Reality Check

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been criticised by care providers after saying "too many care homes didn't really follow the procedures in the way that they could have" during the coronavirus pandemic.

Vic Rayner, executive director of the National Care Forum, said the comments were "neither accurate nor welcome" and said the sector had been “grappling” with “over 100 pieces of additional guidance”.

Now the Communities Minister Lord Greenhalgh has admitted that “the guidance around care homes was not as clear as it could have been”.

So, what was the guidance during the pandemic - in which at least 20,000 care home residents in England and Wales have died of Covid-19?

Reality Check has looked at the guidance on testing, personal protective equipment, visits and moving elderly patients from hospitals to care homes during the outbreak.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

The average age of a coronavirus patient in the US has dropped by around 15 years compared to the early stages of the pandemic, according to Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the US National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Reports from states where virus cases are surging - such as California, Arizona, Florida and Texas - confirm Dr Fauci's statement, as most new cases are young people who have flouted social distancing guidelines or have essential jobs that require them to be on the frontlines.

“The average age of people getting infected now is a decade and a half younger than it was a few months ago, particularly when New York and New Orleans and Chicago were getting hit very badly,” Dr Fauci said in an interview on Monday.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Monday that the median age for a patient needing hospitalisation in the state is now 33 years old. Most patients being diagnosed in March and April were in their 50s and 60s, he said.

Image source, Amber Millar Chambers

Throughout the pandemic, there have been a number of workers who were not eligible for furlough. Some of them have been telling the BBC how stressful this has been for them.

One is Amber Millar Chambers, who worked at two bar jobs to support her university studies before lockdown. One furloughed her, the other didn't.

She is among an unknown number of people in the UK who have lost out financially, because for more than three months, workers could not be part-furloughed. Workers not on a company's payroll are also not eligible for the scheme.

The furlough scheme, brought in to mitigate the effects of coronavirus, allows employees to receive 80% of their monthly salary, up to £2,500.

More than a quarter of the UK workforce - 9.3 million people - are now being supported by it, but there are some that have not been eligible for help.

"It's been stressful. It's been very stressful," Amber says.

Read more here.

The landlady of one of the pubs in England which has had to close after a customer tested positive for coronavirus said the experience had been "stressful".

Jess Green, landlady of The Lighthouse Kitchen pub in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme she rang at least 90 people who had left their contact details when they had visited after the lockdown was eased on Saturday.

"The main thing that was going through our heads was we had to make sure everyone was safe, that we contacted every one of our customers.

"It took us all day, we finished at about 10 o'clock last night. Our (list) was about 90 and there were actually more but if they were in a social bubble or a household, we took the main person and they spoke to the people they were with."

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just joining us, welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Here are the latest headlines from around the world:

• Five million people in the Australian city of Melbourne have been told to stay at home for six weeks from Wednesday night after cases there surged. Victoria's state premier said a "sense of complacency" had emerged as lockdown restrictions were eased
• The US is also seeing a spike in cases, with many states putting their plans to reopen on hold. California, Texas and Florida are among dozens of states to have reported high infection rates in recent weeks
• Elsewhere, the European Commission has downgraded its economic forecast for this year as well as 2021 because of the pandemic. It predicts the EU economy will shrink by 8.3% this year before recovering slightly
• Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has taken a Covid-19 test after he reportedly developed a high temperature. He has previously downplayed the virus, comparing it to "a little flu". The results are expected later today
• A BBC investigation has found that two life-saving drugs used to treat Covid-19 patients in India are in short supply and being sold for excessive rates on the black market
• There have been more than 11.5 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 globally, with more than 530,000 deaths

• Nicola Sturgeon hopes to confirm move to phase 3 out of lockdown on Thursday

• The first minister confirms a five-mile limit on travel for leisure purposes for parts of Dumfries and Galloway has been lifted

• Sturgeon calls again for an £80bn economic stimulus package from Chancellor Rishi Sunak
• One person has died with Covid-19 in Scotland in the last 24 hours
• The latest figures show crisis grant payments 40% higher than last year, external
• In terms of air bridges, work is ongoing to assess the risks from other countries
• Quarantine checks on international arrivals to Scotland have started, with six reports of suspected non-compliance so far
• However, the first minister will not 'simply rubber stamp' a UK list on quarantine
• "We mess with this virus at our peril", warns the first minister

Here's an unusual way of displaying public health messages - using light-up drones in the sky above Seoul, South Korea.

The 10-minute display encouraged people to wash their hands and observe social distancing, and ended with a message of thanks to key workers.

The event was organised by South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and was not advertised in advance to avoid crowds.

Image source, Getty Images

Law enforcement officials in Texas say they will not enforce the newly enacted ruling requiring mask to be worn in public.

After the Texas governor ordered masks to be worn in public in any county with at least 20 Covid-19 cases on 2 July, multiple county sheriffs vowed not to enforce the rule.

The sheriff of Denton County, which encompasses part of the city of Dallas-Fort Worth, called the mandate an "executive order not a law" and said it is too difficult to enforce.

The office of the sheriff of Montgomery County, just north of Houston, said it will not enforce the order for fear it could be sued by the people who are stopped.

The governor's order calls for warnings for people who do not wear masks, and a $250 (£200) fine for multiple offenders. But officers say they will not know who is a multiple offender, because they will not be documenting any individual incident.

The order also specifically says no citizen can be arrested or jailed for refusing to wear a mask. Critics in law enforcement say this makes the mandate legally impossible to enforce.

Simon Read
Business Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The chancellor is likely to announce changes to stamp duty on Wednesday to help cut costs for anyone buying a home in the UK.

Stamp duty is a tax paid by people buying properties, although it varies slightly across the UK.

There is speculation that the government could increase the lower stamp duty threshold to either £300,000 for all buyers, or as high as £500,000.

That means any property purchases below the new level would not need to pay stamp duty.

The move would help buyers who have taken a financial hit because of the coronavirus crisis. It is also aimed to boost a property market hit by lockdown.

Read more from Simon Read about how much a buyer could save.

Image source, Getty Images

In mid-January China's official death toll stood at just three. Today, more than 11 million people have been infected worldwide, at least 500,000 have died - and the virus has forced the lockdown of entire economies.

The coronavirus was first discovered in Wuhan, Hubei Province - and it is here, too, where the search for the virus's origin must begin, leading to perhaps the biggest question of them all, and one now at the heart of an escalating propaganda war between Washington and Beijing.

Did the coronavirus – as most scientists think – come from nature, or might it have leaked from a lab?

Read the BBC's John Sudworth's full investigation here.

Image source, Getty Images

Dame Judi Dench says she welcomes the government's support package for the arts - but says the money will be "spread very thin".

A £1.57bn support package has been announced for the UK's museums, galleries and theatres.

Speaking to Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 5 Live, the actress said: "I thought it was very good news to get. We all have been anxiously waiting for something and it has come and it is wonderful.

"I am not disparaging in any way. But there are just such a lot of things it has got to go to. It has got to go to theatre, music, culture.

"It will probably be spread very thinly, but nevertheless we are all incredibly grateful that it has come at this time."

Dame Judi added that there needs to be a way that people can get to the theatre, while respecting social distancing. But she added it was a "terrible concern" that people were going to the pub and beach, adding it is "very soon to get back".

Shruti Menon
BBC Reality Check

Image source, AFP

With many universities in the US moving tuition fully online due to the coronavirus pandemic, foreign students there have been told they may have to leave unless they do some tuition in person.

So how many students could potentially be affected by the announcement from the US Immigration and Custom Enforcement?

The ruling applies to specific types of visa issued for academic study. US government figures show that last year, more than 373,000 of these visas were granted.

The US had more than a million international students doing various graduate and undergraduate programmes in 2018-19, according to the Institute of International Education (IIE), external. That’s about 5.5% of the total student community in the country.

Out of these, nearly three-quarters were from Asia - 48% Chinese and 26% Indians.

The IIE says that according to the US Department of Commerce, international students contributed $45 billion to the country’s economy, external.

Image source, AFP

Kenya's education ministry has said that all primary and secondary schools will reopen next year.

The ministry said all students will resume studies in their current classes.

Education Minister George Magoha said no final-year national examinations would be held for primary and secondary pupils this year.

Those exams are usually held in October and November each year.

Colleges and universities will however prepare to re-open in September this year with strict guidelines, the minister says, with only those that meet the requirements allowed to do so.

Schools across Kenya closed in March after the country's recorded its first coronavirus cases.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday reopened the borders of three counties that had been closed as part of the lockdown.

He then gave the education ministry 24 hours to give guidelines on the school calendar.

Reality Check

President Trump has claimed the US has the lowest coronavirus mortality rate in the world.

There are a couple of ways you can measure mortality rates, although international comparisons can be tricky as not all countries count deaths in the same way.

One way to measure it is to look at the ratio of deaths to confirmed cases - of all the people who test positive for coronavirus, how many go on to die?

The US’s case mortality rate is around 4.4%.

This is lower than many major countries - such as the UK, Italy and France, which all sit at around 15%. But it is also higher than a series of others - such as South Korea, Australia, and Norway, which all fall below 3%.

Some countries, like the US, are testing more widely, which can make the ratio of deaths to confirmed cases, and therefore the case mortality rate, appear lower.

Another way to measure it is to compare how many deaths have occurred with the size of a country's population.

The US is not the lowest by this measure either, with about 40 deaths per 100,000 people.

A handful of countries have recorded more deaths per population than the US - such as Sweden, the UK and Spain - but the vast majority have fewer.

We've been reporting on lockdown restrictions being reimposed in the Australian city of Melbourne.

Dima Abdu is a resident of a North Melbourne tower block which was suddenly put into complete lockdown with no notice.

She spoke to the BBC about what it's like on the inside.

Image source, BILLY MCCRORIE

A last slice of Scotland has seen a five-mile limit on travel for leisure purposes lifted.

It was removed for the vast majority of the country on Friday- but remained for parts of Dumfries and Galloway affected by a cluster of coronavirus cases

The Scottish government has now received sufficient assurances to see it join the rest of Scotland.

Residents of Annan, Gretna, Dumfries, Lockerbie, Langholm and Canonbie were covered by the limit.

Austria lifted rules on wearing masks in shops and restaurants at the end of May, but a new outbreak in the province of Upper Austria means for part of the country they will become compulsory again.

The north-western area, which borders Germany and the Czech Republic, currently has 427 infections and 3,300 people in quarantine. Meat-processing firms are at the centre of the spike, as is a religious group.

Image source, Getty Images

"We're still not used to masks, and I know it's uncomfortable wearing one," said Upper Austria governor Thomas Stelzer. However, he said they were still in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic.

Masks were made compulsory on Tuesday in public offices and prisons. From Thursday that extends to all public spaces. You can take it off in a restaurant once you're sitting at a table, but waiters have to wear a mask at all times.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, Getty Images

We told you earlier about how Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been criticised for comments he made about care homes. He was accused of trying to shift the blame for coronavirus deaths onto care homes, after saying on Monday that "too many care homes didn't really follow the procedures".

Asked about those comments today in the House of Commons by shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth, Health Secretary Matt Hancock says "care homes have been doing amazing work".

He says because asymptomatic transmission wasn't known about, the correct procedures were not known.

Mr Hancock says "we have been constantly learning" about the virus and "improving procedures all the way through".

He adds that he wanted to pay tribute to the care homes that have "done so much to care for the most vulnerable throughout this crisis".

House of Commons
Parliament

Health Secretary Matt Hancock is giving an update to MPs in the House of Commons.

He says that "we're bringing coronavirus under control" - with the figure of 356 new cases reported yesterday in the UK being the lowest since lockdown began.

Specifically speaking about the local lockdown in Leicester, he says imposing it was the result of "difficult but vital decisions".

Now, he says the seven-day infection rate for the city is 117 per 100,000 people - down from 135.

Mr Hancock also praises the three England pubs which shut down after customers tested positive for the virus, saying it shows exactly how the test and trace system is meant to be working.

Image source, PA Media

Chancellor Rishi Sunak continues to answer questions from MPs about the government's coronavirus recovery plans.

He says the government's announcement of a £2bn grant towards for energy-saving home improvements will provide upgrades "for hundreds of thousands of homes and "create tens of thousands of jobs up and down this country".

He adds that the grants will allow households to not only "save money on their electricity bills and save carbon but also create good, local jobs in the process".

He says he agrees that getting to net zero emissions should be "at the heart of our recovery" and he says the investment in green homes shows the government's "commitment in this area".