Coronavirus live news: Russia and Afghanistan announce their biggest rises in cases

Italy’s two-month shutdown will partially ease from tomorrow onwards. This has been known for almost two weeks, but a report by AFP suggests many are still in the dark about what they will – and won’t – be permitted to do.

They quote Pietro Garlanti, a 53-year-old cleaner in Rome, asking: “I’m hoping this morning’s paper will clear it up. I want to take my old mum to the sea-side, can I?”

Italians will be able to move more freely within their own regions, visiting relatives, going to the re-opened parks with their children and going cycling or running further from home. But these activities cannot be undertaken in groups and people will not be allowed to leave their regions unless for an essential reason.

But several of the 20 regions have come up with their own interpretations of the rules. Veneto and Calabria have already relaxed their lockdowns, allowing restaurants and bars with outdoor tables to open earlier in the week. Liguria is reopening its beaches. But a lack of clarity is causing significant concern.

“We’ve been waiting with longing for May 4, but now it’s finally arrived it’s a letdown. Until they tell me I’m really free, I’ll feel paranoid, like I’m breaking the rules in some way,” 37-year old Michele Magna said.

On Saturday the government published a Q&A that explained people could see extended relatives, but not friends.

Maternal care in the US has been derailed because of the coronavirus pandemic, writes Alexandra Villarreal. It poses a particularly serious problem for black mothers as they navigate the hospital system.

Maternal care in the US, already flawed compared to similarly well-off countries, has been derailed because of the global coronavirus pandemic. Prenatal visits have transitioned to a combination of telehealth and in-person appointments where only the pregnant person is allowed to be physically present. Maternity units are also limiting visitors, usually to one, though some hospitals in Covid-19 hotspots have not allowed any.

These changes have made deliveries difficult for all expecting mothers, regardless of a Covid-19 diagnosis, race or ethnicity. But even under “normal” circumstances, black mothers face a terrifying prospect as they navigate US hospitals, historically influenced by systemic racism and implicit biases, experts say. Add a global pandemic that’s overwhelming the country’s healthcare institutions, and advocates warn the outcome could be disastrous.

“Black women aren’t trusted. They aren’t trusted to know and understand their own bodies,” said Nia Martin-Robinson, director of black leadership and engagement at Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Read the piece in full here:

Armenia will reopen some shops, restaurants and bars from Monday. It marks the start of a significant relaxation of restrictions that will also see manufacturing resume and restraints upon movement lifted.

Confirmation of the easing was given by Tigran Avinyan, the deputy prime minister, and came despite a recent rise in confirmed infections. The country has registered 2,386 cases of the coronavirus and 35 deaths, with the number of infections rising from an average of 50 a day in mid-April to more than 100 in recent days, including 134 registered on Wednesday.

Reuters reports that Armenia is looking to ease the hit on an economy that could shrink by 2% this year. Smaller shops, beauty salons and dry cleaners will open on Monday, Avinyan stated on social media. Malls, trade centres, markets and all schools and colleges will remain closed for now, however, while public transport is to remain suspended.

• Russia has announced its biggest daily increase in Covid-19 cases to date. The country’s coronavirus crisis response centre reported 10,633 new cases and 58 deaths, increasing the total fatalities to 1,280.
• Afghanistan has confirmed its highest rise both in coronavirus cases and deaths. The country confirmed 235 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, marking its biggest one-day rise of new infections, and 12 patients died overnight – bringing the total number of infections to 2,704 and death toll to 85.
• Japan could start easing its coronavirus curbs. Parks and museums are among the facilities that could reopen soon, as long as strict preventative measures are adhered to. However, its state of emergency – which currently expires on Wednesday – is likely to be extended by another month.
• Spain has reported its lowest rise of Covid-19 deaths in six weeks. The health ministry announced a one-day rise of 164 deaths from coronavirus, meaning the country’s total is now 25,264. It is the smallest increase since 18 March. Meanwhile, confirmed cases of the virus in Spain rose to 217,466 today.
• Iran will reopen mosques across large parts of the country on Monday. The president, Hassan Rounani, confirmed that centres of worship in around one third of the country’s administrative division would be allowed to operate from tomorrow. He did, however, stress that “social distancing is more important than collective prayer”.
• Watchdogs in the US say Donald Trump’s links with donors and backers deserve scrutiny as huge amounts of federal funds are distributed. There are concerns that, even during an unprecedented national crisis, Trump’s priorities and campaign machine often tilt towards giving donors and political allies favours, access and publicity.

Watchdog groups in the US say Donald Trump’s close ties with donors and backers deserve scrutiny as trillions in federal funds are handed out during the Covid-19 crisis. Peter Stone reports from Washington.

Fracking billionaire and Trump donor Harold Hamm was among an elite group of oil and gas executives who met with the president in early April to press for federal help, including access to big loans for businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. It prompted Trump afterwards to promise to “make funds available to these very important companies”.

Major Trump ally Tommy Fisher, who last year landed a $400m Army Corps of Engineers contract to build 31 miles of Trump’s border wall in Arizona, in April received another $7m from the army – despite an active investigation by a Pentagon watchdog into allegations of favouritism after Trump reportedly pushed for Fisher.

Another big Trump donor, Mike Lindell, the chief executive of MyPillow and the chair of Trump’s campaign in Minnesota, got red-carpet treatment from Trump at a press briefing in late March. Lindell then praised Trump, hailing him as “chosen by God” as the president touted the firm’s efforts to make thousands of face masks.

As evidence of lockdown regulations being loosened in some parts of Europe, Reuters has reported on the return to action of Austria’s tennis players. Players can compete again, in singles format, with no touching of each other’s match balls and no handshaking. Golf, horse riding, archery, shooting and mini-golf are among other social distancing-compatible sports to have been given the green light since Friday in the country’s second wave of lockdown easing.

Our daily roundup of coronavirus developments across Australia is now up, courtesy of Christopher Knaus.

Indonesia’s health ministry has reported 349 new coronavirus cases and 14 new deaths. The country’s total number of infections now stands at 11,192, with 845 deaths in total. More than 83,000 people have been tested.

Neighbouring Malaysia has reported 122 new cases, meaning the total now stands at 6,298. Its health ministry also reported two new deaths, raising the total number of fatalities to 105

Here is a big Sunday piece by Ed Pilkington, chief reporter for Guardian US. Three years of hostility to evidence-based policy have led to a crisis in which the Donald Trump’s ill-informed, self-serving “hunches” have deadly consequences – but how will the president’s war on science play out?

Three months into the pandemic, with the number of confirmed cases passing 1 million, the tension that has been simmering for months between Trump and the scientific world is at boiling point. His improvisation about injecting disinfectant encapsulated the sense of demoralisation – of despair, almost – that many American scientists now feel about the drift from evidence-based leadership.

Full article:

Spain’s health ministry has reported a one-day rise of 164 deaths from coronavirus, meaning the country’s total is now 25,264. It is the lowest increase since 18 March. Meanwhile confirmed cases of the virus rose to 217,466 today, from 216,582 on Saturday.

Iran will reopen mosques across large parts of the country on Monday, the country’s president Hassan Rouhani has confirmed.

Mosques have been closed since early March after the coronavirus outbreak intensified, but AFP quote Rouhani saying 132 counties, around one third of the country’s administrative divisions, would “reopen their mosques as of tomorrow”.

“Social distancing is more important than collective prayer,” he added, arguing that Islam considers safety obligatory, while praying in mosques is only “recommended”.

The targeted counties are “low-risk”, Rouhani said in a televised meeting of the country’s virus taskforce. He said the committee was also mulling reopening schools by May 16 to allow for a month of classes before the summer break.

Covid-19 has killed more than 6,150 and infected over 96,440 in Iran since it announced its first cases in mid-February. On Saturday, the country reported its lowest daily toll of new infections since 10 March.

If you’re just joining our live global coverage of the day’s Covid-19 news, welcome – and don’t forget you can contact me at nick.ames@theguardian.com or via direct message at @NickAmes82 with any tips, suggestions, observations or feedback.

Tensions aboard the Greg Mortimer, an Australian cruise ship that spent a month stranded off the South American coast and remains in limbo, are running high amid allegations that the ship’s operators and captain pressured the chief medical officer to mislead authorities in Uruguay about the health situation onboard. Thirty-three members of its crew have been diagnosed with Covid-19 and one has died. Uki Goñi reports:

Japan could start easing some of its coronavirus-enforced curbs, with parks and museums among the facilities being slated to reopen.

The economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura is quoted by Reuters as saying certain restrictions may be eased as long as the correct preventative measure are imposed. “As long as the proper preventive measures are in place, it could be possible to ease some of the current restrictions on economic activities,” Nishimura said.

Places like parks, museums, art galleries, and libraries could reopen even in the 13 prefectures where coronavirus has spread rapidly, if they take steps to disinfect their premises and ensure visitors maintain their distance, he added. Further details of how restrictions might be eased will be discussed at an experts’ meeting on Monday.

Regardless, Japan’s state of emergency – which currently expires on Wednesday – is expected to be extended by another month. Covid-19 has infected 15,589 people and killed 530 in the country.

The developed world’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic is imperilling health systems, economies and livelihoods elsewhere in the world that were already on the edge, writes Simon Tisdall.

The west’s self-absorption threatens to obscure the virus’s harmful impact on treatment of non-Covid, preventable diseases. Just as UK cancer deaths are forecast to rise due to a diversion of resources, so measles and other immunisation programmes in poorer nations are being undercut.

The WHO announced last week that polio vaccinations for up to 12 million children in Africa will be delayed as resources are switched to fighting Covid-19. It admitted the move would inevitably lead to more child polio cases.

Disrupted vaccination programmes have frequently led to “explosive” outbreaks of life-threatening diseases previously held in abeyance, warned vaccine specialist Edward Parker. “Without systematic efforts to maintain immunisation programmes, the virus’s legacy could include a disastrous surge in childhood deaths.”

The pandemic is providing cover for malign governments to pursue or accelerate policies that place lives at risk, regardless of Covid-19. A striking example is Myanmar, where the army has renewed its repression of minorities in Rakhine and Chin states.