The UK government's daily press conference is due in about 40 minutes.

It's being held by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

As far as we know, he will not be joined by any of the government's scientific advisers.

UK minister of state for health, Edward Argar, has told the Commons that it would be "premature" to speculate on the conclusion of a review into the 2m social distancing rule.

He said the review was being led by scientific evidence and would consider the effect on businesses, particularly the hospitality sector.

Backbench Conservative MP Greg Clark, who secured this parliamentary urgent question, asked why the UK had chosen a larger distance than many other countries, while other countries have mandated face coverings.

Argar said the scientific evidence suggested an increased risk of transmission of the virus at shorter distances, and pointed out that other countries, including Spain, also have a 2m rule.

Argar said the review would issue a report in the coming weeks, but declined to set a date. Many MPs asked for a decision to be made in time for the planned reopening of the hospitality industry on 4 July.

Bethany Bell
BBC News, Vienna

Austria is easing its rules on face masks today.

People will no longer be required to wear masks in shops, for the first time since they were made mandatory in early April.

They are still required on public transport and in taxis. They're also needed during visits to pharmacies as well as clinics and hospitals.

But Health Minister Rudolf Anschober urged people to carry masks with them and use them if they found themselves in crowded situations.

He also warned that masks could be reintroduced if the infection rate rose.

There are currently around 373 active cases of coronavirus in Austria.

Singapore will allow small gatherings of up to five people from Friday, and shops and restaurants will also be allowed to reopen, its health ministry has announced.

The local social distancing requirements which keep people 1m (3ft) apart will remain in place.

Singapore won praise for its effective response early in the pandemic, but later suffered mass outbreaks in cramped dormitories used by its migrant worker population - laying bare the city state's inequalities.

Having been under its version of lockdown, called the circuit breaker, since 7 April, Singapore has seen its economy suffer.

Some enterprising locals have been determined to contribute what they can, however - as this video shows.

In England, a further 28 people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died. It brings the total number of confirmed deaths in English hospitals to 27,982, NHS England said.

The patients were aged between 59 and 100 and all had underlying health conditions.

Image source, Getty Images

Ikea has said it is planning to repay salaries paid by governments around the world under furlough schemes.

It is set to repay nine governments, including the US and Ireland.

But it will not include the UK because, although the furniture chain furloughed 10,000 workers there, it said it did not claim any money from the government's job retention scheme.

Governments across the globe have set up schemes to pay workers who could not do their jobs because of the lockdowns. In the UK, furloughed workers are being paid 80% of their pay under the scheme.

You can read more here.

Shoppers returning to UK stores have been revelling in the non-online experience, but say you have to keep your wits about you.

Top of the shopping list for Ahmed Kahn, 33 and wife Zainab, 28, in Milton Keynes were homeware items after they moved into a new house in January.

The couple took their one-year-old Mirha with them. It was their first shopping trip since they returned from Ahmed's brother's wedding in Pakistan in April to find non-essential shops shut.

Ahmed said the family wanted to come on the first day of shops opening, explaining: "We were expecting sales and there has been. We could have bought online but it’s not the same experience.”

By the time friends Bryony Martin, 29, and Sophie Quantick 27, from Flitwick, in Bedfordshire, got to the shops at 09:30 to buy clothes, there was already a queue at Zara.

Sophie, who bought a dress for £20, said the queuing was like at a "theme park", adding "you have to have a strategy".

Bryony said the pair had adopted "a rollercoaster mindset" of deciding on the best shop and heading there first.

She added they had wanted to put makeup on and "have a normal shopping experience", even though they had been buying online during the lockdown.

Cafes and restaurants are reopening across France, after President Emmanuel Macron announced a number of coronavirus restrictions were being lifted.

They were allowed to open for outdoor seating only earlier this month, but can now serve customers inside.

Here, people can be seen enjoying restaurants in the capital, Paris.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

• Iran has reported more than 100 new deaths from Covid-19 for a second day in a row. Health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said 113 patients died on Sunday, bringing the toll to 8,950. Another 2,449 people tested positive. Government spokesman Ali Rabiei played down fears of a second wave, saying “the gradient of the death toll is not sharp”. But he warned: "If we find that the spread of the virus is out of control... then we will definitely apply strict decisions again."
• Qatar has begun the first phase of its plan to lift restrictions. About 500 mosques can reopen for prayer except on Fridays, when many Muslims attend communal services. Shops in malls with at least 300 sq m (3,230 sq ft) of floor space are allowed to open on weekdays, but not weekends.
• Egypt will reopen all its airports for international flights on 1 July. Civil Aviation Minister Mohammed Manar said steps would be taken to ensure the health and safety of passengers, including requiring those coming from countries with high rates of Covid-19 infections to be tested before flying.

Bottled water is being offered to those queuing for Selfridges on Oxford Street in central London while a singer has been entertaining customers at the store's entrance on Duke Street.

Hannah Mann, from north London, who bought mascara and sun cream from the department store, says it is a "wonderful freedom" to go shopping again.

"I love shopping, so I just thought 'well, I'll come out to get a few things that I wanted'," she told the PA news agency.

"I thought all the shops were going to be open today, so I was a bit disappointed when I got here, but this is a wonderful freedom because we are so limited to the places we can go."

Asked if she had any concerns about the virus, she said: "Not at all. Keep your distance, do the best you can and keep washing your hands. I'm not frightened of this - I was brought up with what will be will be."

For those wondering about venturing out, we have looked at how else shopping might change in England. Find out more here.

In Northern Ireland, the Department of Health has recorded no new deaths linked to Covid-19 since yesterday.

In its daily update, it said the total number of coronavirus deaths there remains at 541. This mainly comprises deaths in hospital and includes some, but not all, deaths in other settings.

In Wales, four more people with coronavirus are reported to have died in Wales, taking deaths there to 1,448.

In Scotland, no deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19 have been registered in the past 24 hours, the third time the figure has remained the same since lockdown began, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced. A total of 2,448 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for the virus.

The Department of Health and Social Care has yet to release the latest UK wide figures.

While many have focused on the reopening of non-essential shops in England, today also sees the reopening of places of worship for private prayer in the country.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby marked the moment by joining Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols to pray.

Northern Ireland has already allowed private worship but Scotland and Wales have not yet done so.

Image source, Getty Images

Scottish pupils should get back to "normal" schooling "as quickly as possible", First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Scotland's schools are due to reopen from 11 August, but will initially have a "blended" approach involving face-to-face teaching and at-home learning.

There has been speculation exams in 2021 could be delayed and that blended learning could last for a year.

But Ms Sturgeon said pupils must be back in the classroom full-time "as quickly as is safe and feasible".

She said it was her government's "firm intention" that next year's exams would go ahead - and that there were no plans for blended learning to last a year.

Read more here.

Various European countries have started to reopen their borders in a further easing of coronavirus restrictions.

In Paris, the first Thalys high-speed train to run since mid-March departed for Dortmund, while German holidaymakers are now allowed to travel to Spain.

Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst

Chinese state media have often emphasised the importance of spreading zhengnengliang or “positive energy” online.

And in the face of a crisis, they often also stress the good work being done by the authorities, medical specialists and people in the wider community.

This is what makes its downbeat tone regarding a surge of Covid-19 cases in Beijing so striking.

With 39 locally transmitted cases confirmed today, the newspapers are hinting that the prospect of a second wave hitting is very real.

Vice Premier Sun Chunlan has warned that “the risk of the Beijing epidemic spreading is very high”, while the newspaper of the ruling Communist Party urged people to wear masks because "some people have not been vigilant”.

China responded to earlier concerns about cases in other provinces by quickly mass testing communities, which has so far proven successful. It is hoping the same approach will work in Beijing.

If you're just tuning in to our live coverage, here's a quick roundup of what's been happening:

• Hundreds of people have been queuing outside shops after a relaxation of England's coronavirus lockdown allowed all retailers to reopen with strict safety measures. In Northern Ireland, non-essential shops reopened on Friday, but there is still no date for Scotland. The Welsh government is considering the reopening of non-essential shops, with the next lockdown review expected to be announced on Friday

• A new rule requiring most people to wear face coverings while travelling on public transport has come into force in England today. Travellers - except the disabled, children under 11 and those with certain health conditions - will need to wear one or face being refused onboard or fined £100
• No new coronavirus deaths have been reported in Scotland in the past 24 hours, the third time the figure has remained the same since lockdown began, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced. A total of 2,448 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for the virus

• Johan Lundgren, the boss of EasyJet, said he would feel "100% safe" flying on full planes as the airline resumed a limited number of flights after a 10-week hiatus, with passengers and crew wearing masks and planes being regularly deep-cleaned
• Rank-and-file police officers are calling for the home secretary to ban all protests in England and Wales while coronavirus remains a threat, after more than 100 people were arrested in a second weekend of demonstrations - including the anti-racism rallies sparked by the death of George Floyd in the US and counter-protests involving far-right activists

• Meanwhile in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, an Elvis Presley tribute act had to cancel a concert in his garden amid concerns about social distancing

Image source, Tony Skingle

Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

The equivalent of 19 million adults in Great Britain say they had high levels of anxiety in the first weeks of lockdown, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggest.

The data covering the period 3 April to 10 May showed:

• The number of people reporting high levels of anxiety more than doubled compared to pre-lockdown levels
• Older people were more anxious than younger people, with those aged 75 and older twice as likely at those aged 16-24 to report high anxiety during lockdown
• Feeling lonely was the factor most strongly linked with high anxiety. Juggling work and homeschooling commitments was a source of stress for parents

Image source, AFP

Authorities in the southern Indian city of Chennai are to reimpose a lockdown on Friday after a surge in new coronavirus cases.

The Tamil Nadu state government said the lockdown would also apply to several neighbouring districts and would last until the end of June.

"Full lockdown from 19th for Chennai, Thiruvallur, Chengalpet and Kanchipuram districts," the government tweeted on Monday.

Indian broadcaster NDTV said coronavirus infections had been raging in Chennai's urban slums. On Sunday the city recorded 1,415 new cases, bringing the total to 31,896.

Chennai, formerly Madras, has a population of about 15 million.

India has been easing lockdown restrictions in recent weeks despite an increasing number of infections. It currently has more than 332,000 confirmed cases - the fourth highest number in the world - and just under 10,000 deaths.

Reopening non-essential shops and further relaxing restrictions on outdoor activity are being considered by the Welsh Government.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said the retail sector in Wales would be "well prepared" if the next review of lockdown measures, due on Friday, gave the go-ahead.

However, he warned that a "stop-start approach, where we do too much too soon" would be worse for the economy.

You can find out more here.

Rank-and-file police officers are calling for the home secretary to ban all protests in England and Wales while coronavirus remains a threat.

Police Federation chairman John Apter says the right to protest is important but "we are not in normal times", adding that officers and the public are facing an "avoidable risk".

It comes after more than 100 people were arrested in a second weekend of demonstrations - including the anti-racism rallies sparked by the death of George Floyd in the US and counter-protests involving far-right activists.

The government has been warning protesters that ignoring the guidance could lead to a fresh spike in cases of Covid-19 and Home Secretary Priti Patel is due to give a statement in the House of Commons later.