Coronavirus live news: rapid Covid tests to be rolled out worldwide as global deaths near one million

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Coronavirus live news: rapid Covid tests to be rolled out worldwide as global deaths near one million

The children’s commissioner for England has called on the government to exempt under-12s from its “rule of six” for social gatherings, in a wide-ranging new report that lays bare the damaging impact of the pandemic on children.

As Covid restrictions tighten across the country, Anne Longfield argued that children’s right to play together after months of isolation should be preserved, warning that limits on individuals from different households meeting should not apply to children under 12.

The rule of six, which limits meeting indoors and outdoors to six people, came into effect a fortnight ago, but similar restrictions in Wales and Scotland – introduced to curb the surge in coronavirus cases – do not include children under 11 and 12 respectively.

Longfield, whose term in office comes to an end next year, said children had suffered disproportionately as a result of lockdown measures – particularly the most vulnerable – and called on the government to come up with a comprehensive recovery package for the most disadvantaged, including welfare and housing support to avoid a wave of family homelessness:

Exempt under-12s in England from Covid rule of six, says report

In Canada, Ontario has set a new record for daily coronavirus cases, as the province officially entered its second wave of Covid-19, and officials warned that it will be “worse than the first”.

Ontario logged 700 new Covid-19 infections on Monday – well above the previous highest daily total of 640 on 24 April – as the premier, Doug Ford, warned residents to expect a “more complex” and “more complicated” surge of the virus in the coming weeks.

“We know it will be worse than the first wave, but we don’t know how bad the second wave will be,” said Ford. “Our collective actions will determine if we face a wave or a tsunami.”

Ford called Monday’s numbers in Canada’s most populous province “deeply concerning” and pleaded for residents to download the country’s Covid-19 alert application:

Ontario in grip of second Covid-19 wave that will be ‘worse than first’, officials say

The percentage of Covid-19 tests taken in New York state that have come back positive has inched up to 1.5%, Governor Andrew Cuomo said, a worrisome trend for the former epicentre of the US epidemic, Reuters reports.

The rise in New York above the 1% positive target comes as 27 other US states recorded increases in the number of positive cases for two straight weeks.

A biker rides past Public School 33 following the outbreak of the coronavirus in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, 27 September 2020. Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters

While New York’s rate remains much lower than that in some midwestern states, where over 15% of tests are coming back positive, it marks a significant uptick in its rate, which has hovered at 1% or below for weeks.

“It’s basically Brooklyn, Orange and Rockland that are increasing this number,” Cuomo told reporters on Monday, adding that state health officials were looking into Covid-19 clusters in these areas.

Slovakia is set to declare a new state of emergency this week to combat the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Igor Matovic said on Monday following a sharp rise in cases.

“The situation is extremely serious, and I think we must adopt very fundamental decisions and very bold decisions,” Matovic said after a meeting of the country’s crisis management team.

The measure is expected to be approved by the government on Wednesday and would be the second time that Slovakia introduces a state of emergency to combat the pandemic.

Car drivers line up at the Hungarian-Slovakian border in Esztergom, Hungary, on 3 September 2020. Photograph: Gergely Besenyei/AFP/Getty Images

Under the proposed restrictions, all sporting events, cultural events and religious services would be banned from 1 October.

Weddings and funerals would only be allowed if all the participants can prove they have had a negative test for coronavirus.

Restaurants, bars, and cafes would close at 10:00 pm (2000 GMT) and if people not living in the same household come closer than two metres (six feet) outdoors, they would have to wear masks.

Masks are already compulsory in public indoor spaces in Slovakia.

The EU country of 5.4 million registered 9,343 coronavirus infections since the beginning of the pandemic and 44 patients have died.

On Friday, the number of daily infections reached a record high of 552.

Hello and welcome to today’s live coronavirus coverage.

My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest for the next few hours.

You can get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.

There are 999,629 deaths currently confirmed on the Johns Hopkins University tracker, as we await the devastating milestone of one million lives lost in the nine months of the pandemic so far.

In good news, tests for Covid-19 that show on-the-spot results in 15 to 30 minutes are about to be rolled out across the world, potentially saving many thousands of lives and slowing the pandemic in both poor and rich countries.

The tests, which look like a pregnancy test, with two blue lines displayed for positive, are read by a health worker. One test has received emergency approval from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the other is expected to get it shortly.

• Dutch advise masks in shops as virus surges. Some more detail on news the Dutch government has tightened some of Europe’s most relaxed coronavirus rules after a surge in cases, ordering bars to shut early and recommending people wear masks in shops.The prime minister, Mark Rutte, told a news conference that the situation in the country’s three largest cities, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, had become “serious” and required urgent action. “We’re doing our best, but the virus is doing better,” said the country’s health minister, Hugo de Jonge, adding that nearly 3,000 new infections were being recorded a day, with the figure expected to reach 5,000 within weeks.
• Rapid Covid-19 tests are about to be rolled out across the world, the WHO announced. The move could potentially save many thousands of lives and slow the spread of the pandemic in both poor and rich countries.
• The official global death toll probably underestimates the true total, the WHO’s top emergencies expert warned. Dr Mike Ryan suggested it could be more than a million already.
• A host of n ew restrictions was introduced in the Netherlands. Travel was limited, bars and restaurants closed early public gatherings discouraged.
• The known number of infections worldwide passed 33 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. The death toll has moved closer to 1 million and stands at 999,202.
• The total number of cases in Ukraine exceeded 200,000. The death toll stood at 3,996, the country’s security council said.
• The UK government came under pressure to scrap its 10pm closing time rule. The mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, said there needed to be an “urgent review of the emerging evidence” after city centre supermarkets were “packed” after closing time.
• New rules came into effect in Paris and 11 other French cities. All bars must close at 10pm and remain closed until at least 6am. Restaurants can stay open later.
• Children have 44% lower odds of catching Covid-19 than adults. According to an analysis led by the president of Britain’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, there is preliminary evidence that those younger than 10 to 14 years have lower susceptibility.
• India’s confirmed coronavirus tally reached 6 million cases on Monday, keeping the country second to the United States in number of reported cases since the pandemic began. The Health Ministry on Monday reported 82,170 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, driving the overall tally to 60,74,703. At least 1,039 deaths were also recorded in the same period, taking total fatalities up to 95,542 since the pandemic began.
• South Korea confirms lowest cases since 11 August. South Korea on Monday reported 50 new coronavirus cases, the lowest since 11 August, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Of the new cases, 40 were domestic and 10 imported. The numbers were the lowest since a new wave of outbreaks emerged from a church whose members attended a large political rally in Seoul on 15 August, KDCA data showed.
• Northern England and possibly London facing new lockdown. The UK government is planning to impose a total social lockdown across most of northern England and potentially London, to combat a second coronavirus wave, the Times reports. Under the new lockdown measures being considered, all pubs, restaurants and bars would be ordered to shut for two weeks initially, the report said, citing a senior government source. The report added that households would also be banned indefinitely from meeting each other in any indoor location where they were not already under the order.
• There have been a further 5,693 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK, according to government data, taking the total to 429,277. Government figures show a further 17 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for the virus as of Sunday. This brings the official UK toll to 41,988.
• Travel between New Zealand and some states of Australia is possible before the end of the year, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday. Plans for a travel ‘bubble’ between Australia and New Zealand has been in discussions for months as both nations slowed the spread of the coronavirus, but they were disrupted after a resurgence of Covid-19 in Melbourne, Australia, followed by a second wave of infections in Auckland.With the virus largely contained in New Zealand, and as cases continue to decline in Australian regions, talks of a travel bubble with some states have been revived.
• Greece has recorded its first coronavirus fatality among its large migrant community. Health authorities described the victim as a 61-year-old Afghan man, saying the father-of-two succumbed to Covid-19 in Athens’ Evangelismos hospital after being moved from Malakassa, a refugee camp east of the capital.

Source: The Guardian |NewsColony

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