The UK could be back in lockdown by the end of this month, a former government chief scientific advisor said.
Sir David King told the Sunday Mirror: “We need a proper test and trace system by September. Otherwise full school opening will put us right back.”
Sir David says we are “nowhere near” the safe reopening of schools.
Earlier frustrated authorities were forced to issue red alert warnings on south coast beaches as thousands ignored calls to stay away.
Huge crowds headed to the coast, with officials in Bournemouth warning that social distancing was impossible.
It happened as the UK’s Covid-19 death toll rose by 55 to 46,566.
For more of the latest updates throughout today, follow our LIVE blog, below.
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More than 52,000 people have died with coronavirus in Mexico, according to the latest figures.
The nation’s health ministry reported 6,495 new confirmed coronavirus infections and 695 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 475,902 cases and 52,006 deaths.
Mexico has the third highest coronavirus death toll in the world, behind Brazil and the United States.
Officials have said the real number of people infected is likely to be significantly higher than the confirmed cases.
US President Donald Trump has signed executive orders partly restoring enhanced unemployment payments to Americans who lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.
It comes as the US passes the grim milestone of five million cases of coronavirus and a death toll of more than 160,000 people.
Earlier this week aid negotiations between the White House and Democrats broke down.
The new orders will provide an extra $400 per week in unemployment payments. Earlier in the crisis, unemployment payments stood at $600 per week.
Mr Trump said: “This is the money they need, this is the money they want, this gives them an incentive to go back to work.”
Some of the measures could face legal challenges and the executive orders drew immediate criticism from some Democrats.
Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said: “Donald Trump is trying to distract from his failure to extend the $600 federal boost for 30 million unemployed workers by issuing illegal executive orders.”
“This scheme is a classic Donald Trump con: playacting at leadership while robbing people of the support they desperately need.” Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden called the orders a “series of half-baked measures”.
The Queen will not be required to wear a face mask at Balmoral despite concerns due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The monarch travelled to Scotland with the Duke of Edinburgh on Tuesday for her traditional summer break.
Before their arrival, courtiers spent weeks planning how the “new normal” would work at the castle.
Due to the limited number of staff – dubbed HMS Bubble – that are in close contact with her and Philip, 99, no one has to wear a face mask.
Read the full story here
Boris Johnson has spoken of “a moral duty” to get all children back in class amid indications he would force pubs, restaurants and shops to close ahead of schools in the event of severe coronavirus flare-ups.
The Prime Minister is understood to favour only closing schools as the last resort after scientific advisers warned more restrictions may be needed to reopen classrooms in England next month.
A No 10 source said on Saturday that Mr Johnson’s expectation is that schools would be the last sector to close, with firms being shut first in the event of severe local lockdowns.
“The PM has been clear that businesses including shops, pubs and restaurants should be forced to close first, with schools remaining open for as long as possible,” the source said.
Read the full story here
Britain could be heading for full lockdown again by the end of the month.
And the PM must act NOW to prevent it, a former government chief scientific adviser warns today.
Sir David King said: “We need a proper test and trace system by September. Otherwise full school opening will put us right back.”
Sir David says we are “nowhere near” the safe reopening of schools.
For the full story, click here
The number of coronavirus cases in the US has passed five million since the start of the pandemic, new data shows.
New Covid-19 cases have risen sharply, with Florida, California and Texas heavily hit in the past week.
More than 165,000 people have died from the deadly virus.
Two giant pandas have been left stranded with their food supply fast running out because of the coronavirus crisis.
Loveable Er Shun and Da Mao are unable to return to their native China as zoo bosses in Canada have been unable to secure international travel permits.
The situation is becoming critical due to a dwindling supply of bamboo.
Bosses at Calgary Zoo have warned they could soon be unable to feed the pandas.
They each devour around 40kg of bamboo each day – with the plant making up 99% of their diet.
For the full story, click here
Cuba placed Havana back on a strict lockdown on Saturday following a rebound in coronavirus cases, ordering restaurants, bars and pools once more to close, suspending public transportation and banning access to the beach.
Cuba, which has been hailed as a rare success story in Latin America for its textbook handling and containment of its coronavirus outbreak, had eased lockdown restrictions last month after cases dwindled to a handful per day.
But they have risen back to April levels over the past two weeks, with the health ministry reporting 59 cases on Saturday and saying the situation could become “uncontrollable” if authorities did not act fast.
People strolling along the banks of the River Seine or browsing open-air markets in Paris must wear a face mask from Monday after authorities imposed new measures to curb a rise in coronavirus infections.
The order, which applies to people aged 11 and over, covers busy outdoor areas in the French capital, although tourist sites such as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysees boulevard were not listed.
Data showed the virus had begun circulating more widely in Paris and its lower-income suburbs since mid-July.
The rate of positive tests in the greater Paris region now stood at 2.4% compared with a national average of 1.6%, it said.
A coronavirus cluster in Aberdeen has risen to 110 cases, with the number of people required to self-isolate doubling overnight.
A total of 39 new cases have been detected in the NHS Grampian area in the last 24 hours, though the health board said it could not confirm how many were linked to the outbreak.
It said 643 close contacts of detected cases in the cluster have been identified, and will be required to self-isolate.
This is up on the 313 close contacts reported on Friday. Susan Webb, director of Public Health for NHS Grampian, said: “There has been a substantial rise in the number of close contacts which is not entirely unexpected.
“We speak to detected cases more than once, as we know they will recall different details as they reflect on what they have been doing and where, and who they have met.
“We remain extremely grateful for the support and co-operation of each of them, the information they provide ensures our investigation can be as thorough as possible.”
More than 170 new positive cases of coronavirus have been notified in Ireland’s latest daily update. One further death with Covid-19 and 174 new cases were reported by the Department of Health on Saturday.
It comes as new restrictions are in force for those living in counties Kildare, Laois and Offaly – aimed at stemming the spread of coronavirus.
Of the latest cases, the majority (110) are located in Kildare, followed by Dublin (seven), Cork (seven), Offaly (seven) and six in Meath.
Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn described Saturday’s figures as “high, but not unexpected”.
Pubs create the “perfect storm” for spreading coronavirus and carry more risk than planes, according to academics.
Punters drinking together in an indoor pub are potentially subjecting themselves to a build-up of infected droplets caused by poor ventilation and people having continuous conversations, often speaking more loudly to be heard over the din of a noisy bar, the experts warn.
Dr Julian W Tang, honorary associate professor of respiratory sciences at the University of Leicester, said if you can smell garlic on someone’s breath it means you are close enough to be inhaling their air.
“If the air space is poorly ventilated, that air that’s full of virus is not going to go anywhere. It’s going to linger there until the virus dries up and dies over time,” he told the PA news agency, adding that the most common method of transmission in the UK is probably “conversational exposure”.
Nearly 750,000 coronavirus test kits must be called, the UK’s medicine regulator said today.
Randox Laboratories, a Northern Ireland-based medical technology company, has been instructed to recall up to 741,000 coronavirus test kits from the national test and trace programme as a precautionary measure.
The government had on July 15 instructed the programme, run by the National Health Service (NHS), to stop using the kits, citing concerns that they may not meet required safety standards.
“The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has instructed Randox to recall all Randox test kits from NHS Test and Trace testing settings,” the ministry of health said in a statement.
The ministry said the decision had been taken as a “precautionary’’ measure.
The risk to safety was low and test results from Randox kits were not affected, it said.
Authorities have placed beaches on the south coast on ‘red alert’ because of overcrowding – despite pleas for tourists to stay away.
Most of Bournemouth beach put on red alert after crowds flocked to the beach throughout the morning, Somerset Live reports.
The alert means authorities believe social distancing is impossible.
While some small stretches remain on orange alert, much of the beach has now been deemed unsafe and people are being told to avoid the beach because “safe social distancing is not possible”.
For the full story, click here
The UK’s official coronavirus death toll has risen to 46,566 after 55 more patients died in all settings.
The tragic figure was released by the government this afternoon.
A further 758 cases of the deadly virus were confirmed in 24 hours, bringing the number of people to test positive since the start of the pandemic to 309,763.
For the full story, click here
Care home residents will soon be able to receive more outdoor visitors in Scotland, despite 60 new cases of coronavirus being recorded in the last 24 hours.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman confirmed plans for up to three outdoor visitors from no more than two households from Monday.
It is the first change in visiting rules since July 3, when it was announced one designated visitor would be allowed outdoors.
But care homes will only be able to allow a visit at all if the facility has been Covid-free during the pandemic, or affected residents have fully recovered and no residents or staff have had symptoms for 28 days.
Restarting indoor visiting is still not advised, Ms Freeman said.
A beachgoer abandoned her day out as she complained people are “on top of you” and ‘not following the social distancing rules’.
People are being warned to observe social distancing and avoid packed beaches as temperatures surge around the UK.
One woman said she tried to spend a day at Bournemouth beach with her family and arrived early to make sure they could get a spot away from others.
But she said the beach continued to get busier and in the end they had to leave early and cut the day short because people were ‘coming on top of you’.
The full story is here.
A further 15 people, who tested positive for the Coronavirus (Covid-19) have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 29,401.
Patients were aged between 67 and 100 years old. All bar one individual (aged 91) had known underlying health conditions.
Their families have been informed.
The number of deaths of patients with Covid-19 by region are as follows:
East of England 1
London 1
Midlands 2
North East & Yorkshire 8
North West 0
South East 3
South West 0
TOTAL 15
The UK coronavirus hospital death toll has reached 34,027 after another 16 patients died.
A further 15 deaths were recorded in England’s hospitals today while Wales reported one more death.
Scotland did not report any new deaths, and Northern Ireland is yet to update its latest figures.
Click here for the latest on the death toll.
Dave Carr is a critical care nurse at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson was treated in intensive care.
He attended Saturday’s protest and said of the pandemic: “I’ve got 21 years working in critical care and for me that experience was tough.
“I was drained, wearing all the PPE, incredibly long shifts.
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life and we’re all exhausted.”
He said “There’s a lot of PTSD around” among colleagues and that many are worried about the possibility of a second wave.
Mr Carr added: “We can’t do the job any more, we had to shut down the NHS to fight Covid and now we’re expected to just turn it back on.
“We’re on our knees, absolutely on our knees. And on top of it they give 900,000 public sector workers a pay rise – and I haven’t got a problem with that – but they carve us out.
“I’m absolutely fuming. Tired and fuming. “We’ve had enough.”
Sunseekers have been urged to avoid popular beaches as people flock to the seaside during the UK heatwave.
Brits are basking in a scorching Saturday with temperatures set to reach a potential 36C in places.
After images of packed beaches emerged yesterday, councils across the country began warning locals to stay away.
But already today, photographs have begun to surface of crowded beach spots once again.
By Friday afternoon, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council’s beach check app showed 19 of its 24 beaches under red alert, warning people to avoid the areas because safe social distancing was not possible.
A spokesperson for Bournemouth Council said if a section of the beach is coded red, their advice to visitors is to turn around and come back another day.
Click here for the story in full.
Dorothy Kinder, 54, said residents in Preston would have to “go with the flow” where the new restrictions were concerned.
She said: “We’re in a day and age where it is about the economy and people have to go back to work.
“I wouldn’t particularly say I agree with it but we just have to go along with what we are told.”
Children and staff have been forced to self-isolate following a coronavirus outbreak at a nursery in Manchester.
A number of children and adults at Mulberry Bush Nursery in Whitefield, Bury, have tested positive for Covid-19 over the past week, it has been confirmed.
The cases only affect one individual “bubble” and those people are now self-isolating, a spokesman for the Sefton Street nursery said.
All parents were informed by telephone last Saturday and the nursery has remained open in accordance with the advice given by Public Health England.
All those affected by the positive tests are all currently well, the nursery confirmed.
Read the full story here.
Hannah Heaton, 28, said she thought the new restrictions brought into force in Preston were confusing.
She said: “It doesn’t make sense that you can’t go to houses but you can meet people outside or go to pubs.
“My grandparents rely on me to help them and now going to see them has been taken away from me.
“There’s nothing I can do about it.
“I think certain people haven’t been taking it seriously because they don’t think it will affect them.”
Preston residents Venkata Reddy Nallamilli, 59, and wife Padma, 48, said they did not think people had been following social distancing advice since lockdown restrictions had been eased.
Mr Nallamilli said: “After lockdown people have not been maintaining social distancing or wearing masks.
“When I go to Sainsbury’s I see people not wearing masks and the staff aren’t enforcing it.
“Some people are not taking it seriously.”
He said he used to go to the pub on a Saturday but had not been since the pandemic.
He said: “I look after my health, I don’t want to go. “When you go to pubs, we are all together.”
Charlene Gardner, 38, was in Preston city centre to buy school shoes for her two children.
She said: “I was happy the restrictions were brought in because I think we do need the police to get involved.
“The pubs around us were still 30 or 40 deep outside last night.
“It won’t mean any changes for us because we haven’t been seeing family anyway but I saw some reaction online last night and I think a lot of people aren’t going to listen to it.”
Doctors are warning of persistent hiccups as a possible new symptom of coronavirus.
A report published in the American Journal of Emergency medicine describes the case of a man who tested positive for the deadly disease after having hiccups for four days.
The 62-year-old, from Chicago, had initially showed no other symptoms.
He was admitted to hospital and when he had his temperature checked it was 37.3C.
But a scan on his lungs showed indications that he was struggling with his lung capacity.
The man was put in an isolation room where he was tested for coronavirus.
Click here for the story in full.
The Philippines’ health ministry on Saturday reported 4,226 new coronavirus infections and 41 additional deaths.
In a bulletin, the ministry said total confirmed infections have risen to 126,885 while deaths have reached 2,209, with the bulk of cases and casualties reported in the capital.
The Philippines, with a population of 107 million, leads Southeast Asian nations in the most number of cases and is second to Indonesia in deaths.
Face mask rules have changed again today in England – here is everywhere you now need to wear them.
Under new guidelines released by the Government, as of Saturday August 8 the number of places where it is compulsory to wear a face covering has increased.
People will need to wear face coverings in cinemas, theatres, museums and places of worship, Yorkshire Live reports.
Masks have been mandatory in shops since July 24 and are required to travel on public transport.
But The PM announced he would extend the requirement to wear a face covering to other indoor settings.
Boris Johnson said last week they will be compulsory in indoor settings where people are likely to come into contact with others they do not know.
Click here to see the full list of where they need to be worn.
The chief executive of Preston City Council has deployed a “don’t kill granny” message to young people to slow the spread of coronavirus after the area had lockdown restrictions reimposed.
Adrian Phillips told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I know our director of public health has said ‘don’t kill granny’ to young people to try and focus the message.
“Young people are inevitably among the brave and the bold, they want to be adventurous and out and about but we know that they have the virus, are more likely to at the moment, they often have less symptoms but they do take it back to their household and the community spread we are seeing we believe in many cases are young people taking it home and catching the virus.
“We’re going to have to repeat it and whether Radio 4 is the correct channel for that I’m not quite sure but we’re using multiple channels and we’re working with community groups who are doing peer to peer comms around.
“It’s just trying so many different ways to get the message to all communities, to all areas of our city that the virus is still something to be really wary of.”
He also backed the Local Government Association’s call for councils to have greater powers to close pubs to slow the spread of the pandemic.
“You need responsive powers,” he said. “It is useful to have something that can move quickly and we can make it entirely clear to the licensee or the operator what the consequences are.”
Click here for our story.