Spanish PM seeks final extension to state of emergency – as it happened

We are closing this blog now but you can stay up to date on all of our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at our new global blog below.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/jun/01/coronavirus-live-news-brazil-passes-500000-covid-19-cases-as-india-extends-lockdown-in-high-risk-zones

That’s all from me, Clea Skopeliti, for today. Many thanks to everyone who wrote in. I’m handing over to my colleague Alison Rourke in Sydney.

• The US has supplied Brazil with 2 million doses of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine for use against the coronavirus, despite medical warnings about the risks associated with it. This comes only days after the WHO suspended testing it on Covid-19 patients due to health concerns.
• Leaders and public health officials across the US are warning about a potential spike in coronavirus infections resulting from the escalating protests over the death of George Floyd. Some have grown alarmed due to images of mass gatherings, where many of the demonstrators are not wearing masks.
• Poverty in the occupied West Bank may double as Palestinians are hammered by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Bank has warned. Despite low infection rates, the pandemic is having a devastating economic effect due to loss of income and increased spending on healthcare.
• In England, senior public health officials have made a last-minute plea for ministers to stop Monday’s easing of the lockdown, warning the country is unprepared to deal with any surge in infection. They said the new rules, including allowing groups of up to six people to meet outdoors and in private gardens, were “not supported by the science”.
• More that 1,000 people have died from the coronavirus in Chile, the health ministry has reported, with 827 of the deaths occurring in May alone. The country has had 99,688 confirmed cases and 1,054 deaths.
• El Salvador’s congress has passed a new emergency bill to gradually reopen the Central American nation’s economy, however, president Nayib Bukele has vowed to veto the measure. Bukele argues it is too risky to reopen the country at this point.
• South Africa has delayed Monday’s reopening of schools by a week, the Department of Basic Education has announced, saying that many are not ready to welcome back pupils. Unions have said schools do not have protective equipment to keep teachers and pupils safe, while a quarter of rural schools lack running water for hand-washing.
• India prepares to reopen country except for ‘containment zones’. Prime minister Narendra Modi’s government has extended lockdown until 30 June in a number of zones identified as ‘high-risk’ by individual states, while the rest of India prepares to reopen. The number of cases confirmed in India has reached a daily record high during the past 48 hours, and critics argue Modi is leaving the responsibility of dealing with the virus up to individual states.
• The premier of Victoria, Australia, has urged people to continue to work from home if possible. Daniel Andrews raised the issue of the infection risks involved in sharing office spaces, as well as commuting.
  

Poverty in the occupied West Bank may double as Palestinians are slammed by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Bank has warned.

The Palestinian territories have seen low infection rates after acting quickly to curtail the spread of Covid-19, with three deaths out of 450 cases registered among some five million residents in Gaza and the West Bank, AFP reports.

But the Palestinian Authority’s financial situation is “expected to become increasingly difficult” due to loss of income and increased spending on healthcare and other areas, the World Bank said in a report.

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The fallout is expected to see the number of households living below the poverty line increase this year from 14 to 30% in the West Bank, largely due to Palestinians being unable to cross into Israel for work.

The Palestinian Authority last week announced an end to the lockdown it had imposed in early March across the West Bank after an outbreak of the Covid-19 illness in the biblical city of Bethlehem.

The easing allowed more than 63,000 Palestinians to pass through checkpoints for work on Sunday, according to the Israeli military branch handling civilian affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The borders of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, which has been under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007, remain closed to all but a few returning Gazans, who are quarantined on arrival.

The poverty rate was already 53% in Gaza before the pandemic and the World Bank forecast it would jump to 64% this year.

Overall, the Palestinian economy is set to shrink between 7.6 and 11%, the global body said, a severe downturn after one percent growth in 2019.

The US has supplied Brazil with 2 million doses of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine for use against the coronavirus, despite medical warnings about the risks associated with it.

The two governments released a joint announcement just days after the WHO suspended testing it on Covid-19 patients due to health concerns. Both presidents have promoted its use, despite the US Food and Drug Administration issuing a warning about its use against the virus.

“The American and Brazilian people stand in solidarity in the fight against the coronavirus,” the statement said. “We are announcing the United States Government has delivered two million doses of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to the people of Brazil.

“HCQ will be used as a prophylactic to help defend Brazil’s nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals against the virus. It will also be used as a therapeutic to treat Brazilians who become infected.

The countries will also carry out a joint research effort, including “randomised controlled clinical trials”, and the US has pledged to send 1,000 ventilators to Brazil.

Egypt has shortened its night curfew by one hour despite recording high daily increases in both deaths and cases.

The health ministry announced 1,536 new cases had been confirmed, including 46 deaths. The total caseload now stands at 24,985, while the toll is at 959.

The night curfew has been tweaked, ending at 5am rather than 6am. Officials have indicated they are looking to slowly relax restrictions and revive economic activity despite the rising number of infections.

The government announced that the number of hospitals designated to deal with coronavirus cases is rising to 376 from 340, and the number of laboratories capable of processing test results to 57 from 49.

Hospitals assigned to treat coronavirus patients have 3,539 intensive care unit beds and 2,218 ventilators, a government statement said.

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro joined a rally on Sunday on horseback as supporters called for the Supreme Court to be shut down for investigating the right-wing leader, as one of its justices compared the risks to Brazil’s democracy with Hitler’s Germany.

Deepening a political crisis during one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, Bolsonaro has slammed the top court for investigating his interference in police affairs and opening an inquiry into his supporters’ alleged libel and intimidation campaigns on social media.

He has denounced the investigations, suggesting “absurd orders” should not be followed and warning that the court may “plunge Brazil into a political crisis.”

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Supreme Court Justice Celso de Mello, who is responsible for investigating a former justice minister’s allegation that Bolsonaro tried to meddle with law enforcement for personal reasons, said the president’s supporters were seeking a military dictatorship.

“We must resist the destruction of the democratic order to avoid what happened in the Weimar Republic when Hitler, after he was elected by popular vote ... did not hesitate annulling the constitution and imposing a totalitarian system in 1933,” de Mello told other judges in a message seen by Reuters and reported in Brazilian newspapers.

Bolsonaro has said his aims are democratic and accused his opponents of going against the constitution.

On Saturday night, a group of masked backers of Bolsonaro marched to the court carrying torches to call for its closure. During Sunday’s demonstrations in Sao Paulo, opponents of Bolsonaro took to a main avenue to protest against “fascism” and clashed with riot police who intervened, using tear gas, to stop them getting close to a rally by supporters of the president.

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You can get in touch with me on Twitter @cleaskopeliti.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported a total 1,761,503 cases of the coronavirus, an increase of 23,553 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths in the country had risen by 915 to 103,700.

The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.

Here’s a quick summary for those who are just waking up, or anyone else looking for a wee recap.

• The global caseload has passed six million, standing at 6,083,633, according to Johns Hopkins University tracker.
• Spain’s PM is seeking a two-week extension of the country’s state of emergency, which will take the lockdown up to 21 June.
• Iran has recorded over 150,000 confirmed infections, with 2,516 recorded in the past 24 hours.
• In the UK, health officials have made a last-minute plea to stop the lockdown easing set to take place tomorrow, saying the new rules are “not supported by the science”. In other last minute decisions, South Africa has delayed the reopening of schools - due tomorrow - by a week due to safety concerns.
• Chile has passed the grim milestone of 1,000 deaths, with 827 deaths recorded in May alone. The country is approaching 100,000 confirmed cases.

And here are the developments in more detail for those who want the full run-through.

While the rest of India prepares to reopen, individual states are identifying high-risk zones where lockdowns will stay in place.

Prime minister Narendra Modi’s government has extended lockdown until 30 June in these ‘containment’ zones that continue to report high infection numbers. Outside the zones, restaurants, malls and religious buildings will be allowed to reopen from 8 June, in a relaxation of the world’s longest coronavirus lockdown.

The number of cases confirmed in India has reached a daily record high during the past 48 hours, and critics argue Modi is leaving the responsibility of dealing with the virus up to individual states.

In India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, 1,111 zones have been identified, while in Gujarat over 400,000 houses were marked as high-risk zones. Officials in the western state of Maharastra said all markets, except malls and congested spaces, will be allowed to function in a staggered manner. The eastern state of West Bengal identified 285 containment zones in its capital, Kolkata.

India has reported 182,000 confirmed cases, with 5,164 deaths.

The airport in the Namibian harbour town of Walvis Bay has closed after two people tested positive for the coronavirus and the economic hub went into lockdown.

The airport would be closed for seven days, manager Chrizelda George told media on Sunday.

A third Walvis Bay resident, a colleague of one of the patients, has since tested positive, bringing the total infections nationwide to just 24 with no deaths.

Other airports in the country will still allow domestic flights as scheduled and for emergency evacuations. Namibia’s flag carrier, Air Namibia, has also suspended all flights in and out of Walvis Bay until 8 June.

Most of the desert nation in southwest Africa, which has received international praise after recording so few cases, will ease restrictions from Tuesday.

South Africa has pushed back Monday’s reopening of schools by a week, the Department of Basic Education has announced, saying that many are not ready to welcome back pupils.

The plan for grades 7 and 12, the last years of primary and secondary school respectively, to return on Monday were scrapped following teachers’ unions and governing associations urging school staff to defy the government order, saying schools did not have protective equipment to keep educators and pupils safe.

Many of South Africa’s state schools are in poor condition, especially in rural areas, and analysts say that a quarter of them have no running water, making hand-washing nearly impossible.

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The department said its decision followed three reports by industry players that raised concerns about the state of readiness. “The Council of Education Ministers was concerned that, in some provinces, personal protective equipment for learners in particular had not been received and some schools had not been made ready for the arrival of teachers and learners,” it said.

On Monday schools will reopen only for management teams, teachers and non-teaching staff for instruction on health and safety measures, to finish cleaning and focus on supply chain matters.

More that 1,000 people have died from the coronavirus in Chile, the health ministry has reported, with 827 of the deaths occurring in May alone.

The country has had 99,688 confirmed cases of the disease so far, and 1,054 deaths.

“We know we are in the most difficult weeks,” undersecretary of health Paula Daza said in a televised address. “We are making decisions and taking measures every day to contain the spread.”

El Salvador’s Congress has passed a new emergency bill to address the impact of the coronavirus crisis and gradually reopen the Central American nation’s economy, while president Nayib Bukele has vowed to veto the measure.

Bukele argues it is too risky to reopen the country at this juncture. The country has registered 46 deaths from coronavirus and a total of 2,517 cases.

Congress voted 56 to 6, with one abstention, late on Saturday to pass the bill that would establish guidelines for restarting production, outline workers’ rights, and regulate quarantines. The president has asked Congress to prolong the current quarantine measures for another 15 days.

“They know that this bill will be vetoed. Their interest is not to reactivate the economy. They are even less interested in people’s lives and health. Their job is to trip up the government,” Bukele wrote on Twitter.

Bukele has repeatedly angered rights groups, who say he has shown authoritarian tendencies, and clashed with lawmakers. In February, Bukele and a group of soldiers armed with automatic weapons briefly occupied congress.