Kostas Koukoumakas
Athens, Greece

Image source, Getty Images

Primary schools and kindergartens reopened here on Monday, with a restriction in place of 15 students per classroom. It is part of the latest easing of the coronavirus restrictions that were imposed in March.

However, not all children came back to school. Many parents decided to keep their children at home, partly because the academic year ends on 26 June and most pupils have no exams ahead.

In addition to schools, those hotels that operate all year round also reopened today to Greeks. Seasonal hotels will follow by opening to foreign visitors on 15 June. People working in the tourism industry hope the summer season can still be saved, although most potential visitors have so far been calling just to find out what the conditions will be like when they do finally return. A 20-page directive issued by the government covers how to train staff to recognise possible coronavirus symptoms and how to handle cleaning of rooms and serving guests.

Some 20 open-air cinemas were due to restart today in Athens, but the bad weather seems to have put a stop to this for now. The all-male monastic community of Mount Athos in northern Greece also opened its gates for the first time since the outbreak of Covid-19, providing special permits to visitors.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

FC Midtjylland, who play in Denmark's top football league, have come up with a creative way to ensure fans still get a matchday experience despite coronavirus restrictions.

With no fans allowed inside stadiums, Midtjylland hosted a "drive in" for their fixture against AC Horsens on Monday.

That meant fans could park in the stadium's car parks and watch on big screens from inside the safety of their car.

Hundreds of cars turned up - but many occupants left disappointed with Midtjylland losing 0-1.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Rwanda has cancelled a planned easing of coronavirus restrictions minutes before they were due to be implemented. It follows the country's first confirmed Covid-19 death and a spike in new infections.

The easing of restrictions was to include the resumption of travel between provinces after a two-month lockdown. The 50,000 motorcycle taxi drivers who provide much of Rwanda's transport are angry about the government U-turn, saying their livelihoods are in ruins.

Business people who rely on inter-provincial trade have also criticised the decision. There have been at least 370 confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in Rwanda and one fatality, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

Reality Check

At the UK government press briefing earlier, Health Secretary Matt Hancock was asked whether the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) exists yet.

The JBC is an advisory group being set up by the government to identify changes in infection rates using testing, environmental and workplace data.

It will bring together scientists and government specialists to advise chief medical officers on whether to ease or tighten restrictions in particular areas, although ministers will make the final decisions.

Its creation was announced on 10 May alongside the new one-to-five coronavirus alert level scale, which it will advise on.

But it is not yet ready to go. Mr Hancock’s response was: “It’s being formulated at the moment. It’s being pulled together.”

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Spain has recorded no coronavirus deaths over the past 24 hours for the first time since the beginning of March, the country's health ministry said.

Spain has recorded at least one new death every day since 3 March but on Monday the overall death toll remained at 27,127.

The daily tally of new cases has also fallen, with 71 recorded on Monday compared to 96 on Sunday.

Spain has been one of the countries worst hit by the virus but has been easing restrictions in recent weeks.

Gavin Lee
BBC Europe reporter

Cafes, bars and restaurants have reopened in Gibraltar today.

They can operate at 50% capacity, with social distancing measures in place.

Trips to the top of the Rock to view the famous Macaque monkeys are possible too, but are being limited to groups of no more than 12 people at a time.

Gibraltar’s beaches are also accessible throughout the day. Visits to the beaches were previously confined to short periods.

There are currently 19 active Covid-19 cases on the British overseas territory. There have been 170 recorded cases overall, but no deaths as a result of the coronavirus.

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Snooker has become the latest sport to return in the UK after the disruption caused by the coronavirus.

On Monday, horse racing and greyhound racing resumed behind closed doors after the UK government eased restrictions over the weekend.

Then, at 15:00 BST, snooker returned with world champion Judd Trump's match against David Grace at the Championship League in Milton Keynes.

The tournament was being held without spectators and all players and staff tested negative for Covid-19 prior to play beginning.

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Eighty-six crew members on a fish processing vessel on the US West Coast have tested positive for coronavirus, Reuters reports. The ship has a capacity of 142.

Workers on the American Seafoods ship American Dynasty were tested on Sunday in the port of Bellingham, Washington.

Employees in US food processing factories have been particularly vulnerable to coronavirus.

Twenty meat plants closed in May after thousands of workers were infected. Close working conditions and pressure to keep factories open to supply the food market are thought to be partly to blame for the outbreaks.

If you're just joining us, here's a taste of what's been going on in the UK and around the world today.

• Primary schools in England welcomed back students in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 - but up to half of eligible students may have stayed home, surveys suggest
• GPs in the UK have complained that they were not given time to prepare for changes to shielding advice in England and Wales, which says their most clinically vulnerable patients can now go outdoors
• There have been concerns that protests in the US following the death in police custody of unarmed black man George Floyd could lead to a rise in Covid-19 cases
• The annual candlelit vigil in Hong Kong commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown has been banned. Authorities are citing coronavirus concerns, but organisers have questioned their motives
• Moscow has eased lockdown restrictions, even as case numbers continue to rise. Shops have reopened in the Russian capital and people are now allowed out for limited exercise
• Ikea reopened 19 of its stores in England and Northern Ireland, with customers forming large queues outside stores

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Fireworks have been set off across Japan in a prayer for the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

The locations of the simultaneous displays were kept secret and appear to have taken many by surprise.

Organisers said they were designed to be long enough to allow people to run outside and watch, while not giving them time to congregate and breach coronavirus rules.

The fireworks were set off with prayers attached for the virus to disappear.

Many traditional firework festivals held during the Japanese summer have been cancelled because of the pandemic.

Image source, Getty Images

Today's government press conference was led by Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who was joined by Prof John Newton, the co-ordinator for the national testing programme.

Here's what they told us:

• Anyone who has any of the three core symptoms of coronavirus - a persistent cough, fever, or a loss or change of sense of smell or taste - should get a test by going to the NHS website or dialling 119
• Dentistry will resume next week
• The government felt it could make a small change on the shielding advice because of the reduction in the rate of infection. But shielders must still remain socially distant from everyone, apart from those in their household, and continue to follow advice
• Evidence so far suggests people are complying when asked to isolate by contact tracers as part of the track and trace scheme

The daily briefing finished a short while ago.

The final question was from Fiona Reid, from Dumfriesshire Newspapers, about different approaches to testing between England and Scotland, rules on the shielding of the most vulnerable people and whether people crossing the border between the two countries for work are getting mixed messages.

Hancock says England and Scotland have taken "slightly different" decisions in some areas, such as recreational exercise, as a "consequence of devolution" and as a result of the epidemic being at a different stage in Scotland.

But he says London and Edinburgh have sought to stay as close as possible on key issues.

On the issue of how scientific advice and guidance applies to different parts of the country, Newton says there are differences but these tend to get "ironed out" to ensure guidance is as similar as possible.

Image source, PA Media

The press conference has now ended.

It was a relatively brief one today - lasting not much longer than half an hour.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

The fact the number of new infections has dropped to one of its lowest levels since lockdown began is, of course, positive news.

At the peak, around 6,000 new cases a day were being seen.

This has come despite rising numbers of people being tested, as eligibility for tests has been expanded from hospital patients, care home residents and key workers to the general population over the last month or so – a clear sign the virus has been suppressed.

The numbers are, however, still a little higher than other countries in Europe, including Spain and Italy.

The low numbers mean it has been a somewhat gentle start for the contact tracing system, which launched at the end of last week to help try to contain fresh outbreaks.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says there is more capacity than needed – and, what is more, the number of close contacts those who are infected have had is lower than anticipated.

Jamie Kaffash from Pulse magazine asks why shielding advice was "rushed through" before GPs and patients could fully understand it.

Hancock denies the change in advice has been rushed through and says the decision was taken in collaboration with all relevant government bodies.

"This was the right time to change that advice," he says.

Image source, Reuters

Next up is the Guardian's Peter Walker, who brings up comments by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Sunday about the possibility of "local lockdowns" in future to deal with spikes of new infections in specific areas.

What could this mean in practice, he asks the panel?

Hancock says local action to deal with local flare-ups is an incredibly important part of the "tool kit" to try and prevent a resurgence.

He says local public health officials will be working closely with ministers, Public Health England and the Joint Biosecurity Centre to decide on what measures could be needed.

But one example he gives is that hospitals with an outbreak of the virus could be closed to new A&E admissions.

Sam Coates from Sky News asks if the government would reimpose some of the blanket lockdown measures if infection rates went up again.

He also asks what kind of contact tracing data will be released - for example, what proportion of infected people have been contacted.

Hancock says he is prepared to reintroduce measures - whether nationally or locally - if necessary.

On releasing contact tracing data, Newton says the data will be released but emphasises the need for accuracy. He adds that "we would like to do a bit more work before we publish them".

Next up is Tom Clark from ITV, who asks how many of the 9,000 people infected since the government's test and trace system was started last week have now been contacted and their contacts traced.

Hancock says he does not have the figures. But he says he is confident that the "vast majority" of recent cases will have been identified and tracked.

Newton says he understands that people are "keen to see the figures" and promises that they will be published soon.

He insists the test and trace system is operating pretty much as clinicians hoped and says he is "pleased" by the response so far.

The BBC's Hugh Pym asks the health secretary about reports contact tracers have very little to do at the moment.

Hancock replies that "we have more capacity than we need - this is a good thing" and says he would rather err on the side of having too many contact tracers.

Prof John Newton - national testing coordinator - adds that it is important to "build a system for whatever comes in the future".

The next question is from Jill from Warrington.

She wants to know why the government's advice for shielding the most vulnerable people in the UK has changed.

Hancock says the advice - allowing those in the shielded group to go outside with one member of their own household and meet one other person - was only altered when it was "safe and ready to do so".

He says it was a "small but important step" to helping those who had shown extraordinary perseverance by sticking by the rules and not leaving their homes for 10 weeks.