Coronavirus live news: Spain cases top 500,000 in European first as global deaths pass 890,000
Japan’s economy shrank slightly more than initially thought in the April-June quarter, official data released Tuesday showed, deepening a contraction that was already the worst in the nation’s modern history, AFP reports.
The world’s third-largest economy shrank 7.9% in the second quarter of this year from the previous quarter, more than the initial 7.8% in the preliminary data, the Cabinet Office said.
The downward revision comes with corporate investment weaker than in the preliminary data released last month, as the coronavirus deepens the country’s economic woes.
The latest headline figure was modestly better than market consensus of an 8.0% contraction, but it is the worst figure for Japan since comparable data became available in 1980, beyond the brutal impact of the 2008 global financial crisis.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seen on a large screen during a live press conference in Tokyo on 28 August 2020. Photograph: Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images
Separate data released by the internal affairs ministry Tuesday showed Japan’s household spending in July dropped 7.6% on-year, also underlining the impact of the coronavirus on the economy.
The 7.6% drop was the 10th consecutive monthly decline and comes after a 1.2% slide in June and 16.2% dive in May.
The figure came in much worse than economist expectations of a 3.7% decline, Bloomberg said.
Japan’s economy was in recession even before the coronavirus hit due to damage from a powerful typhoon last year, and a sale tax hike in October.
Ashleigh Barty will not defend her French Open title this year after the world No 1 opted to miss the tournament in Paris due to concerns over coronavirus and a lack of training time spent with her coach.
The Australian, who becomes the biggest name to pull out so far, has already skipped the US Open, currently being played in New York. Her absence from Roland Garros will be a huge blow to organisers who planning for a delayed 21 September start amid the pandemic in France:
There were six new cases of Covid-19 reported in New Zealand on Tuesday, with four of them spread by community transmission. All were linked to an existing outbreak in the largest city, Auckland.
There were also two further new cases of the virus diagnosed in the quarantine facilities for travellers returning to New Zealand.
The number of current cases of the coronavirus in New Zealand hit zero in June but there has since been a resurgence in Auckland, the origin of which is still unknown. It has led to a second lockdown for the city, which is now easing.
There are now 123 active cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, officials said; 43 are cases diagnosed in returning travellers, all of whom were already in quarantine, and 80 are in the community.
23 people have died of the virus in New Zealand – the most recent last week. Four people are in hospital, two of them in intensive care. There have been 1,431 diagnosed cases of Covid-19 since it arrived on the country’s shores.
Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech Ltd said on Monday its coronavirus vaccine candidate appeared to be safe for older people, according to preliminary results from an early to mid-stage trial, while the immune responses triggered by the vaccine were slightly weaker than younger adults, Reuters reports.
Health officials have been concerned about whether experimental vaccines could safely protect the elderly, whose immune systems usually react less robustly to vaccines, against the virus that has led to nearly 890,000 deaths worldwide.
Sinovac’s candidate CoronaVac did not cause severe side effects in a combined Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials launched in May involving 421 participants aged at least 60, Liu Peicheng, Sinovac’s media representative, told Reuters. The complete results have not been published and were not made available to Reuters.
Four of the world’s eight vaccines that are in the third phase of trials are from China. For three groups of participants who respectively took two shots of low, medium and high-dose CoronaVac, over 90% of them experienced significant increase in antibody levels, while the levels were slightly lower than those seen in younger subjects but in line with expectation, Liu said in a statement.
CoronaVac, being tested in Brazil and Indonesia in the final-stage human trials to evaluate whether it is effective and safe enough to obtain regulatory approvals for mass use, has already been given to tens of thousands of people, including about 90% of Sinovac employees and their families, as part of China’s emergency inoculation scheme to protect people facing high infection risk.
The potential vaccine could remain stable for up to three years in storage, Liu said, which might offer Sinovac some advantage in vaccine distribution to regions where cold-chain storage is not an option.
One in three UK university students were unable to access online learning during the Covid-19 lockdown, according to new research which suggests that disabled students and those from poorer backgrounds were worst affected.
The survey, which was carried out in July by the National Union of Students (NUS), found that disruptions to studies arose from a lack of IT equipment and software, insufficient course materials, and poor internet connections.
Of the 4,178 respondents, 18% said they lacked the support necessary to deal with Covid-19, such as counselling or financial help. Disabled students and those with caring responsibilities were more likely to have not received this support. The survey called for more help with students’ mental health and wellbeing, as well as more targeted, personalised teaching:
UK Wedding firms have been told they must refund couples who were unable to exchange vows without breaking lockdown rules, after the competition watchdog was inundated by complaints from angry prospective brides and grooms.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said venues and suppliers should repay people in full, except where services or goods had already been supplied, or the company had incurred costs.
Couples planning to marry in the run-up to lockdown and since then have reported problems getting money back for ceremonies and receptions that they were forced to cancel because going ahead would have meant breaking physical distancing rules.
In some cases, couples have been offered only partial refunds, or incurred extra costs after moving their nuptials to another date:
Up to 60,000 people in the UK may have been suffering from “long Covid” for more than three months, unable to get the care they need to recover from prolonged and debilitating symptoms.
Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London who runs the app-based Covid symptom study, said around 300,000 people had reported symptoms lasting for more than a month.
A minority have been suffering for longer; up to 60,000 people have reported having symptoms for more than three months. Some cases are mild, but others are seriously debilitating, with breathlessness and fatigue. Some people have had to use wheelchairs. Others say attempting to carry out everyday tasks such as shopping or even climbing the stairs can leave them bedridden for days:
The global coronavirus death toll has passed another sombre milestone, exceeding 890,000, with 890,260 confirmed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University.
The true death toll is likely to be higher, due to differing testing rates and definitions, time lags and suspected underreporting in some countries.
Here are the ten worst-affected countries worldwide in terms of deaths:
United States: 189,166
Brazil: 126,960
India: 71,642
Mexico: 67,558
United Kingdom: 41,643
Italy: 35,553
France: 30,732
Spain: 29,516
Peru: 29,838
Iran: 22,410
Sam Jones reports from Madrid, with Kim Willsher in Paris and Natalie Grover in London:
Spain has become the first western European country to record more than half a million Covid-19 cases, logging a total of 525,549 infections as concerns also grow over the rise in cases in France and the UK.
The Spanish milestone comes amid a continuing surge in infections as millions of children begin returning to school after a six-month hiatus.
According to the latest figures from the health ministry, Spain has logged 49,716 new cases in the past week, and 237 deaths. Around a third of the new cases and deaths are in Madrid, the region hardest hit by the pandemic.
Spain has the fastest rise in daily confirmed cases in Europe, which began a climb in July, with France showing a similar increase beginning in August:
Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments from around the world for the next few hours. What is the biggest Covid-19 story where you’re from? Let me know on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullvan@theguardian.com.
Global coronavirus deaths have passed 890,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. A toll higher than 1 million looks inevitable at this stage.
Meanwhile Spain has become the first European country to pass 500,000 cases. The country reported 2,440 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 525,549.
Recent infections have been more common among younger people who often develop no symptoms thanks to their stronger immune systems, and the death rate remains far below the March-April peak when daily fatalities routinely exceeded 800.
Here are the key developments from the last few hours:
Spain passes 500,000 coronavirus cases in western European first. Spain has become the first western European country to record more than half a million Covid-19 cases, logging a total of 525,549 infections.
India becomes country with second highest number of Covid cases. India has surpassed Brazil to become the country with the second highest number of coronavirus cases, as the virus continues to spread through the country of 1.3 billion at the fastest rate of anywhere in the world.
France could face “critical situation” in winter if cases keep rising. A leading epidemiologist in France has warned that if the number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise at the current rate, the country could face a “critical situation” in several regions in December.
Rise in UK cases because people have “relaxed too much” says senior health official. England’s deputy chief medical officer, Jonathan Van-Tam, said the rise in the number of coronavirus cases was of great concern adding: “We have got to start taking this very seriously again”.
Fatigue and headache most common Covid symptoms in children – study. Fatigue, headache and fever are the most common symptoms of coronavirus in children, with few developing a cough or losing their sense of taste or smell, researchers have found, adding to calls for age-specific symptom checklists.
France forward Mbappé tests positive for Covid. France forward Kylian Mbappé has tested positive for Covid-19 and will miss this week’s Nations League international against Croatia, the French football federation said.
Seven Greek islands to be added to quarantine list of England. Lesvos, Tinos, Serifos, Mykonos, Crete, Santorini and Zakynthos are being removed from England’s list of locations exempt from 14-day Covid quarantine, in a significant shift in the government’s travel corridor policy.
Local lockdown to be enforced in Caerphilly, Wales after rise in covid cases. The Welsh government said coronavirus laws would be tightened across the borough to prevent a local outbreak of the virus spreading.
Scotland could reimpose restrictions amid continuing rise in cases. The Scottish first minister,Nicola Sturgeon, has warned the Scottish government could “put the brakes” on further relaxation of the lockdown, or even reimpose some restrictions later this week, after a continuing rise in Covid 19 cases.
French ‘anti-maskers’ most likely to be educated women in 50s, says study. French people who reject mask-wearing are more likely to be older, educated women who support the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protest movement and the controversial virus specialist Didier Raoult, and would refuse to have a coronavirus vaccination if one were available, according to a new study.
