Brazil death toll passes 105,000 – as it happened

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Britain’s decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France will lead to a reciprocal measure, French junior minister for European affairs Clément Beaune said late on Thursday.

“A British decision that we regret and which will lead to a measure of reciprocity, hoping that things will return to normal as soon as possible,” Beaune said on Twitter at midnight.

Transport secretary Jean-Baptiste Djebbari added that he had spoken to Mr Shapps about the decision.

He tweeted: “France regrets the British decision and will apply reciprocal measures in terms of transport.

“I told my counterpart Grant Shapps of our will to harmonise health protocols in order to ensure a high level of protection on both sides of the Channel.”

Hi, Helen Sullivan joining you now.

I’ll be bringing you the latest for the next few hours. Get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com with questions, comments and news from your part of the world.

The UK’s decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from France will lead to a reciprocal measure, the French junior minister for European affairs, Clément Beaune, said late on Thursday, who added that France regretted the move.

Mexico plans to extend the closure of its shared border with the United States for another month to non-essential travel, Mexico’s foreign affairs secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, said.

The current agreement runs through 21 August, but Ebrard said it does not make sense to reopen the border at this time.

“We already told the United States that we’re of the idea that it’s extended because of what we have along the strip on their side,” Ebrard said, referring to a surge in cases in the south-western United States.

The travel restriction at the shared land border was first announced on 18 March and has been renewed monthly. It has included the US-Canada border as well.

“The border couldn’t be opened right now,” Ebrard said. “It wouldn’t be logical that we change it right now, so it will be another month.”

Mexico has reported about 500,000 confirmed Covid-19 infections and about 55,000 deaths, both considered to be significant undercounts due to very limited testing.

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As Australia wakes up, here’s a summary of some of the key developments from the last few hours.

• The UK government confirmed that six countries including France would be removed from its travel corridor list following a surge in Covid-19 cases. Arrivals into the UK from France, the Netherlands, Malta, Monaco, Aruba and Turks & Caicos will have to quarantine for 14 days on their return or face a fine as of 4am on Saturday.
• Brazil’s coronavirus death toll passed 105,000. A further 1,261 deaths from Covid-19 were recorded in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Thursday. Another 60,091 new cases were reported, bringing that tally to 3,224,876 since the pandemic began.
• The UK government resumed the easing of lockdown measures in England. Among the measures from Saturday, physically distanced indoor performances can go ahead, beauty salons can offer more treatments, weddings of up to 30 guests can take place, and casinos can reopen. The moves were postponed from 1 August due to concerns about a slight increase in positive coronavirus cases in England.
• The UK government said 41,347 people have died across the country within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, as of Thursday. That is a rise of 18 from the day before. Wednesday’s figures showed a total of 313,798 people had tested positive for Covid-19, a rise of 1,009 on the previous day.
• France reported more than 2,500 new Covid-19 infections for the second day in a row. Levels that high were last seen in mid-April when the country was in the middle of one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns.
• French health authorities warned that new coronavirus cases were rising fastest among younger people, as the number of confirmed infections per day continued to tick up. In mainland France, the pace of growth in cases in the week of 3-9 August was fastest among people aged 15-44, the health ministry’s DGS public health arm said, calling it a “troubling situation”.
• Italy has imposed mandatory coronavirus testing for all travellers arriving from Croatia, Greece, Malta and Spain, and banned all visitors from Colombia. In a bid to rein in new infections, travellers arriving in the country can choose from a number of options, including rapid tests on the spot, presentation of a certificate obtained within the last 72 hours which shows they are Covid-19 free, or carry out a test within two days of entering Italy, but will have to stay in isolation until the results arrive.

Brazil reported 60,091 new cases of coronavirus and 1,261 deaths from the disease caused by the virus in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Thursday.

Brazil has registered 3,224,876 cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll from Covid-19 has risen to 105,463, according to ministry data.

Brazil ranks as the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak after the United States.

The UK prime minister Boris Johnson confirmed plans to open up more of the economy from Saturday, including giving the go-ahead to delayed plans to resume socially distanced indoor performances and allowing beauty salons to offer more treatments in England.

The moves were postponed from 1 August due to concerns about a slight increase in the number of people in England testing positive for Covid-19 but that now appears to have levelled off.

From 15 August:

• Indoor theatre, music and performance venues will be able to reopen with socially distanced audiences.
• The piloting of spectators at sporting events will resume.
• Casinos, bowling alleys, skating rinks and soft play centres will be allowed to reopen.
• “Close contact” beauty services such as facials, eyebrow threading and eyelash treatments will resume.
• Wedding receptions for up to 30 guests will be permitted.
• Pilots will take place at conference venues ahead of the expected resumption of business events from 1 October at the earliest.

The changes will not apply in the specific areas where local restrictions are in place. Johnson said:

Most people in this country are following the rules and doing their bit to control the virus, but we must remain focused and we cannot be complacent.

That is why we are strengthening the enforcement powers available to use against those who repeatedly flout the rules. At every stage I have said our plan to reopen society and the economy is conditional and that it relies on continued progress against the virus.

Today, we are able to announce some further changes which will allow more people to return to work and the public to get back to more of the things they have missed.

However, as I have always said, we will not hesitate to put on the brakes if required, or to continue to implement local measures to help to control the spread of the virus.

New guidance will also mean that staff offering “close contact” services, including hairdressers, will now have to wear a face mask as well as a clear visor.

The move, which follows new evidence from the scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage) is aimed at protecting customers and staff from respiratory droplets caused by sneezing, coughing, or speaking.

The guidance also applies to businesses that operate remotely, such as massage therapists working in people’s homes, and those learning in vocational training environments.

More detail on the new enforcement measures will be set out in the coming week.

The home secretary Priti Patel said she would not allow progress in tackling the virus to be undermined by “a small minority of senseless individuals”.

These measures send a clear message - if you don’t cooperate with the police and if you put our health at risk, action will follow.

Hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers’ plans have been plunged into chaos after the government confirmed that France would be removed from the UK’s travel corridor list following a surge in Covid-19 cases.

The move, which will mean arrivals into the UK from France will have to quarantine for 14 days on their return or face a fine, will come into effect at 4am on Saturday leaving a window of little more than 28 hours for travellers to get home if they want to escape the measures.

The UK government will also remove the Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks & Caicos and Aruba from the list, the transport secretary Grant Shapps confirmed. Travellers arriving in the UK from those destinations from that time will also be required to self-isolate for 14 days.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has updated its travel advice for those countries, now advising against all but essential travel based on the current assessment of Covid-19 risks.

The decision comes after the Joint Biosecurity Centre and Public Health England indicated a significant change in Covid-19 risk in all six destinations.

Department for Transport officials said that data from France shows that over the past week there has been a 66% increase in newly reported cases and a 52% increase in weekly incidence rate per 100,000 population, indicating a sharp rise in Covid-19.

There has been a consistent increase in newly reported cases in the Netherlands over the past four weeks, with a 52% increase in newly reported cases between 7 and 13 August.

Over the past week, there has been a 273% increase in newly reported cases in Turks & Caicos, a 1,106% increase in newly reported cases in Aruba, and Malta has had a 105% increase.