21 articles from SATURDAY 18.7.2020

Matt Hancock in new U-turn on coronavirus testing data

Health secretary finally bows to pressure to hand over full facts about positive tests to council health officialsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe health secretary, Matt Hancock, has bowed to pressure from councils, which demanded full access to the names and data of people in their areas who tested positive for Covid-19, and those with whom they have been in...

Grassroots football gets green light to return to the training ground

Conditions include: no goal celebrations, no shared equipment and clean glovesThe phased return of outdoor competitive grassroots football in England has been confirmed, with amateur and youth clubs allowed to return to proper training immediately, the Football Association has announced.Up until 31 July groups of a maximum 30 people, including coaches, will be able to return to competitive...

Johnson is asking Santa for a Christmas recovery

Without clear leadership from the top, employers will simply not risk a full return to the workplace this yearThere is little chance of the economy staging a full recovery by the middle of the decade, let alone by Christmas, as Boris Johnson believes is possible.Speaking with the optimism of a first world war general, the prime minister said on Friday that most restrictions on business activity...

Black Lives Matter, grandma and me: how our world changed during lockdown

After months apart, Jade Bentil was reunited with her grandmother, in time to see the BLM protests unfold. She reflects on a history of repressionIt is Saturday 13 June 2020 and the world is on fire. I’m sitting with my grandma, Esther, in her living room in south London for the first time in three months. She’s reclining in her favourite chair, occasionally sitting up to gesticulate at the TV...

Masks are going to be mandatory – we need clear messaging now to ensure it happens | Daniel Howden

With good sense having belatedly prevailed, the policy’s success is dependent on the degree and quality of complianceOn 24 July it becomes compulsory to wear face masks in shops and supermarkets in England. What determines how we can expect such measures to play out? Largely, three things: how confident we can be in the available evidence, the size of the estimated effect among a compliant...

Male sexual worries: What has changed in the post-Viagra age?

Scientists report a change in why men seek help for sexual problems, with fewer men complaining about impotence (erectile dysfunction) and premature ejaculation, and more men, especially younger men, complaining about low sexual desire and curvature of the penis (Peyronie's disease).

Prostate cancer: How can we decide when to treat?

You have been diagnosed with prostate cancer and your doctor gives you the option of not being treated, but of remaining under observation: is there any objective way you can decide to be treated or not treated? What should you do? Now using first results from analysis of the world's biggest Active Surveillance prostate cancer database, scientists have begun to identify which patients are at risk...

EU deadlocked on €750bn coronavirus rescue plan as northern nations dig heels in

The main stumbling block is over vetting procedures to access aid from the planned economic recovery fund Coronavirus latest updatesEU leaders have failed to agree on a massive stimulus plan to breathe life into economies ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, and will try again to find an agreement whe talks resume on Saturday. .Many of the 27 heads of government declared on arrival for their first...

UK plans millions of coronavirus antibody tests after trial success - report

The finger-prick tests were found to be 98.6% accurate in secret human trials held in June, according to the Daily TelegraphCoronavirus latest updatesThe UK government is planning to distribute millions of free coronavirus antibody tests after successful secret trials, according to reports.The finger-prick tests, which can tell within 20 minutes if a person has ever been exposed to the...

Scientists achieve major breakthrough in preserving integrity of sound waves

In a breakthrough experiment, physicist and engineers have shown that it is possible to limit the movement of sound to a single direction without interruption even when there are deformations along the pathway. The findings pave the way for technologies with more robust sound wave integrity and advances in ultrasound imaging, sonar, and electronic systems that use surface acoustic wave technology....

Coronavirus live news: record rise in global Covid cases as Australian parliament is postponed

The US, Brazil and India see biggest increases as worldwide tally grows by 237,743 in 24 hours; Australian parliament postponed on medical advice. Follow all the developments liveGlobal report: India cases pass 1 million mark Boris Johnson’s plan for ‘normality’ met with criticism Los Angeles suburbs hit hard as cases surge in California 1.24am BST In the US, California’s governor has...