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Italy fears 'tsunami' of coronavirus patients – as it happened

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 Updated 
Tue 3 Nov 2020 18.28 ESTFirst published on Mon 2 Nov 2020 18.32 EST
A poster in Paris calls for people to wear masks.
A poster in Paris calls for people to wear masks. Photograph: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images
A poster in Paris calls for people to wear masks. Photograph: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images

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Summary

Here is a quick recap of the main developments from around the world:

  • A further 397 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 in the UK, the highest daily increase in Covid-related deaths registered in five months. It brings the UK government’s tally to 47,250. The Tuesday tally each week tends to be higher owing to a delay in reporting deaths over the weekend, but the latest figure is still the highest recorded since 422 people were reported as having died on 27 May. Full story here.
  • Europe passed a bleak milestone after reporting more than 11 million coronavirus cases, as Austria and Greece became the latest countries on the continent to impose shutdowns. The continent has now registered 11,008,465 infections and almost 285,000 deaths according to an AFP tally of official sources on Tuesday.
  • France’s daily Covid-19 death toll rose by 854 on Tuesday, an increase unseen since 15 April, while the number of people hospitalised for the disease went up by more than a 1,000 for the fifth time in nine days. More here.
  • Hungary will close bars and entertainment venues and impose a night-time curfew as of midnight to curb a fast spread of coronavirus infections, the prime minister Viktor Orban said. From Monday, those violating rules on wearing face masks risk stiff fines, with offending restaurants and shops to be closed by authorities if necessary.
  • The Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has ordered extra lockdown measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the Netherlands, and said the government is also considering curfews and school closures. The new measures, which include a ban on public meetings of more than two people not in the same family, were imposed amid signs the epidemic had reached a second peak. More here.

Brazil reported 11,843 additional confirmed cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 243 deaths, the health ministry said on Tuesday. The country has now registered 5,566,049 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 160,496, according to ministry data, in the world’s most fatal outbreak outside the United States.

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White House scientific adviser Dr Deborah Birx warned the United States is entering a new “deadly phase” of the coronavirus pandemic, and urged an “aggressive” approach to containing its spread, Jessica Glenza reports.

Birx gave the warning in a written memo delivered to top administration officials on Monday. It is a direct contradiction of one of Donald Trump’s central, and false, closing campaign messages – that the US is “rounding the corner” on the pandemic.

“We are entering the most concerning and most deadly phase of this pandemic,” Birx wrote in the memo, first reported by the Washington Post.

She continued:

Cases are rapidly rising in nearly 30% of all USA counties, the highest number of county hotspots we have seen with this pandemic. Half of the United States is in the red or orange zone for cases despite flat or declining testing.

The memo came as Trump gathered hundreds at in-person rallies in key swing states, and warned that his political rival Joe Biden would lock down the country again.

“This is not about lockdowns – it hasn’t been about lockdowns since March or April,” Birx said. “It’s about an aggressive, balanced approach that is not being implemented.”

Americans need “consistent messaging about uniform use of masks, physical distancing and hand washing, with profound limitation on indoor gatherings especially with family and friends,” she wrote.

Full story here:

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UK reports 397 new coronavirus deaths and 20,018 daily cases

The UK government said a further 397 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Tuesday, bringing the government’s tally to 47,250.

The figure is more than seven times the death toll of 54 announced on 23 March when the first national lockdown began. While the Tuesday total is often larger because of a delay in reporting deaths over the weekend, this week’s nevertheless marks the highest daily increase since 27 May when 422 people were reported as having died.

Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies for deaths where Covid-19 has been mentioned on the death certificate, together with additional data on deaths that have occurred in recent days, show there have now been just under 63,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK.

The government said that, as of 9am on Tuesday, there had been a further 20,018 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, bringing the total number of cases to 1,073,882.

Separate government figures show there were 10,377 Covid-19 patients in hospital in England on Tuesday, up from 8,171 a week ago, while 952 were in ventilation beds, up from 742 a week ago.

A total of 1,280 patients with confirmed Covid-19 were admitted to hospitals in England on Sunday, the latest figure available, compared with 1,186 a week earlier.

The UK government’s data dashboard is here.

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Europe passed a bleak milestone on Tuesday after reporting more than 11 million coronavirus cases, as Austria and Greece became the latest countries on the continent to impose shutdowns.

Still reeling from a deadly shooting spree in the streets of Vienna on Monday evening, Austria went into partial lockdown while Greece shut down major cities.

They joined Belgium, France, Germany and Ireland in re-imposing tough curbs on people’s lives in an echo of last spring as the virus that first emerged in China at the end of 2019 shows no sign of abating.

Meanwhile the Netherlands extended a partial shutdown to museums, cinemas and zoos as the government said new cases were not slowing quickly enough (see 7.05pm.).

Europe has now registered 11,008,465 infections and almost 285,000 deaths according to an AFP tally of official sources on Tuesday.

Frances records highest daily death toll since 15 April

France’s daily Covid-19 death toll rose by 854 on Tuesday, an increase unseen since 15 April, while the number of people hospitalised for the disease went up by more than a 1,000 for the fifth time in nine days.

And if the number of new infections, at 36,330, was sharply down versus Monday’s all-time high of 52,518, the seven-day moving average of additional cases, which evens out reporting irregularities, reached a record for a second day in a row, at 43,438.

France reinstated a one-month national lockdown on Friday to try and contain the resurgence of the pandemic but it generally takes two weeks for restrictive measures to have some effect.

Authorities could nonetheless reimpose a night curfew on Paris and possibly the surrounding region in the coming days amid frustration that too many people are ignoring lockdown rules.

The cumulative number of cases now totals 1,502,763, the fifth-highest in the world, and the death toll stands at 38,289, the seventh-highest globally.

The sharp rise of the daily death toll is in part due to the fact the nursing homes fatalities are taken in account twice a week, on Tuesdays and on Fridays.

The number of hospitalisations is now at 26,265, a figure multiplied by almost six since an August 29 low of 4,530 and getting closer to the 14 April peak of 32,292.

France’s first lockdown, imposed between 17 March and 11 May, had been decided to prevent the hospital system from being overwhelmed.

The number of people in intensive care units increased by 148, to 3,878, a six-month high but still some way from the 8 April peak of 7,148.

Hungary will close bars and entertainment venues and impose a night-time curfew as of midnight on Tuesday to curb a fast spread of coronavirus infections, the prime minister Viktor Orban said in a video posted on his Facebook page.

Orban said the government would introduce a “special legal order” as of midnight and would ask parliament to extend it by 90 days. He said the measures were needed to prevent hospitals reaching capacity by mid-December.

Schools remain open as well as all shops and restaurants and soccer games will continue to be played in front of thousands of spectators nationwide.

Trying to minimise further harm to the recession-hit economy, Orban’s nationalist government has so far refrained from imposing strict lockdown measures.

From Monday, those violating rules on wearing face masks risk stiff fines, with offending restaurants and shops to be closed by authorities if necessary.

Last week the National Medical Chamber called on the government to limit the opening hours of restaurants and reimpose special shopping hours for the elderly as the number of patients with Covid-19 rises. These measures have not been taken.

Hungary reported 3,989 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, its highest single-day tally, while the daily death toll also rose to a record high of 84. The total death toll rose to 1,973 and the number of patients treated in hospitals jumped to 4,767 from 4,417 on Monday.

Second peak sees lockdown tightened in the Netherlands

The Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has ordered extra lockdown measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the Netherlands, and said the government is also considering curfews and school closures.

The new measures, which include a ban on public meetings of more than two people not in the same family, were imposed amid signs the epidemic had reached a second peak.

Rutte said in a televised press conference:

The number of new cases is falling, but not quickly enough.

The measures go into effect on Wednesday for two weeks. Rutte said other measures will remain in place through mid-December.

Bars and restaurants in the Netherlands were closed except for takeaway and delivery in a partial lockdown on 13 October to slow a second wave of infections. Public gatherings were then limited to four people.

Rutte on Tuesday said museums, theatres, cinemas, zoos and amusement parks will also have to close.

The Netherlands joins the UK, France, Germany and several smaller European countries in restricting gatherings and people’s movements in recent weeks.

On Tuesday the National Institute for Health reported 64,087 new cases over the past week, down from 67,542 the week before, the first time weekly numbers have declined since August.

Hospitals are near capacity because of a surge in patients with Covid-19, numbers of which are continuing to climb, and the government is under pressure to ease the strain on the healthcare system.

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Summary

Here’s a quick recap of the latest coronavirus developments from around the world:

  • Rich states’ Covid deals ‘may deprive poor of vaccine for years’. Governments in predominantly wealthy countries are negotiating to buy nearly 8.8bn doses of prospective Covid-19 vaccines in a “frenzy of deals” that could mean many poor countries would not get access to immunisation until at least 2024, a report says.
  • Italy prepares new coronavirus curbs as deaths surge. Tougher measures will include a nationwide nightly curfew from 10pm to 5am and the closure of museums and exhibitions, a draft decree seen by Reuters shows. It is expected to be approved by Wednesday and to be effective until 3 December, and will also limit travel between the worst-hit regions, in which bars, pubs, restaurants and most shops will be ordered to close. Italy reported 353 Covid-related deaths, the highest daily figure since 6 May.
  • France considers new Paris curfew as lockdown rules are flouted. France could reimpose a night curfew on Paris, and possibly the Île-de-France region around the capital, amid government frustration that too many people are ignoring a new lockdown as Covid-19 infections spiral higher.
  • Hundreds of thousands in coronavirus quarantine in Germany. Hundreds of thousands of people in Germany are in quarantine because they have tested positive for the coronavirus or have come into contact with someone who has Covid-19, health minister Jens Spahn said.
  • Danish parliament suspends voting after several lawmakers test positive for Covid-19. The Danish parliament has suspended voting and other meetings after several lawmakers tested positive for Covid-19 and six ministers are self-isolating while awaiting test results.
  • Belgium launches Covid patient air-lifts to Germany. The country’s surging second wave of Covid-19 cases has forced it to move some severely ill patients, many on ventilators, to neighbouring Germany, and air ambulances began flying Belgian patients further into the country on Tuesday.
  • Liverpool to pioneer UK’s first attempt at mass Covid testing. Up to half a million people in Liverpool, England are set to be tested for Covid-19 under the UK government’s first attempt to embark on city-wide mass testing and track down every case of the virus.
  • China changes school curriculum to reflect Beijing’s positive Covid narrative. Chinese government-endorsed content about the pandemic and the “fighting spirit” of the country’s response will be added to school curriculum, the country’s ministry of education has said, in a move to enshrine the country’s narrative of success against the virus.
Rajeev Syal
Rajeev Syal

Baroness Dido Harding, the under-pressure head of England’s NHS track and trace, said the system needs to improve during a second coronavirus lockdown if the nation is to recover.

In an interview conducted at the CBI’s virtual annual conference on Tuesday, she said that the main problem was finding and testing people who had Covid but displayed no symptoms.

Every country is grappling with the same problem. Despite everyone’s best efforts and all of the work of our team in NHS Test and Trace to be the second line of defence, the virus is spreading too rapidly and too widely.

As we go into another really challenging period for us as a country, it is time for the organisation that I lead to take the next big leap forward.

We will be focusing on improving NHS Test and Trace so that when England emerges from lockdown we are better able to live with Covid.

Harding has faced criticism for the performance of the six month tracing system which last month contacted less than 60% of contacts of infected patients. Boris Johnson last week expressed confidence in Harding but said the system must improve.

Asked about the possibility of a testing “moonshot” as suggested by Johnson, Harding says she could not estimate how many people will be tested by the Spring. “I really don’t know, the medium-term for T&T is three weeks.

“It is too early to give a sense of the potential as far away as the Spring,” she said.

She emphasised that test and trace was only one part of the government’s armoury to tackle coronavirus. ““There is no silver bullet... hands, face, space, we need to get better at that, test & trace will get better, but on their own those two will not be enough,” she said.

Harding is facing demands from senior Tories including Sir Bernard Jenkin that she should resign from the post.

It emerged on Tuesday that the prime minister and health secretary are being sued for giving Tories including Harding key public sector roles without any open competition or proper process,

The Good Law Project and Runnymede Trust have launched legal proceedings against the government’s repeated appointment of individuals who are connected with senior members of the Conservative Party – without advertising these roles.

Rich states' Covid deals 'may deprive poor of vaccine for years'

Michael Safi
Michael Safi

Governments in predominantly wealthy countries are negotiating to buy nearly 8.8bn doses of prospective Covid-19 vaccines in a “frenzy of deals” that could mean many poor countries would not get access to immunisation until at least 2024, a report says.

None of the 320-plus potential vaccines in development have been approved for use, but countries have already struck advance purchasing agreements for 3.73bn doses of the most promising candidates, with negotiations underway for another 5m doses, the study by Duke University’s global health innovation centre calculated.

However, manufacturers will only be able to produce so much of the successful candidates, with researchers estimating it could take three to four years to supply enough vaccine to immunise the global population. That means many wealthy countries may be able to vaccinate their entire populations several times over before most people in low-income countries are immunised, the report said.

Andrea Taylor, an assistant director at the Duke centre, said:

Countries are acting in their own interests, which makes senses.

The problem it leads to is a pattern of behaviour globally where we are limited in the number of doses we can produce in the first year or two … And so many are getting taken off the market and snatched up and reserved for high-income countries, leaving potentially very little for low- and middle-income countries.

France has reported 36,330 new Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours, well below the 52,518 record set on Monday, but the 854 daily death toll linked to the disease was the highest since 15 April.

That tally was double Monday’s 416 figure and the total number of fatalities now stands at 38,289.

The cumulative number of cases now totals 1,502,763, the fifth-highest in the world.

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