Coronavirus news – live: Face coverings will not be made in compulsory in shops, Michael Gove says as Herefordshire farm in lockdown
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Face coverings will not be made mandatory in shops, Michael Gove said – two days after Boris Johnson hinted that England could copy Scotland by introducing the rule.
The cabinet office minister also stepped up calls for people to return to work following reports that the government was set to ease restrictions on using public transport.
It came as a Herefordshire farm went into lockdown after 73 vegetable pickers tested positive for coronavirus. The 200 staff are being kept in isolation in mobile homes at the site.
Meanwhile Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would be prepared to impose a border quarantine with England to prevent the spread of the virus if necessary, though there were no “immediate plans” to do so.
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Anger over Covid-19 outbreak at US bases in Japan
The governor of Japan's Okinawa island has demanded a top US military commander take tougher prevention measures it was revealed 61 Marines at two bases have been infected with the coronavirus in the last week.
Okinawan officials said 38 cases had been confirmed at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which is at the center of a relocation dispute, since 7 July, with another 23 at Camp Hansen.
They said that US military officials told them the two bases have since been put in lockdown.
However the disclosure of the exact figures came only after Okinawa's repeated requests to the US military.
"Okinawans are shocked by what we were told," governor Denny Tamaki told a news conference on Saturday. "It is extremely regrettable that the infections are rapidly spreading among U.S. personnel when we Okinawans are doing our utmost to contain the infections."
"We now have strong doubts that the U.S. military has taken adequate disease prevention measures," he added.
Michael Gove appeared to play down reports that the government is set to make face coverings compulsory in shops.
"I think we should do everything we can to encourage people and support people to wear face masks in enclosed places," he told Sophy Ridge on Sunday.
British pilot leaves hospital after 65 days on Covid-19 life support
A British pilot who was Vietnam's most critical COVID-19 patient was discharged from a hospital on Saturday, less than a week after doctors said he was virus-free and healthy enough to return home to Scotland, reports Reuters.
The 42-year-old man, identified by the official Vietnam News Agency as Stephen Cameron, was taken by ambulance from Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City to the city's airport. He was scheduled to take a flight to Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, where he will depart on a flight to London, with a stop in Frankfurt. He is scheduled to land in London on Sunday morning.
Vietnam has gone all out to save Cameron, who was working for national carrier Vietnam Airlines when he tested positive for the coronavirus in March. He had been critically ill and spent 65 days on life support.
"I'm overwhelmed by the generosity of the Vietnamese people, the dedication and professionalism of the doctors and nurses working" at Cho Ray Hospital, Cameron said Saturday morning in a video released by the hospital, where he was last treated.
"I can only thank everybody here for things that they have done," he said, sitting in a wheelchair next to a group of doctors. "I'm going home with a happy heart because I'm going home, but it is sad that I'm leaving so many people here that I'm friends with."
Cameron is known in Vietnam as "Patient 91," as he was the 91st person in the country confirmed to have the coronavirus. He was Vietnam's last patient in an ICU, and his recovery means the country still has not had any COVID-19 deaths.
Face masks 'will not be made compulsory in shops,' says Gove
Face coverings will not be made in compulsory in shops, Michael Gove says – insisting: “I trust people’s good sense.”
Boris Johnson had hinted at copying Scotland by introducing the rule, but his key ally said: “I don’t think mandatory, but I would encourage people to wear face masks.”
Michael Gove's view on masks came minutes after Labour's shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves backed calls for the compulsory wearing of face coverings in shops.
Asked if she supported making it mandatory to wear face masks in shops, Ms Reeves told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "Yes, I think that would be a sensible way forward.
"I think people are increasingly wearing them but I think some greater clarity from Government about that, I think, would be helpful.
"People want to do the right thing but they want to know what the right thing is. We already have it on public transport.
"I think it would inspire greater confidence and might encourage more people to go out and spend money if they see more people wearing face masks in shops."
Face masks 'useful to reduce airborne transmission'
Professor Wendy Barclay, chairwoman in influenza virology at Imperial College London, said the virus can remain suspended in the air and travel, with laboratory studies showing it can remain infectious in the air for more than an hour.
Asked whether face masks are useful, she said: "The use of face masks is really about protecting other people from you in case you're infected, we do think this virus is breathed out in droplets, whether or not these droplets are large or small it's quite likely that a face mask will remove some of them from your breath.
She later explained ventilation that replenished the air in a room was important, especially compared to air conditioning systems which circulate the air in a room.
When asked about the easing of lockdown and the resumption of recreational activities such as gyms and choir practices, Prof Barclay added: "There have been a number of outbreaks associated with choirs, for example, and it's quite possible that we generate more of these small droplets when we talk loudly or sing, or perhaps when we're exercising.
"So in these circumstances, you would definitely want to be in a well-ventilated room and also the social distancing that we've all become used to is useful."
'Too soon to lift Ireland travel quarantine'
The Irish premier has said it is too early for British holidaymakers to return to Ireland without being quarantined.
Micheal Martin said the advice from his government to its citizens is to avoid any non-essential travel, adding that the cabinet will discuss this further this week, including whether to strengthen resources at airports.
"We would be very cautious on international travel generally and on July 20 we will announce our measures in relation to international travel and essentially we have developed a methodology somewhat similar to the European Union and its relation with third countries, essentially the methodology will be in relation to the level of the disease in particular countries including the UK, countries that are at Ireland's level or below," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.
"In terms of people coming into Ireland the advisory and the quarantining still remains and it's under constant review. Why, because there's a lot of international volatility with this virus, we've seen a spike in numbers. We're very concerned about that.
"It's a serious issue for us, we're taking a cautious approach. The suppression of the virus is key, we've watched reports where in certain parts of the UK, there are still difficulties where certain areas had to go into lockdown and so on, and further severe restrictions."
WHO investigators 'will not visit research lab in Wuhan'
A coronavirus research lab in Wuhan, the Chinese city where Covid-19 first emerged, will not be visited by World Health Organisation investigators looking into the origins of the pandemic.
WHO is sending a mission to Wuhan, in Hubei province, but has said investigators will be there only to “advance the understanding of animal hosts for Covid-19 and ascertain how the disease jumped between animals and humans”.
Sturgeon not ruling out quarantine on travellers from England
Nicola Sturgeon was asked about the possibility Scotland could impose a 14-day quarantine on visitors from England.
The first minister told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show she is not "immediately planning" to implement a quarantine policy but will "take decisions the best I can to protect the health of Scotland and to take that absolutely from a public health perspective."
She said the Scottish Government has to take a "very close look" to make sure the virus is not coming in to Scotland from other parts of the UK.
"This is not about saying to people in England you are not welcome in Scotland - of course people in England are welcome in Scotland," she said.
"This is not about politics, it's not about a constitutional agenda, it's just about taking decisions to protect people in Scotland as much as possible from Covid."
Ms Sturgeon said she would like to see the UK Government be more explicit that it was trying to get to levels of coronavirus that were "virtually elimination levels".
"We need to be sure that any outbreaks in England are being properly managed just as England will want to be sure that any outbreaks in Scotland are properly managed," she said. "It's when there isn't that confidence that the concerns about possible importation would grow."
Hamburg sex workers protest Covid-19 lockdown
Sex workers in Hamburg's red light district late held a protest on Saturday night to demand that Germany's brothels be allowed to reopen.
With shops, restaurants and bars all open again in Germany, the demonstrators said they were being singled out and deprived of their livelihoods despite not posing a greater health risk.
"The oldest profession needs your help," read a notice held up by one woman in a brothel window in the Herbertstrasse, which was flooded with red light after being dark since March.
"Prostitution does not carry a greater risk of infection than other close-to-body services, like massages, cosmetics or even dancing or contact sports," the Association of Sex Workers said in a statement. "Hygiene is part of the business in prostitution."
Photo via Getty
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