Latest coronavirus news

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  The Guardian

  White House coronavirus taskforce warns of 'unrelenting' spread

  White House coronavirus taskforce warns of 'unrelenting' spreadUS is going in ‘wrong direction’ says Fauci as Covid cases rise in 47 states and patients overwhelm hospitals across the US
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  The Guardian

  Covid vaccine tracker: when will a coronavirus vaccine be ready?

  Covid vaccine tracker: when will a coronavirus vaccine be ready?More than 170 teams of researchers are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine. Here is their progress
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  The Independent

  Coronavirus: ‘Futile and immoral’ to seek herd immunity, says Sweden’s chief epidemiologist

  France and Germany have announced new lockdowns to control the spread of Covid-19
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  The Independent

  Coronavirus surging throughout Europe at ‘surprising ferocity,’ says WHO

  ‘This virus has been picking up extraordinary energy over the last three or four weeks,’ says WHO special envoy professor David Nabarro
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  The Independent

  India coronavirus cases pass 8 million amid rising concerns over festival season

  Experts warn of a second wave in India, with the festival season approaching and temperatures dropping in the north of the country
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  The Independent

  Trump in charts: Nine graphs visualising everything from coronavirus and the economy, to Twitter use and golf trips

  With less than a week to go until election day, we take a look back over the last four years using Trump’s favourite form of visual aid. In a move that was reminiscent of George W. Bush declaring “Mission Accomplished” in 2003 – eight years before the Iraq War officially ended – the White House appeared to claim victory over coronavirus this week. In a news release sent to reporters, the White House Office of Science and Technology listed “ending the Covid-19 pandemic” among the administration’s first term accomplishments.
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  Yahoo Style UK

  England's daily coronavirus death toll expected to reach up to 422 on 5 November, report suggests

  On 28 October, 310 people in the UK died within 28 days of a positive test.
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  The Independent

  Covid toes: The possible coronavirus symptom that can cause chilblain-like inflammation

  Condition can persist for several months
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  The Telegraph

  Angela Merkel heckled in German parliament after warning against Covid-19 'lies and disinformation'

  Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, was heckled by opposition MPs during a speech to parliament on Thursday, while taking aim at groups spreading “lies and disinformation” as the country continues to battle the coronavirus crisis. The speech, which took place the morning after Mrs Merkel announced a range of sweeping reforms to tackle the spread of the pandemic, warned that the German people find themselves in a “dramatic situation”. On Thursday morning, Germany recorded 16,774 new daily coronavirus infections, the highest number of new cases within a 24-hour period since the pandemic began. In a veiled criticism of the far-right Alternative for Germany – staunch opponents of the country’s lockdown measures – Mrs Merkel laid out a plea for unity. “Lies, disinformation, conspiracy theories and hate not only damage democratic debate, but also the fight against the coronavirus” Mrs Merkel said. “Soothing wishful thinking and populist trivialisation (of the coronavirus) is not only unrealistic, it is irresponsible.” The speech was frequently interrupted by jeers from AfD MPs. Such interjections are rare in German parliament, with house speaker Wolfgang Schäuble threatening the hecklers with calls to order and criticising their “dangerous” behaviour.
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  The Telegraph

  UK Brexit negotiators arrive in Brussels under shadow of coronavirus lockdown

  British Brexit negotiators arrived in Brussels under the threat of lockdown on Thursday for trade negotiations in one of the EU countries hardest hit by the second wave of coronavirus. Brussels is at the epicentre of rocketing infection rates in Belgium that are second only to the Czech Republic in the EU and far outstrip the UK’s. Belgium is expected to announce that it will follow France and Germany back into lockdown on Friday. UK-EU Trade talks resume on Friday in Brussels and will continue through the weekend as both sides race to agree a trade deal before mid-November and avoid a damaging no deal Brexit. Future negotiations could be held exclusively in London, although this is understood to be unlikely, or be shifted to cumbersome online video conferences, depending on how strict the Belgian lockdown is. UK-EU negotiations restarted in London last Friday after the European Commission promised Britain daily, intensified talks. They were extended until Wednesday in the hope the public health situation in Brussels would improve. Instead it got worse. Belgium reported 1424.2 new coronavirus infections per 100,000 inhabitants over the last two weeks, and rising death and hospitalisation rates on Thursday. In Britain the rate is 424.1, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Contamination figures in Belgium are ten times worse than in Germany and significantly worse than in France, where non-essential travel was banned this week. Brussels has already closed all its bars and cafes and introduced a curfew. Masks are mandatory everywhere outside and working from home is strongly recommended. Marc Van Ranst, a virologist advising the Belgian government since the start of the pandemic, said earlier measures had failed. He tweeted, “Like in our neighbouring countries, it is time for us to hit the emergency brake: lockdown.” David Frost and Michel Barnier, the two chief negotiators, will discuss the impact of the new Belgian coronavirus restrictions, which are expected to last a month and beyond the mid-November deadline, and make a joint decision on the next steps. “If it is a full lockdown, then we will cross that bridge when we come to it,” an EU official said, “The lockdown would have to close the borders and prevent us meeting in person for it to have an impact.” The UK and EU could decide to continue talks as planned, move them online or to London. The joint principles for the talks allow for flexibility in reacting to the unpredictable virus, sources said. Both sides have committed to prioritising “their duty of care to the individuals in negotiating teams”. “Both parties will give due regard to the evolving Covid-19 situation, the practicalities of travel, and, in particular, the different levels of risk in both London and Brussels,” the joint principles read. British travellers to Belgium must quarantine for a fortnight on their return to the UK but the negotiators have special diplomatic exemptions from the requirement. The atmosphere over the past week of negotiations was described as “relatively constructive” by sources. Some progress was made over the last days, the Telegraph understands, but there was no breakthrough on the major obstacles of fishing, the level playing field guarantees or the deal’s enforcement. A joint secretariat taking in progress from 11 different negotiating streams has been set up. It oversees a consolidated master text that will form the basis of the future trade deal. The trade negotiations were forced online when the coronavirus pandemic broke out in March but both sides admitted it was hard to make real progress in the virtual talks, which made it tough to build a rapport. Lord Frost and Mr Barnier were both forced to quarantine in the first months of the pandemic. Face to face negotiations eventually resumed in both London and Brussels with strict hygiene and social distancing measures in place.