Coronavirus news – live: Shoppers risk fines as face masks become mandatory in England on 24 July
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Matt Hancock will announce on Tuesday that face coverings will become mandatory mandatory in English shops from 24 July, with shoppers risking a £100 fine if they fail to comply.
The prime minister – who was first pictured wearing a mask only days ago – said: “The scientific evaluation of face coverings and their importance on stopping aerosol droplets, that’s been growing, so I do think that in shops it is very important to wear a face covering if you’re going to be in a confined space and you want to protect other people and receive protection in turn.”
His comments came as three people escaped quarantine at a Herefordshire farm – where 200 staff members had been ordered to isolate after 74 infections were identified. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation warned that the coronavirus pandemic had the potential to get “worse and worse and worse” if countries do not follow basic healthcare guidance.
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Coronavirus crisis may get 'worse and worse and worse', WHO warns
The coronavirus pandemic has the potential to get far worse if all nations do not adhere to basic healthcare precautions, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned.
“Let me be blunt, too many countries are headed in the wrong direction, the virus remains public enemy number one,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general, told a virtual briefing on Monday.
“If basics are not followed, the only way this pandemic is going to go, it is going to get worse and worse and worse. But it does not have to be this way.”
Infections rose above 13 million across the world on Monday and have climbed by one million in just five days, according to a Reuters tally.
More details on WHO's stark warning about the future of the pandemic can be found below as they come in:
Catalonia president defies court order to urge lockdown
The leader of Catalonia has urged 160,000 people living in and near the city of Lleida, where coronavirus cases have increased, to stay at home - in defiance of a court ruling rejecting a mandatory lockdown.
"We don't agree with this court ruling. We don't accept it," Quim Torra, who leads Catalonia's pro-independence regional government, said on Monday after Judge Elena Garcia-Munoz Alarcos threw out the planned mandatory lockdown, adding: "It's a luxury to lose time with legal resolutions. We cannot allow this."
In Lleida, situated some 180 km west of Barcelona, the streets were half empty and some shops and bars closed, with residents angry about the uncertainty. Businesses feared for their survival.
City mayor Miquel Pueyo told Reuters he was "perplexed" by the judge's ruling, but also felt unable to tell people whether to stay at home or follow the legal decision. He himself supported home confinement if it came with more doctors, virus tracking measures and financial aid for the most-hit sectors.
‘It’s one rule for men and another for women’: Salons criticise government’s ‘sexist’ reopening guidelines
As salons reopen in England today with a ban on facial treatments, Olivia Petter speaks to beauticians who will lose up to a third of their revenue until they can fully restart.
Hong Kong Disneyland forced to close days after flagship park reopens
Walt Disney is temporarily closing its Hong Kong theme park amid rising coronavirus cases - just two days after Disney reopened its biggest resort, in Orlando, despite surging cases in the US state.
"As required by the government and health authorities in line with prevention efforts taking place across Hong Kong, Hong Kong Disneyland park will temporarily close from July 15," a Disney spokesperson said in a statement.
Hong Kong recorded 52 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, including 41 that were locally transmitted, according to health authorities. Since late January, Hong Kong has reported 1,522 cases and local media reported an eighth death on Monday.
Hong Kong is tightening social distancing measures amid growing worries about a third wave of coronavirus infections. The government will limit group gatherings to four people - from 50 - a measure last seen during a second wave of the outbreak in March.
Wetherspoons has announced it will be serving up "Sunak savings" on menu items and beverages from Wednesday 15 July, including a £1.29 pint, while other pubs have indicated they also may grant customers some portion of the benefits from the chancellor's VAT cut.
However, the government says that the VAT holiday does not apply to booze. So who to believe?
Sophie Gallagher reports on whether alcohol will be cheaper on Wednesday.
South Africa reimposes alcohol ban in bid to ease pressure on hospitals as cases rise
President Cyril Ramaphosa enraged consumers and the hospitality sector as he announced the return of the ban, which was only lifted on 1 June, in an address to the nation on Sunday, insisting it was necessary to ease pressure on the healthcare system.
South Africa is now recording more than 12,000 new coronavirus cases a day, the fourth-largest daily increase worldwide, and deaths from Covid-19 rose by a quarter in the past week to over 4,000, official data show.
Within hours of Mr Ramaphosa's address, consumers took to social media to vent their anger with hashtags like #AlcoholHasFallen. Many Twitter users said they would resort to brewing their own beverages or buying bootleg alcohol, while bar staff and off licence workers worried they would struggle to put food on the table.
An industry group representing brewers, liquor traders and wine producers said the ban would have serious economic consequences, placing a huge number of livelihoods at risk. It said a better approach would be to target problematic drinking.
But medical experts said that, despite its unpopularity, the alcohol ban could help thousands more Covid-19 patients access treatment.
Modelling by South Africa's Medical Research Council showed that if the ban were kept in place for eight weeks, it could enable the treatment of roughly 17,750 coronavirus patients in general wards, or 12,950 in intensive care units, because of fewer admissions due to alcohol-related trauma, the MRC's Charles Parry said.
The coronavirus crisis has claimed its latest travel victim: Fleetway Travel, a holiday company that had been trading since 1975, our travel correspondent Simon Calder reports.
The firm, with offices in London and Sheffield, had 85 staff. They were informed of the closure in a Zoom call.
Fleetway offered a wide range of European, US and worldwide packages. It also traded as Exclusive Luxury Breaks, Explorer’s Collection, Late Bargains, Luxury Holiday Collection, Phone & Fly, Sail Away, Silversurfers Holidays and Travelsmart.The closure since March of the American market, with a presidential ban on travellers from the UK, has hit Fleetway particularly badly.
Justin Trudeau: Canada and US still in talks over non-essential travel ban
Canada and the US are still in discussions over the future of a ban on non-essential travel between the two nations and will have more to say in the coming days, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has said.
The ban, introduced in March, has been extended several times and is due to expire on 21 July.
Mr Trudeau also told reporters that he talked to Donald Trump today and reiterated his opposition to the possible imposition of tariffs on Canadian aluminium exports.
MP compares coronavirus and Brexit to back-to-back bouts with Joshua and Fury
The challenges facing the UK as it exits the EU having already been crippled by the coronavirus crisis have been compared to fighting Tyson Fury having already battled Anthony Joshua.
Labour MP Barry Sheerman said: "My view is we're heading for a disaster. And what does [Michael Gove] say to a leading businessman in my constituency [who] said we're staggering because of coronavirus, like coming out of the ring having gone 15 rounds with Anthony Joshua only to find, as we leave this chaos of leaving Europe, we've got Tyson Fury for another 15.
"Is it fair to do this to our great British public?"
"Seconds out, round one, I'm tempted to reply," Mr Gove responded, adding: "I think it's important of course to be aware of the challenges, but also the opportunities."
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