Coronavirus live news: cases in Africa pass 150,000; Germany lifts travel warning for Europe

State media say Zimbabwe has confirmed its first coronavirus cases in prisons, with four inmates and two guards testing positive, US news agency the Associated Press reports.

The Herald newspaper says authorities declared the prisons in Plumtree, which borders Botswana, and in Beitbridge, which borders South Africa, as “no-go areas.” Authorities also have suspended movement out of prisons countrywide, resulting in some prisoners failing to attend court hearings.

Zimbabwe’s cases more than doubled in the past week to over 200, with most new infections at centres where people crossing the border are quarantined. Most are returning from Botswana and South Africa, which host millions of Zimbabweans who fled economic turmoil in recent years.

South Africa has more than 34,000 virus cases, the most in Africa. Zimbabwe’s health ministry says the returnees pose the biggest virus threat. Those arrested for illegal border crossings are put into the prisons in Plumtree and Beitbridge.

Zimbabwe earlier released more than 4,000 prisoners to ease overcrowding in facilities where health systems are weak. About 18,000 people are still behind bars.

Damien Gayle back at the controls now, with thanks to Simon for keeping things ticking over while I had my break. Remember, you can contact me with any comments, tips or suggestions for coverage, either via email to damien.gayle@theguardian.com, or via Twitter direct message to @damiengayle.

The Covid-19 pandemic is exposing “endemic inequalities” that must be addressed, according to the United Nations’ human rights chief, who highlighted the protests triggered by George Floyd’s death.

Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, referenced the situation in the United States and a series of other countries, saying data shows the coronavirus crisis has had a worse impact on racial and ethnic minorities.

“This virus is exposing endemic inequalities that have too long been ignored,” she said in a statement, according to AFP.

Similar inequalities were also fuelling the widespread protests in hundreds of US cities over the police killing in Minneapolis last week of Floyd, an unarmed black man, Bachelet said. “In the United States, protests triggered by the killing of George Floyd are highlighting not only police violence against people of colour, but also inequalities in health, education, employment and endemic racial discrimination,” she explained.

She noted the virus death rate for African Americans is reportedly more than double that of other racial groups in the United States. Her statement also highlighted the situation in the UK, where an official study has found that black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people are up to 50% more likely to die after being infected with Covid-19.

And she pointed to Brazil, where people of colour in Sao Paulo are 62% more likely to die from the virus than white people, and in France’s heavily minority-inhabited Seine Saint-Denis suburb of Paris, which has reported higher excess mortality than other areas.

“The appalling impact of COVID-19 on racial and ethnic minorities is much discussed, but what is less clear is how much is being done to address it,” Bachelet said.

Urgent steps need to be taken by states, such as prioritising health monitoring and testing, increasing access to healthcare, and providing targeted information for these communities.”

“People from racial and ethnic minorities are also found in higher numbers in some jobs that carry increased risk, including in the transport, health and cleaning sectors,” the statement said. She added:

Collection, disaggregation and analysis of data by ethnicity or race, as well as gender, are essential to identify and address inequalities and structural discrimination that contribute to poor health outcomes, including for Covid-19.

“The fight against this pandemic cannot be won if governments refuse to acknowledge the blatant inequalities that the virus is bringing to the fore,” Bachelet warned.

It is a country famed for its rich cuisine but during lockdown diners in France have been prevented from enjoying the country’s plethora of restaurants.

But now the country has taken a step closer to returning to some sense of normality, as cafes and restaurants opened their doors today for the first time since the Covid-19 control measures were imposed.

Although restrictions remain in the Paris region, where only outdoor seating and takeout is allowed at restaurants with dining rooms remaining closed, customers still flocked to seize the chance to bask on sunny terraces after 10 weeks of closures to fight the outbreak.

“I’ve missed this so much… we’re social animals, after all,” Rachida, 70, told AFP while sipping an espresso as her grandson enjoyed a lemonade at her local cafe in Romainville, a Paris suburb.

There were similar scenes elsewhere. “I’m almost overwhelmed,” Martine Depagniat, wearing a beige face mask and sunglasses, said at the Cafe de la Comedie in Paris, just across the street from the Louvre Museum where she works. “I think people really need a return to normal, even though there’s still a bit of nervousness,” she said.

But it’s not quite business as normal in the country – which has suffered more than 28,000 Covid-19 deaths – with many servers and customers wearing face masks and tables kept at least one metre apart new under government regulations.

In the rest of the country, where cafes and restaurants are fully open, some even welcomed customers at the stroke of midnight to celebrate their newfound freedom under a further relaxation of lockdown rules. “We’re leaving our confinement, to rediscover the pleasures and good times spent together,” said Frederic de Boulois, president of a regional hotel association in Nantes, western France, speaking from the Prison du Bouffay, a restaurant that sits atop a former mediaeval dungeon.

At the Cafe de Flore, a Left Bank institution in the French capital, waiter Philippe Da Cruz wore a surgical mask over his black vest and impeccably knotted tie as he chatted with clients. “They’re incredibly happy to be back, doing everyday things,” he said. “The real deconfinement is now beginning.”

In England, an official study has found that black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people are up to 50% more likely to die after being infected with Covid-19.

The report, published today by Public Health England (PHE), reveals that people of Bangladeshi ethnicity had around twice the risk of death than people of white British ethnicity.

Meanwhile, people of Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, other Asian, Caribbean and black ethnicity had between 10% and 50% higher risk of death.

The report examines disparities in how the disease affected people, showed there was a significant disproportionate effect on ethnic minorities, while confirming death tolls among the elderly were far higher.

It comes as a United Nations human rights official highlighted the “devastating impact” of the disease on those communities in Britain and other countries.

“Death rates from COVID-19 were higher for Black and Asian ethnic groups when compared to White ethnic groups,” the PHE report said.

Here’s some more detail on the study from my colleague, Haroon Siddique.

It’s Simon Murphy here covering the global live blog while my colleague, Damien Gayle, takes a break.

Nursery schools in Belgium began reopening on Tuesday, two and a half months after they were closed down as part of measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The reopening is the latest step in the gradual easing of lockdown measures in Belgium, which has recorded the worst per capita death rate from the coronavirus outbreak of any country in Europe.

Most nursery classes are due to reopen on Wednesday and Thursday, Chinese news agency Xinhua reports. From next week, primary schools are also due to reopen.

Belgium’s national security council will meet on Wednesday to decide on the third phase of lockdown easing, which will include the reopening of cafes and restaurants, and the resumption of domestic holidays and religious services, timetabled for 8 June.

A decision is also due to be taken on reopening the borders, which is expected on 15 June, in line with the schedules of Germany and France, Belgium’s biggest neighbours.

On Tuesday, the Sciensano public health institute reported 19 new deaths from Covid-19, bringing the total death toll in Belgium to 9,505. A further 98 people tested positive for coronavirus. So far, Belgium has recorded a total of 58,615 infections.

The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Africa has passed 150,000, after 5,343 more cases were reported in the past 24 hours, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control.

The latest update from the African Union health agency showed that there had been 152,442 cases of the virus, which causes the Covid-19 respiratory disease, reported by its 54 member states. Of those, 63,661 people had recovered and 4,344 had died.

According to the Africa CDC’s coronavirus dashboard, the worst affected area, by both deaths and infections, was north Africa.

Keeping at least 1-metre apart and wearing face masks and eye protection are the best ways to cut the risk of coronavirus infection, according to the largest review to date of studies on coronavirus disease transmission, Reuters reports.

In a review that pooled evidence from 172 studies in 16 countries, researchers found frequent handwashing and good hygiene are also critical – though even all those measures combined can not give full protection.

The findings, published in the Lancet journal on Monday, will help guide governments and health agencies, some of whom have given conflicting advice on measures, largely because of limited information about Covid-19.

“Our findings are the first to synthesise all direct information on Covid-19, Sars, and Mers, and provide the currently best available evidence on the optimum use of these common and simple interventions to help ‘flatten the curve’”, said Holger Schünemann, from McMaster University in Canada, who co-led the research.

Current evidence suggests the coronavirus is most commonly spread by droplets, especially when people cough, and infects by entering through the eyes, nose and mouth, either directly or via contaminated surfaces.

Derek Chu, an assistant professor at McMaster University, who co-led the work, said people should understand that “wearing a mask is not an alternative to physical distancing, eye protection or basic measures such as hand hygiene.”