Coronavirus live news: Portugal to extend restrictions – as it happened

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Here’s a quick recap of all the latest coronavirus stories from the last few hours.

• France sets new record for daily new Covid-19 cases, at more than 16,000. French health authorities reported 16,096 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Thursday, a significant increase on the previous record of 13,498 and setting a fourth all-time high of daily additional infections in eight days.
• Hundreds of thousands of students in Scotland banned from socialising. In a set of rules agreed by Scottish university leaders, students across the country were told they will not be allowed to socialise outside their households and must avoid bars, pubs and other venues.
• Genetic or immune defects may impair ability to fight Covid-19. A significant proportion of patients who develop life-threatening forms of Covid-19 have genetic or immunological defects that impair their ability to fight the virus, research has found.
• Coronavirus continuing to mutate, study finds. The Covid-19 virus is continuing to mutate throughout the course of the pandemic, with experts believing it is probably becoming more contagious, as coronavirus cases in the US have started to rise once again, according to new research.
• Italian president rebuts Johnson’s ‘freedom’ remarks over restrictions. Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella, said its citizens “also love freedom, but we also care about seriousness”, responding to Boris Johnson’s suggestion that the UK’s rate of coronavirus infection was worse than both Italy and Germany’s because Britons loved their freedom more.
• Spain’s tally of confirmed coronavirus infections passed 700,000 as authorities warned of tougher times ahead in the region of Madrid, which accounts for over a third of hospital admissions. The number of cases now stands at 704,209, the highest in western Europe. “Tough weeks are coming in Madrid. We must act with resolve to bring the pandemic under control,” the health minister Salvador Illa said. Authorities in Madrid could announce further measures on Friday.
• The UK reported a record daily rise in the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases. A further 6,634 lab-confirmed positive test results took the overall number to 416,363. This doesn’t necessarily mean, however, that there are more cases now than there were during the peak in the spring, as there was a lack of community testing at that time.
• Denmark, Slovakia, Iceland and Curaçao were removed from the UK government’s list of travel corridors. Travellers arriving in England from those countries after 4am on Saturday must self-isolate for 14 days, the transport secretary Grant Shapps said.
  
• Portugal has extended measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic until at least mid-October, the government announced. The country will remain under a state of contingency until 14 October, meaning gatherings continue to be limited to 10 people and commercial establishments must close between 8pm and 11pm.

That’s all from me, Jessica Murray, thanks to everyone for reading along.

Brazilian champions Flamengo have asked league organisers to cancel this weekend’s game against Palmeiras after 16 of their players tested positive for Covid-19.

Seven players tested positive ahead of Tuesday’s Copa Libertadores match against Barcelona in Ecuador and several others, plus their coach and doctor, came down with the virus on their return.

“This is an exceptional situation,” Rodrigo Dunshee, the club’s vice-president for legal issues, said.

It is very important to kill this at the root. We can’t pass this on to other teams who will pass it on to other teams. The correct measure is to delay this game.

It seems we have just nine players and three goalkeepers.

The Brazilian Football Confederation has so far denied the request, saying the Rio de Janeiro club have a big enough squad to handle the withdrawals.

The Sao Paulo Players’ Union said it supports Flamengo’s call and called the CBF’s refusal “irresponsible”.

Flamengo, one of the clubs which pushed for football’s return in June, said they feared calling up fringe players for Sunday’s match would only exacerbate the situation. Dunshee said:

There’s no point in bringing in youth players to play as their health and the health of their families is put at risk.

The risk is enormous that the players that haven’t tested positive yet will test positive tomorrow or Monday. We need, to guarantee everyone’s (wellbeing), for Flamengo not to play.

Brazil has the second highest number of coronavirus deaths after the US. More than 135,000 Brazilians have died from the virus.

Football restarted in Brazil in June with Flamengo kicking off the Rio de Janeiro state championship. Other state tournaments followed suit in July and August.

The French government may be pushing for people to download its Covid-19 contact-tracing app, but when asked whether he had done so, prime minister Jean Castex said he had not because he does not take the metro.

The app was launched at the start of June to much fanfare from the government, but three months later only 2.4 million people out of a 67 million population have downloaded it

Castex, who was forced to isolate earlier this month after being in contact with someone who had been tested positive for the virus, admitted he had not downloaded the app.

“I push the French to do it, but I haven’t done it, I’ll be honest with you,” he said.

When asked whether his attitude was, do as I say not as I do, Castex insisted he was not handing out lessons, but that in his job there was no need for the app.

“Look at my role! Sadly, carrying out my functions, it means I don’t take the metro. STOP-COVID is only interesting when you go on the metro or meet people,” he said. “I see less people.”

Finance minister Bruno Le Maire this week tested positive for the virus and is in quarantine.

According to a report from health authorities issued on 15 September, 700,000 people have already uninstalled the app and it has had less than 200 alerts for Covid-19 in that period.

Brazil has recorded 32,817 additional confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, and 831 deaths from the disease.

South America’s largest country has registered more than 4.6 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began, according to ministry data, ranking it as the third worst outbreak in the world after the US and India.

Nearly 140,000 people have died of the disease in Brazil, which ranks second after the US in coronavirus deaths.

Novavax has started a late-stage trial of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine in partnership with the UK government’s Vaccines Taskforce, sending the company’s shares up 6% after the bell.

The trial is expected to enrol and test the vaccine in up to 10,000 participants aged between 18 and 84 years over the next four to six weeks.

Data from the trial will support regulatory submissions for license in the UK, EU and other countries, the company said.

The trial will enrol at least 25% of participants over the age of 65 and prioritise groups most affected by the Covid-19, the company said.

The French Open will be able to welcome only 1,000 people a day, down from the 5,000 spectators it had hoped for, prime minister Jean Castex said.

“We will apply at Roland Garros the same rules as elsewhere. We will go from 5,000 to 1,000,” he said, clarifying that those figures included players, staff and organisers.

With Covid-19 on the rise again in France, health minister Olivier Véran on Wednesday said that a maximum of 1,000 people would be allowed at major sports events starting on Monday, but it was unclear whether the Grand Slam tournament, which runs from 27 September - 11 October, would be included.

Kenya’s anti-corruption agency has documented evidence of “criminal” behaviour by officials over the procurement of Covid-19 emergency equipment, according to a report presented to the Senate.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission began investigating allegations of graft in June over the procurement and supply of Covid-19 equipment by the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA).

The commission said there was “irregular expenditure” of 7.8bn Kenyan shillings ($71.96m).

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The revelations come at a time when medical staff in the east African nation have gone on a series of strikes over low pay and poor-quality protective equipment to treat Covid-19 patients.

The watchdog shared its preliminary findings with the director of public prosecutions and has recommended charges against some officials and a system-wide review at the procurement authority to “seal corruption loopholes in future”.

The head of KEMSA was suspended last month over allegations that it had procured low-quality items and inflated the prices of others.

Last month, police teargassed protesters in Nairobi during a demonstration against alleged corruption in the procurement of protective gear meant for defence against Covid-19.

Health workers in Kenya have posted images on social media showing what they claim is inadequate protective equipment provided to them, such as porous dust overalls that would not prevent the spread of the virus.

France’s prime minister has warned the government could be forced to reconfine areas if the number of Covid-19 cases does not improve in the coming weeks and defended tough restrictions taken on Wednesday.

Jean Castex said on France 2 television:

It’s a race against time.

The public must be attentive and prudent.

If we don’t act we could find ourselves in a situation similar to spring.

When asked whether France was heading towards a new confinement, Castex said the government did not want to, but left the door open if the situation worsened.

“It could mean reconfinement,” he said. “The measures we have taken are to anticipate.”

The government ordered cafes and restaurants in Marseille to shut for two weeks and closed all gymnasiums from Saturday, after placing the city and surrounding region on the Mediterranean coast on the maximum alert level for the spread of the virus.

Tougher measures were also announced in Paris and in 10 other cities, including closing cafes and restaurants at 10pm.

The move has angered local politicians who fear the economic fallout and argue that the government has panicked in its decision making process.

“The hour is serious and we must act. We have to hope that the virus won’t last 30 years and that we’ll find a vaccine,” Castex said.

French health authorities reported 16,096 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Thursday, a significant increase on the previous record of 13,498 and setting a fourth all-time high of daily additional infections in eight days.

The number of people in France who have died from Covid-19 infections was up by 52, to 31,511, and the cumulative number of cases now totals 497,237.

The soaring infection rate and, with it, the renewed strain on the French hospital system have prompted the government to announce extra restrictive measures on Wednesday, mainly in big cities, to contain the disease.

24 Sept 202014.57 EDT

Oliver Holmes

Israel’s prime minister has defended his decision to tighten the country’s lockdown measures, including restricting people’s ability to demonstrate and pray at synagogues.

The country of 9 million entered a second lockdown a week ago as infection rates surged to record levels, and the government recommended extra rules that would reportedly limit protests to groups of 20 people as of Friday.

Benjamin Netanyahu, who has faced months of demonstrations calling for him to resign, rejected that the new rules were imposed to block the weekly rallies against him, calling the accusations “absurd”.

“The demonstrations”, he said, “show contempt for the rest of Israelis who are being disciplined”.

He added:

The right to demonstrate, like the right to pray, the right to earn a living, the right to transportation, are very important rights, sacred rights in a democracy. But they are not unlimited rights. The right to life is also a right.

Yair Lapid, the leader of the opposition, said in a statement that the second lockdown was “avoidable” but recommended the public follow the new rules.

“The reason is the failed, political, negligent and hysterical management of the crisis by this government and by the prime minister,” he said.

“We will adhere to the rules on protests even if they’re being handed down for improper reasons … we will protest in capsules of 20 people,” he added. “We will pray responsibly and we will protest responsibly. We will adhere to all the rules.”

Israel’s parliament is currently assessing the government’s recommendations.

Hundreds of thousands of students in Scotland have been banned from socialising and going to bars as coronavirus cases spread to more than 20 universities across the UK.

In a set of rules agreed by Scottish university leaders, students across the country were told they will not be allowed to socialise outside their households and must avoid bars, pubs and other venues.

The new rules include the adoption of a “yellow card/red card” disciplinary system which could lead to students losing their places, while police will help tackle rule-breaking.

“All universities will make absolutely clear to students that there must be no parties, and no socialising outside their households … Breaches will not be tolerated,” Universities Scotland said after a meeting with the higher education minister, Richard Lochhead.

Across Scotland, up to six people from two households are allowed to gather in bars, restaurants or outdoors.

It comes after thousands of students UK-wide were forced to go into isolation within days of campuses reopening, as ministers refused to rule out keeping them away from home over Christmas to stop the spread of Covid-19.

The governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, said the state will carry out its own review of coronavirus vaccines approved by the federal government due to concerns of politicisation of the approval process.

Cuomo, a Democrat who has repeatedly criticised the US president, Donald Trump, and his administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, told reporters he was going to form a review committee to advise the state on the safety of a vaccine. He said:

Frankly, I’m not going to trust the federal government’s opinion.

New York state will have its own review when the federal government is finished with their review and says it’s safe.

A significant proportion of patients who develop life-threatening forms of Covid-19 have genetic or immunological defects that impair their ability to fight the virus, research has found.

In papers published in the journal Science, the Covid Human Genetic Effort international consortium describes two glitches in severely ill Covid-19 patients that prevent them from making a frontline immune molecule called type 1 interferon.

The patients would have carried these glitches for years before the pandemic, or in the case of the genetic errors, all their lives. The discovery may help to explain a mystery surrounding the coronavirus: why it leaves some sufferers sick or dying in intensive care, while others remain barely affected or asymptomatic.