Coronavirus live news: UK at 'critical point' in pandemic as US nears 200,000 deaths

England’s chief medical officer to warn of a ‘very challenging winter’; more than one in five Covid-19 deaths globally is in US; Lebanon sees record case riseTrump health official says ‘biology independent of politics’ as US nears 200,000 deathsUK at ‘critical point’ over Covid-19, top scientists to tell publicMutant virus: should we be worried that Sars-CoV-2 is changing‘Quite a year’: couples on being separated by the Covid pandemicSee all our coronavirus coverage 10.12am BST Germany’s health minister Jens Spahn is planning to set up “fever walk-in clinics” across the country for the start of the cold season, writes Philip Oltermann, the Guardian’s Berlin bureau chief. With more patients expected to develop flu-like symptoms in the autumn, the 40-year-old conservative politician told Rheinische Post newspaper his aim was to set up walk-in clinics “ideally all over the country”. Over the weekend, Germany’s disease control agency recorded 2,297 confirmed new coronavirus infections, the highest new daily number since the end of April.In neighbouring Austria, where officials are already speaking of the onset of a second wave of Covid-19 infections, a raft of new restriction came into effect on Monday. Private gatherings across Austria – including parties and weddings – will be limited to 10 people, with exceptions only for funerals. 9.57am BST The Philippines’ health ministry on Monday confirmed 3,475 new coronavirus infections and 15 more deaths, the lowest daily increase in fatalities in two weeks. In a bulletin, the ministry said total confirmed cases had increased to 290,190, still the most in Southeast Asia, while confirmed deaths had reached 4,999. Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/sep/21/coronavirus-live-news-uk-at-critical-point-in-pandemic-as-us-nears-200000-deaths #coronavirus_outbreak #world_news #uk_news #us_news #australia_news #science #infectious_diseases