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Coronavirus global summary: deaths, cases, news - 25 May

Update:
GRAF599. MADRID, 25/05/2020.- Varias personas acceden al Cercanías en la estación de Atocha en Madrid este lunes durante el primer día de la fase 0 de la desescalada que vive la comunidad. La comunidad de Madrid, Barcelona y su &aacut

A full update of countries with highest coronavirus counts in Africa.

Coronavirus

MARGATE - ENGLAND, MAY 26: Members of the public relax on the beach at Botany Bay on May 26, 2020 in Margate, England. The British government continues to ease the coronavirus lockdown by announcing schools will open to reception year pupils plus years one and six from June 1st. Open-air markets and car showrooms can also open from the same date. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Lyon are desperate to play out the rest of the season

mexico

Mexico City death rate far higher than usual

Doubts have been raised over Mexico's official coronavirus death toll, with the new that 8,072 more death certificates have been issued for April in Mexico City than the average of the past fours years, indicating the coronavirus death toll for the country could be far higher than the official figure of over 7,600.

 

New cases in China

China reported a further seven cases of Covid-19 in the mainland at the end of May 25. All the new cases were imported travellers from overseas.

Don't drive to test eyesight

Just in case there was any doubt that what Dominic Cummings claims to have done - drive 30 miles to a gorgeous town on a beautiful day with his wife and four-year-old child to test his eyesight was ok for driving - would be a very stupid thing to do, the police have confirmed it would indeed be a very reckless course of action and warned people not to do it. Go to an optician or see a doctor.

Cummings

UK press unconvinced by Cummings' excuses

The front pages of the Tuesday editions of the UK papers are out, and they are not entirely convinced by Cummings press conference to explain why he broke lockdown when he was wife was ill and he suspected he might have been exposed to Covid-19.

WHO suspends hydroxychloroquine testing

The World Health Organisation has suspended testing of hydroxychloroquine, the drug Trump has been promoting and says he is taking, after a study published in the Lancet showed Covid-19 patients receiving the drug, when used alone or with another drug had an estimated higher mortality rate. They stressed it is still accepted as safe for treating autoimmune diseases or malaria.

Irresponsible fans in France

Hundreds of fans gathered for an illicit football match between two local teams in Strasbourg. Authorities were dismayed: "The stupidity and irresponsibility can lead to a disastrous health situation in our region" said the deputy mayor.

Mink infected two humans with coronavirus, says Dutch government

(Reuters) Mink with the coronavirus have infected two people in the Netherlands in what are probably the first such cases of transmission during the epidemic, government and health authorities said on Monday.

Mink carrying the virus were found on four of the 155 farms in the country where they are bred for their fur, Agriculture Minister Carola Schouten said in a letter to parliament that detailed the two cases.

She said the risk of such animal-to-human transmission of the virus outside the farms was "negligible."

Cummings not going

Dominic Cummings, the special adviser to UK Primer Minister Boris Johnson, has given a statement explaining why he considers he did not break lockdown rules when he drove to 260 miles to Durham from London, where he says he self-isolated in a separate house on his parents' property.

In brief, he feels he made a reasonable judgement call based on worries about not being able to provide care for his four-year-old child when his wife became ill and he feared he was infected with Covid-19. He decided isolating at the second, empty, house at his parents' property was the safest option, because his teenage nieces, who live nearby, had offered to care for his child if Cummings and his wife were unable to.  

Whether this is reasonable or whether the Cummings should have stayed put in London and sought child-care there in the case both became sick, would be presumably up to a judge to decide if the police do decide to now take action against Cummings and he fought any penalty they sought to apply. However the fact the police have confirmed they knew about Cummings being at the property having travelled there from London and did no more than speak to his father at that time would suggest no further action is likely. 

Johnson's special adviser made it clear he has not considered resigning and has not intention to do so. Asked if he understood public anger over his trip he said he did, but that he felt it had been caused by the media coverage rather than his actions. 

Regarding being spotted at Barnard Castle, a town a half-hour drive from his parents' house, Cummings claimed he had gone there on a test drive to see if his eyesight was good enough to manage the drive back to London. Cummings said he had decided to go back to work in London because medical experts had confirmed he was well enough to do so after what appeared to be a case of Covid-19 (he said he had not been tested, but had had very bad symptoms). Although the doctors had said he was fine to go back to work, Cummings explained that the infection had left him with some side-effects, including affected vision. (Please note, if you have any doubts about your eyesight you should not drive.)

Cummings says he now hopes people understand why he did what he did and while they may disagree, or feel they would have done something else, he hopes they will accept he had to use his judgement in the circumstances and that his actions did not breach the rules. 

You can watch the statement here: 

Italy

Italians given 'Tricolor Hug' amid Covid-19 crisis

The Italian Air Force acrobatic unit Frecce Tricolori (Tricolored Arrows) perform the aeronautic military initiative 'Abbraccio Tricolore' (Tricolor Hug) in Turin, Italy. The Italian Air Force aerobatic display teams are due to pass over the whole Peninsula, as part of a display aimed at boosting the country's morale amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Filippo Alfero/Getty Images)

Spain to remove quarantine for tourists from 1 July

Spain is to lift the two-week quarantine for overseas arrivals in the country from 1 July, with the Spanish foreign minister, Arancha González, saying: "The hardest part is behind us."

Coronavirus: NBA star Leonard slams "idiots" partying in Ozarks

CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus: NBA star Leonard slams "idiots" partying in Ozarks

"You are all a bunch of idiots"

NBA player Meyers Leonard has hit out at these scenes from the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, as revellers crowded together on Memorial Day weekend despite the threat of the coronavirus, which has claimed nearly 100,000 lives in the US.  "You are all a bunch of idiots. Period," Leonard, who plays for Miami Heat, said on social media.

Cummings to make statement

Downing Street has confirmed that Dominic Cummings is to make a statement and take questions from the media later today, amid calls for Boris Johnson's chief aide to be sacked over apparent lockdown breaches.

SA

South Africa Muslims skip Eid celebrations to hand out food

Children wait for food during a food handout in Johannesburg, South Africa, on day 59 of the national lockdown as a result of the coronavirus. The local Muslim community spent the time they would have shared with family celebrating Eid al-Fitr by feeding hundreds who are facing food insecurity due to the economic effects of the lockdown - one of the main issues facing the country since the start of lockdown. (Photo by: EFE/EPA/KIM LUDBROOK)

"More people are going to die"

Professor Stephen Reicher, a member of the UK government’s advisory group on behavioural science, says the Dominic Cummings row has “fatally undermined” the country’s efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

“The real issue here is that because of these actions, because of undermining trust in the government, because of undermining adherence to the rules that we all need to follow, people are going to die” he said. “More people are going to die.”

"Happy hour?"

This forceful video has been released by the regional government in Veneto, Italy, warning people of the risks of gathering in groups outside bars in the wake of their reopening.

According to the translation by the Guardian’s Angela Giuffrida, it says: “It takes little… a warm greeting, innocent laughter, a hand shake… before it’s all going to stop.”

Abe lifts state of emergency across Japan

The Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has announced that the state of emergency is to be lifted across the Asian nation. The emergency measure had been removed in parts of the country earlier in May, but had remained in place in Tokyo and four other prefectures.

According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been 16,550 confirmed coronavirus cases in Japan, leading to 820 deaths.

Retiro

Parks reopen as Madrid, Barcelona lockdown measures eased

A man rides his dogs on a bike at the Parque del Buen Retiro in Madrid as the gates of the Spanish capital's parks reopen amid the easing of coronavirus lockdown measures in Madrid and Barcelona. The Madrid and Barcelona regions, the most populated in the country, and a large part of Castile-Leon in the northwest are moving into the first phase of Spain's four-phase deconfinement programme, following what has been one of the strictest lockdowns in the world. (Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / AFP)

Cummings faces police investigation over lockdown breach

Boris Johnson's chief aide, Dominic Cummings, has been reported to Durham police after allegedly being seen out and about in the town of Barnard Castle, some 20 miles from Durham, when he should have been self-isolating.

This comes amid calls for the UK prime minister to sack Cummings after the Guardian and the Mirror this weekend revealed that he appeared to break lockdown rules by driving 260 miles to Durham from his home in London in late March when his wife, Mary Wakefield, started showing signs of Covid-19.

Cummings then developed coronavirus symptoms himself, with Downing Street announcing on 30 March that he was self-isolating.

In addition to allegations that Cummings then failed to stay indoors when he made the journey to Durham, he is also claimed to have made a second trip from the capital to the North East in April

Speaking to the media yesterday, Johnson defended Cummings, saying that he had acted "responsibly, legally and with integrity".

Spain does seem to be on the other side of the pandemic with figures dropping every day.

Madrid moves into Phase 1. What does it mean?

The Spanish Prime Minister announced that Madrid would move into Phase 1 on Monday. There had been increasingly loud calls for the region to de-escalate and Pedro Sanchez announced the move recently. What does it mean for Madrid and the rest of the country who are all in various phases?

Bolsonaro's reputation has taken a battering in recent weeks with several state officials ignoring his guidelines for the pandemic and a controversial video leaked recently also. This should do further damage to the president of Brazil, who has been incapable of responding adequately to the coronavirus.

Coronavirus live coverage: welcome

Hello and welcome to our global coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has now registered well over five million cases worldwide.

Join us for the latest news and numbers as they emerge throughout the course of the day.