Plus, will we ever shake hands again?
| | | | As we arrive at the end of another three-week period of lockdown, Boris Johnson and his cabinet are to review the restrictions on public life. It's understood the prime minister is considering scrapping the "stay at home" messaging when he addresses the nation on Sunday. Mr Johnson has told MPs the government had to be sure any changes to the restrictions were backed by data "coming in continuously over the next few days", with No 10 saying "it is not going to be a case of flicking a switch" to lift all measures at once. Newsnight's Nicholas Watt says there could be "a big focus on the outside", for example allowing more exercise or work on construction sites. However, the UK's death toll has passed 30,000, making it Europe's worst-hit nation, with the latest figures showing the number of people dying in care homes continuing to rise. And Labour's Angela Rayner says the government's failure to meet its daily testing target of 100,000 four days in a row doesn't inspire confidence to start easing lockdown. Meanwhile, it's emerged 400,000 surgical gowns ordered from Turkey have not been given to NHS workers because they do not meet British safety standards. Concerns over the shortage of protective kit for healthcare staff have contributed to the proportion of adults who fear the virus, says health correspondent Nick Triggle. But have we got the threat out of perspective, he asks. | |
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| 'Worse than Pearl Harbor' |
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| Donald Trump renews his criticism of China over its handling of the outbreak, describing the coronavirus pandemic as the "worst attack" ever on the United States. China says the US president's contention that "this is worse than Pearl Harbor, this is worse than the World Trade Center" is an attempt to distract from his handling of the virus, which has infected 1.2 million Americans, killing more than 73,000. Meanwhile, Aleem Maqbool reports how women are having to drive across the US for abortions because several states have deemed them non-essential during the lockdown . One woman, carrying a dead fetus and its twin she was told would die at birth, travelled 10 hours from Texas to New Mexico. Follow the latest global developments related to the virus on our live page.
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| | | | | The handshake is a "literal gesture of human connectedness," a symbol of how humans have evolved to be deeply social, tactile-orientated animals, says Cristine Legare, a psychology professor at the University of Texas at Austin. With a history tracing back thousands of years, the handshake may be too entrenched to be easily halted. "The fact we went for the elbow bump as an alternative shows how important touch is - we didn't want to lose that physical connecting," says Prof Legare. That said, numerous forms of human greeting exist around the world that avoid the transmission trap. Many cultures embrace pressing the palms of hands together with fingers pointing up while accompanied by a slight bow, the traditional Hindu Namaste greeting being one of the most well-known. | |
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| One thing not to miss today |
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| | | | Most front pages trail the prime minister's announcement on Sunday about how the UK's lockdown will be eased. The Daily Mirror describes what it says are the "five steps" Boris Johnson will set out, with various aspects of society reopening from Monday and at the end of May, June, August and by October. The current "stay home" messaging will end, with workers urged to return and exercise limits relaxed, says the Daily Telegraph. The Daily Star says it will make for a "magic Monday", while the Daily Mail cries: "Hurrah!" Although the Guardian notes "picnics and rambles" will return, it focuses on the government's repeated failure to hit its target of carrying out 100,000 tests for the virus per day. As the Metro points out, the latest figure fell to just 69,000 as the death toll passed 30,000 to make the UK the worst-hit nation in Europe. | |
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