29 articles from SUNDAY 10.5.2020

Starwatch: Follow the Plough to find bright stars and the Northern Crown

This week is a good time to see red giant Arcturus and bright white Vega, with the Corona Borealis The northern hemisphere’s spring constellations are now well placed in the evening sky. The chart shows the view looking south from London throughout the evenings this week. The jewel is the orange star Arcturus in Böotes, the herdsman. It can be most easily located by identifying the Plough and...

UK coronavirus live: Sturgeon says 'I don't know what "stay alert" means'; official UK death toll rises to 31,855

Sturgeon’s comments come amid criticism of UK government’s new slogan and ahead of Boris Johnson’s statement at 7pmNicola Sturgeon leads chorus of disapproval over new ‘stay alert’ adviceBoris Johnson to announce five-tier coronavirus alert systemDoctors warn of second coronavirus wave as people flout lockdown rulesGlobal coronavirus updates - liveSee all our coronavirus coverage 6.34pm...

Gambling firms' social messages are ‘thinly veiled’ adverts, say MPs

UK companies accused of undermining promise to stop advertising during lockdownCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageGambling firms are undermining their pledge not to advertise during lockdown by showing “thinly veiled” commercials disguised as social responsibility messages, according to MPs who have urged the government to intervene.The Betting and Gaming Council...

Fears grow in Germany of second wave of coronavirus infections

While protesters call for further relaxing of social restrictions, scientists warn of new dynamicWith the Covid-19 pandemic stretching into its third month in Europe, Germany is discovering that a competent handling of the crisis in the early stages can become a burden later on.As the kind of dramatic scenes of overstretched health services witnessed in Italy or Spain never fully materialised in...

Boris Johnson to announce five-tier coronavirus alert system

System will mirror independent terror alerts, categorising threat level on scale of one to fiveCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageBoris Johnson is expected to announce a five-tier alert system to rank the threat from coronavirus - although experts said it was not immediately clear how independent or effective the scheme would be.The current threat level from the pandemic...

Will Coronavirus Kill Astrology?

If ever there was one, Susan Miller would be a blue-chip astrologer. So in January, when she appeared on CBS New York and predicted that 2020 would "be a great year, and it will be a prosperous year," people listened.People listened when she said Capricorn would be the year's "celestial favorite," Cancer was the most likely to wed, Libra was set to score in real estate, and...

Global report: Covid-19 cases rise in Germany as Wuhan reports first infection in weeks

Global infections surpass 4m; cluster detected in Dordogne, new cases highlight risks as lockdowns easedCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageNew coronavirus infections rose again in Germany at the end of last week, a few days after leaders loosened social restrictions, while the Chinese city of Wuhan announced it had detected its first case in weeks, helping to push the...

'Some days it's over by 11am': schooling under lockdown around the world

Adapting, picking battles and bribery aid home schooling from Bulgaria to Bondi Beach during the coronavirus pandemicCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe words of Paula Leibowitz, an Australian education worker and mother of three, will be hauntingly familiar to parents trying to weather the pandemic, keep on top of their jobs and, most challenging of all, ensure their...

UK sends 50,000 coronavirus samples to US for testing after technical problems

Testing falls below daily target of 100,000 for seventh consecutive dayCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe UK sent about 50,000 coronavirus samples to the US after “operational issues” meant they could not be processed in British laboratories.The news comes after testing once again fell below the target of 100,000 a day: in the 24 hours to 9am on Saturday morning...

UK's new 'stay alert' advice still means stay at home, says No 10

Ahead of Boris Johnson address, Labour says latest messaging risks making people think lockdown is overCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageNo 10 has clarified its new “stay alert” advice will still ask people to stay at home as much as possible and keep 2 metres apart in public, after Nicola Sturgeon led criticism of the slogan for being unclear about whether the...

Coronavirus UK: latest deaths, confirmed cases – and which regions are hardest hit?

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 in each of England’s local authoritiesCoronavirus – 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...

Sexual healing: using lockdown to ignite desire

This could be the perfect time for couples to boost their sex lifeFor many of us right now, sex couldn’t be further from our minds. Our usual routines have been turned upside down and the way we are living can be challenging for even the most harmonious of relationships. But what if we viewed this time as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reset and refresh our sex lives?The fact that sex...

“The first day was really hard”: Life as a contact tracer

As American states weigh the possibility of reopening services in the face of the covid-19 pandemic, the demand for contact tracing—helping track down and isolate potential carriers of the virus—will get even larger. We spoke to people working as contact tracers across America to understand what it’s like, what they’re seeing, and what might be coming next. Jana De Brauwere, 44, San...

Guilt, flashbacks, anxiety: intensive care work is brutal, but you can help | Dr Hugh Montgomery

As an appeal is launched to boost support, counselling and education for ICU workers, one doctor describes how they strive to save livesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageFor many, working in an intensive care unit (ICU) was brutal enough before Covid-19. The job requires enormous concentration and attention to detail. We deal with the most complex diseases and sickest...

Will Covid-19 mutate into a more dangerous virus?

What do we know about the way coronavirus is evolving? Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAs the coronavirus spreads around the world, there are concerns that it will mutate into a form that is more transmissible, more dangerous, or both, and potentially make the global health crisis even worse. What do we know about the way the virus is evolving? Continue...

Food bank app makes up for a collapse in donations

Bankuet sees massive growth as the lockdown clears long-life items from supermarket shelvesCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage For the UK’s foodbanks, the pandemic has presented a severe problem: as demand has surged, supplies have stalled. Lockdown has curtailed in-person donations and emptied supermarket shelves of tinned and longlife goods. Some foodbanks have had...

100 days later: How did Britain fail so badly in dealing with Covid-19?

Since the UK confirmed its first case, its response has proved one of the least effective Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIt is 100 days since the first coronavirus case was confirmed in the UK on 31 January. The official death toll so far from the epidemic has topped 33,000 and is still rising fast. The actual total could be far higher, many analysts say – leaving...

The new rules to living in lockdown

Follow the science, they say… So here are 12 new ‘observations’ about life in a post-pandemic worldApologies in advance: this column will be distressing to scientists (including those in my own family, but thankfully none of them read what I write).The rules of the physical world seem to be abandoning us. The virus acts like no other pathogen. Two metres is entirely subjective now, expanding...