Coronavirus news- live: Protests and calls to postpone GCSE results as appeals ‘mess’ deepens A-level chaos
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Your support makes all the difference.Hundreds of protesters have filled the streets outside the Department for Education, after nearly 40 per cent of A-level marks were downgraded from teachers’ suggestions by a government algorithm.
Amid fears that GCSEs could be even harder hit, the former education secretary who introduced them, Lord Baker, urged current secretary Gavin Williamson to postpone the looming results, following the ”unfair and barely explicable downgrades” of A-levels.
Meanwhile, Matt Hancock was reportedly moving to abolish Public Health England and instead set up a new organisation set up to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, with the health secretary expected to announce that the pandemic response work of PHE will be merged with the NHS Test and Trace programme.
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Keir Starmer calls on ‘invisible’ Boris Johnson to take responsibility for A-level chaos
Samuel Lovett has more on Keir Starmer's piece in the Mail on Sunday today.
“Weeks of chaos, confusion and incompetence,” he tweeted this afternoon, as dozens protested in central London against the downgrading of students pupils based on an algorithm.
“Boris Johnson has been invisible during this crisis. He needs to take personal responsibility, and fix it.”
‘Bad housing kills’: How coronavirus overwhelmed the UK’s most overcrowded community
In this special report, families in the east London borough of Newham tell Adam Forrest of ongoing struggles – as experts point to a hidden link between Covid-19 and cramped conditions.
"The coronavirus does not care about your social class or employment status. It does not concern itself with your accent or where you went to school. It is uninterested in how much money you have in your bank account," he writes.
"But this tiny concentration of proteins has been able to succeed in doing the most harm in our least privileged communities."
Spike in cases in Ireland
Ireland has reported 66 new cases of coronavirus. This brings the total number of infections to 27,257.
There were no further deaths reported on Sunday, with the country's toll of fatalities remaining at 1,774.
Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) would meet on Monday to discuss the recent spike in cases.
He said the group would "discuss the case figures that have been reported in recent days" and also make any suggestions they feel necessary "to protect the vulnerable, continue with the resumption of healthcare services and ensure the safe reopening of our schools".
Additional reporting by Press Association
First Mediterranean cruise prepares to set sail
Cruise ship passengers had their temperatures checked and took Covid-19 tests so they could set sail on what is being billed as the first Mediterranean cruise after Italy's pandemic lockdown.
MSC has made the procedures, for crew as well as passengers, part of the company's new health and safety protocols.
The MSC Grandiosa, which was christened last year, is scheduled to depart from the northern Italian port of Genoa on Sunday evening for a seven-night cruise in the western Mediterranean.
Anyone testing positive, with a fever or other Covid-19 symptoms will be denied boarding, the company said.
Guests must wear face masks in lifts and other areas where social distancing is not possible.
The crew spent time in quarantine before the start of the cruise.
Press Association
Evo Morales' sister dies of coronavirus
Esther Morales, the 70-year-old sister of former Bolivian President Evo Morales, has died of Covid-19, the ex-leader said Sunday.
"She was like my mother," tweeted Mr Morales, who was forced to resign last year after an election marred by irregularities.
The former president, who is in Argentina, faces sedition and other charges if he returns to Bolivia.
He blamed "racism and political persecution" for preventing him from visiting his sister in a hospital in Oruro, southeast of La Paz.
Associated Press
Italy tightens restrictions on nightlife
Italy is to shut discos and clubs and make it compulsory to wear a mask outdoors in some areas at night in the first reimposition of restrictions as cases of coronavirus pick up across the country, especially among younger people.
New cases in the past week in Italy were more than double those registered three weeks ago and the median age of people contracting the virus has dropped below 40, data showed.
The new rules will start on Monday - two days after an Italian holiday when many young Italians go out dancing - and will run until early September.
Masks will be required between 6pm and 6am in areas close to bars and pubs and where gatherings are more likely.
"We cannot nullify the sacrifices made in past months. Our priority must be that of opening schools in September, in full safety," Italy's health minister, Roberto Speranza, said.
Reuters
Student protests over A-levels
More protests took place today over this year's A-level results, which saw thousands of grades downgraded.
A new grading system was set up after exams were cancelled over coronavirus.
Students gathered outside Downing Street to raise their concerns after results came out earlier this week:
Students take part in an A-Level results protest opposite Downing Street (Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
(Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
People also demonstrated outside the Department for Education:
An A level student reacts during a protest outside the Department for Education (Reuters/Henry Nicholls)
(Reuters/Henry Nicholls)
Ireland health chiefs to meet to discuss further coronavirus restrictions
Ireland’s health chiefs will meet on Monday to discuss whether further restrictions are needed to slow a sharp increase in the spread of coronavirus in recent days.
Although Ireland has reopened its economy more slowly than other countries in the EU, it has still seen a jump in cases in the last two weeks which has led to a localised reimposition of some restrictions.
Ronan Glynn, the country’s acting chief medical officer, said the 14-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 population was at 23.
“NPHET [Ireland's public health team] has been monitoring this very closely and will meet formally tomorrow afternoon to consider if any additional recommendations need to be made to government,” he told national broadcaster RTE.
“We've seen cases all across the country in the past 14 days so we will need to consider what needs to be done in that context.”
Mr Glynn, who discussed the situation with prime minister Micheál Martin and senior ministers on Sunday, urged people to avoid crowds and to reduce their social contacts.
He also criticised footage shared on social media over the weekend showing bar customers crowding around a counter to have drinks poured into their mouths.
“This cannot continue. This pandemic isn't over just because we are tired of living with it,” he said.
Mexico's president says coronavirus vaccine expected early next year
Mexico’s president has said he expects to be able to put a Covid-19 vaccine into use in the country during the first quarter of 2021.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador made the announcement in a video on Twitter on Sunday.
His government has struck a partnership with Argentina and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Plc to produce a vaccine for distribution throughout Latin America.
Lebanon reports record daily number of coronavirus cases
Lebanon has reported a record daily number of coronavirus cases as it grapples with the aftermath of a major explosion earlier this month which killed 180 people and wounded thousands.
Officials registered 439 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, with six fatalities.
The daily total brings the overall number of infections in the country to 8,881, with 103 confirmed deaths.
The explosion at Beirut’s port on 4 August, which was set off when thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate ignited, injured about 6,000 people and caused widespread damage across the city, hampering social distancing measures.
Lebanon's health sector has been challenged by the pandemic which has hit during a deepening economic crisis.
The blast in Beirut also knocked out at least three hospitals and increased pressure on an already-stretched health service.
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