Health News at Your Fingertips

Spain’s coronavirus death toll could be nearly 60% than the official total of 28,342, an investigation by Spanish daily newspaper El País has found.

The country’s official death toll includes people who were formally diagnosed with coronavirus, not suspected cases who were never tested.

A lack of widespread testing, particularly in the early stages of the outbreak, means the official count could underestimate the virus’ toll, like in many other countries.

By counting regional statistics of all suspected and confirmed fatalities from the virus, El Pais reached a total of 44,868 deaths. If accurate, that would make Spain’s outbreak the second deadliest in Europe after the UK.

Spain’s health ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The El País figure is roughly in line with figures from the National Epidemiology Centre and National Statistics Centre (INE), which register excess mortality by comparing deaths across the country with historical averages.

In June, the INE reported 43,945 more deaths in the first 21 weeks of 2020 than in the same period of 2019, though it could not say how many could be attributed to the pandemic.

The Spanish government is focused on convincing Britain to exclude the Balearic and Canary islands from a 14-day quarantine it abruptly imposed on all travellers returning from Spain, Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said on Sunday.

“Spain is safe, it is safe for Spaniards, it is safe for tourists,” Gonzalez Laya told reporters.

She added that her government would take measures regarding other countries if needed, based on epidemilogic data, but that there would be no tit-for-tat retaliation taking place.

Spain’s foreign ministry has insisted the coronavirus epidemic is under control, after the British government imposed a 14-day quarantine on all travellers returning from the country in response to a surge in new cases there.

Hospitals are coping well with the increase in infections and more than half of new cases are asymptomatic, the ministry said, adding that outbreaks in Catalonia and Aragon should soon be brought under control.

Vietnam has reported two more locally-transmitted cases of Covid-19, bringing the number of infections in the country to 420.

The country has not reported any coronavirus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

The new cases, reported on Sunday, were in the central province of Quang Ngai and in Danang city, the government said in the city.

Social distancing measures were reimposed in Danang on Sunday following the detection of two other locally-transmitted coronavirus cases in the city.

The social distancing measures would come into force until further notice, the government said on its website.

Danang will stop receiving inbound tourists for 14 days and all religious, sports and cultural events will be suspended.

In Latin America, a tsunami of fake news – including quack cures and conspiracies – on social media networks is harming efforts to fight Covid-19.

Although the virus has claimed more than 160,000 lives in the region, a new battle against online disinformation designed to bamboozle and deceive has emerged.

The misinformation streaming through millions of Latin American mobile phones and computers ranges from the bizarre to the ridiculous.

In recent weeks, there have been claims that Brazilian coffins were being filled with rocks to inflate the country’s Covid-19 death toll; that drones were being used to deliberately contaminate indigenous communities in Mexico; that the CIA was helping spread the coronavirus in Argentina; that seafood in northern Peru was not safe to eat because the corpses of Covid-19 victims were being dumped in the Pacific Ocean; and even that the World Health Organization chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, had been spotted boogying and boozing at a bar on the São Paulo coast.

You can read the full, fact-based report from my colleagues in Latin America here:

The British government’s decision to pull Spain from the list of safe countries and require returning holidaymakers to self-isolate for a fortnight will come as a heavy blow to Spain’s lucrative and vital tourist sector.

The country, which relies on tourism for 12% of its GDP, was already expecting a bleak post-Covid summer, report Sam Jones and Stephen Burgen.

But the UK decision – combined with the French government’s advice against travelling to Catalonia, and Norway’s reimposition of a 10-day quarantine requirement for people arriving from Spain – is likely to torpedo Spain’s faltering tourist recovery.

Belgium has also banned non-essential travel to the north-eastern areas of Huesca and Lleida, and recommended against travel to a number of other Spanish areas.

You can read the full report here:

Hurricane Hanna battered the south Texas coast into the early hours of Sunday, leaving a large area already badly hit by the coronavirus crisis bracing for torrential downpours and potential flash floods.

The category 1 hurricane came ashore on Padre Island on Saturday afternoon, and later made a second landfall in Eastern Kennedy County, Texas.

Weakening as it headed west over land, Hanna was a tropical storm by Sunday morning, with its centre about 40 miles (65 km) from Mcallen, Texas and about 65 miles (105 km) from Monterrey, Mexico, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

The hurricane’s top sustained winds were around 60 miles per hour. Although the NHC cancelled the storm surge warning it had issued for the Texas coast, it said said Hanna could dump upward of 18 inches of rain in the area through Monday.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said during a Saturday briefing that the storm was especially challenging as it was sweeping through an area of the state that has been the worst hit by the coronavirus.

He issued a disaster declaration for 32 counties in Texas that were in the storm’s path.

The Texas area struck by Hanna has struggled to contain outbreaks of COVID-19 in recent weeks. Cases along the state’s coast have soared into the tens of thousands.

More than 400 people in Corpus Christi were hospitalised with the illness on Friday, according to city data.

TUI, Europe’s biggest holiday company, has said it will cancel all holidays to mainland Spain up to and including Sunday 9 August following Britain’s decision to impose a quarantine on those returning from the country.

In a statement published on Sunday, it said:

TUI UK have taken the decision to cancel all holidays to mainland Spain up to and including Sunday 9th August 2020.”

“We know how much our customers look forward to their holiday abroad and some will be able to accommodate the new quarantine restrictions. Therefore all those that wish to travel to the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands will be able to travel as planned from Monday 27th July.”

Indonesia reported 1,492 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, bringing the country’s total caseload to 98,778, data from the Health Ministry website showed.

The number of coronavirus-related deaths in Indonesia rose by 67, bringing the total to 4,781.

British tourists flying home on Sunday from holidays in Spain reacted angrily to the UK government’s abrupt decision to impose a two-week coronavirus quarantine on everyone travelling from there.

The move to take Spain off a safe-travel list was announced late on Saturday and took effect from midnight (2300 GMT on Saturday), leaving travellers with no time to dodge it or plan ahead.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government was slammed for its handling of the measure, taken as Spain sees a surge in COVID-19 cases.

“I can understand why the government have made this decision … but of course the way in which this decision has been made in the last 24 hours is frankly shambolic,” said the Labour Party’s health policy chief, Jonathan Ashworth, speaking to Sky News.

At Madrid’s Barajas airport Emily Harrison, from Essex, was taking a flight to London and faced the prospect of having to self-isolate for two weeks.

“We had a wedding to go to and we had plans to visit friends and family who we haven’t seen in a very long time and now we are going to have to cancel all those plans, so it’s really quiet upsetting,” she told Reuters.

Spain has seen cases rise in the last few weeks, prompting most regions to impose rules for masks to be worn everywhere and, in several areas including Barcelona, calls for people to stay at home.

“We’re quite frustrated by it to be honest, because it actually feels safer in Spain,” said British tourist Carolyne Lansell, who was flying to Ibiza from Madrid for a 10-day holiday before going home.

A Spanish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Saturday evening that Spain “respects decisions of the United Kingdom” and was in touch with the authorities there.

New South Wales’ Ministry of Health has put out an alert to the public following new confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia.

On Sunday, the country recorded 10 new deaths from the virus, its highest ever daily tally. They occurred in the state of Victoria, which also recorded 459 new Covid-19 cases.

New South Wales reported 14 new cases, bringing its total cases to 3,279.

In the public warning, NSW Health directed anyone who attended the Thai Rock Restaurant at Potts Point for two hours or more between Wednesday 15 July and Saturday 25 July to be immediately tested for coronavirus and to self-isolate for 14 days since they were last there, regardless of symptoms. It added:

This new advice follows investigation into a case announced last week who had reported attending Thai Rock Potts Point on Friday, 17 July.

“A staff member at the restaurant has now tested positive, and the venue has been closed for cleaning. Investigations into the source of the infection and contact tracing are under way.

“The Thai Rock Potts Point has the same owners as Thai Rock Wetherill Park, which has now been linked to 67 cases of COVID, but investigations to date have not identified links between cases at the two sites.”

Additionally, people who attended AN Restaurant in Bankstown on 23 July, and Tan Viet Noodle House in Cabramatta on 22 July, were asked to monitor for symptoms after a couple tested positive for the virus after visiting the venues.

Russia reported 5,765 new coronavirus cases and 77 more related deaths on Sunday, a steep decline from the 146 deaths reported a day earlier.

The nationwide tally of infections has risen to 812,485, the country’s coronavirus crisis response centre said.

The Covid-19 death toll now stands at 13,269 and 600,250 people have recovered.

Following the UK’s decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on travellers from Spain, newspaper El País has noted that the number of coronavirus cases and deaths in Britain are “much higher” than in Spain.

In an article published on Saturday night, Spain’s second most read daily said: “The British numbers of contagions and deaths from coronavirus continue to be much higher than the Spanish ones, but the harsh attacks received by [prime minister Boris] Johnson for his handling of the crisis have led the government to tighten controls and delay part of the de-escalation in the country.

“Downing Street has not vowed to cover the expense of all those unable to return to work when they return to the UK, and has limited itself to asking companies to be sympathetic to their employees in the new situation.”

The UK government’s decision means those coming back from Spain will have to self­-isolate for two weeks upon their return. The move, a blow to the government’s travel corridor scheme, followed a dramatic increase in the virus in Spain where nearly 1,000 infections have been reported in the past two days.

In a twist, Grant Shapps, the UK’s transport secretary who has been instrumental in drawing up the air corridor plans, was understood to be already holidaying in Spain, or to be in the process of travelling there.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the UK has reported 300,270 cases of Covid-19 and 45,823 deaths, while Spain has reported 272,421 cases and 28,432 deaths according to John Hopkins University.

On Friday, Spanish deputy emergency health director, Maria Jose Sierra, said the increase in cases in the country “could be a second wave”.

Vietnam has reintroduced social distancing measures in the city of Danang after a second locally-transmitted Covid-19 case was detected there, more than three months after any infections were reported in the country.

Vietnam is back on high alert after the government confirmed its first community infection since April on Saturday, and another case on Sunday, both in tourist hotspot Danang.

Authorities are yet to announce details on how the infections were contracted and if they are believed to be linked.

In a statement on its website the government said social distancing measures would come into force in the city until further notice.

Danang will stop receiving inbound tourists for 14 days, while all religious, sports and cultural events have been suspended.

Wearing masks in public places in the city is now compulsory and gatherings of more than 30 people at public places were banned, the government said.

The total of cases in the country so far is 418, with no deaths. The impressively low figures are believed to be because of its strict quarantine measures and widespread testing programme.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared an emergency and a lockdown in a border town after a person suspected of having Covid-19 illegally crossed the border from South Korea.

State media confirmed it would be the first case to be officially acknowledged by North Korean authorities.

An emergency politburo meeting was convened in response to what Kim called a “critical situation in which the vicious virus could be said to have entered the country”, the North’s KCNA state news reported.

A person who defected to South Korea three years ago returned across the fortified border that divides the two Koreas to the town of Kaesong this month with coronavirus symptoms, the disease caused by the virus, according to KCNA.

“An emergency event happened in Kaesong City where a runaway who went to the south three years ago, a person who is suspected to have been infected with the vicious virus returned on July 19 after illegally crossing the demarcation line,” KCNA said.

KCNA did not say if the person had been tested, but said an “uncertain result was made from several medical check-ups of the secretion of that person’s upper respiratory organ and blood”, prompting officials to quarantine the person and investigate anyone he may have been in contact with.

I’m Amy Walker, taking over the global coronavirus blog for the next few hours.

That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan, on a particularly troubling day. There are now 16 million known coronavirus cases worldwide, after infections increased by over 280,000 every 24 hours for three days in a row:

Roughly one in four of these daily new cases (and of the global total) is in the US, where a Texas hospital has been forced to establish a “death panel” – to decide which patients it can save and which ones will be sent home to die: