Masks to become mandatory across Paris from Friday

People walk along the canal Saint Martin while wearing protective face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus in Paris
People walk along the canal Saint Martin while wearing protective face masks in Paris Credit: Michel Euler/AP

                                                                                                    

What happened today

Good evening. That's all for tonight, but we will be back tomorrow with all the latest global health news.

In the meantime, here's a roundup of today's biggest headlines:

Trump to announce deal to buy 150 million coronavirus tests

US President Donald Trump will announce a deal for 150 million rapid Covid-19 tests as he eyes a return to life as normal prior to November's presidential election, White House officials have told AFP.

The purchase from Abbott Laboratories is part of a $750 million deal with the company, according to a senior administration official.

The news comes the day after emergency approval was granted by America's Food and Drug Administration for a rapid test made by the firm. It is thought that it will cost just $5 and will produce results within 15 minutes.

"This is a major development that will help our country to remain open, get Americans back to work and kids back to school," White House communications director Alyssa Farah said.

"The Trump Administration is proud to partner with Abbott labs to make this purchase possible to help the American people."

CNBC reported Trump will debut the deal in his speech on the final night of the Republican National Convention, during which he will accept the nomination of his party ahead of a prospective second term.

US coronavirus testing advice to be disregarded by seven states

Seven US states including Texas and Florida will disregard calls from health officials to reduce the testing of those who are exposed to the virus but do not show any symptoms.

California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Texas, New Jersey and New York all plan to continue to test asymptomatic people who have been exposed to Covid-19, despite guidance issued on Wednesday by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that suggests that such tests may be unnecessary.

"The current Texas guidance recommends testing for all close contacts of a confirmed case because it allows for early case identification among people who are at a higher risk of infection," a spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services in a statement. "There’s not a planned change at this point."

The CDC said this week that people exposed to Covid-19 but not symptomatic may not need to be tested, and denied that the change in its policy was politically motivated or related to any lack of testing equipment.

Australia lockdown: Victoria under fire for proposal to extend state of emergency by a year

The premier of the Australian state of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, has come under fire for his attempts to extend the local state of emergency by another 12 months - which would allow his government to prolong or reimpose Covid-19 lockdowns over that period, Marcus Parekh reports.

Victoria, currently in the middle of a strict six-week lockdown, has registered 438 of the country’s 549 coronavirus deaths.

Melbourne is quiet and deserted under its 'stage four' lockdown and night-time curfew. Credit: Chris Putnam/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

However, critics in Scott Morrison’s federal government say that extending the state of emergency to September 2021 is “undemocratic”.

“They take away liberties, they take away the functioning of democracy in the state of Victoria,” Education Minister Dan Tehan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

NHS hospitals 'like the Mary Celeste', with surgeons at 50% capacity despite record waiting times 

NHS surgeons are only working at around 50 per cent capacity, the president of their Royal College has revealed, despite record waiting times for crucial operations, Laura Donnelly and Henry Bodkin report.

Official figures show that more than 50,000 people have waited a year for treatment - up from 1,117 a year ago.

It comes amid concern about a surge in positive Covid cases, with daily records showing 1,522 cases, up from 1,048 the day before. However, weekly figures show the first decline for six weeks, despite rises in the numbers being tested. 

Credit: Rui Vieira/PA Archive

The vast majority of NHS surgery and other routine treatment was stopped for months during lockdown. 

But medics said efforts to restore services are moving too slowly, with some likening their hospitals to “the Mary Celeste” because so many patients were being kept away.

Prof Neil Mortensen, president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said the NHS was struggling to restore services, with a lack of routine testing for NHS staff hindering efforts to create “Covid-free” zones.

The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph: 'Go back to work or risk losing your job'

 

Coronavirus case numbers result in NHS Trust facing new measures

An NHS trust has become the subject of new measures over the high number of people contracting coronavirus in its hospitals, John Fitzpatrick reports.

The Care Quality Commission has issued a section 31 order against the East Kent Hospitals trust, which means it will now be subjected to closer monitoring and weekly reporting over its infection control measures.

It is thought to be the first trust to face the action.

Inspectors visited one of the sites run by the trust on August 12 after NHS data showed that for the period 30 June to 26 July, the number of people testing positive for the virus 15 days after being admitted was twice as high in east Kent as at other trusts.

The number of positive tests eight days after admission was also three times higher.

According to official guidance, a positive test after 15 days in hospital is "definitely healthcare-associated", while a positive test after eight days is "probably healthcare-associated."

Prof Ted Baker, the CQC's Chief Inspector of Hospitals, said: "As a result of serious concerns we have taken immediate enforcement action at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.

"CQC inspectors visited the trust on Tuesday 12 August 2020 after concerns were raised about the standards of care and the risk to patients.

"As the trust has the right to appeal the action that we have taken, it would be inappropriate for CQC to comment further. However, we will publish our findings and action taken when the legal process allows."

A spokesperson for the trust, which runs hospitals in Ashford, Margate, Canterbury , Dover and Folkestone, said that keeping staff and patients safe was its top priority.

Premier League news: 'Paul Pogba tests positive, eight Chelsea players in isolation - how can the League cope?'

Premier League clubs were facing major concerns on Wednesday night over how their players will cope with the demands of the season’s start, write Sam Wallace, Tom Morgan and Luke Edwards.

Many were ruled out of crucial pre-season training either having tested positive for coronavirus or placed in isolation because of contact protocols.

The Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba was left out of France’s squad by Didier Deschamps for their Nations League games next month with the French coach disclosing that the 27-year-old had tested positive on Wednesday and was no longer available.

Manchester United's Paul Pogba, who has tested positive for Covid-19 Credit: Peter Powell/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Pogba’s United team-mate Aaron Wan-Bissaka will go into a mandatory 14-day isolation this week when he returns from holiday in Dubai – a destination players were advised to avoid for that very reason.

At Chelsea, Jorginho, Ross Barkley, Emerson, Michy Batshuayi, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, Tammy Abraham and Christian Pulisic are all in isolation. Six of them – not identified - have tested positive and a further two are obliged to isolat

. The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Tanguy Ndombele is also understood to be isolating, and so too Newcastle United’s striker Joelinton.

'A passenger on my flight from Croatia had Covid-19 – now I'm quarantined'

A holidaymaker returning from Split just in time to avoid the mandatory 14-day quarantine before the FCO removed Croatia from its ‘green list’ was dismayed to later learn that a passenger on her flight home was diagnosed with Covid-19 a few days later - forcing all travellers on the plane into self-isolation.

Li Boatwright, who runs a luxury travel PR company, was on holiday with her partner and a friend when she learned last Thursday that Croatia was about to be dropped from the UK’s quarantine-exempt list due to a rising number of cases there. On Friday she boarded her easyJet flight and returned to London Gatwick before the new rules came into place. 

Credit: Avpics/Alamy Live News

Once boarded, she says a passenger in the row behind her appeared to be unwell. “He was sneezing, coughing severely and spluttering for the entire flight,” she tells Telegraph Travel. “It beggars belief they actually let him on the flight. The member of our party sitting directly across the aisle from him moved shortly after take-off as she didn’t want to be near him.”

Li’s party wasn’t submitted to temperature checks at Split airport, or prior to boarding. Currently, according to easyJet, these checks aren't required at any Croatian airports, and easyJet’s policy does not include temperature checking every passenger, but the airline does ask customers to inform a member of staff if they develop symptoms. Sneezing is not a symptom of Covid-19, but a dry cough is. 

Read more here from Annabel Fenwick Elliott.

Peru coronavirus news: The country with the world's strictest lockdown is now the worst for excess deaths

Far below the immaculately tended park perched spectacularly atop Lima’s sea cliffs, wetsuited surfers once again dot the shimmering South Pacific, writes Simeon Tegel.

For a fleeting moment, as beams of sunlight pierce the “winter” cloud cover and locals jog, workout or just take in the view, it is easy to forget that Peru remains in the grips of what may be the most intense Covid-19 outbreak in the world.

Officially, there have been more than 28,000 deaths, in a population of 31 million. But when all fatalities are taken into account, including those without a formal coronavirus diagnosis, the Andean nation now has the world’s highest rate of “excess” deaths compared to historical averages.

Peru also just hit 600,000 cases, a grim tally that puts it behind only five other countries, all with significantly larger populations. Polls show that nearly seven in 10 residents personally know someone who has died from Covid-19.

Hospitals have been overrun, prompting many desperate families to brave the ghoulish speculation of a booming black-market in oxygen as they nurse gasping relatives at home.

Yet normality is a relative concept. These days just being allowed out of the house for “nonessential” activities, including exercise by the ocean, is a freedom for Peruvians to cherish.

In mid-March, President Martín Vizcarra imposed one of the strictest lockdowns anywhere in the free world. For the first 15 weeks of the pandemic, most residents were only allowed to leave home to either buy food or receive medical attention. Private vehicles were banned from circulating and masks were made obligatory in public. As if that was not enough, there was also an 8pm curfew. 

Return to offices campaign to be launched: 'Go back to work or risk losing your job'

Boris Johnson will launch a major drive to get Britain back to the office as ministers warn working from home will make people more “vulnerable” to being sacked.

A publicity campaign to begin next week will extol the virtues of returning to the workplace, making the “emotional case” for mixing with colleagues and highlighting the benefits to mental health.

It will also provide reassurance that “the workplace is a safe place”, while a new online tool will help people avoid the most crowded trains and buses.

While the media blitz – to be launched at the end of next week once schools in England have reopened – will focus on the positives of returning to the office, ministers are already warning of the negatives of home working as part of a carrot and stick approach.

Boris Johnson is to launch a media blitz next week Credit: Jack Hill/AFP

They have sent out the message that bosses at struggling firms will find it easier to hand out P45s to people they never see than to colleagues who have been at their desks during the pandemic.

The Prime Minister is said to be increasingly concerned about empty offices and eerily quiet city centres as millions stubbornly refuse to heed his calls for them to return.

Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, is also worried about further job losses in businesses that depend on office workers for their trade, such as sandwich shops, gyms and pubs, as well as the financial cost of running near-empty trains and buses.

Gordon Rayner, Charles Hymas and Camilla Tominey have more.

Coronavirus vaccine update: South America presidents team up to agree access arrangements

A group of South American presidents have united on sharing and coordination on access to eventual Covid-19 vaccines to counter the disease, the foreign minister of Chile has said.

Andres Allamand said there would be multiple benefits to a coordinated approach to obtaining a vaccine by members of the Prosur bloc, which is made up of Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador and Guyana.

"A joint effort would bring benefits, particularly in terms of access, quantities and guaranteed prices," he said after a virtual meeting that took place today.

More than 150 vaccines are currently in development or being tested around the world, according to the World Health Organisation, with 25 human clinical trials now taking place.

UK quarantine rules: Just three people fined for breaches, police figures show

Police have fined just three people for breaching travel quarantine rules in the last month, new data from police forces in England and Wales has revealed.

The statistics, published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) today, show that a total of three fixed penalty notices were issued to individuals who failed to self-isolate after arriving in England from overseas. 

The three fines, amounting to £100 each, were issued by Lincolnshire, Merseyside and Sussex police forces.

Under new government rules, passengers arriving back to the UK after travelling to non-'travel corridor’ countries must quarantine for 14 days – or risk a £100 fine or further penalties. Travellers submit their quarantine location to authorities via a 'Passenger Locator' form, which must be filled in on arrival. 

The figures apply to penalties issued between 15 June and 17 August. In the four weeks prior to this, just one fine was issued by police for flouting quarantine rules. 

The NPCC statistics reflect fines issued by territorial police forces, and do not include any penalities issued by the UK Border Force.

Hazel Plush has more details here.

Covid may be able to travel up drain pipes, new study suggests 

The discovery of Covid-19 in an unoccupied flat in China suggests the virus floated up through the drain pipes, according to a new study. 

According to a study published this month in Environmental International, traces of the SARS-CoV-2 virus were discovered on the sink, taps and shower handle of an empty apartment in Guangzhou in February.

The flat was located directly above a residence where five people were diagnosed with Covid-19 one week prior to the discovery in the long vacant property.

Scientists conducted an ‘on-site simulation experiment’ which proved the virus could be spread by tiny airborne particles, known as aerosols, created by the force of flushing a lavatory. Coronavirus particles were found to have travelled up as high as 12 storeys this way. 

Covid-19 is thought to be spread primarily via respiratory droplets, but this new discovery raises the possibility that faulty plumbing could also play a role in transmission.

Marcus Parekh has the story.

Mink farms Covid outbreaks to lead to more than 100 closures by March

More than 100 mink farms in the Netherlands will be ordered closed by March after animals at dozens of locations contracted the coronavirus, according to the Dutch news agency ANP :

Hundreds of thousands of the ferret-like animals, which are bred for their fur, have been culled in the Netherlands and other European countries since the virus outbreak.

The Netherlands had already intended to halt its mink breeding industry by 2024, but decided to bring forward the closures after several farm employees contracted COVID-19.

The government has set aside 180 million euros ($212 million) to compensate farmers, the ANP report said, citing sources.

According to the Dutch Federation of Pelt Farmers, the Netherlands exports around 90 million euros ($101 million) worth of fur a year for use in China and globally. The country had roughly 900,000 mink at 130 farms, Statistics Netherlands data said.

UK arrivals by air down 89 per cent year-on-year 

The number of people arriving in the UK by air in July was 89 per cent lower than during the same month last year, new figures show.

Some 1.3 million passengers flew into the UK last month compared with 11.1 million in July 2019, the Home Office said.

But the figures do indicate a rise in demand for air travel since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The average number of monthly arrivals by air in April, May and June was below 200,000.

Credit: Aaron Chown/PA

Since July 10, arrivals from certain countries have been exempt from the requirement to enter quarantine for 14 days.

The list has been amended several times in light of changes to countries' coronavirus case numbers.

Gatwick Airport announced on Wednesday that it plans to cut around 600 jobs due to the impact of the pandemic on passenger numbers, a move that affects nearly a quarter of its workforce.

Read the full story here.

Nursing courses admissions rise by thousands after appeal from profession

Thousands more nursing students have been placed onto courses in England this year following an appeal for more people to join the profession.

Ucas figures published on Thursday a 22 per cent increase in nursing students accepted to students in 2020 compared to 2019.

The increase comes after an appeal by England's chief nursing officer Ruth May for more people of all ages to begin a career in nursing.

In total 24,330 students have been placed, compared to 19,970 last year, and the increase in England has outpaced other parts of the UK.

The NHS estimates that more than 5,000 more people could be accepted onto courses this year than last, as places are still available through clearing.

World Health Organisation goes on three-week Covid mission to China – but without visiting Wuhan

A World Health Organisation team sent to China to investigate the origins of coronavirus did not visit Wuhan, where the pandemic first emerged late last year, sparking criticism.

The WHO reiterated on Thursday that the two officials who visited China were part of an “advance mission” whose role was to lay the groundwork and terms of reference for the international investigation into the origins of Sars-Cov-2, which was agreed earlier this year.

People wearing protective masks in a shopping area in Wuhan Credit: Yan Cong/Bloomberg

Dave Sharma, an Australian MP, told the Financial Times: “It is another disturbing incident of the WHO - which is charged with safeguarding global public health - putting the political sensitivities of a member state above the public health interests of the world”.  

Australia lead calls in April for an international inquiry into the origins of Covid-19, which a Chinese envoy this week likened to Brutus betraying Julius Caesar. 

The US has also been critical of China's and the WHO's handling of the outbreak.

Sophia Yan has the full story from Beijing.

Illegal rave laws: Enforcement 'has all the ingredients to be very, very stressful'

New legislation to hit organisers of illegal raves with £10,000 fines will mean "absolutely nothing" for enforcement in London, a police leader has said.

The Home Office has said that from midnight, anybody facilitating an unlicensed music "any other unlawful gathering of 30 people or more" could face the hefty penalty.

Those not wearing masks and participating in unlawful gatherings can be fined starting at £100, with repeat offenders facing maximum penalties of up to £3,200.

Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said the new legislation would only be helpful somewhere like a warehouse or field where an owner could be identified.

He told the PA news agency:

It could be good for areas outside London, but it means absolutely nothing to us here.

People just set up a music box in the middle of the street and say 'it's not mine', it's utter nonsense.

Raves are completely different to an unlicensed music event, which are a very difficult situation for my colleagues, who are abused and harassed and show amazing bravery.

We need clearer legislation ... we need to be more forceful, clearing the area immediately, close the area down, the Government need more forceful wording around groups of people gathering.

This weekend has all the ingredients to be very, very stressful.

Flu jab numbers decline among vulnerable groups

The number of vulnerable people taking the flu jab is in decline, figures have revealed, raising fears hospitals could be overwhelmed this winter, Jessica Carpani and Anne Gulland report.

The uptake for the influenza vaccination is down five per cent in England among the under 65s in the vulnerable category from 50 per cent in 2015 to 45 per cent in winter 2019.  

Experts say this is because people think flu "isn't that bad" or they "forget they're in risk groups". 

Vulnerable groups included people with multiple sclerosis (MS), diabetes, chronic heart disease or chronic asthma and is currently offered free of charge on the NHS to people who are at risk.

Last month, the Government announced they would extend this group to include over-50s, people shielding and children in their first year of secondary school in a bid to raise the number of vaccinated from 15 million to 30 million amid fears of a second wave of coronavirus.

Placeholder image for youtube video: M-Zp1C7TuV8

Rolls-Royce news of £5.4bn loss leads to fire sale plans

Rolls-Royce has warned that its future could be at risk if the Covid downturn becomes even more severe, after plunging to a record £5.4bn half-year loss, reports Simon Foy

The pre-tax loss for the six months to June included an almost £1.5bn hit from currency movements as markets swung violently when the pandemic struck.

Revenues sank by a quarter to £5.6bn following a collapse in air travel which crushed demand for the firm's engines, and Rolls also announced its finance chief has got a new job.

Credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Europe

Bosses are now fighting to raise £2bn by selling assets including their ITP Aero division, which makes parts for the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Analysts at JP Morgan said: "Only a very major capital raise would put [Rolls] on a sound footing."

Rolls warned that if the economy fails to recover from Covid, its future could be at risk. The business said that in a "severe but plausible downside scenario", uncertainties over the severity and duration of the disruption caused by the pandemic "represent material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern". 

Dengue fever breakthrough study could slash urban infection rates

A breakthrough study in the Southeast Asian nation of Indonesia has discovered that infecting mosquitoes with a naturally occurring bacteria can drastically reduce the transmission of the killer disease dengue. 

The results of the 27-month trial in the city of Yogyakarta by the World Mosquito Programme - which cut incidence rates by 77 per cent - is a major boost for efforts to fight a tropical mosquito-borne viral disease that threatens nearly half of the world’s population. 

It is particularly good news for Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation, which has been badly hit this year by the Covid-19 pandemic combined with an unusually high spike of dengue cases

A worker sprays anti-mosquito fog in an attempt to control dengue fever at a neighbourhood in Jakarta, Indonesia, Credit: Achmad Ibrahim/AP

A data science project this month revealed that Indonesia's Covid-19 death toll is approximately three times higher than the official tally, with a lack of testing and poor contact tracing is to blame for vast underestimate of infections.

The experiment in the Yogyakarta study discovered that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the normal carriers of dengue, were unable to pass on the virus to humans if they were first infected by bacteria called Wolbachia. 

The researchers divided the city into a checkerboard of 24 clusters and released Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes into half of them at random. 

Our Asia correspondent Nicola Smith has more.

Healthy diet found to cut risk of early death while helping the planet

People who follow government guidelines on healthy eating significantly reduce their risk of an early death and could also contribute to cutting greenhouse emissions.

A study in the journal BMJ Open found that people who adhered to five or more of recommendations set out in the government’s Eatwell guidelines experienced an estimated seven per cent reduction in their mortality risk.

Good for your life expectancy - and the planet Credit: Peter Dazeley

Researchers also found that participants who ate the recommended 400g of fruit and vegetables a day experienced a 10 per cent reduction in mortality risk compared to those who did not follow this guideline.

Diets that followed between five and nine of the evaluated recommendations were also associated with a 30 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions per day, compared to the average daily CO2 emissions of diets that adhered to just two of the nine evaluated recommendations, the study found.

Jordan Kelly-Linden has the story.

Local lockdown risk to Bristol unless residents 'act now', council warns

Bristol City Council has issued a statement urging people to adhere to social distancing guidelines and avoid illegal parties following a "small but noticeable increase in new cases" in recent days.

The council said in a statement:

A number of protests and other gatherings of over 30 people without social distancing measures have already taken place in recent weeks, with more planned for the coming few days.

This has prompted the city’s Bristol Covid-19 Local Engagement Board to take the unprecedented step of voicing it's concerns about gatherings of over 30 people planned to happen over the next few days. These concerns include increased social mixing and a lack of adherence to approved guidance.

Gatherings of particular concern to the Board include raves, house parties and other get-togethers, where social distancing can’t be maintained. The risks related to these gatherings include interactions between people travelling to and from meetings, socialising before and afterwards and then passing the infection on to friends and family in the days that follow.

The Board and local health officials continue to monitor the impacts of social behaviour, including larger gatherings, on infection rates. City leaders have been working with organisers of planned large events to ensure sufficient measures are in place to protect community health.

However, people are encouraged to find safer, alternative methods, such as online protest, to express their views during the pandemic.

End of furlough scheme and mortgage holidays threaten November economic crunch

Millions could face a brutal autumn after the City watchdog announced an end to mortgage holidays at the same time as the taxpayer-funded furlough scheme is axed.

Covid-hit workers will no longer be able to demand a break from mortgage payments beyond October 31, following a change to rules set out by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The furlough programme - which pays up to 80 per cent of wages for workers unable to do their jobs - will end on the same day, potentially triggering mass redundancies as firms sack staff who they can no longer afford to keep on.

It means November 1 could be the day when the true extent of the economic havoc wreaked by Covid-19 on the British economy is finally laid bare.

Lucy Burton and our economics editor Russell Lynch have the story.

Europe coronavirus latest: 'The continent is at last waking up to its lockdown folly'

Did you hear it? Beyond the second wave sirens and the schools debate, the sound of the penny dropping on the global stage, Sherelle Jacobs writes.

In recent days, world leaders have hinted at an extraordinary admission: lockdowns are a disaster, and we can’t afford to repeat the mistake.

Still, when that spiritless reverend of the global order Angela Merkel delivered this confession a few days ago, she was so officiously ambiguous that the world paid no attention. “Politically, we want to avoid closing borders again at any cost, but that assumes that we act in coordination,” she droned at a summit in the Mediterranean. And with that, an earthquake: saving lives “at any cost” has been excised from the lexicon of liberal internationalism. Instead the aim is to save the economy. This means “acting in coordination” to kill off second lockdowns.

Emmanuel Macron was the first leader to drop this little bombshell. Last week he said that France can’t cope with the “collateral damage” of a second lockdown, explaining that “zero risk never exists in any society”. Italy joined in three days later, with the health minister hinting that the country will not return to national hibernation.

Meanwhile, after lauding China’s draconian lockdown, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is imploring countries to avoid battening down the hatches again.

Read Sherelle's full column here.

IVF success rates impacted by lockdown, new study finds

Delays in IVF treatments during the coronavirus lockdown are going to have a significant impact on successful births, according to new research.

Lockdown measures are likely to lead to a drop of 0.5 per cent in the live birth rate following IVF treatment, according to researchers from the University of Glasgow and the University of the West of England.

In the US - which along with the UK was the focus of the study - this is equivalent to 734 fewer live births per year.

France coronavirus cases rise to new record since lockdown

France on Thursday recorded 6,111 new confirmed coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours.

This represents the highest number of cases in the country since lockdown ended and its second-highest ever total, following the high of 7,578 set on March 30 during lockdown at the height of its first coronavirus case.

The French health ministry said the total number of confirmed cases in the country now stood at 259,698.

On Wednesday, France logged 5,429 new infections, which was its previous post-lockdown record.

Theatres reopening: Bridge Theatre marks its first show since lockdown

The Bridge Theatre has marked its first show since the national lockdown in March with a performance of 'Beat the Devil', a one-person play starring Ralph Fiennes.

The theatre is set to welcome a number of 'Talking Heads' double bills and other monologues in the coming weeks and months.

 

Social distancing not being observed concerns WHO chief despite face mask use

A World Health Organisation expert has said that she is concerned people are no longer social distancing despite wearing face masks.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the organisation's Covid-19 technical lead, said people must try to take as many precautions as possible when it comes to attempts to limit the spread of the virus, rather than individual measures.

Speaking at a WHO briefing earlier today, she said masks are just one of a number of tools that people should use, along with distancing and handwashing.

She said:

I think one of the things I really want to highlight here, and what I'm becoming a little bit concerned about, is where I'm seeing the use of masks we're seeing that people aren't really adhering to the physical distancing anymore.

Even if you're wearing masks you still need to try to do the physical distancing of at least one metre and even further if you can.

Switzerland quarantine rules change must be obeyed, Grant Shapps warns

 

Spain coronavirus latest: Lockdown will not exempt foreign citizens from paying tax

The Spanish finance ministry has said that being trapped in the country during lockdown between March and June will not excuse foreign citizens from having to pay tax in Spain. 

In response to a query by a Lebanese family who had spent longer than expected in Spain, the ministry ruled that no exceptions would be made to the rule under which spending 183 days of a year in the country automatically makes foreigners tax residents.

The Spanish government noted that when the lockdown ended on June 21, there were still 10 more days to go before a person who had started the year in Spain would reach the 183-day limit.

This strict interpretation stands in contrast with the UK government’s position, where an extended stay in the country due to a lockdown-enforced situation may be considered “exceptional circumstances”.

Anyone found to have spent more than half the year in Spain must pay tax on all of their income, no matter in what country it has been earned, as well as potential liability for property and inheritance levies.

James Badcock has all the details.

Europe must be on alert for 'tricky' transition from summer to autumn, WHO warns

Health officials must be on the alert for transmission of Covid-19 among children and the impact of winter flu, as the World Health Organization warned of the “tricky” transition from summer to autumn, Anne Gulland reports.

Speaking at his weekly press briefing Dr Hans Kluge, director of the WHO's European region, said that while it was unlikely the continent would see a return to the scenes witnessed earlier this year when health services were overwhelmed and death tolls were high, the pandemic was resurging throughout the region.

In 32 out of the 55 countries in WHO's European region cases have gone up by more than 10 per cent over the last 14 days. France and Spain have both seen big increases this week – France recorded more than 5,000 infections yesterday and Spain had more than 7,000.

But, echoing the message of Sergio Brusin, principal expert at the European Centres for Disease Control, in an interview with the Telegraph yesterday, Dr Kluge said this was not a repeat of the beginning of the pandemic.

Cases are rising across Europe with more than 5,000 cases in France yesterday Credit: Philippe Lopez/AFP

Coronavirus investigation: Wuhan will be visited by any full research team, WHO says

World Health Organization officials have insisted that any investigation into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak will visit Wuhan, the Chinese city where Covid-19 first emerged, writes Anne Gulland.

Earlier, the Financial Times reported that a WHO team that visited China earlier this summer stayed in the capital for three weeks and did not visit Wuhan, prompting concerns over Beijing's commitment to uncovering the source of the pandemic.

However, Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO health emergencies programme, told a press briefing that the two-person team had conducted a "scoping mission" and it had not been their intention to visit Wuhan. 

The primary purpose of the two-person mission to China was to work out the full terms of reference for phase one and phase two studies, he said.

These would focus on "the chains of transmission and establish the likely hypothesis for the animal-humans species breach," he said.

He added that it was WHO's expectation that any full research team would visit Wuhan. WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also told the press briefing that he would review the regulations that govern when an international health emergency is declared.

When the coronavirus emerged in January there was some criticism that the WHO was slow to declare a global health emergency. Dr Tedros said he wanted to ensure this "powerful tool of international law" was as effective as possible. 

He added: "WHO is committed to ending the pandemic and to working with all countries to learn from it and to ensure that together we build a healther, safer and fairer world." 

Eat Out to Help Out discount extended by UK restaurants after its success in August

When the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced his plan to boost footfall in restaurants, pubs and cafes, not many people predicted quite the level of success the Eat Out To Help Out scheme has achieved.

Giving customers 50 per cent off food and non-alcoholic drinks, up to £10, on Mondays to Wednesdays, encouraged diners back into hospitality spots, drawn in by the discount.

With 35 million meals eaten in just the first two weeks, some restaurateurs have dubbed Monday-Wednesday the new weekend. 

Credit: Jeff J Mitchell/PA

Yet August is coming to an end, and with it the government-funded discount. With the weather worsening, diners may start to think twice before heading out for dinner, especially if it will cost £10 more.

Restaurants around the country, including many in the capital, have nonetheless decided that the benefits of a £10 discount, even if they foot it themselves, far outweigh the pitfalls. 

Tomé Morrissy-Swan has more here.

Back to school: Supply teachers may pose superspreader risk, union warns

Unions have warned that supply teachers could act as so-called coronavirus 'superspreaders' as they move from school to school, posing a similar risk to staff at care homes at the start of the pandemic, writes Catherine Neilan.

School leaders are concerned that insufficient attention has been paid to the potential risk that supply teachers pose, if regular testing is not introduced before autumn, when sickness rates begin to rise. 

James Bowen, director of policy at school leaders’ union NAHT, told the Telegraph: “It is inevitable that supply teachers will need to be used this term, possibly more than usual because of coronavirus.

"There’s relatively little in the Government guidance to assist school leaders with their decision-making on this issue.

“A big question is whether it is definitely safe for supply teachers to move from school to school, and therefore across different bubbles."

Read more from Catherine here.

Schools reopening: Self-cleaning robots deployed ahead of next month

Robot cleaners have been deployed to disinfect classrooms ahead of schools reopening amid hears harmful bacteria could be missed by human hands.

The autonomous self-cleaning droids have been used in hospitals and airports previously, but never before in schools.

The machines will patrol classrooms and corridors and blast out a powerful UV ray onto surfaces to make the building Covid-19 safe for returning pupils and teachers.

The robots headed into Three Towers Alternative Provision Academy, in Hindley, Wigan, Greater Manchester, this week, and spent two days blasting bacteria.

The Sterilight Robot aims to prevent and reduce the spread of infectious diseases and viruses by using powerful UV rays that break down the DNA-structure.

Makers claims the robot cleaners kills 99.9 per cent of bacteria, and they entered the classrooms on Monday and Tuesday.

Pret A Manger job cuts to affect 2,800 employees

Pret a Manger has cut 2,800 jobs after completing a restructuring of its UK operations in the wake of a severe downturn in sales despite reopening many stores, writes Chris Johnston.

The cuts come after the sandwich and coffee chain said last month it was planning a shake-up that would result in 30 shops closing.

Although there had been "clear signs of recovery" in footfall since lockdown was eased, sales were still down about 60pc compared with the same time last year.

Credit: Hannah Mckay/Reuters

Chief executive Pano Christou said he was "gutted" to cut so many jobs.

"The pandemic has taken away almost a decade of growth at Pret," he said.

"We've managed to protect many jobs by making changes to the way we run our shops and the hours we ask team members to work.

"I'm hopeful we'll be able to review all these changes now that trade is improving again, and I'm encouraged by the improvements we're seeing every week."

More to follow from our Business team here.

Second wave: Would our economy survive another surge in coronavirus cases?

The main uncertainty currently besetting the government is how to prepare for a second wave of the coronavirus, writes Patrick Minford.

Alarmist virologists tell us it could be terrible, and we should prepare for more lockdowns, or even persist in much of the current lockdown.

Plainly this virus is so new and so little about it is known that we cannot know for sure if they are right. But we can look at the facts, and see what they tell us. As it happens, we already have data on 28 countries’ second waves. Why look in the crystal ball when you can read the book?

In these second waves, the same virus has attacked the same population, having already completed a first attack. Evolutionary biology tells us that two main things could have changed between the two waves. First, all organisms come in numerous copies or mutations, from which natural selection weeds out the least fit to survive; hence the surviving virus mutations in the second wave will exclude those that died in the first, whether by killing their host or by being killed by their host recovering from a nasty bout of Covid-19 which produced killer antibodies.

Second, the population being attacked in the second wave should have more immunity than the one attacked in the first, since it will include at least some who survived from the first wave, while it will no longer sadly include those who did not. So in sum, it is likely that the virus has "weakened" and the population has "strengthened".

The main point of this excursion into virus prediction is to reach a forecast for the economy over the rest of this year, when the fabled second wave may hit.  Our forecast suggests it will be an anti-climax.

Read Patrick's full piece here.

UK visas fall by 29% as effects of pandemic take hold

The number of visas granted for people coming to the UK has fallen by 29 per cent as the medium-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic begin to take hold.

According to the Home Office, 2.1 million visas were issued in the year to June, with around 12 per cent issued for study and 7 per cent for work.

The number of student visas granted to Chinese nationals has fallen, with the number of sponsored study visas for Chinese nationals also falling by 19 per cent.

Indian nationals saw a "notable increase" in the number of Tier 4 visas granted (48,297) - a 121 per cent rise compared with the same period in 2019 (21,868), continuing an increase that has been ongoing since 2016.

However, the Home Office warned the full impact of the coronavirus outbreak is yet to be seen, as the majority of student visas are granted between July and September, and migration experts said that a "collapse" in these figures would point to significantly reduced migration levels overall.

Our political correspondent Amy Jones has the story.

Quarantine UK list changes: Czech Republic, Jamaica and Switzerland all added to 'red list'

 

Switzerland quarantine list change to come into effect

Three countries have been removed from the UK's dwindling holiday "green list" after the Government carried out its weekly review of the controversial quarantine policy, writes Oliver Smith.

Chief among them is Switzerland, which has seen its seven-day case rate rise to 21.7 per 100,000 residents (August 21-27). While other factors are considered, such as a destination's popularity with Britons and the size of its population, a seven-day rate of 20 per 100,000 is understood to be a key threshold. 

The other countries to lose their "travel corridors" are Jamaica (20.7 per 100,000) and the Czech Republic (20.1). Allowances continue to be made for Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory, where the infection rate has been beyond the threshold for some time. It has now risen to 139.5 but it keeps its quarantine-free status.

However, Britons returning from holidays to Cuba will no longer have to self-isolate for two weeks after a steady decline in the country's infection rate.

Follow all the latest travel updates here.

Has eat out to help out been extended? At some restaurants, the answer is yes

A number of nationwide chains are extending their offer of discounted meals following the Government's 'eat out to help out' scheme as a result of the popularity of the offer with diners.

While restaurants will have to cover the costs themselves, the scheme has drawn diners back to eateries, with more than 64 million discounted meals claimed nationwide.

Prezzo, Bill's, Franco Manca, Harvester, Toby Carvery, and Pizza Hut are all among the restaurants which will be extending their offers beyond the scheme, which ends on August 31.

Retail news: Consumers staying closer to home in bruising year for the sector

When the British Retail Consortium lamented in January that 2019 had been the worst year for retail in a quarter of a century, it could have had little idea what the following few months would hold, writes Rhiannon Bury.

High streets quickly became one of the major casualties of the coronavirus lockdown and the roll call of troubled businesses as the UK emerges blinking into the autumn reads like a list of the great and the good of British retailing: Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, Monsoon Accessorize, John Lewis and Laura Ashley are just some of the long-standing brands at the very least bruised in the past few months.

Even after non-essential shops were allowed to reopen in mid-June, consumers have been hesitant to return en masse, although footfall is beginning to improve. Figures released by Springboard this week showed shopper numbers across all retail destinations rose by 4.1pc last week – although still about a third lower than last year. 

There have been two fundamental shifts, explains Kien Tan, senior retail advisor at PwC: what we’re buying and where we’re buying it – and these changes are likely to persist for at least the next couple of years.

Coronavirus cases: Number testing positive falls for first time in six weeks 

The number of people testing positive for coronavirus has declined for the first time in six weeks - despite an increase in tests, Henry Bodkin reports.

Only 6,115 positive cases were recorded by NHS Test and Trace across England between August 13 and 19, which is down from 6,616 in the previous week.

The figures were released as ministers decide whether to impose any more local or regional lockdowns in order to suppress the virus.

Restrictions remain in place in Greater Manchester, parts of Lancashire, Leicester, Luton and Northampton.

Since the beginning of July, the statistics provided by Test and Trace had shown a steady weakly rise of positive results, outstripping the increase in the number of tests conducted.

They were used as evidence by some experts to argue for the reintroduction of lockdown measures.

Local lockdown updates expected this afternoon as Government warned patience is "wearing thin"

Patience among people living under local lockdown is "wearing thin" because of  "confused and bungled" messaging, the Government has been warned. 

Matt Hancock is expected to set on the next steps for the partial lockdown in place across much of the North, after a 'gold' Joint Biosecurity Centre meeting today. 

Ahead of that, Susan Hinchcliffe, Tim Swift and Shabir Pandor, the leaders of Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees respectively, have issued a statement taking aim at central Government's failure to get to grips with the local issues. 

They said: "Our infection rates have come down significantly this week, although they are still high.

"Over the last few months and weeks we, as leaders, have taken difficult decisions and directed significant resource in our councils to make this happen. However, throughout this time Government messaging has been confused and bungled."

Passenger removed from flight at Stansted after receiving text saying he had tested positive for Covid-19

A passenger was removed from a flight at Stansted Airport after receiving a text saying he had tested positive for coronavirus, writes Helena Horton.

Horrified holidaymakers watched on Wednesday evening as airport staff in hazmat suits boarded the plane to remove the coronavirus-positive passenger and his companion.

After boarding the plane, the man, who has not been named, received a text saying he had tested positive for the virus. He alerted staff on the Ryanair flight to Pisa, who quickly ensured he was removed along with his companion.

Their seats were sanitised, and the overhead lockers wiped, and after a delay of over an hour the flight still took off.

After they were taken to an isolation area, they were put into the care of Public Health England. 

Placeholder image for youtube video: rWfXURZVuOY

 

UK coronavirus cases rise by 1,522, as 12 more deaths confirmed

A further 1,522 laboratory-confirmed cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the UK, which brings the country's caseload to 330,368.

The Department for Health also confirmed 12 new fatalities among people who tested positive for the virus in the space of the last 28 days. This takes the UK's overall total death toll to 41,477.

Spain coronavirus cases have risen - but second lockdown could destroy its damaged economy

Not since Spain plunged into a bloody Civil War more than eight decades ago has the country’s economy suffered so badly as during the Covid pandemic, James Keeley reports from Madrid.

When General Francisco Franco’s Nationalists staged an uprising against the Republican government, the country’s economy went into deep decline between 1936-1939.

The same happened when Spain imposed one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe in March in order to try to contain the epidemic.

After emerging from lockdown in June, a new surge from the virus saw the total number of Covid-19 cases rise to 359,082, the highest number in Europe, according to the data released on August 17.

 More than 28,600 Spaniards have lost their lives to Covid-19, according to health ministry data, although the real death toll is closer to 45,000, according to data from regional authorities and research bodies.

The dire cost of Spain's economic hibernation was laid bare when government data revealed the economy shrank by 18.5 per cent between April and June.

Best Covid responses came from countries that planned for 'Disease X', says EU health expert

Sergio Brusin, the lead expert at European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), warned Britain on March 8 to quickly implement lockdown measures in order to avoid suffering Italy’s fate. His advice was ignored.

Speaking to The Telegraph's Paul Nuki about the possibility of a winter second wave and the lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, he said that next time round Britain needs a “Disease X” strategy:

In around 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) came out with this concept of the famous ‘Disease X’; the idea we should plan flexibly for a novel pathogen. That was much closer to what we're seeing with Covid-19.

And the countries that bought in into that kind of planning and thinking, they did have the suppression idea in their pandemic plans.

At the ECDC we don’t say who is good and who is bad but the countries that implemented very tough measures early were the ones that had better preparedness plans.

Read the full exclusive interview here.

Royal Shakespeare Company theatres to stay closed for full productions until 2021 amid redundancies

The Royal Shakespeare Company has confirmed that its theatres will not reopen for full productions until 2021, and confirmed that some of its staff will be made redundant before then.

In a statement, artistic director Gregory Doran and executive director Catherine Mallyon said:

It is now clear that the ongoing pandemic and the continued need for social distancing mean that we will not be able to stage full RSC productions in our theatres before 2021.

It is with great sadness that we have now reached the stage where a formal consultation process with employees must take place to safeguard the long-term future of the company.

We had hoped that things would have become more positive by now, but this has not been the case.

India coronavirus latest: 'Third gender' hijra in fight for survival during pandemic

No group in Indian society has had their health and livelihoods so badly decimated by coronavirus as India’s transgender community, writes Joe Wallen.

Optimism is in short supply across India as the subcontinent struggles to contain the world’s fastest-growing Covid-19 pandemic.

Job losses will push an estimated 400 million people further into poverty, a factor most keenly felt amongst India’s daily wage earners and in particular amongst India’s transgender community.

Yet, when The Telegraph meets Mahi Solanki, 23, in Noida, one of numerous satellite cities on the outskirts of India’s sprawling capital of New Delhi, her relief and happiness are palpable.

Mahi Solanki, who is transgender and HIV-positive, contracted an opportunistic infection after the Covid-19 pandemic. Credit: Cheena Kapoor

Ms Solanki has just been discharged after a two-month stay in hospital, having been admitted with a mystery virus that caused her haemoglobin to nosedive.

“I was in a pathetic condition, I couldn’t even walk and I wasn’t getting support from anyone,” she said. 

She is transgender and HIV-positive, with doctors asserting she was preyed upon by an opportunistic infection after the Covid-19 pandemic meant she couldn’t collect the antiretroviral medicines she relies on to keep her alive.

Read the full story here.

Police have issued just 38 fines for not wearing a face covering on public transport 

Police have issued fewer than 40 fines to people not wearing a face covering on public transport, new figures reveal. 

The data from the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) shows that just 38 notices were issued by officers from June 15 when face coverings became mandatory on buses and trains.

The Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has previously claimed that as many as one in 10 passengers break the rules.

Since June passengers in England and Wales caught not complying with the regulations, which aim to slow the spread of coronavirus, risk being fined £100 and removed from services.

Some 32 of the 38 fixed penalty notices were issued by the British Transport Police (BTP), with four issued by West Midlands Police, and one each by Lancashire and Cumbria constabularies.

Read more on this here.

Credit: Alex Lentati/London News Pictures Ltd

Music venues and theatres fear going bust

More than half of workers remain furloughed in the arts and entertainment industry, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Almost a quarter of businesses in the sector said their risk of insolvency was moderate or severe from July 27 to Aug 9, compared to the economy-wide average of 11pc of firms.

Lizzy Burden has the story here.

A woman walks past the Lyric Theatre at London's West End Credit:  HENRY NICHOLLS /Reuters

Welsh toll rises by one

Public Health Wales said another person has died having tested positive for coronavirus, bringing its total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic to 1,595.

The number of cases of Covid-19 in Wales increased by 35, bringing the revised confirmed total to 17,843.

EU pays €336 million for 300 million doses of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine 

The European Commission has paid 336 million euros (£300 million) to secure at least 300 million doses of the potential Covid-19 vaccine being developed by British drug maker AstraZeneca, a spokesman said on Thursday.

Brussels signed the deal on behalf of EU states for the supply of at least 300 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. It has an option for a further 100 million, the spokesman said.

"We cannot indicate at this stage the specific pricing per dose. However, a significant part of the overall costs are funded by a contribution from the overall ESI funding for vaccines," he said, referring to the bloc's so-called emergency support instrument.

Weekly cases in England decline for first time since July

Some 6,115 new people tested positive for Covid-19 in England in the week to August 19, down 8 per cent on the week before and showing the first decrease since the start of July, figures from the government's test and trace operation showed on Thursday.

A higher total of 7,941 people were transferred to the contact tracing system in the week, in part due to an operational delay in the prior week.

Of these, 72.6 per cent were reached and asked to provide information about their contacts, compared to 79.0 per cent in the previous week, the government said.

Public Health England also said on Thursday the number of deaths from all causes in England in the week to August 23 - the 34th week - showed no statistically significant excess.

Spanish school children to wear masks in class from September

Spain’s government has announced that all schoolchildren from the age of six will have to wear face masks in class when the country’s schools reopen in September for the first time in six months.

After a meeting with the education heads of Spain’s 17 regions, Health Minister Salvador Illa said the agreed protocol for the new school year also meant children must have their temperature checked each morning, either by parents or on arrival at school, and that pupils will wash their hands at least five times a day.

Education Minister Isabel Celaá said the “objective is physical attendance” but most of Spain’s regions have backed away from a previous commitment to 100 per cent attendance, especially for secondary school pupils.   

In the result of a positive for Covid-19, all children from the same class bubble must observe quarantine, although there is no overall rule on the implementation of bubbles. In a non-bubble scenario, only pupils considered close contacts of the infected child would be expected to stay at home.

The government has said it will introduce paid leave for working parents who have to stay at home in such a situation.

James Badcock reports from Madrid.

Credit: Marcial Guillén/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

UN resumes Syrian constitutional talks following spate of positive tests

UN-backed talks on a new constitution for Syria resumed in Geneva today, after Swiss health authorities gave the green light despite four delegates testing positive for Covid-19.

The discussions, aimed at rewriting the war-torn country's constitution, were put on hold almost as soon as they started on Monday when the test results came through.

UN envoy Geir Pedersen, who is moderating the tentative talks between representatives of President Bashar al-Assad's government, the opposition and civil society, said in a statement that "following additional testing and further medical and expert advice regarding four earlier positive tests for Covid-19", Swiss authorities had determined the meeting could go ahead at the UN Palais des Nations. They resumed at 2:00 pm (1200 GMT).

The committee members - 15 each from the government, the opposition and from civil society - were tested for the new coronavirus before they travelled to Geneva, and were tested again on arrival in the Swiss city.

The positive second tests were found among delegates who arrived from Damascus, opposition negotiations leader Hadi al-Bahra told a virtual press briefing on Tuesday.

Pedersen said further testing in recent days "indicates that the earlier positive cases do not pose any risk," adding though that "out of an abundance of caution", the talks would proceed at the UN "only with those who have tested negative."

England death toll rises by seven

A further seven people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals to 29,531, NHS England said on Thursday.

The patients were aged between 77 and 90, and all had known underlying health conditions.

Another six deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.

Manchester United footballer Paul Pogba tests positive for coronavirus 

The manager of the France football team, Didier Deschamps, has said that the midfielder Paul Pogba has tested positive for coronavirus.

That means that the player will be unavailable for selection for France’s upcoming international fixtures.

Tanguy Ndombele, who plays for Tottenham, has also been diagnosed with the virus and stood down from the French squad.

Deschamps said of Pogba: “At the last minute, we had to make a change to the list because Paul Pogba had been on the list but, unfortunately for him, he took a test yesterday that came back positive this morning.” He has been replaced by Rennes teenager Eduardo Camavinga.

Paul Pogba Credit: FRANCK FIFE / AFP

In related news, at least four Chelsea players have returned positive tests, Jacob Steinberg reported today, with others self-isolating after returning from holiday.

And Aaron Wan-Bissaka, also of Manchester United, is facing a 14-day quarantine period after returning from Dubai (though he is not reported to have tested positive).

‘I asked to extend my furlough as I couldn’t get childcare then was made redundant’

One in 10 parents has not been able to access any childcare since lockdown was eased, new research shows, as experts warn of mass redundancies among working mothers when furlough comes to an end. 

The study, conducted by the Early Years Alliance, which represents childcare providers, found that almost all the parents who were still struggling to find places for their children in nurseries or with childminders were mothers.

This creates a huge barrier for those in employment, preventing them from returning to work as normal. 

Mothers took on a disproportionate burden of care duties while schools and nurseries were closed, according to research by think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and are therefore at higher risk of having to quit work if childcare remains hard to find.

Problems will be exacerbated when the furlough scheme ends, resulting in mothers who took the leave as they were unable to get childcare being called back to work. Two thirds of furloughed mothers surveyed by Pregnant Then Screwed said a lack of childcare was the reason they were furloughed. 

One woman said she was made redundant after she asked if she could extend her furlough until September, as she was still unable to find someone to look after her two children. 

Marianna Hunt has her story. Read more here.

'A case of life or death for us': Sport sector calls for inclusion in Government VAT relief package

There are calls for the Government to extend to the sport and physical activity sector the VAT cut granted to the leisure industry during the coronavirus crisis – amid warnings it was a matter of “life or death”.

The Sport and Recreation Alliance and ukactive, which between them represent more than 4,000 sport and physical activity providers, announced they had made an “urgent request” to include their members in the relief package that has already been offered to the hospitality, accommodation and culture sectors.

Those industries have seen a fourfold cut in VAT to five per cent, something the SRA and ukactive want applied to sport and leisure facilities and tickets to sporting events across the UK.

They warned the sector’s ability to keep millions of people active and engaged in sport and physical activity was at risk at a time the Government had launched a new obesity strategy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic to help reduce pressure on the NHS.

Ben Rumsby has more on this story here.

For Saracens Mavericks, a VAT cut could be the difference between the survival and closure of the club Credit:  Nathan Stirk / Getty

Poland to shorten coronavirus quarantine period to 10 days

 Poland will shorten its quarantine period for those suspected of being infected with coronavirus to 10 days from 14 days, the health minister said on Thursday, amid a spike in new daily cases.

"We will change the rules for quarantine and isolation... We would like to propose the shortening of quarantine to 10 days," health minister Adam Niedzielski told a press conference.

Poland has recorded 64,689 confirmed coronavirus cases and 2,010 deaths. 

Some good epidemic news: Togo becomes first African country to end sleeping sickness

Togo today announced that it has officially eliminated human African trypanosomiasis or “sleeping sickness” as a public health problem, becoming the first country in Africa to reach this milestone, according to the World Health Organization

Around 65 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of sleeping sickness, a deadly neglected tropical disease spread by tsetse flies. Fatal without treatment, sleeping sickness causes debilitating disruption of sleep patterns, uncontrollable aggression and psychosis. 

Togo’s achievement comes after more than two decades of sustained political commitment, surveillance and screening of cases.

“Togo is a pathfinder in eliminating sleeping sickness, a disease which has threatened millions of Africans,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “I congratulate the Government and people of Togo for showing the way. I am sure the country’s efforts will inspire others to push towards a final eradication of sleeping sickness.”

Sweden to allow gathering of 500

 Rules over public gatherings in Sweden can be eased to allow up to 500 people to attend if they can be seated, the Public Health Agency said on Thursday, proposing such venues can be granted an exception from the current rule that sets a ceiling of 50 people.

"The proposal relates to evens where there are numbered seats," the Agency's chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell told reporters.

He said that if the government accepts the proposal, its effects should be evaluated "and if it works well, the limit can be raised". 

Four members of India's dwindling  Great Andamese tribe test positive

Four members of a remote tribe living on India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands have tested positive for Covid-19, sparking fears for the group’s survival. The Greater Andamese number as few as 53 and have limited immunity to viruses like Covid-19 due to their isolated nature.

They numbered more than 5,000 in the 1850s but when the British colonised the islands successive outbreaks of diseases like measles caused their numbers to plummet. 

Two of the Great Andamese who have tested positive have been admitted to hospital and two have been quarantined in a care centre.

“It is extremely alarming that members of the Great Andamanese tribe tested positive for Covid-19,” said Sophie Grigg, a Senior Researcher at Survival International, an NGO campaigning for the rights of tribal people.

“They will be all too aware of the devastating impact of epidemics that have decimated their people”.

Health workers who tested the Greater Andamese on their home of Strait Island believe members of the tribe may have contracted the virus after travelling to the capital of the archipelago, Port Blair, for work.

The islands have recorded 2,985 Covid-19 cases but the virus is surging, with the highest reproduction or “R” value out of India’s 36 union territories and states.

Joe Wallen reports from New Delhi.

Today's key events

Good afternoon, if you're just joining us here is everything you need to know from today; 

  • Coronavirus sufferers in the UK and their contacts will be paid to quarantine themselves amid signs that increasing numbers are refusing to self-isolate because of financial worries. People on low incomes £13 a day to stay at home.
  • Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said people aged between 50 and 64 will be able to receive the flu jab this year "if we have enough" but those who are most vulnerable will remain a priority.
  • Several countries, including Switzerland, Czech Republic and Jamacia, face being removed from the UK's holiday "green list" this evening when the Government carries out its weekly review of the controversial quarantine policy
  • Moderna Inc has aid its experimental Covid-19 vaccine sucessfully induced immune responses in older adults similar to those in younger participants, offering hope that it will be effective in people considered to be at high risk for severe complications from the coronavirus.
  • At least a third of the world’s schoolchildren – 463 million children globally – were unable to access remote learning when the coronavirus outbreak shuttered their schools, according to a new Unicef report released today.
  • France's prime minister has announced face masks will become compulsory throughout Paris, expressing concern over an "undeniable" trend of expanding coronavirus infection in the country after France's R-rate jumped to 1.4 this week.
  • Indian school children are threatening a hunger strike after the government confirmed it would still hold university admission exams, despite the country struggling to contain the world's fastest-growing Covid-19 epidemic with over 3.3 million cases.
  • South Korea's parliament was shut down on Thursday and a group of lawmakers were in self-quarantine as the country recorded more than 400 new coronavirus infections.
  • Johnson & Johnson has said it will extend trials of its vaccine candidate against Covid-19 to Chile and Argentina. It said the countries have been chosen because they have some of the highest infection rates worldwide. 

Johnson & Johnson to trial vaccine in Chile and Argentina

Johnson & Johnson has said it will extend trials of its vaccine candidate against Covid-19 to Chile and Argentina.

The vaccine will undergo Phase 3 trials in eight countries altogether, involving some 60,000 adult volunteers. The participation of Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Mexico had already been announced. 

"This study is scheduled for September, subject to review by the health authority," the company said in a statement. 

The countries have been chosen because they have some of the highest infection rates worldwide. 

"The current prevalence of the disease, the demographics of the population and the requirements of the health authorities were taken into account to ensure that the study can be carried out properly and provide relevant data," the company said.

Transition into autumn will be 'tricky' for controlling virus, says WHO

The transition from summer to autumn will be "tricky" for controlling the coronavirus, the director of the World Health Organization's European region has said.

Speaking at a press briefing this morning Dr Hans Kluge said that the number of cases was increasing in 32 out of the 55 countries in WHO's European region. But, echoing the message of his counterpart at the European Centres for Disease Control in an interview with the Telegraph yesterday, Dr Kluge said it was unlikely the continent would see a return to the scenes witnessed earlier in the year when health services were overwhelmed.

"In February we were caught by the speed and devastation of the virus and the default was to lock down and reboot. Now we are much more sophisticated in our knowledge of what works.

"It's possible to manage the transmission of the virus in society and have a running economy and have the educational system open. But it's a tricky moment when we transition from summer to autumn," he said.

He warned that the spread of Covid-19 was increasing among young people and he warned: "The message is no-one is invincible. It may be that younger people are not necessarily going to die from it but it's a tornado with a long tail."

Dr Kluge added that vigilance was vital.

Young people should be applauded for the major sacrifices they have made

It’s time to recognise the debt we owe to blighted Covid generation, writes Rachel Cunliffe

Young people are fuelling the rise in coronavirus cases. So claimed the World Health Organisation this month, sparking a spate of headlines about the selfishness of the young.

Preston’s council even warned young people “don’t kill granny”, as though Britain’s feckless youth were directly to blame for Covid-19 deaths through their insistence on working and socialising even in the midst of a global pandemic.

Such generational warfare may be commonplace, but it is far from accurate. The young are not the unpunished perpetrators of the Covid crisis. They are its forgotten victims.

Read more here.

Trump says he saved 51 million jobs in pandemic, economists say otherwise

President Trump has repeatedly said that his administration has saved 51 million jobs in pandemic, but economists aren't so sure.

“Through the historic relief package that I signed into law, we saved over 50 million American jobs,” he said on August 15. Referring to his Democratic opponents, he said, “They don’t like these kind of numbers because they think it’ll hurt them in the election.”

The estimate that the $660 billion (£500 billion) taxpayer-funded Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) saved some 51 million jobs has been trumpeted by the president’s reelection campaign. On Monday, Trump touted it again at a rally west of Charlotte, North Carolina, site of the Republican National Convention.

However, the PPP likely did not save 51 million jobs, or anywhere close to it, according to Reuters interviews with economists. Half a dozen economists put the number of jobs saved by the initiative at only a fraction of 51 million – ranging between one million and 14 million.

Officials in Trump’s own administration give varying explanations for the 51 million figure. In interviews with Reuters, officials from the Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration, which oversee the PPP program, said the 51 million refers to the total number of workers reported by businesses approved for a loan - not the number of jobs that were saved.

 President Donald Trump Credit:  Carlos Barria / REUTERS

Italy blames surge in new cases on holidaymakers returning home

Italy has recorded its highest number of new Covid-19 cases since early May, when the country was still in lockdown.

The Italian authorities reported 1,367 new cases on Wednesday, up from 878 on Tuesday, 953 on Monday and 1,210 on Sunday. The death toll rose by 13 – an increase on the single digits that have been seen in recent days.

The authorities pointed out, however, that a far greater number of swabs were taken on Wednesday – more than 93,000, which was nearly 20,000 more than on Tuesday.

“You have to look at the percentage of swabs that yield a positive result. We are still at around 1.5-2%,” said Matteo Bassetti, a virologist from San Martino hospital in Genoa.

A month ago, it looked as though Italy had managed to get on top of the pandemic, with daily cases down to around 200.  

But since then there has been a sharp surge, as there has been in countries like Germany, France, Greece and Croatia.

The largest number of new cases was in Lombardy, which was the epicentre of the pandemic back in March and April.

Around two-thirds of the region’s new cases involve Italians returning home from holiday abroad, said Giulio Gallera, Lombardy’s top health official.

Nick Squires reports from Rome.

Only 1 in 5 staff in UK cities back in workplaces, think-tank says 

Only 17 per cent of workers in British cities had returned to their workplaces by early August, underscoring the challenge for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to steer the country away from its coronavirus shutdown, data published on Thursday showed.

The Centre for Cities said the data, based on mobile phone signals, showed no increase in the footfall of workers going to city centres between late June and the week starting August 3.

Johnson last month encouraged people working from home to get back to their workplaces to help the economy recover from its 20 per cent contraction in the April-June period, the biggest fall among big developed economies.

"The costs of office closure are becoming clearer by the day," Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, an employers group, said.

"Some of our busiest city centres resemble ghost towns, missing the usual bustle of passing trade. This comes at a high price for local businesses, jobs and communities," she wrote in an article for the Daily Mail newspaper.

Separate figures published by Britain's statistics office showed almost one in four businesses in accommodation and food services and arts, and the entertainment and recreation industries rated their risk of insolvency as moderate or severe.

The Office for National Statistics also said footfall in mid-August in high streets, retail parks and shopping centres had increased to around 70% of its level a year earlier.

Vehicle traffic levels on Aug. 24 were just six percentage points lower than in early February, 

Passengers wear face masks while they wait on an London Underground station platform Credit: TOLGA AKMEN / AFP

Face masks to become compulsory throughout Paris

France's prime minister has announced face masks will become compulsory throughout Paris, expressing concern over an "undeniable" trend of expanding coronavirus infection in the country.

Jean Castex said 19 more departments have been added to a map with "red" zones of active virus circulation, meaning 21 of France's 94 departments are classified as such.

Official figures released on Wednesday showed more than 5,400 confirmed new cases in just 24 hours, with admissions to hospital and intensive care units on the rise.

There was an "undeniable resurgence" of the Covid-19 epidemic throughout France, Castex told a press conference, with an incidence rate of 39 positive tests per 100,000 of the population - four times the level of a month ago, and rising among all age groups.

The "positivity rate" - the percentage of tests that come back positive - was up from one percent in May to 3.7 percent today, and the so-called "R" rate of viral transmission has risen to 1.4 nationwide, meaning ten infected people are infecting 14 others on average.

More than 800 coronavirus patients are being admitted to hospital every week on average, up from 500 six weeks ago, said the prime minister.

"The epidemic is gaining territory, and now is the time to intervene," he said, appealing to all French people to take infection-prevention measures such as regular hand-washing and mask wearing, and social distancing.

Britons in Switzerland and Czech Republic await quarantine fate

Several countries face being removed from the UK's holiday "green list" this evening when the Government carries out its weekly review of the controversial quarantine policy. 

Chief among them is Switzerland, which has seen its seven-day case rate rise to 20.9 per 100,000 residents. While other factors are considered, such as a destination's popularity with Britons and the size of its population, a seven-day rate of 20 per 100,000 is understood to be a key threshold. 

Two other countries with "travel corridors" are also dangerously close to the mark: Jamaica (19.8 per 100,000) and the Czech Republic (19.3). Allowances appear to have been made for Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory, where the infection rate has been beyond the threshold for some time. It has now risen to 100.9, however, so it too may enter the quarantine conversation. 

If today's timetable follows the pattern of previous weeks, an announcement on any changes to the policy can be expected from Grant Shapps at 5pm, via Twitter. Should a country be removed from the green list, Britons will be given until 4am on Saturday to reach UK soil, or face a two-week period of self-isolation. 

Our travel live blog has all  the latest here.

How the Government can help avoid a long-term unemployment crisis

What we need next is job creation, training and hiring, writes Neil Carberry is chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation:

Positive economic commentary is hard to come by right now. That’s understandable. Earlier this month, the ONS confirmed GDP fell by a record 20.4pc in the second quarter of the year – while there were an extra 730,000 people out of work compared with March.

And it’s fair to say things will get worse before they get better. The furlough scheme comes to an end in October and only then will the extent of the unemployment problem be revealed. It’s bad, but it’s important to remember that we are not just passengers in all this. We can act to minimise the unemployment increase that is coming.

Read more here.

£13-a-day quarantine payment will persuade more to self-isolate, says Matt Hancock 

The Government is offering people on low incomes £13 a day to self-isolate in the hope it will persuade more people to stay away from work, Matt Hancock has said.

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Liverpool urges adults to follow distancing guidelines to help keep schools open

Liverpool City Council has appealed to adults under 40 to follow social distancing guidelines following a rise in cases across the city.

The authority said there had been a steady increase in the rolling weekly total over the last fortnight, with those aged 40 and under accounting for half of the cases.

Director of public health Matt Ashton said: "It is really important that as schools start to reopen and more workplaces are getting back to normal, we all take responsibility and follow the guidance to limit the spread of cases as far as possible."

He urged people to stick to the two-metre social distancing rule, wear masks in confined spaces, wash their hands regularly and get tested if they had symptoms.

Indian school children threaten hunger strike over Government exam decision

Indian school children are threatening a hunger strike after the government confirmed it would still hold university admission exams, despite the country struggling to contain the world's fastest-growing Covid-19 epidemic with over 3.3 million cases.

Next Wednesday, approximately two million Indian students are expected to travel long-distances to public examination centres to take medical and engineering entrance exams.

The students say the exams should be postponed and they risk contracting Covid-19 en route or inside the centres and spreading it to extended family members. Others say it will exacerbate India's education divide, as those from poor families will be unable to pay for private transport to testing centres or will perform poorly.

Schooling in India has moved online during the Covid-19 pandemic but those from lower-income families haven't been able to participate in lessons as they do not have a computer or a mobile device.

The Indian Government says if it doesn't hold the examinations it will mark a "lost year" within the education system and cause double the competition for places next year.

Joe Wallen reports from New Delhi.

South Korean parliament closed over virus fears

South Korea's parliament was shut down on Thursday and a group of lawmakers were in self-quarantine as the country recorded more than 400 new coronavirus infections.

The country endured one of the worst early outbreaks of Covid-19 outside mainland China before bringing it broadly under control with extensive tracing and testing, but is now battling several clusters mostly linked to Protestant churches.

Thursday's 441 new cases were mostly in the greater Seoul area and are the latest in a series of near-six-month highs after several weeks with numbers generally in the 30s and 40s.

The National Assembly was closed after a photojournalist who covered a ruling party meeting on Wednesday was later tested and confirmed to have contracted Covid-19.

The result prompted more than 10 top Democrats - including the party chairman and its parliamentary leader - to undergo tests of their own and go into self-isolation.

Officials on Wednesday held late-night talks on how to handle the situation and ordered all parliamentary activities suspended from Thursday, with both the assembly and a building housing lawmakers' offices closed.

Opposition parties also cancelled scheduled meetings.

A police officer holding an umbrella stands guard in front of the National Assembly in Seoul Credit: JUNG YEON-JE / AFP

WHO looks to a post-pandemic world

The World Health Organization today launched an independent Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development to plan for a future beyond the coronavirus pandemic.

In a briefing held earlier this morning, its chair Prof Mario Monti said that the new commission will “take a magnifying glass to current economic and social policies using the evidence of how these policies have performed in light of this pandemic to make recommendations on they should be enhanced at the national and international levels to forecast, prevent and respond to future crises.”

The pandemic has been an “unsolicited, monumental stress test for our countries” that has “underlined the dark inequalities of our world, but, it has also underlined, more than ever, the truism that no one is safe until everyone is safe," Prof Monti said.

The launch of the new commission could not come at a more vital time, because “how we learn from and respond to this crisis now will also determine the wellbeing of future generations,” he said.

He also added that the commission will work with, not for, member states to gather empirical data on a wide range of new policy recommendations, which are set to be published in September next year.

'Threat of a severe flu season during the Covid pandemic not a given', says top disease expert

It's too early to say for sure, but social distancing measures may have helped stem the spread of flu in the southern hemisphere, a top disease expert has suggested.

Dr Tom Frieden, former director of the United States' Center for Disease Control and Prevention, has tweeted that the threat of a severe flu season during the Covid pandemic is not a given: 

Rwanda extends evening curfew in lieu of case surge

Rwanda has extended its evening curfew and prevented movement in and out of the western area of Rusizi after a recent surge in cases, Agence France-Presse reports.

Rwanda was one of the first to impose strict lockdown measures in Africa, on 22 March, when it had only 19 cases, and partially lifted the measures on 1 May, when it had officially recorded 225 cases and zero deaths.

However, the country has hit a record 217 cases in one day and has recorded a third of its 3,625 cases in the past 10 days, with authorities blaming the spike on complacency and fatigue with social distancing measures.

After a cabinet meeting chaired by President Paul Kagame, the government announced that a national curfew would be tightened to 7pm-5am from the current 9pm-5am.

“Because of increasing cases of coronavirus in Kigali City, public transport between Kigali and other districts has also been banned,” read a statement from the government.

A health worker carries out coronavirus testing in the capital Kigali, Rwanda Credit: AP 

Third of world's school children unable to access online learning during the pandemic

At least a third of the world’s schoolchildren – 463 million children globally – were unable to access remote learning when the coronavirus outbreak shuttered their schools, according to a new Unicef report released today.

At the height of nationwide and local lockdowns, nearly 1.5 billion schoolchildren were affected by school closures.

The report uses a globally representative analysis on the availability of home-based technology and tools needed for remote learning among pre-primary, primary, lower-secondary and upper-secondary schoolchildren, with data from 100 countries. Data include access to television, radio and internet, and the availability of curriculum delivered across these platforms during school closures.

Although the numbers in the report present a concerning picture on the lack of remote learning during school closures, Unicef warns the situation is likely far worse.

Even when children have the technology and tools at home, they may not be able to learn remotely through those platforms due to competing factors in the home including pressure to do chores, being forced to work, a poor environment for learning and lack of support in using the online or broadcast curriculum.

Scarlett Keeler, 5, raises her hand as she takes an online reading and science class on her first day of distance learning at her school in Las Vegas, Nevada Credit:  Ethan Miller / Getty

Philippines confirms 3,249 new coronavirus infection

The Philippines' health ministry on Thursday reported 3,249 additional coronavirus infections and 97 more deaths due to the disease.

In a bulletin, the ministry said total confirmed cases in the Philippines had reached 205,518, the highest in Southeast Asia, while deaths had increased to 3,234, about a quarter of which were recorded in the past 15 days.

US invests in needle-free vaccine technologies

The US federal government has said that it is investing nearly $2.5 million (£1.8 million) in efforts to create a needle-free coronavirus vaccine. 

The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) announced four small grants to groups trying to make either oral vaccines against coronavirus, or patches that could painlessly deliver a vaccine.

“The novel routes of administration they are developing could reduce the dependence on needles and syringes that are used to deliver vaccine via intramuscular injection. Instead, a wearable skin patch or oral option for vaccines may support rapid, large-scale immunization while reducing the strain on the manufacturing supply chain,” BARDA said in a statement.

The four new technologies are also "shelf-stable" and unlike current coronavirus vaccine candidates, they don’t have to be kept under special conditions or temperatures, making them easier to store and deliver.

EU eyes initial Covid-19 vaccination for at least 40 per cent of population 

European Union nations, Britain and EU partners have agreed on a blueprint for a Covid-19 vaccination plan envisaging inoculation of at least 40 per cent of their populations, a step that may set back the World Health Organisation's own vaccine blueprint.

The EU target for early vaccinations is twice as high as the goal set by the WHO, which is aiming to buy vaccines initially for 20 per cent of the world's most vulnerable people through a global procurement scheme.

China says halt of coronavirus vaccine partnership unrelated to Canada relations

China said today that the end to a partnership on a coronavirus vaccine between Chinese firm CanSino Biologics and Canada is unrelated to diplomatic relations between the countries.

The Chinese government supports Chinese companies cooperating with other countries according to law, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a daily news briefing.

Canada's National Research Council said on Wednesday that it had ended its partnership on a coronavirus vaccine with CanSino, saying the company lacked the authority to ship the vaccine at this time.

South Korea urges citizens to work from home as country reports highest daily cases since March

South Korea urged businesses on Thursday to have employees work from home after reporting the highest daily number of coronavirus cases since March.

Among other high risk settings, it also flagged the risks of new clusters at call centres and logistics warehouses.

South Korea reported 441 new coronavirus cases as of Wednesday, the most daily infections since early March when the country had the first large outbreak, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said today.

Moderna's vaccine appears to work as well in older adults

Moderna Inc has aid its experimental Covid-19 vaccine sucessfully induced immune responses in older adults similar to those in younger participants, offering hope that it will be effective in people considered to be at high risk for severe complications from the coronavirus.

The company is one of the leading contenders in the race to develop a vaccine against the virus that has killed more than 820,000 people worldwide.

Its candidate, mRNA-1273, is already in late-stage human trials testing its ability to safely prevent infection.

Volunteers are given the Moderna mRNA-1273 Coronavirus vaccine in Detroit, Michigan Credit: AFP

Hancock refutes claims of a hidden NHS waiting list

Matt Hancock has ruhidden bbished a report claiming that the NHS has a "hidden waiting list" of 15.3 million patients who need follow-up appointments for health problems following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The paper had reported the figure was gleaned from what it described as “the first analysis of its kind”, adding:

The official waiting list, which stands at 3.9 million, shows how many patients are yet to have their first hospital appointment after a GP referral.

However, the total number who are on hospital books in England and need appointments is not collated centrally. A new calculation, based on freedom of information requests to NHS trusts and seen by The Times, puts the figure at 15.3 million.

But the Health Secretary told LBC radio:

"I've looked into this research since it arrived in the Times overnight, and it is total rubbish.

"It is actually a count of the total number of appointments that there are ... what they've done is counted all the appointments that there are in the NHS.

"If you have an appointment, that is not because you're on a waiting list, it is because you are going to go and see someone in the NHS.

"We measure waiting lists very rigorously and obviously a really important part of the recovery of the country post-coronavirus is getting those treatments that had to be delayed, getting them dealt with.

"But let's deal with the facts rather than a spurious survey."

Over 50s to receive flu jab, if there is "enough", says Hancock

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said people aged between 50 and 64 will be able to receive the flu jab this year "if we have enough".

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, he said:

"The most important group to get the flu jab are those who are the most vulnerable if they get the flu.

"So we absolutely are targeting efforts at getting as many of the over-65s as possible, and those with underlying health conditions which mean that they really need the flu jab, in the first instance.

"We will then extend the pre-flu jab to the over-50s, so those between aged 50 and 64, if we have enough.

"But the truth is that there is a global increase in demand for the flu vaccine. We've bought more than ever before. I hope that we can get a big increase in the proportion of the over-65s who are getting it because they're the people who, if they get the flu, are much, much more likely to end up in hospital."

He added: "And then we'll roll it out to the under-65s, from 50 upwards, as and when we can see how well the over-65 programme is going."

Mr Hancock also said changes to the law will enable health workers such pharmacists, nurses and technicians to also administer jabs.

Coronavirus particles could spread through plumbing systems

Researchers who discovered coronavirus particles in the bathroom of an unoccupied apartment in Guangzhou, China have suggested that the airborne pathogen may have wafted upwards through drain pipes, echoing of a large SARS outbreak in Hong Kong 17 years ago.

Traces of SARS-CoV-2 were detected in February on the sink, faucet and shower handle of a long-vacant apartment, researchers at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in a study published this month in Environment International. The contaminated bathroom was directly above the home of five people confirmed a week earlier to have Covid-19.

The scientists conducted “an on-site tracer simulation experiment” to see whether the virus could be spread through waste pipes via tiny airborne particles that can be created by the force of a toilet flush. They found such particles, called aerosols, in bathrooms 10 and 12 levels above the Covid-19 cases.

Two cases were confirmed on each of those floors in early February, raising concern that SARS-CoV-2-laden particles from stool had drifted into their homes via plumbing.

A worker for Leicester City Council disinfects public toilets Credit: Joe Giddens / PA

Germany drafts mask fines and sets limits on parties

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany's federal states have agreed to tighten coronavirus restrictions in response to rising infection numbers, according to a draft reportedly seen by AFP news organisation on Thursday.

The new regulations, set to be approved later in the day, will apply nationwide and include a minimum fine of 50 euros (£45) for flouting requirements on mask wearing and a limit of 25 people at private parties.

Authorities also plan to step up controls to ensure people are adhering to quarantine rules.

Hancock's latest u-turn draws criticism from the opposition

Hancock: quarantine payments could be rolled out further 

The Health Secretary said there was potential for the new self-isolation support payments to be rolled out beyond initial pilot areas of Oldham and Blackburn with Darwen and Pendle, which have local lockdowns.

Asked on BBC Breakfast why people outside these areas were not entitled to the money, Matt Hancock said: "This is where we're doing it in the first instance, firstly to make sure that the systems work, that we can get the money fast to people, because obviously if you're asking somebody to self-isolate for a fortnight we want to try to get the money to them at the start of that rather than afterwards."

He said the payments were being introduced in areas which have "the most acute need".

Mr Hancock added: "We'll see how that goes and we'll get the feedback, with the potential to roll it out further."
Read more on our politics live blog here

Matt Hancock: £13-a-day will encourage people to self-isolate 

The Government is offering people on low incomes £13 a day to self-isolate in the hope it will persuade more people to stay away from work, Matt Hancock has said.

The Health Secretary said the support announced overnight would "strengthen the system" which is "almost" hitting the target of 80 per cent of contacts reached. 

He told Sky News: "The big picture is that we have got to make sure as we have many people as possible going through the Test and Trace system. One of the challenges that has come back on the ground is for people on low incomes to get extra support if they are going into self isolation."

This is the first time the Government has conceded that people are not self-isolating as required because of financial issues. 

From Tuesday, those who claim Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit and cannot work from home will be able to get the money - equal to £13 a day.

The benefit will be trialled in parts of north-west England first.

Beijing's mandatory testing in Hong Kong met with scepticism

A Chinese government offer to test all Hong Kong residents for Covid-19 is meeting scepticism from the city’s medical community and public and is emerging as a politically charged issue ahead of the launch of the plan next week.

A 60-person mainland Chinese team will carry out tests and build temporary hospitals in the first direct help from Chinese health officials for the semi-autonomous city in its battle with the epidemic.

But it comes at a sensitive time for the former British colony, with anxiety running high about what many of its 7.5 million residents see as Beijing's efforts to rein in their freedoms, in particular with a national security law imposed in June.

Against this background, some democracy activists have suggested that people's DNA will be collected and abused under the cover of testing. The city government has dismissed that saying no samples would be taken out of the city.

A woman wearing a face mask walks past a mural, following the outbreak, in Hong Kong Credit: Reuters

India reports another record daily jump in cases

India reported on Thursday a record daily jump of 75,760 infections, taking its total caseload to 3.31 million as cases surged across the country, data from the federal health ministry showed.

India is the worst affected country in Asia and third behind the United States and Brazil in terms of total cases. It has posted the highest single-day caseloads in the world since August 7, according to a Reuters tally.

Deaths in the same 24-hour period increased by 1,023, taking the death toll to 60,472.

Nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Saint Teresa, distribute food to poor and homeless people in Kolkata, India Credit: AP

South Korea records most daily infections since March

South Korea reported 441 new coronavirus cases as of Wednesday, the most daily infections since early March when the country had the first large outbreak, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

Some 434 of the new cases were locally transmitted, bringing the total tally to 18,706 infections, with 313 deaths.

Read more: Lockdown likely in South Korea after spike in cases

A medical worker prepares for Covid-19 testing at a temporary test facility in Seoul Credit: Getty

China reports drop in daily cases of infection

China reported eight new Covid-19 cases in the mainland as of Aug. 26, down from 15 a day earlier, the country's health authority said on Thursday.

All of the new cases were imported infections, which involve travellers from overseas, marking the 11th consecutive day of no locally transmitted infections reported. China also reported 19 new asymptomatic infections, compared with 14 a day earlier.

The total number of confirmed infections for mainland China now stands at 85,004, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.

China does not count asymptomatic patients, who are infected with the coronavirus but not showing symptoms, as confirmed cases.

Australian state reports lowest daily rise in nearly 2 months

Australia's second-most populous state of Victoria on Thursday reported 23 deaths in the past 24 hours and 113 new cases, its lowest daily rise in nearly two months.

The southeastern state, which has become the country's virus hotspot, a day earlier reported its second-most deadly day of the pandemic with 24 deaths and logged 149 cases.

Strict lockdown measures have helped ease the daily rise of infections in Victoria after the state hit a one-day high of more than 700 cases about three weeks ago.

Neighbouring New Zealand on Thursday said it has allocated extra funding of "hundreds of millions of dollars" to help secure access to a vaccine as soon as one becomes available.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declined to specify the total amount that will be spent on procuring the vaccine citing commercial sensitive reasons.

A coronavirus inspired street art mural in Melbourne Credit: JAMES ROSS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 

Coronavirus victims will be paid to go into self-isolation

Coronavirus sufferers and their contacts will be paid to quarantine themselves amid signs that increasing numbers are refusing to self-isolate because of financial worries.

People on low incomes who test positive for Covid-19 will be paid £132 for their 10-day isolation period, while people who have come into contact with them will receive £182 for 14 days of isolation.

The scheme will, for now, only apply to people living in areas with local lockdown restrictions, and will be trialled in the northwest before an expected rollout to other high-risk areas.

Read the full story

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Argentina daily cases top 10,000 for first time

Argentina posted a record daily rise of 10,550 confirmed cases on Wednesday, the health ministry said, taking the total caseload to 370,188 as the South American nation struggles to rein in the spread of infections while trying to ease open its crisis-hit economy.

The grains producer, which imposed a strict lockdown in March that initially helped slow the spread of the virus, is now fast catching up with other hard-hit countries in the region, including neighbour Chile where new infections have slowed.

Latin America has become the epicenter of the global pandemic, with the highest number of infections and deaths, while the region's economy is set to plunge sharply this year pushing millions of people into poverty.

The nightly report showed there had been 276 new fatalities in the 24-hour period since the previous evening's count, taking the total to 7,839.

The government of center-left President Alberto Fernandez extended lockdown restrictions in and around capital city Buenos Aires until the end of August. The area has the highest number of infections.

Crosses adorn the graves at a section of the Flores Cemetery where Covid-19 victims are being buried in Buenos Aires Credit: AP

Children in remote areas face 'prolonged isolation and insecurity'

Lack of access to public transport and the internet is leaving children in remote, rural communities facing "prolonged isolation, exclusion and insecurity", a report warns.

Children in remote rural and coastal communities "have been overlooked for too long", according to the Centre for Mental Health.

Its report, funded by BBC Children in Need, found that eight to 13-year-olds are struggling to get mental health support because of poor transport, digital connectivity and a lack of safe spaces to meet.

Rural areas often appear to be "poorly served" by specialist services, the report entitled The Space Between Us found.

It is calling for more funding for local councils to invest in digital infrastructure for places with limited connectivity, to develop peer support services and invest in parks, schools and community centres.

Read more: It's good to talk about mental health, say WHO experts

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