The latest on the coronavirus pandemic

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), says the idea of firing or demoting Dr. Anthony Fauci is “unimaginable.”

Fauci currently serves as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of NIH. Collins is Fauci's boss.

When asked if he would dismiss Fauci if it was ordered by government officials such as the President or the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, STAT reported that “Collins only laughed” and said, “I think you heard my answer.”

STAT also reported that Collins “touted Fauci’s decades long scientific acumen as a national asset,” and said this was especially critical at this time.

Some background: Trump on Monday sought to downplay tension with Fauci after a White House official shared a statement that appeared to undermine the nation's leading infectious disease expert.

"I have a very good relationship with Dr. Fauci, I've had for a long time," Trump said at the White House during a roundtable event honoring police officers. "I find him to be a very nice person. I don't always agree with him."

Under federal law, Trump doesn't have the power to directly fire Fauci, a career civil servant, and remove him from government. And while Trump could try ordering his political appointees to dismiss the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious, Fauci could appeal, making way for a time-consuming process.

People who want to leave their faces uncovered on California's Manhattan Beach may face citations of up to $350.

Maskless first offenders in the Southern California beach town will be fined $100, followed by $200 and $350 citations for the second and third violations.

The beach town joins West Hollywood, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, which have also implemented fines for unmasked offenders.

India will allow scheduled international flights into the country, despite the nation recording more than 1 million coronavirus cases and restricting people in multiple states from leaving their homes in local lockdowns.

During a news conference on Thursday, Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri confirmed the establishment of "air bubbles" between India and the US, France and Germany.

On Friday India registered a record 34,956 new infections in just 24 hours. On the same day, more than 400 million people in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Karantaka's capital city Bengaluru re-entered lockdown conditions after a spike in cases.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23, with the exception of repatriation flights.

As of July 15, nearly 690,000 Indian nationals have flown home on these flights, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Read more here.

The chances of European Union leaders agreeing on a coronavirus recovery fund by Sunday are “less than 50%,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in Brussels on Friday. 

“But let's be hopeful -- you never know,” Rutte added. 

In May, the EU proposed a recovery fund worth €750 billion ($854 billion) – with a plan for two thirds of that money to be distributed to countries via grants, and the remainder being offered as loans. 

The proposal has caused divisions within the EU, with a group of nations known as the “Frugal Four” – Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark – rejecting the compromise and favoring only loans.

EU leaders met Friday for a summit on the issue. Asked on Friday what compromise would allow for a deal, Rutte said: “That's one of the questions which we have to answer. But we could still get to a compromise, it is still possible.”

The Dutch PM added that his country did not believe in a grants-based system.

Hong Kong’s Department of Health reported 58 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, as the city's health officials continue to grapple with a third wave of cases.

Fifty of the new cases were locally transmitted and 18 are from unknown sources.

The newly confirmed cases involve several clusters including an elderly care facility and family outbreaks.

“There are a lot of cases with unknown sources. We need to pay attention on the situation and there may be a bigger outbreak,” Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan of Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection said.

Experts have linked the spike in cases to the easing of social distancing measures -- and potentially a mutation that could make the virus more infectious.

The city has a total of 1,713 confirmed cases and 10 deaths. 

Iran has recorded 2,379 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 269,440. 

Health Ministry spokesman Sima Sadat Lari said Friday that 852 people with the disease have been hospitalized. 

Lari said there were 183 additional coronavirus-related deaths in the country, bringing Iran's death toll to 13,791. 

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered the mandatory wearing of face masks in public earlier this month, after cases rose in recent weeks.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has called for an “urgent review” into how England's health authorities calculate the coronavirus death toll in England, after questions were raised about the quality of the data. 

On Thursday, the UK's Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM), pointed out a “statistical flaw” in how Public Health England (PHE) calculates coronavirus deaths occurring outside hospitals. 

"In summary, PHE’s definition of the daily death figures means that everyone who has ever had Covid-19 at any time must die with Covid-19 too,” CEBM’s statement said.

According to the organization, the data is calculated by counting anyone who died that has ever tested positive for coronavirus, without considering how long ago that was, or the cause of death. 

The organization suggested that this approach meant there were now approximately 80,000 recovered patients currently out of hospital, who will be monitored by PHE for the daily death statistics.

Boris Johnson has announced major changes to England's coronavirus restrictions as the country continues to reopen.

From August 1, employers can choose whether or not their employees work from home.

Beauty salons will be able to reopen from August 1 and indoor live performances can also resume if successful pilots have been carried out.

Wedding receptions for up to 30 people will also be permitted from that date but nightclubs remain closed under the updated guidance.

Johnson added that schools, colleges and nurseries would be open to all students from September.

"Throughout this period we will look to allow more close contact between friends and family," he added, cautioning that the easing of restrictions is conditional on cases continuing to fall.

The Prime Minister also announced sweeping new powers for local authorities as the UK government's focus turns to local lockdowns as opposed to a national one.

"We can control [the pandemic] through targeted local action," he said.

“From tomorrow, local authorities will have new powers in their areas, will be able to close specific premises, shut outdoor spaces and cancel events,” Johnson said.

“These powers will enable local authorities to act more quickly in response to outbreaks where speed is paramount," he added. 

New draft regulations for Britain's central government will also be published next week, proposing that "where justified by the evidence, ministers will be able to close whole sectors, or types of premises in an area, introduce local stay-at-home orders, prevent people entering or leaving defined areas, reduce the maximum size of gatherings beyond national rules, or restrict transport systems serving local areas.”

Johnson also announced £3 billion ($3.7b) in extra funding for the NHS in England to help it prepare for the winter months. Extra health funding will also be granted to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The PM said his government was "hoping for the best, but planning for the worst."

Skin rashes and reddish bumps on fingers and toes should be considered a key coronavirus symptom, researchers from King's College London (KCL) have said.

The skin rashes can occur in the absence of any other symptoms, a new pre-print study led by the university suggests.

Key coronavirus symptoms that are widely accepted include fever, cough and shortness of breath, but a range of other signs have been suggested, including the loss of smell and taste in some patients.

The KCL researchers used data from the Covid-19 Symptom Study app, which is submitted by around 336,000 people in the UK.

They found that 8.8% of people who tested positive for coronavirus reported a skin rash as a symptom, compared with 5.4% of people who tested negative.

The team then set up a separate online survey, gathering information from nearly 12,000 people with skin rashes and suspected or confirmed Covid-19.

They found that 17% of respondents who tested positive for the virus reported a rash as the first symptom of the disease. For 21% of people who reported a rash and had confirmed Covid-19, the rash was their only symptom.

The researchers believe the rashes fall into three distinct categories. The first is a hive-type rash, which can come and go quite quickly over a few hours.

"It can involve any part of the body, and often starts with intense itching of the palms or soles, and can cause swelling of the lips and eyelids. These rashes can present quite early on in the infection, but can also last a long time afterwards," KCL said in a statement.

The second type of rash is a prickly heat one, in which areas of small red bumps can occur anywhere across the body but particularly on the elbows and knees as well as the back of the hands and feet.

The third type involves red or purple bumps appearing on the fingers and toes.

"This type of rash is most specific to Covid-19, is more common in younger people with the disease, and tends to present later on," the team said.