Coronavirus news: UK has reached 200,000 daily testing target, government claims after Raab admits he did not know Cummings was self-isolating in Durham when he acted PM
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The UK government claimed it had reached its testing capacity target of 200,000-a-day, amid mounting concerns about the effectiveness of the test and trace system ahead of the easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab was unable to say how many people have so far been traced under the new scheme, which he claimed could cope with 10,000 new patients a day, after it emerged that PHE had capacity only to trace the contacts of five patients a week when contact-tracing was first abandoned in March.
Mr Raab also admitted he “wasn’t aware” that Dominic Cummings was in Durham while deputising as PM during Boris Johnson’s hospitalisation. Dozens of leading scientists and public health experts have warned Mr Johnson that the scandal has “badly damaged” public trust in the government, which they deemed essential to reduce the risk of a second wave.
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Police detain demonstrators in Moscow for breaching lockdown
Moscow police have detained demonstrators who were holding one-person pickets outside the headquarters of Russia's main criminal investigative agency.
The OVD-Info organization that monitors political arrests says at least seven people were detained and some of them were charged with violating the prohibition on holding public events during the coronavirus lockdown.
Over the past week, police have arrested other protesters on the same grounds, prompting criticism from Amnesty International that the lockdown was being used to suppress opposition.
The pickets outside the Investigative Committee building were mostly lawyers protesting the detention of two attorneys in the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria on charges of violence against police.
Associated Press
Care homes 'only discussed twice in five months'
The government’s top scientific advisers discussed care homes only twice between January and May, according to newly published minutes.
Records for meetings of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, or Sage, which is the key group of experts advising ministers on how to react to the Covid-19 outbreak, reveal a lack of discussion about the risks facing care homes.
Bosnian official accused of ventilator corruption
Fadil Novalic, prime minister of the autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation, has been released from custody after being arrested for taking bribes in relation to the procurement of defective ventilators.
He was first detained on Thursday, along with Fahrudin Solak, an official in charge of procuring equipment to combat the coronavirus outbreak, and Fikret Hodzic, owner of a raspberry processing firm that procured the ventilators.
Prosecutors have accused the three men of abuse of office, taking bribes and money laundering, although they have not been formally charged. The three men all denied any wrongdoing.
Today Bosnia's state court ordered their release after turning down a prosecution request for the three to be detained for 30 days, on the grounds that detention was not necessary for the smooth conducting of the criminal procedure.
Two million workers able to avoid UK travel quarantine
One week before the UK’s first blanket quarantine is imposed, The Independent can reveal that at least two million people will qualify for exemption because of their jobs.
According to the wording in the government's list of exemptions, bus drivers, dentists and police officers will be among the professions to dodge 14 days of self-isolation when they travel to the UK from 8 June onwards.
Abu Dhabi bans travel for one week
Abu Dhabi has announced a one-week ban on entering and exiting the emirate from 2 June in an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The restrictions include a ban on travelling to, and between, its main cities, including Abu Dhabi, Al-Ain and Al-Dhafra. Movement within these cities is allowed as long as a night curfew is observed.
Meanwhile restrictions on outdoor activities at both public and private sports clubs for people between 12 and 60 years old will be lifted.
Clubs can now resume horse-riding, cycling, athletics, racquet sports and windsurfing as long as everyone wears masks and gloves, the local government media office said on Twitter.
Airline announces redundancies
Emirates airline has said it will have to make staff redundant due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A spokesperson confirmed it would have "to say goodbye" to some of its staff, following the economic strain placed on the state-owned business caused by the Covid-19 crisis.
Turkey opens two virus hospitals
Two hospitals for coronavirus patients were opened in Istanbul on Sunday as Turkey's daily number of new cases fell to its lowest since the peak of the outbreak.
"Thank God, we prevented the spread of the pandemic even without needing the additional capacity we created here," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said as he opened a 1,008-bed hospital.
Turkey recorded 839 cases over the previous 24 hours, health minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted. There were 25 coronavirus-related deaths over the same period, bringing the toll to 4,540. Turkey ranks 10th worldwide for the number of virus cases
Charities criticise sudden change to shielding guidance
After the government announced that the most vulnerable people can leave their homes to meet other people from Monday, charities have expressed concern about the reasoning behind the decision.
Gemma Peters, chief executive of Blood Cancer UK, said: "The way it has announced this on a Saturday night with no warning or consultation with charities and clinicians has created confusion and this adds to the impression already created that the shielding group isn't high enough on its list of priorities."
She said the charity is "urgently seeking clarity" from the government on the advice and added: "Until we get it, we advise people to speak to their healthcare teams before making any changes."
Steven McIntosh, director of policy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said the decision was "a step forward" for a group who "have felt left behind and forgotten" as lockdown is eased for others in England.
Phil Anderson, head of policy at the MS Society, said people would "rightly want to hear a lot more about the scientific evidence showing this will be safe for them", after a decision which he described as having "come out of the blue".
Police use tear gas as Brazil protests continue
Supporters of president Jair Bolsonaro have continued to gather weekly to back his calls for the easing of regional restrictions on movement during the coronavirus pandemic.
On Sunday they appeared to try to confront several hundred demonstrators taking part in an anti-Bolsonaro street march in Sao Paolo.
The military police said they had to fire tear gas to keep the groups apart.
Meanwhile in the capital, Brasilia, Mr Bolsonaro went to meet his supporters while mounted on a federal police horse.
Brazil has reported more than 28,000 deaths and 465,000 cases of Covid-19, the second highest number of infections in the world.
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro greets his supporters (Photo via Reuters)
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