Summary

  • UK PM Boris Johnson announces restaurants, pubs and hairdressers will reopen in England from 4 July

  • The 2m distancing rule is also being reduced to 1m plus

  • Cinemas, museums and other attractions will also reopen, but not "close proximity" venues like indoor gyms

  • The changes are not without risk and could be reversed if necessary but are "reasonable", say top government medical and science advisers

  • US states including Florida are seeing a "disturbing surge" in cases, says top US adviser Dr Anthony Fauci

  • Two German districts reintroduce lockdowns after 1,553 workers test positive at a meat processing plant

  • World tennis number one Novak Djokovic tests positive for Covid-19 after playing in his Adria Tour tournament

  • Daily UK government briefing will end and now only take place for significant announcements

  • Worldwide there have been more than 9 million virus cases and 471,000 deaths

  1. What changes can we expect from UK PM?published at 08:30 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    UK Prime Minister Boris JohnsonImage source, Getty Images

    As the number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the UK have continued to fall, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to outline a further easing of coronavirus restrictions in England. He will speak at 12:30 BST, so what can we expect?

    • Johnson is expected to announce measures that will allow pubs, restaurants, cinemas, galleries and theatres to reopen under relaxed - but still constraining - rules from 4 July
    • He is also expected to say that the 2m social distancing rule will be reduced to 1m from 4 July, with some mitigating measures
    • Ministers have not ruled out customers having to register when entering pubs and bars so they can easily be tracked down if they come into contact with an infected person
    • Some entertainment venues will be expected to minimise face-to-face contact by requiring customers to pre-book tickets, to stand in spaced queues and to enter and leave through different areas
    • Screens could also be put in place to reduce the risk to staff and ventilation systems will be improved
  2. Hong Kong reports biggest spike in monthspublished at 08:22 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    Hong Kong reported 30 new imported Covid-19 cases on Monday - its biggest increase since early April.

    The city has so far managed to avoid the waves of infection seen in other large cities across the world.

    However, the death toll on Tuesday increased to six after a 72-year-old man died with the virus, local media say. Hong Kong has reported a total of 1,161 infections.

  3. Three cricketers test positive - and other updates from Pakistanpublished at 08:12 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    • Three Pakistani cricketers have tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of their of England tour. All national players were to be tested before boarding a chartered flight to the UK later this week. The Test series against England is slated to begin in July
    • PM Imran Khan has said that lockdown is not the solution to the coronavirus crisis in Pakistan. On Monday, Khan said that there was no need for a "strict" lockdown. "The lockdown has created an unprecedented situation. If provinces had consulted me, I would have not allowed a lockdown," he said
    • Cases have been rising in Pakistan. It has confirmed more than 180,000 infections and 3,695 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
  4. UK pubs fear new opening rules won't save thempublished at 08:02 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    Simon Jack
    BBC Business Editor

    Many establishments in the UK are straining at the leash to reopen.

    Several pubs and restaurants have told me that they do not see the point of reopening even under one metre distancing rules as it would be impossible to police and the business would still lose money.

    That's the supply side of the equation - the other side is demand. Most of us want to go out for a drink or a meal or a film but how many would actually step through the door?

    Recent polling by Ipsos Mori found that six out of 10 people would feel uncomfortable returning to a pub or restaurant.

    Some operators feel that the UK government's reopening guidelines expected later today may be counter-productive.

    Read more from Simon here.

  5. Closing Texas again 'will be last option'published at 07:53 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    Testing sites have been set up in Texas at gatherings, such as the recent events to mark JuneteenthImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Testing sites have been set up in Texas at gatherings, such as the recent events to mark Juneteenth

    In the US state of Texas, the virus is said to be spreading at "an unacceptable rate", with the governor warning that tougher restrictions could be needed to control it.

    Governor Greg Abbott told a news conference on Monday that he hoped it would be possible to "protect Texans' lives while also protecting their livelihoods," adding that "closing down Texas again will always be the last option".

    The number of people being admitted to hospital with Covid-19 in Texas on a daily basis has doubled this month compared with May, the governor said.

    He added that he was confident that the spread could be brought under control if people wore face coverings.

    "I know that some people feel that wearing a mask is inconvenient, or it's like an infringement of freedom," he said, "but I also know that wearing a mask will help us to keep Texas open".

  6. Ex-UK chancellor calls for tax cutpublished at 07:41 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    Javid resigned as chancellor after being told by the prime minister to fire his advisersImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Javid resigned as chancellor after being told by the prime minister to fire his advisers

    Sajid Javid - who was the UK's chancellor of the exchequer until February - has called for a tax cut to make it cheaper for businesses to employ staff.

    In a report with the Centre for Policy Studies think tank, he said employers' national insurance - a payroll tax - should get a "significant, temporary" cut.

    Employers and employees pay national insurance. The employers' rate is 13.8% on wages above £732 a month. , externalMr Javid told Today on Radio Four that having a temporary stimulus would "turbo-charge" economic recovery.

    He said that infrastructure projects were a big part of what was required to stimulate investment, along with keeping taxes low.

    Mr Javid has also warned against a return to "austerity" as the UK deals with an increased public debt of almost £2 trillion.

  7. Why so many outbreaks in meat processing plants?published at 07:34 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    Reality Check

    A chicken meat processing plantImage source, Getty Images

    Hundreds of workers have tested positive for coronavirus at meat processing plants and abattoirs in the UK, France, Spain and the US. In Germany, 1,500 people have caught the virus at just one plant in Gütersloh.

    More than 150 workers have become infected with Covid-19 at a chicken processing site in Anglesey in Wales. Elsewhere in the UK, there have been outbreaks at plants in Wrexham and West Yorkshire.

    But why are meat workers getting coronavirus?

    Meat processing factories can provide the perfect conditions for the virus to spread.

    People get infected from droplets, which may be coughed, sneezed or exhaled by an infected person.

    In indoor areas such as these factories, which can be cold and damp, "droplets from infected individuals are more likely to spread, settle and stay viable," says Prof Lawrence Young, from the University of Warwick.

    Another factor could be noisy machinery, which requires people to talk more loudly or shout, which can increase the spread of infected droplets.

    Read more about it here.

  8. Florida passes 100,000 infectionspublished at 07:23 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    A woman wearing a protective mask walks in a street, as Miami-Dade County eases some of the lockdown measures put in place during the coronavirus outbreak, in Miami, FloridaImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Floridians are being advised to wear face coverings in public where social distancing is not possible

    As the number of people to die in connection with Covid-19 in the US passes 120,000, the state of Florida alone has now reported more than 100,000 confirmed infections.

    Nearly 3,000 new cases were diagnosed on Monday, according to local health officials.

    In response, Florida's Surgeon General Scott Rivkees issued a public health advisory on Monday urging everyone to "wear face coverings in any setting where social distancing is not possible".

    The advisory also suggests that people over the age of 65 and those with "high-risk conditions" stay at home and frequently wash their hands.

    Florida is the seventh state to record more than 100,000 cases of coronavirus, the others are New York, California, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas and Massachusetts.

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says many of the new infections in the state are down to increased testing and involve people in their 20s and 30s.

  9. Germany considers local lockdown after abattoir spikepublished at 07:12 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    The headquarters of abattoir company Toennies in Rheda-Wiedenbrueck on June 19, 2020Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    An outbreak has occurred at the Tönnies meat processing plant in Germany

    In Germany, an isolated outbreak at an abbatoir is one of the reasons cited for a rise in the country's reproduction (R) number to 2.88.

    R is the average number of people who someone with Covid-19 could infect. A number below one is seen as necessary to contain the spread of the disease.

    The Tönnies meat processing plant in the Gütersloh area of North Rhine-Westphalia has now reported more than 1,500 infections, out of a total of 7,000 workers.

    State premier Armin Laschet says schools and kindergartens have already been shut in the immediate area and 7,000 people have been put into quarantine. Now public health officials are deciding whether to go further.

    An opinion piece on the Deutsche Welle website suggests an outbreak at Europe's largest meat processing plant was "a disaster that was bound to happen and just as preventable, external".

  10. The virus hunter who caught Covid-19published at 07:00 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    Media caption,

    The virus hunter who got Covid

    He’s one of the world’s leading infectious disease experts.

    The man who was part of the team that discovered the deadly Ebola virus in 1976, and who also pioneered research into HIV/Aids.

    Until now he had managed to avoid being infected by any of the deadly diseases he’s spent his life fighting.

    But in the end, Professor Peter Piot of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, was struck down by Covid-19.

  11. Trump: US death toll could have been four millionpublished at 06:50 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    As we reported earlier, the number of people with Covid-19 to die in the US has passed 120,000.

    And now, President Trump has said the total "could get up to 150 [thousand]" or beyond.

    But, in the same interview with TV channel Spectrum News, he said "we would have lost two million to four million [without mitigation]".

    A report from Imperial College London, external on 16 March said 2.2m people in the US could die without action.

    Although the number of new cases is falling in some parts of the US, it is still rising in 23 states - including California, Texas, and Florida.

    Donald TrumpImage source, Gett
  12. Delhi to give oximeters to those in home isolationpublished at 06:40 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    Delhi's chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, has announced that pulse oximeters will be provided to all those in home isolation in the national capital.

    Oximeters measure oxygen levels and can help identify people who are infected. His announcement comes as infections are rapidly multiplying in Delhi.

    With nearly 60,000 confirmed cases so far, experts worry that it could soon overtake Mumbai - which has over 66,000 cases - to become the worst-affected city in India.

    In his address to the media on Monday, Kejriwal added that Delhi had increased its testing, saying it was up from 5,000 to 18,000 daily.

    India eased out of its harsh lockdown earlier this month, despite an increasing caseload.

    The country currently has the fourth-highest number of infections in the world, with more than 400,000 confirmed cases and 14,011 deaths.

  13. UN secretary-general thanks frontline workerspublished at 06:30 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has thanked public servants on the Covid-19 "frontline".

    He said workers - including doctors, nurses, cleaners, bus and train drivers, and teachers - had performed "remarkable acts of service to humankind".

    Today's is the United Nations' "Public Service Day", which is celebrated on 23 June every year.

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  14. US deaths pass 120,000published at 06:20 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    Woman in mask

    Another 425 people with Covid-19 died in the US in the past 24 hours, taking the total above 120,000.

    The US has by far the worst Covid-19 death toll in the world - more than twice the number recorded in Brazil, the second-most affected country.

    Although the number of new infections in some US states is falling, the figure is increasing in 23 states, according to New York Times data., external

    States with sharp increases in confirmed cases include California, Texas, and Florida.

  15. Saudi Arabia bans Hajj tourismpublished at 06:10 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    Socially distanced worshippers praying in Mecca in AprilImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Socially distanced worshippers praying in Mecca in April

    Saudi Arabia has banned international visitors from making the Islamic pilgrimage, or Hajj, this year.

    Only a very limited number of people living in the kingdom may take part.

    An estimated two million people would otherwise have visited Mecca and Medina this summer.

    A number of countries had already banned citizens from travelling to Saudi Arabia, for fear of spreading - or bringing back - the virus.

  16. UK PM Johnson set to make pubs announcementpublished at 06:00 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    Boris JohnsonImage source, PA Media

    The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce that pubs, restaurants, museums and cinemas can reopen in England on 4 July.

    Johnson is expected to tell Parliament on Tuesday afternoon that a two-metre distancing rule will be relaxed to one-metre in certain circumstances.

    Pubs and many other public places have been closed since the UK went into lockdown in March.

    The number of cases and deaths in the UK has continued to fall as the lockdown has been gradually eased in recent weeks.

    On Monday, 15 deaths linked to Covid-19 were reported.

  17. South Korea reports 46 cases in 'second wave'published at 05:50 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    South Korea has reported 46 new cases across the country, after authorities said they were in a "second wave" of the virus. Of those, 30 were from overseas.

    Yesterday, authorities said the "first wave" ended in April, with an increase in cases since then.

    However, the number of infections in the country remains fairly low by international standards.

    In the past month, there have usually been between 35 and 50 new cases each day.

    South Korea was one of the first countries outside China to suffer a major outbreakImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    South Korea was one of the first countries outside China to suffer a major outbreak

  18. Disney to reopen in Japanpublished at 05:40 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    Disneyland Tokyo guests on 28 February, the day the closure was announcedImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Disneyland Tokyo guests on 28 February, the day the closure was announced

    The Disneyland and DisneySea attractions in Japan will reopen on 1 July, after being closed for four months.

    Social distancing will be enforced, numbers will be limited, and guests must wear masks.

    Last month, a group of Japanese theme parks announced new safety guidelines - including asking guests not to scream loudly on rides.

  19. How Asia's biggest slum contained the coronaviruspublished at 05:30 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    Soutik Biswas
    India Correspondent

    Night falls on Dharavi, home to 650,00 peopleImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Night falls on Dharavi, home to 650,00 people

    In one of the world's most congested shanty towns, social distancing is not a luxury people can afford. And density is a friend of the coronavirus.

    Imagine more than 500,000 people spread over 2.5 grubby sq km, less than a square mile. That's a population larger than Manchester living in an area smaller than London's Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.

    Eight to 10 people live together in poky 100 sq ft dwellings. About 80% of the residents use community toilets.

    Homes and factories coexist in single buildings lining the slum's narrow lanes. Most people are informal daily-wage workers who don't cook at home and go out to get their food.

    And yet Dharavi, a sprawling slum in the heart of Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment capital, appears to have brought an outbreak under control - for now.

  20. Another 13 cases in Beijingpublished at 05:20 British Summer Time 23 June 2020

    Beijing has recorded another 13 virus cases, taking the recent total to 249.

    The city had previously gone 57 days without a locally transmitted case but a cluster, linked to a huge food market, broke out earlier this month.

    The city responded to the outbreak by banning people from at least 27 neighbourhoods from leaving the city, while others needed a negative test before they could leave.

    Across China, 22 new cases were reported on Tuesday.

    People queuing for a nucleic acid test last weekImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    People queuing for a nucleic acid test last week