Coronavirus news – live: Russia Covid vaccine branded ‘foolish’ as young people who vape found to be seven times more at risk

Follow the latest updates

Bill Gates says US coronavirus testing is 'most worthless in the world'

The NHS faces a “potentially catastrophic winter” if coronavirus cases creep back up at the traditional time of maximum pressure on the service, the NHS Confederation has warned. Its director, Dr Layla McCay, said staff were already “exhausted and overstretched”.

Elsewhere, Russia claims to have approved for use the first Covid-19 vaccine. Vladimir Putin said the jab, developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, had received the green light from the country’s health ministry even as human trials were still going on. It will be called Sputnik V.

And globally, infections have passed 20 million, according to Johns Hopkins University. Deaths are approaching the 750,000 mark, while 12.3 million people have recovered.

Key Points

• NHS leaders warn of 'catastrophic winter'
• Young people who vape 'seven times more likely to contract virus'
• Experts sceptical of Russia vaccine
• First community cases for 102 days emerge in NZ
• Russia announces new vaccine
• Minister defends test and trace after staff cuts and redeployments
• California sees highest daily rise in cases
• Greece imposes curfew

[11 August 2020 17:31 · Vincent Wood]

Spanish figures below peaks of previous week

Spain's health ministry has reported 1,418 new coronavirus cases, below last week's peaks.

Cumulative cases, which also include results from antibody tests on people who may have recovered, increased further to reach a total of 326,612.

The disease claimed 64 lives over the past seven days, the statistics showed. In total, more than 28,500 people have died from the disease in Spain, one of Europe's hardest-hit countries by COVID-19.

Since lifting a nationwide lockdown, Spain has struggled to contain a rise in new infections, with heavy concentrations in the populous regions of Madrid and Catalonia.

New infections recorded on Monday and Tuesday were however below last week's peak of 1,895, reported on Friday.

[11 August 2020 17:43 · Vincent Wood]

It took 6 months to reach 10m coronavirus cases, but just 6 more weeks to reach 20m

Global coronavirus cases have passed 20 million, just six weeks after the 10m milestone was reached.

The latest landmark comes as several of the worst-affected countries continue to see new daily cases surge, with new cases consistently topping 250,000 globally every 24 hours since late July.

More than half of all Covid-19 cases come from just three countries – Brazil, India and the United States – though a levelling off over the last week has given hope that the pandemic’s spread is beginning to slow.

Here is all the latest data:

[11 August 2020 17:59 · Vincent Wood]

French cases double that of previous 24 hours

French health authorities have reported 1,397 new COVID-19 infections over 24 hours, almost twice Monday's tally.

The Health Ministry website said there were 15 new deaths in hospital due the disease, compared to an increase of 16 over a three-day period between Monday and Saturday, with the total death toll standing at 30,354.

The number of people hospitalised for the disease went down again after creeping up Monday for the first time in two and a half months.

[11 August 2020 18:17 · Vincent Wood]

Russia approves world’s first coronavirus vaccine - but what do the experts think?

Experts have expressed serious concerns after Vladimir Putin said Russia had approved the world’s first coronavirus vaccine following less than two months of human testing.

Mr Putin claimed on Tuesday that one of his adult daughters had already been inoculated with the vaccine, which he insisted had passed necessary tests and been proved to be effective.

However, scientists from outside Russia have warned there is so far no published scientific evidence to support the claims.

More below:

[11 August 2020 18:35 · Vincent Wood]

'If we don't act collectively, we expose ourselves to the heightened risk that the rebound in the epidemic becomes hard to control'

The renewed spread of coronavirus in France could become harder to control without a collective effort to stop a rise in the infection rate, its prime minister said.

The public was becoming careless, Jean Castex warned, speaking shortly before health authorities said new daily infections were up by 1,397 over 24 hours, almost twice as much as Monday, to reach 204,172.

"If we don't act collectively, we expose ourselves to the heightened risk that the rebound in the epidemic becomes hard to control," Mr Castex said during a visit to a hospital intensive care ward in southern France.

A health ministry statement also reported 15 new deaths in hospital due the disease, compared to an increase of 16 over a three-day period between Monday and Saturday, with the total death toll standing at 30,354.

[11 August 2020 18:55 · Vincent Wood]

Dutch government to order mandatory quarantine for those exposed to virus - report

The Dutch government plans to order mandatory quarantine for people who are known to have been exposed to the coronavirus, national broadcaster NOS reported citing a letter to parliament.

The decision follows a 55 per cent jump in the number of positive cases in the country to 4,036 in the past week from 2,588 cases the week before.

[11 August 2020 19:12 · Vincent Wood]

Trump's ex-FDA chief says he 'wouldn't take' Russia's reported Covid-19 vaccine

The former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned a Russian vaccination for COVID-19 may not prove to be effective, while suggesting its reported approval could be a further attempt by the Kremlin to “stoke doubts” about US vaccine trials.

Scott Gottlieb, who led the FDA under Donald Trump from 2017 until last year, told CNBC’s Squawk Box about the vaccination that Russia has claimed was the first to combat the novel coronavirus: “I wouldn’t take it, certainly not outside a clinical trial right now.”

He added: “It appears that it’s only been tested in several hundred patients at most.”

More below:

[11 August 2020 19:32 · Vincent Wood]

BA agrees trade union deal with Heathrow workforce

British Airways has agreed a deal with trade unions representing parts of its workforce in Heathrow over planned job cuts, with the airline's chief executive saying significant progress had been made in a message to staff.

On Friday, the airline said it was planning to cut 12,000 of its staff, with thousands of workers due to receive letters saying whether they had lost their jobs.

"I am pleased to report we have made significant progress in these areas with both unions which will help us to save jobs and mitigate the impact of redundancies," BA Chief Executive Alex Cruz said in an internal message seen by Reuters.

"Representatives from both GMB and Unite have now signed a formal 'agreement in principle' that would cover those colleagues working above the wing in Heathrow and in Engineering. This is a significant step forwards."

[11 August 2020 20:00 · Vincent Wood]

Florida breaks daily coronavirus death record with over half a million cases total

Florida has recorded its highest single-day number of coronavirus-related deaths, with 276 reported by local health officials, and a total of 542,792 cases throughout the state.

The record number brings the state's total death toll to 8,685 since the pandemic began. The previous record of daily Covid-19 deaths in Florida was 257 on 31 July.

Data from the Florida Department of Health released on Tuesday morning reflected the number of deaths confirmed on Monday, though they may have died previously days or weeks earlier.

More below:

[11 August 2020 20:15 · Vincent Wood]

Coronavirus spread exacerbated by Beirut blast

Lebanon has announced a record daily number of over 300 Covid-19 infections and seven deaths from the virus as the country grapples with the aftermath of the Beirut port explosion that rocked the capital and overwhelmed hospitals.

The country's tally now stands at 7,121 cases and 87 deaths since February, according to health ministry data. Even before the blast there had been a recent surge in infections.

The 4 August explosion killed at least 171 people, injured some 6,000 and damaged swathes of the capital, leaving some 300,000 without habitable housing. Hospitals, many of which were damaged and their staff injured, were flooded with wounded.

World Health Organization spokesman Tarik Jarasevic told a United Nations briefing in Geneva on Tuesday that the displacement of so many people risks accelerating the spread of Covid-19.