All the latest from Beds, Bucks, Cambs, Essex, Herts, Norfolk, Northants and Suffolk
The coronavirus death toll in the region's hospitals increases by 12, taking the total to 3,816
Clacton Airshow postponed until summer 2021
Experts are to assess the impact of lockdown on Norfolk's tourist industry
A cardboard cut-out of US basketball star Shaquille O'Neal will be in the crowd for Northampton Town's next match
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A former nurse, who challenged herself to walk 102 laps of a park to raise money for the NHS, has reached the halfway point.
Joan Rich, 101, hopes to complete the 560m (1,837ft) loops of Allenby Park in Felixstowe, Suffolk, before her birthday on 11 September.
She said: “You keep on going, you do what you can in little ways and that’s all there is to it.”
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A running club will be pounding the pavements to run the virtual distance to Athens for charity.
Boxted Runners is taking part in the Make It Matter challenge, external, to raise funds for St Helena Hospice, which gives end-of-life care to terminally ill patients in North Essex.
It is currently facing fundraising shortfalls as its shops are closed due to the coronavirus crisis.
Image source, Boxted RunnersBoxted Runners before lockdown
Catherine Davies, from the group, said: "We’ve got 62 signed up already and are hoping to make that 75 in the coming days.
“The hospice has a special place in Colchester life and it’s particularly close to some of our runners who have had family members use its vital services."
A target of £1,000 has been set by the group.
Alex Pope
BBC News Online
Image source, Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha group in BedfordYesterday was the 70th consecutive day that a religious group has made hot meals for people during lockdown.
Since 2 April, The Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha group in Bedford has made vegetarian meals for workers at East of England Ambulance service in Bedford and Kempston, other NHS workers, care home staff, the homeless, vulnerable and self-isolating people and the elderly, throughout the county.
Image source, SGRS BedfordGroup president Jaswinder Kumar, said: "Lots of people still need our help so we will continue to deliver hot food to those who are struggling."
He is proud of his team of about 10 volunteers and said they were "only too happy to help".
Image source, SGRS BedfordDog mess bins in a forest are to be removed due to "misuse".
Theftord Forest, run by Forestry England, is asking visitors to Shouldham Woods to take their litter home with them after bins were left overflowing.
Image source, Thetford ForestAfter the theft of bicycles for NHS workers at Bedford Hospital, the police and a local shop have come forward to help.
The Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, Helen Nellis, said she was "grateful" for the help Bedfordshire Police and Flamme Rouge Cycles in Bedford gave, to get staff to work.
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The venue for coronavirus testing in Hertfordshire has changed.
Hertfordshire Valley Clinical Commissioning Group said the mobile testing site, running from today until Sunday, was now at Hertfordshire County Council's offices in Hemel Hempstead, instead of Watford.
It said to only attend if you have booked a test in advance on the website., external
Sarah Jenkins
BBC News
Hertfordshire's road safety team has installed social distancing signs at school crossings.
Markings have also been placed on pavements in some areas to assist school crossing patrols, which returned to work this week.
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Alex Pope
BBC News Online
More than 100 laptops have been purchased by a charity to help disadvantaged children.
The computers are being offered to 14 secondary schools in the Bedford Borough area.
They were bought by The Harper Trust's , externalCovid-19 community fund, including a donation by The Bedford Educational Association.
Kelli Foster, acting headteacher at Mark Rutherford School, said: "This will make a real difference to some of our families who are in desperate need of technology to support their home learning.”
Image source, The Harpur TrustIrene Saenger, chairman of the association, said: “We hope that it will make a huge difference to the learning potential of some of the most disadvantaged young people in our area during these difficult times.”
The charity is also asking for donations of spare laptops.
Alex Pope
BBC News Online
Emergency funding of £100,000 has been awarded to a charity to help it cope with the effects of Covid-19 and continue to help rough sleepers.
Signposts, external in Luton has been given a share of £6m from the government.
"The pandemic has hit homelessness services hard, and we are no exception," said acting chief executive Tim Archbold.
"We estimate we have lost around £150,000 so far as we have had to change the way we operate in response to coronavirus to enable us to continue to offer much-needed support to those on the streets and across our projects.”
The money would be be spent on providing accommodation for rough sleepers and existing clients advised to self-isolate, as well as accommodation for those identified as clinically extremely vulnerable, the charity said.
Image source, SignpostsThe UK’s largest-ever exhibition of original tattoo artwork has gone online.
Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed , externalaims to challenge "deeply-held myths and misconceptions" and has been curated by University of Essex art historian, Dr Matt Lodder.
It features 400 artworks, photographs and historic artefacts spanning 400 years of tattooing.
The exhibition was set up at No.1 Smithery gallery in Chatham, Kent, but was locked down before it could open.
Image source, University of Essex"The idea was to give a ‘viewers' eye" of the exhibition", he said.
"Navigating the complexities of copyright permissions at fast pace, and with basically no money, has been a wild ride but it’s exciting that people will still be able to see the show."
Image source, University of Essex
BBC Essex
Conservative MP for Harlow, Robert Halfon, is calling on the prime minister to put forward a detailed plan for how children will be able to return to schools in September.
It comes after the government dropped plans for every primary school pupil in England to spend at least four weeks back in class before the summer break.
Only children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 have returned so far.
Image source, UK Parliament"We know that 85% of vulnerable children are not in school; 700,000 children according to 900 head teachers are not doing any school homework", he said.
"There should be some kind of summer school with a national volunteer army of retired teachers, Ofsted inspectors, graduates, to help these children left behind catch up."
Downing Street said it has not ruled out the possibility of retired teachers being called back into the profession in England to help deal with the coronavirus crisis.
BBC Sport
Shaquille O'Neal is one of American sport's biggest-ever stars. The basketball legend has had his own video game, released albums and even had a go at being a professional wrestler.
But on 18 June, he will be in the crowd for a League Two play-off game in Northampton - in cardboard form.
Image source, Northampton Town Football ClubA cut-out of the former Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and Orlando Magic centre will be in the Northampton Town stands for the club's semi-final first leg against Cheltenham Town.
O'Neal's love for Northampton goes back a few years and stems from his business association with Cobblers chairman Kelvin Thomas.
With supporters unable to go to games in person because of social distancing rules relating to the coronavirus pandemic, Northampton are one of several football clubs giving supporters the chance to be at matches in the form of a cardboard cut-out.
The cost of lockdown to the Norfolk tourism industry is to be measured.
It is worth more than £3bn, according to Visit Norfolk, external, and employs more than 65,000 people.
A survey of the sector is being carried out by a group of Norfolk businesses and experts.
Image source, HolkhamChris Scargill from MHA Larking Gowen, who is involved, said it was important that businesses got together to gather data and look at the potential impact of lockdown.
An airshow that normally attracts about 250,000 people over two days has been called off due to coronavirus.
Clacton Airshow will not take place on 27 to 28 August, but will take to the skies again on 26 and 27 August, 2021.
Organiser Tendring District Council, external said the decision to postpone the event that has been running for 28 years was taken due to visitor safety.
Image source, Matt Cattermole/Tendring District CouncilThe Clacton Airshow in 2019
Alex Porter, portfolio holder for leisure and tourism, said: "Although lockdown restrictions have recently started to be eased, there is no possible way to maintain social distancing with more than 200,000 visitors gathering along our seafront.
“The airshow takes a lot of planning, and though we have held off a decision for as long as possible, we are now at the point where we either plunge headlong into organising, or postpone."
An appointment-only mobile testing site for coronavirus is operating in Corby today until Sunday.
The eligibility criteria for tests, external have been extended to include anyone with coronavirus symptoms (new, continuous cough; high temperature; loss of or change in sense of smell or taste).
Essential workers will be given priority.
Location details for the testing site are provided to applicants after they complete their online booking.
Image source, Getty Images
Matt Precey
BBC Look East
Government statistics recording the latest number of daily coranavirus deaths , externalshow an increase of 12 in the region's hospitals, taking the regional total to 3,816.
The deaths, listed by NHS trust, were:
The total number of Covid-19 deaths across the UK now stands at 41,128.
Alex Pope
BBC News Online
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