virus to threaten to cause more pain and more heartache in our country. and one of britain's most acclaimed film directors sir alan parker — has died at the age of 76. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world do stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. i'm nancy kacungira. the head of the world health organisation has said the effects of the global coronavirus outbreak will be felt "for decades to come". tedros ghebreyesus was speaking to the who's emergency committee meeting to assess the covid— nineteen pandemic six months after first declaring a global public health emergency. the emergency committee is discussing what more can be done to control the virus. the pandemic is worse than a century health crisis the effects of which will be felt for decades to come. many scientific questions have been resolved. many remain to be answered. have been resolved. and the results from virologist studies are painting a consistent picture. most of the worlds people remain susceptible to the virus. even in areas that have experienced severe outbreaks. many countries that believed they were past the worst are now grappling with a new outbreak. some that were less affected in the earliest weeks are now seeing escalating numbers of cases and deaths. and some that had large outbreaks have brought them under control. meanwhile, the man leading the us efforts to contain coronavirus, dr anthony fauci, has been giving evidence in washington before a congressional committee looking at the handling of the pandemic. for three hours, the health experts were pressed on covid—19 vaccine development, school reopenings and the efficiency of president trump's response to the virus. let's hear some of dr fauci's comments. we hope that, as a time, we get into the late fall and the early winter, we will have in fact, a vaccine that we can say will be safe and effective. one can never guarantee the safety or the effectiveness, unless you do the trial, but we are cautiously optimistic that this will be successful. if you look at what happened in europe, when they shut down, locked down, went into shelter, however you want to describe it, they really did it to the tune they really did it to the tune of about 95 plus % of the country, they did that. when you actually look at what we did even though we shut down, even though it created a great deal of difficulty, we really functionally shut down only about 50%. saskia popescu is an epidemiologist, and specicialist in infection prevention working in one of the epicentres of the current us outbreak, phoenix arizona. thank outbreak, phoenix arizona. you very much for com good thank you very much for coming on. good to see you. we've heard from the world health organisation, they are still many scientific questions to be answered. what are some of those questions that concern you the most? i think right now what we're most? i think right now what we're most concerned about most curious about there's two really big things. long—term immunity and what that means and how long people will have immunity following infection and ultimately come effects. we do know that people are having prolong symptoms. whether that's a loss of sense of smell there's also some neurological things coming out. we wa nted neurological things coming out. we wanted new mac know the long—term implications that a prolonged symptoms or physiological response that might not be indicative of a current infection but something people are going to have to deal with potentially months after their infection. you are in arizona. which has become a coronavirus hotspot. you've been saying that it didn't have to become a hotspot. what do you think has gone wrong in your opinion? unfortunately i think arizona has been a great case study forfragmented arizona has been a great case study for fragmented and approaches. also premature and rapid reopening. states reopening far too early, far too fast and as doctor fauci mentioned we really didn't lock down oi’ mentioned we really didn't lock down or do the restrictions in the united states to the extent that was needed. arizona unfortunately, a really good example of that. we saw a read surgeons of infections in the month. now were saddened to see things hopefully turn around. it is taken weeks and a month at this point with mandated mask and business closures. unfortunately it been avoided. looking forward to solutions. what do you think needs to be done right now? a lot of things. we need a national approach in terms of making sure states are not reopening too early. and to prematurely or fast, i should say. every state at this point kind of did it against what they needed to. they didn't meet metrics is that we need a national approach for wednesday to reopen. we have to address the testing issues we are saying in the united states was up there are some areas were taken over 14 days to get your test back felt up 14 days to get your test back felt up realistically after five days it's not helpful from a public health perspective. we are asking people to isolate as they are being tested. it contact we really need to address these huge pressing issues as we move flu season. thank you for joining us. for that reminderjust behind you. and certainly an important one. vietnam has announced its first two coronavirus deaths after an outbreak was detected in the city of danang, the country had previously seen its zero death figure as a point of pride. it has only registered about 500 cases in total. but new infections have been detected in recent days — mostly in danang. infections have since spread to six provinces. the death of two people comes as officials have closed bars and restaurants across the country and suspended large gatherings. here's our south east asia correspondentjonathan head. vietnam was able to get its covid—i9 infections under control very quickly after they started coming into the country in february. it has proved itself one of the most efficient. it hasn't done it through mass testing, it has done it through extremely rigorous contact tracing, massive public education, getting the whole population on board. it helps that it is effectively a communist—run country. the government is very strong, the local authorities are very strong, people do what they're told, but it has worked. and because they've had no deaths and were almost unique in a country this size, having so few figures, such small numbers and no deaths, they did put that tremendous effort into keeping stephen cameron alive, really against the odds — nobody else thought he would survive. but this new outbreak caught them completely by surprise. they've had no cases at all inside vietnam for 99 days, up until last friday, a week ago, and they let almost no foreigners come in to the country. those who come in are very strict controlled, so nobody knows where this new infection has come from, but when suddenly a man in the city of denang was recorded, they were so astonished they actually tested him five times because they couldn't believe it. but from that first infection they have now had 80 new cases, more than 80 in a week, the biggest number increase they have had since it started. and inevitably, once you start getting old people getting it, you know, they had their first fatality, symbolically a big blow for them and a worry for other countries like thailand, where i am now. we've had no cases now for 60 days now. they are very proud of that, but this is a reminder that even when you think you have beaten covid—i9, when you have closed your borders off, that the virus can still flare up and in this case, still, nobody knows where it came from. a further easing of england's lockdown — planned for saturday has been put on hold because of a rise in the rate of coronavirus infections. the prime minister said it was time to "squeeze the brake pedal" as he warned the country cannot be complacent. he said face coverings will now need to be worn in more places when coming into contact with people you don't know. the decision means bowling alleys, skating rinks and casinos cannot reopen on saturday and certain beauty treatments involving the face cannot now go ahead for at least two weeks. wedding receptions of up to 30 people and indoor musical and theatrical performances won't be allowed either. you'll have to wear a face covering in cinemas, museums and galleries as well as places of worship from the 8th of august. england's chief medical officer, professor chris whitty, says the country has "probably reached" the limits of what can be done in opening up society. here's our political correspondent leila nathoo. poised to stage a performance for the first time in months, this venue in london was due to open its doors tomorrow. 80 seats, normally 180, and now we can't open. and that's a huge financial hit for us. businesses still closed across england have been waiting for the next phase of unlocking to begin, but now, with cases of coronavirus on the rise again, the prime minister pressing pause. at every point, i have said our plan to reopen society and the economy is conditional, that it relies on continued progress against the virus, and we would not hesitate to put the brakes on if required. with those numbers creeping up, our assessment is that we should now squeeze that brake pedal. and so. on saturday the ist of august, we had hoped to reopen in england a number of higher risk settings that had remained closed, and today i am afraid we are postponing those changes for at least a fortnight. boris johnson acknowledging the disruption this will cause. i know the steps we are taking will be a real blow to many people, and i am really, really sorry about that, but we simply cannot take the risk. that apology aimed people like luke and vicky, whose wedding reception in chorley, already slimmmed down, is now cancelled. you have dreams of what your wedding will look like, and i was already shattered so, once we heard about this week before our wedding, it was devastating and obviously very upsetting. although employers are still being encouraged to think about how to get people back to work, and advice on shielding will still come to an end, face coverings will now be required in more places, like galleries, cinemas and museums. how worried are you that this is going to turn into a search, ——surge and why is it that we find ourselves in this position, because the government message has been unclear and inconsistent, or are we all to blame? we are now seeing a warning light on the dashboard. it is right to respond in the way that we are. the answer lies with all of us following that guidance. but, from a man who has always struck a cautious tone, a stark warning about the challenges to come. we've probably reached near the limit of the limit of what we can do in terms of opening up society, so what that means potentially means is, if we wish to do more things in future, we may have to do less of some other things, and these will be difficult trade—offs. as well asjuggling what is happening nationally, targeted local restrictions, like those imposed in the north—west of england last night, are here to stay. the scottish first minister is now advising against all but essential travel to the affected areas. we see this as being an important but necessary precaution for our advice is, of course, designed to minimise the risk of spread from england into scotland, but also to assist people in these parts of england. and labour questioning how the message was relayed. right decision, very poor communication. it has to improve. we are going to see more of these situations in the coming months and the government needs to learn the lesson of the last 2a hours, which is to improve communication. still empty spaces, still tables unfilled. so lockdown easing can resume. scientists don't yet know whether the uk is seeing a rise in cases because of more testing or if it's the beginning of the resurgence we've been seeing elsewhere in europe. but two dozen areas are now on public health england's watchlists due to the rise infection rates. here's our science editor david shukman. relaxing the lockdown is not going to happen as quickly as many had hoped. we're not on the brink of returning to the toughest restrictions. the scale of the disease is too low for that, but the virus does seem once again to be reaching a growing number of people. the latest official analysis shows new infections in england rising from 2,000 a day at the end ofjune to 3,000 in mid—july to 4,200 more recently. and one government adviser, speaking personally, says he's concerned. i think we need to be much more cautious. we need to adhere to best practice. and i do worry that if it gets out of control, it could trigger another second wave quite early, which we really don't want. and if this had happened in october, i think that would've been an unstoppable event. we're nowhere near the scale of infections we saw at the height of the pandemic back in march and april, but there are now more than 20 areas of concern, including those in the north west that had new restrictions imposed on them last night. top of that list is 0ldham, along with trafford and salford. over the border, wrexham has the highest rate of infections in wales, with 61 cases per 100,000 people. in scotland, with a far lower level of infections, glasgow's had three new cases over the last seven days. likewise in northern ireland, there's a handful of cases in lisburn and castlereagh. this comes at a time of changing messages from the government on how to keep a safe distance and whether to stay at home. experts in behaviour say a much clearer guide is needed. the government strategy seems to be haphazard and responsive rather than strategic. it's leaving people confused as to what they should and shouldn't be doing and confused as to what's coming next. 0ne measure we will see more of is face coverings.

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