Coronavirus latest: UK deaths highest in Europe as EU expects 'historic' recession

By Orlando Crowcroft with AP

Published on 06/05/2020 - 06:44•Updated 19:49

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All the latest news from across Europe on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Summary of key developments

**EU forecasts 'recession of historic proportions' for 2020

UK's death toll in hospital passes 30,000 - the highest toll in Europe
Why is the UK's COVID-19 death toll higher than other EU countries?
Germany's Bundesliga football league to resume from mid-May, Merkel says
UK and US allege attempt to hack COVID-19 response operations
Italian hairdressers angry as they remain under lockdown
Will a coronavirus vaccine be accessible to all or for the privileged few?

Latest updates

05.06.2020

22:56

'At least 90,000 healthcare workers infected by COVID-19', says nursing group

At least 90,000 healthcare workers have been infected by COVID-19 and more than 260 nurses have lost their lives to the pandemic, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) said on Wednesday, warning that numbers could be much higher.

The figures released by the ICN are based on data from just 30 countries. It shows that, on average, 6% of all confirmed cases of COVID-19 are among healthcare workers.

"If that proportion were repeated globally, the 3.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world would yield a figure for the number of infected healthcare workers of 210,000," the ICN said in a statement.

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05.06.2020

22:14

Germany's Bundesliga to resume on May 14

Germany's Bundesliga football league can resume behind closed doors from mid-May, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday.

"Today's decision is good news for the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga," Christian Seifert, the managing director of the Bundesliga, said in a statement.

Seifert highlighted "the great responsibility for the clubs and their employees to implement the medical and organisational requirements in a disciplined manner".

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05.06.2020

22:08

Travellers charged €190 at Vienna airport to avoid 14-day COVID-19 quarantine

Austria says anyone arriving at its airports or land borders without proof they are coronavirus-free must go into isolation.

If travellers don't have proof, they can pay €190 for a test at Vienna airport.

But German MEP, Michael Bloss, told Euronews the charge is discriminatory and risks exacerbating existing inequalities

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05.06.2020

21:28

Mark Rutte unveils Dutch lockdown exit plan

The Dutch Prime Minister has announced that shops, libraries, nursery and primary schools will reopen on May 11.

Secondary education will resume on June 1. Museums, cafés, restaurants, cinemas, and theatres will also be allowed to open their doors from June 1 provided they respect social distancing measures including:

a maximum of 30 persons (incl. staff) and 1.5 meters away,
booking will be mandatory.

Face masks will be compulsory on public transport from June 1 as well.

The number of people allowed at the same time in cinemas, restaurants, cafés and cultural institutions will be expanded to 100 on July 1, if the virus has remained under control, the government statement says.

On September 1, fitness clubs, saunas and wellness centers, club canteens, coffee shops, casinos and sex workers should also be able to reopen.

All contact sports and indoor sports should be allowed once more by then.

"Sports competitions can take place without an audience. This also applies to professional football," the statement adds.

05.06.2020

20:45

French COVID-19 death toll now at 25,809

A further 278 people died of the novel coronavirus in France over the previous 24 hours, health officials have announced.

This takes the number of fatalities recorded in the country's hospitals and care homes to 25,809.

05.06.2020

20:14

Banksy unveils new work depicting nurse as superhero

British street artist Banksy has unveiled a new work showing a little boy playing with a nurse toy while Spiderman and Batman model figures are in a nearby wastebasket.

The nurse is wearing a face mask and a cape and has one of her arms outstretched as if flying.

Pictures of the new piece, released on the artist's official Instagram account, are accompanied by a caption reading: "Game changer".

According to the BBC, the piece of art was hung in the foyer of Southampton General Hospital.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_2o3A5JJ3O/

05.06.2020

19:52

Coronavirus crisis is 'worst than Pearl Harbor' - Trump

US president Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the coronavirus crisis is "worst than Pearl Harbor" or the 9/11 attacks.

05.06.2020

19:47

Turkey to sample test 150,000 to measure scope of coronavirus outbreak

Turkey is preparing to test 150,000 citizens to determine how widely the novel coronavirus has spread among the population, the country's health minister said on Wednesday.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the sample would be done with both PCR tests that are used to detect antigens from viral infections and with antibody tests. He did not say when the testing would begin.

"We want to see the extent of the spread, the carriers and the condition of the patients,'' Koca said after a meeting with the country's scientific advisory council.

The Turkish government plans to gradually ease restrictions it imposed during the pandemic. Shopping malls, barber shops and hair salons are set to reopen on Monday.

Koca said that during the next phase of the outbreak, people in Turkey should expect a "controlled social life.''

"We are not returning to normal. We are introducing new a new normal into our lives,'' he said. "The controlled social life will have rules of its own, and we will have get used to these rules and lead a new kind of life.''

He added: "The risk continues; losing control will invite a second wave of infections.''

The health minister also reported Wednesday that Turkey had 64 virus-related deaths in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total in the country to 3,584. He also announced 2,253 new confirmed cases, for a total of 131,744.

05.06.2020

19:35

Details of France's easing of the lockdown to be announced Thursday

The French prime minister Edouard Philippe will present a detailed plan for France's easing of lockdown measures on Thursday at 16.00 CET, his office said on Wednesday.

05.06.2020

19:25

EU forecasts 'recession of historic proportions' this year

The European Commission said on Wednesday that Europe is experiencing an economic shock "without precedent since the Great Depression. Euronews reports from Brussels.

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