There’s a connection between America’s lack of commitment to collective wellbeing and the social disaster we suffer in times of crisis

Oh my goodness this virus seems to be all anyone talks about

Ian Sample speaks to Prof Deirdre Hollingsworth about social distancing. What is it? How might it help to flatten the curve? And what are some of the big unknowns when it comes to predicting how effective it might be? Continue reading...

Italy death toll approaches 3,000; Portugal declares state of emergency; worldwide cases pass 200,000. This blog is now closed.

Biotech firm Synairgen will trial SNG001 inhaler on 100 people in race to find cure

What to do and what not to do – your coronavirus questions answeredCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSocial distancing aims to reduce the amount of close contact people have with one another. The coronavirus can be spread through airborne droplets released when infected people cough or sneeze, so keeping your distance reduces your chances of becoming infected by this route. Avoid contact with anyone with symptoms of coronavirus: a high temperature and/or a new continuous cough. Continue reading...

Tiny creature, half the size of a mallard, found in rocks dating back to dinosaur ageExperts have discovered a fossil of the world’s oldest known modern bird – a diminutive creature about half the size of a mallard duck.Dubbed the Wonderchicken, the remains were found in rocks dating to about 66.8m to 66.7m years ago, revealing that the bird was active shortly before the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs 66m years ago. Continue reading...

Government has the upper hand for the first time in a generation. It must seize the moment

Latest figures from public health authorities on the spread of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom. Find out how many local confirmed cases have been reported near you

My university is staying open for now, but I have no idea whether I’ll be able to continue doing my researchOn 11 March, the World Health Organisation declared coronavirus to be a pandemic. On 12 March, at the University of Bristol, where I conduct my research, news broke that a student had tested positive for coronavirus after returning home from abroad. Despite this, the university is still open. Although most courses have moved online, lots of students have remained on site and can still use campus facilities such as the gym. I’m finding the university’s response unclear, confusing, and perhaps even irresponsible.As a PhD student, my anxiety is growing as we wait for information about our academic status. The university previously announced that research had to continue and be supported. Yet cancelling lectures and assessments while keeping the university open and encouraging staff and research students to continue working seems counterintuitive. Continue reading...

Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of the Lancet, says UK ignored clear warning signs from China

The government urges us to avoid gatherings to contain Covid-19, yet does nothing about classrooms. The situation is fast becoming untenable•Coronavirus – latest updates•See all our coronavirus coverageSchools are to remain open in England. So says a government that, seemingly, worked out later than Twitter that herd immunity would cost a quarter of a million people their lives. It is the same government that is unable to clearly explain the logic behind not testing doctors and nurses on the frontline of fighting this virus. Teachers, therefore, can be forgiven for thinking that our leaders are, again, wrongly interpreting the facts.The rationale for keeping schools open (though Scotland and Wales are closing theirs from Friday) has been that children do not seem to get seriously ill with Covid-19 and that closing schools would cause huge social disruption. Health and social care would suffer as workers remain at home looking after children; grandparents might be tasked with childcare when already at greater risk from the virus. Yet it still remains unclear what role children play in the spread of the virus. Continue reading...

Students, scientists, developers and health professionals use forums to investigate potential vaccines and methods of testing

What are the symptoms caused by the virus from Wuhan in China, how does it spread, and should you call a doctor?

This is dire for students with no home to go to, uncertain immigration statuses or high-risk family membersLess than a week ago, the official word from New York University (NYU) to its students was that in-person classes would not resume until 19 April at the earliest. We were given repeated assurances in emails and through student governmental organizations that our residence halls would not close. At the time, students, parents and government officials praised NYU for its decision to suspend classes, which we saw as a step toward “flattening the curve”.Related: Coronavirus map of the US: latest cases state by state Continue reading...

As countries close borders and bring in curfews, photographs reveal the impact of coronavirusBeirut’s Corniche promenade in Lebanon. Photograph: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters Continue reading...

A summary of the biggest developments in the global coronavirus outbreak

A growing number of nations are shutting airports as global Covid-19 infection cases near 200,000

UK measures to last at least ‘several months’; Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe freed temporarily; Saudi Arabia to stage virtual G20 summit. This blog is closed.

All travel into Schengen area is suspended while Donald Trump admits scale of challenge

Cancelled flights, airport shutdowns and soaring ticket prices all preventing people returning home

Warning after contamination found across Wuhan hospital, with virus on much equipment

The government’s reluctance to put the health of citizens first during the Covid-19 outbreak has echoes in the 1940s and 50s

Foreign secretary says dramatic step necessary to fight spread of coronavirus

For some, workplaces are hotspots. For the over-65s, it’s shops and restaurants. We urgently need to change our behaviour

Coronavirus is a grave threat to the economy and the lives of millions – a new benefit payment for all affected workers should be just the start• See all our coronavirus coverageThe coronavirus pandemic has shown us all in just a few days how fragile our way of life really is. Basic certainties about our health, that of our loved ones and our normal way of life can no longer be taken for granted. Our sense of anxiety is real and understandable.In these new circumstances, the most important and hardest thing for government is to not cling to old certainties about the way things should be done, but to tear up the rulebook. That is what we have started to see in the last few days when it comes to public health measures. There is now a desperate urgency that this scale of action is matched by the government’s economic response. We are not there yet – not by a long way. Continue reading...

There is no one right way to curb a pandemic. But now research has shown ‘mitigation’ is riskier than tougher measures• See all our coronavirus coverageHow can you chart the right course through a turbulent and dangerous new sea with no reliable map or GPS? We are all part of the living experiment that is about to find out. After failing to mandate widespread social distancing last week, an approach that went against the grain of the rest of the world and advice from the World Health Organization, the UK government has now started to ease these restrictions in. It is not clear if this was part of the plan of escalation all along, or rather a U-turn precipitated by robust criticism.Related: New data, new policy: why UK's coronavirus strategy changed Continue reading...

This pandemic will open up sinkholes in society – volunteers may have to help out in services from deliveries to education• See all our coronavirus coverageNous sommes en guerre: we are at war. With those words, President Macron put France on notice yesterday that everything had changed, promising hundreds of billions of euros to ensure that no business would go bust because of the virus.Yet here in Britain, where the government has only just realised that its strategy of keeping calm and carrying on is no longer sustainable, we’re scrabbling to catch up. Boris Johnson raised more questions than answers with Monday’s instructions to start social distancing with a vengeance: how are all those people whose jobs effectively vanished overnight, when the nation was told to avoid pubs and clubs and restaurants and theatres, supposed to live? What about the next wave of businesses that will be hit – in manufacturing as factories start shutting down, in shops and services that sell anything that people don’t actively need in order to stay at home? The hospitality trade is already warning it will be wiped out without state assistance (ministers didn’t actually order them to close, merely telling their customers to stay away, therefore many won’t be able to claim on insurance). We don’t even have answers yet on how people working freelance or in the gig economy are supposed to cope, and already the crisis is moving on to those in supposedly secure jobs. Continue reading...

Some people face a stark choice during the coronavirus outbreak – go out to work or don’t get paid

Until New York shut down, I didn’t appreciate how privileged I was. Now, I am trying to fight my anxiety by making the most of mundane moments

Major chains including Odeon, Cineworld and Picturehouse to go dark• Coronavirus and culture – a list of major cancellationsHuge numbers of cinemas across the UK and Ireland are shutting down due to the coronavirus.Major chains, including Odeon, Cineworld and Picturehouse, as well as BFI Southbank, the screening complex operated by the British Film Institute, have announced they are closing their doors with largely immediate effect. Continue reading...

Human trials will begin in April – but even if they go well, there are many barriers before global immunisation is feasible

What are the symptoms caused by the virus from Wuhan in China, how does it spread, and should you call a doctor?

Definitive answer not yet known, but experts say reinfection seems unlikely

With a shift to online teaching as some institutions cancel lectures, there are fears that disadvantaged students may be missing outUK universities are racing to ensure that the coronavirus does not prevent final-year students from completing their degrees. But experts say a sudden shift to online learning is a “huge challenge” for both institutions and students.All universities have been treating the coronavirus as a major emergency for some weeks. Last week the London School of Economics, University College London, Durham University, Manchester Metropolitan and Loughborough became the first to close down class teaching and move online. Continue reading...

Whether you’re a catastrophist or a conspiracy theorist, everyone has their own way of coping with the pandemic. But what we really need is solidarity and honesty

A survey found that 37% of teachers said they did not have hot water and soap available for pupilsGlobal crises often bring surprises for schools. The first world war flagged up the high number of young soldiers who couldn’t read or write. In the second world war, middle-class country families despaired when evacuated children showed up malnourished and riven with lice. In the aftermath of both, politicians determined to make life better: focusing schools more on literacy and introducing daily milk and school nurses.Pandemics, like wars, temporarily change our way of life. Change happens fast. Schools may even have closed by the time you read this. This will be difficult, and if it’s for a long time and in isolation there are real concerns about safeguarding and loss of learning, but let’s not forget schools shut for a six-week period each year and families do cope. What is of long-term concern is what happens even when schools are open. Continue reading...

Our stripped-down NHS will not be able to cope when Covid-19 peaks, leaving it to officials to decide who lives and who dies

Hannah Devlin speaks to Prof Paul Hunter about fatality rates; why different figures are being quoted across the media; how the rates are calculated; and is the fatality rate the only useful number to look at? Continue reading...

WHO urges governments to ‘test, test, test’; US measures ramped up; Germany closes shops. This blog is closed

‘No edicts, please, we’re British,’ is the message as Boris Johnson tries to convince in newly serious role

Universal films including The Hunt will shift to on-demand this week as chains shutter to prevent spread of coronavirus

The prime minister has given people clear instructions to avoid each other. But big questions about the strategy and its impact remain unansweredThe new week that is now under way will be like no other. Europe is officially the centre of the global coronavirus pandemic. Last weekend saw the imposition of drastic new measures by governments across the continent, with schools, museums, businesses and national borders closed. Gatherings, including major sporting fixtures, have been cancelled and states of emergency declared. In the UK, local elections that were due to take place in May have been postponed. In Italy it was announced that 368 people had died in 24 hours – the worst single-day death toll for any country including China, where the Covid-19 outbreak began in November. Markets around the world have fallen sharply, with the FTSE 100 closing on Monday at an eight-year low.Boris Johnson’s late afternoon press conference on Monday, and the promise of daily televised briefings, went some way to calm justified fears about his government’s approach to the coronavirus crisis. In a dramatic ratcheting up of official guidance, described by the prime minister as “very draconian”, entire households are now asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days if any member has either of the two key symptoms of a high temperature or continuous cough. Everyone should minimise non-essential contact, work from home if possible and avoid unnecessary travel. Vulnerable groups, including over-70s and pregnant women, should stay indoors for 12 weeks. Continue reading...

Latest details of the spread of Covid-19 in the UK capital, the government’s response, and its impact on families and businesses

Human trial of vaccine created by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health to begin in Seattle

The president’s shameless bid highlights the need for a drugs industry that prioritises the public interest over profit

The Guardian’s Science Weekly podcast is exploring the knowns and unknowns of the coronavirus outbreak with scientists at the frontlineAs the coronavirus outbreak continues to unfold, many of us have been left with burning questions. To address some of these, hosts Ian Sample, Hannah Devlin, and Nicola Davis, as well as health editor Sarah Boseley, will take turns in bringing a question - some sent in by you – to experts on the frontline.We will explore exactly what we do and don’t know yet, but also will highlight encouraging work that is being carried out by scientists around the world. Continue reading...

Covid-19 cases are doubling every three days in France and the capital is preparing for the worst

Comments come after French authorities say such drugs could aggravate condition