Coronavirus news: UK could be locked out of EU vaccine scheme, as Johnson refuses to apologise for care home comments

Leicester’s rate of new coronavirus cases decreasing since last week, data shows

The latest figures showing local authorities in England with the highest rate of new coronavirus cases, up to the week ending 5 July, have been released by Public Health England.

The data is based on tests which have been carried out in both laboratories (pillar one testing) and in the wider community (pillar two), with figures expressed as the number of new cases per 100,000 population.

Equivalent data for the previous week ending 28 June is included in brackets.

The 10 local authorities with the highest number of cases per 100,000 people are:

1. Leicester 124.7 (Last week's figure: 143.9)

2. Rochdale 33.2 (37.7)

3. Bradford 33.0 (49.1)

4. Kirklees 32.4 (27.6)

5. Oadby & Wigston 29.8 (56.1)

6. Blackburn with Darwen 26.2 (24.2)

7. Blaby 25.9 (18.9)

8. Ashford 24.8 (27.8)

9. Folkestone & Hythe 24.0 (24.0)

10. Rotherham 22.3 (28.0)

Canada handled coronavirus outbreak better than US, Trudeau says

Canada has handled the coronavirus pandemic better than many of its allies so far, including the US, the country’s prime minister has said.

“We were able to control the virus better than many of our allies, particularly including our neighbour,” Justin Trudeau told a briefing on Wednesday, in a rare public comment on the situation across the border.

Canada - with a population one-tenth the size of the US - has so far recorded 8,711 deaths and 106,167 cases.

Meanwhile, the US has recorded more than 3 million cases and 131,336 deaths, with cases sharply rising in recent days in a number of states.

The two countries have blocked nonessential travel between each other since March and are discussing whether to extend the ban when it expires on 21 July.

Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer, said the outbreak was largely under control, while stressing measures such as contact tracing and quarantine would still be essential.

“If we relax too much or too soon, the epidemic will most likely rebound, with explosive growth as a distinct possibility,” he told a separate news conference.

Delhi’s hospitals ‘at edge of being overwhelmed’ as coronavirus cases continue to soar

As coronavirus cases rise in India, Delhi has become one of the country’s worst-affected hotspots, with hospitals struggling under the strain of a wave of new patients.

“We are right on the edge of being overwhelmed,” Dr Sumit Ray, head of critical care at the 350-bed Holy Family Hospital in the city’s southeast, told The Independent.

Our Asia editor, Adam Withnall, has more details below on the situation in the city:

UK could get itself locked out of EU coronavirus vaccine programme after refusing to pay

The UK government could get itself locked out of the EU's coronavirus vaccine programme by refusing to contribute financially, MPs have warned.

The European Scrutiny Committee raised concern over the UK’s insistence that it would not pay increased EU budget contributions for 2020 to fund the scheme.

Our policy editor, Jon Stone, has the full story below: 

France’s new coronavirus cases and deaths higher than average amid second spike fears

Health officials have warned of a possible second wave of coronavirus in France after the numbers of new cases and deaths reported on Wednesday were higher than the daily average seen over the last week.

Confirmed Covid-19 cases were up by 663 on Wednesday, versus 475 on Tuesday and a daily average of 536 over the last seven days. 

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 death toll rose by 32 from the previous day to stand at 29,965. That daily figure is almost twice as high as the daily average of 18 seen over the last seven days. 

Senior health official Jerome Salomon told Le Figaro newspaper that the country “should brace itself for a pick-up of the pandemic, even for a second wave."

Wastewater in Italy

Italy plans to monitor wastewater across the country for a possible early warning about a second wave of coronavirus infections, the National Institute of Health (ISS) has said. 

The project will focus on priority sites, such as tourist resorts, in a first phase starting this month and will be expanded in October with a surveillance network extended to all Italian cities.

Traces of coronavirus have shown up in Italy’s water from December last year - more than a month before the country reported its first cases. 

Here is a report from last month's wastewater study:

Additional reporting by Reuters

Drug approved in Russia

Russia has approved a new antiviral drug, Coronavir, to treat Covid-19 patients, its developer R-Pharm said on Wednesday, as Russia's tally of infections hit 700,000.

It said a clinical trial involving mild or medium-level cases had shown the drug to be highly effective in inhibiting replication of the new coronavirus.

"Coronavir is one of the first drugs in Russia and in the world that does not tackle the complications caused by SARS-CoV-2, but battles the virus itself," the company's statement said.

Reuters

Schools reopening

Teachers need “urgent clarification” over a range of issues for schools to safely reopen in September, a leading union has said.

The NASUWT teachers; union has asked the government for more information, including over how classroom teaching will carry on in the event of staff absences and what extra support will be available to help schools establish a safe return.

Full story below: 

Coronavirus appears to trick body into attacking brain, study finds

Numerous neurological problems, such as tremors, seizures and impared consciousness, have been linked to severe cases of Covid-19 and have confused scientists studying the disease.

Now, a small German study believes it may have uncovered a mechanism by which the virus seems to trick the body into attacking the brain.

It appears that patients' immune systems are producing what are known as autoantibodies that mistakenly target a person's own tissues or organs, researchers reported on medRxiv, in advance of peer review.

“Remarkably, all 11 patients examined in the present study had strong autoantibodies targeting the brain, which are not normally found in cerebrospinal fluid of healthy people,” Dr Christiana Franke, a study co-author from Charité Universitätsmedizin in Berlin, told Reuters. 

The absence of other explanations for the neurological problems suggested these autoantibodies were to blame, she added. 

Dr Franke went on to say researchers were working to learn how the coronavirus triggers production of autoantibodies, whether other organs are similarly attacked by the immune system and whether this also happens as patients are recovering. 

About one million patients had persistent neurological complaints after the 1918 flu pandemic, she noted.

Johnson and WHO chief discuss coronavirus and future health threats

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has said he spoke to Boris Johnson today about international cooperation during the coronavirus pandemic and preparations for future global health threats.

A statement from Downing Street said Dr Tedros and the prime minister discussed the UK’s commitment to WHO and the country’s role during the pandemic.

“Dr Tedros outlined progress on the independent international review into the coronavirus outbreak,” it said.

“They agreed it was essential to understand why the outbreak happened and why it wasn’t prevented from spreading – in order to learn lessons that will help to avoid future pandemics.

“The prime minister underlined the importance of international cooperation in the fight against coronavirus - particularly in areas such as global health and trade.”