Coronavirus news: Boris Johnson ‘blind’ to risk of lifting lockdown as more cities being monitored for spikes ahead of ‘Super Saturday’

Bradford says it is not following Leicester, despite coronavirus case numbers

Bradford has said it is "working hard" to prevent another lockdown and Barnsley has stressed new restrictions are not needed, as figures revealed they have the highest Covid-19 rates in England after Leicester.

The latest data shows Bradford has 69.4 cases per 100,000 population, the second highest in England behind Leicester with 140.2.

Bradford council leader Susan Hinchcliffe said: "We know that figures from Public Health England show Bradford with a high number of infections along with a number of other northern authorities, although we are some way behind Leicester.

"The number of people testing positive for the virus is still too high and we continue to work hard with all our partners to prevent infection spreading as no one wants a second lockdown.

"As we take more and more steps towards returning to a more normal life, it's easy to believe that Covid-19 is less of a threat to our health and the health of our family and friends.

"This is simply not the case.

"We urge all residents to continue to follow the guidelines around staying at home as much as possible, social distancing, washing hands frequently and ensuring that they self-isolate and get tested if they, or anyone in their household, develop any symptoms."

UK 'has adequate stocks' of Covid-19 drug

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer, told the Science and Technology Committee there are enough doses of remdesivir for use in the UK.

He said: "Right now, there are stocks in the UK - and I judge us to have adequate stocks - of pre-licenced, as in unlicensed, clinical trial stocks of remdesivir which are available to be used through the emergency access protocol."

No10 casts doubt on future of PHE

Downing Street has put a major question mark over the future of Public Health England, telling reporters that institutional changes could be introduced to “further strengthen our public health capabilities”.

Doubts over the agency’s future were raised when Boris Johnson complained in a major speech on Tuesday about the “sluggish” response of some parts of government to the coronavirus crisis.

Over 1,000 people caught coronavirus in Scotland's hospitals

More than 1,000 patients have contracted coronavirus inside Scotland's hospitals in just over three months, figures show.

Data published by Public Health Scotland shows there were 1,036 cases between 24 February and 1 June described as being "definite hospital onset" - where a patient tested positive 15 days or more after being admitted to hospital.

A further 265 cases were classed as being "probably hospital onset" - with a positive test for virus coming eight to 14 days after someone was admitted.

Scotland has reported a total of 2,486 deaths and 18,259 confirmed cases since the start of the outbreak.

Coronavirus bounceback 'could be shortlived', says IMF expert

One of the world's top economists has cast doubt on the Bank of England's optimistic forecast of a 'V-shaped' recovery from the coronavirus recession.

Gita Gopinath, the chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said that it was difficult to say what the hoped-for bounceback from the economic devastation of coronavirus would look like.

"My fear is that at the beginning of the recovery... we would see a spike initially and then going forward I think we could end up with a much more flat (recovery)," she told MPs on the Treasury Select Committee on Wednesday.

"It's a little too early at this point, to project what the rest of that path would look like."

Bank of England economist Andy Haldane said yesterday that the evidence suggested the recovery had begun sooner and faster than expected, adding: "So far, so V".

90 soldiers test positive for coronavirus at US Army base

The US Army has quarantined 90 soldiers and instructors who tested positive for the coronavirus during a survival course at Fort Bragg.

A total of 110 people participated in the course, which was cut short after a single soldier tested positive.

Subsequent tests then showed that 82 students and 8 instructors had Covid-19, Army spokeswoman Janice Burton told The Associated Press.

Now all 110 are quarantined, although the 20 people who did not test positive were separated from the rest, she said.

Their course, called Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape, is naturally isolated from Fort Bragg's other special warfare courses, the Army said.

"The health and wellness of our students and staff is our top priority," said Maj. Gen. Patrick Roberson. "We will do everything we can to protect our students and their families."

'Locking down doesn't work,' says Texas official as cases surge

Ryanair to begin flights to Cardiff despite Wales lockdown guidance

Ryanair has confirmed that flights to and from Cardiff Airport will go ahead from Friday despite a plea to postpone them until Wales ends its five-mile travel limit guidance.

Confirming the news, a spokeswoman for the airline said: "We are operating normally on 3rd and 4th July with hundreds of Welsh people travelling home from countries with lower 'R rates' than the UK."

Transport minister Ken Skates told a press conference in Cardiff the Welsh Government would "prefer" to see the flights postponed until after the planned ending of the country's "stay local" guidance on travel on 6 July.

He said: "We look forward to seeing Cardiff Airport and Ryanair strengthen their relationship to resume more flights. But at this moment in time everybody needs to be continuing to contribute to the national effort, and it is for individuals to take responsibility.

"We know that a huge proportion of the tickets sold for these flights were sold up to 12 months ago. We don't know how many passengers will actually turn up at the airport.

"We've seen during the course of the pandemic a vast proportion of people who have pre-booked not arriving for their flights. I expect that to be the same for these flights."

Anti-vaccine protest targets Covid-19 trial in South Africa

Anti-vaccine protesters took to the streets in Johannesburg on Wednesday to voice their concern over Africa's first human trials for a potential coronavirus vaccine.

Last Wednesday, the University of the Witwatersrand in partnership with Oxford University rolled out South Africa's first clinical trial, which will consist of 2,000 volunteers.

The involvement of South Africa in vaccine trials is intended to ensure the continent will have access to an affordable vaccine and not be left at the back of the queue.

About 50 people held protests at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, saying they did not want Africans to be used as guinea pigs, reflecting concerns among some on the continent over testing drugs on people who do not understand the risks.

"I'm not happy at all! I mean this feels like the 1980s all over again when the AIDS pandemic just broke out in South Africa," said 29-year-old graphic designer Tebogo Legoale.

Some of the placards carried by demonstrators read: "We are not guinea pigs."

(EPA)

Uproar over 'inhuman' treatment of coronavirus dead in India

Footage of Indian health officials throwing the bodies of coronavirus victims into a large pit has drawn harsh criticism and outrage over “inhuman” handling of the deceased.

The video, which showed workers clad head-to-toe in PPE gear tossing body bags into deep pits, was filmed in the district of Ballari, in Karnataka state.