Coronavirus updates: Japan cruise ship infections rise

This year’s postponed London Marathon could be staged with elite athletes only, race director Hugh
Brasher has said.

Brasher said that was one of 10 options which were “changing all the time” and could also see a further delay.

The event was due to take place on Sunday 25 April but has been moved to 4 October because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Nearly 43,000 runners took part in 2019, with £66.4m ($81m) raised for charity.

The opposition has criticised the UK government after it emerged the
prime minister’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, attended meetings of the scientific body advising the government on
the coronavirus outbreak.

The government said Mr Cummings had attended meetings of the
independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) to better
understand the scientific debate around the virus – but was not a member of
the body and did not affect their advice.

The Labour Party’s chief health spokesman Jonathan Ashworth told BBC
Radio 4’s Today programme Mr Cummings should not attend the meetings and raised
concerns political advisers had “influenced the debate”.

However, National Health Service England’s medical director Stephen Powis, who is
one of the few publicly known members of Sage, told the programme he was
“confident what happens at Sage is a scientific discussion involving the
scientists and the experts who are members”.

You
can read more on this story here.

With Spain under lockdown, a professional dancer has embraced taking the rubbish out as a chance to entertain his neighbours.

Good morning. If you’re just joining us in the UK, here are some of the latest news stories:

• People should seek medical care when they need it and not be put off by the coronavirus pandemic, say UK doctors, charities and the health service.
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, has attended meetings of the scientific body advising the government on the outbreak.
• Tests for UK key workers were booked up through the government website within an hour of it reopening on Saturday, apart from some in Scotland.
• NHS workers, police and firefighters must get better pay and treatment after they “see us through” this crisis, says the head of the Fire Brigades Union.
• Payouts to UK firms over coronavirus could cost £1.2bn, initial estimates from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) indicate.
• Around two million children in England face higher risks in lockdown, says the Children’s Commissioner.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that there is “currently no evidence that people who have recovered from Covid-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection”.

It has been suggested that people who survive an infection may develop antibodies that can attack the virus and prevent reinfection.

In the UK, antibody blood testing and surveillance to determine the rate of infection among the public is one of “five pillars” of the government’s testing strategy, designed to suppress the virus.

Antibody testing – to show if someone has had the virus in the past – is considered crucial in providing an exit pathway from the current lockdown, as well as providing data to those developing a vaccine.

Australia and New Zealand have commemorated Anzac Day, but on a much smaller scale than usual.

The day marks the anniversary of the first campaign that led to major casualties for the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) during World War One.

Usually, a number of commemorative events are held but with social distancing in place, people in both countries chose to stand in silence in their driveways to pay tribute.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was pictured with her father and her partner outside Premier House in Wellington.

Scott Morrison, Australia’s Prime Minister, attended a closed ceremony in Canberra.

Read more here.

The UK government plans to set up the first of a series of regular meetings involving
senior medical directors of the major sports this week in a bid to return to
action as soon as possible.

The move was
described by a source close to the plans as a “quickening of the
pace” and intended to help sport resume “within weeks”, if
progress was made.

The specifics of each sport would be examined
by health experts to see what protocols would be needed to get each up and
running as soon as possible, meaning some would return sooner than others.

And government officials have accepted that at
this stage, sport would only be able to take place behind closed doors.

You
can read more on this story here.

Doctors and charities are urging people to seek medical care
when they need it – and not be put off by the coronavirus pandemic.

They warn that anyone who delays seeking treatment – for example, for chest pain or symptoms of stroke – is putting their long-term health at
risk.

Half the usual number
of people are going to Accident and Emergency (A&E) at UK hospitals and treatment for heart attacks and
strokes is down.

NHS England’s medical
director Stephen Powis suggested this was because people were worried about
bothering the NHS or feared contracting the virus in a medical environment.

You can
read more on this story here.

Coronavirus tests for UK key workers were booked up via the government’s website within an hour of it reopening, apart from some in
Scotland.

Home testing kits were unavailable less than 15 minutes after the site reopened on Saturday, while drive-through sites in England were booked up within an hour.

The site had closed on Friday, after 46,000 people tried to access it – with 5,000 home kits ordered and 15,000 appointments at drive-through centres arranged.

The government aims to reach 100,000 tests per
day by the end of April and has said these will be available in batches from 08: 00 BST each day.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, the medical director of NHS
England, Professor Stephen Powis said: “We are going at capacity, over 50,000
now. The aim is to get to 100,000 by Thursday.

“I would urge people who fit in that criteria, key workers, to go back onto the website as more appointments become available.”

Nearly 60 new cases of coronavirus infections were confirmed among crew members of a cruise ship docked in Japan on Saturday.

The total number of cases onboard the Costa Atlantica now stands at about 150. There are said to be 623 crew members on the vessel.

The ship had no passengers on board and diverted to Nagasaki in January for repairs rather than continue on to China, owing to the virus outbreak.

The crew were meant to have been confined to the ship but local media reported that some left the vessel.

Japan is currently facing a growing coronavirus crisis. There are more than 12,800 confirmed cases and 345 people have died.

The head of the Japan Medical Association, Yoshitake Yokokura, recently warned Japan lacks enough hospital beds, medical workers and personal protective equipment.

Good morning from our team here in London and welcome to our rolling updates on the pandemic.

Here’s what you need to know so far this morning:

• More than 2.8 million cases have been confirmed globally and more than 197,000 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University
• Nearly 60 new cases have been recorded among the crew of an Italian-registered cruise ship docked in Japan’s Nagasaki
• Thousands in Australia and New Zealand have marked Anzac Day. With mass gatherings banned, households marked the day of remembrance on their driveways
• US President Donald Trump walked out of a shorter-than-usual daily press conference, refusing to take questions from journalists. He has faced controversy after he suggested injecting disinfectant could be beneficial to coronavirus patients
• In India, the government has allowed neighbourhood stores to reopen. The interior ministry said only 50% of staff should work and they should follow social distancing measures and wear masks
• Bookings on the UK government’s website for key workers to apply for coronavirus tests were filled within an hour of it reopening on Saturday – apart from some in Scotland