Image source, HoC

Sir Keir Starmer now turns to the issue of schools reopening and says the government should have had a "robust national plan" in place as well as "consensus among all key stakeholders and strong leadership from the top".

He asks the PM if he will set up a national taskforce to deal with the issue.

On Tuesday, plans for all primary schools in England to return for a month before the summer break were dropped.

Boris Johnson hit back arguing that Sir Keir "needs to make up his mind" on school reopenings.

He says his government is "being extremely cautious", but adds that parents are keen to see their children return to the classroom.

Sir Keir says the overall number of deaths from coronavirus in the UK - which has passed 40,000 - "haunts us".

The Labour leader says it is "amongst the highest number anywhere in the world".

"Last week, the prime minister said he was proud of the government's [actions], but there is no pride in those figures, is there?" he says.

Boris Johnson says he mourns every loss and grieves for the families.

But he says the "best scientific advice is to wait until the epidemic has been through its whole cycle" before drawing comparisons with the rest of the world.

Image source, PA Media

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has raised Public Health England's report, which found those from black and minority ethnic (BAME) communities were more likely to die from the coronavrius.

Sir Keir asks why the government has not acted on the report.

"We are already acting," replies Boris Johnson.

He says his government is working to ensure that those in high-contact professions such as bus drivers get expanded and targeted testing now.

House of Commons
Parliament

Boris Johnson has taken to the dispatch box for the start of Prime Minister's Questions.

Image source, Getty Images

People are being encouraged to celebrate the NHS's 72nd birthday and thank key workers for their efforts during the pandemic with a UK-wide clap next month.

NHS England boss Sir Simon Stevens and the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby are among the influential figures supporting the initiative.

Clap for carers founder Annemarie Plas is also backing the campaign to mark the anniversary on 5 July.

The Dutch-born Londoner was credited with starting the nationwide applause for NHS staff and key workers, which saw millions of people clapping at their windows and on their doorsteps on Thursday evenings during lockdown.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Lexicographers have named 'coronavirus' the Children's Word Of The Year after analysing more than 130,000 stories submitted to a BBC writing contest.

Oxford University Press found 459 references to the virus in the Radio 2 Breakfast Show's 500 Words competition.

It stopped taking submissions on 27 February, almost a month before lockdown. Helen Freeman at Oxford University Press said she was surprised by the number of coronavirus mentions.

NHS, virus, antibodies, epidemic, Wuhan, and lockdown were other words mentioned more than usual.

Donald Trump was the person referred to most in the 134,709 stories, followed by Hitler and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Image source, Getty Images

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will go head to head shortly during PMQs, which starts at 12:00 BST.

Johnson can expect tough questions on the dropping of plans to reopen all primary schools in England by the summer.

You can follow live updates here.

It won't be the only time we see Johnson today - the PM is expected to host the government's daily press conference later to outline the latest step in the easing of the lockdown in England.

Thomas Mackintosh
BBC London News

Killings in London are at a similar level to last year despite lockdown measures, BBC analysis suggests.

So far in 2020, the police have launched murder investigations into the deaths of 55 people in the UK capital.

According to a similar analysis of police statistics, at this point last year there had been 56 homicides.

Image source, AFP

The news that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to announce that England's zoos and safari parks can reopen on Monday has brought some welcome relief.

Having reported financial struggles due to the lockdown, London Zoo and Chester Zoo started campaigns to raise funds and contact MPs.

Now Dominic Jermey, the director general of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), which runs London and Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire, has said: "We are delighted. Thousands of members of the public have written to their MPs, external to express their faith in the zoos' safety measures and their concern for ZSL's continued survival."

Jermey added that ZSL had introduced additional handwashing facilities, sanitiser stations, two-metre distance markers and one-way routes so the zoos would "look, feel and be safe".

Jamie Christon, Chester Zoo's chief operating officer, told BBC Breakfast: "The last week has been a roller coaster of emotions. Even yesterday lunchtime we thought we may not open till the end of the summer or even after that.

"It's absolutely fantastic, but we're not out of the woods yet. We've lost £5m of income and when we do open our doors on Monday we'll be on limited capacity - so it's going to be a long struggle for the rest of the summer, and into next year as well."

Image source, Reuters

Two more Rohingya refugees have died of coronavirus in south-eastern Bangladesh, according to officials, taking the total to three.

About a million Rohingya Muslims, who have fled violence in neighbouring Myanmar, have been housed in refugee camps in the border district of Cox's Bazar.

The first case was confirmed in mid-May and 35 infections have now been reported.

Authorities have been isolating various blocks within the camps to try to prevent an outbreak.

Five years or more of income growth could be lost in many countries as a result of the pandemic, a new report has warned.

The report, by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), warns the impact of coronavirus and lockdowns will be "dire" everywhere - with the global economy shrinking by as much as 7.6% this year.

Without a second wave, the OECD expects the world economy to contract by 6%, with all countries suffering a deep recession. It cautioned that the recovery will be slow.

The new assessment, external also looked at the impact for individual nations with developed economies.

From these, it found that the UK economy is set to be hardest hit.

Looking at two scenarios - with or without a second wave - it predicted economies would shrink by:

• UK (11.5% to 14%)
• France (11.4% to 14.1%)
• Italy (11.3% to 14%)
• Canada (8% to 9.4%)
• Germany (6.6% - 8.8%)

Image source, Getty Images

The head of the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) has warned that coronavirus is spreading "exponentially" in many areas of the region, which is now home to "nearly half" of all Covid-19 cases.

Dr Carissa Etienne said the virus was still spreading aggressively in countries including Brazil, Peru and Chile, and was increasing in places where it had previously been limited, including Venezuela and Haiti.

Climactic factors such as the winter and hurricane season will pose a considerable challenge to efforts to combat the illness, she warned in a virtual press briefing organised by PAHO.

"Winter fuels respiratory infections... that can rapidly spread in colder climates and as more people gather indoors to stay warm," she said.

As of 8 June, more than 3.3 million coronavirus cases have been reported in Latin America and North America. Brazil has the world's second-highest number of cases, and has recently had more new deaths than any other nation.

Image source, Getty Images

A top rugby league player in Australia is self-isolating after reportedly kissing a journalist on the cheek at a training session.

New Zealand international Benji Marshall was quarantined after he greeted a broadcaster - possibly in breach of social distancing rules.

His club, Sydney-based Wests Tigers, said the player would remain housebound during a "scheduled day off", while the reporter undergoes a Covid-19 test.

Following the reports, Seven Network reporter Michelle Bishop tweeted, external that she was "off to be tested", adding: "Just goes to show you, we can all get caught up in life and forget what kind of world we are living in at the moment."

Australia's National Rugby League returned late last month following a 10-week break. Players are banned from mixing with people outside their clubs, households and families to reduce the risk of infections.

M Ilyas Khan
BBC News, Islamabad

Image source, EPA

As the spread of Covid-19 reaches a record high in Pakistan, the relaxation of lockdown restriction is also peaking.

While the government continues to give the impression that a set of social distancing rules evolved for marketplaces are being enforced, there is no evidence of that.

Floor markings, which some high-end medicine and grocery chains had drawn to ensure physical distance among customers, are gone, and guards who controlled the number of customers entering a store at one time have vanished.

The anomaly has been pointed out by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its latest communication to Pakistani provinces, saying they relaxed lockdowns before the peak in infections had arrived.

The Pakistani response is typified in the comment from the Punjab province’s health minister Yasmin Rashid. She was quoted by a TV channel as saying that “while the WHO may say what it likes, we have to proceed in the light of our own circumstances”.

Rashid’s comments echo Prime Minister Imran Khan’s stand from day-one - that given the extent of poverty in Pakistan, lockdown was never an option.

This view of the federal government flies in the face of the healthcare community, which has been consistently pushing for a strict and continuous lockdown.

The issue was politicised right from the start when the government of Sindh province, which is led by the opposition PPP party, went for a strict province-wide lockdown. After the first three months, it had to ultimately relax restrictions in the wake of continuing opposition from the federal government.

So, Covid or no Covid, Pakistan is a lockdown-free country for now.

Image source, Getty Images

• Europe must prepare better for the next pandemic, the leaders of Germany, France and four other EU countries have said. The EU's response to the current crisis "raises questions" about its preparedness, the leaders wrote in a letter on Tuesday
• Slovakia opens its borders today to more than 16 European countries. It is also lifting quarantine rules for travellers from 19 countries designated low risk. But arrivals from countries not on the "safe list" will still need to self-isolate and take a coronavirus test. Arrivals from the UK pose the greatest risk of spreading the virus, Prime Minister Igor Matovic says
• Also in Slovakia, from Wednesday, people will no longer be required people to wear face masks outside. Nightclubs will be allowed to reopen, and the two-metre gap between customers in restaurants will become a recommendation rather than an obligation
• More than 180,000 people have died with Covid-19 in Europe

Image source, AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Japan’s lower house of parliament has approved an emergency budget worth more than £230bn ($293bn; 258bn euros), doubling the scale of measures to boost one of the world's largest economies after the pandemic tipped it into recession.

Consumer spending has slowed down despite Japan’s relatively low infection numbers and death toll from Covid-19.

The country's second emergency budget - approved on Wednesday - includes subsidies for smaller businesses and cash for medical workers.

It has been hailed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as "the world's biggest virus programme".

The budget bill will be sent to the upper house and is expected to be enacted as early as Friday.

Image source, Getty Images

Riots could break out across the UK this summer over the effects of coronavirus, a scientific adviser has warned.

Professor Clifford Stott, a professor of social psychology at Keele University, said mass job losses, rising unemployment along with concerns about economic and racial inequality could spark "confrontations" in the coming months.

A divide between poorer and more affluent areas brought on by possible local lockdowns could also have an effect, said Prof Stott, who sits on the government's Sage sub-committee on behaviour.

"If the police don't invest in building positive police-community relations now, there is a potential for serious and large public disorder to emerge this summer," he told PA news agency.

"I think in the worst case scenario it's not inconceivable that we could have disorder on a scale equivalent to August 2011," he said.

Image source, Getty Images

The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown has claimed another 3,000 UK jobs.

The Restaurant Group - which owns Frankie and Benny's, Garfunkel's and Chiquito - has confirmed plans to shut 125 of its outlets.

It said the Wagamama chain, which the firm also owns, will not be affected.

Restaurants were told to close on 23 March, and are currently not expected to reopen until early July.

Meanwhile, fashion chain Quiz has announced it will place its stores in administration, putting more jobs at risk.

Debenhams, Rolls-Royce, British Airways, EasyJet and car dealership Lookers have announced extensive cuts in the UK during lockdown.

Read more here

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa's Air Force headquarters in Pretoria has been temporarily closed after two people working there tested positive for coronavirus.

The building was evacuated on Tuesday as a precautionary measure and will be closed for two days for "deep cleaning", the military said in a statement, external.

The two people have since been quarantined.

The military advised all employees who had contacted the infected people over the last 14 days to get tested.

South Africa has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the continent.

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday urged South Africans not to be scared by rising infection rates, after the country recorded more than half of its total number of cases in the last two weeks.

Read more: Coronavirus in South Africa: Eight lessons for the rest of the continent

Image source, AFP

Dr Anthony Fauci, the US coronavirus expert and White House adviser, has warned that the pandemic "isn't over yet".

Speaking during a conference on Tuesday, he described the crisis as his “worst nightmare”.

“In a period of four months, it has devastated the whole world,” he said. "That’s millions and millions of infections worldwide. And it’s condensed in a very, very small time frame.”

Fauci attributed the spread of the virus to the contagiousness of the virus and global travel by those infected, external.

However, he said he was confident a vaccine would be found.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, there have been more than seven million confirmed cases around the world and more than 400,000 people have died.