Image source, EPA

The Dutch government plans to kill thousands of minks in farms where the animals have coronavirus, according to Dutch broadcaster RTL.

A government source confirmed the report was accurate but could not elaborate, Reuters said.

There have been two cases of minks believed to have transmitted the virus to humans.

Coronavirus has been found on eight of the Netherlands' 120 farms - all of which are due to close in 2023 after a law banning mink farming was passed in 2013.

Yolande Knell
BBC Middle East correspondent, Jerusalem

Almost 7,000 students and teaching staff in Israel are now in quarantine and more than 40 schools are closed because of outbreaks of Covid-19, according to official figures. However, the government has decided that, in general, schools and kindergartens should stay open for now.

In recent days, Jerusalem’s Gymnasia High School has seen the largest concentration of new cases of the coronavirus - with some 130 people testing positive. Local media have reported that a sick teacher became a “super-spreader”, causing multiple infections.

The outbreaks at schools and in other institutions have raised concerns of a potential second wave in the country.

On Tuesday, the health ministry recorded 116 new cases - the biggest daily rise in a month. Israel has reported 17,342 cases and 290 deaths in total - still a relatively low number compared to other countries.

A lockdown was imposed early on in the pandemic, with restrictions eased in mid-April, gradually allowing schools, offices, shops, restaurants and beaches to reopen.

The coronavirus pandemic has been linked to 2,130 fraud cases in England and Wales, a senior police officer has said.

MPs on Home Affairs Select Committee have been told of incidents involving the sale of fake Covid testing kits and personal protective equipment. There were also attempts to defraud the NHS and other public sector organisations.

Cdr Karen Baxter of the City of London police said losses totalled £4.9m of losses.

She said 47 people have been arrested and two people charged so far.

The types of fraud that have increased were said to include “smishing”, where text messages are used to trick people into handing over computer passwords and other personal information.

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just joining us, here are some of the latest headlines regarding the coronavirus pandemic around the world.

• Italy has reopened its borders and ended travel restrictions between regions, hoping to encourage tourists back in time for the summer
• However, the Italian foreign ministry says it has not held conversations "at this point" with the UK about the possibility of establishing "air bridges" between the two countries, which would mean British tourists don't have to self-isolate after visiting Italy
• Russia has reported 8,536 new coronavirus cases and 178 deaths on Wednesday, bringing its nationwide infection tally to 432,277, the third highest in the world
• China says a news report claiming it delayed sharing information on Covid-19 with the World Health Organisation is totally untrue
• Germany will remove its general warning against travel to European countries from 15 June, the country's foreign minister said on Wednesday
• Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s chief epidemiologist, has conceded that too many have died in Sweden. The country is one of the few in Europe that has not imposed a strict lockdown. He told Sveriges Radio: “If we encountered the same disease with exactly what we know about it today, I think we would land midway between what Sweden did and what the rest of the world did”
• A South African court has found that some coronavirus lockdown regulations imposed by the government were "unconstitutional and invalid" - the judge picked out rules around funerals, informal workers and amount of exercise as "irrational"
• And children in North Korea are returning to school wearing protective face masks, two months after the the new term was due to get under way

Teaching unions in Wales have condemned plans to allow all school years to return to classes later this month.

The Welsh government has announced that up to a third of pupils will be able to attend at any one time, from 29 June. The plan involves splitting year groups into smaller cohorts and staggering their attendance.

It means, over the four-week period, most would only be in school for six or seven days – the rest of the learning would be done from home. Vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers will be able to attend for longer.

Teaching unions have criticised the announcement – which seems to have taken them by surprise. The NASUWT says allowing all year groups the opportunity for contact time is the most dangerous option, putting lives at risk.

In England, only reception, year one and year six pupils have been allowed to return to school so far.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Back to Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons.

Johnson is also asked why the UK is only introducing quarantine arrangements now, with other European countries relaxing them.

Johnson replies it is for the "simple reason" that it is to keep the "rate of infection down".

Tory MP Jane Hunt asks about weddings and when the public will be able to regain access to churches and places of worship again.

The prime minister says he “very much understands the urgency" on this.

A taskforce is being led on the matter but, the PM adds, "it’s a tough one" and opening places like churches would push up the risk of infection.

Schools in Wales will reopen on 29 June, Education Minister Kirsty Williams has said.

They will be open to all pupils from all year groups for limited periods during the week, and with no more than a third of pupils in school at any time.

Summer term will also be extended by a week, ending on 27 July.

Schools and councils will make their own decisions on how the return will be managed, Williams added.

Parents who choose not to send their children back to class will not face fines.

Read more

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

The Labour leader goes on to question Boris Johnson on the lifting of restrictions in the UK.

He quotes the PM's earlier statement that he would "simply wait" until the alert level had fallen from four before making any changes.

He asks the PM what the alert level is now and what the R number is.

Johnson admits that the alert level is still four, but the government has passed its five tests in ensuring it is safe to start to ease restrictions.

Johnson says the Labour leader "knows perfectly well the alert level does allow it" and criticises him for not raising this issue during their phone calls.

He concludes by accusing Sir Keir of "U-turning against the steps the country is taking".

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Sir Keir then asks about the "promise" the PM made about having a "world beating" test, track and trace operation in place by 1 June.

But he says "a critical element is missing", with local councils telling him it is weeks away from being fully up and running.

"Why did the prime minister make this promise?"

Boris Johnson accuses the Labour leader of "casting aspersions on the efforts of tens of thousands of people who set it up from a standing start".

He says the system is up and running, and "thousands of people are now following our guidance".

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer asks Boris Johnson about a Telegraph article, which said the PM is taking "direct control" of tackling the virus. He asks: "Who has been in direct control up until now?"

Johnson says: "I take full responsibility for everything this government has been doing and I am very proud of our record."

Sir Keir goes on to say he wrote to the PM in confidence to ask if he can help with the consensus for getting children back to school, but he did not get a reply.

He says this is a week where public trust needed to be at its highest, with easing of restrictions. But, he says there has been a drop in trust in the government. So is the PM worried?

Johnson says he is surprised Sir Keir "should take that tone", as he replied to him by phone and briefed the Labour leader on the government's steps.

"I think that he's on firmer ground when he stands with the overwhelming majority of the British people who understand the very, very difficult circumstances that we are in."

He adds people should observe the basic rules on social distancing and washing their hands.

"I think everybody understands that," he says.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

The first question to the prime minister is about the Public Health England report on black and ethnic minorities, showing that they are more at risk from coronavirus.

Boris Johnson says the government is taking the findings "very seriously".

"Obviously there are inequalities in the way the virus impacts different people," he says.

House of Commons
Parliament

Boris Johnson has taken to the dispatch box as Prime Minister's Questions gets under way...

A contact tracer on England's Test and Trace coronavirus scheme says she has not been asked to make a single phone call since beginning work last week.

She told the BBC she had worked 38 hours and spent the time watching Netflix (nearly three series of comedy The Good Place, to be precise).

"It's frustrating to know that I'm sat idle when there's people that need contacting," the clinician said.

The government said this does not reflect the amount of work under way.

It comes as Channel 4 News reported data showing 4,456 confirmed Covid-19 cases were flagged to the scheme, external in the three days after it launched on 28 May.

"Becky" spoke to BBC presenter Victoria Derbyshire on condition of anonymity. Watch the interview in the video above and read more here.

Zohra Khaku is on the front-line of the fight against coronavirus.

But rather than working on a ward, or delivering food, she and her staff are on the end of a phone line. She runs the Muslim Youth Helpline, which offers counselling for young Muslims in the UK.

She's one of many people in this country dealing with the overwhelming impact the virus has had on Black and Asian communities.

In a report released on Tuesday, Public Health England (PHE) acknowledged the disproportionate effect the pandemic has had on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people, including making them more likely to become critically ill, or die.

Over the past few months, outreach workers like Zohra have been helping those affected by Covid-19 in her community.

Read more here

Image source, AFP

The Italian foreign ministry says it has not held conversations "at this point" with the UK about the possibility of establishing "air bridges" between the two countries, which would mean British tourists don't have to self-isolate after visiting Italy.

The UK is bringing in a two-week quarantine period for anyone arriving from abroad on Monday - although air bridges could be introduced at a later date so that visitors from certain countries can avoid the restrictions.

The UK government is to outline further details of its quarantine plans later. Read more about them here.

Italy has lifted travel restrictions today, allowing visitors from most European countries to visit with no quarantine.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has adopted a fairly clinical, restrained, analytical approach so far, and a lot of his MPs believe it has paid dividends - forcing Prime Minister Boris Johnson to concentrate on detail where he's not so comfortable.

What we get today, though, is a significant raising in the stakes.

Starmer is now, in effect, saying that the PM will be personally culpable if there is a rise in infections, if the virus spreads, or if there is an increase in deaths because of his handling of the easing of the lockdown - which he frankly thinks has been mishandled.

Some in Labour take the view that this should have been Starmer's approach all along - that actually he's been a bit bloodless and let the PM off the hook.

But the thinking of "Team Starmer" is that Johnson is one of those politicians who always manages to evade responsibility.

What they want to do is to pin the blame very directly on the PM for the mistakes they believe will be shown to have been made, and which have already led to us having the highest Covid-19 death rate in Europe.

• Johnson and Starmer will go head-to-head at Prime Minister's Questions later. We'll bring you coverage here from about 12:00 BST.

The new school term in North Korea was due to start in April, but the coronavirus pandemic got in the way.

Now, two months late, classrooms have reopened and children in Pyongyang have been filing into schools wearing protective face masks.

Despite not confirming a single case of the virus, Pyongyang imposed strict restrictions - including putting thousands of people into isolation, and closing its borders.

Tom Edwards
Transport Correspondent, BBC London

Image source, Getty Images

A severely reduced number of passengers will be allowed to use the Tube network in order to stick to strict social distancing rules, a leaked Transport for London report has warned.

The report, seen by BBC London, shows that even with a 100% service and two-metre social distancing, only 50,000 passengers could board every 15 minutes. That compares to 325,000 normally boarding every 15 minutes at the peak of rush-hour prior to lockdown.

Even with a reduced one-metre social distancing and a full service, the Tube could handle only 80,000 passengers boarding every 15 minutes.

London's transport bosses are grappling with how lifting the lockdown will affect services and are facing unprecedented challenges on many fronts.

Read more here

The coronavirus lockdown has meant salons and beauty parlours have remained closed - with no way of providing cosmetic treatments.

Some people, like Iwan Steffan, rely on cosmetic treatments like Botox injections and facial fillers. But those missing out are being warned they risk fines - and their health - if they access treatments illegally.

"For me, looking good and feeling good is essential," said the 30-year-old, who hails from Bangor, Gwynedd, but lives in Liverpool.

"Not being able to have treatments has really affected my mental health negatively."

Read more here.