Coronavirus news: First UK local lockdown imposed in Leicester as WHO chief warns pandemic ‘not even close to being over’

I’m in lockdown in Leicester – and, for me, this coronavirus summer is about to get a lot worse

Sitting here writing this in my home town of Leicester, where I have been weathering the coronavirus storm from the start, I admit to very mixed feelings. For a start, it’s a bit embarrassing to be in the first place in the UK to be faced with a local lockdown due to rising Covid-19 rates, writes Sean O'Grady

What did the people of the city do to deserve it? Where were the riots? The mass parties? The widespread flouting of rules? There were none – and Leicester is about as far away from a beach as anywhere. The outbreak might have something to do with a sandwich factory, but no one really knows.

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Queues form outside shops as Scotland lifts lockdown restrictions

Customers queued outside shops in Scotland as non-essential retailers opened their doors for the first time in three months as part of its latest easing of the country's lockdown.

Shops with on-street entrances were allowed to return to business from Monday, while indoor retailers in shopping centres will have to wait until 13 July to open.

Images show hundreds of people outside Primark stores in Glasgow and Edinburgh, with the police watching the socially distanced crowds.

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Mortgage approvals fall 90 per cent to record low in May

Mortgage approvals slumped to a record low in May as the housing market failed to recover from an enforced shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Lenders approved just 9,300 mortgages for home purchases in May, down 90 per cent on February’s total and just a third of the trough experienced after the financial crash in 2008.

Approvals for remortgages with a different lender dropped to 30,400 in May, down 42 per cent on February’s total, Bank of England figures show.

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US sees spike in fake mask exemption cards claiming to be from the ‘freedom to breathe agency’

Cards for sale that claim to exempt people from wearing masks during the coronavirus pandemic are fraudulent, federal officials said.

The cards — featuring a red, white and blue eagle logo and approximately the size of a business card — say the bearer is exempt from ordinances requiring them to wear masks in public.

“Wearing a face mask posses (sic) a mental and/or physical risk to me. Under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), I am not required to disclose my condition to you,” reads the card, which misspells “poses” and incorrectly names the Americans with Disabilities Act.

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Leicester MP says local lockdown there is necessary

The Labour MP for Leicester East, Claudia Webbe, has said she believes a local lockdown is necessary for her constituency where 866 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the past two weeks.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, she said: “There are significant worries and significant problems in terms of inequalities and high levels of poverty that I'm concerned about.

“That is the context in which this Covid-19 is operating in. So I'm very concerned, and I really do believe that where the data allows we need to ensure that we engage in processes to protect lives, and I think we need to go into therefore more localised lockdown to protect lives and ensure that we can address this virus.

“The government hasn't reassured us. Thus far, the messages and the communication from the government have been unclear, and it has been difficult, and I really don't understand what communities are meant to follow.”

Press Asssociation

Downing St cannot say how many test results returned within 24 hours - despite promises

Downing Street cannot say how many coronavirus test results are coming back within 24 hours – one day before Boris Johnson’s deadline for all to be returned that quickly.

The prime minister vowed that all tests in hospitals and drive-through centres would be processed within a day by the end of June, after criticism that delays are undermining the test-and-trace system.

But, asked if the target would be met, his spokesman said only: “That is what we are working to do” – suggesting no figures on the progress made so far were available.

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Nigella Lawson expresses anxiety about coming out of isolation

Nigella Lawson has expressed her anxiety over emerging from lockdown as restrictions continue to be lifted, explaining that she feels there is no room for the “psychological clutter of other people”.

On 23 June, the prime minister announced an update on the easing of lockdown measures in England.

As part of the new updates, which will come into force from 4 July, up to two households are allowed to socialise indoors together as long as social distancing guidelines are followed.

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Starmer accuses government of being 'asleep at the wheel' over schools reopening

Sir Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson’s government of being “asleep at the wheel” over the reopening of schools in England insisting there had been a “total lack” of planning.

The Labour leader’s remarks follow the U-turn by Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, earlier this month – dropping government plans to return all primary pupils to school before the six-week summer holidays.

Speaking to Sky News, Sir Keir said: “From the day the schools were shut down, it was obvious what needed to happen to get them back open again. You needed a risk assessment, and you needed to look at the space. I've talked to loads of headteachers, and the points they have made to me were obvious and practical and could have been overcome.“

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Puerto Rico extends coronavirus curfew

Puerto Rico's governor has extended a coronavirus curfew for three more weeks, marking the longest such curfew in any U.S. jurisdiction even as she authorised the re-openings of certain businesses and government agencies.

Everyone except nonessential workers has to stay indoors from 10pm to 5am until 22 July. In addition, face masks remain mandatory, and those who disobey will be fined.

The initial curfew began in mid-March, and Governor Wanda Vazquez warned Sunday that stricter measures could return if she sees a spike in cases, with several small outbreaks already reported in some towns that health officials blame on those visiting or returning from the US mainland.

“Our priority is to keep our island healthy,” Ms Vazquez said.

The island of 3.2 million people has reported at least 153 Covid-19 deaths, along with more than 1,630 confirmed cases and more than 5,600 probable cases.

Associated Press

Kazakhstan prepares to go back into lockdown

Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered his government on Monday to prepare a package of coronavirus restrictions similar to the hard lockdown that the Central Asian nation imposed in March-May after a recent sharp rise in infections.

Tokayev gave his cabinet two days to draft the new measures and scolded senior officials, formally reprimanding a few, for botching the reopening and allowing the outbreak to resurge in the country of 19 million.

“In foreign observers' opinion, the situation in Kazakhstan is critical, on the brink of spiralling out of control,” he said, adding that the government was considering several lockdown options and ways to support the economy.

Tokayev ordered officials to boost the number of available hospital beds by 50% within a month, deploy mobile laboratories to make tests more widely available and prepare for a long-term pandemic.

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases has skyrocketed to almost 38,000 from about 5,000 at the time the former Soviet republic started lifting the nationwide lockdown in mid-May. Deaths have surged to 183 from 32 over the same period.

Reuters