Political leaders in the North East are urging caution, with coronavirus cases in South Tyneside nearly doubling in a week - giving it the highest infection rate in the country.

The borough has seen 1,359 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to 8 July - the previous week the rate was 691. Eight North East areas are now in the top 10 worst-affected parts of England.

Hospital visits in South Tyneside and Sunderland have been suspended as the number of covid patients in hospitals across the NHS trust rises to 80, up from two a month ago.

Dr George Rae, chairman of the North East British Medical Association, says mask wearing should remain in law for public transport, pubs and shops.

And a joint statement by leaders representing Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland and Durham urges people to be careful as restrictions are lifted on 19 July.

The statement reads: “Restrictions we have become accustomed to are about to be lifted, but we are not heading back to life as we knew it. We will need to continue to work together to carry on saving lives and protecting our communities.”

We've got more on this story here.

Image source, PA Media

As we've been reporting, passengers on London's transport network have been told they must continue wearing masks, even after it stops being law to do so in England.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan says face coverings will still be mandatory on the Tube and the city's bus and rail network, despite the easing of restrictions from 19 July.

Scotland has also announced that face coverings will be required for the time being.

So what are the rules around face coverings? Read our explainer here.

Like many developing countries, Colombia is struggling to get enough vaccines for its citizens.

The government's vaccination programme has so far delivered about 22 million doses in the country of 50 million inhabitants, but only about 18% of the population has been fully vaccinated.

To speed things up Colombia is now allowing companies to import vaccines and distribute them for free among their staff.

But the private vaccination scheme has also been criticised by public health experts who question its ethics and scientific grounding.

While hundreds of thousands of workers with full-time jobs will be vaccinated under the scheme, others who are unemployed, or work in the informal economy, are being left out.

Read more here

Celia Hatton
BBC Asia Pacific Regional Editor

Image source, EPA

A coronavirus cluster has been found at a Japanese hotel hosting a number of Brazilian Olympic athletes, just 10 days before the Summer Games are due to begin.

The cluster emerged in the coastal city of Hamamatsu, with seven staff members confirmed to have the virus.

Those infected are reported not to have had any contact with the Brazilian delegation, which includes judo athletes.

Members of South Africa's Olympic rugby team are also isolating after a passenger on their plane to Japan tested positive for Covid.

But International Olympic Committee head Thomas Bach said that out of 8,000 tests carried out on those arriving for the Games, only three have been positive.

Japan is battling a resurgence of the virus, with a record daily high of 1,149 newly confirmed cases reported on Wednesday. That's almost double the number of new daily cases recorded last week.

A state of emergency will run through the entire period of the Games.

Image source, Getty Images

How Wales will manage its next phase of coronavirus restrictions will be announced later today.

Ministers are expected to settle on their plans for reducing the legal rules that have governed businesses and social contact during the pandemic.

But First Minister Mark Drakeford has said he will not abandon them "wholesale".

Read more here.

Let's take a look at some of the coronavirus stories on the front pages of today's newspapers.

Transport operators and retailers across England are coming under pressure to make mask-wearing mandatory when most coronavirus restrictions are lifted on Monday, according to the Times., external

The Financial Times says, external the decision by the mayor of London and the first minister of Scotland to keep the rule in place on public transport amounts to a "rebuff" for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is dropping the legal requirement in England.

The Daily Telegraph leads, external with the plight of a British couple who were prevented from boarding a flight to Malta because they had been given an Indian-made version of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The paper says while there is nothing wrong with the jab, it is yet to be approved by EU regulators and therefore not part of the bloc's vaccine passport scheme. You can see a review of the newspaper headlines here.

Image source, Reuters

• France has seen record numbers sign up for jabs after President Emmanuel Macron announced that proof of vaccination would be required for dining out or travelling on long-distance trains. At least 1.7 million people booked an appointment within 24 hours, according to the website Doctolib, while the French prime minister said almost 800,000 people received an initial jab on Tuesday – another record
• Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany will not follow France and Greece in mandating vaccines for certain sectors of the population. This week, both countries said healthcare workers would have to be vaccinated against Covid-19
• Malta has abandoned plans to prevent unvaccinated people from entering the country. The government reversed last week’s decision following criticism from the European Commission and now says that travellers will instead need to quarantine upon arrival
• Cyprus has recorded its highest number of new infections since the pandemic began, with 1,081 cases announced on Tuesday. The rise has been attributed to the spread of the Delta variant
• Spain, meanwhile, has passed four million infections - the third EU country to do so, after France and Italy

Image source, Getty Images

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union says staff will be placed in danger of abuse and assault because of "inconsistent messaging" on wearing face masks from Monday in England.

Unions have welcomed a decision by London Mayor Sadiq Khan that masks must still be worn on public transport in the capital after the rules end in the rest of England on 19 July.

But RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "We now have the ludicrous position where a passenger travelling through London will have different rules on the Tube and the mainline services.

"There will also be a change of policy on trains at the Welsh and Scottish borders, which is a total nonsense and will leave staff right at the sharp end and dangerously exposed when it comes to enforcement.

He says the London measures are not enforceable by law "which means RMT members will be thrown into a hostile and confrontational situation from next Monday at heightened risk of abuse and assault."

We've got more on this story here.

Image source, Reuters

A ship on a "cruise to nowhere" has returned to port in Singapore after a passenger tested positive for coronavirus on board, tourism officials say.

The 40-year-old - who tested negative before departure - was isolated and given a PCR test after being identified as a contact of a confirmed case.

Almost 3,000 passengers and crew on board the Dream Cruises ship World Dream have been confined to their cabins.

Cruises such as this with no stops, starting and ending in Singapore, have proved popular among residents of the city state during the pandemic.

But a suspected Covid case in December led to passengers on Royal Caribbean's ship Quantum of the Seas having to self-isolate for more than 16 hours. It proved to be a false alarm.

Not all transport operators want mask mandates to continuepublished at 10:00 British Summer Time 14 July 2021

10:00 BST 14 July 2021

Caroline Davies
Transport correspondent

Transport for London is the first operator to say that it will make wearing a mask a condition of carriage, unless you're exempt.

It follows the end of a legal requirement to wear masks on public transport in England this coming Monday.

TfL's policy is far stronger than just guidance or a suggestion - those without will be denied travel.

The London Mayor has said that as well as suppressing the virus it is also about giving passengers confidence.

Other operators do not feel the same way.

Many are worried that requiring face masks will make passengers think that public transport is less safe than other indoor settings like pubs and restaurants at a time when they desperately need the numbers on board to go up.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Breakfast has been quizzing the transport secretary on foreign travel after some newspapers reported that countries such as Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca currently on the UK foreign travel green list may be moved to amber.

Grant Shapps says the data will be reviewed and the decision on which countries are on which list will be made "in the next couple of days".

He says the lists are reviewed every three weeks and he has made it clear to people who are thinking about booking holidays that there is "always the chance that countries will move around".

Holidaymakers should make sure their bookings are refundable or amendable, he says.

Asked about people being turned away from flights to Malta because they had an Indian-made version of the AstraZeneca vaccine, he says "it's not right and it shouldn't be happening in our view".

"The medicines agency MHRA have been very clear that it doesn't matter whether the AstraZeneca that you have is made here or by the Serum Institute of India it's absolutely the same product, it provides exactly the same certification and level of protection against the virus. So we will be making the scientific points in the strongest possible terms."

Here's a reminder of rules for travelling to green, amber and red list countries

Residents of Australia’s largest city will be in lockdown for another two weeks, after restrictions failed to curb an outbreak of the Delta variant.

Sydney's stay-at-home orders, which started in late June, have been extended until 30 July.

Almost 1,000 infections have been recorded since the outbreak began near Bondi beach.

The authorities say restrictions will only be lifted when new cases are close to zero. The latest daily tally is 97.

Less than 10% of Australia's population are fully vaccinated.

Image source, PA Media

An outbreak of Covid-19 has been confirmed on the Royal Navy's flagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The BBC has been told there have been about 100 cases on the aircraft carrier, which is part way through a world tour.

Several other warships in the fleet accompanying it are also affected.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says all crew on the deployment have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine and the outbreak is being managed.

Read more here.

Here’s a round-up of some of the latest developments worldwide:

• Australia’s largest city Sydney extends its lockdown for at least another two weeks. Stay-at-home orders in effect since late June have so far failed to curb the city’s largest Covid outbreak this year, which has seen almost 1,000 cases
• A ship on a “cruise to nowhere” is forced to return to Singapore after a passenger tested positive for coronavirus. Cruises such as this with no stops starting and ending in Singapore have proved popular among residents of the city state since the pandemic
• South Korea tightens social distancing rules to combat the country’s worst outbreak yet after new daily cases rose to a high of 1,615
• Bangladesh relaxes Covid restrictions until 23 July for celebrations of the Muslim Eid holiday, though people are still required to wear face-masks
• France prepares to celebrate Bastille Day with a parade in central Paris, but spectators are limited to 10,000 and will have to show proof of vaccination or a negative test
• Actress and singer Olivia Rodrigo is to visit the White House, in an attempt to boost the US’s flagging vaccination programme among young people

The transport secretary says the differing rules for wearing face coverings on public transport in London, the rest of England, Wales and Scotland are not confusing and "just common sense when you think about it".

The legal requirement to wear a mask on public transport in England will come to an end on 19 July but remain a "condition of carriage" in London. In Wales and Scotland the rules will continue to apply.

Grant Shapps told BBC Breakfast: "We've moved away from everything just being stated in law and as we do that we expect that individuals will make the right judgements in the right circumstances and crowded environments and that transport organisations will make it a condition of carriage where it's appropriate.

"Clearly in London, as I suggested at the time, the London Underground can be a very busy environment, particularly in rush hour, that may want to keep the requirement to wear a face covering in that situation if you're on a long distance train it would not make as much sense to have that organisation to require you to wear a mask."

Image source, Getty Images

Rules on wearing face coverings in Scotland could remain in place until Christmas, the deputy first minister has said.

John Swinney told BBC Scotland it was "perfectly conceivable" that masks could still be mandatory in December.

On Tuesday, Nicola Sturgeon confirmed mask-wearing would remain for "some time" as she announced the move to level zero of Covid restrictions.

Read more here.

Face coverings must be worn on London's transport network despite restrictions easing in England on 19 July, the city's mayor says.

Sadiq Khan has made wearing a mask a condition of carriage for the Tube, bus, tram, DLR, Overground and TfL Rail after the government said the rules would no longer apply in England from Monday.

Face masks have been mandatory on public transport for the past year to reduce the spread of the virus.

But those rules will be replaced with government guidance advising passengers to wear masks only on busy services.

England is removing most of its Covid restrictions next Monday, and while Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he expects masks to be worn in crowded places their use will no longer be compulsory.

The Scottish and Welsh governments say they will not immediately lift the rules on masks as their restrictions ease. There's more on this story here.

London's mayor says the government should have stuck with laws on wearing face masks on public transport after restrictions in England end on 19 July.

Sadiq Khan told BBC Breakfast: "What would have been far better is for the national rules to apply across the country, not just in London but across the country that would have provided clarity in relation to what the rules are avoid any confusion it also would have meant we could have used the Met Police service and British Transport Police to enforce the law."

Asked about people travelling to London from other parts of the country where face masks are not compulsory, Khan says they will be expected to follow the same rules.

"A number of services coming to London in London aren't my responsibility and what we are saying is when you're in London you've got to be following our rules, just like if you're on a train going to Scotland, you've got to follow the rules in Scotland and indeed in Wales where the wearing of face masks is still compulsory," he says.

"What we're doing is making sure we use our communications both on the network but also using radio, social media, emailing our customers, and so forth, we will be making sure people know that in London the rules are still here and the two main reasons they are still here are public safety and public confidence."

There's more on this story here.

Good morning and thanks for joining us for updates on coronavirus.

Here are some of the stories around as we start the day:

• Face coverings will continue to be compulsory on London's transport network after England's restrictions ease on 19 July
• London's Mayor Sadiq Khan says he is not prepared to put transport users at risk by relaxing the rules
• Masks will no longer be a legal requirement in England from Monday but will remain compulsory on transport in Scotland and Wales
• Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says "individuals will make the right judgements" and transport organisations can make face coverings a "condition of carriage where appropriate"
• But the Rail, Maritime and Transport union says staff could face abuse over the enforcement of "confusing" rules on face masks
• Wales will announce plans to lift some legal coronavirus restrictions later today
• First Minister Mark Drakeford has already said he will not abandon them "wholesale"
• And there’s been an outbreak of 100 Covid-19 cases on the Royal Navy's flagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth