Coronavirus live news: WHO chief Tedros in quarantine as global deaths near 1.2m

According to Tedros’ Twitter bio he is currently in Geneva, Switzerland (home to the WHO headquarters), which happens to have announced on Sunday that it will impose a partial lockdown on Monday after reporting more than 1,000 new cases on several days.

The new measures will see bars, restaurants, close-contact services and non-essential shops closed from 7pm on 2 November. Schools will remain open.

The measures will remain in effect until 29 November.

Cinemas, museums, concert halls, gyms, swimming pools and ice rinks will also be shuttered, the cantonal government said in a statement on Sunday.

Here is what we know so far about the WHO chief going into quarantine:

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday that he had been identified as a contact of someone who tested positive for Covid-19, but added that he was feeling well and did not have any symptoms.

Tedros said in a tweet that he would be self-quarantining “over the coming days”.

He added in subsequent tweets that, “It is critically important that we all comply with health guidance. This is how we will break chains of #COVID19 transmission, suppress the virus, and protect health systems,” and that, “My @WHO colleagues and I will continue to engage with partners in solidarity to save lives and protect the vulnerable. Together!”.

Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

I’m in Sydney, where it is Monday morning on 2 November 2020, which means we’re a day out from the US election.

I’ll be bringing you the latest coronavirus news from that country and many others for the next few hours on this, our dedicated Covid blog. For our US election blog (and if you could do with a series of spikes in your blodd pressure), head here.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday that he had been identified as a contact of someone who tested positive for Covid-19, but added that he was feeling well and did not have any symptoms.

Tedros said in a tweet that he would be self-quarantining “over the coming days”:

• Iran’s true death toll is likely to be at least three times higher than the reported figure, the head of Iran’s medical council has said.
• Brazil’s health minister has been discharged from hospital. He was admitted to hospital with coronavirus and dehydration two days ago.
• There have been a further 23,254 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK, according to government data. This compares to 21,915 new cases registered on Saturday.
• Donald Trump’s campaign rallies may have led to 30,000 additional confirmed cases of Covid-19, and likely resulted in more than 700 deaths overall, according to a Stanford University paper posted online this weekend.
• Greece has reported a further 1,678 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total to 40,929. It comes after a record daily increase of 2,056 was announced on Saturday.
• Geneva will impose a partial lockdown on Monday after the Swiss canton reported more than 1,000 new cases on several days.
• France reported 46,290 further coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the total to over 1.4 million cases. Infections rose by 35,641 the previous day.
• Slovakia tested almost half of its entire population yesterday, as part of a two-day mass testing programme designed to bring coronavirus under control without implementing further lockdown measures. Of the 2.58 millio people tested, 1% were positive and will have to quarantine.
• Russia’s daily tally of coronavirus cases hit a record high of 18,665, taking the national total to 1,636,781. Meanwhile, Iran has marked its highest daily increase in its coronavirus death toll, with 434 recorded on Saturday.