Questions raised over hydroxychloroquine study which caused WHO to halt trials for Covid-19
Questions have been raised by Australian infectious disease researchers about a study published in the Lancet which prompted the World Health Organization to halt global trials of the drug hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19. The World Health Organization halted all its trials involving hydroxychloroquine due to the concerns raised in the study about its efficacy and safety. It said researchers gained access to data from five hospitals recording 600 Australian Covid-19 patients and 73 Australian deaths as of 21 April. Other studies have found the drug is associated with higher mortality when given to severely unwell Covid-19 patients. The randomised control trial is exploring whether hydroxychloroquine in combination or on its own can treat Covid-19 patients and prevent deterioration in their condition.
Source:The Guardian
May 28, 2020 02:28 UTC
Coronavirus live news: global total number of cases nears 6m, as France moves into new lockdown phase
The Madrid region and the Barcelona metropolitan area, two of the hardest-hit zones, will remain in the second phase, which they belatedly entered in Monday. Under the rules for the third phase, people can eat inside restaurants and visit shopping centres, but both will operate are reduced capacities. Some areas, such as the Balearic island of Formentera and three Canary islands will move into the final phase on Monday. An outbreak caused by “a small, innocent party could be the start of another epidemic,” he said. Spain also had an earlier spike in Lleida, Catalonia, after 20 people gathered for a birthday party, ignoring phase-one lockdown rules which stipulated gatherings of no more than 10 people.
Source:The Guardian
May 27, 2020 23:57 UTC
Coronavirus kills more than 100,000 people in the US
Ivanka Trump and her family wore masks as they attended the postponed SpaceX launch in FloridaMore than 100,000 people who had Covid-19 have died in the United States, according to several unofficial tallies. The death toll, far higher than in any other country, exceeds the number of US casualties in every conflict since the Korean War. It is on course to be the country’s worst public health disaster since the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, in which about 675,000 Americans died. The nationwide death toll stood at 100,396 last night after an additional 1,401 deaths were recorded in the previous 24 hours. Public health experts warned that the pandemic was far from over.
Source:The Times
May 27, 2020 23:15 UTC
Lucky for some — John Lewis to reopen 13 stores
Partners from the John Lewis branch in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, prepare for the store reopeningOnly a quarter of John Lewis’s stores will reopen next month as part of a phased comeback. Poole and Kingston will be the first two to reopen on Monday June 15, followed by eleven more three days later — Bluewater, Cambridge, Cheadle, Cheltenham, High Wycombe, Horsham, Ipswich, Norwich, Nottingham, Solihull and Welwyn Garden City. The 50 John Lewis department stores in the UK employ 28,100 partners, while 349 Waitrose supermarkets have 52,400 partners. There has been speculation that some John Lewis shops may never reopen after lockdown as the group makes tough decisions about its estate. Experts believe the pandemic has forced many more shoppers online and away from bricks-and-mortar stores, while a recession will curb consumers’ appetite.
Source:The Times
May 27, 2020 23:02 UTC
Our system was in crisis long before lockdown
It can take a catastrophe for people to come together and help to get a system back on its feet. the resumption of a limited number of new crown court trials in a few carefully planned, sanitised and safe court buildings, provides hard evidence that, where there is a collective will to change, great improvements can be made. After a gallop around the country to visit the key jury courts, I have optimism about how we are adjusting to the “new normal”. However, that optimism is tinged with a deep regret that it took the dramatic halt of jury trials in March for us to reach this point. Court users have been coming together because they care deeply about maintaining a key public service.
Source:The Times
May 27, 2020 23:02 UTC
Cork man who claimed he was on dog errand challenges drug conviction
Daniel Wyse’s car tried to go past a garda patrol but ended up colliding with the vehicle before the drugs were foundA Cork man has appealed against the drugs conviction that led to him being sentenced to ten years in prison. He had told gardaí that he was out getting identity papers for his pet chihuahua, when caught with more than €37,000 worth of heroin in his jeep. Daniel Wyse, 36, of Glenfields Park, Ballyvolane, was charged with possession of the drugs for sale or supply at Halfway Crossroads, Rathduff, Co Cork, in February 2014. Gardaí had attempted to stop and search the Grand Vitara jeep that Wyse was driving, and followed him into a cul de sac. Wyse, who had a front-seat passenger, made a U-turn and attempted to drive past the garda car by mounting the embankment.
Source:The Times
May 27, 2020 23:02 UTC
Pay-cut letter ‘sent in error’ by Barratt
Pay cuts of 15 per cent were outlined in a letter to suppliers sent from Barratt’s Manchester office last weekBritain’s biggest housebuilder has said that a letter it sent to suppliers warning that their pay rates would be slashed by 15 per cent was sent in error. Barratt Developments said that correspondence detailing cuts for bricklayers and labourers, the abolishment of weekend overtime payments and stricter payment terms was “not company policy”. The company is chaired by John Allan, president of the CBI, the business group, which has said that companies have a “moral responsibility to pay fairly and transparently”. A leading suppliers’ group demanded an apology from Barratt over the episode, which it said would have added to the stress on suppliers already dealing with cashflow problems during the Covid-19 pandemic. Rudi Klein, chief executive of the Specialist Engineering Contractors Group, which represents
Source:The Times
May 27, 2020 23:02 UTC
Where there’s a will, there’s a socially distanced way
A will that is not executed correctly is not a will and does not work. The Wills Act 1837 sets out formal, pedantic requirements — though these rules were clearly formulated in a very different time. Testators must sign in the presence of two independent witnesses, who attest and sign the will in the presence of the testator. Witnesses to a will, and their spouses or civil partners, cannot receive any benefit under it. During the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown, a particularly vulnerable testator could direct a person standing on the other side of a window to sign the
Source:The Times
May 27, 2020 23:02 UTC
Two wheels can be just as bad as four
Lockdown has triggered a boom in cycling — and many cyclists ride responsibly. Unfortunately unprecedented access to predominantly car-free roads has triggered a culture of toxic cycling. Throw in the fact that, unlike motorists, there is no legal imperative for identification, anonymity is a gift for cycling with impunity. Now that restrictions are being eased and drivers return to the roads, the situation has reached a point of critical mass. Which is why the government urgently needs to to address the paucity in legislation, establish parity between cyclists and motorists and so ensure roads are safe for all users.
Source:The Times
May 27, 2020 23:02 UTC
What’s on TV and radio tonight: Thursday, May 28
For full TV listings for the week, see thetimes.co.uk/tvplannerViewing guide, by Dominic MaxwellBritain’s Best Parent? Channel 4, 8.05pmIt is one of the compensations of parenting, at present denied to most of us by lockdown, to go round to other people’s homes and silently judge their misguided parenting strategies compared with our own magnificent ones. For this first heat, the three teams each have wildly differing philosophies. Joanna, a single mother, is all about feminist parenting, “promoting gender fluidity” for her five-year-old son. She says “well done” rather than “good boy”,
Source:The Times
May 27, 2020 23:02 UTC
We’re going green, says BP boss Bernard Looney
Bernard Looney said BP will set out its ambition to become a “net-zero emissions” company in SeptemberThe boss of BP said yesterday that it was drawing up a green strategy for the next ten years, as its first “virtual” annual meeting at its offices was picketed by environment activists. The energy group is due to host an investor update in September, at which it has promised to flesh out its ambition to become a “net-zero emissions” company by 2050. Questioned by shareholders over what this meant, Bernard Looney, chief executive, said: “We expect to set out more detail on our near and medium-term plans for the next decade at a capital markets day in September.” Its spending plans cover only a five-year period, from 2017-21. Mr Looney addressed shareholders from BP’s London headquarters via a webcast in the company’s first
Source:The Times
May 27, 2020 23:02 UTC
Coronavirus in Ireland: No sport? No problem: Second Captains podcast raises the bar
Second Captains has bucked a downward trend among many podcasts by seeing its listenership go upThe daily sports podcast Second Captains has recorded a 10 per cent increase in paid subscribers despite all sporting events being cancelled more than two months ago. Many podcasts have reported a significant drop in listeners since the lockdown in March as people are no longer tuning in on their commute to work, while services like Sky Sports have refunded subscribers to make up for the lack of live sport. But Second Captains appears to have bucked the trend with Ciarán Murphy, one of the podcast’s three main hosts, revealing that subscribers have increased by about 10 per cent in recent months. The podcast now has 12,639 paid subscribers. Murphy said they had been forced to “think outside the box” due to the lack of
Source:The Times
May 27, 2020 23:02 UTC
Hammerson horror lurches to climax
But not the “Two Daves”: the double-act from Hammerson, starring chairman David Tyler and chief executive David Atkins. Thanks to the pair, we’ve had some right side-splitters, not least their famous Intu-Outtu routine. So imagine the fans’ dismay: Mr Atkins is off, if only in slow motion, hanging on “until spring 2021 at the latest”. Does that mean Mr Tyler’s had enough of his partner’s stage antics? Last October’s tenth
Source:The Times
May 27, 2020 23:02 UTC
Boohoo can shrug off fund’s attack
It’s a real worry for Boohoo’s investors if the hedge fund attacking its share price is right about alleged accounting funnies. In a lengthy research note published this week, Shadow Fall, the London-based short-seller, essentially made two main claims: first, it argued that Boohoo was making its Pretty Little Thing subsidiary brand look more profitable than it really is by failing to allocate costs appropriately; second, that the company had been misleading investors about the level of its free cashflow for the past six years. Assessing free cashflow is a measure used by some analysts to value companies, although it should be said not by the analysts that tend to cover Boohoo’s stock. The leading online fast-fashion retailer published a rebuttal yesterday, insisting that
Source:The Times
May 27, 2020 23:02 UTC
We must stop children being exposed to dangerous online content in lockdown
It’s nearly two months since lockdown began. Latest data from the Department of Education tells us that 99 of every 100 children are not currently going to school, increasingly online for longer periods of time as parents juggle the pressures of lockdown life. Going online for children is the gateway for education, healthcare, family contact, entertainment – it’s the new normal of Covid life, with children spending over double the time online than before. This new normal shouldn’t be rife with dangerous information, violent content, and algorithms that routinely suggest adult strangers as friends. But, sadly, I fear we are at risk of overlooking the public health dangers of online harms that threaten our children.
Source:The Times
May 27, 2020 23:02 UTC