers and their advisers have become noticeably more cautious in recent days. Continue reading... Go to Source

Scientists warn 1 June is too early for schools to reopen in England Independent Sage committee says more time is needed to set up coronavirus track and traceCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA group of senior scientists has warned that 1 June is too soon for schools to reopen safely in England and that more time is needed to set up an effective track and trace system to contain future outbreaks.The Independent Sage committee, which is separate from the government’s official advisers and is chaired by the former government chief scientist Sir David King, says new modelling of coronavirus shows the risk to children will be halved if they return to school two weeks later than ministers propose. Delaying until September would further reduce the risk. C...

The NHS surcharge debacle reveals a government both cruel and useless | Jonathan Freedland During a pandemic the public expects compassion and effectiveness. They seem to be in recklessly short supplyVoters will occasionally forgive a government they deem heartless, if they reckon it has the steel to get the job done. They might even, though rarely, forgive a government they deem incompetent, if they believe its heart is in the right place. What they will never forgive is a government that is both uncaring and useless. And yet that is precisely the judgment that now hovers over Boris Johnson and the administration he leads.Johnson had surely intuited as much when he performed his rubber-burning U-turn late on Thursday, ditching his previous insistence, reiterated 24 hours earlier, that ...

Coronavirus live news: China abandons GDP target for first time due to 'great uncertainty' Beijing tells regions to ‘tighten their belts’ amid Covid-19 fallout; Trump appears at Michigan factory without mask; Italy death toll could be 60% higher than assumed. Follow the latest updatesChina abandons GDP targetTrump pushes for churches to reopenCoronavirus latest: at a glanceAustralia – live updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage 6.40am BSTHere’s a brief look at some of the UK newspaper front pages.The Guardian splashes on No 10’s u-turn the surcharge on foreign National Health Service workers. GUARDIAN: ⁦@BorisJohnson⁩ in U-turn on surcharge for foreign NHS workers #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/glhyavQLzpTHE TIMES: immunity forms planned...

UK Covid-19 saliva test to be trialled on 5,000 key workers Alternative to nasal swab to be tested on police and army staff in next two weeks Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA potentially “game-changing” spit test for coronavirus is set to be trialled by the government on 5,000 police and army staff amid growing concern about the accuracy of invasive nasal swabs.The two-minute test requires someone to spit in a tube, and is thought to be as accurate, if not more so, than the throat and nose swab that detects if someone has Covid-19. Continue reading... Go to Source

Global report: Indonesia cases top daily record as Muslim world prepares for 'saddest' Eid President bans people returning home for festivities to mark end of Ramadan; China abandons GDP target; Trump defies mask pleaCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIndonesia has reported its highest number of daily coronavirus cases as millions of people in the world’s fourth most populous country prepared to mark the festival of Eid al-Fitr without the usual celebrations and gatherings.This year’s festivities will be dampened by the economic hardship for many as Indonesian migrant workers, who usually send money back home to their families, have been left stranded and with no income. Continue reading... Go to Source

Johnson forced to drop NHS surcharge for migrant health workers Downing Street bows to pressure from opposition and backbench Tories amid crisisCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageDowning Street has bowed to concerted pressure from the opposition and Conservative backbenchers to scrap the NHS surcharge for migrant health workers.After backbenchers including the former health secretary Jeremy Hunt criticised the government’s position, a No 10 spokesman said Boris Johnson had asked the Home Office and the Department for Health and Social Care to remove NHS and care workers from the scheme as soon as possible. Continue reading... Go to Source

Coronavirus live news: Spain reports lowest Covid-19 daily death toll in over two months East Africa facing ‘triple menace’ of Covid-19, floods and locusts; Italy’s death toll reaches 32,486; Wuhan bans eating wild animals; global case total passes 5m Social distancing a week earlier ‘could have saved 36,000 US lives’Italy: lockdown has taken heavy toll on mental health‘If I don’t have sex I’ll die of hunger’: Covid crisis of Rio’s trans sex workers‘All psychoses of US history’: how America is victim-blaming Covid deadCoronavirus latest: at a glance 6.48pm BSTMeanwhile, in the United States, Donald Trump, the president, has announced that he has tested positively negative for the coronavirus. Trump on his latest cor...

Just 7.3% of Stockholm had Covid-19 antibodies by end of April, study shows Official findings add to concerns about Sweden’s laissez-faire strategy towards the pandemicCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageJust 7.3% of Stockholm’s inhabitants had developed Covid-19 antibodies by the end of April, according to a study, raising concerns that the country’s light-touch approach to the coronavirus may not be helping it build up broad immunity.The research by Sweden’s public health agency comes as Finland warned it would be risky to welcome Swedish tourists after figures suggested the country’s death rate per capita was the highest in Europe over the seven days to 19 May. Continue reading... Go to Source

UK's pub gardens could host distanced drinking from 4 July, says trade body More than half of pubs have outside space and these should be first to reopen, says BBPACoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe UK has 27,000 pub beer gardens that could host physically distanced drinking as soon as 4 July, the industry’s trade association has said.Of the UK’s 47,000 pubs, more than half have outside space, according to the British Beer & Pubs Association (BBPA). Continue reading... Go to Source

Number of people with coronavirus in England remains stable, says ONS Snapshot finds 137,000 had virus between 4-17 May, slightly down from previous fortnightCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe number of people with coronavirus in England has remained stable since the end of April, according to new data, with nearly 140,000 people infected in the last two weeks.The second snapshot of Covid-19 rates in the community, taken by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), found that 137,000 people – 0.25% of the population – had coronavirus at any given time during the two weeks from 4-17 May. Continue reading... Go to Source

Did the UK government prepare for the wrong kind of pandemic? Britain’s highly rated disease preparation failed on coronavirus – possibly because ministers followed a plan for fluCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageWhen the coronavirus struck, the British government repeatedly said it was among the best-prepared countries in the world – with some justification. As recently as October, an international review of pandemic planning ranked the UK the second best prepared country in the world (behind the US). Two months on, any breezy confidence has evaporated. The government is facing growing complaints over a series of policy missteps that critics say are responsible for the worst death toll in Europe. Continue reading... Go to Source

Dyson's UK staff revolt against order to return to work Engineering firm cancels order for staff to return to the office after employee mutinyCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe engineering firm Dyson told staff who were able to work from home to return to the office this week, in apparent contravention of government advice, then cancelled the plan after a mutiny among dismayed employees, the Guardian understands.Government guidelines state that people should “work from home, if you can”, with employers told to make every possible effort to allow staff to do so. Continue reading... Go to Source

Coronavirus live news: global cases pass 5m as Wuhan bans eating wild animals World sees largest daily rise in cases; IOC warns over further Tokyo Olympics delay; Trump considers in-person G7EU virus response chief: ‘Europe should brace itself for second wave’Global report: don’t count on a vaccineUK coronavirus updates - liveAustralia coronavirus updates – liveCoronavirus latest: at a glance 12.46pm BSTMadrid will reopen some of its biggest and most famous parks if the region is allowed to enter the second phase of lockdown de-escalation next week, the city’s mayor has said, writes Sam Jones, the Guardian’s Madrid correspondent. At the moment, the capital and the surrounding area remain in phase 0, while 70% of the country has been permitted to enter...

Mind the gap: 2 metres apart and masked in Hackney – a photo essay Gideon Mendel photographed people at Ridley Road food market in Hackney, east London, during the coronavirus lockdown. The red markings on the road were painted by the council to indicate the 2 metres of physical distance that shoppers are advised to maintain for their safetyOriginally commissioned by Cortona on the Move for The Covid-19 Visual ProjectShortly after the imposition of lockdown, I came across a team of workers painting red lines all the way down Ridley Road. They started at dusk and had to work through the night to complete the task. I was intrigued by the addition to the street iconography and developed the idea of making portraits to include both masks and these new lines of separation.Most of the people ...