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Speaking at his daily coronavirus press briefing, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he was baffled by New Yorkers who gathered over the weekend without wearing masks.

"Why wouldn't you use it?" Mr Cuomo asked. "The opposition is so trivial and nonsensical relative to the risks."

The governor noted that front line healthcare works - "nurses and doctors who are in an emergency room" - have a lower infection rate than the general population.

Why? "Because they use [personal protective equipment]", Mr Cuomo said. "It works...I'll talk about masks until I'm blue in my face because they work."

New York state reported 96 virus deaths over the past 24 hours, continuing the state's downward trend.

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The US Republican National Committee (RNC) and other Republican organisations have filed a lawsuit against California to try to block the state from sending absentee ballots to all voters in anticipation of the November presidential election.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed an executive order earlier this month to ensure that every registered voter is automatically sent a mail-in ballot. The order does not replace in-person voting.

Republicans have decried the move - meant to limit the health risks that accompany in-person voting - as a "brazen power grab".

Newsom's order is "less about protecting the health of Californians and more about protecting the electoral prospects of the Governor's political party," the suit says.

The RNC suit mirrors the sentiments of President Donald Trump, who has used coronavirus press briefings and his Twitter account to rail against vote-by-mail, saying it is more susceptible to fraud - a largely unproven claim.

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Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's 96-year-old mother has died, according to a government statement.

Newspaper Het Parool said the prime minister was unable to visit his mother in her final days due to the lockdown restrictions.

She died on 13 May and the family buried her on Friday.

Though there had been cases of coronavirus recorded at the nursing home where she lived in The Hague, local media report she had tested negative for the illness in the days before her death. Her cause of death has not been announced.

"My family and I are grateful to have had her with us for so long," Mr Rutte said in a statement.

A clinical trial of anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine - the drug US President Donald Trump has touted and said he was taking to avoid getting Covid-19 - has been suspended by the World Health Organization (WHO) amid safety concerns.

Director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "The executive group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the solidarity trial while the safety data is reviewed by the data safety monitoring board. The other arms of the trial are continuing."

On Friday, a study in medical journal the Lancet found there were no benefits to treating coronavirus patients with the drug.

It found that it actually increases the risk of patients with the disease dying from it.

Mr Trump has repeatedly promoted hydroxychloroquine, against medical advice, and said he was taking it despite public health officials warning it could cause heart problems.

Boris Johnson announced the reopening of the retail sector, but only for premises that are "Covid-secure":

• Outdoor markets and car showrooms can reopen from 1 June
• All other non-essential retailers can reopen from 15 June.

People will have to make up their own minds about Dominic Cummings' decision to drive to Durham, says PM: "I don't think reasonable people can disagree with his motivations."

The Cummings row has not disrupted the government's #stay alert messaging, he said: "I do not believe that anybody in No 10 has done anything to undermine our messaging."

Some 3.5 million tests have been done in total, with around 73,000 completed on average daily. The R value - rate of infection - now stands at between 0.7 and 1.

As the UK death toll increased by 121 to 36,914, the prime minister said "key indicators are heading in the right direction".

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Asked during the briefing whether he regrets Dominic Cummings' actions, the PM said: "Yes, of course I do regret the confusion and the anger and the pain that people feel."

"This is a country that has been going through the most tremendous difficulties and suffering in the course of the last 10 weeks," Mr Johnson said. "And that's why I really did want people to understand exactly what had happened."

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Social distancing seemed to take a back seat in some spots on Monday, despite coronavirus deaths in the UK reaching nearly 37,000 and PM Boris Johnson again urging they be followed.

Police urged people to use their common sense when it came to social distancing, after large crowds gathered at Ruislip Lido in the London borough of Hillingdon.

Today is a bank holiday in the UK and people have flocked to beauty spots to enjoy the warm weather.

Images taken on beaches in Bournemouth earlier today show hundreds of people crammed together.

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Reality Check

Dominic Cummings took a half-hour drive from his parents’ farm to check whether he would be able to make the five-hour drive back to London because his eyesight had been affected by the virus.

Was this within the guidelines?

The social distancing guidelines then in force said people should only leave the house for limited purposes:

• shopping for basic necessities
• one form of exercise a day
• any medical need, including to donate blood, avoid or escape risk of injury or harm, or to provide care, or to help a vulnerable person
• travelling for work purposes, but only where you cannot work from home

Mr Cummings suggested this drive was to establish that he would be safe in driving back to London to return to work.

PM Boris Johnson added later: “Eyesight can be a problem associated with coronavirus.”

Many people have pointed out on social media that the 1988 Road Traffic Act contains a section that reads: “If a person drives a motor vehicle on a road while his eyesight is such (whether through a defect which cannot be, or one which is not for the time being, sufficiently corrected) that he cannot comply with any requirement as to eyesight prescribed under this Part of this Act for the purposes of tests of competence to drive, he is guilty of an offence.”

During the briefing, Mr Johnson was asked repeatedly about Dominic Cummings' claim that he drove to a beauty spot to "test his eyesight", and about calls for him to quit.

Gesturing to his glasses, he said: "On the point about eyesight, I'm finding I have to wear spectacles for the first time in years, I think, because of the effects of this thing. So... I think that's very, very plausible that there is that eyesight can be a problem associated with coronavirus."

He said he understands "why people may wish to see resignations" but adds: "I think that people will make up their make up their minds about was what Mr Cummings had to say."

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Asked if mistakes had been made in the government's approach to the coronavirus - as inferred by Dominic Cummings at his earlier press conference, the UK prime minister said: "The reality is, this is an unprecedented virus, that has had consequences... unlike anything that we have seen in the last 70 years".

"It has been a quite extraordinary time. And if any country doesn't think there are better ways we could be prepared the next time, that would be absolute folly."

But Boris Johnson goes on to praise the government's succcess in protecting the NHS and workers - with the furlough scheme: "We have great cause to be very, very proud."

"There will still be challenges ahead, but we will continue to learn and improve, where we can, every step of the way."

No, the PM says: "I can't give any unconditional backing to anybody, but I do not believe that anybody in No 10 has done anything to undermine our messaging."

"To the best of my knowledge, Mr Cummings has subjected himself to your interrogation for quite a long time," says Boris Johnson, with regard to Mr Cummings' lengthy press conference this afternoon. "I really feel it would be wrong of me to try to comment further."

"People will have to make their minds up," he says. "To me he comes across as someone who cares a great deal for his family.

He emphasises once again the his chief aide acted "legally and reasonably".

"I don't think reasonable people can disagree with his motivations."

Claire from Harpenden asks: "Since restrictions were lifted large groups are gathering, what can be done to discourage them?"

"It is absolutely vital that all of us continue to observe the rules," says the prime minister.

"The only reason we have been able to make as much progress as we have is because this country has observed the social distancing measures.

"The police will step in if necessary to encourage people to obey the law."

"This isn't about going back to the way everybody lived before," adds Professor Doyle.

"This virus can reappear," she warns.

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Asked whether the government will ensure that people who self-isolate after entering the UK from abroad will receive food and medical essentials, Prime Minister Boris Johnson says "I cannot tell you what provisions we've yet made for people self-isolating - whether they will receive food and provisions."

He says: "Possibly it would be reasonable to assume that they will take steps to self-isolate somewhere where they can make sure that they are provided for, but obviously if they can't then local authorities are ready to make sure that they are well looked after."

Mr Johnson says he wants people to be "confident that they can shop safely".

He says the food retail sector has already responded "fantastically well" and that "we will learn lessons from that experience as we allow other retail to open".

The prime minister adds: "These are careful but deliberate steps on the road to rebuilding our country. And we can only take these steps thanks to what we have so far achieved together."

Here is a selection of the slides the government has put out to accompany its daily coronavirus statement.

Image source, UK government

Image source, UK government

Image source, UK government

Image source, UK government

Image source, PA Media

Professor Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director of Public Health England, takes us through the slides.

Prof Doyle says 0.25% is the average proportion of the population who had virus between 4-7 May. In any week recently, 61,000 might have been infected.

The R value - rate of infection - is between 0.7 and 1.

Some 3.5 million tests have been done in total. Around 73,000 completed on average daily.

The number admissions on 23 May was 595 - a considerable decline. We now have 12% on mechanical ventilation, Prof Doyle says. She calls the figures "good news".

The prime minister says that today the government is publishing new guidance for the retail sector detailing "measures they should take to meet the necessary social distancing and hygiene standards".

He says: "Shops now have the time to implement this guidance before they reopen. This will ensure there can be no doubt about what steps they should take."

He adds that the government will have "the powers we need to enforce compliance where that is required".

PM Boris Johnson says: "Today I want to give the retail sector notice of our intention to reopen shops so they too can get ready."

He says the government intends for outdoor markets and car show rooms to open from 1 June.

He adds: "From 15 June, we intend to allow all other non-essential retail... to reopen."

He says this will only be permitted for premises that are "Covid-secure".

Image source, PA Media

The PM says that "thanks to this country's collective effort" adding to the lockdown rules, the "key indicators are heading in the right direction".