Summary for Monday, 21st September
Good morning - or if it’s later where you are, good afternoon. Thank you for joining our rolling coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our team is reporting from London today.
Here are the main headlines this morning.
Under the new restrictions, more than 800,000 residents have been ordered to stay at home, and are only being allowed out for essential reasons such as to travel to work or to go to the doctor.
The measures have proved contentious, with some residents protesting against what they see as discrimination against poorer areas.
At the same time, restrictions are being imposed in parts of the Netherlands, with bars being told to close early and tighter limits on gatherings.
In the past week new regulations have been announced in Iceland, Denmark and parts of France, too.
Prof Whitty – who was a familiar face during No 10’s lockdown updates – is likely to warn that the UK is “heading in the wrong direction” and we’re at a “critical point in the pandemic”. You can read more here ahead of his 11:00 BST speech.
In other UK coronavirus news this morning:
Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport and Blaenau Gwent will be placed under a local lockdown from 18:00 BST on Tuesday following an increase in coronavirus cases, the Welsh Government has announced.
Read more details here.
The report looks at the case of a woman who flew in business class from London to Vietnam in March. Although she passed a temperature check, she developed symptoms in the days following the flight and tested positive just five days later.
Contact tracers managed to link her to 15 of her fellow passengers who also later tested positive for the virus.
However, there is a caveat - at the time face coverings were not mandatory on flights, and so it is unlikely most of the passengers were wearing masks.
In Lebanon 1,006 coronavirus cases have been reported in a single day, the highest number since the virus was detected in the country in February.
This raises the red flag in a country of nearly four million which houses another million refugees. Hospitals and medical facilities are overwhelmed with cases.
Many people here are concerned and are following protection rules to the letter, but it is hard to enforce the hygiene measures on everyone in public areas especially in poor, densely populated neighbourhoods.
Schools and universities have reopened virtually with mostly online classes and a few physical ones where the number of students is limited.
The country’s economy is collapsing and it hit rock bottom after the blast in August that destroyed many parts of the city and killed nearly 200. Another lockdown will be difficult for many people whose businesses have suffered a year-long economic collapse.
Prof Chris Whitty appeared alongside the PM regularly during lockdown
England’s chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty is due to make a statement on TV at 11:00 BST – after he spent Sunday with PM Boris Johnson and other ministers discussing possible coronavirus lockdown measures.
Prof Whitty – who is a household name now for his updates on the coronavirus – is expected to say that “the trend in the UK is heading in the wrong direction and we are at a critical point in the pandemic.
"We are looking at the data to see how to manage the spread of the virus ahead of a very challenging winter period," he is expected to say.
On Sunday, a further 3,899 daily cases and 18 deaths were reported in the UK, and the prime minister is understood to be considering a two-week mini lockdown in England.
Prof Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, are expected to explain how the virus is spreading and the potential scenarios as the winter approaches.
Our political correspondent Iain Watson suggests that the fact Prof Whitty and Sir Patrick are speaking – two mainstays of the No 10 news conferences when the virus was at its peak – means “you can assume that their briefing on the latest data will not convey good news”.
Read more on the story here.
- The UK could be facing 50,000 new Covid-19 cases a day by mid-October, if the current infection rate is not halted
- Prof Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, and Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK's chief scientific adviser issued the warning
- Numbers are increasing among all age groups with the epidemic doubling roughly every seven days, they said at a briefing
- Parts of the Spanish capital Madrid are going into a tough new lockdown - more than 800,000 residents have been asked to stay at home
- India's Taj Mahal reopens after six months, its longest ever shutdown
- New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern removes all coronavirus restrictions except in the largest city Auckland
- The Emmy awards have been held virtually, with most winners dialling in to make speeches from home
- There have been 31 million confirmed Covid-19 cases worldwide, with more than 960,000 deaths
Good morning - or if it’s later where you are, good afternoon. Thank you for joining our rolling coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our team is reporting from London today.
Here are the main headlines this morning.
- Tough new restrictions are coming into force in parts of Madrid, the capital of Spain, after a sharp rise in cases and deaths. More than 800,000 residents have been ordered to stay at home
- In parts of the Netherlands, too, bars have been told to close early and new limits have been placed on gatherings. Meanwhile Germany’s health minister has said the infection dynamic in countries like the Netherlands, Austria and France is worrying
- Things are more optimistic in New Zealand, which has just removed social distancing restrictions for all areas other than its most populous city Auckland. On Sunday, the country reported no new cases
- The Taj Mahal, one of the most iconic landmarks in the world, has reopened its doors to visitors after six months - the longest it has ever been shut. The move comes as India continues to battle a surge in cases and deaths
- The UN is going to hold its 75th anniversary commemoration event today - and because of the pandemic, national representatives will be celebrating virtually. The event will be live-streamed from 09:00 EDT (14:00 BST)
- The Emmys was also held virtually - it was broadcast from a largely empty theatre in Los Angeles, in the US, and TV stars accepted their awards at home. Succession and Schitts Creek were the big winners of the night
- There have now been more than 30.9 million cases of and almost 960,000 deaths with the virus worldwide, according to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University
Tough new restrictions in parts of Europe
We've reported that England could see tighter measures to contain the virus - but this is already happening in other parts of Europe. In the Spanish capital Madrid, strict new measures have come into force after a sharp rise in cases and deaths there.Under the new restrictions, more than 800,000 residents have been ordered to stay at home, and are only being allowed out for essential reasons such as to travel to work or to go to the doctor.
The measures have proved contentious, with some residents protesting against what they see as discrimination against poorer areas.
At the same time, restrictions are being imposed in parts of the Netherlands, with bars being told to close early and tighter limits on gatherings.
In the past week new regulations have been announced in Iceland, Denmark and parts of France, too.
Latest from the UK this morning
Good morning to our audience in the UK – where our top story is on England’s chief medical adviser Prof Chris Whitty who is due to make a televised speech later this morning.Prof Whitty – who was a familiar face during No 10’s lockdown updates – is likely to warn that the UK is “heading in the wrong direction” and we’re at a “critical point in the pandemic”. You can read more here ahead of his 11:00 BST speech.
In other UK coronavirus news this morning:
- There’s another big speech, this time from Labour’s shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds who is later set to accuse the government of mismanaging billions of pounds spent in response to the pandemic
- Around one in 20 children in England are out of school due to issues linked to the pandemic and lockdown, the children’s commissioner has suggested. The actual number of schools who have sent pupils home because of Covid cases is small, she says, but many other children have not yet returned since lockdown
- The pandemic is a “window of opportunity” to reset the economy to take further action on climate change, Prince Charles has said
- More than 80,000 UK firms have voluntarily returned more than £215m to the government in furlough scheme payments they did not need or took in error
Four more counties in Wales face lockdown
Local lockdowns will be introduced in four counties in south Wales after a rise in Covid-19 cases.Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport and Blaenau Gwent will be placed under a local lockdown from 18:00 BST on Tuesday following an increase in coronavirus cases, the Welsh Government has announced.
Read more details here.
Evidence of virus spreading easily on long-haul flights
Research published by the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows coronavirus can spread easily among passengers on long-haul flights.The report looks at the case of a woman who flew in business class from London to Vietnam in March. Although she passed a temperature check, she developed symptoms in the days following the flight and tested positive just five days later.
Contact tracers managed to link her to 15 of her fellow passengers who also later tested positive for the virus.
However, there is a caveat - at the time face coverings were not mandatory on flights, and so it is unlikely most of the passengers were wearing masks.
Lebanon fears another lockdown amid record cases
Lina Sinjab - BBC Middle East correspondentIn Lebanon 1,006 coronavirus cases have been reported in a single day, the highest number since the virus was detected in the country in February.
This raises the red flag in a country of nearly four million which houses another million refugees. Hospitals and medical facilities are overwhelmed with cases.
Many people here are concerned and are following protection rules to the letter, but it is hard to enforce the hygiene measures on everyone in public areas especially in poor, densely populated neighbourhoods.
Schools and universities have reopened virtually with mostly online classes and a few physical ones where the number of students is limited.
The country’s economy is collapsing and it hit rock bottom after the blast in August that destroyed many parts of the city and killed nearly 200. Another lockdown will be difficult for many people whose businesses have suffered a year-long economic collapse.
UK heading in wrong direction – Whitty
Prof Chris Whitty appeared alongside the PM regularly during lockdown
England’s chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty is due to make a statement on TV at 11:00 BST – after he spent Sunday with PM Boris Johnson and other ministers discussing possible coronavirus lockdown measures.
Prof Whitty – who is a household name now for his updates on the coronavirus – is expected to say that “the trend in the UK is heading in the wrong direction and we are at a critical point in the pandemic.
"We are looking at the data to see how to manage the spread of the virus ahead of a very challenging winter period," he is expected to say.
On Sunday, a further 3,899 daily cases and 18 deaths were reported in the UK, and the prime minister is understood to be considering a two-week mini lockdown in England.
Prof Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, are expected to explain how the virus is spreading and the potential scenarios as the winter approaches.
Our political correspondent Iain Watson suggests that the fact Prof Whitty and Sir Patrick are speaking – two mainstays of the No 10 news conferences when the virus was at its peak – means “you can assume that their briefing on the latest data will not convey good news”.
Read more on the story here.