Coronavirus news – live: WHO says everyone must wear face masks in public as Matt Hancock urges people not to attend George Floyd protests
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Your support makes all the difference.The World Health Organisation has updated its coronavirus guidance in response to recent research to say everyone should wear face coverings in public where there is a risk of virus transmission.
The change came as Matt Hancock, the health secretary, announced all hospital visitors would have to wear face coverings from 15 June and urged the public to not attend upcoming George Floyd protests due to concerns about the potential for large gatherings to spread Covid-19.
Meanwhile, as the official UK death toll passed 40,000, scientists halted a trial of the anti-malaria drug touted by Donald Trump after researchers at the University of Oxford found hydroxychloroquine was ineffective as a treatment for coronavirus.
Follow the latest developments in the liveblog below:
Czech Republic to open borders
The Czech government has agreed to fully open its borders with neighbours Austria and Germany and allow unrestricted travel to and from Hungary.
"People who visit these countries do not need any coronavirus test nor quarantine," Prime Minister Andrej Babis told a news conference shown live on television.
"We want to return to normal, it can also be beneficial for the Czech Republic when people from these countries come and spend money here."
The border with Slovakia was reopened on Thursday.
Foreign minister Tomas Petricek said all restrictions on travel to and from Austria and Hungary had been removed, though travellers to Germany still needed to observe Germany's current conditions for entry.
The Czechs are planning to allow unrestricted entry from more than 20 European states from 15 June.
Visitors arriving from places where the epidemic is still widespread will have to provide a negative Covid-19 test or be quarantined on arrival.
Transport minister refuses to reveal holiday plans
As the travel industry protests against the government’s quarantine measures, Grant Shapps has refused to say whether he would take a holiday this year.
The transport secretary also refused to reveal any details of potential “air bridge” agreements with destination countries, which would allow holidaymakers to avoid the 14-day self-isolation policy that comes into effect on Monday.
Sharp increase in dementia deaths 'likely related to Covid-19'
An analysis of deaths which have not been officially linked coronavirus in England and Wales has revealed a sharp increase among the elderly with dementia, Alzheimers and other conditions.
They account for two thirds of the total number of non-Covid-19 excess deaths in England and Wales from March 7 to May 1, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
ONS analyst Nick Stripe said it was "implausible" that the increase was unrelated to coronavirus.
More people leaving their homes as lockdown eased
A survey of British adults has revealed a rise in the number of people leaving their homes, visiting parks and seeing friends and family as restrictions are relaxed.
Private schools 'may be tipped over the edge' by pandemic
Fee-paying schools could be forced to shut down permanently because of the coronavirus crisis, according to the an independent schools chief.
Boris Johnson's former prep school, Ashdown House in East Sussex, has already announced it will shut at the end of the summer term and the Minster School in York, a prep school which provides choristers for the city's cathedral, has revealed plans to close due to a cash shortfall caused by the pandemic.
Christopher King, head of the Independent Association of Prep Schools, told Press Association: "I don't think that there will be necessarily many closures of schools between now and September, but there could be more announced during the next academic year."
He added: "The concerns will arise because of the fundamental affordability of private education. Committing to pay school fees over a long term is a decision that people don't take lightly.
"Once they enter into it they by and large want to commit over a long period of time and they will only do that if they feel pretty secure and secure in employment."
Boarding schools are also concerned about a drop in international pupils choosing to study in the UK.
Approximately 10 private schools have announced closures in the past few months, while others have begun discussing mergers,according to the Independent Schools Council (ISC).
Virus simulation in Scotland 'exposed clear gap in preparedness'
An exercise simulating a virus outbreak in Scotland exposed a “clear gap” in the country’s preparedness and outlined frontline unease at the lack of clarity on PPE availability, training and testing.
Held in March 2018, the exercise involved an outbreak of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (Mers-CoV) – a rare but severe illness first identified in 2012 – to assess NHS Scotland’s readiness to respond to a suspected outbreak.
Hydroxychloroquine study retracted over data accuracy concerns
A paper published in medical journal The Lancet which halted global trials of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for coronavirus has been retracted.
An investigation by The Guardian found inconsistencies in the paper’s data, prompting lead author Professor Mandeep Mehra to ask the journal for a retraction as he could no longer vouch for its accuracy.
BAME health workers 'account for 60% of frontline deaths'
Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) staff account for 60 per cent of frontline healthcare worker deaths with coronavirus, according to the Press Association.
Of the 166 deaths they verified and analysed, 100 workers came from BAME backgrounds, while 39 (23 per cent) were white and 27 (16 per cent) were of unknown ethnic origin.
The figures include people who were working in roles shortly before their deaths where they were likely to come into contact with patients.
Staff at care homes have not been included in the figures as not enough reliable data was available.
Ninety-two of the 100 BAME workers lived in England and eight were from Wales. There were none verified from Scotland or Northern Ireland.
In England, BAME staff make up 20 per cent of the NHS workforce.
Black Lives Matter protest 'in breach of coronavirus rules'
The New South Wales Supreme Court has ruled tomorrow's planned Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney cannot go ahead because it contravenes coronavirus rules.
British Airways considering legal challenge to UK travel quarantine
British Airways’ parent company is contemplating a legal challenge to the UK’s first blanket quarantine scheme.
From 8 June, almost all arrivals at UK airports, ferry ports and international rail terminals will be required to self-isolate at home for two weeks. Quarantinees who fail to comply face fixed penalties of £1,000.
Just 62 hours before the measure comes into force, Willie Walsh, chief executive of IAG, said: “We are giving consideration to a legal challenge to this legislation.”
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