Wednesday briefing: 'Hard days' ahead, Trump warns
Top story: UK ministers under pressure on lack of testing
Morning everyone. This is Martin Farrer bringing you all the news you need this Wednesday morning.
Donald Trump has warned Americans to brace for a “very, very painful two weeks” after he said that up to 240,000 people could die in the US – and keeping deaths to that number depended on people observing social distancing. In an unusually sombre White House media briefing overnight, the US president said the country had to be prepared for “the hard days that lie ahead” as the death toll from coronavirus passed 3,800. The worst-case scenario, where rules were not followed, could see up to 2.2 million people die.
The death toll in Britain climbed by 381 to 1,789 yesterday, and included the youngest victim so far – a 13-year-old boy from south London who was reported as having no underlying health issues. However, NHS officials offered some hope that the nationwide lockdown might be having some impact because there had been a “bit of a plateau” in the number of people testing positive for coronavirus. The government is under renewed pressure to improve Britain’s testing rates, which are still well short of the 10,000-a-day target.
Britain’s care homes are at risk of being overrun by the virus and staff say they are at breaking point, according to the country’s biggest charitable provider. MHA, which runs more than 220 facilities, said more than one in 10 staff were unable to work because they were sick or in self-isolation. NHS staff have been warned not to voice concerns about a lack of protective personal equipment, a doctors’ group has claimed. Workers have been sent threatening emails and told they could face disciplinary action if they don’t keep concerns private. Police chiefs have reissued guidance about how officers should enforce lockdown rules after reports of heavy-handed interventions such as road checkpoints.
More than 40,000 people have died from Covid-19 around the world and 855,000 have been infected. Here is our latest at-a-glance summary and we will have all the developments throughout the day on our coronavirus live blog.
There’s more in our Coronavirus Extra section further down … and here’s where you can find all our coverage of the outbreak – from breaking news to factchecks and advice.
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Banks’ buffer – Britain’s big banks will abandon plans to return nearly £8bn worth of dividends to shareholders as they seek to build a financial buffer in order to weather the coming economic downturn. The Bank of England has also ordered lenders to cancel plans for cash bonuses for executives. The cancellation of the 2019 dividends will give the banks additional funds they can use to increase lending to businesses and households during the Covid-19 lockdown. Another economic consequence of Covid-19 could see the government scrap plans to increase the national living wage to two-thirds of average earnings by 2024, the Low Pay Commission warned.
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Opencast verdict – Ministers will decide next week whether to give the green light for the UK’s largest coalmine after years of fierce opposition from environmentalists. The verdict on the Highthorn opencast mine near the Northumberland beauty spot of Druridge Bay will be made by next Tuesday, according to a letter from government lawyers seen by the Guardian. The developer, Banks Group, which wants to mine three million tonnes of coal at the site, told ministers the mine was “vital” because the coronavirus crisis could lead to a fall in coal imports.
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Wings clipped – Nightingales have had their wings clipped by the climate crisis, scientists have discovered, and more of the birds are choosing not to make their epic 7,000-mile annual migration every year between Africa and Europe. A study in Spain shows that the average wing length relative to their body size has fallen over the past two decades because summer droughts are driving a range of genetic changes including laying fewer eggs and smaller clutch size.
Coronavirus Extra
Chinese officials fear a growing number of asymptomatic carriers of the virus could spread a second wave of infections. US authorities are also concerned about the “silent” threat.
Italian defiance in the early stages of the outbreak, which saw people singing from balconies to keep spirits up, is giving way to fears about running short of food and money, especially in the south. Teargas, beatings and bleach are among the methods meted out by police to enforce lockdowns on populations all over the world, with poor people receiving the harshest treatment.
The captain of the US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt has pleaded with navy chiefs for help after an outbreak of coronavirus on board the huge vessel docked in Guam.
Rafael Behr argues that the virus has not just bumped Brexit down the political agenda, but made the whole project look “parochial and self-indulgent”.
Today in Focus podcast
The lockdown across the world has led people to desperately seek out new tools for maintaining their work and social lives online such as Houseparty and Zoom. But UK technology editor Alex Hern argues he’s been living this way for years.
Lunchtime read: Nick Grimshaw: ‘I’ve had horrible anxiety’
The Radio One DJ Nick Grimshaw discusses his near-death experience in the Namibian desert while filming Sport Relief, dealing with anxiety, why he always wanted to present the Breakfast Show (“I never listened to anything else”), the paparazzi and the devastating death of his friend Caroline Flack. “She was so funny, engaging and open,” he says.
Sport
Senior executives contemplating how to steer football through the unprecedented crisis of Covid-19 are now talking about June being optimistic as a potential time to restart the season. The former Marseille president Pape Diouf has died after contracting the coronavirus, while the Aston Villa goalkeeper Pepe Reina has revealed he endured “endless minutes of fear” after symptoms left him unable to breathe. This summer’s Wimbledon will almost certainly be abandoned on Wednesday and the Davis Cup finals in Madrid could be the next major tennis event to fall. While the pandemic wreaks havoc on the global sporting calendar, the NFL has said it plans to have a full season, including games in London and Mexico City, and to kick off on time in September. And the England and Wales Cricket Board has given its strongest hint yet that the launch of the Hundred may have to be delayed until 2021.
Business
The FTSE100 yesterday posted its biggest quarterly fall since Black Monday more than 30 years ago, and the index is in for more of the same today after Asian markets slumped overnight. The catalyst was poor manufacturing figures from several countries in the region. The FTSE is on course for a drop of 2% today. The pound is buying $1.238 and €1.123.
The papers
Several papers focus on concerns about continued low rates of Covid-19 testing. The Times says “PM takes control of drive for virus tests”, the FT has “Gove admits problems obtaining kits to test medical staff for virus”, while the Mail implores “Fix testing fiasco now”.
The Guardian lead is “Coronavirus pushing care homes toward breaking point, warn staff”. The Express looks on the bright side – “Green shoots hope in virus battle” – as does the Telegraph – “NHS plans route out of virus lockdown”. The Mirror splashes with “Healthy boy of 13 dies with virus” and Metro has “Deaths leap 381 in a day”. The Scotsman says “Emergency Covid laws ‘a sinister attack on justice’” while the Sun says “War we can win”.
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