Coronavirus news - live: Review finds death rate higher among ethnic minorities as MPs queue up to vote for 'insane' return to Westminster

Chris Whitty made decision not to lower UK alert level, No 10 says

Chief medical officer Chris Whitty made the decision not to lower the coronavirus alert level last week, Downing Street has confirmed.

A cut from Level 4 - meaning transmission is “high or rising exponentially” - to 3, where the virus is “in general circulation”, had been widely expected after Boris Johnson signalled his plan to relax lockdown restrictions in England at the start of this week.

But in the event, ministers were able to say only that the pandemic in the UK was at Level 4, but “transitioning towards Level 3”.

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Only 4 in 10 Covid-19 patients contacted at start of government's 'test and trace' scheme, leaked figures show

Only four in 10 coronavirus patients identified in the government’s new test-and-trace programme - and little more than one-third of the contacts they named - were contacted within the first four days of the scheme's operation, leaked figures obtained by Channel 4 News suggest.

The test-and-trace system is a key element of the government’s plan to take Britain out of lockdown without sparking a new spike in infections, and Boris Johnson has promised that it will be “world-beating”.

Despite describing the first few days of the scheme as “successful", health secretary Matt Hancock has so far declined to provide figures on the number of people contacted. Testing tsar John Newton today said the programme was "going well" and that "thousands" had been spoken to and agreed to self-isolate to prevent the possible spread of the disease.

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Iraq sees record-breaking single day spike in cases

Iraq's Health Ministry is reporting a record-breaking single-day spike in confirmed coronavirus cases that it says resulted from increased testing.

At least 519 new cases were confirmed Tuesday, bringing the country's total to 7,387, according to a statement from the Health Ministry. Iraq has reported a total of 235 virus-related deaths.

The number of confirmed cases in Iraq tripled in the last two weeks as more people were tested. Thousands more are being tested on a daily basis, according to daily government reports. The Health Ministry said at least 3,000 were tested nationwide in the previous 24 hours.

Since he was sworn in last month, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has reinforced full-day curfews, prohibited non-essential businesses from operating and banned large crowds from gathering.

Iraq faces shortages of hospital beds and ventilators. Health professionals have warned that a flareup in cases could be catastrophic for the country's health system.

Brazilian firm sued for alleged violation of indigenous workers rights in face of pandemic

Meatpacker JBS SA is being sued for alleged violation of indigenous workers' rights after firing 40 members of the Kaingang tribe from a plant in southern Brazil, according to a court document.

The lawsuit filed on 1 June by the labour prosecutor's office alleged that JBS discriminated against these workers as the coronavirus pandemic escalated in the country.

"They were dismissed in a critical period, when the return to the labor market is unlikely until the pandemic is controlled," labour prosecutor Edson Rodrigues Junior said.

The goal of the prosecutor's office is to force JBS to re-hire the indigenous workers. The prosecutor is also seeking at least 10 million reais ($1.9m) in fines and damages.

Reuters

Matt Hancock says government doing 'the best that we can' on testing figures after statistics watchdog labels them 'inadequate'

The UK Statistics Authority has heavily criticised the government's use of testing figures, suggesting the way the data is analysed and presented limits their value and could be seen as misleading.

"It is not surprising that given their inadequacy data on testing are so widely criticised and often mistrusted," said UKSA chair Sir David Norgrove.

"The aim seems to be to show the largest possible number of tests, even at the expense of understanding. It is also hard to believe the statistics work to support the testing programme itself. The statistics and analysis serve neither purpose well."

Asked if the rebuke was "embarrassing over such an important policy area", Mr Hancock replied: "The way that we present stats is the best that we can in having built the testing programme so rapidly over such a short period of time.

"We are working with the stats authorities to be able to present these statistics in a way that they're happy with and to make sure that we are as transparent as possible.

"I spoke to Sir David Norgrove today ... and we will be working with them (the UKSA) to make sure that the statistics are constantly improved.

"But the way we present them is the simplest way of presenting a very complex picture of the overall five different pillars of testing and that's the approach we've taken."

Mandatory return to Westminster dubbed 'insane' after MPs queue for hours to vote it through

Boris Johnson has survived the possibility of a Tory revolt over his party members' plans to end virtual voting were passed through the Commons - with the queue of MPs extending all the way to Portcullis House, but public health experts are concerned about the health risks to MPs.

Linda Bauld, a public health professor at the University of Edinburgh, said it was "insane" to make MPs return to the Commons to vote.

"I thought that was a really insane idea to require people to go back into Westminster, in terms of infection controls," she told the PA news agency.

Prof Bauld added that the science was evolving, but "it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility that immediately occupying the same space as somebody who's been speaking could be a risk".

She explained: "That wouldn't necessarily be about the fact that they have to be coughing or sneezing. I think these small droplets that we emit when we breathe normally are still a risk and that's why close contact is a risk.

"So immediately occupying the same space as somebody is probably not a great idea. I think it could definitely put them at risk. I think the bigger point is really not setting a good example but it is potentially pretty risky."

The health of our democracy is also a point of concern, with the Equality and Human Rights Commission writing to all MPs to "raise our concern" ahead the vote, saying it "cannot be right" to exclude elected representatives.

The watchdog warned it would "place at significant disadvantage" MPs who are shielding or self-isolating due to age, disability, health or pregnancy, as well as those who will struggle to travel to Westminster.

A vote on the Parliamentary Constituencies Bill appeared smoother and took around 30 minutes to complete with 402 MPs taking part, although concerns were still raised.

"A fairly furious Lucy Powell voting aye," said the Manchester Central MP.

Shadow cabinet minister Andy McDonald removed his face mask to vote and could be heard saying: "I won't be back because this isn't safe."

The bill ends the previous coalition government's attempt to cut the number of MPs from 650 to 600, a proposal which minister Ms Smith said was no longer the right one.

Cabinet Office minister Chloe Smith said the bill will achieve "parity of representation for all electors".

The Lancet - 'serious questions' raised over hydroxychloroquine data 

 The Lancet medical journal has said "serious scientific questions" had been brought to its attention about the validity of the data behind a widely cited and already corrected study on the dangers of the use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine in hospitalised patients with COVID-19.

The Lancet study published on May 22 found that the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, which US President Donald Trump took and has urged others to use, was tied to an increased risk of death in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Several clinical trials were put on hold after the study was published.

The article, called "Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis," was an observational study - meaning it compiled real world data, rather than conducting a traditional clinical trial - and used data provided by healthcare data analytics firm Surgisphere.

The Lancet last week issued a correction to the study regarding the location of some patients following criticism of its methodology, but said the conclusions were not changed.

Rohingya refugee becomes first to die of virus

Authorities in Bangladesh have confirmed the first death of a Rohingya refugee from the coronavirus, as infections rise in sprawling camps where more than 1 million Rohingya Muslims have been living since fleeing from neighbouring Myanmar.

The 71-year-old refugee died Saturday at Ukhiya in Cox's Bazar, and samples collected from him tested positive on Monday, said Abu Toha M.R. Bhuiyan, chief health coordinator of the office of the Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner.

The man died in an isolation centre set up by the government and aid agencies where he had been admitted with COVID-19 symptoms a week earlier.

Louise Donovan, a spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency, said at least 29 Rohingya refugees have tested positive for the disease.

MPs criticise chaotic voting scenes as Commons return

Senior Conservative MPs have criticised the government’s decision to make MPs cast their votes in person, amid chaotic scenes in the House of Commons.

Others complained that a kilometre long queue to vote, which was compared to the lines at amusement parks like Alton Towers, was “how infections spread”.

Inside the chamber some MPs struggled to remember the new protocol for casting their vote, as they were urged by the Speaker to hurry up.

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