Summary

  • All the latest from Beds, Bucks, Cambs, Essex, Herts, Norfolk, Northants and Suffolk

  • Daily statistics show 20 more people died of Covid-19 in the region's hospitals

  • Football clubs have mixed reactions as final league tables are confirmed

  • People who've had Covid-19 donate blood plasma for tests

Live Reporting

  1. 'It's not the end' for Stevenage, chairman says

    Geoff Doyle
    BBC Three Counties Radio sport

    Stevenage FC chairman Phil Wallace has said they still hope to avoid relegation from the Football League after yesterday's vote to end the League One and League Two seasons early.

    Phil WallaceGetty Images

    The club remained bottom of League Two after yesterday’s vote, but they could be reprieved after Macclesfield Town were handed a fresh EFL misconduct charge on 1 June, relating to the payment of salaries due in March.

    The Silkmen, who are three points above Stevenage, have already had 11 points deducted for previous rule breaches this season and have a further suspended two-point penalty hanging over them if they transgress again.

    Wallace told BBC Five Live "there should be consequences" and assumes there will be a points deduction as "there always has been in the past".

    "It's definitely not the end for us," he said.

    Macclesfield's players have issued a statement saying the Football League was "trying their best to throw Macclesfield out of the league".

  2. Whipsnade Zoo 'delighted' at reopening prospect

    Katy Lewis
    BBC News Online

    With Prime Minister Boris Johnson due to announce that zoos and safari parks can reopen on Monday, the director general of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) - which runs Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire - said he was "delighted" and "raring to go" and expected to have online booking available by Friday.

    Whipsnade Zoo

    Earlier this week, ZSL said it was at risk of permanent closure without income generated by visitors and called for people to write to their MPs.

    Dominic Jermey said: "We are delighted the government may allow ZSL London and Whipsnade zoos to reopen as early as next week.

    "Thousands of members of the public have written to their MPs to express their faith in the zoos' safety measures and their concern for ZSL's continued survival."

    He said it had introduced additional handwashing facilities, sanitiser stations, 2m distance markers and one-way routes so the zoos would "look, feel and be safe".

    He added that everybody will need to pre-book so capacity can be managed.

  3. Twenty new deaths from coronavirus in the East

    Matt Precey
    BBC Look East

    Government statistics recording the latest number of daily coranavirus deaths show there was an increase of 20 in the region's hospitals, taking the regional total to 3,804.

    The deaths, listed by NHS trust, were:

    • Bedford Hospital: 10
    • Milton Keynes University Hospital: 1
    • Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals: 1
    • Norfolk Community Health and Care: 1
    • North West Anglia (Peterborough and Hinchingbrooke hospitals): 1
    • Northampton General: 1
    • Southend University Hospital: 3
    • West Herts Hospitals: 2

    The total number of Covid-19 deaths across the UK now stands at 40,883.

    • Welcome to Wednesday's updates

      We will be bringing you all the latest pandemic news from across the East of England - from the latest statistics to how key workers and our communities are coping.

      We also have more reaction to the final decision on how the Football League season will end.

      If you have a story you wish to share - good or bad - please contact BBC News Online (East).

      Reach us via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or email us.

      Check out yesterday's live page here.