Brazil deaths soar as far-right rulers disconnect from reality Dominic Phillips Brazil reported a record 881 Covid-19 deaths in 24 hours on Tuesday, its health ministry said, taking its total to 12,400 and making it the world’s sixth worst-affected country in terms of deaths, according to John Hopkins University figures. Its total of 177,589 confirmed cases is the world’s seventh-highest. Earlier far-right president Jair Bolsonaro – who has attacked social isolation measures introduced by state governors – issued a decree declaring beauty salons, gyms and barbers “essential services” that could open. Several governors said they would ignore the decree. Bolsonaro was also battling his latest political crisis – fears that a supreme court judge could release a video of an expletive-filled ministerial meeting held on April 22 which reportedly includes his foreign minister Ernesto Araújo blaming China, Brazil’s biggest trading partner, for the pandemic he dubbed a “comunavirus” (or “communist virus”), aimed at dominating other nations. Araújo had debuted the term in a lengthy text on his “anti-globalist” blog the same day. “The coronavirus was again woken us up to the communist nightmare. The comunavirus has arrived,” he wrote. Brazil’s attorney-general’s office had argued against handing over the video to the Supreme Court, claiming it contained “potentially sensitive and reserved state subjects, including foreign relations”, but was overruled. Adding to the widening sense that Brazil’s far right is increasingly disconnected from the horrific reality of the pandemic as it spreads into poorer, densely packed communities, the presidential family’s guru Olavo de Carvalho questioned its very existence on Tuesday. “The fear of a supposedly deadly virus is nothing more than a horror story to cow the population and make them accept slavery as a gift from Santa Claus,” tweeted the Richmond, Virginia-based, far-right astrologer-turned-philosopher, believed to have recommended Araújo to the post, to his 291,000 followers. More than 147,000 Americans could die by early August – study A newly revised coronavirus mortality model predicts more than 147,000 Americans will die from Covid-19 by early August, up nearly 10,000 from the last projection, as restrictions for curbing the pandemic are increasingly relaxed, researchers said on Tuesday. The latest forecast from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) reflects “key drivers of viral transmission like changes in testing and mobility, as well as easing of distancing policies,” the report said. The current US death toll stands at 82,246. The revised projection reinforced public health warnings, including US Senate testimony on Tuesday from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, that prematurely lifting lockdowns could lead to more outbreaks of the respiratory virus. Fauci and other medical experts have urged caution in relaxing restraints on commerce before diagnostic testing and the ability to trace close contacts of infected individuals can be vastly expanded, along with other safeguards. Still, IHME researchers acknowledged that precise consequences of moves to reopen shuttered businesses and loosen stay-at-home orders remains difficult to gauge. Coronavirus in the Pacific: weekly briefing Dan McGarry and Tess Newton Cain report for the Guardian: Infection numbers in the region remain low, with minimal increase. New cases have been recorded in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), bringing the total across the region to 274. A number of countries have now been provided with GeneXpert testing cartridges by the World Health Oganization (WHO). They will allow for in-country testing and rapid processing of results. However, due to the global demand, there are only small numbers available in most places. For example, Tonga (where there are no confirmed cases) has requested 6,000 cartridges and has received 120. The idea of including Pacific island countries in a proposed trans-Tasman bubble being mooted by Australia and New Zealand has received a lot of attention among commentators, despite warnings from Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, that any relaxation of international border closures is still some way off. Summary Hello and welcome to our live coverage of how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting countries worldwide. I’m Helen Sullivan, with you for the next few hours. Get in touch in Twitter @helenrsullivan. The Chinese city of Wuhan, the original centre of the pandemic, plans to test all 11 million residents for coronavirus over a period of just 10 days, according to local media. Officials were ordered to submit urgent plans to test all Wuhan’s inhabitants after authorities reported six new cases in a residential compound, the first cluster of new Covid-19 infections since the city reopened on 8 April after 76 days of strict lockdown. Meanwhile in Brazil, where president Jair Bolsonaro has underplayed the dangers of the virus, a record 881 people died in one day, bringing the total number of deaths to 12,400. Confirmed infections stand at 177,589. Here are the other main developments from the last few hours. Confirmed deaths worldwide pass 290,000. According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, at least 4,247,709 people around the world are known to have contracted the virus, while at least 290,838 have died since the pandemic began. The numbers, which are based on official and media reports, are likely to be significant underestimates due to suspected underreporting and differing recording and testing regimes. Wuhan prepares to test 11 million residents. The Chinese city of Wuhan, the original centre of the pandemic, plans to test all 11 million residents for coronavirus over a period of just 10 days, according to local media. Brazil confirmed a record 881 people deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total number of deaths to 12,400. Confirmed infections stand at 177,589. Pence avoiding Trump after aide’s positive test. The US vice-president, Mike Pence, is keeping his distance from Donald Trump after the former’s press secretary tested positive, the White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany has confirmed. Fauci warns of serious consequences if US states reopen early. Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has warned of serious consequences if US states reopen before building capacity to deal with new Covid-19 outbreaks. French schools reopen. Thousands of schools have reopened throughout France as the government eased its lockdown rules, despite fears of a second waves of infections, Agence France-Presse reports. Covid-19 R number falls below 1 in Germany. The reproduction rate for the coronavirus pandemic in Germany fell below the critical threshold of 1 with an estimated value of 0.94 on Tuesday after 1.07 on Monday, the Robert Koch Institute for public health and disease control said. UK official death toll passes 40,000. The Office for National Statistics says 35,044 deaths involving Covid-19 have been registered in England and Wales up to 9 May. Adding the latest figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland and more up to date fatalities from the four nations, the total official UK death toll now stands at 40,496. Spain’s new daily cases lowest in two months. The health ministry identified 594 new cases, bringing the total since the country’s epidemic began to 228,030. The number of fatalities related to the disease rises by 176 to 26,920. “Potentially positive data” on drugs, WHO says. The World Health Organization says some treatments appear to be limiting the severity or length of suffering caused by Covid-19 and that it is focusing on learning more about four or five of the most promising ones. “We do have some treatments that seem to be, in very early studies, limiting the severity or the length of the illness, but we do not have anything that can kill or stop the virus,” its spokeswoman Margaret Harris says. Saudi oil profits plunge 25%. Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco, has posted a 25% dip in profits following the collapse of global oil markets triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Kremlin spokesman in hospital. Dmitry Peskov, the Russian government’s spokesman, is admitted to hospital with Covid-19, local media report. “Yes, I got sick, I’m being treated,” Peskov is quoted as saying. He is at least the second person in Vladimir Putin’s administration to test positive. Lebanon orders ‘total lockdown’. People in the eastern Mediterranean country are told to stay at home for four days after an increase in infections followed an easing of restrictions. Lebanese health authorities have officially announced 870 cases of Covid-19, including 11 newly detected on Tuesday, and 26 deaths. UK recession ‘already happening’ The UK is effectively in the midst of a recession, its chancellor says. Rishi Sunak tells the BBC: “We already know that many people have lost their jobs and it breaks my heart. We’ve seen what’s happening with universal credit claims already. This is not something that we’re going to wait to see; it’s already happening.” Top US adviser testifies. Anthony Fauci, the US government’s top public health expert, warned that official figures are underestimating the death toll in the US and that “the consequences could be really serious” if the country relaxes safeguards too abruptly. Fauci delivered testimony to the Senate on Tuesday as the US president, Donald Trump, encouraged businesses to reopen. Virus hits South Sudanese camp. For the first time, Covid-19 has been confirmed in a crowded civilian protection camp in South Sudan’s capital, the United Nations says. It is a worrying development in a country that is one of the world’s least prepared for the virus’s spread.