June 8 coronavirus news

Coronavirus is in retreat across the United Kingdom, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Monday.

He said the government's scientific advisers estimate the virus reproductive rate is currently below one in all regions.

However, Hancock warned that where there are individual “flare ups and outbreaks” the government will take local action.

"The epidemic in care homes is coming under control... the latest figures shows an almost 50% fall in the number of new care homes reporting an outbreak," Hancock said.

No Covid-19-related deaths were recorded in London hospitals or across Scotland on Sunday, he said.

However, although Sunday's official UK death toll of 55 was the lowest daily rise since lockdown began on March 23, the figures do tend to be lower at weekends because of delays in reporting, Hancock cautioned.

Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said more than 1,000 people have turned out for testing after they first reported an outbreak in Winooski Friday. As of last night, there are a total of 62 cases that are believed to be associated with the outbreak — 48 Winooski residents, nine Burlington residents, and five people from other towns in Chittendon County tested positive for coronavirus, Levine said.

Of the cases, 38 are adults and 24 are children, Levine said.

“The age range is from 1 to 64 with a median age of 21,” Levine said, adding that there have no reports of hospitalizations and no deaths associated with this outbreak.

The state is experiencing an overall uptick in cases but the positivity rate remains low, Levine said. There are 1,075 cases of coronavirus in Vermont, at least 895 people have recovered, and the death total, which hasn’t changed in several weeks, is 55. 

The health department epidemiology team is working to determine whether the cases in Burlington are linked to the Winooski cases, or if there is the possibility of unrelated transmission in Burlington. They will continue to offer testing every day in Winooski and Burlington and Levine says he expects the number of cases to rise over the coming days.

Levine said that many of the people who tested positive did not know they were affected and about one in five people reported they have symptoms. This could be because they were told very early on and haven’t had symptoms yet or it could mean they are asymptomatic, Levine said. 

Israel will “hit the emergency brake” on its reopening plans as the number of coronavirus cases rises sharply, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday during a meeting of the coronavirus cabinet.

“There has been a very steep increase in morbidity. It could be that we are already seeing the doubling of the rate of infection within ten days. I very much hope not, " Netanyahu said during the meeting.

For the past eight days, Israel has seen approximately 100 new infections a day, up from approximately 20 new infections a day a week earlier.

According to the Ministry of Health, 298 people have now died as a result of coronavirus in Israel.

Netanyahu said that Israel would freeze further reopening measures that were supposed to take place in the coming days, reevaluating the situation in one week.

Though schools, malls, and restaurants reopened under certain health restrictions, the resumption of train service and the reopening of theaters, music halls, and other cultural venues will now be delayed.

As massive protests over George Floyd’s killing continue all across New York City as the coronavirus pandemic persists, Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged protesters to get tested.

He announced that 15 testing sites around New York City will prioritize testing for protesters.

Cuomo reminded people that one person is capable of spreading the virus to dozens of people. “We’ve seen it," he said.

New York City will perform 35,000 tests a day and monitor the data for any signs of a spike, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

Cuomo asked all protesters to get a Covid-19 test, highlighting 15 testing sites around NYC that are prioritized just for protesters. 

The Governor said there are more than 240 testing sites in New York City. The city entered phase one of reopening today.

WATCH GOV. CUOMO:

Sunday marked the most Covid-19 cases reported to the World Health Organization in a single day so far during the coronavirus pandemic, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a media briefing in Geneva on Monday.

"Most countries in the African region are still experiencing an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, with some reporting cases in new geographic areas, although most countries in the region have less than 1,000 cases," Tedros said. 

"We also see increasing numbers of Covid-19 cases in parts of Eastern Europe and central Asia," Tedros said, although the situation in Europe overall has been improving.

Tedros added, "At the same time, we’re encouraged that several countries around the world are seeing very positive signs."

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that the number of people testing positive for coronavirus in the state is down to its lowest number since March.

The governor said that on Sunday, the state performed 58,054 tests across the state and only 1.2% — or 702 people — came back positive.

This low percentage has followed a trend over the past few days, the governor said.

The governor added that these numbers indicate that the state can continue to move forward with reopening.

 WATCH:

The World Health Organization supports the current movement against racial injustice and encourages all protesters to wear masks during demonstrations, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a media briefing in Geneva on Monday.

"WHO fully supports equality and the global movement against racism. We reject discrimination of all kinds," Tedros said on Monday.

"We encourage all those protesting around the world to do so safely," Tedros said.

Tedros' shared safety and precaution guidelines for protestors:

Tedros added that countries where protests have been held should strengthen testing efforts and the tracking of potential Covid-19 cases.

"We also encourage countries to strengthen the fundamental public health measures that remain the basis of the response: Find, isolate, test and care for every case, and trace and quarantine every contact," Tedros said. "Contact tracing remains an essential element of the response."

Prior to his daily news conference, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo rode New York City's subway to mark the city's reopening today under phase one.

Dani Lever, the governor’s communications director, tweeted a photo of the governor riding the city's subway.

Once the epicenter of the pandemic as the largest and densest city in the US, New York City is now allowing nonessential workers in construction and manufacturing to go back to work and retail stores to set up curbside or in-store pickup.

Read the tweet: