June 5 coronavirus news

By Ben Westcott, Brett McKeehan, Laura Smith-Spark and Peter Wilkinson, CNN

Updated 1:41 p.m. ET, June 8, 2020
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8:26 a.m. ET, June 5, 2020

Coronavirus fight not over "until there is no virus anywhere in the world," WHO says

From CNN's Niamh Kennedy

The fight against the coronavirus will not be over “until there is no virus anywhere in the world,” according to World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris.

Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva, Harris confirmed that there have been “upticks” of the virus in countries which have eased measures, but she said that she was “not talking specifically about Europe”.

 “When the lockdowns ease, when the social distancing measures ease, people sometimes interpret this as 'OK, it's over." she said.

The World Health Organization has continually affirmed that countries easing measures should do so gradually and cautiously.

 

8:23 a.m. ET, June 5, 2020

Long-term care facilities are a major driver of Covid-19 deaths in the US, report says

From CNN Health’s Andrea Kane

Family members of Hortensia Sosa, who died from COVID-19 at a nursing home in Visalia, California, mourn over her grave in Dinuba, California, on May 3.
Family members of Hortensia Sosa, who died from COVID-19 at a nursing home in Visalia, California, mourn over her grave in Dinuba, California, on May 3. Melina Mara/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Twenty-six states report that 50% or more of their Covid-19 deaths occurred in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) – such as nursing homes and group homes – according to a report by three doctors at Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine.

Minnesota and Rhode Island top the list, each reporting that 81% of Covid-19 deaths occurred in long-term care facilities, followed by Connecticut with 71% and New Hampshire with 70%.

New York reported the lowest proportion of Covid-19 deaths in long-term care facilities: 21%. The study authors say that is likely a “gross underestimate” caused in part by lack of available coronavirus testing in long-term care facilities, coupled with the fact that Covid-19 deaths were only counted as such if they were backed by a positive test.

Eleven states do not report the number of Covid-19 deaths that occur in long-term care facilities, which the authors say has contributed to an underestimate of the total number of Covid-19 deaths in the United States.

“Once we get accurate counts of the COVID-19 deaths in all states, we will likely see a big increase in the total number of deaths in the United States,” Dr.Thomas Perls, professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and one of the study’s authors, said in a statement.

How is this compared to other countries? The study authors write that the numbers are not out of line with what many other countries are reporting. “Most other countries with large numbers of LTCFs are likely also experiencing a greater than 50% rate of their COVID-19 deaths within LTCFs. The World Health Organization estimates that half of COVID-19 deaths in Europe and the Baltics are among their 4.1 million LTCF residents,” they write. “Once France began to include LTCF deaths in its count, the country’s death rate nearly doubled. Canada’s National Institute on Aging indicated on May 6 that 82% of the country’s COVID-19 deaths had been in long term care settings.”

Why are nursing homes and other long-term care facilities so vulnerable? Among the many reasons, the article notes that they have “a high density of people with a combination of the strongest risk factors for COVID-19 associated severe illness and death: old age and multiple morbidities.” The CDC indicates that 39% of the 1.3 million nursing home residents in the U.S. are 85 and older.

This analysis used data from 40 states and Washington, DC, from the Kaiser Family Foundation and from the Massachusetts Department of Health. It was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society on Friday.                                                             

8:23 a.m. ET, June 5, 2020

Britons are leaving their homes but most aren't wearing face coverings

From CNN's Max Ramsay in London

A sign asking people to use face coverings is pictured outside Waterloo station in London, on Friday, June 5.
A sign asking people to use face coverings is pictured outside Waterloo station in London, on Friday, June 5. Jonathan Brady/PA Images/Getty Images

A survey by the UK’s Office for National Statistics has given an insight into how Britons are behaving and feeling as coronavirus lockdown conditions ease.

Nine in 10 people said they had left their homes in seven days before they were surveyed, the ONS found. The survey was conducted between May 28 and 31.

However, only 28% of adults reported they had used face coverings outside their home in that seven-day period.

The government announced Thursday that face coverings would be mandatory on all public transport in England starting June 15. The rule could be enforced by the country's transport police, Transport Minister Grant Shapps said. Exceptions will be made for children, the elderly and those with respiratory problems.

Other findings included:

  • 40% of adults in employment said they had left their home to travel to and from work, up from 36% the week before.
  • 41% of adults said they felt safe or very safe when outside of their home in the prior 7 days, up from 36% the week before.
  • 63% of relevant parents in England felt either very or quite unconfident in sending their children back to school in June.
  • 69% of adults said they were very or somewhat worried about the effect coronavirus was having on their life now.

The United Kingdom has recorded nearly 40,000 Covid-19-related deaths, the second-highest number in the world after the United States.

8:12 a.m. ET, June 5, 2020

Australian Black Lives Matter activists plan to march despite court ruling over virus safety fears

From CNN's Angus Watson in Sydney

Protestors gather in Sydney, Australia, to support the cause of U.S. protests over the death of George Floyd and urged their own government to address racism and police violence on June 2.
Protestors gather in Sydney, Australia, to support the cause of U.S. protests over the death of George Floyd and urged their own government to address racism and police violence on June 2. Rick Rycroft/AP

Supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement in Sydney, Australia, plan to go ahead with a rally set for Saturday despite a Supreme Court injunction ruling that it is illegal.

Police in the state of New South Wales (NSW) took the matter to the New South Wales Supreme Court in Sydney on Friday night in a last-ditch attempt to have the protest banned due to coronavirus safety concerns. 

Supreme Court Justice Desmond Fagan ruled that an NSW Public Health Order banning large gatherings "applies to everyone" and that in this case the right to protest is being "deferred."

Fagan added that social distancing has been crucial to Australia’s suppression of the disease. As of Friday, NSW had not had a local contraction of coronavirus for nine days. Four new positive cases announced on Friday involved people returning from overseas. 

Earlier on Friday, NSW Police Commissioner David Elliot referred to anyone who planned to protest on Friday as "nuts."

Protest organizers, however, said they would continue with the march. "We are not going to stop. We are going to march. We don't care what any acts of law tells us what to do because those acts and laws are killing us," said Letona Dungay, the mother of David Dungay, an Aboriginal man who died in a Sydney prison in 2015.

In a statement on Friday night, NSW Green Party MP David Shoebridge wrote: “First Nations people are organizing this protest and asking for solidarity. Let’s be clear with this late decision people will still attend. We will now work to make any gathering as safe as possible.”

7:36 a.m. ET, June 5, 2020

European airports and airlines to begin trial of coronavirus safety measures

From CNN's James Frater in London

A member of the cabin crew checks cabin seating ahead of a Wizz Air flight at Liszt Ferenc airport in Budapest, Hungary, on May 25.
A member of the cabin crew checks cabin seating ahead of a Wizz Air flight at Liszt Ferenc airport in Budapest, Hungary, on May 25. Akos Stiller/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Ten aviation companies are to test safety measures proposed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to prevent the spread of Covid-19, as airports and airlines reopen following the pandemic.

EasyJet, Wizz Air and Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport are among the airlines and airports to have signed up to the health and safety guidelines written by EASA and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

The guidelines suggest observing social distancing wherever possible, wearing a medical face mask from the moment of arriving at an airport until the end of the journey, and frequent hand-washing. Additionally, only passengers with a ticket for travel will be allowed into terminal buildings. 

However, the guidelines do not require airlines to enforce social distancing onboard or to remove the middle seat.

Passengers are encouraged not to travel if they are suffering from any coronavirus-related symptoms such as fever, cough, sudden loss of smell or shortness of breath.

Airlines for Europe, an airline trade association, insisted earlier in May that as the majority of aircraft are fitted with efficient air filters, “the air in the cabin is comparable with the sterile environment of a hospital operating theater.”

The group, which normally flies 720 million passengers a year, argues that removing the middle seat to aid social distancing “is unnecessary and ineffective as a further protective measure” and “not viable for the air transport industry.”

Brussels Airport, which is also participating in the safety trial, is already installing curb-side thermal cameras outside its terminal building to detect passengers with a high temperature or anyone who is not wearing a face mask.

In a statement, Brussels Airport CEO Arnaud Feist said the airport was “preparing actively for an expected increase in passenger traffic as soon as intra-European borders will open up again. Systematic body temperature controls of the passengers will be set up as from 15 June.”

The airport has also reorganized the way travelers queue inside the check-in and security areas and increased the frequency of cleaning. It is using UV sanitising technology to clean trolleys as well as deploying disinfectant-equipped robots to clean the floors.

7:46 a.m. ET, June 5, 2020

Beijing to downgrade public health emergency level, relax entry restrictions for Hubei residents

From Eric Cheung in Hong Kong

People walk through a departure area at Beijing Daxing International Airport on June 3.
People walk through a departure area at Beijing Daxing International Airport on June 3. Hou Yu/China News Service/Getty Images

Beijing will downgrade its public health emergency response level from level two to level three, as it continues to report a low number of Covid-19 infections, the Beijing Municipal Health Commission said in a statement Friday.

These are the new measures:

  • Starting on Saturday, Beijing will lift entry restrictions for Hubei residents – the initial epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic – as long as they have tested negative in the nucleic acid test. 
  • All international arrivals to Beijing will continue taking a mandatory nucleic acid test and stay under medical observation for 14 days after entry.
  • Authorities will also begin to relax restrictions for domestic tourism in Beijing.

According to the Chinese government, the country has a four-tier public health emergency management system, with level four being the lowest level.

Some background:

To prevent a surge in cross-border infections, Beijing announced in mid-March the enforcement of a 14-day quarantine on all international travelers arriving in the Chinese capital. They are mandated to self-quarantine, either at home or in a designated facility for two complete weeks.

International business travelers are required to stay at a select number of designated hotels in Beijing, where they are tested for the virus. They are not permitted to leave until the test results have returned.

7:02 a.m. ET, June 5, 2020

France outbreak "under control" in part due to public wearing masks, government adviser says

From Sophie Stuber in Paris and Niamh Kennedy in Dublin

A man wearing a protective face mask walks in front of a closed restaurant in Paris on May 30.
A man wearing a protective face mask walks in front of a closed restaurant in Paris on May 30. Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images

France’s coronavirus epidemic is now “under control,” according to the head of France’s government scientific advisory council.

Jean-François Delfraissy told France Inter radio station Friday that although the virus continued to circulate it was doing so at a “slow speed.” He said he was confident that France now had “all the tools to detect new cases."

Delfraissy attributed part of this slowdown to the widespread use of masks, saying that “the first step was to recognize that [the authorities] were lacking masks.”

He also drew attention to the strain placed on the country by the Parisian outbreak, saying that the “majority of deaths and serious forms occurred in the Paris region,” which in turn imposed some of the strictest lockdown measures.

The country’s first epicenter was the eastern city of Mulhouse, where a cluster of cases was first recorded in February. Delfraissy said that if the Mulhouse cluster had not occurred, precipitating the virus' spread across France, then the country “would be in a situation closer to Germany.”

France is currently in its second phase of de-confinement, with bars and restaurants reopening and a 100-kilometer (62-mile) travel limit lifted.

Despite the “human” need to unwind, Delfraissy advised French citizens “not to relax too much” as the country takes further steps toward normality.

6:17 a.m. ET, June 5, 2020

London Mayor urges protesters to follow social distancing measures to keep safe

From CNN's Sharon Braithwaite in London

People hold up signs during a Black Lives Matter protest in London on June 3.
People hold up signs during a Black Lives Matter protest in London on June 3. Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

It's not just US officials who are concerned about the coronavirus spreading as a result of crowds gathering for protests related to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan urged Black Lives Matter protesters to keep 2 meters (6 feet) apart and wear a face covering ahead of a planned demonstration in the city’s Trafalgar Square on Friday.

“We understand why people want to protest and make clear that Black Lives Matter, it's really important that people who feel strongly about this are able to protest, but we are in the midst of a global pandemic,” Khan told UK broadcaster Sky News on Friday. 

He urged protesters to wash their hands thoroughly and regularly, and said if they can’t do so, they should use hand sanitizer. “These rules are there to keep you safe and your loved ones as well,” he added.

5:10 a.m. ET, June 5, 2020

Officials fear US protests will bring new coronavirus outbreaks

From CNN's Faith Karimi

Protesters gather to demonstrate the death of George Floyd on June 4, in New York.
Protesters gather to demonstrate the death of George Floyd on June 4, in New York. Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

In little over a week, Americans have gone from taking their first hesitant steps outside again to marching in tightly packed crowds all over the country.

Any uncertainty about venturing out during a coronavirus pandemic has seemingly been cast aside to shed light on police brutality after watching the video of George Floyd pinned under the knee of a Minneapolis officer. They've chanted slogans and shouted Floyd's name, some without masks. During arrests, police have loaded them into vehicles and holding cells -- without social distancing.

But despite the sudden shift, the truth is coronavirus isn't over. So far this week, 4,430 people have been reported dead in the US, an average of 886 a day. Of the total number of deaths this week, 1,036 were reported in the past 24 hours.

And by late Thursday, the virus had killed more than 108,000 people in the United States and infected at least 1.8 million, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Officials fear those numbers will rise significantly with the protests.

Read the full article here.