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Latest coronavirus news as of 5 pm on 9 June
Highest daily jump in worldwide coronavirus cases so far
The highest daily increase in worldwide coronavirus cases yet was recorded on Sunday, with 136,000 new cases confirmed, World Health Organization (WHO) director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists yesterday. “Although the situation in Europe is improving, globally it is worsening,” he said. Almost 75 per cent of the cases confirmed on 7 June were from only 10 countries, mostly in the Americas and South Asia, The Guardian reports.
Other coronavirus developments
Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, was today criticised by doctors and infectious disease researchers for saying on Monday that it is “very rare” for people to have the coronavirus without symptoms. Van Kerkhove clarified her statement today, during a live Q&A on social media, saying that “anywhere between 6 and 41 per cent of the population may be infected but not have symptoms.”
Primary school pupils in England will no longer be expected to return to school before the end of the summer term, the UK government has said. Primary schools in England reopened on 1 June to reception, year 1 and year 6 pupils and the government’s original plan was for all remaining pupils to return for the last month of term before the summer holidays start on 22 July. Head teachers previously warned that it wouldn’t be possible for school pupils to practice social distancing in classrooms.
A Public Health England coronavirus testing survey is to track the prevalence of coronavirus among those who do return to school and investigate how much children spread the virus. Teachers and pupils in up to 100 schools will soon receive coronavirus swab and antibody tests.
Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificates for 44,869 people in England and Wales between the weeks ending 27 March and 29 May, data from the Office for National Statistics reveals. The number of deaths recorded as involving covid-19 in the week ending 29 May was 1822, down from the most recent peak of 8758 in the week ending 17 April. The total number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending 29 May was 9824, which is 20 per cent higher than would be expected based on the five-year average.
Coronavirus deaths
