by Summary for Thursday, 21st May
Welcome back to our rolling coverage on the global virus pandemic. With teams across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas we'll keep you posted on all developmets worldwide as they happen.
Here's what you need to know this Thursday;
The global number now stands at 4,995,127, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, which has been keeping track throughout the crisis. However, with many cases going unrecorded or undiagnosed, the true number of infections is likely to be far higher.
Here's a quick breakdown of the countries with the highest number of cases:
The worldwide death toll now stands at 328,079.
WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus revealed that almost two thirds of this number was reported in just four countries.
He warned the world still had "a long way to go in this pandemic".
Despite this, a number of countries, including the US, have already begun to loosen lockdown restrictions.
The US remains the worst-hit country, with more than 1.5m cases and 92,000 deaths so far.
There are zero known active cases in the Northern Territory now
Australia's least-populated territory has declared itself free of the virus after officials said its last known case had recovered.
The remote northern region had recorded the smallest number of cases - just 29 - and was the first to kick off lockdown exit at the start of May. Its restaurants, nail salons, parks and gyms are now all open with distancing restrictions.
"It’s been six and a half weeks since we have had a locally diagnosed case but we mustn’t become complacent," said the NT's health minister this morning.
The territory still has its borders closed to the rest of Australia, and has maintained a ban on non-essential travel to remote Aboriginal communities in the outback.
There are currently just over 600 active cases across the country, which is swiftly moving out of lockdown.
Australia has a national three-step plan to exit lockdown- where things like venue re-openings and grouping sizes are expanded gradually. However, it's up to each state and territory to decide when they move - and that's sparked tensions over things like domestic travel.
Yesterday, New South Wales - the most heavily populated state and which has been worst-affected by case numbers - encouraged other states' residents to visit when it relaxes travel rules in June. NSW urged its neighbour, Queensland, and other states to open their borders to boost the economy.
The calls weren't well received. Queensland said it wouldn't be lectured to "by a state that has the highest number of cases in Australia" while Western Australia claimed it was being "bullied" by NSW.
South Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania also haven't mentioned when they might open borders
But wide discrepancies remain between states in terms of infection rates and the pace of their economic restart.
Countrywide, the US is seeing an overall downward trend in new cases and deaths over time.
Some of the hardest-hit areas, including New York, New Jersey and Washington state are now showing the sharpest declines, while majority of states have reached plateaus.
Still, states like Arizona and North Carolina continue to report increases.
The country's tourism industry - one of its most important sectors - has taken a massive hit as a result of the outbreak.
The idea has of course, got many in the country excited.
Many online praised the move, saying they were "all for it", though a handful pointed out that it could simply result in longer hours on working days - making employees less productive.
But one business in New Zealand that made the move to a four-day week in 2018 says that it can "definitely" be done.
"It would be a strategy to rebuild the economy and particularly the hard-hit tourism market," Andrew Barnes, the founder of Perpetual Guardian told The Guardian newspaper.
"We have to be bold with our model. This is an opportunity for a massive reset."
Many of these slaughterhouse workers had arrived from Romania on flights chartered by farmers.
Health experts are looking at possible reasons for the outbreaks, including overcrowded accommodation and cold conditions at processing facilities.
The issue of poor working conditions in German meat-packing factories was raised after a cluster of coronavirus infections were recorded at a slaughterhouse in the western German city of Münster over the weekend.
At another slaughterhouse in Coesfeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, more than 260 workers - many living in shared accommodation - tested positive for the virus.
Read more on this issue here.
They assume tough lockdown restrictions will be eased from June, as President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced.
The curbs - which were introduced in March and include a ban on tobacco and alcohol sales - have been credited with slowing the spread of the virus.
The country of 57 million people has recorded just over 18,000 cases of Covid-19 and 339 deaths linked to the disease so far.
The local zoo there was closed for two months. No animals were hurt in the blazes fortunately, but the site was damaged from the flames.
It then managed to re-open - but only briefly, before virus restrictions forced it to shut down again.
So what does its future look like and how will it survive? Watch the report from the BBC's Simon Atkinson.
Which sector of the economy do you think is being hardest hit by the coronavirus - construction, retail, transport or catering? Well, you are all wrong, and need to do some more homework. The answer is - education.
Many people probably don't even think of education as part of the economy. The groves of academe are surely above such sordid considerations as money and finance?
Not a bit of it. Money is the lifeblood of education - endowments from wealthy alumni, catering and accommodation fees, conference facilities, and the biggest of the lot - attracting lots of fee-paying students every year.
The trouble for the education sector is that it is uniquely vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic.
For hundreds of years its business model has been to bring thousands of people together from across the country, and around the world, to sit together in rooms for three years and talk to each other.
As a result, nearly all its income streams are under attack at the same time.
Read more: Universities fear fall in lucrative overseas students
The storm has devastated parts of India and Bangladesh
At least 15 people have been killed in eastern India and Bangladesh in a severe cyclone that made landfall on Wednesday.
Cyclone Amphan lashed coastal areas with ferocious wind and rain. Rescue efforts were hampered by the Covid-19 crisis.
Social-distancing measures made mass evacuations more difficult as shelters are unable to be used to full capacity. And police in West Bengal state, which is the worst-hit by the storm, told the BBC that many people did not want to go to shelters because they feared contracting the virus.
Winds gusting up to 185km/h (115mph) uprooted trees, toppled homes and left large stretches with no electricity - including West Bengal's capital, Kolkata, one of India's biggest cities.
The state's chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, said the storm has devastated the coastal areas far more than Covid-19.
This is the first super cyclone to form in the Bay of Bengal since 1999.
With social distancing restrictions in place, rocking up to a show or concert with hundreds of other people has been banned across the world.
But some companies have come up with the innovative idea of drive-in performances - where people can go in the safety of their own car.
There have already been such gigs in Denmark and the US, and last week country superstar Keith Urban got on board, performing one for healthcare workers in Tennessee. In Sydney today, a local company is trialing the idea with a free concert. Headliner Casey Donovan told punters: "You’ll be able to interact with me via Zoom - and instead of clapping, I think I’ll be hearing car horns."
I was meant to be flying to Greece on my honeymoon today. The virus, of course, has meant everything has had to be put on hold.
The hotels we had booked were quick to let us know we could reschedule anytime this summer, even allowing us to re-book high-peak dates at no additional cost. It's clear how eager they are to restart a pillar of their economy that has been battered by virus restrictions.
Greece has now announced that its tourism season will kick off next month, adding that international flights will resume in July.
But we won't be heading to Greece - at least anytime this year. For one, the country where I live - Singapore - is still advising against non-essential travel. If I do choose to go, I'll have to isolate myself for 14 days upon my return.
It's also just difficult to imagine going on a summer holiday at a time like this - lounging by the beach in a mask - while the world is still very much in the midst of a global pandemic.
Though he fell short of naming Chinese President Xi Jinping, he added that it "all comes from the top".
He then re-iterated that China wanted Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to win the next election as they can "continue to rip-off the United States, as they have done for decades, until I came along".
Read more about the US' new strategy on China here.
The government is set to release guidelines on social distancing at airports and during travel.
Civil aviation minister, Hardeep Puri, has said that leaving the middle seat vacant was not "viable" as it would increase prices, and "you'll still have a situation where prescribed distance... isn't followed".
India's lockdown is slated to end on 31 May, but the country has already begun easing restrictions in areas that have not been identified as hotspots.
Cases continue to spike - India registered its biggest single-day surge on Wednesday, with more than 5,000 new cases.
The national tally of confirmed cases has now crossed 106,000, but the recovery is nearly 40%. And the death toll - at 3,303 - is, relative to some countries, low.
Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said the number of new infections in these places remained under 0.5 cases per 100,000 people, said a Reuters report.
Most places in the country have already had the state of emergency lifted, but it's still in place in the capital, Tokyo, and four other prefectures - including the northern island of Hokkaido.
In Tokyo, the rate of infection per 100,000 people stands at 0.59 and at 0.69 for Hokkaido.
Under the state of emergency, local governors have more powers to call on businesses to stay closed and ask for people to stay at home - though there are no legal implications if people choose to break this rule.
The country has confirmed more than 47,000 cases so far.
But it has also begun to ease lockdown restrictions, and reopen for business.
The Supreme Court on Monday ordered all shopping malls and markets to stay open even during weekends, saying: "Coronavirus does not go anywhere on Saturday and Sunday. What is the reason behind keeping markets closed on Saturday and Sunday?"
Yesterday, an editorial in Chinese newspaper The Global Times quoted an anonymous internet user's post describing Australia as the "giant kangaroo that serves as a dog of the US".
Several Australian outlets then promoted that quote in their headlines, interpreting it as an insult from Beijing.
It comes as trade and diplomatic relations worsen between the two nations following Australia's call (echoing the US) for an inquiry into the virus' origins. Initially, some politicians had suggested China was at fault - prompting an angry reply from Beijing.
China's ambassador to Australia suggested consumers might even boycott Australia's products. This week Beijing whacked a harsh tariff on Australia's barley and continued a halt on major beef imports.
China denies that its trade actions are a response to Australia's virus push - but Canberra has said they are concerned.
A parody logo meant to show a mash up of the coronavirus and the Tokyo Olympic Games has not exactly had the effect it intended.
The image was published by the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan as the front page design for the April issue of their magazine.
But Tokyo Olympic officials are anything but amused. They've called for the image to be taken down, saying that it was "disappointing to see the games emblem being distorted and associated with the virus".
"The design is clearly using... the Olympic emblem. We therefore consider it an infringement on our legally secured copyright," said Tokyo spokesman Masa Takaya, according to an AP report. The artist of the logo - the magazine's art director, Andrew Pothecary, told the Asahi Shimbun the design was a parody and was meant to make a "powerful statement about the situation in Japan".
The NHS Confederation warned of "severe' consequences if this was not established rapidly.
It said lockdown measures should not be eased until a clear plan was in place.
"We are 10 weeks into the pandemic and developing a strategy with a well worked through local base should have been in place much sooner," said Niall Dickson, chief executive of the confederation.
Several countries have credited their own success in quashing the virus to their ability to trace the contacts of every confirmed case to ensure if they are also infected they can't pass it on further.
Read more on that here: Can we learn about coronavirus-tracing from South Korea?
It's been the advice since the very early stages of this virus. And a new study by UK researchers says washing your hands as many as 10 times a day makes catching infections like coronavirus much less likely.
It looked at data, from 2006-09, on viruses structurally very similar to the strain circulating now.
The study found the 1,663 participants were much less likely to be infected if they washed their hands at least six times a day.
Hand-washing more than 10 times a day did not appear to cut the risk of infection further, however.
Coronaviruses are a family of virus that most usually cause mild illness such as the common cold.
And all of them, including the pandemic one, can be killed by soap and water.
For many, it's the one day they spend meeting their friends or heading out to shops.
The partial lockdown has meant that they've had to stay home - as public meet-ups have been banned across the country and shops shuttered.
If they do wish to go out, they've been told to so only on a weekday, to wear a mask and for a limited time only.
Singapore is home to an estimated 250,000 foreign domestic workers, many of whom come from neighbouring countries like Indonesia and the Philippines and who often leave their own children at home.
Whether to snitch on others - or "dob in" as it’s known in Australia – can provide something of a social dilemma, especially when social distancing rules are sometimes not clear-cut. We’ve explored that in more detail here.
But today, in Australia’s second most-populous state, Victoria, officials confirmed a record number of people had contacted a police hotline last month. Of the total 102,000 calls, about a fifth were to report mass gatherings.
"I don’t think we understood what an important role [the hotline] would play and how committed Victorians were to ensuring that people followed the advice," state Police Minister Lisa Neville said.
Australia has recorded more than 7,000 cases of coronavirus and 100 deaths.
More than 100 healthy babies have been born to mothers infected with the novel coronavirus in one hospital in India's western city of Mumbai.
Three of the 115 babies born to infected mothers at the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital in the past month initially tested positive for Covid-19, but subsequent tests cleared them, doctors said.
Two other infected pregnant women died at the hospital, including one who died before her baby was born.
A team of 65 doctors and two dozen nurses have been treating these Covid-infected mothers in a 40-bed special ward. With the surge of infections, the hospital is planning to add another 34 beds for infected pregnant patients.
With nearly 20,000 reported infections and more than 730 deaths so far, India's financial and entertainment capital has become the epicentre of Covid-19.
Read the full story here.
Such tests are not yet available through the NHS, but some are being sold commercially.
On Wednesday, high street retailer Superdrug became the latest businesses to sell the test. It costs £69 and buyers need to take a blood sample at home, which is sent off to a lab for testing.
But the NHS has reservations over their use.
"I would caution against using any tests that might be made available without knowing quite how good those tests are... I would caution people against being tempted to have those tests," said NHS England's medical director Prof Stephen Powis.
Read more about these tests and why they might not be accurate here.
The number of deaths caused by the virus currently stands at 328,172 deaths.
Chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine or a placebo will be given to more than 40,000 healthcare workers from Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.
All the participants are staff who are in contact with Covid-19 patients.
"We really do not know if chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine are beneficial or harmful against Covid-19," said one of the study's leaders, Prof Nicholas White.
But, he said, a randomised controlled trial such as this one, where neither the participant nor the researchers know who has been given the drug or a placebo, was the best way to find out.
It comes after US President Donald Trump said earlier this week that he had been taking the controversial drug, despite warnings that it could be unsafe.
Read more about the trial here.
The plan I have seen shows that councils will begin a scheme to tailor the test and trace service for their areas. The idea is that these councils will work out how they deal with outbreaks on their patches through outbreak action plans.
They know what to do if they get a new case in schools or churches.
Under the plan I have seen there will be more local testing and a better collection of data. The idea being that it would start with 10 lead councils before being extended to others - including Tameside, Leicestershire, Surrey, Warwickshire, Leeds, Camden, Devon, Newcastle. Middlesbrough and Norfolk.
As of late last night this was due to be announced today. It is unlikely we will hear about the national contact tracers that have been successfully hired but are sitting idle. But I know of one group who were told that their system would go live today.
The details need to be settled, the work needs to begin under enormous scrutiny and the clock is ticking.
It's part of efforts to find hidden or resurgent viral hotspots, as the country eases its lockdown. More than one million people have already been tested for the virus but authorities say wastewater testing is a much cheaper way to tell if cases are starting to rise.
Here, a team from Melbourne Water gather samples to identify suburbs or areas where conventional testing will then be needed. Coronavirus is excreted in faeces for up to six weeks after symptoms first appear.
US President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, is to be released from prison to home confinement later on Thursday over Covid-19 concerns.
Cohen, 53, is serving a three-year sentence for lying to Congress and campaign finance fraud.
His early release was first reported in April, but it was delayed.
New York is the epicentre of the US pandemic, and the minimum-security prison where Cohen is detained has had a number of confirmed cases.
Read more on this story here.
There has been some serious concern about misinformation spreading on the platform during thie pandemic. Early on in the global outbreak, the World Health Organization was already warning of an "infodemic" of fake news spreading online.
Read here about how both extremist political and fringe medical communities have tried to exploit the pandemic online.
Last week, officials said Mexico had reached "the peak moment" of its outbreak after it recorded its largest one-day rise in cases.
It now has 56,594 confirmed cases, and 6,090 deaths.
The record daily death toll comes as the country eases lockdown measures and reopens the economy, particularly factories near the border with the US.
The low-cost airline announced that it would restart a "small number" of routes where there is enough customer demand.
The initial schedule will include domestic routes across the UK and France.
As part of new safety and hygiene measures, there will be no food sold during flights, and enhanced cleaning of planes. Disinfection wipes and hand sanitiser will be made available to passengers.
EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said that "these are small and carefully planned steps".
The airline admitted on Tuesday that nine million of its passengers had their email addresses and travel details exposed in a "highly sophisticated" attack.
But it says there is "no evidence that any personal information of any nature has been misused".
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach says he understands why the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games would have to be cancelled if they cannot take place next summer.
The event has been postponed by a year because of the coronavirus crisis and local organisers say they have no back-up plan if it can't go ahead in July-August 2021.
"You cannot forever employ 3,000 to 5,000 people in an organising committee," Bach told BBC Sport. "You cannot have the athletes being in uncertainty."
In a wide-ranging interview, Bach also:
More than 35 local councils have warned that not all of their primary schools will be ready to reopen by then; while teaching union NASUWT said it remained "unconvinced" reopening schools was "appropriate or practicable".
But aside from the political debate, there is a practical maths problem to be solved in terms of safe social distancing for staff and pupils, says Sean Coughlan, the BBC's education correspondent.
The government has said that there should be a maximum of 15 pupils per class - so in effect, every class of 30 would have to be spread over two classrooms.
While that might work for the phased return of the first few year groups, if all primary year groups are back in school for a month before the end of term - as is the government's aim, safety permitting - then there wouldn't be enough classrooms or teachers.
The Department for Education says new safety guidance will be provided if it's decided all primary pupils are going back to school.
John Holland-Kaye, who heads up Europe's busiest airport, described the “mismatch of measures” currently in place across different countries as confusing.
He also backed the idea of “air bridges” allowing travel between countries with lower infection levels to help stimulate the tourism industry.
“There is no perfect way to make sure only healthy people fly at this stage, so we have to take a risk-based approach,” he said.
“As the level of transmission comes down in the UK and in other countries, we need to find a way that the vast majority of people who don’t have a disease can still fly.”
- The number of confirmed cases since the outbreak began passes 5m
- The number of people with Covid-19 who have died is 328,000 - Johns Hopkins University tracker
- The true number of infections is likely to be far higher, with many unrecorded or undiagnosed
- Figures from the World Health Organization show the biggest daily increase in infections yet
- Trials of two anti-malarial drugs to see if they can prevent infection begin in the UK
- Brazil authorises the same drugs - chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine - to treat Covid-19
- The UK is running out of time to set up a "track and trace" system, warns the NHS Confederation
Welcome back to our rolling coverage on the global virus pandemic. With teams across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas we'll keep you posted on all developmets worldwide as they happen.
Here's what you need to know this Thursday;
- The number of globally confirmed infections is now edging towards 5 million. This comes as as the World Health Organization reports the biggest rise in new coronavirus infections in a single day
- Brazil is on the verge of having the second-highest number of cases. With nearly 20,000 new infections a day, it's about to overtake Russia. The US is at the top of the list
- Russia has recorded its lowest daily increase since early May, suggesting the outbreak might be stabilising there
- China has had only two new cases over the past day, one local and one imported. But the country says the virus is behaving differently in some recent imported infections, suggesting that it changes as it spreads
- In South East Asia, Indonesia has reported almost 700 new cases, its biggest daily rise, suggesting the pandemic has still not peaked there.
- Cambodia however, which says it is virus-free has lifted a ban on entry of visitors from Iran, Italy, Germany, Spain, France and the United States.
Almost 5 million infected with virus
The number of people that have been infected with the virus worldwide has now reached just shy of 5 million.The global number now stands at 4,995,127, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, which has been keeping track throughout the crisis. However, with many cases going unrecorded or undiagnosed, the true number of infections is likely to be far higher.
Here's a quick breakdown of the countries with the highest number of cases:
- US - 1.5 million
- Russia - 308,705
- Brazil - 291,579
- UK - 249,619
- Spain - 232,555
The worldwide death toll now stands at 328,079.
WHO records highest daily number of cases
The World Health Organization has recorded its largest daily rise in global cases, with 106,000 reported over the last 24 hours.WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus revealed that almost two thirds of this number was reported in just four countries.
He warned the world still had "a long way to go in this pandemic".
Despite this, a number of countries, including the US, have already begun to loosen lockdown restrictions.
The US remains the worst-hit country, with more than 1.5m cases and 92,000 deaths so far.
Australia's Northern Territory eliminates virus
There are zero known active cases in the Northern Territory now
Australia's least-populated territory has declared itself free of the virus after officials said its last known case had recovered.
The remote northern region had recorded the smallest number of cases - just 29 - and was the first to kick off lockdown exit at the start of May. Its restaurants, nail salons, parks and gyms are now all open with distancing restrictions.
"It’s been six and a half weeks since we have had a locally diagnosed case but we mustn’t become complacent," said the NT's health minister this morning.
The territory still has its borders closed to the rest of Australia, and has maintained a ban on non-essential travel to remote Aboriginal communities in the outback.
There are currently just over 600 active cases across the country, which is swiftly moving out of lockdown.
Australian states argue over opening borders
There's been a bit of a row this morning between various state leaders in Australia who are keeping their borders shut.Australia has a national three-step plan to exit lockdown- where things like venue re-openings and grouping sizes are expanded gradually. However, it's up to each state and territory to decide when they move - and that's sparked tensions over things like domestic travel.
Yesterday, New South Wales - the most heavily populated state and which has been worst-affected by case numbers - encouraged other states' residents to visit when it relaxes travel rules in June. NSW urged its neighbour, Queensland, and other states to open their borders to boost the economy.
The calls weren't well received. Queensland said it wouldn't be lectured to "by a state that has the highest number of cases in Australia" while Western Australia claimed it was being "bullied" by NSW.
South Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania also haven't mentioned when they might open borders
All 50 US states move toward reopening
As the United States' death toll passes 93,000, all 50 US states have partially reopened after a two-month shutdown.But wide discrepancies remain between states in terms of infection rates and the pace of their economic restart.
Countrywide, the US is seeing an overall downward trend in new cases and deaths over time.
Some of the hardest-hit areas, including New York, New Jersey and Washington state are now showing the sharpest declines, while majority of states have reached plateaus.
Still, states like Arizona and North Carolina continue to report increases.
NZ PM suggests four-day work week
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has encouraged a four-day work week in a bid to boost domestic tourism.The country's tourism industry - one of its most important sectors - has taken a massive hit as a result of the outbreak.
The idea has of course, got many in the country excited.
Many online praised the move, saying they were "all for it", though a handful pointed out that it could simply result in longer hours on working days - making employees less productive.
But one business in New Zealand that made the move to a four-day week in 2018 says that it can "definitely" be done.
"It would be a strategy to rebuild the economy and particularly the hard-hit tourism market," Andrew Barnes, the founder of Perpetual Guardian told The Guardian newspaper.
"We have to be bold with our model. This is an opportunity for a massive reset."
Germany to clean up slaughterhouses
Germany has agreed on a proposal to ban the use of temporary workers at slaughterhouses, after hundreds of these workers across Germany and France tested positive for Covid-19.Many of these slaughterhouse workers had arrived from Romania on flights chartered by farmers.
Health experts are looking at possible reasons for the outbreaks, including overcrowded accommodation and cold conditions at processing facilities.
The issue of poor working conditions in German meat-packing factories was raised after a cluster of coronavirus infections were recorded at a slaughterhouse in the western German city of Münster over the weekend.
At another slaughterhouse in Coesfeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, more than 260 workers - many living in shared accommodation - tested positive for the virus.
Read more on this issue here.
South Africa virus deaths 'to soar'
At least 40,000 people could die with coronavirus in South Africa by the end of the year, scientists have warned. The projections were made by a group of academics and health experts advising the government.They assume tough lockdown restrictions will be eased from June, as President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced.
The curbs - which were introduced in March and include a ban on tobacco and alcohol sales - have been credited with slowing the spread of the virus.
The country of 57 million people has recorded just over 18,000 cases of Covid-19 and 339 deaths linked to the disease so far.
The Australian zoo 'smashed' by fires then virus
Last New Year's Eve, bushfires tore through the rural town of Mogo in New South Wales.The local zoo there was closed for two months. No animals were hurt in the blazes fortunately, but the site was damaged from the flames.
It then managed to re-open - but only briefly, before virus restrictions forced it to shut down again.
So what does its future look like and how will it survive? Watch the report from the BBC's Simon Atkinson.
Universities fears losses from overseas students
Jonty Bloom - BBC Business correspondentWhich sector of the economy do you think is being hardest hit by the coronavirus - construction, retail, transport or catering? Well, you are all wrong, and need to do some more homework. The answer is - education.
Many people probably don't even think of education as part of the economy. The groves of academe are surely above such sordid considerations as money and finance?
Not a bit of it. Money is the lifeblood of education - endowments from wealthy alumni, catering and accommodation fees, conference facilities, and the biggest of the lot - attracting lots of fee-paying students every year.
The trouble for the education sector is that it is uniquely vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic.
For hundreds of years its business model has been to bring thousands of people together from across the country, and around the world, to sit together in rooms for three years and talk to each other.
As a result, nearly all its income streams are under attack at the same time.
Read more: Universities fear fall in lucrative overseas students
Cyclone wreaks havoc in India and Bangladesh
The storm has devastated parts of India and Bangladesh
At least 15 people have been killed in eastern India and Bangladesh in a severe cyclone that made landfall on Wednesday.
Cyclone Amphan lashed coastal areas with ferocious wind and rain. Rescue efforts were hampered by the Covid-19 crisis.
Social-distancing measures made mass evacuations more difficult as shelters are unable to be used to full capacity. And police in West Bengal state, which is the worst-hit by the storm, told the BBC that many people did not want to go to shelters because they feared contracting the virus.
Winds gusting up to 185km/h (115mph) uprooted trees, toppled homes and left large stretches with no electricity - including West Bengal's capital, Kolkata, one of India's biggest cities.
The state's chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, said the storm has devastated the coastal areas far more than Covid-19.
This is the first super cyclone to form in the Bay of Bengal since 1999.
Drive-in concerts kick off in Australia
With social distancing restrictions in place, rocking up to a show or concert with hundreds of other people has been banned across the world.
But some companies have come up with the innovative idea of drive-in performances - where people can go in the safety of their own car.
There have already been such gigs in Denmark and the US, and last week country superstar Keith Urban got on board, performing one for healthcare workers in Tennessee. In Sydney today, a local company is trialing the idea with a free concert. Headliner Casey Donovan told punters: "You’ll be able to interact with me via Zoom - and instead of clapping, I think I’ll be hearing car horns."
'I'm not heading to Greece for my honeymoon'
Yvette Tan - BBC NewsI was meant to be flying to Greece on my honeymoon today. The virus, of course, has meant everything has had to be put on hold.
The hotels we had booked were quick to let us know we could reschedule anytime this summer, even allowing us to re-book high-peak dates at no additional cost. It's clear how eager they are to restart a pillar of their economy that has been battered by virus restrictions.
Greece has now announced that its tourism season will kick off next month, adding that international flights will resume in July.
But we won't be heading to Greece - at least anytime this year. For one, the country where I live - Singapore - is still advising against non-essential travel. If I do choose to go, I'll have to isolate myself for 14 days upon my return.
It's also just difficult to imagine going on a summer holiday at a time like this - lounging by the beach in a mask - while the world is still very much in the midst of a global pandemic.
Trump says China 'could have stopped plague'
US President Donald Trump has again taken to Twitter in criticism of China's handling of the outbreak, saying "they could have easily stopped the plague, but didn't".:tweet: :Left Quotes: Donald J. Trump:
Spokesman speaks stupidly on behalf of China, trying desperately to deflect the pain and carnage that their country spread throughout the world. Its disinformation and propaganda attack on the United States and Europe is a disgrace....
Though he fell short of naming Chinese President Xi Jinping, he added that it "all comes from the top".
He then re-iterated that China wanted Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to win the next election as they can "continue to rip-off the United States, as they have done for decades, until I came along".
Read more about the US' new strategy on China here.
India to restart domestic flights
Starting 25 May, Indian airlines will begin flying domestic routes again - some two months after the country suspended all air travel.The government is set to release guidelines on social distancing at airports and during travel.
Civil aviation minister, Hardeep Puri, has said that leaving the middle seat vacant was not "viable" as it would increase prices, and "you'll still have a situation where prescribed distance... isn't followed".
India's lockdown is slated to end on 31 May, but the country has already begun easing restrictions in areas that have not been identified as hotspots.
Cases continue to spike - India registered its biggest single-day surge on Wednesday, with more than 5,000 new cases.
The national tally of confirmed cases has now crossed 106,000, but the recovery is nearly 40%. And the death toll - at 3,303 - is, relative to some countries, low.
Japan to lift state of emergency for Osaka
Japan says it will lift its state of emergency in Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo today as the number of virus cases continue to drop.Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said the number of new infections in these places remained under 0.5 cases per 100,000 people, said a Reuters report.
Most places in the country have already had the state of emergency lifted, but it's still in place in the capital, Tokyo, and four other prefectures - including the northern island of Hokkaido.
In Tokyo, the rate of infection per 100,000 people stands at 0.59 and at 0.69 for Hokkaido.
Under the state of emergency, local governors have more powers to call on businesses to stay closed and ask for people to stay at home - though there are no legal implications if people choose to break this rule.
Pakistan's death toll crosses 1,000
Pakistan has reported 40 new deaths in the last 24 hours, taking its death toll from Covid-19 to more than 1,000.The country has confirmed more than 47,000 cases so far.
But it has also begun to ease lockdown restrictions, and reopen for business.
The Supreme Court on Monday ordered all shopping malls and markets to stay open even during weekends, saying: "Coronavirus does not go anywhere on Saturday and Sunday. What is the reason behind keeping markets closed on Saturday and Sunday?"
Australian and Chinese media seize on kangaroo barb
Tensions between Australia and China are being stoked again with both nations' media outlets focusing on provocative rhetoric.Yesterday, an editorial in Chinese newspaper The Global Times quoted an anonymous internet user's post describing Australia as the "giant kangaroo that serves as a dog of the US".
Several Australian outlets then promoted that quote in their headlines, interpreting it as an insult from Beijing.
It comes as trade and diplomatic relations worsen between the two nations following Australia's call (echoing the US) for an inquiry into the virus' origins. Initially, some politicians had suggested China was at fault - prompting an angry reply from Beijing.
China's ambassador to Australia suggested consumers might even boycott Australia's products. This week Beijing whacked a harsh tariff on Australia's barley and continued a halt on major beef imports.
China denies that its trade actions are a response to Australia's virus push - but Canberra has said they are concerned.
Tokyo anger over parody Olympics logo
A parody logo meant to show a mash up of the coronavirus and the Tokyo Olympic Games has not exactly had the effect it intended.
The image was published by the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan as the front page design for the April issue of their magazine.
But Tokyo Olympic officials are anything but amused. They've called for the image to be taken down, saying that it was "disappointing to see the games emblem being distorted and associated with the virus".
"The design is clearly using... the Olympic emblem. We therefore consider it an infringement on our legally secured copyright," said Tokyo spokesman Masa Takaya, according to an AP report. The artist of the logo - the magazine's art director, Andrew Pothecary, told the Asahi Shimbun the design was a parody and was meant to make a "powerful statement about the situation in Japan".
Time running out on track and trace: NHS leaders
Leaders of the UK's National Health Service (NHS) have said that time is running out to finalise a track and trace strategy that would avoid a potential second wave of the virus.The NHS Confederation warned of "severe' consequences if this was not established rapidly.
It said lockdown measures should not be eased until a clear plan was in place.
"We are 10 weeks into the pandemic and developing a strategy with a well worked through local base should have been in place much sooner," said Niall Dickson, chief executive of the confederation.
- "If we do not rapidly instigate the right system, involving the right people, then the ramifications for the NHS, including its staff and its patients, could be severe."
Several countries have credited their own success in quashing the virus to their ability to trace the contacts of every confirmed case to ensure if they are also infected they can't pass it on further.
Read more on that here: Can we learn about coronavirus-tracing from South Korea?
'Wash hands at least six times a day'
How many times will you be washing your hands today? Yes - we're looking at you.It's been the advice since the very early stages of this virus. And a new study by UK researchers says washing your hands as many as 10 times a day makes catching infections like coronavirus much less likely.
It looked at data, from 2006-09, on viruses structurally very similar to the strain circulating now.
The study found the 1,663 participants were much less likely to be infected if they washed their hands at least six times a day.
Hand-washing more than 10 times a day did not appear to cut the risk of infection further, however.
Coronaviruses are a family of virus that most usually cause mild illness such as the common cold.
And all of them, including the pandemic one, can be killed by soap and water.
Domestic helpers in Singapore told to stay home
Foreign domestic workers in Singapore have been told to stay home on their rest days even after the country's partial state of lockdown ends on 1 June, says a report by news outlet the Straits Times. Domestic helpers in Singapore, who almost all live with their employees, are entitled to one day off per week - or financial compensation if they choose not to take their rest day.For many, it's the one day they spend meeting their friends or heading out to shops.
The partial lockdown has meant that they've had to stay home - as public meet-ups have been banned across the country and shops shuttered.
If they do wish to go out, they've been told to so only on a weekday, to wear a mask and for a limited time only.
Singapore is home to an estimated 250,000 foreign domestic workers, many of whom come from neighbouring countries like Indonesia and the Philippines and who often leave their own children at home.
Record 'dobbing' in Australian state
Is it an act of community service, or ungenerous neighbourly behaviour?Whether to snitch on others - or "dob in" as it’s known in Australia – can provide something of a social dilemma, especially when social distancing rules are sometimes not clear-cut. We’ve explored that in more detail here.
But today, in Australia’s second most-populous state, Victoria, officials confirmed a record number of people had contacted a police hotline last month. Of the total 102,000 calls, about a fifth were to report mass gatherings.
"I don’t think we understood what an important role [the hotline] would play and how committed Victorians were to ensuring that people followed the advice," state Police Minister Lisa Neville said.
Australia has recorded more than 7,000 cases of coronavirus and 100 deaths.
Hospital delivers 100 babies from Covid-19 mums
Soutik Biswas - India CorrespondentMore than 100 healthy babies have been born to mothers infected with the novel coronavirus in one hospital in India's western city of Mumbai.
Three of the 115 babies born to infected mothers at the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital in the past month initially tested positive for Covid-19, but subsequent tests cleared them, doctors said.
Two other infected pregnant women died at the hospital, including one who died before her baby was born.
A team of 65 doctors and two dozen nurses have been treating these Covid-infected mothers in a 40-bed special ward. With the surge of infections, the hospital is planning to add another 34 beds for infected pregnant patients.
With nearly 20,000 reported infections and more than 730 deaths so far, India's financial and entertainment capital has become the epicentre of Covid-19.
Read the full story here.
Thursday's latest developments...
If you are just joining us in the UK this morning, here are some of the latest developments:- Health bosses in the UK have warned that time is running out to finalise a track and trace strategy to help avoid a potential second surge in virus cases
- A UK trial to see whether two anti-malarial drugs could prevent Covid-19 has begun in Brighton and Oxford
- The World Health Organization has recorded its largest daily rise in global cases, with 106,000 reported over the last 24 hours
- The number of people infected worldwide is now around five million with data from Johns Hopkins University also showing 328,169 deaths
- In the US the death toll has passed 93,000 but all 50 states have partially reopened after a two-month shutdown
- Greece has announced that its tourism season will start in June, adding that international flights will resume in July
- India is set to resume domestic flights two months after the government imposed a lockdown to curb the spread of the virus.
UK public warned against commercial antibody tests
People in England have been warned against using coronavirus antibody tests sold by some retailers.Such tests are not yet available through the NHS, but some are being sold commercially.
On Wednesday, high street retailer Superdrug became the latest businesses to sell the test. It costs £69 and buyers need to take a blood sample at home, which is sent off to a lab for testing.
But the NHS has reservations over their use.
"I would caution against using any tests that might be made available without knowing quite how good those tests are... I would caution people against being tempted to have those tests," said NHS England's medical director Prof Stephen Powis.
Read more about these tests and why they might not be accurate here.
Confirmed cases reach five million
The number of people infected worldwide has now reached five million, according to data collated by Johns Hopkins University.The number of deaths caused by the virus currently stands at 328,172 deaths.
UK begins hydroxychloroquine trial
A trial to see whether two anti-malarial drugs could prevent Covid-19 has begun in Brighton and Oxford.Chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine or a placebo will be given to more than 40,000 healthcare workers from Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.
All the participants are staff who are in contact with Covid-19 patients.
"We really do not know if chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine are beneficial or harmful against Covid-19," said one of the study's leaders, Prof Nicholas White.
But, he said, a randomised controlled trial such as this one, where neither the participant nor the researchers know who has been given the drug or a placebo, was the best way to find out.
It comes after US President Donald Trump said earlier this week that he had been taking the controversial drug, despite warnings that it could be unsafe.
Read more about the trial here.
Contact tracing system to be piloted in 10 UK areas
Ross Hawkins - Political correspondentThe plan I have seen shows that councils will begin a scheme to tailor the test and trace service for their areas. The idea is that these councils will work out how they deal with outbreaks on their patches through outbreak action plans.
They know what to do if they get a new case in schools or churches.
Under the plan I have seen there will be more local testing and a better collection of data. The idea being that it would start with 10 lead councils before being extended to others - including Tameside, Leicestershire, Surrey, Warwickshire, Leeds, Camden, Devon, Newcastle. Middlesbrough and Norfolk.
As of late last night this was due to be announced today. It is unlikely we will hear about the national contact tracers that have been successfully hired but are sitting idle. But I know of one group who were told that their system would go live today.
The details need to be settled, the work needs to begin under enormous scrutiny and the clock is ticking.
Poo detectives search sewers for virus traces
Sewage water is being tested in Victoria, Australia, to find coronavirus clusters that health authorities don't know about.It's part of efforts to find hidden or resurgent viral hotspots, as the country eases its lockdown. More than one million people have already been tested for the virus but authorities say wastewater testing is a much cheaper way to tell if cases are starting to rise.
Here, a team from Melbourne Water gather samples to identify suburbs or areas where conventional testing will then be needed. Coronavirus is excreted in faeces for up to six weeks after symptoms first appear.
Ex-Trump lawyer to be freed from prison over virus
US President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, is to be released from prison to home confinement later on Thursday over Covid-19 concerns.
Cohen, 53, is serving a three-year sentence for lying to Congress and campaign finance fraud.
His early release was first reported in April, but it was delayed.
New York is the epicentre of the US pandemic, and the minimum-security prison where Cohen is detained has had a number of confirmed cases.
Read more on this story here.
Facebook to 'take down' coronavirus misinformation
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been speaking to the BBC's Simon Jack about how his social network is responding to the challenge posed by the coronavirus crisis.There has been some serious concern about misinformation spreading on the platform during thie pandemic. Early on in the global outbreak, the World Health Organization was already warning of an "infodemic" of fake news spreading online.
Read here about how both extremist political and fringe medical communities have tried to exploit the pandemic online.
Mexico reports record one-day death toll
Mexico on Wednesday registered 424 deaths from Covid-19 - the highest number of fatalities the country has recorded so far in a single day. It also reported 2,248 new infections.Last week, officials said Mexico had reached "the peak moment" of its outbreak after it recorded its largest one-day rise in cases.
It now has 56,594 confirmed cases, and 6,090 deaths.
The record daily death toll comes as the country eases lockdown measures and reopens the economy, particularly factories near the border with the US.
EasyJet to resume some flights in June
EasyJet will resume some flights on 15 June, with all passengers and cabin crew told to wear face masks.The low-cost airline announced that it would restart a "small number" of routes where there is enough customer demand.
The initial schedule will include domestic routes across the UK and France.
As part of new safety and hygiene measures, there will be no food sold during flights, and enhanced cleaning of planes. Disinfection wipes and hand sanitiser will be made available to passengers.
EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren said that "these are small and carefully planned steps".
The airline admitted on Tuesday that nine million of its passengers had their email addresses and travel details exposed in a "highly sophisticated" attack.
But it says there is "no evidence that any personal information of any nature has been misused".
Closed French beaches - and other European headlines
Ascension Day – a public holiday in many European countries, including France and Germany – sparks virus fears while Cyprus lifts its lockdown. Here’s the latest from Europe:- France’s health authorities are warning the public that “the virus is still circulating” as people break for the holiday on Thursday. The north-west region of Brittany reclosed a number of beaches after seeing “unacceptable behaviour” last weekend
- Border town officials in the Netherlands have said they could shut down roads and car parks on Thursday. Many shops close in Germany on Ascension Day, and authorities worry about large numbers of daytrippers heading across the border
- Cyprus has announced an end to many of its lockdown measures. Outdoor areas for restaurants and pubs reopen on Thursday – as do hairdressers, parks and playgrounds - and people can host up to 10 visitors in their homes
- Sicily’s Covid-19 coordinator has been arrested along with nine others on corruption charges. He and others are accused of taking about €600 million (£540m; $660m) illegally through public contracts
Olympic chief: I would understand Tokyo cancellation
Dan Roan - BBC Sports editorInternational Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach says he understands why the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games would have to be cancelled if they cannot take place next summer.
The event has been postponed by a year because of the coronavirus crisis and local organisers say they have no back-up plan if it can't go ahead in July-August 2021.
"You cannot forever employ 3,000 to 5,000 people in an organising committee," Bach told BBC Sport. "You cannot have the athletes being in uncertainty."
In a wide-ranging interview, Bach also:
- admitted the job of re-organising the Games was "a mammoth task"
- warned that the event would "definitely be different" with a focus on "essentials"
- would not be drawn on whether a vaccine for Covid-19 would be needed for the Games to take place
- insisted staging the Olympics behind closed doors was "not what we want"
Debate continues over reopening of English primaries
The UK government's plans to reopen primary schools for some children in England from 1 June has sparked a debate over the safety of the strategy.More than 35 local councils have warned that not all of their primary schools will be ready to reopen by then; while teaching union NASUWT said it remained "unconvinced" reopening schools was "appropriate or practicable".
But aside from the political debate, there is a practical maths problem to be solved in terms of safe social distancing for staff and pupils, says Sean Coughlan, the BBC's education correspondent.
The government has said that there should be a maximum of 15 pupils per class - so in effect, every class of 30 would have to be spread over two classrooms.
While that might work for the phased return of the first few year groups, if all primary year groups are back in school for a month before the end of term - as is the government's aim, safety permitting - then there wouldn't be enough classrooms or teachers.
The Department for Education says new safety guidance will be provided if it's decided all primary pupils are going back to school.
Heathrow boss backs 'air bridges' and thermal scans
The boss of London's Heathrow Airport has told us that a new thermal screening trial for arriving passengers “could be part of a future common international standard to get people flying again."John Holland-Kaye, who heads up Europe's busiest airport, described the “mismatch of measures” currently in place across different countries as confusing.
He also backed the idea of “air bridges” allowing travel between countries with lower infection levels to help stimulate the tourism industry.
“There is no perfect way to make sure only healthy people fly at this stage, so we have to take a risk-based approach,” he said.
“As the level of transmission comes down in the UK and in other countries, we need to find a way that the vast majority of people who don’t have a disease can still fly.”
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