Fergus Walsh
Medical correspondent

The first drug proven to cut deaths from Covid-19 is not some new, expensive medicine but an old, cheap-as-chips steroid.

That is something to celebrate because it means patients across the world could benefit immediately. That's why the topline results of this trial have been rushed out because the implications are so huge globally.

Dexamethasone has been used since the early 1960s to treat a wide range of conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma. Half of all Covid patients who require a ventilator do not survive, so cutting that risk by a third would have a huge impact.

The drug is given intravenously in intensive care, and in tablet form for less seriously ill patients. The only other drug proven to benefit Covid patients is remdesivir, an antiviral treatment that has been used for Ebola.

That has been shown to reduce the duration of coronavirus symptoms from 15 days to 11, but the evidence was not strong enough to show whether it reduced mortality. Unlike dexamethasone, remdesivir is a new drug with limited supplies and a price has yet to be announced.

Image source, AFP

Marcus Rashford has responded to the UK government's plans to extend a free meal scheme for families in England, following his campaign.

In a tweet, the Manchester United and England forward, 22, wrote: "Just look at what we can do when we come together, THIS is England in 2020."

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has welcomed Mr Rashford's "contribution to the debate around poverty" after the U-turn was announced.

Frank Keogh
BBC Sport

Image source, Edward Whitaker

For the first time in her 68-year reign, the Queen will not be in attendance as Royal Ascot begins behind closed doors,

Strict coronavirus protocols mean racehorse owners are not allowed at the Berkshire track for Britain's biggest flat racing fixture and the Queen is set to watch the action from nearby Windsor Castle.

Punters who would usually attend the five-day meeting, which normally attracts a total of nearly 300,000 spectators, are being urged to wear a hat, dress up at home and make a donation to frontline charities.

The first race, the Buckingham Palace Handicap, was due off at 13:15 BST with Frankie Dettori aboard favourite Daarik.

• Follow live Royal Ascot updates here.

Reality Check

The footballer Marcus Rashford, who’s been - successfully - campaigning for the government to extend free school meal vouchers over the summer in England, tweeted this morning asking people to “take a second to think about parents who have had their water turned off during lockdown”.

As we've reported, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey replied: “Water cannot be disconnected though.”

So, what does the law say?

Since 1999, it has been illegal for domestic customers to have their water supplies cut off.

The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) says in 2019 it helped 42,000 people in England who had trouble paying their water bills. It has estimated that, during lockdown, almost 7m people are expected to fall behind on water payments. It encourages people to work with water companies and apply for welfare schemes.

What about access to hot water if people are struggling to top up gas or electric prepayment meters?

Energy companies can disconnect supplies for debt reasons, but Ofgem, the energy regulator, says that this only happened six times in 2018.

However, half a million customers entered debt repayment schemes in the same period.

A cheap and widely available drug called dexamethasone can help save the lives of patients who are seriously ill with coronavirus, UK experts have said.

The low-dose steroid treatment is considered a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus.

It cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators and, for those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth.

The drug is part of the world's biggest trial testing existing treatments , externalto see if they also work for coronavirus.

Researchers estimate that if the drug had been available in the UK from the start of the coronavirus pandemic up to 5,000 lives could have been saved.

Because it is cheap, it could also be of huge benefit in poor countries struggling with high numbers of Covid-19 patients.

The government has U-turned on a decision not to carry on the free school meal programme for poorer children into the summer.

The scheme had been extended over the Easter break in response to the coronavirus crisis, but was to be paused over the six weeks summer holiday.

Now, after a highly successful campaign from the England footballer Marcus Rashford, the government is setting up what it’s calling a “Covid summer school fund” to ensure all those in England eligible for free school meals will be get a six-week voucher to help them be fed over the summer.

Downing St said the prime minister "welcomed Marcus Rashford’s contribution to the debate around poverty".

Boris Johnson's spokesman said the voucher represented “a specific measure to reflect the unique circumstances of the pandemic”.

The support amounts to around £15 a week per child.

Around 1.3m children in England claimed free school meals in 2019, meaning a similar number could be eligible for this summer support.

Anna Holligan
BBC News Hague correspondent

Since 1 June, everyone in the Netherlands with suspected Covid-19 symptoms has had the right to get tested.

Between 1 and 15 June, more than 113,800 tests were conducted at the GGD (local health authority) sites and 1.7% showed up positive.

Image source, Getty Images

With no overtaking, no butterfly stroke and no post-swim shower, swimming is set to look pretty different as England's lockdown eases further.

Pools, like gyms, are not expected to open before 4 July.

In preparation for the government giving the green light for pools to reopen, Swim England has drawn up guidance for those keen to get back into the water.

As well as maintaining social distancing and not going swimming if you have Covid-19 symptoms, it recommends:

• Arrive at the pool ready to swim. That could mean turning up with your costume beneath your clothes
• Shower at home pre- and post-swimming
• Avoid butterfly stroke or other wide strokes when lanes become busy

• Don't overtake other swimmers

It also says to check with your local pool for specific guidance before you swim. Read the guidance in full here, external.

Non-essential shops reopened in England on Monday as lockdown restrictions continued to ease.

Shop owners have been told to make changes to ensure people can continue to shop safely.

These include showing customers they are aware of safety measures, putting protective coverings on large items like beds or sofas and frequent cleaning of regularly touched surfaces.

Perspex screens at the tills and floor markings to keep shoppers 2m (6ft) apart are likely to be a regular fixture.

Read more: What shops are open?

Image source, Getty Images

A British minister has become embroiled in a row with Marcus Rashford over his campaign to get the government to keep providing free meals for vulnerable children over the school summer holidays.

On Monday, the Manchester United and England striker wrote an emotional open letter to MPs drawing on his own experience of relying on free school meals and food banks growing up.

His call prompted people across England to lobby their MPs, who will debate the subject in Parliament later.

In a tweet, Rashford asked others to think about those who have had their "water turned off during lockdown" and children who woke up to empty shelves.

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey replied that "water cannot be disconnected" - a comment that was widely criticised, with Labour calling it "snarky".

She later tweeted a more emollient response, saying she shared a passion with Rashford "to support children and the most vulnerable in society".

Rashford said that he was "concerned" she had only acknowledged his tweet about water being turned off and urged her to help "make a difference".

Provision for free meals for schoolchildren will stop at the end of the summer term in England and Northern Ireland, but will continue through summer in Scotland and Wales.

Adam Easton
Warsaw Correspondent

Image source, EPA

Poland recorded 407 new Covid-19 infections on Tuesday, raising the total number of cases to 30,195. Sixteen new virus-related deaths were reported on Tuesday, taking the total to 1,272.

More than half of Tuesday’s new cases, 216, were recorded in Upper Silesia, where there is an ongoing outbreak among coal miners and their families. Mass testing of miners is taking place at 12 mines that suspended production at the end of last week.

About 20% of all Poland’s cases are among coal miners. However, 98% of the miners are asymptomatic and just 12% of them have spread the infection to their own families, according to the health ministry. As a result, there is ample capacity in Silesia’s hospitals for treating coronavirus patients.

Poland has recorded far fewer cases and deaths than in many western European countries – eight times fewer cases and 17 times fewer deaths per million inhabitants than in Spain for example - but because of such outbreaks, infections have not yet peaked and the country’s R rate is back above 1.

Image source, AFP

As the French government continues to ease its lockdown measures and Paris museums gradually reopen from mid-June, the French capital's Pompidou Centre is preparing to welcome back visitors from 1 July, external.

It will feature an exhibition of the works of Bulgarian-born artist Christo who died last month.

The museum was originally scheduled to open the exhibition in March but had to postpone it because of the coronavirus epidemic.

As for other top attractions in and around Paris, the Palace of Versailles has already reopened, while the Eiffel Tower is due to reopen on 25 June and the Louvre museum on 6 July.

Image source, Reuters

Countries across Latin America are still seeing a sharp rise in the numbers of Covid-19 infections and deaths, and the region remains a cause for concern, says Mike Ryan, emergencies programme head at the World Health Organization:

• Brazil has become the country with the world's second-highest number of infections - more than 888,000 - and deaths, nearly 44,000. Experts say the figures are likely to be higher because of insufficient testing while the outbreak is believed to be weeks away from its peak
• In Mexico, there are more than 17,500 deaths and more than 150,000 confirmed cases, though authorities say the real number of infected people is also likely to be significantly higher
• And Chile has extended a state of catastrophe by 90 days amid a surge in cases - in total, more than 180,000 infections have been confirmed with around 3,300 deaths

Speaking on Monday, Ryan said: "Brazil can't be singled out in the Americas - there are many other countries in the Americas like Mexico, Chile and others who have had significant number of cases and continue to have an upswinging epidemic."

Non-essential shops opened in England on Monday - but shopping nowadays looks pretty different to what we're used to.

BBC business reporter Szu Ping Chan went to one shop in London to see how things have changed.

M Ilyas Khan
BBC News, Islamabad

Image source, Reuters

Faced with a rising number of Covid-19 infections, Pakistan has decided to shut down multiple districts in 20 main cities across the country.

Officials say all areas with a higher infection rate will be completely sealed for two weeks, and restrictions will be relaxed only in those areas that show improvement.

Pakistan had largely lifted most lockdown restrictions ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid that fell on 23 May. The decision had come despite opposition from healthcare workers and some opposition groups.

They now say the recent spike in infections is mainly a result of that decision which saw markets being opened to crowds but provided no mechanisms to ensure safety rules were followed.

As a result, the number of known Covid-19 positive cases has grown almost fourfold in a month – from over 37,000 on 15 May to nearly 149,000 on Tuesday.

Last week, the World Health Organization told the Pakistani authorities they had lifted the lockdown before the peak in infections had arrived.

And on Sunday, federal minister Asad Umar sent shockwaves across the country when he warned that if safety measures were not followed, total infections were likely to spiral to up to 1.2 million by the end of July.

Peru's economy sank 40% in April on a year-on-year comparison, its worst-ever percentage drop, amid a lockdown imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19, government figures show.

Mining makes up 60% of the country's exports, and production was drastically scaled back because of the restrictions. Full operations were allowed to resume in May, and economists believe some recovery is expected in the next few months.

President Martin Vizcarra has called it the "most serious crisis in our history", and announced a series of measures including large infrastructure projects to restart the economy.

Peru has reported nearly 233,000 cases and more than 6,500 deaths, the second-highest numbers in South America after Brazil.

The country of 32 million was one of the first in the region to impose a lockdown but experts say the measures have not worked properly because large numbers of people disrespect them.

Restrictions are being gradually lifted, but the lockdown imposed on 16 March has been extended until 30 June, making Peru's lockdown one of the longest in the world.

Mornings with Kaye Adams
BBC Radio Scotland

One newspaper headline this morning suggests people in Scotland looked on jealously as non-essential shops were allowed to open for the first time in three months in England. But is that true - and for all?

Comedian Jojo Sutherland certainly falls into that camp.

"I was even jealous of the queuing," she tells BBC Radio Scotland. "If all the shops were open, I would have queued at all of them I think.

"I'm in the camp that thinks, if this virus is going to kill me, I'd rather not spend the last weeks of it locked up - I would rather spend all my money before I pop my clogs."

Image source, PA Media

Climate change and environment specialist Zarina Ahmad says: "I'm on the opposite end of that. It just fills me with anxiety with all these people craving to get into the shops and queuing. It's been so nice during lockdown not to have all that hustle and bustle.

"I hate shopping anyway. It bores me, I dread it. On top of that, I've had Covid and that's why it fills me with anxiety to see all these people just dying to get out there and be in close proximity to one another.

"Spreading the disease is as much about how the NHS is able to cope with the number of infected people. It is unfair if you are a doctor or nurse having to make a choice about whether you live or die just because we decided to put ourselves at risk."

Image source, Getty Images

Greggs, the British high street bakers, is planning to reopen about 800 shops for takeaways on Thursday - and the rest of its 2,050 or so outlets from early July.

It's been almost three months since Britons have been able to get their hands on the baker's steak bakes and vegan sausage rolls.

For the reopening, staff will wear protective equipment while customers can expect a limited menu, floor markings to help maintain social distancing and protective screens at the counter. They will be encouraged to make contactless payments.

The move by Greggs follows the reopening of non-essential shops across England this week, including clothes shops and book stores.

BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Fans on big screens and specific cameras to celebrate towards are some of the "broadcast enhancements" that will be used when the Premier League football season restarts this week.

A number of innovations, including tunnel cameras and audio from the coin toss, have been developed.

Some viewers will also be given the option of listening to games with or without artificial crowd noise.

Players will not hear the audio effects in the behind-closed-doors games.

For goal celebrations, players should maintain distance from one another and "where feasible, broadcasters will identify a celebration camera which players can head to after scoring".

Rob Cameron
BBC Prague Correspondent

Image source, EPA

Czech and Polish citizens of the divided border town of Cesky Tesin/Cieszyn gathered on Friendship Bridge on Monday evening to highlight what they see as the absurdity of continuing border restrictions due to Covid-19.

Around 200 people from both sides of the Czech-Polish border gathered on the bridge for a silent protest against the ongoing restrictions put in place by the Czech authorities, Czech Radio reports. The event was attended by representatives of both the Czech and Polish town councils, including the mayor of Cieszyn on the Polish side.

The Czech government has designated the Polish province of Silesia as high-risk and requires all Czechs returning from there and all Poles crossing into the Czech Republic from there to provide a negative Covid certificate within 72 hours or self-isolate for 14 days. Local people say it is destroying business and family ties as they are used to crossing the river to visit the other side several times a day.

"We're one city. If you say the border's going to open, then it should be open on both sides. If you only open it on one side, then to me that's not opening it," the mayor of Cieszyn, Gabriela Staszkiewicz, told Czech Radio.