Coronavirus live news: India cases pass 800,000; masks may become mandatory in England shops

Proceedings got under way on Saturday morning, with many mourners braving the tighter restrictions put in place to stem the spread of Covid-19.

India’s coronavirus cases have passed 800,000 with the biggest increase, of 27,114 cases, in the past 24 hours, causing nearly a dozen states to impose a partial lockdown in high-risk areas.

The new confirmed cases took the national total to 820,916.

The health ministry on Saturday also reported another 519 deaths for a total of 22,123.

Russia was fast approaching three-quarters of a million coronavirus cases on Saturday, as its latest update reported 6,611 new infections, taking its nationwide tally to 720,547.

The country’s coronavirus crisis response centre said 188 people had died from the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 11,205.

He said efforts which began two decades ago to battle the global HIV/Aids crisis could serve as a model for making Covid-19 medicines widely accessible.

MEPs on Friday used an “urgent procedure” process to adopt a new regulation to speed up the development of Covid-19 treatments and vaccines containing GMOs.

Boris Johnson, the prime minister, last night vowed to “get stricter” on their use and said he was “looking at ways of making sure” that more people covered their faces indoors.

The British pilot who spent two months on life support in Vietnam as the country’s most at-risk Covid-19 patient was on his way home on Saturday, astounding doctors who gave him just a 10% chance of survival.

Iran must continue “economic, social and cultural activities while observing health protocols”, Hassan Rouhani said during a televised virus taskforce meeting on Saturday, according to AP.

Rouhani’s comments came as the health ministry reported 2,397 new cases over the past 24 hours on Saturday, taking the country’s total confirmed coronavirus cases to 255,117.

Sima Sadat Lari, the health ministry spokeswoman, said 188 more people had died, taking the country’s total death toll to 12,635.

#Iran's Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Saturday that some 188 more Iranians have died from #coronavirus disease (#COVID19) over the past 24 hours bringing the total deaths to 12,635 https://t.co/O7HRvyl1Kr pic.twitter.com/5DBgc2gQhy.

“It is not possible to keep businesses and economic activities shut down in the long-term,” Rouhani said, emphasising that “the people will not accept this”.

The health minister, Said Namaki, warned on Wednesday of a potential “revolt over poverty” and blamed US sanctions for the government’s “empty coffers”.

The British pilot who spent two months on life support in Vietnam as the country’s most at-risk Covid-19 patient was on his way home on Saturday, astounding doctors who gave him just a 10% chance of survival, AFP reports.

The news that he would need a lung transplant was met with 59 donation offers, according to the health ministry.

On Saturday – as state media said his treatment bill had reached at least $150,000 – he was well enough to catch a repatriation flight to London, accompanied by three doctors.

The country has just 370 confirmed cases and zero deaths, but its borders remain largely shut.

At least two doctors in Syria’s north-west have been infected with the coronavirus, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the overcrowded rebel enclave to three, a monitoring group has told the Associated Press.

Syrian opposition and militant groups control the Idlib area, which is home to more than 3 million people, most of them displaced by the war and living in tent camps and overcrowded facilities.

Local health facilities have been targeted in Syrian government attacks that have recently displaced nearly another million people.

Indonesia reported 1,671 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing the total count to 74,018, a health ministry official, Achmad Yurianto, told a televised news briefing, according to Reuters

Deaths from the virus rose by 66 on Saturday, bringing the total tally to 3,535, he said, while 34,719 people have recovered

The derogation will facilitate the development, authorisation and consequently availability of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments

South Korea has reported 35 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing its caseload to 13,373 infections and 288 deaths, the Associated Press reports

South Korea’s centres for disease control and prevention said on Saturday that 13 of the new cases were in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, which has been at the centre of a virus resurgence since late May

Bill Gates has called for Covid-19 drugs and any eventual vaccine to be made available to countries and people that need them most, not to the highest bidder, saying that relying on market forces to ensure their distribution would prolong the pandemic, according to Reuters

The Microsoft tycoon said in a video released on Saturday:

Speaking in the video, which was released for a virtual Covid-19 conference organised by the International Aids Society, Gates said efforts which began two decades ago to battle the global HIV/Aids crisis – when countries came together to eventually make medicines available in most of the world including Africa – could serve as a model for making Covid-19 medicines widely accessible

Meanwhile, the outdoors retailer REI said it has seen record growth in its camping department in the last six weeks as people rush to buy equipment

As well as longer-term proposals to reduce the incidence of obesity, government officials are having urgent discussions about how to persuade people to lose weight in the next few months, before an anticipated resurgence in coronavirus cases in the autumn

India’s coronavirus cases have passed 800,000 with the biggest spike of 27,114 cases in the past 24 hours, causing nearly a dozen states to impose a partial lockdown in high-risk areas, the Associated Press reports

The new confirmed cases took the national total to 820,916

The health ministry on Saturday also reported another 519 deaths for a total of 22,123

The ministry said the recovery rate was continuing to improve at more than 62%

The most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, with nearly 230 million people, imposed a weekend lockdown while several others announced restrictions in districts reporting major spikes