Coronavirus live news: global deaths near 1m as India passes 6m cases | World news

In the UK, the national chair of the Police Federation John Apter has told the Today programme that officers are struggling to deal with the burden placed upon them by coronavirus.

He says: “I think the expectation from the public and others is just down to policing, well it’s not – it’s down to local authorities and local health trusts and other organisations to help and to try and make sure that regulations are being enforced and complied with.”

“I think the public think we have hundreds and hundreds of officers” in a city centre, he says – whereas in fact “we might only have one or two people in a busy high street at 10pm when hundreds and hundreds of people are coming out onto the street… all you need is a hostile group who turns against those officers and the resources from that town centre are swallowed up.” He says this “happens all the time”.

In Beijing, China, the city government has passed a new law to protect “non-malicious” medical whistleblowers after an ophthalmologist was censured for warning of the risk posed by coronavirus.

AFP reports:

China’s leaders suffered a rare wave of public outrage after ophthalmologist Li Wenliang died of the disease in Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus first emerged late last year.

He had attempted to warn authorities about the new infection but was instead reprimanded for “spreading rumours”.

Other medical whistleblowers in Wuhan later told Chinese media they were punished by government officials for discussing the outbreak without permission from superiors.

The new Beijing law, which came into effect from Friday, states that anyone whose tip-offs are later verified would be rewarded, and suffer no penalties.

But the regulations do not cover anyone “fabricating or deliberately disseminating false information” about developing public health emergencies, according to a government notice on Saturday.

The new legislation is similar to a public health emergency law passed by Shenzhen municipal government in August, which also vows to protect “non-malicious” whistleblowers from legal consequences – the first of its kind in China.

Hi, this is Archie Bland, picking up with thanks to Amy Walker.

While the rest of the UK drinks up and goes home at 10pm, MPs will be able to keep going at parliament’s watering holes – and they won’t even have to provide their details at the bar, Esther Webber of the Times reports.

Webber writes:

Facilities serving alcohol on the parliamentary estate are understood to be exempt from the earlier closing time on the basis that they fall under the description of “a workplace canteen”.

Bar staff and customers in the Palace of Westminster will not be required to follow stricter rules on face coverings introduced for other licensed premises. Nor will visitors to parliamentary bars be asked to supply a name and number on entry, with all responsibility falling to a team that acts as the point of contact for any suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases among MPs and staff on the estate. MPs do not have to register their presence in parliament and are only advised to stay away if they have symptoms.

You can read that story – which seems quite likely to drive people completely mad – here.

Whateley’s comments came as new fines and restrictions came into force across parts of the UK on Monday.

People in England are now legally required to self-isolate if they test positive for Covid-19 or are contacted by the test and trace service. If they do not, they face fines starting at £1,000 and increasing up to £10,000 for repeat offences or breaches.

People who test positive for Covid-19 will also be fined if they knowingly provide false information about close contacts to the test and trace service.

Wedding ceremonies in England will also be restricted to 15 people, while three more council areas in South Wales will go into local lockdown from 6pm on Monday.

The UK government is considering tougher restrictions on socialising in England to tackle an accelerating second wave of coronavirus, a junior health minister has said.

“We don’t want to bring on new restrictions but of course we keep a constant eye on what is going on with the Covid rate,” Junior Health Minister Helen Whately told Sky News on Monday morning.

The known number of coronavirus infections worldwide has passed 33m, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, with 33,078,537 cases currently confirmed.

The death toll has moved closer to 1m and currently stands at 997,737.

The United States has the highest number of cases worldwide, with more than 7m, followed by India, which today passed 6m cases and Brazil, with 4.7m cases.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Ukraine exceeds 200,000 so far with the death toll of 3,996, the country’s security council said on Monday. The number of cases on the Johns Hopkins University tracker stands at 203,799.

Here are the key developments from the last few hours:

• The global death toll is nearing the devastating milestone of 1m. There are currently 996,084 deaths confirmed on the Johns Hopkins University tracker. The true toll is likely already over 1m however, due to differing definitions, time lags and suspected underreporting in some countries.
• India’s confirmed coronavirus tally reached 6 million cases on Monday, keeping the country second to the United States in number of reported cases since the pandemic began. The Health Ministry on Monday reported 82,170 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, driving the overall tally to 60,74,703. At least 1,039 deaths were also recorded in the same period, taking total fatalities up to 95,542 since the pandemic began.
• South Korea confirms lowest cases since 11 August. South Korea on Monday reported 50 new coronavirus cases, the lowest since 11 August, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. Of the new cases, 40 were domestic and 10 imported. The numbers were the lowest since a new wave of outbreaks emerged from a church whose members attended a large political rally in Seoul on 15 August, KDCA data showed.
• Northern England and possibly London facing new lockdown. The UK government is planning to impose a total social lockdown across most of northern England and potentially London, to combat a second coronavirus wave, the Times reports. Under the new lockdown measures being considered, all pubs, restaurants and bars would be ordered to shut for two weeks initially, the report said, citing a senior government source. The report added that households would also be banned indefinitely from meeting each other in any indoor location where they were not already under the order.
• There have been a further 5,693 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK, according to government data, taking the total to 429,277. Government figures show a further 17 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for the virus as of Sunday. This brings the official UK toll to 41,988.
• Travel between New Zealand and some states of Australia is possible before the end of the year, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday. Plans for a travel ‘bubble’ between Australia and New Zealand has been in discussions for months as both nations slowed the spread of the coronavirus, but they were disrupted after a resurgence of Covid-19 in Melbourne, Australia, followed by a second wave of infections in Auckland.With the virus largely contained in New Zealand, and as cases continue to decline in Australian regions, talks of a travel bubble with some states have been revived.
• Greece has recorded its first coronavirus fatality among its large migrant community. Health authorities described the victim as a 61-year-old Afghan man, saying the father-of-two succumbed to Covid-19 in Athens’ Evangelismos hospital after being moved from Malakassa, a refugee camp east of the capital.

Charlotte Graham-McLay for the Guardian:

A man who had been deported to New Zealand from Australia, and who was in isolation at a government-run quarantine hotel, is under investigation by the police after he tied bed sheets together to escape the facility from a fourth-floor window.

All travellers returning to the country – only New Zealanders and their families, plus others with special exemptions are allowed to pass through its borders – must spend two weeks in mandatory isolation, during which they are tested twice for Covid-19.

Suspicion was aroused when security staff at an Auckland quarantine hotel found a number of sheets tied together hanging out of a window on Monday morning, New Zealand government officials said in a news release on Monday evening.

A few minutes after the sheets were found, the man who had fled the room presented himself at the front gate of the hotel. It was not known how long he had been missing from the facility.

He is in police custody, said Air Commodore Darryn Webb. The man had been deported from Australia and had spent 12 days in managed isolation, testing negative for Covid-19 twice.

The deportation of New Zealanders accused of crimes or criminal associations from Australia has been a bone of contention between the two countries. Australia’s deportation programme briefly halted during Covid-19 before resuming in July, with extra security personnel stationed at the facilities where deportees would complete their isolation.

Webb said the health risk to the public from the case was low, adding that of 55,000 people staying in managed isolation, 13 had absconded.

Players preparing for the Australian Open could be allowed to compete while in quarantine after arriving in the country, Tennis Australia (TA) boss Craig Tiley said.

International arrivals to Australia have to isolate for 14 days as part of strict Covid-19 protocols, Reuters reports.

Tiley said in a letter to players that TA was working with local authorities to ensure they would be able to train and prepare for the Australian Open and other local events in the lead-up during their two-week isolation.

“We will continue to keep you updated on any changes, including the possibility of being able to compete during the two-week period,” Tiley wrote.

“Australia is a safe place and the community has done a good job ensuring the infection rate remains very low by wearing masks, physically distancing and practising good hygiene,” Tiley told players.

TA plans to set up “quarantine hubs” across the country for arriving players and give them more opportunities to compete before the Australian Open.

Lead-up events include the men’s team-based ATP Cup and other warm-ups in Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart.

TA is yet to confirm the summer schedule but Tiley urged players to arrive before 14 December to get quarantine done before week one of competition.

India’s confirmed coronavirus tally reached 6 million cases on Monday, keeping the country second to the United States in number of reported cases since the pandemic began, AP reports.

The Health Ministry on Monday reported 82,170 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, driving the overall tally to 60,74,703. At least 1,039 deaths were also recorded in the same period, taking total fatalities up to 95,542 since the pandemic began.

New infections are in India are currently being reported faster than anywhere else in the world. The worlds second-most populous country is expected to become the pandemics worst-hit country in coming weeks, surpassing the US, where more than 7 million infections have been reported.

Even as infections mount, India has the highest number of recovered patients in the world. More than 5 million people have recovered from Covid-19 in India and the country’s recovery rate stands at 82%, according to the Health Ministry.

New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern has poured cold water on the All Blacks’ hopes of avoiding Christmas in quarantine after the Rugby Championship, saying the team would be “uncomfortable” with being given special treatment, Reuters reports.

The All Blacks will need to quarantine for 14 days when they return to New Zealand as part of Covid-19 protocols following their final match of the Rugby Championship on 12 December against Australia in Sydney.

Rugby Australia deny foul play over Rugby Championship scheduleRead more

New Zealand Rugby have complained that tournament organisers backflipped on an agreement that the All Blacks would finish a week earlier. NZR said they were working on solutions to the All Blacks’ dilemma but Ardern offered no government help on Monday:

Australian biotech company Ena Respiratory said on Monday that a nasal spray it is developing to improve the human immune system to fight common cold and flu significantly reduced the growth of the coronavirus in a recent study on animals, Reuters reports.

A study on ferrets showed the product dubbed INNA-051, which could be used complementary to vaccines, lowered the levels of the virus that causes Covid-19 by up to 96%, the company said. The study was led by British government agency Public Health England.

Ena Respiratory said it would be ready to test INNA-051 in human trials in less than four months, subject to successful toxicity studies and regulatory approval.

The company has raised A$11.7 million ($8.24 million) for the development of the spray. Investors include venture capital firm Brandon Capital Ltd, the Australian federal government, pension funds and biotech giant CSL Ltd.

Several companies across the world are in the pursuit of developing a coronavirus vaccine. Australia has entered into agreements with some drug companies investing billions to secure potential vaccines for Covid-19, which has killed over 992,000 people worldwide.

South Korea on Monday reported 50 new coronavirus cases, the lowest since 11 August, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said.

Of the new cases, 40 were domestic and 10 imported. The numbers were the lowest since a new wave of outbreaks emerged from a church whose members attended a large political rally in Seoul on 15 August, KDCA data showed.

Mexico’s top coronavirus official said Sunday that definitive data on the country’s death toll from Covid-19 wont be available for a couple of years, AP reports.

The statement by Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell is likely to revive debate about Mexico’s death toll, currently at 76,430, the fourth-highest in the world.

“When will the final statistics on deaths from Covid-19 be ready? Certainly, a couple of years after the first year of the pandemic,” López-Gatell said, adding that work would be left to the country’s statistics institute.

Officials have acknowledged in the past that the figure is a significant undercount, because it includes only those who died after a positive test result, almost always at a hospital. Mexico does very little testing, and many people die without a test.

But the Mexican government has avoided adjusting its death toll upward to account for people who died at home or weren’t tested.

Some parts of the country like Mexico City have begun conducting their own recalculations, finding excess deaths likely caused by coronavirus were at least double official figures.

Podcast: Did the NHS Covid helpline fail hundreds of families?

Hundreds of people believe the 111 helpline failed their relatives. Now the Guardian’s David Conn reports that they are demanding a full inquiry into the service: