Image source, PA Media

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak will announce a £2bn "kickstart scheme" later to create more jobs for young people.

The fund will subsidise six-month work placements for people on (welfare payment) Universal Credit aged between 16 and 24, who are at risk of long-term unemployment.

Mr Sunak is also expected to announce a temporary stamp duty holiday to stimulate the property market.

This would exempt the first £500,000 of all property sales from the tax.

Image source, EPA

From midnight (14:00 GMT), Melbourne will be plunged back into lockdown for six weeks after a second wave of cases emerged.

Residents have expressed their dismay and sadness about Lockdown 2.0, while small businesses wonder if they'll be able to survive another shutdown, which is estimated to cost the state A$1bn (£0.55bn; $0.8bn) a week.

"It will test you and it will strain. But you have done it once before and you will be able to do it again," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

"The nation is with you and we will be with you every day."

He said Victoria was essentially "self-isolating" from the rest of the nation, which has recorded very few infections recently.

Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews apologised for the renewed restrictions but said "simply, there's no other choice."

He confirmed 860 active cases in the state on Wednesday, and 134 new infections.

Imogen Foulkes
BBC News, Geneva

For months, the WHO has insisted that Covid-19 is transmitted via droplets emitted when people cough or sneeze.

Droplets that do not linger in the air, but fall onto surfaces - that's why handwashing has been identified as a key prevention measure.

But 239 scientists from 32 countries don't agree: they say there is strong evidence to suggest the virus can also spread in the air: through much tinier particles that float around for hours after people talk, or breathe out.

Now the WHO says there is evidence to suggest this was possible in specific settings, such as enclosed and crowded spaces.

That evidence will have to be thoroughly evaluated, but if it is confirmed, the advice on how to prevent the virus spreading may have to change, and could lead to more widespread use of masks, and more rigorous distancing, especially in bars, restaurants, and on public transport.

Five million people have again been put under stay-at-home restrictions in Melbourne.

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

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

Image source, EPA

The border closed overnight between virus-hit Victoria and New South Wales - and only permit-holders will be able to travel across state lines.

However the NSW government has also warned that it may isolate border towns and enforce quarantine of people returning from Melbourne to prevent the virus travelling further east.

"I do want to give a strong warning," Premier Gladys Berejiklian said. "The probability of contagion in New South Wales, given what's happening in Victoria, is extremely high."

It comes after a case was found on the NSW side of Albury-Wodonga, one of the towns straddling the border.

NSW reported eight new cases on Wednesday, compared to 134 in Victoria.

President Trump has claimed the US death rate is "down tenfold". But is he right?

Despite an increase in cases, the death rate in the US is definitely way down on its peak.

The number of people with Covid-19 who die in the US is tallied every day. Using a seven-day rolling average is a good way to smooth out daily peaks and troughs.

That rolling average peaked on 21 April, according to Worldometers, external, with 2,255 deaths. It's now 556 - a 75% reduction, but not a "tenfold" one.

Using individual days gets closer to a "tenfold" fall.

The highest daily tally was 21 April, with 2,749 deaths. On 4 and 5 of July, deaths were 265 and 262 - a 90% fall.

But those numbers may have been lower because of reporting delays across the Independence Day weekend. Almost 1,000 deaths were reported in the US on Tuesday.

The 10,201 new cases reported in California took the state's total to nearly 284,000.

The surge led to the state last week rolling back the reopening of the economy, banning indoor restaurant dining, closing bars and stepping up social distancing.

Meanwhile, Texas reported 10,028 new infections on Tuesday.

Around 6,500 people have died in California while in Texas, just under 3,000 fatalities have been linked to the virus.

The death rate in California has been flat for weeks, but in Texas, there has been a recent increase to a rolling average of 47 a day.

In total, there have been almost 3 million positive cases recorded in the US - and more than 131,000 deaths have been linked to the virus.

Welcome back to our rolling coverage of the pandemic. Here are the headlines:

• The US states of California and Texas have each reported more than 10,000 new cases for the past day, a record for both

• US President Trump said the US was "in a good place", disagreeing with the adviser Dr Anthony Fauci who said country was "knee deep" in the pandemic
• Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro - who was confirmed positive on Tuesday - said he wasn't surprised he got infected and insisted his symptoms were mild
• In Australia, Melbourne will go back into a second lockdown later today. The decision came after the wider state of Victoria recorded a record number of cases on Tuesday