UK govt makes free meals U-turn

A public campaign by England and Manchester United soccer player Marcus Rashford has forced the British government to make a policy U-turn and extend its free school meals program, easing pressure on poorer families struggling with the unusual circumstances of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

About 1.3 million children in England will benefit from vouchers as part of the "Covid summer food fund", Downing Street said. Families whose children qualified for free meals have been receiving vouchers or parcels during the novel coronavirus lockdown.

In Tuesday's news briefing, Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised Rashford's "contribution to the debate around poverty".

A further 233 people have died in the UK after contracting the virus. It brings the total number of people who have died after testing positive for novel coronavirus to 41,969.

Johnson said the figures "show we are making good progress in controlling the virus". He added that it is "critical we hold our nerve and don't throw away the progress we have made".

The government is still hopeful further restrictions can be eased by July 4, and on the 2-meter social distancing rule, Johnson promised to do "everything in my power to get us back to normal as soon as possible".

Hospitals in the United Kingdom are running short of scrubs in the latest problem to hit the National Health Service over the supply of personal protective equipment during the pandemic.

The shortage of scrubs, usually only used by surgical staff, was revealed in a survey undertaken by the Doctors' Association UK, which found that 61 percent of medics said the hospital where they worked lacked enough supplies of the specialist clothing. More NHS staff have begun wearing scrubs to protect themselves against COVID-19.

Surgeons also warned that waits for NHS treatment are increasing by one week, every week during the coronavirus outbreak. Doctors have told politicians that facilities should be set up urgently to start tackling the backlog.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron declared what he called the "first victory" against the novel coronavirus, as the nation moved to become a so called "green zone", but warned citizens to be prepared for any new outbreaks. In an address to the nation, Macron stressed that the reopening and reconstructing of the economy will be done along with a wider European effort.

The lower state of alert means that cafes and restaurants in Paris reopened in full on Monday, nearly two weeks later than in the rest of the country.

"The fight against the epidemic is not finished but I am happy about this first victory against the virus," Macron said. He also urged people to respect social distancing rules and learn how to live with the virus, which has so far infected over 157,000 people and killed more than 29,000 people in the country.

The nation's borders with other European Union member states also reopened on Monday, while borders with countries outside the grouping "where the epidemic has been controlled" will reopen on July 1.

"The summer of 2020 will not be a summer like any other and we will have to keep watch over the evolution of the epidemic," he said.

The priority will be to "rebuild a strong, ecologic, sovereign and fair economy" Macron added, while emphasizing that the nation must first "draw all the lessons" from the pandemic.

"This ordeal also revealed our flaws, our weaknesses: our dependence on other continents to obtain certain products, our cumbersome organization, our social and territorial inequalities," he said.

Macron and the country's top drugmaker Sanofi announced plans on Tuesday to bolster domestic production of medicines.

Sanofi, which is working on two potential coronavirus vaccines, said it would invest 610 million euros ($679 million), and Macron also pledged 200 million euros to help domestic research and manufacturing of medicines.