Coronavirus news: More schools abandon plans to reopen next week as rising UK infection rates spark fears of second wave

James Moore: They're lifting lockdown when the science is unsure, but waiting to make face masks compulsory. Is the government really that stupid?

Having spent years watching the British government I thought I’d become immune to its follies, its apparent terminal addiction to entirely avoidable bouts of head scratching stupidity.

Lately, however, I’ve been getting a headache from trying to remember to excise the f-g when I end up shouting out “are they really that f-ing stupid” for the nth time with the kids in earshot.

Take masks, or face coverings, which you’d think would have become as common as t-shirts in hot weather, but are still only donned by a minority when they’re out and about, and a small one at that if an admittedly unscientific survey of my local Tesco is anything to go by.

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Isolated, depressed and alone: Why for LGBT+ Ugandans, coronavirus lockdown has been 'simply torture'

Keem Love Black has spent more than two months indoors in her home in a suburb of Kampala, Uganda’s capital. But while the coronavirus lockdown has been tough for everyone, few have been left more vulnerable and afraid than trans women like her, living with HIV, writes Samuel Okiror.

Black is terrified of being outed as trans if she has to spend too long in close proximity with her neighbours, or as HIV positive if she receives testing for Covid-19. As a commercial sex worker, either outcome could threaten her safety in the conservative East African country where the lockdown has heightened existing stigma, discrimination and violence towards LGBT+ people.

“Being home the whole day, every day is torture,” Black tells The Independent. “I have been exposed to my neighbours. People used to see me on social media but since the lockdown everyone is home.

Nearly a third of companies receiving coronavirus loans have links to tax havens

Nearly a third of companies in receipt of coronavirus loans from the Bank of England have links to tax havens, new research has suggested.

Analysis by TaxWatch, an investigative think tank, claimed 14 out of the 53 businesses which have benefited from help are either based in or substantially owned by a tax haven resident.

They have received more than £5 billion in loans as part of the coronavirus corporate financing facility (CCFF) - a Bank of England scheme designed for some of the biggest companies with credit ratings.

Among recipients of the scheme are British Airways, whose parent company is based in Jersey. It has accessed £300 million of support.

Digger-making JCB, whose parent company is located in the Netherlands, and fashion brand Chanel, whose parent company is based in the Cayman Islands, have both won loans of £600 million.

Press Association

Scottish Labour demands probe into 'shocking' coronavirus infection rate in hospitals

An independent investigation must be launched into the spread of coronavirus in hospitals after it emerged more than 900 patients were infected while in for other treatment, Scottish Labour has demanded.

It emerged that 908 patients caught the disease in non-coronavirus wards, with at least 218 dying since the start of the outbreak.

Scotland's Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has been accused of keeping the true figure a secret “for as long as possible” after stating on Thursday there were only 125 “incidents” of suspected Covid-19 transmission in hospital.

But in response to questions from the Herald, the Scottish Government disclosed a much higher number of infected patients and, later, the number of people believed to have subsequently died with the disease.

Scottish Labour has now called for an independent inquiry into the “absolutely shocking” infection rate and “lack of candour” from the Government.

Press Association

Up to 700,000 rejected for universal credit after coronavirus emergency applications, new figures suggest

Around 700,000 people who applied for universal credit as the coronavirus emergency hit their livelihoods have been turned down, new figures suggest.

One third of applicants for the much-criticised benefit were rejected – a rate that will have “shocked and appalled” those turning to the government to tide them over, a Labour MP says.

However, a minister accused Labour of a “feeble attempt to denigrate universal credit” insisting more people than ever before have received help on time.

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Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, has announced 35 people died in the state of coronavirus on Friday - a record low since the crisis struck.

Bolsonaro condemned for withdrawing public Covid-19 data

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday defended his government's move to partially withhold official data on the scale of the world's second-largest coronavirus outbreak.

Late on Friday, Brazil's health ministry took down a website showing the evolution of the epidemic over time and by state and municipality. The ministry also stopped reporting a total tally of confirmed cases, which have shot past 645,000 - more than anywhere outside the US - and its overall death toll, which just passed Italy with more than 35,000.

“The cumulative data ... does not reflect the moment the country is in,” Bolsonaro said on Twitter, citing a note from the ministry. “Other actions are underway to improve the reporting of cases and confirmation of diagnoses.”

Neither Bolsonaro nor the ministry gave a reason for taking down the covid.saude.gov.br website, which had been a key public resource for tracking the pandemic. The page still appeared with an “under maintenance” notice at noon on Saturday.

The government also drew fire for pushing back the release of its daily tally of diagnoses and deaths, previously available around 5pm but released in recent days near 10pm.

“Transparency of information is a powerful instrument for combating the epidemic,” wrote Paulo Jeronimo de Sousa, head of the Brazilian Press Association, in a note accusing the government of “trying to silence the press at this late hour".

Reuters

Northern Ireland deaths up by one to 537

One more person with coronavirus has died in Northern Ireland, taking the total recorded by the Department of Health to 537.

There have been another 14 confirmed cases of the virus, bringing the total since the outbreak began to 4,790.

Global coronavirus cases top 7 million - Reuters

Global cases of the novel coronavirus topped seven million today, according to data collected by the Reuters news agency. The US has the largest share of infections, with around two million (30 per cent), followed by Brazil, Russia, the UK and India.

Deaths involving Covid-19 are approaching 400,000 worldwide, which is now equal to the number of people who die from malaria in a whole year.

The first death was reported on 10 Jan in Wuhan, China.

Data collected by other agencies, such Johns Hopkins University and the European CDC, put the global number of cases at around 6.8 million.

Sri Lanka to open to tourists on 1 August

The Sri Lanka tourist board has announced that the "successful containement" of coronavirus will allow it to reopen the country to international tourists from 1 August.

Sri Lanka Tourism said in a statement that only online visa applications will be accepted and all tourists must show proof they tested negative for the virus 72 hours before arriving in Sri Lanka.

Visitors also must have a confirmed travel itinerary, a return plane ticket and a travel insurance with health and hospitalisation coverage.

There will be mandatory health screening and testing at the airport. Tourists will be lodged at a nearby hotel pending COVID-19 test results which would be expected within 24 hours.

Sri Lanka has reported 1,810 confirmed cases, including 11 deaths. It closed its airports in March because of the pandemic.