Coronavirus news - live: Review finds death rate higher among ethnic minorities as MPs queue up to vote for 'insane' return to Westminster
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Your support makes all the difference.Health secretary Matt Hancock has vowed to “get to the bottom” of the reason BAME people are disproportionately likely to die as a result of Covid-19 following the release of a report which showed high ethnic minority deaths from the virus in the UK.
It comes as the official UK death toll rose by 324 to almost 40,000 in the latest set of figures from the Department of Health and Social Care – with the total fatality figure likely to exceed 40,000 in the coming days.
Elsewhere, lockdown measures are being lifted in many countries, with restaurants and bars able to open today in France for the first time since March, while Nigeria is to reopen places of worship and Slovakia is to open indoor sports centres and pools. Around the world, there have been more than 6.3m known cases and more than 377,000 deaths as a result of the virus – according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
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Testing delays suggest hidden coronavirus crisis in Afghanistan
Fewer than one in 10 of the coronavirus test samples collected daily in Afghanistan are being processed amid concerns over a potential hidden crisis in the country, Afghan officials have said.
More than 30 per cent of those processed samples are consistently testing positive for the virus, suggesting a high and hidden number of Covid-19 infections than those officially recorded.
The official number of Covid-19 cases in Afghanistan is relatively low, with 16,509 confirmed infections and 270 deaths.
However, this figure comes from just 40,950 tests processed in a population of more than 37 million.
Feda Mohammad Paikan, the Afghan deputy health minister, told Reuters that the ministry could process only 1,300 to 1,500 of around 20,000 samples each day, due to limited equipment and processing facilities.
According to health ministry data, an average of 1,500 tests are processed daily and about 500 of those tests come back positive.
On Tuesday, 759 people tested positive from 1,322 cases processed.
Following decades of conflict, Afghanistan is facing a potential disaster during the pandemic due to a virtually non-existent healthcare system, malnutrition and other vulnerabilities, another deputy health minister said.
"Every street will witness dead bodies," Wahid Majroh warned, arguing people needed to follow safety warnings.
Ibuprofen tested as treatment for Covid-19 symptom
A new trial has been launched to assess whether ibuprofen may hold the key to preventing severe breathing problems in Covid-19 patients.
It is hoped a special formulation of the cheap anti-inflammatory drug, to be delivered at a certain point in illness among hospital patients, will reduce severe respiratory illness.
This could potentially lead to shorter hospital stays and fewer patients needing help in intensive care units.
Mitul Mehta, professor of neuroimaging and psychopharmacology and director of Centre for Innovative Therapeutics at Kings College London, told the PA news agency: "It's a trial for patients with Covid-19 disease to see if giving them an anti-inflammatory drug - a specific form of ibuprofen - will reduce the respiratory problems they have."
He stressed that the trial was for hospitalised patients - not those who have mild or suspected Covid-19.
Participants will be drawn from those who are hospitalised, but not so ill they are in need of intensive care.
"If we can reduce their symptoms at that stage we have a number of benefits: we could reduce the amount of time that someone spends in hospital - they might recover quicker and go home, that's obviously a fantastic outcome; we also might be reducing the degree of respiratory distress so that it can be managed in the hospital setting, without needing to go to ICU. And that is a fantastic outcome as well.
"Theoretically, this treatment, given at this time, should be beneficial. But of course, this is based on animal studies. It's based on case reports, we need to do a trial to show that the evidence actually matches what we expect to happen."
First pupil tests positive for Covid-19 in Slovenia since primary schools returned
Health authorities in Slovenia say the first primary school pupil has tested positive for Covid-19 since children started returning to school two weeks ago.
A school in the city of Maribor said the pupil's 17 classmates, who are aged eight to nine, and teacher have been placed under a two-week quarantine.
Health authorities say the child with the virus likely contracted it from within the family and that contact tracing is under way.
The official STA news agency says it was the first confirmed virus case since 30 April in Slovenia's second-largest city. The country has declared an end to its outbreak and started easing anti-virus restrictions in mid-May.
Pakistan leaked government document shows experts wanted month-long lockdown
A leaked government document reveals authorities ignored experts who wanted a month-long lockdown in Pakistan's Punjab province and who estimated 670,000 might have been infected in the provincial capital of Lahore.
After media published the experts' report, residents criticised the government for easing the restrictions last month instead of heeding the recommendation.
The report was based on a sample survey done in Lahore, which had 245 deaths through to 15 May.
Since then, Punjab has reported nearly 200 more fatalities related to Covid-19.
The document surfaced hours before prime minister Imran Khan relaxed more coronavirus restrictions implemented in March, saying Pakistanis must learn how to live with the virus since lockdowns do not treat the disease. Pakistan has registered 1,621 fatalities amid 76,398 cases.
Tokyo issues alert amid fear of second wave of virus
The governor of Tokyo has issued a coronavirus alert for the Japanese capital amid worries of a resurgence of infections only a week after a state of emergency ended.
Governor Yuriko Koike issued a "Tokyo alert" today after 34 new cases were confirmed in the city, where confirmed infections had slowed to a few per day in late May.
Lighting on Tokyo's Rainbow Bridge will be changed from rainbow-coloured to red as a sign of alert. However, the alert does not mean restrictions that have just been eased will be reimposed immediately.
Experts say the rise in new cases reflects the increased movement of people since mid-May and could increase further.
Ms Koike said: "I want to remind everyone once again that we are fighting against an unknown virus as we still don't have any vaccines or treatment for it."
Under the second phase of a three-part plan for resuming business activity, Tokyo's theatres fitness gyms and other commercial facilities reopened.
Night clubs, karaoke parlours and other highest-risk establishments are still closed.
Spain has reported no new deaths from the coronavirus for the second day, with cumulative deaths unchanged from Sunday's total of 27,127, according to the country's health ministry.
Diagnosed cases of the disease rose by 137 from Monday to 239,932, the ministry said.
Coronavirus will leave ‘lasting scars’ on developing countries, World Bank says
The World Bank has said it expects the coronavirus pandemic and resulting recessions to leave “lasting scars” on developing and emerging market countries, with the worst damage on oil exporters and those suffering financial crises.
In its new Global Economic Prospects report, the bank said that the average emerging market country suffering a financial crisis could see potential output fall by eight per cent over a five year period, with lost output for developing oil exporters falling 11 per cent.
UK death toll rises by 324
The UK's coronavirus death toll has risen by 324 across a 24 hour period, bringing the total number of fatalities associated with the virus in the country to 39,369.
The number of infections meanwhile rose by 1,613, to a total of 277,985 since the outbreak began.
Matt Hancock gives today's coronavirus briefing
The health secretary has begun today's coronavirus briefing from Downing Street.
He jumps straight to the slide and implores those who are presenting with symptoms of the virus to get tested as the number of confirmed infections continues to decline.
He adds the number of people in hospitals has increased by 436, giving the lowest total number of hospitalised people since late March.
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