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Coronavirus updates LIVE: Scott Morrison says COVIDSafe downloads, social distancing must continue before wind-back of COVID-19 restrictions, Australian death toll stands at 93 - The Sydney Morning Herald

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Summary

  • The global death toll from coronavirus has passed 237,000. There are more than 3.3 million known cases of infection but more than 1 million people have recovered, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally
  • In Australia, the death toll stands at 93 and there are 6767 confirmed cases
  • Prime Minister Scott Morrison says more Australians need to download the COVIDSafe app if they want an early mark on easing restrictions
  • India's lockdown has been extended by another fortnight
  • The European Commission has backed Australia's push for an inquiry into COVID-19

Wuhan lab intelligence 'an estimate': White House

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany has described intelligence as an "estimate" after defending Donald Trump's suggestion that he had seen information suggesting coronavirus came from a lab in Wuhan.

Trump made the remarks during his news conference on Thursday night but did not provide any evidence to support his claim.

US intelligence agencies say the virus is not man-made but are not ruling out it emanating from the Wuhan Institute of Virology - possibly by accident.

Asked at her first briefing since taking on the job, McEnany said Trump's comments were not at odds with the agencies assessment.

"No-one is pressing the intelligence community to come to a determination," she said.

"It's in perfect concert with what the President said.

"Intelligence is just an estimate essentially and it's up to policymakers to decide what to do with that intelligence."

McEnany also hit out at the World Health Organisation for what she said was its China-bias, saying they put "political correctness first" in criticising travel bans implemented by countries including the US and Australia.

'World had enough time to intervene': WHO boss

Back to the World Health Organisation news conference in Geneva, and Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has defended waiting until January 30 to declare a public health emergency.

WHO is under intense criticism over the timing of its warnings to the public, with critics including US President Donald Trump accusing the UN agency of aiding China's initial cover-up of the pandemic.

WHO's China representative has revealed officials observed that medics treating coronavirus patients had become infected - a sign of human-to-human transmission - on January 20 and January 21.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaking in Geneva.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaking in Geneva.Credit:AP

But Dr Tedros said when WHO's emergency committee met on January 22 and January 23 it was divided on whether to declare an emergency and asked for more information. At this time, there were just four cases abroad.

Tedros said he then travelled to Beijing, at personal risk and against warnings not to travel to the host country of the outbreak to meet the Chinese leadership.

He said by January 30, WHO's emergency committee recommended an emergency be declared.

"The number of cases we had outside China was only 82 cases and there was no deaths, meaning the world had enough time to intervene," he said.

"To declare a global emergency in that situation, I think, it says it all, it says it all."

Trump has halted funding for WHO but Tedros said the organisation is still working closely with the US and other countries that have expressed criticisms.

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Thousands of deaths leads to morgue chaos in Brazil

A grim story from Brazil:

In Brazil's bustling Amazon city of Manaus, so many people have died within days in the coronavirus pandemic that coffins had to be stacked on top of each other in long, hastily dug trenches in a city cemetery. Some despairing relatives reluctantly chose cremation for loved ones to avoid burying them in those common graves.

Now, with Brazil emerging as Latin America's coronavirus epicentre with more than 5900 deaths, even the coffins are running out in Manaus. The national funeral home association has pleaded for an urgent airlift of coffins from Sao Paulo, 2700 kilometres away, because Manaus has no paved roads connecting it to the rest of the country.

Read more: Coffins stacked in trenches, morgue chaos as coronavirus surges in Brazil

Domestic violence reports up 30 per cent in New York

New York's COVID-19 death rate has dropped to 289, the first time since the end of March that the daily toll has been below 300.

The state has been the epicentre of the US outbreak which has claimed more than 63,000 lives across the country.

But the coronavirus restrictions, which have helped authorities to regain control over the virus are taking a huge toll, with the city that never sleeps in lockdown since March 20.

Governor Andrew Cuomo revealed the number of domestic violence incidents being reported had increased by 15 per cent in March and 30 per cent in April.

"That is a frightening rate and level of increase," Cuomo said.

He confirmed the state's schools would remain closed for the rest of the academic year; the same announcement was made by Cuomo's Democratic rival mayor Bill de Blasio earlier this month.

But Cuomo said at the time that the mayor did not have the authority to issue such an edict.

France's infection rate spikes

France's daily death toll continues to decline but the country's infection rate is rising.

The number of dead increased by 218 to 24,594 and the number of people in intensive care and hospital continued to fall. France has the fifth-highest death toll in the world after the United States, Italy, United Kingdom and Spain.

But the infection rate is on the rise which is cause of alarm if the trend continues.

Governments around the world are trying to find ways of lifting their lockdowns while keeping the infection rate, referred to as RO or R, below 1.

When R is 1, one person reinfects another, meaning the disease spreads too rapidly and risks overwhelming health services.

France's R was at 0.5 but has risen to 0.6 - 0.7.

Ireland lifting lockdown

Ireland will begin lifting its lockdown restrictions from Tuesday.

Acting Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told "cocooning" over 70s that they could leave their homes to go for a walk or a drive from Tuesday.

He extended the travel limit for exercise to five kilometres from two kilometres.

Varadkar said the economy will reopen in five stages between May 18 and August 10, with each stage dependent on the number of COVID-19 infections remaining under control.

Ireland has recorded 1232 coronavirus deaths since recording its first fatality on March 12. It has confirmed nearly 21,000 cases of infection amongst its population of around 5 million.

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UK conducts record 122,000 COVID-19 tests in one day

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced the government has beaten its goal of carrying out 100,000 COVID-19 tests per day by the end of April.

Hancock said the UK carried out more than 122,000 tests on the final day of the month.

However, around 40,000 tests include tests mailed rather than processed. Neverthlesss, the figure represents a huge surge from the roughly 13,000 tests being carried out per day earlier this month.

Hancock announced the UK's death toll increased by 739 to 27,510 - the third-highest in the world.

Hancock said 18,000 contact tracers would be hired by mid-May to work in conjunction with a tracking app that is being developed.

The government said the app would be key to keeping the infection rate under control which would allow some resumption of regular life. The UK has been in lockdown since March 23.

WHO working with international agencies to identify virus' 'animal source'

The head of the World Health Organisation says it will work to "identify the animal source" of the coronavirus with the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health and fellow UN-body, Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva, that WHO would work with the two bodies to "identify the zoonotic source of the virus and the route of introduction to the human population, including the possible role of intermediate hosts."

WHO said this was best achieved through "scientific and collaborative field missions."

On Thursday, WHO's representative in China told Britain's Sky News that Chinese authorities had rebuffed WHO's repeated requests to take part in investigations.

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McDonald's UK to reopen for deliveries

McDonald's says it is reopening some stores in the UK and Ireland from May 13th.

The fast-food giant said it would be opening with a limited menu and for delivery only, having closed its stores when the UK went into lockdown in March.

Big Macs are back on the menu for Britons after McDonald's announced it would reopen 15 stores for delivery.

Big Macs are back on the menu for Britons after McDonald's announced it would reopen 15 stores for delivery.Credit:Pat Scala

Food outlets and restaurants capable of delivering meals are exempt from the lockdown but many chose to close.

However, in the last week, several major fast-food chains across Britain have announced plans to reopen, albeit in a limited capacity.

McDonald's said it would be installing perspex screens and introducing floor markings - the same kind seen in supermarkets around the world, including Woolworths and Coles.

Staff will wear non-medical grade face masks and have their temperature checked before every shift using contactless thermometers

Paul Pomrey, CEO of McDonald's in the UK and Ireland, said the reopenings were the result of successful "controlled tests" conducted this week.

EU backs inquiry into pandemic

Support for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic is mounting, with the President of the European Commission backing a probe.

Australia is pushing for an inquiry to get to the bottom of how the virus originated and how it was allowed to spread outside China, where it began in Wuhan.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.Credit:AP

China rejects any investigation saying one would be political; the World Health Organisation says Chinese authorities are refusing repeated requests to examine Wuhan lab logs and for the WHO to take part in investigations.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, told CNBC that an investigation is essential.

"This is for all of us important," von der Leyen said. "I mean for the whole world it is important."

"You never know when the next virus is starting, so we all want for the next time, we have learned our lesson and we’ve established a system of early warning that really functions and the whole world has to contribute to that," she said.

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2020-05-01 20:03:00Z
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