Sajid Javid criticised over Covid recovery remarks – as it happened | World news

Two men have been charged after allegedly striking police horses during an anti-lockdown protests in Sydney, Australia.

The men, aged 33 and 36, were refused bail and will appear today at Parramatta Local Court.

Brazil on Saturday reported 1,108 new deaths from Covid-19, the health ministry said, bringing the total fatalities to 549,448.
Cases rose by 38,091 to bring the total to 19,670,534, Reuters reports.

Summer holiday plans for nearly six million Britons could be ruined if Spain and Greece follow France onto the “amber plus” list requiring isolation on return, according to an analysis.

Labour said an estimated 5,857,558 people face the prospect of last-minute quarantine requirements to protect against the spread of coronavirus after booking trips over the “summer of chaos”.

The UK government introduced an exemption for the requirement to isolate at home for 10 days for fully-vaccinated holidaymakers returning from countries on the amber list, PA reports.

But ministers removed the exemption for France amid concerns over the Beta variant, creating what critics call an “amber plus” designation on the traffic light system for foreign travel.

Labour’s shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon said: “Not only have they failed to protect our borders, allowing Covid cases to rocket – they also refuse to be straight with the public and give them the information they need to book travel with confidence, with clear information on the direction of travel of infections in each country.”

A Department for Transport spokesman said: “The travel list allocations have not changed for Spain or Greece.

“We are closely monitoring the data and will take swift action on travel list allocations and international travel requirements should the data show that countries’ risk to England has changed.”

Only fully-vaccinated football fans may be able to attend Premier League matches and other events with more than 20,000 spectators from October under UK government plans.

Talks are in an early phase with the Premier League to discuss whether supporters who have not been double-jabbed could be barred from entry, the PA news agency understands.

The use of vaccine passports could also be extended to lower divisions and other sports in England as ministers seek to reduce the surge of Covid-19 cases as other restrictions are ended.

While no final decisions have been made, it is currently being discussed whether vaccine passports could be introduced for seated events with a capacity of 20,000 people and over.

The UK’s health secretary Sajid Javid has been criticised further for saying people must no longer “cower” from coronavirus as he announced he had made a “full recovery” from Covid-19.

Jo Goodman, co-founder of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, said Javid’s “comments are deeply insensitive on a number of levels”, PA reports.

“Not only are they hurtful to bereaved families, implying our loved ones were too cowardly to fight the virus, but they insult all those still doing their best to protect others from the devastation this horrific virus can bring,” she added.

“Words matter and the flippancy and carelessness of this comment has caused deep hurt and further muddied the waters of the Government’s dangerously mixed messaging.”

A snow leopard at San Diego Zoo in the US has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Ramil, a nine-year-old male snow leopard, was tested for the virus after caretakers noticed that he had a cough and runny nose on Thursday.

The animal’s stool sample was tested by the zoo staff and at a state-level lab, both of which confirmed the presence of the coronavirus, the zoo said.

Ramil is not showing additional symptoms. But because he shares an enclosure with a female snow leopard and two Amur leopards, the staff assume they have been exposed. As a result, the animals were quarantined and their exhibit was closed.

It is unclear how Ramil got infected, Associated Press reports.

In January, a troop of eight gorillas at the zoo’s sister facility, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, contracted Covid-19 from a keeper who had the virus but showed no symptoms.

Protesters took to the streets in several Brazilian cities on Saturday to demand the impeachment of president Jair Bolsonaro, whose popularity has fallen in recent weeks amid corruption scandals against the backdrop of the pandemic.

Over 500,000 Brazilians have died of Covid-19 under Bolsonaro’s leadership. He has been widely criticised for dismissing the severity of the disease and opposing masks and social distancing measures, Reuters reports.

Bolsonaro is now being investigated in the Senate, which is probing the possibility of corruption tied to the purchase of an Indian coronavirus vaccine.

An emergency UK government plan to prevent the spiralling “pingdemic” from hitting food supplies has descended into chaos, with industry leaders condemning the scheme as an “absolute disaster” that has done more harm than good.

As train services were also disrupted on Saturday by the number of workers self-isolating, airports reported long queues at passport controls and the hospitality industry warned of a summer of closures, Downing Street defied growing calls to bring forward a full relaxation of quarantine rules from the scheduled date of 16 August.

In an attempt to prevent more empty supermarket shelves and avert wider economic damage, ministers bowed last Thursday to persistent pressure from the food industry, announcing that around 10,000 workers in the sector would be exempted from the rules if they tested negative on a daily basis. Others in key sectors of the economy and vital public services are also included in the emergency plan.

But several food industry leaders responsible for the supply chain told the Observer the measures had been so badly mishandled and poorly communicated that they had made the crisis worse.

The UK’s health secretary Sajid Javid has been criticised for saying people must no longer “cower” from coronavirus after he announced he had made a “full recovery” from Covid-19.

Shadow justice secretary David Lammy accused him of having “insulted” people who followed the rules to protect others, while the Lib Dems told him to apologise to those who have shielded because they are particularly vulnerable to the disease.

Javid, who had received both jabs before testing positive, said on Saturday he had made a “full recovery” and his “symptoms were very mild, thanks to amazing vaccines”.

“Please, if you haven’t yet, get your jab, as we learn to live with, rather than cower from, this virus,” he wrote on Twitter. Lammy questioned his use of the word cower, as did many social media users.

“129,000 Brits have died from Covid under your Government’s watch,” the Labour MP wrote.

“Don’t denigrate people for trying to keep themselves and their families safe.”

Lib Dem health spokeswoman Munira Wilson said Javid’s tweet was “outrageous” while thousands remain in hospital with Covid-19.