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More on the travel industry day of action. In Scotland, the sector wants answers from the Scottish government, saying it's been "sacrificed" during the pandemic.

More than 250 members of the Scottish Passenger Agents' Association (SPAA) and their associates, including airlines, tour operators and pilots, will protest outside the Scottish Parliament later.

They want more support, clarity over the data used to ground travel, a plan for a safe return to international travel and a low-cost, easy-to-access testing regime.

It comes as a survey for the SPAA found more than nine in 10 (96%) Scots who travelled overseas between March 2020 and today felt very or fairly safe.

Joanne Dooey, SPAA president, says she hopes First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will meet them to "explain why, despite a world-beating vaccination programme and easily accessible albeit expensive testing, we're further behind at opening up travel than we were 12 months ago when we had no rapid testing and no vaccination".

Jacqueline Dobson, president of the online agency Barrhead Travel, says millions of people in the industry have lost their jobs, and millions more fear for the future.

A Scottish government spokesman says international travel restrictions are important to limit the importation of more cases, especially new variants.

He adds that a UK-wide solution is necessary to mitigate the financial challenges facing the industry.

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New research into the public's attitude to the news media has found trust in news coverage has grown in the UK during the pandemic.

The Reuters Institute Digital News Report was carried out in January this year and found 36% of people in the UK "trust most news most of the time".

That's up from 28% in January 2020, before the pandemic began.

But it is still 14 percentage points down on where it was prior to the Brexit vote in 2016.

The report found that strictly regulated impartial broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV, Sky News, and Channel 4 remain the most trusted, followed by national broadsheet newspapers.

"The focus on factual reporting during the Covid-19 crisis may have made the news seem more straightforward, while the story has also had the effect of squeezing out more partisan political news," says the lead author of the report, Nic Newman.

"This may be a temporary effect, but in almost all countries we see audiences placing a greater premium on accurate and reliable news sources."

For more news on the news, head here.

Image source, Imperial College London handout

Some positives to take from Professor Neil Ferguson, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), which advises the government.

You'll remember him as the scientist whose modelling of the spread of coronavirus was key to the government's decision to bring in the first lockdown.

He's told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the current data is looking "encouraging".

"We are seeing - as we expected - rises in case numbers across the country, but they have slowed slightly compared with a couple of weeks ago, and we're seeing rises in hospitalisations and indeed in deaths but again they're at a much lower level compared with cases than they were previously."

This, he says, shows the "high effectiveness" of vaccines at protecting people particularly against severe illness.

He also says "it is clear" two doses of vaccine offers a high level of protection and even those who do get infected are "almost certainly probably 50% less infectious".

On the question of schoolchildren, who we know are facing disruption as children are sent home to isolate, he says the measures are proving relatively effective at stopping large outbreaks in schools.

"That picture will continue for a few weeks more until we get past the third wave which will unfold in the next couple of months," Ferguson, from Imperial College London, tells the programme.

Looking ahead, he warns the country does need to be prepared for "potentially quite a significant flu epidemic probably late this year, early next year".

Simon Atkinson
BBC News, Sydney

The New Zealand capital city of Wellington is introducing Covid-19 restrictions - after a person with the virus travelled there from Sydney.

The traveller arrived on a Qantas flight on 19 June and went to more than a dozen locations in the city.

The Level 2 rules include restricting numbers of people in many venues to under 100, physical distancing being enforced, masks being worn on public transport and encouraging working from home where possible.

They will initially be in force until Sunday.

New Zealand - which is seen as one of the success stories of the pandemic - has a well-established system of tiered responses used when outbreaks occur.

The whole country was on Level 1 - "Covid normal" - until today.

The travel bubble between New South Wales and New Zealand has been paused because of the Sydney outbreak, which has grown by another 16 cases in the past 24 hours.

Image source, Reuters

We told you earlier about concerns over plans to host up to 60,000 football fans at Wembley for the Euro 2020 final and semi-finals.

But a professor of psychology believes Covid is more likely to be spreading among people watching the football at home, than in the stadiums.

"Interestingly I think the major problem with the football is not people at the matches, it's people at home not taking precautions there," says Stephen Reicher, professor of psychology at St Andrews.

"I saw data from Scotland yesterday showing that whereas two or three weeks ago the ratio of men and women who get infections was roughly the same, now it is about three times higher for younger men.

"The obvious explanation for that is people meeting up at home forgetting restrictions and infecting each other," Prof Reicher tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"The point is that 60,000 people at the match sends a message to 60 million: if they can go meet together - then why can't we? If they are jumping up and down and hugging when a goal is scored then why can't we?"

A son desperate to see his dying father in Australia has been denied quarantine exemption by the state of Queensland - meaning he and his wife must spend 14 days in hotel isolation before they can visit Mark Kilian's father, who has pancreatic cancer.

The couple were granted exemption to Covid-19 border closures by the Australian federal government, but the state of Queensland has denied their request.

"I think it kind of just shattered him," says Mark, whose father was moved to hospital soon after he learnt he would not be able to see his son immediately.

Queensland Health has denied the exemption four times but have put forward "no solutions", says Mark's partner, Anneli Gericke.

A spokesperson for Queensland Health has defended its policies, saying it would "always put the safety of the Queensland community first and our quarantine policy has been successful in keeping our community safe".

The couple are both fully vaccinated and have returned three negative Covid tests.

"I am battling to come to terms with the heartlessness," says Mark, who insists the couple do not present a health risk to the people of Queensland.

Image source, Reuters

Culture Minister John Whittingdale has defended the government decision to allow 60,000 fans to attend Wembley for the final and semi-finals of the European Championship.

The Euro 2020 matches are due to be part of the government's Event Research Programme, which has included the Snooker World Championships and Royal Ascot - and will encompass the Wimbledon finals.

Whittingdale tells BBC Breakfast “now is the right time” to test at one or two of the bigger events which, if successful, would enable a wider relaxation of restrictions.

"The events we've held so far have shown very successful results and we'll be publishing the analysis of that quite soon - and it will be on the basis of that analysis... that we decide whether or not it is safe to apply those relaxed restrictions across the economy and more widely."

Amid suggestions that some 2,500 football industry personnel intending to come to Wembley will not be required to quarantine, he says the government is “still talking” to UEFA, but officials coming to the UK will remain subject to restrictions when entering the country and moving around.

"They won't necessarily be allowed to just travel around the country."

"At every stage we will be taking advice from Public Health England and we will only reach an agreement if we are absolutely confident that it doesn't put the public health at risk."

Image source, Reuters

Staff and clients of investment bank Morgan Stanley will be barred from entering its New York offices if they are not fully vaccinated against Covid.

The policy comes into effect next month, in a move aimed to allow the lifting of other Covid-related rules.

Unvaccinated employees will need to work remotely, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The move will allow the company to remove restrictions in offices on face coverings and social distancing, the BBC understands.

It follows a memo to employees from the Wall Street giant's chief executive last week. "Starting July 12 all employees, contingent workforce, clients and visitors will be required to attest to being fully vaccinated to access Morgan Stanley buildings in New York City and Westchester," it said.

Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley chief executive James Gorman said: "If you can go into a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office."

Speaking at a conference, Gorman said he would be "very disappointed" if US-based workers had not returned by September.

Read the full story.

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Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, says the situation in NHS hospitals is "really challenging".

"Trusts on the front line are really coming under huge pressure... they have plans in place to tackle the backlog, but with more Covid cases and demand for emergency care going up, that's really challenging," she tells BBC Breakfast.

She says the number of people in ventilator beds in hospital has gone up 41% in the past week "so that's a really strong indication of how Covid is impacting again".

"We are really worried that if we have a further surge over winter, alongside all of those usual elements that we see in winter... we are going to face a significant challenge."

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Earlier, we told you of ongoing concern about children missing out on their education after having to self-isolate because of contact with a positive Covid case at school.

It comes as 240,000 children were registered as off school last week - the highest number of Covid-based absences since March.

Culture minister John Whittingdale has defended the government’s policy, telling BBC Breakfast “we are still fighting this pandemic”.

"The most important thing is public health and we won’t do anything to put that at risk," says Whittingdale.

He says while schools are "very careful" to follow advice on social distancing, "that doesn't always happen outside school".

"We do need to abide by the rules if we are to beat this.

"We are making huge progress," says the culture minister, but he warns about the need to “proceed cautiously”.

Soutik Biswas
India Correspondent

Image source, Reuters

India has classified a new variant of the coronavirus first identified in Europe as a "variant of concern".

A mutation is elevated from a "variant of interest" to a "variant of concern" when it shows evidence of fulfilling at least one of several criteria, including easy transmission, more severe illness and reduced effectiveness of treatment and vaccines.

But leading virologists have questioned the labelling of Delta Plus as a variant of concern, saying there was no data yet to prove that the variant was more infectious or led to more severe disease compared to other variants.

India's health ministry says studies showed the so-called Delta Plus , externalvariant - also known as AY.1 - spreads more easily, binds more easily to lung cells and is potentially resistant to monoclonal antibody therapy, a potent intravenous infusion of antibodies to neutralise the virus.

The variant is related to the Delta, an existing variant of concern, which was first identified in India last year.

The health ministry says the Delta Plus variant, first found in India in April, has been detected in 22 samples from six districts in three states.

It has also been found in nine other countries: USA, UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Poland, Nepal, Russia and China - compared to the original highly contagious Delta strain, which has now spread to 80 countries.

Read more.

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Poland has imposed seven days’ compulsory quarantine for travellers arriving from the UK, because of the spread of the Delta variant that originated in India. The same rules are also in place for Brazil, India and South Africa. Visitors will need to take a negative test after their period of self-isolation. Fully vaccinated travellers will be exempt. Poland has confirmed 90 cases of the Delta variant so far.

Russia reported another 546 deaths related to Covid in the past 24 hours on Tuesday, the highest official figure since February. Another 16,715 positive tests were recorded and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has restricted access to cafes and restaurants from next Monday to people who’ve been vaccinated, have recovered or have a negative test result.

The head of the World Medical Association Frank Ulrich Montgomery has added his voice to concerns about Wembley hosting the final of Euro 2020 next month. “I consider it irresponsible even for people who have been vaccinated to travel to London,” he says, because of the spread of the Delta variant. The UK government has raised the capacity for the semi-finals and final to 60,000. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she doesn’t think it’s a good idea to have a full stadium and the Italian PM has offered to host the final in Rome.

Hundreds of people were turned away from Bosnia’s main vaccination centre in the capital Sarajevo yesterday because vaccine supplies ran out. Fresh supplies have arrived in Bosnia but it’s not clear when immunisations will resume.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has vowed to press ahead with reforms at “maximum speed” with the help of €191.5bn (£163bn) in grants and loans from the EU’s Covid recovery fund. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has praised Italy’s reform plans as “ambitious” and the first instalment of €24bn is set to arrive by the end of next month. Draghi says he hopes it will mark the “dawn of the recovery of the Italian economy”.

BBC Breakfast

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A London GP says it is "ridiculous" that whole classes - and even year groups - are being sent home to self-isolate when one child tests postive for Covid.

Dr Rosemary Leonard tells BBC Breakfast it is unfair on children, saying: "It's not prioritising them or their education.

"It's as if nobody is caring... and looking at this in a balanced way."

Dr Leonard says currently 0.8% of deaths are due to Covid and it has been established that 80% of over-16s have antibodies.

"We've got to stop being scared... unnecessarily, disproportionately scared of Covid," she tells the BBC, highlighting the impact on children's mental health and the rise in social anxiety among young people.

Image source, Getty Images

Yesterday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was now aiming to remove all of Scotland's major legal Covid restrictions in early August.

The date she's working towards is 9 August, and she expects all parts of the country to be in level zero from 19 July.

It had originally been hoped that the whole country could move to the lowest level of Covid restrictions, level zero, on 28 June, but she delayed it by three weeks to allow more people to get vaccinated.

We've got a summary of the changes here.

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A new report from a committee of MPs, out today, focuses on government plans to bail out cultural institutions during the pandemic.

The £1.57bn culture recovery fund was set up with the aim of helping arts and cultural institutions - such as Glastonbury Festival, Shakespeare's Globe and Canterbury Cathedral - survive.

The new report from the Public Accounts Committee praises the scheme - but adds festivals and freelancers in the cultural sector still face devastating consequences unless they're given more support.

Many events organisers like festivals face problems getting cancellation insurance, meaning they can't plan events without fear of cancellation costs.

The report says "Britain's treasured summer festivals" could be wiped out "without a government-backed insurance indemnity package against the risk of cancellation".

The government says it continues to explore "what further support, including issues around securing insurance, may be required when the culture sector is able to reopen".

The full story is here.

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It goes without saying that huge numbers of people have been hit hard by the pandemic – whether because of the devastating health crisis, or economically from the lockdowns.

But a new report has found that many people's situation has improved during the pandemic, with more than five million people becoming millionaires last year.

The research from investment bank Credit Suisse found that in 2020, more than 1% of adults worldwide were millionaires for the first time.

Recovering stock markets and soaring house prices helped boost their wealth, the report said.

At the same time, many poor people became poorer and the wealth gap between adults widened in 2020.

Read more on the research here.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the top Covid adviser in the US, has been talking to the BBC about the Delta variant, which has been spreading in the US.

He says the US is taking the Delta variant “very seriously” given the situation in the UK where it’s spread rapidly.

Dr Fauci warns that there are “pockets in this country” where the number of people getting vaccinated is “really quite low”.

There needs to be a push to get those people jabbed in the next few weeks, he says. Those people are putting the US at risk of a surge – although it won’t be a nationwide surge but regionally-based spikes, he adds.

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Away from the debate about travel rules, a drug commonly used to treat parasitic worms is now being trialled by scientists at the University of Oxford to see if it can help treat Covid.

It’s being given to over-50s with Covid symptoms and will compare how those patients fare with people receiving the usual NHS care.

Previous studies of Ivermectin have generally been small or low quality.

And the drug has become controversial after being promoted for use across Latin America and in South Africa, despite being so far unproven.

We’ve got more on this story here.

The government reviews its lists of green, amber and red countries every three weeks.

The last update - when Portugal was stripped from the green list - was on 3 June, meaning the next update is expected tomorrow.

But the government has also said there will be a "checkpoint" review of the rules for each tier on Monday 28 June.

This is when ministers see whether any of the measures for each list could be relaxed further.

More on the current traffic light system here.

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Tim Alderslade, the boss of Airlines UK, which represents UK carriers, has also put out a plea for the government to ease the rules.

"It is now or never for the government to reopen travel and save what is remaining of the summer season, not just for families desperate to get away but the tens of thousands of jobs which rely upon this once thriving sector," he says.

"Airlines are at the absolute limit of what they can borrow and without a genuine reopening this summer they will require government support to survive."

It's not just voices from within the tourism sector who are angry - those who work in business travel are too. Clive Wratten, chief executive of the Business Travel Association says the industry is in "dire straits".

"The travel sector remains in lockdown as the rest of the country opens up," he says.

"Business travel is essential for the UK economy and our ability to trade on the international stage.

"The government must provide targeted support and extend the green list at its next review."

In a statement, the government said its travel rules are "guided by one overwhelming priority: protecting public health".

It added that it kept all measures under review and keeps working with the industry to see how international travel can be reopened safely.

"Both tailored and wider economic support is still available to the sector, including the furlough scheme," the government said.