PM Boris Johnson announces plans to further ease lockdown restrictions in England
People living alone can stay at one other household from Saturday by forming a "bubble"
A further 245 people have died with Covid-19 in the UK
The global economy will contract by 6% in 2020, the OECD says - but a bounce-back could take place next year unless there is a second virus wave
Italian prosecutors say they will question PM Giuseppe Conte and other government members over virus response
There have been more than 7m infections globally, with 3.37m recoveries and more than 411,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University
Here are some of the slides from today's press conference...
Image source, Downing Street
Image source, Downing Street
Image source, Downing Street
Image source, Downing StreetSir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser says the R number, which measures the average infection rate, is between 0.7 and 0.9 in the UK overall.
He says this overall number is a "combination" of 13 different models.
He says it remains below the crucial level of 1 "in every region" of the UK - meaning the epidemic is shrinking.
However he says regional infection rates are "much more difficult" to measure.
We knew this announcement was coming after the government briefed the press last night, but the prime minister has confirmed that zoos and outdoor attractions in England will be allowed to reopen from Monday – as long as they adhere to social distancing rules.
He also mentions that places of worship will be open for private prayer in England - which has also been announced.
"We will continue to remain cautious," he says. "And measure the affect of the changes we've made".
He says they will "not hesitate" to "apply the brakes" if needed.
He says the rate of infection is "not quite low enough yet" and because of this the government cannot fulfil its ambition to bring back primary schools for all pupils before the summer - something the government has faced criticism for.
Johnson outlines more detail on the "support bubbles".
He says he knows "how hard" it has been for people who have lived alone.
There are still "too many people" living alone who are "lonely and struggling".
He says all those in a support bubble will be able to act as if they live in the same household.
As such, if any member of the bubble develops symptoms all members of the bubble have to follow guidelines.
"We're making this change to support those who are particularly lonely," he says.
"It is not designed for those who do not qualify to start meeting inside people's homes, because that remains against the law."
Those who are shielding cannot take part.
Boris Johnson announces that from Saturday 13 June, single adult households in England can form one “support bubble” with one other household of any size.
This means they can go to each other’s houses, stay the night and don’t have to maintain social distancing.
The prime minister says the death rate and the number of positive cases both continue to fall.
He says 170,379 tests were carried out or posted out yesterday, compared with about 12,000 at the start of April. The health secretary will provide an update on test and trace tomorrow, Johnson says.
He says the UK has met all the government's five tests and "we can proceed with the following further adjustments".
Patrick Vallance, Boris Johnson and Chris Whitty at today's briefing
Prime Minister Boris Johnson begins by outlining the government's five tests.
He says they are designed to ensure any changes to lockdown are "careful, proportionate and safe".
"We must do everything in our power to avoid a second peak," he says.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is making his opening remarks at the start of the UK government's daily coronavirus briefing.
We'll bring you the latest here.
We should be hearing from Boris Johnson at the UK government’s daily press conference in the next few minutes.
It comes after he took questions from MPs in Parliament earlier, where he pledged that workers in close contact with the public would get coronavirus tests even if they are not showing symptoms.
Image source, Getty ImagesNearly two dozen employees at Abbott Laboratories in Maine have tested positive for Covid-19 since April
A manufacturer of rapid coronavirus testing kits is now facing its own outbreak of Covid-19.
Of the 600 employees at Maine's Abbott Laboratories, 23 have become infected since mid-April. Five of the cases were recorded after 31 May, meeting the threshold for an outbreak as defined by the state's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and prompting the CDC to begin an investigation.
Maine's CDC Director Nirav Shah said on Tuesday that Abbott conducts weekly tests on all workers, and is looking to ensure that the testing materials haven't been contaminated by sick employees. It's not yet clear if the employees contracted the virus from the lab, or elsewhere.
A representative for Abbott told the BBC that of those who tested positive, "nearly all" were asymptomatic at the point of testing.
As of Wednesday, Maine had reported more than 2,600 cases of Covid-19 and 100 deaths.
The number of new daily cases has been declining in the state in recent weeks. But in at least nine other states - including Texas, Arizona, and South Carolina - Covid hospitalisations have been on the rise since late May
A further 245 people have died with Covid-19 in UK across all settings, the latest daily government figures show., external
It takes the total number to have died after testing positive for coronavirus to 41,128.
Image source, Getty ImagesFrance is likely to suffer 800,000 job losses in coming months, its finance minister has warned as the economy reels from the effects of the lockdown.
"The shock is considerable and calls for massive public policies to support all those affected," Bruno Le Maire told a finance committee in parliament.
Such measures include a furlough scheme, tax breaks for companies and financial incentives to hire apprentices, he said.
Contract workers from France’s food, catering and events industry held a protest in Paris on Wednesday to spread the message that the pandemic is killing their jobs.
The flashmob-style demonstration included about 30 people dressed in black putting signs reading “sentenced to death” into a coffin.
We should be hearing from the UK government in the next 25 minutes, but let’s take a look at the latest from the country first.
Image source, UK ParliamentProfessor Neil Ferguson is a former scientific adviser to the UK government
Imposing lockdown in the UK a week earlier could have cut the death toll "by at least a half", a former scientific adviser to the government has said.
Giving evidence to the Commons Science and Technology Select Committee, Prof Neil Ferguson told MPs: "The epidemic was doubling every three to four days before lockdown interventions were introduced.
"So, had we introduced lockdown measures a week earlier we would have reduced the final death toll by at least a half."
Prof Ferguson's modelling suggested 250,000 people could die without drastic action, shortly before lockdown measures were introduced on 23 March.
But he resigned as a government adviser on coronavirus last month after allegedly breaching lockdown rules.
Image source, Getty ImagesPassengers on flights should ask permission before going to the toilet and disembark one row at a time, according to a panel of aviation health experts.
The panel has made a series of recommendations to the UK Department for Transport on how to make air travel as safe as possible.
The recommendations also include passengers wearing face coverings at all times and being provided with alcohol-based wipes for cleaning their table or other surfaces.
However, the experts urged caution over the effectiveness of temperature screening and coronavirus swab tests at airports - saying about one in every three infectious people would be missed.
Airlines like Easyjet and Ryanair plan to start operating more flights later this month.
Image source, EPAItalian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte
Prosecutors in the northern Italian city of Bergamo say they will question members of the government, including Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, over their handling of the coronavirus.
The prosecutors said they would summon Mr Conte and others as "informed persons" - that is without attributing any crime to them.
It comes as a group of 50 relatives of victims in Bergamo - one of the worst-hit parts of the country - filed legal complaints over how the pandemic was handled. They say they and their relatives were abandoned during the crisis. The group, which calls itself Noi denunceremo (we will denounce), says it is seeking justice rather than revenge or compensation.
Prosecutors say they will initially ask officials why they did not immediately isolate the "hot spot" municipalities of Nembro and Alzano Lombardo when northern Italy began locking down in February.
Mr Conte has not publicly commented.
Image source, Getty ImagesWe’re expecting Prime Minister Boris Johnson to lead the UK daily briefing in around an hour.
He’s due to give an update on plans to ease lockdown in England - including by allowing zoos, safari parks and drive-in cinemas to reopen from Monday.
It’s been confirmed that Chris Whitty, the UK government’s chief medical adviser, and Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser will be joining him.
Image source, Getty ImagesEdinburgh Castle could be among the tourist hotspots set to reopen
Scotland's tourism businesses have been told to prepare to reopen on 15 July.
Making the announcement, Scotland's Tourism Secretary Fergus Ewing said firms needed clarity to plan for reopening.
However, he warned that "absolutely nothing can be guaranteed" and the date is conditional on continued progress in tackling the coronavirus.
Image source, EPAIran's government has been easing restrictions since early April
Image source, Getty ImagesDC National Guard members have tested positive for Covid after being deployed to protests in the city
Several members of the Washington, DC National Guard have tested positive for Covid-19 after being deployed to the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, the military says.
The National Guard says it will not disclose the number of guardsmen infected due to "operational security".
The members were among the 1,300 troops sent to the US capital during mass demonstrations that began last weekend. They were joined by almost 4,000 additional National Guard troops from other states.
Meanwhile members of the White House coronavirus task force say they fear a spike in cases linked to nationwide civil unrest triggered by Floyd's death. Dr Deborah Birx advised state governors to ensure Covid tests are available in urban areas after 70 testing sites were destroyed in protests, US media report.