No current evidence to suggest coronavirus leaked from Wuhan research lab, agencies sayCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThere is no current evidence to suggest that coronavirus leaked from a Chinese research laboratory, intelligence sources have told the Guardian, contradicting recent White House claims that there is growing proof this is how the pandemic began.The...

Loved by their 41 grandchildren, the men died within 17 days of each other. Their loss highlights the virus’s brutal toll on minoritiesIn photographs together and with their families, the five men smile, or hold their loved ones close. All 50 or older, their friendships ranged over decades, their passions running from philanthropy to cycling, their duties from activism to business. A little over...

EU-hosted talks tout cooperation but is not addressed by India, Russia or USCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageUK data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed that men are almost twice as likely to die from the disease as women. The trend was first seen in China, where one analysis found a fatality rate of 2.8% in men compared with 1.7% in women. Since then,...

Government must state whether aim is to suppress or manage infections, say experts convened by Sir David KingCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe government has fundamental questions to answer about its approach to tackling Covid-19, an independent body of experts have said.The Independent Sage committee – a body of 12 scientists and experts set up in parallel to the...

The government published names of 50 members who sit on the group but the list is incompleteCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageDowning Street is facing fresh calls for transparency over the expert advice it receives after it published the names of 50 experts that sit on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) which discusses how to handle the coronavirus...

After nine weeks of confinement, Italians are back in the streets. But the most difficult decisions have yet to be made“We are living in the night of the virus,” wrote one academic, soon after Europe’s first Covid-19 lockdown was imposed in Italy. “Living in the dark, because it’s difficult to see what’s happening out there, since we are shut up in our homes.”On Monday Italians...

It’s no surprise that the virus is making us anxious. Nor that some groups and people are far worse affected than others “The undisguised brutality of our time is weighing heavily upon us. Tomorrow she is to be cremated, our poor Sunday child!” So wrote Sigmund Freud in January 1920, two days after his 27-year-old daughter Sophie died of Spanish flu (due to travel restrictions, he had not...

‘Huge enthusiasm’ on the island for scheme to help beat coronavirus, claims health secretaryA new contact tracing app for managing the coronavirus outbreak will be piloted on the Isle of Wight this week, Matt Hancock has confirmed.Having stopped trying to track every case back in March, when the virus began spreading freely in the population, the government is now recruiting what the health...

The solutions to today’s puzzlesEarlier today I set you the following four puzzles from my new book, Football School: the Ultimate Puzzle Book:1. Which of these two watering cans can carry the most water? Continue...

Delivering the coronavirus tests was the easy part. Now we need mass contact-tracing and self-isolation Paul Hunter is professor in medicine at the University of East AngliaCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageOn Friday health secretary Matt Hancock announced that the UK had achieved its target of carrying out 100,000 tests per day. Of the reported 122,347 tests on 30...

Researchers highlight risk of asymptomatic infection, as Europe begins easing lockdownCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMore than 10 times as many people in Germany as thought may have been infected with coronavirus, researchers have said, as Italy led swathes of Europe out of lockdown and officials said the continent’s outbreak was mostly past its peak.Researchers...

List of more than 50 names published, but Dominic Cummings is not among themCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageDowning Street has published the names of the more than 50 scientists who sit on its Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies to discuss coronavirus, after criticism of the secrecy surrounding the group and the Guardian’s revelation that the No 10 adviser...

Shinzo Abe says lockdown measures will remain in place in all regions until 31 MayCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageJapan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has extended the country’s state emergency until the end of the month, amid warnings that relaxing physical distancing advice too soon could flood already crowded hospitals with coronavirus patients.Abe declared a...

Latest figures from public health authorities on the spread of Covid-19 in the United Kingdom. Find out how many confirmed cases have been reported near youCoronavirus - live news updatesFind all our coronavirus coverage hereHow to protect yourself from infectionPlease note: these are government figures on numbers of confirmed cases - some people who report symptoms are not being tested, and are...

Four months in, we know what works against coronavirus. These are eight important lessons from east AsiaDevi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of EdinburghCoronavirus – latest updatesKnowing how to control the spread of coronavirus is not rocket science. But actually doing it has proved elusive and difficult for many governments across the world. When China first alerted...

Puzzles for kids in quarantineToday’s teasers are from my new puzzle book, Football School: the Ultimate Puzzle Book, which is aimed at 8 to 13-year-olds. No pressure. I have extracted some of the problems that I thought might also provide entertainment for grown-ups.We kick off with a problem for everyone tending their lawns, plant pots, and window boxes during lockdown. Continue...

Dirty air is well known to worsen the heart and lung risk factors for Covid-19 - early research is cause for concernIn many respects, it makes perfect sense.Patients with severe Covid-19 are twice as likely to have had pre-existing respiratory diseases and three times as likely to have had cardiovascular problems. Continue...