Coronavirus live news: Madrid lockdown looms; 34m jobs lost in Latin America | World news

American Airlines and United Airlines, two of the largest US carriers, said they were beginning furloughs of over 32,000 workers on Thursday as hopes faded for a last-minute bailout from Washington, Reuters reports.

Both airlines told employees, however, in memos seen by Reuters on Wednesday that they stood ready to reverse the furloughs, which affect about 13% of their workforces before the pandemic, if a deal was reached.

Tens of thousands of other employees at those airlines and others including Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines have accepted buyouts or leaves of absence aimed at reducing headcount as carriers battle a health crisis that has upended the global travel industry.

US airlines have been pleading for another $25 billion in payroll support to protect jobs for a further six months once the current package, which banned furloughs, expires at midnight EDT.

Stormont’s health minister is to recommend the introduction of further coronavirus restrictions in Northern Ireland, as it recorded its highest number of infections in a 24-hour period – 424 – since the region’s testing regime was expanded, PA Media reports.

Northern Ireland’s seven-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 population has almost doubled to 103.6 from 58.1 in the last week.

Robin Swann said it would be “inconceivable” that the powersharing Executive will not move to announce fresh measures after ministers meet on Thursday.

The minister said while a two-week full lockdown – a so-called circuit breaker – would not be introduced on Thursday, he raised the prospect of such a move over the Halloween mid-term break, or potentially even earlier.

“We are now looking at a severe crisis full in the face,” he said. “I can’t put this in any more stark terms – a crisis for our health and social care service and for many victims of Covid-19.”

Mr Swann added: “I am now more concerned about what lies ahead in the next few months than I have been since becoming health minister.”

Households currently cannot meet indoors in Northern Ireland while outdoor social gatherings are limited to six people from no more than two households. An 11pm curfew on pubs and restaurant closing will come into effect on Thursday.

Mr Swann hinted that further restrictions could include added limitations on the hospitality sector, on family and community interactions and on individual travel.

He said the places where the wearing of face coverings was mandatory may be expanded.

The Derry City and Strabane council area of Northern Ireland has one of the highest infection rates of anywhere in the UK – with more than 300 infections per 100,000 people.

The UN’s International Labour Organization said Wednesday that at least 34 million jobs have been lost in Latin America due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The ILO urged countries in the region to adopt immediate strategies to deal with the problem, AP reports.

The count was up from the ILOs previous estimates in early August that 14 million jobs had been lost in the region.

The organization’s Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Vinícius Pinheiro, called it an unprecedented challenge.

Pinheiro said the third quarter had brought a recovery in economic activity and, according to preliminary data, a tentative recovery in employment.

He said the region faced structural problems like low productivity, income inequality and a large percentage of people working off the books.

The ILO figures were based on data from nine countries which account for 80% of the region’s workforce.

The ILO lists Latin America and the Caribbean as the worst-hit region in the world in terms of lost working hours, with a drop of 20.9% in the first three quarters of the year, compared to an average of 11.7% worldwide.

Residents of infection hotspot Madrid are to be barred from leaving except on essential trips under new rules to fight the coronavirus resurgence, Spain’s government said on Wednesday.

But regional authorities said the decision had no legal basis, Reuters reports, setting the stage for a political showdown in an area accounting for more than a third of Spain’s 133,604 new cases in the past two weeks.

“Madrid’s health is Spain’s health. Madrid is special,” Health Minister Salvador Illa told a news conference to announce the new regulations, due to come into force in days.

The capital city, with more than 3 million people, and nine surrounding municipalities with at least 100,000 inhabitants each, are to see borders closed to outsiders for non-essential visits, the government said.

People would be allowed to cross boundaries for work, school, doctors’ visits or shopping, but not for leisure.

Other measures include the closure of bars and restaurants at 11 p.m., from a previous curfew of 1 a.m., as well as shutting parks and playgrounds.

Social gatherings will be limited to six people.

Madrid has 735 cases per 100,000 people, one of the highest of any region in Europe and double Spain’s national rate.

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

My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest from around the world and as always, would be delighted to hear from you wherever you are. Get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.

Madrid residents are set to be barred from leaving the city except on essential trips under new coronavirus restrictions announced by the Spanish government.

Here are the key developments from the last few hours:

• Experts warn virus is out of control in the UK. British health experts have admitted Covid-19 is out of control in the country as case numbers and hospital admissions rise despite a slew of new restrictions on social gatherings. “Things are definitely heading in the wrong direction,” the UK chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, told a government press conference, as a further 7,108 cases and 71 deaths were reported.
• Pandemic travel slump may cost 46 million jobs globally. The impact of the coronavirus on travel may cost as many as 46 million jobs globally, according to projections published by an aviation industry group.The Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) predicted that the travel slump and a slow recovery will threaten 4.8 million aviation workers and more than half of the 87.7 million total jobs supported directly or indirectly by the sector, in related leisure industries and supply chains.
• No clear link between school opening and Covid surge, study finds. Widespread reopening of schools after lockdowns and vacations is generally not linked to rising Covid-19 rates, a study of 191 countries has found, but lockdown closures will leave a 2020 “pandemic learning debt” of 300bn missed school days. The analysis, by the Geneva-based independent educational foundation Insights for Education, said 84% of those 300bn days would be lost by children in poorer countries, and warned that 711 million pupils were still out of school.
• Young people as diligent about Covid measures as older people, survey finds. Young people are as diligent about coronavirus hygiene routines as their older peers but also more stressed out by the pandemic and willing to give up a higher percentage of their income to stop it, according to a global survey that calls into question the stereotype of feckless youth driving up infection rates.
• The Italian Senate has been suspended after two members fell ill with Covid-19. Parliamentary activity was suspended after Marco Croatti and Francesco Mollame, from the ruling Five Star Movement, tested positive.
• The Czech Republic is to enter a state of emergency to control a surge in cases. Earlier, health minister Roman Prymula said the government would call the state of emergency for 30 days, and limit gatherings to 20 people outdoors and 10 people inside for at least the first two weeks.Audiences will also be banned from sports events, while secondary schools will be closed and medical students will be summoned to help in hospitals for at least 14 days as part of the measure.