Coronavirus latest news: Oxford vaccine could be released in December as deaths hit 45,312 – LIVE updates
A CORONAVIRUS vaccine developed by Oxford University can trigger an immune reaction, findings of the first phases of a study suggest.
Trials showed the jab led to people making antibodies and white blood cells that can fight coronavirus.
Scientists first began testing the vaccine in April in about 1,000 people, half of whom got the experimental vaccine.
Such early trials are usually designed only to evaluate safety, but in this case experts were also looking to see what kind of immune response was provoked.
The findings on the Oxford vaccine trial were published in medical journal, The Lancet.
Boris Johnson congratulated the team, tweeting: "A huge well done to our brilliant, world-leading scientists & researchers at Uni of Oxford."
The Department of Health and Social Care has also described the latest results as a "major breakthrough" and said the trial represented "a positive step towards a coronavirus vaccine."
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the news as "very encouraging" and the Government had ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine ready to use if it ultimately proves to be successful.
Follow all the latest coronavirus news and updates below…
CORONAVIRUS 6AM SUMMARY
– NEW TREATMENT COULD REDUCE COVID-19 DEATHS A drug treatment from a UK biotech company was shown to greatly reduce mortality and promote recovery among hospitalised Covid-19 patients. Though promising, it is not yet peer-reviewed
– UK HOUSEHOLDS FEELING ECONOMIC LOSSES The average UK household lost more monthly income since the pandemic began than at any other period since the oil crisis nearly 50 years ago
– US TEACHERS SUE TO STOP SCHOOLS REOPENING Schoolteachers in Florida are suing to block an emergency order that would require all school districts to reopen for in-person classes at least five days per week
– CORONAVIRUS CASES RISE AGAIN IN JAPAN After a brief drop, new daily cases in Tokyo are expected to surge past 200 on Tuesday
– COLOMBIAN DOCTORS URGE TOTAL LOCKDOWN Overwhelmed by new cases, especially in Bogota's poorest areas, medical workers are calling for a total two-week lockdown
– £1m PUBLIC SECTOR HEROES TO GET PAY RISES Teachers will see the greatest increase, followed by doctors, nurses and police officers
COLOMBIAN MEDICAL WORKERS CALL FOR TOTAL LOCKDOWN AS NEW CORONAVIRUS CASES SURGE
Bogota is in the midst of what experts believe to be the height of its coronavirus crisis, and doctors are calling on authorities to impose a strict city-wide lockdown for at least two weeks.
More than 190,000 cases have been reported across the country, with low-income neighborhoods around Bogota being hit the hardest.
Now, some areas are facing rolling lockdowns, according to Al Jazeera.
Nearly one-third of Bogota's 8million residents are being restricted for two weeks at a time.
Businesses that had reopened in recent weeks have been forced to close back down as hospitals are overwhelmed by new cases.
“We know that various hospitals in the south of the city are already facing the dilemma of who to save, who gets a ventilator and who doesn't,” Herman Bayona of the Bogota College of Medicine told Al Jazeera.
“A partial lockdown will not be enough to stop the speed of the spread.”
AFTER BRIEF DROP, CORONAVIRUS CASES RISE IN JAPAN
Tokyo is on track to report approximately 230 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, according to Japanese news site The Mainichi.
That number is up from 168 on Monday, and will once again take Tokyo's single-day cases over the 200 mark, after a three-day period when cases appeared to drop.
Gov. Yuriko Koike told media that the figures were still being checked, but are expected to be confirmed at between 200 and 230, according to The Guardian.
NEW 'BREAKTHROUGH' TREATMENT COULD REDUCE CORONAVIRUS DEATHS
A new aerosol-based drug has the potential to significantly improve outcomes for patients with serious cases of Covid-19.
The drug treatment comes from UK biotech firm Synairgen and is known as known as SNG001.
In a new randomised trial of 100 patients hospitalised for Covid-19, patients who received the treatment were subsequently found to have a 79% lower risk of severe complications compared to patients who received a placebo.
Additionally, patience who were dosed with SNG001 were more than twice as likely to make a full recovery.
The results have not yet been peer-reviewed, and would need to be replicable in bigger trials.
However, the treatment appears promising.
“We are all delighted with the trial results announced [on Monday], which showed that SNG001 greatly reduced the number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients who progressed from requiring oxygen to requiring ventilation,” Richard Marsden, CEO of Synairgen, said according to Al Jazeera.
CORONAVIRUS DEALS UK HOUSEHOLDS BIGGEST FINANCIAL BLOW IN NEARLY 50 YEARS
British households are facing their biggest economic crisis since the mid-1970s, with the coronavirus pandemic bringing the average home a 4.5% drop in income in the month of May.
It's the largest recorded drop since 1975, when the UK was in the throes of inflation brought on by the 1973 oil crisis.
By comparison, average household income fell by 2.7% after the 2008 financial crisis.
The data comes from think tank Resolution Foundation.
“The government’s unprecedented policy response has played a critical role so far in protecting millions of households, and particularly the poorest, from the worst of the crisis,” Adam Corlett, a senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said according to The Guardian.
“But for many the threat of further income falls looms large.”
US TEACHERS SUE STATE OF FLORIDA OVER ORDER TO REOPEN SCHOOLS
Florida schoolteachers are suing their state to fight an emergency order requiring schools to open for in-person classes.
The emergency order states that all school districts “must open brick and mortar schools at least five days a week for all students.”
It was issued earlier this month by Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran.
While the decision to reopen ultimately rests with local school boards, teachers believe that their schools' funding will depend on whether their districts abide by the order.
The Florida Education Association, along with Florida-based teachers and parents, filed a lawsuit claiming that the Department of Education order goes against public health guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding coronavirus safety.
Other plaintiffs named in the lawsuit besides Corcoran include the Florida Board of Education, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez.
£1m PUBLIC SECTOR HEROES TO GET PAY RISES
Almost one million public-sector workers are to be given a pay rise as a thank you for the hard work they have done during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Teachers will receive the highest increase of 3.1%, with doctors and nurses given rises of 2.8%.
Police will be given a 2.5% increase and the armed forces will see a 2% rise.
The crisis highlighted that the most valuable jobs during the pandemic were also some of the lowest paid.
FACEBOOK URGED TO REMOVE LOCKDOWN RAVE PAGES
Police have called on Facebook to remove groups organising illegal raves on its websites after a large number of gatherings took place last weekend.
More than 3,000 revellers attended an illegal rave at a former RAF airfield in Bath on Saturday night, while parties were also held in Essex, Hackney and Notting Hill.
With nightclubs still shut and festivals cancelled this year due to coronavirus, partygoers are instead turning to underground events.
Facebook hosts a number of “rave networks” and “free party” groups, connecting users and allowing them to share the location of the illegal raves.
On the “London Rave info” Facebook group, members asking where there was a party over the weekend were told they would be sent a private message.
Ravers are often then given the location at the last minute via private WhatsApp or
SnapChat groups to prevent the event being shut down.
CRUISE SHIP FIRM CMV PLUNGES INTO ADMINISTRATION AFTER PANDEMIC
UK firm Cruise and Maritime Voyages has been placed into administration after a period of crisis caused by the coronavirus.
The company – which reportedly employs about 4,000 people – was said to be in last-minute rescue financing talks last week.
But this evening administrators Duff & Phelps announced the Essex-based cruise line CMV had “ceased trading with immediate effect”.
This includes its sales offices in Australia, France, Germany and the US.
All future bookings have been cancelled.
COVID-19 PATIENT LOSES MORE THAN HALF OF HER HAIR
Coronavirus survivors are suffering severe hair loss as a result of the illness.
Mum-of-one Grace Dudley, 30, who battled Covid-19 in March, fears she will go bald and be forced to wear a wig for life after losing more than half of her hair.
The make-up artist, from Romford, Essex, spent 10 days in intensive care after contracting Covid-19 from her father.
She suffered a “fizzy feeling” under her skin and a serious fever but eventually beat the virus.
More than a month after being discharged Grace noticed large clumps of her hair falling out.
She told FEMAIL: “I woke up and noticed it was on my pillow and thought, ‘that's not good’.
“Every time I brushed my hair it was falling out and it's still happening.
“I’ve lost about 55 per cent of my hair and every day I’m losing more.”
WHITE VAN MAN FACES £200 TAX BOMBSHELL
White Van Man faces a £200 tax bombshell to pay for the coronavirus crisis, alarming research has found.
That is the average tax hike that self-employed workers will have to pay if Rishi Sunak goes ahead with his plan to hike National Insurance contributions (NICs) for solo workers.
He signalled that he would bring Class 4 NICs that the self-employed pay – currently 9 per cent of their income – in line with the 12 per cent rate that employees pay.
Mr Sunak suggested that was the price they would have to pay for receiving ‘parity of support’ with the furlough scheme for employees during the coronavirus crisis.
It would break the Tory election manifesto not to raise income tax, VAT or National Insurance.
Former Chancellor Philip Hammond was forced into a humiliating U-turn over a similar plan to hike NICs in 2017 after The Sun exposed the raid on White Van Man.
Announcing the £9 billion bailout for the self-employed on March 26, Mr Sunak said: “It is harder to sustain the argument that if you are employed you are paid a higher rate of tax and are treated differently.”
The Treasury has refused to rule out raising the levy for the self-employed since those remarks.
SCIENTISTS HOPE FOR JAB BY CHRISTMAS
UK scientists announced two breakthroughs in the war on Covid-19 — raising hopes of a vaccine before Christmas.
Early trials of an Oxford University vaccine called ChAdOx1 show it is safe and triggers a strong immune response.
And a new anti-viral drug may cut the risk of death or serious illness in Covid patients by 79 per cent.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said our scientists “played a blinder.”
The data from research involving more than 1,000 healthy volunteers shows a vaccine developed at Oxford University is safe and triggers a strong immune response.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, said the trial result announcement was a “great day for British science.”
He is now increasingly hopeful a vaccine will be available “this side of Christmas.”
Kate Bingham, of the UK’s Vaccine Taskforce, added: “Optimistically, we’ll be vaccinating by the end of the year.”
TRUMP SAYS WEARING FACE MASKS IS 'PATRIOTIC'
President Donald Trump has shared a photo of himself wearing a face mask, saying it's “patriotic” to cover up when you can’t socially distance.
The tweet, Trump's strongest endorsement yet for face coverings, marks the first time the president has tweeted a picture of himself with a mask.
His tweet reads: “We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance.”
He continued: “There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!”
The President's tweet came after his announcement that he would resume daily coronavirus briefings at the White House.
Trump had not worn a face mask in public until his visit to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on July 11.
CUSTOMERS IN CARLISLE PUB URGED TO GET TESTED
Punters in Cumbria are being urged to get tested for coronavirus after contact tracers discovered a link between cases at three spots.
Cumbria County council is appealing for people who drank at three pubs in Carlisle on certain dates to be tested.
This comes after a “small but concerning rise” in the area.
People who drank at either Lloyds Bar on July 11, The Museum on July 13 and The Turf on July 9, 10 or 13 are advised to get tested as a precaution.
AUDIENCES COULD BE SPRAYED WITH DISINFECTANT AT THEATRES AND GIGS
Audience members could be sprayed with disinfectant as they enter theatres and gigs under plans to reopen the industry later this year, The Sun can reveal.
The Government has given the go-ahead for trials of the anti-bacterial spray among a raft of measures being considered for bringing back performances in a Covid-secure way.
Theatre-goers would be asked to walk under large metal detector-style arches which would spray a light mist of disinfectant as they walk underneath.
It would be used alongside other measures such as temperature checks.
Plans for disinfectant spray have been pioneered by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who showed the disinfectant arches to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden earlier this month.
It has been used in South Korea’s capital Seoul and in cities in China as part of efforts to get theatres and cinemas reopened following the pandemic.
Some live performances at venues across the UK will be able to start as early as August 1 but will have to conform to strict social distancing rules.
Only a limited number of venues and performances will be able to go ahead next month due to reduced capacity and limited ticket sales to ensure social distancing.
Actors, musicians and conductors will all have to follow social distancing too.
HEREFORDSHIRE FARM HAS OVER 100 CASES OF CORONAVIRUS
A mass outbreak of Covid-19 on a farm has now caused over 100 confirmed cases.
Around 200 employees at Green and Co vegetable producers are quarantined in mobile homes at the farm in Mathon, Herefordshire.
Last week there were 74 confirmed cases, which has now shot to 120.
ORGY GUESTS TESTED FOR COVID-19
Guests invited to a high-end sex party were requested to take a Covid-19 test by organisers.
Only negative guests will be able to take part in the millionaires' orgy planned for this Sunday at a private villa in Comporta, an hour from Lisbon.
More than 40 people have signed up for the party at the private suite of the rental property which is set to cost up to £2,700 per couple.
SOME BRITS CAN HAVE A FACE MASK EXEMPTION CARD
The government announced that from July 24 people entering shops will have to wear a face covering.
Customers who do not wear one will face a £100 fine, but it could be cut to £50 if they pay within a fortnight.
Also, it has been compulsory for travellers to wear a mask on public transport since June 15, 2020.
But Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “There will be exceptions to these rules for very young children, disabled people and those with breathing difficulties.”
According to the official Government guidance, the following groups are not required to wear a
face-covering while using public transport or in a shop:
- A child under the age of 11
- An employee of the transport operator, when they are acting in the course of their employment
- Any other person providing services to the transport operator, under arrangements made with the transport operator, who is providing those services
- A constable or police community support officer acting in the course of their duty
- An emergency responder such as a paramedic or fire officer acting in the course of their duty
- An official, for example, a border force officer, acting in the course of their duties
- If you are allocated a cabin, berth or other similar accommodation, at any time when you are in that accommodation, either alone, or only with members of your own household or a linked household
- If you are on board public transport but remain in your private vehicle, for example on a car ferry
TURKEY WARNING AS HOTELS 'FAIL CORONAVIRUS SAFETY GUIDELINES'
Turkey hotels have been caught ignoring safety guidelines and social distancing despite promises of “safe tourism” certificates.
In a bid to encourage tourists to return, hotels and resorts have been signing up to the scheme backed by the government which proves they are following 132 safety measures set out.
Any hotel with more than 50 rooms must prove they have followed the guidelines to be able to open, with health inspections proving additional cleaning, social distancing and new safety procedures are in place.
However, an investigation by The Times has found many hotels are still failing to follow the new rules.
A five-star hotel which was certified to be following the safe tourism plans failed to enforce social distancing with a busy bar and restaurant despite still not being at full capacity.
Guests were also not wearing masks, with staff being forced to wear them while serving, while other hotels still had shared implements including food tongs at food service stations.
Masks were rarely spotted while in popular tourist areas such as the beach and resorts, or those that did wear them, having them on without covering the mouth or nose.
MOUTH RASH COULD BE SYMPTOM
A new study published by JAMA Dermotology suggests that a rash inside the mouth could be a new symptom of COVID-19.
Doctors in Spain examined the mouths of 21 coronavirus patients who had rashes on their skin to see if they had enanthem or a rash inside the body on the mucous membrane.
On average it took around 12 days for the patients to develop a rash on their mucous membrane after they showed known COVID-19 symptoms.
Patients at Roman y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid, Spain, were diagnosed with the coronavirus and had dermatology appointments between March 30 and April 8, 2020.
Researchers found six (29 percent) of the patients had some form of enanthem in their mouths.
These patients were between 40 and 69 and four (66 percent) were women.
DISNEY WORLD BANS EATING AND DRINKING WHILE WALKING
Disney World has banned guests from eating and drinking while walking around the park after people were using the loophole to avoid wearing face masks.
Less than 10 days after reopening, the theme park has updated its face mask policy which now explicitly warns people to stay in place and away from others if they remove their mask to eat.
The policy explains: “Please bring your own face coverings and wear them at all times, except when dining or swimming.”
It has since been updated to warn: “You may remove your face covering while actively eating or drinking, but you should be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distancing.”
Disney Parks blog Walt Disney World News Today asked a Disney cast member at the Epcot park about the new rule this weekend and was told “guests are now being asked to find a safe spot six feet from other guests before removing their masks to eat and drink.”
If guests do not wear a face mask, the blog reported, they will be asked to put one on or leave.
CHINA ACCUSED OF USING UIGHUR SLAVES TO MAKE FACE MASKS
China is said to be using “Uighur slaves in hellish camps to make coronavirus face masks to export around the world”, a report has claimed.
Some companies in China are using a government-sponsored programme that experts claims often puts people to work against their will in order to meet demand for PPE.
Uighurs, mainly from the Xinjiang region of northwest China, are a largely Muslim ethnic minority.
The programme sends Uighurs, along with other ethnic minorities, into factory and service jobs.
Only four companies in Xinjiang produced medical grade protective equipment before the pandemic, according to China’s National Medical Products Administration.
But as of June 30, that number had increased to 51.
At least 17 of those companies were found to be participating in the labour transfer programme, according to the New York Times.
The companies mainly produce equipment for domestic use but the paper identified several other companies outside Xinjiang that use Uighur labour and export around the world.
The Times traced a shipment of coronavirus face masks to a medical supply company in Georgia, US, from a factory in China’s Hubei Province, where more than 100 Uighur workers had been sent.
Workers there are required to learn Mandarin and pledge loyalty to China during weekly flag-raising ceremonies.
The Chinese state says the programme is a form of poverty reduction.
CHOLESTEROL DRUG COULD REDUCE COVID-19 SYMPTOMS
A drug used to lower cholesterol could reduce coronavirus symptoms to the level of a common cold, a study claims.
Doctors found fenofibrate, which has been on the market for decades, significantly downgrades the severity of Covid-19 and could almost completely eliminate it in less than a week.
Scientists studying the drug discovered coronavirus prevents the routine burning of carbohydrates.
This results in fat build-up inside lung cells – something the virus needs to reproduce.
So depriving the virus of these conditions could mean it is better controlled – and reduce symptoms to those of an ordinary cold.
Professor Yaakov Nahmias and Dr Benjamin tenOever screened various medications that interfere with the virus' ability to reproduce.
They found the cholesterol-loweing drug fenofibrate, sold under the name Tricor, showed very promising results.
BOOZY BRITS REFUSING TO SOCIAL DISTANCE BLAMED FOR OUTBREAKS
Nightclubs and illegal raves in Spain which are popular partying British holidaymakers are being blamed for a Covid-19 spike in the country.
Health bosses fear revellers ignoring social distancing are behind a driving a coronavirus outbreak as bars and nightspots are shut — and tourists fined for not wearing masks.
Fresh fears of a second wave are growing in the country which experienced one of Europe's worst outbreaks, with a total of 28,420 killed by the bug.
Recent outbreaks have been traced to a beach in Barcelona, a Red Cross centre in Malaga and an Iberia Express flight from Madrid to Vigo.
The country has also seen a concerning rise in weekly infections with 5,695 cases recorded this week – a sharp increase on last week’s figure of 2,944.
And new clusters of infections are partly blamed on nightclubs and bars which are popular with Brits.
Fernando Simón, the director of the Health Ministry’s Covid-19 team, told El Pais nightspots “could involve people from multiple places that cause a diffuse transmission everywhere that they have been”.
UK CORONAVIRUS DEATH TOLL RISES BY 11 – IN JOINT LOWEST DAILY JUMP
The UK coronavirus death toll today rose by 11 – in a joint lowest daily jump since lockdown.
The last time the daily death figure was this low was on July 13 and before that was on March 13 when one further death was recorded.
A total of 295,372 people have now tested positive for Covid-19 across Britain – up 580 cases from yesterday.
Today's death toll refers to those who have died in all settings – including care homes, hospices and the wider community.
The latest rise in deaths confirmed by the Department of Health is lower than it was yesterday, when 27 more deaths were logged.
Reporting figures from the weekend are typically lower than during the week, but today's figures are some of the lowest since lockdown began in March.
The last time the daily rise went below 11 was on March 13 when one coronavirus death was recorded.
In England, the total number of Covid-19 deaths rose to 29,187 today – up six from yesterday.
NHS England confirmed the patients were aged between 78 and 98 years old and all had known underlying health conditions.
No new deaths were announced in Scotland, leaving the deadly toll there at 2,491.
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