Coronavirus news – live: Boris Johnson accused of ‘shamelessly avoiding responsibility’ after sacking official and blaming ‘mutant algorithm’ for exams fiasco
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson has blamed a "mutant algorithm" for this summer's exams chaos in an attempt to dodge responsibility for the downgrading of thousands of students’ grades.
Meanwhile, the guidance on face masks in schools has changed following the latest government U-turn on coronavirus, with secondary school pupils now told to wear masks in parts of England.
Face coverings will be required in communal areas of schools in parts of the country where local lockdowns are in place, while headteachers elsewhere will have the option to ask pupils to wear them.
It came as the government announced that the Department for Education’s top civil servant, Jonathan Slater, would step down next week following the controversy around exam results this month.
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Brazil asks China for proof chicken wings had coronavirus
Brazil has asked Chinese authorities to provide results of laboratory tests that detected traces of Covid-19 on chicken wings exported by the South American country, according to a statement sent to Reuters by Brazil's Agriculture Ministry.
The request was made during a meeting in the city of Shenzhen, in Guangdong province, where Brazilian agriculture attachés met local health and trade officials on Tuesday, the statement said.
In response, according to the statement, the Chinese participants said the results were being kept by health authorities of Guangdong, who did not participate in the meeting.
The contamination claim concerns chicken wings produced at a Brazilian poultry plant registered under SIF number 601, the statement said.
Aurora, the company which operates that facility in Southern Brazil, voluntarily suspended poultry exports to China from 20 August pending more clarifications regarding the alleged contamination.
US doctors group calls for transparency over vaccine development
A doctors group in the US has raised concerns over the rapid pace of Covid-19 vaccine development and scant information about the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) vaccine review process.
In a letter, the American Medical Association (AMA) urged the FDA to ensure transparency in the vaccine development process and to keep physicians informed of the agency's plan for review of potential vaccine candidates.
Vaccine hesitancy among the public appears to be reaching unprecedented levels due to a number of factors including significant spread of misinformation through channels such as social media, according to the AMA.
In April, the US government initiated Operation Warp Speed and has so far invested billions to secure doses of potential vaccines from across the world. Warp Speed aims to expedite development of a vaccine and therapies to treat the novel coronavirus, and the emphasis on speed has provoked public anxiety about their safety and effectiveness.
The Financial Conduct Authority has said it expects requirements for lenders to offer repayment holidays to mortgage borrowers to expire on 31 October.
The watchdog called on its lenders to continue supporting homeowners who are still struggling to pay their mortgages because of the coronavirus crisis, as thousands of people in the UK are hit by job losses and pay cuts.
Gaza lockdown extended by 72 hours
Gaza will remain in lockdown at least until Sunday after reporting two deaths and 26 Covid-19 cases in the first public outbreak of the coronavirus.
As of two days ago, when the first four cases were discovered in a refugee camp in the 360 square-kilometre (140 square-mile) territoryband a 48-hour lockdown was imposed, there had been no infections outside border quarantine facilities for new arrivals.
But by late today, health officials said 26 people in several locations had tested positive for Covid-19 and two patients had died - a sign the world pandemic had penetrated Gaza's forced isolation.
Mosques, schools and most businesses have been ordered closed. Authorities have instructed Gazans to stay at home and wear masks if they need to shop for essentials.
Ignacio Casares Garcia, head of the Gaza Subdelegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said hospitals and health centres in the territory did not have sufficient medical equipment and medication for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.
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