Coronavirus news: Boris Johnson set to make face masks mandatory in shops as WHO reports record global surge in infections
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Boris Johnson is set to make face coverings compulsory in shops and other indoor venues as the government indicated further relaxation of lockdown restrictions.
The prime minister said he was looking at ways of being “stricter” about masks as the culture secretary announced gyms, sports facilities and beauty salons will be allowed to reopen in England later this month.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation warned the coronavirus pandemic had still not reached its peak, with the organisation’s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, saying the virus is not under control “in most of the world” and is in fact “getting worse”.
It comes as quarantine rules for people returning to or visiting the UK from a list of 76 countries are relaxed from Friday.
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Trump suggests phase two of US-China trade deal is low priority due to coronavirus
Donald Trump has suggested work on the second phase of a US-China trade deal has become a low priority, arguing the two nation's relationship has been “severely damaged” by Beijing's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking aboard Air Force One on his way to Miami on Friday, Mr Trump repeated his persistent criticism that China could have done more to stop the spread of Covid-19 earlier this year.
The president did not completely rule out working on phase two of the deal but made clear that it was not a top concern.
“Honestly, I have many other things in mind,” Mr Trump said.
The United States and China signed phase one of a trade agreement in January, boosting stock markets and seemingly ending a trade war.
White House official urges mask use where Covid-19 rates are rising
White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator Deborah Birx has urged the use of masks among people living in counties and metro areas where more than 5 per cent of coronavirus tests are positive.
“We really believe [in] ... the uniform use of masks in all metros and in all areas with rising new infections, particularly counties and metros with over 5 per cent positivity,” Ms Birx said on Friday.
Her comments came despite Donald Trump refusing to wear a mask publicly or ask Americans to do so - although he has said he would wear one if he was in a crowd and could not distance himself.
Ms Birx said there were 13 states where both case rates and the percentage of positive tests were rising.
Johnson ‘plans to bring NHS back under more political control’
Boris Johnson is planning to bring the NHS under more political control with a new reorganisation of the health service, a report has claimed.
The Guardian has reported that the prime minister’s Health and Social Care Taskforce is drawing up plans which would give more power to the government and reduce the operational independence of NHS England.
Our policy correspondent, Jon Stone, has the full story below:
Boris Johnson has been seen wearing a face mask in public, in what is thought to be the first time, while visiting businesses in Uxbridge.
The prime minister posed for selfies in the bright blue face covering as he met people in his constituency today.
France coronavirus death toll tops 30,000
France has became the sixth country to report a coronavirus death toll of more than 30,000.
The health ministry today said 25 people had died from coronavirus infection in the past 24 hours, taking the cumulative total since early March to 30,004.
Friday's increase compares to an average increase of 15 in the previous seven days. In June, France counted on average 34 new deaths per day, in May 143 and in April 695.
The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 fell by 115 to 7,062, continuing a weeks-long downtrend, and the number of people in intensive care units fell by 16 to 496, the first time the ICU count fell below 500 since mid-March.
Phone scam warning
The Health Service Executive (HSE) in Ireland is urging the public to be vigilant in light of reports of a telephone/text scam from criminals claiming to be contact tracing and testing staff.
The fraudulent calls and text messages claim that the person has been identified as a close contact of someone who has Covid-19 and ask for money for a testing kit to be sent to them and for bank details.
The HSE said it does not charge the public for Covid-19 related services, including testing, and such texts and calls should be ignored.
Any close contacts of a confirmed positive case of Covid-19 will be contacted by phone call by the contact tracing team or public health staff in the HSE and referred for a test.
The HSE said if the Covid-19 tracker app has identified you as a close contact you will see a red box with the advice on what you should do next on all pages of the app.
It added that people will never be asked for their bank details or to pay for testing by a member of HSE contact tracing staff.
The public have been advised to call HSE Live on 1850 24 1850 or contact Gardai if they are concerned or suspicious about any contact they have received regarding Covid-19 testing.
Jobs in locked-down Leicester 'threatened by lack of government help'
Firms and jobs in locked-down Leicester are being threatened by a lack of government help as the rest of the country opens up for businesses, the Leicester East MP has said.
Labour's Claudia Webbe wrote to Chancellor Rishi Sunak urging him to provide "desperately needed financial support" for the city, whose residents are "anxious and confused" as the rest of England enjoys a gradual loosening of restrictions.
Ms Webbe also outlined concerns ministers were too slow to give Leicester County Council the data and information "essential to tackling the virus at a local level".
The city became the first place in the country to have tight restrictions reimposed on June 30, after a spike in Covid-19 infections.
Business and Industry Minister Nadhim Zahawi has said there are "no plans" for any further aid measures, beyond those such as furlough and business grants, put in place at the start of the pandemic.
City Mayor Peter Soulsby has accused health secretary Matt Hancock of breaking promises and called the situation "very bad news", while Liz Kendall, Labour MP for Leicester West, said the situation was "totally unacceptable".
The government overstated the total number of people who had been tested for coronavirus by as many as 200,000 at the height of the UK’s first wave of Covid-19, according to analysis by Sky News.
Doctors and teachers reject Trump pressure on reopening schools
Groups representing US doctors, teachers and top school officials have pushed back against pressure from Donald Trump to fully reopen schools amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
“Public health agencies must make recommendations based on evidence, not politics,” the American Academy of Pediatrics, two national teachers' unions and a school superintendents' group said, following days of threats by Mr Trump to cut off federal education funds.
“We should leave it to health experts to tell us when the time is best to open up school buildings, and listen to educators and administrators to shape how we do it,” AAP, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the School Superintendents Association said in a joint statement.
Their call was echoed by two medical groups - the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association.
WHO expert warns eradication of new coronavirus is unlikely
Dr Mike Ryan, head of the World Health Organisation's emergencies programme, has said it is unlikely that the new coronavirus will be eliminated completely.
“In the current situation, it is unlikely we can eradicate this virus,” Dr Ryan told an online briefing from Geneva.
However, he said that by extinguishing clusters of infection the world could “potentially avoid the worst of having second peaks and having to move backwards in terms of lockdown”.
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