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For too many Britons, Boris Johnson's easing of lockdown will be no picnic | Polly Toynbee

Despite everything, the Tory party is sticking to the ideology of the free market, rather than saving lives and jobs

“How on earth did it come to this?” Keir Starmer’s question could skewer Boris Johnson at every PMQs from now on. It encompasses all the damage the government did in the last decade, as well as all it has failed to do to protect the country from Covid-19. The list of derelictions in the early stage of the crisis is long, the testing and the protective equipment still shamefully inadequate. Have lessons been learned? The auguries are not good.

Related: Picnics and sunbathing on cards as PM expected to allow more time outside

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The Guardian view on BAME death rates: inequality and injustice

Coronavirus is much more likely to claim the lives of black people than white. Socio-economic factors are a significant contributor

A universal experience is highlighting the sharp divides in our society. Few are as stark and shocking as those revealed by Thursday’s news that black people in England and Wales are more than four times as likely to die from Covid-19 as white people. Bangladeshi and Pakistani people were about three and a half times more likely, and those of Indian origin two and a half times as likely, the Office for National Statistics reported.

The disproportionately high toll of BAME people was already evident, notably among medical staff: a review of just over a hundred NHS staff who died found that almost two-thirds were black or Asian, though those groups account for less than one in seven workers in the health service. It is all the more striking, given that age is one of the biggest risk factors and the over-65s comprise only one in 20 of the BAME population, compared with almost one in five of the white population.

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More people dying at home during Covid-19 pandemic – UK analysis

Exclusive: Data suggests that sick may be avoiding hospital because of coronavirus fears

About 8,000 more people have died in their own homes since the start of the coronavirus pandemic than in normal times, a Guardian analysis has found, as concerns grow over the number avoiding going to hospital.

Of that total, 80% died of conditions unrelated to Covid-19, according to their death certificates. Doctors’ leaders have warned that fears and deprioritisation of non-coronavirus patients are taking a deadly toll.

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British Covid-19 patient in Vietnam could have lung transplant

Vietnam Airlines pilot one of only two serious cases in country with mass testing regime

A 43-year-old British man may undergo a lung transplant in Vietnam, where he is critically ill with Covid-19.

The man, a Vietnam Airlines pilot, developed a fever and cough on 17 March, and was later admitted to Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

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Paths out of lockdown: questions Boris Johnson must answer

Clarity on lifting Covid-19 rules needed, from increasing time outdoors to schools returning

Boris Johnson will address the nation on Sunday to set out a road map for how England might leave the Covid-19 lockdown. Any immediate changes have been billed as modest and incremental, but people are expecting more details on how life could differ over the next few weeks. Here are the questions the prime minister needs to answer:

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The Guardian view on relaxing lockdown: repent at leisure | Editorial

The government must be cautious in both the decisions it takes and the messages it sends

The end is not in sight. With an estimated 20,000 new infections a day, and with experts warning that the reproduction rate of coronavirus may be rising again, any premature loosening of the lockdown will only prolong the crisis. When the prime minister speaks on Sunday evening, it is essential that he makes it clear that people should still be staying at home, not relaxing their guard.

Though so many other countries had been hit, the government did not act soon enough to either contain the threat or prepare for it. Those failures have made a longer and tougher lockdown necessary. It was slow to take the pandemic seriously, slow to impose stringent social distancing, and slow to pursue equipment, testing and tracing, as the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, noted this week.

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Pandemic shows power of doctor's phone call to provide care

It was intended as an interim measure to protect people during the pandemic, but now that doctors across Canada have embraced virtual care, some clinicians and patients would like to see it continue.




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With natural prey like capelin and shrimp in decline, cod are eating their young: DFO

The once mighty northern cod stocks' growth is stalled according to DFO science. Ecosystem conditions including a lack of food are contributing factors. Fish harvesters say in the bigger picture though, the numbers are moving in the right direction.



  • News/Canada/Nfld. & Labrador

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Blinded by the light: Alberta town hopes flashing beacons will deter geese

A small Alberta town’s attempt to discourage geese from too getting comfortable there took flight about six weeks ago, but it’s getting mixed reviews and ruffling some feathers.



  • News/Canada/Calgary

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Don't blame bats for COVID-19, says University of Saskatchewan researcher

A U of S researcher says there is no evidence that COVID-19 jumped to humans from bats.



  • News/Canada/Saskatoon

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European coalition takes shape on coronavirus contact tracing

A European coalition is forming around an approach to using smartphone technology to trace coronavirus infections that, its backers hope, could help to reopen borders without unleashing a second wave of the pandemic.



  • News/Technology & Science

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More users needed: Lessons from Alberta's coronavirus contact tracing app

Alberta's use of a smartphone app to help slow the spread of the coronavirus may provide other provinces with insight on what to do — and what to avoid — as Canada begins easing restrictions, heightening the need for effective contact tracing.



  • News/Technology & Science

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Scrubbed birds ready to take flight after touching down on Alberta oilsands tailings pond

A small flock of shorebirds contaminated with oil after touching down on a northern Alberta tailings pond is expected to be released back into the wild within a week.



  • News/Canada/Edmonton

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WeChat's surveillance of international users boosts censorship in China, researchers say

WeChat is one of the world’s most popular apps, but researchers at the University of Toronto caution it is surveilling international users and using their information to broaden censorship on the app in China.



  • News/Technology & Science

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What is contact tracing? Here's what you need to know about how it could affect your privacy

Health experts agree contact tracing is a key measure to contain a pandemic. But is the answer a contact tracing app?




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Sidewalk Labs cancels plan to build high-tech neighbourhood in Toronto amid COVID-19

Sidewalk Labs, a Google-affiliated company, is abandoning its plan to build a high-tech neighbourhood on Toronto’s waterfront, citing what it calls unprecedented economic uncertainty.



  • News/Canada/Toronto

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New regulations to protect killer whales ask fishermen to stop fishing near whales year round

For the second year in a row, the Government of Canada is enacting restrictions to help protect the southern resident killer whale population.



  • News/Canada/British Columbia

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Canada's privacy commissioners offer guidance on COVID-19 contact-tracing apps

As New Brunswick and other provincial governments contemplate launching COVID-19 contact-tracing apps, privacy watchdogs from across the country have issued joint guidelines on what they are describing as an "extraordinary" measure, urging transparency and accountability.



  • News/Canada/New Brunswick

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Icebergs and whales galore! Take a virtual tour of Bonavista Bay

Whale and iceberg season has come early, but the local tourism industry has been forced to press pause.



  • News/Canada/Nfld. & Labrador

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Thought to be extinct, Beothuk DNA is still present in N.L. families, genetics researcher finds

A St. John’s genetics specialist has found DNA connections that link the long-vanished Beothuk people to contemporary people, almost two centuries after the last known Beothuk died. 



  • News/Canada/Nfld. & Labrador

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Quebec police investigating possible link between cell tower fires and 5G coronavirus conspiracy theories

Quebec provincial police are investigating whether at least two cellphone tower fires north of Montreal could be linked to conspiracy theories that 5G wireless technology caused the coronavirus pandemic.




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Austrian ski resort covers glacier after coronavirus cuts season

- With its season cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, one of Austria's most popular glacial ski resorts covered its glacier in protective fabric earlier than usual this year to help preserve it for a still uncertain reopening.



  • News/Technology & Science

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Face masks: How to minimize the waste during COVID-19

In this week's issue of our environment newsletter, we look at the sustainability of different types of face masks and how orphan oil and gas wells in Alberta could be converted into green energy projects.



  • News/Technology & Science

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Astronomers find closest black hole to Earth

Astronomers believe they have found the closest black hole to our solar system, lying just 1,000 light-years away, which in astronomical terms, is right in our neighbourhood.



  • News/Technology & Science

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SNL returning with original content after coronavirus halted production

'Weekend Update' among segments returning




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Paul O'Grady says he 'definitely' had coronavirus but 'just got on with it'

Presenter reveals homemade remedy that helped him through




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Tiger King: Producer accuses Joe Exotic of 'shooting animals just because he was pissed off'

TV star's also claimed to have fed a peacock he killed to his pets




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The Graham Norton Show: Which celebrity guests will be interviewed from coronavirus lockdown?

Handful of stars will be interviewed live from their living rooms




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Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig star in social distance soap opera with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show

The 'Saturday Night Live' alumni virtually reunited on Fallon's chat show




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Better off dead: Can someone please put Killing Eve out of its misery?

The smash serial killer comedy returns to the BBC with an 'exasperatingly average' third series, leaving our arts columnist Fiona Sturges wishing it would bite the dust




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Marvel actor Deborah Ann Woll 'struggling with self-doubt' following Daredevil cancellation: 'I haven't had an acting job since'

'If I'm not acting, I'm not sure who I am,' the True Blood star said




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Brews Brothers review: What promised to be a quirky microbrew has come out as a flat lager

The tone of this half-hour comedy is part odd-couple, part hipster satire and part gross-out – but it stops short of taking any risks




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Friends reunion special won't be available when HBO Max launches

Coronavirus pandemic has caused production shutdowns and delays




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Antiques Roadshow: Guitar once owned by George Harrison and John Lennon valued at up to £400,000

Show's expert called it 'by far the most expensive thing [he's] ever seen in 25 years'




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Michael Sheen's 'chaotic' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire re-enactment leaves Graham Norton Show viewers in stitches

'This has made the lockdown worthwhile'




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Coronavirus: Ventilator machines from Holby City arrive at NHS Nightingale hospital

Specialist London hospital receives working medical equipment used in BBC drama




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Rocky Horror star Patricia Quinn 'disgusted' by portrayal on RuPaul's Drag Race

Drag queen Aiden Zhane impersonated Patricia Quinn during the "Snatch Game" challenge




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Tiger King: Joe Exotic's husband Dillon Passage vows to stand by his spouse – 'I'm not going anywhere'

'I'm not going to just abandon him when he needs support'




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Gogglebox viewers in hysterics as Channel 4 stars watch Tiger King: 'I'm in absolute stitches'

'Watching everyone's reaction to Joe Exotic was far better than the series itself,' one viewer wrote




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SNL star Michael Che pays tribute to grandmother who died of coronavirus in new lockdown episode

'I'm very hurt and angry that she had to go through all that pain alone'




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Tom Hanks surprises SNL viewers in first TV appearance after testing positive for coronavirus

Actos said he's 'been more like America's dad than ever before​' following diagnosis




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Tiger King: What stars of 'bonkers' Netflix show say about notorious Joe Exotic in new aftershow episode

No one held back when asked about the controversial figure




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Tiger King new episode released by Netflix after show becomes Stranger Things-sized hit

It features many faces from the hit documentary




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Tiger King: Jeff Lowe reveals whether he thinks Carole Baskin 'killed her ex-husband' in new episode

Zoo owner also accuses Netflix of sensationalising' story to make him 'villain' in new aftershow




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Tiger King: Rick Kirkham comes forward with disturbing Joe Exotic story that didn't make it into documentary

He called Exotic 'unbelievably cruel'




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Tiger King: Carole Baskin says she's receiving death threats because of Netflix show

She accused hit Netflix show of 'betrayal' in first interview since it began




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Tiger King's head zookeeper Erik Cowie says Joe Exotic should not be a free man: 'He's gonna die in prison – good riddance'

Cowie doesn't hold back in aftershow that's just been released on Netflix




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Tiger King: Former zoo manager John Reinke accuses Joe Exotic of 'blowing up' his cabin in new episode

'The man's done a lot of stupid s***'




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Tiger King: Rick Kirkham says Joe Exotic asked him to kill Carole Baskin in Netflix aftershow episode

'I'll make you a rich man if you kill Carole'