A man has appeared at a court in New Zealand accused of cutting his way out of a Covid-19 isolation facility and visiting a shop to buy beer and wine.

Martin James McVicar, 52, allegedly cut through a fence on Thursday evening to escape the quarantine facility in Hamilton, a city on the North Island of New Zealand.

He has been charged with failing to comply with a public health order.

McVicar has been placed in quarantine under police supervision until he is due to in court again on 15 July.

Earlier this week, a 32-year-old man with Covid-19 escaped quarantine at a hotel in Auckland, before going shopping and taking selfies at a nearby supermarket.

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Coronavirus is spreading around the world, but there are still no vaccines to protect the body against the disease it causes, Covid-19.

About 200 groups around the world are working on vaccines and 18 are now being tested on people in clinical trials.

The process would normally take years, if not decades, but research is happening at breakneck speed.

Most experts think a vaccine is likely to become widely available by mid-2021, about 12-18 months after the new virus, known officially as Sars-CoV-2, first emerged.

Read more from James here.

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Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the wearing of face coverings should “become as automatic as putting the seat belt on”.

It comes as wearing a face covering became compulsory in shops and on all public transport across Scotland.

Ms Sturgeon said, given the confined nature of shops, “it should be the law on face coverings", citing the "increasing evidence now that wearing a face covering can play a part in stopping the transmission of the virus”.

“For the foreseeable future, what I am saying to people is that wearing a face covering in a shop or public transport should become as automatic as putting the seat belt on when we get into a car," the first minister told BBC Breakfast.

She said mandatory face coverings were "more difficult" in a restaurant or pub "for obvious reasons", adding that "there needs to be other mitigations in place in these kinds of settings”.

She flatly refused suggestions that the variations in coronavirus regulations among the UK's four nations gave weight to those backing Scottish independence.

“I have never seen this pandemic as an argument for or against independence. I have tried not to be political, party political or engage in constitutional politics over this.”

Simon Atkinson
BBC News, Sydney

At the height of the summer bushfire season, Scott Morrison took probably the biggest misstep of his time as Australian prime minister and went on holiday to Hawaii.

As the nation burned, a photo of him giving a big thumbs up against the backdrop of the golden sunset emerged – and played out as horribly as you’d imagine.

Well, it’s the school holidays again in Australia, and the PM has clearly learned his lesson.

At the end of today’s press conference in Canberra, Morrison revealed - unprompted as far as I could tell - that while his wife Jenny and their two daughters would be having a break “just outside of Sydney” - he wouldn’t be joining them “full time”.

“I will not be standing aside from the tasks I have all day,” he said. “As a dad, I will take some time but at the same time I can assure you we will remain absolutely focused on the things we need to focus on next week.

"Just because I am not standing in front of a camera it does not mean I am not behind my desk or doing what I need to do on a daily basis.”

While the number of fresh coronavirus cases in Victoria (288 is today’s figure) remain small compared with the US, Brazil and the UK – I can’t stress enough what a big deal it is here.

A country that thought it had beaten the virus has been given a rude awakening. A city of five million people has been put back in lockdown.

Upbeat talk of travel bubbles has pretty much evaporated. Scott Morrison needs to keep on top of things. And needs to be seen to be doing so.

Image source, Getty Images

Serbia was removed from the English quarantine exemption list overnight following a dramatic rise in Covid-19 cases.

Some 300 new infections are being reported daily, prompting authorities to announce a state of emergency in several towns and cities in recent days.

"The Joint Biosecurity Centre, together with Public Health England, have updated their Coronavirus assessments of Serbia based on the latest data," a government spokesperson said.

"As a result, the government has decided to remove Serbia from the list of countries from which passengers arriving in England are exempted from the need to self-isolate.

"We've always been clear that we would act immediately to remove a country where necessary."

Scotland also requires those arriving from Serbia to self-quarantine.

The Department for Transport says the updated number of countries and overseas territories - from which travellers arriving into England, Wales and NI do NOT need to quarantine - is currently 75.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

The first case of coronavirus reported in a mainly rebel-held province in north-west Syria has sparked fears of a devastating outbreak in crowded camps providing refuge for displaced people.

A doctor contracted the virus at a hospital - which has now been shut - in a town in Idlib near the Turkish border, aid groups said.

Almost one million people have fled their homes in the area since last December, with many of them now living in overcrowded refugee camps with inadequate healthcare facilities and little clean water.

Read more on this story here.

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The head of an intensive care unit (ICU) at a hospital in the US state of Florida has told the BBC that the facility is struggling with the number of patients being admitted.

"We have gone from one Covid floor to two, to three, and now we have a fourth area," Dr Andrew Pastewski, ICU Medical Director at Jackson South Medical Center in Miami, told the BBC's Newshour programme.

"At some point you're going to need some kind of Covid nursing home for patients who aren't that sick but can't go back to their skilled nursing home," he added.

Dr Pastewski also told Reuters news agency that the coronavirus "destroys the strength" of his elderly patients.

"If it's an elderly person that gets intubated, you know that it's the end because we have not been able to get elderly people off the ventilator."

Chris Page
BBC News Ireland correspondent

Northern Ireland has become the first of the UK’s nations to reopen gyms.

The Yard Health and Fitness centre in east Belfast saw members keen to get working out at 06:00 today.

Social distancing rules means every other running machine is switched off – and users must wipe down equipment after they’ve finished.

Very quickly, it felt like fitness routines were being picked up where they’d been left off more than a hundred days ago - with personal trainers guiding people through their programmes.

The sight and sound of weights being lifted, feet pounding on treadmills, and bike wheels whirring is lifting moods and generating energy - and everyone is taking care to follow the guidelines.

Sanchia Berg
Today Programme

Relatives of care home residents with dementia should be given the same access to coronavirus testing as staff, so they can visit their loved ones, leading charities say.

Charities including Dementia UK and the Alzheimer's Society argue that current limits on visitors have had "damaging consequences".

They say the "enforced separation" has caused a "deterioration" in residents' mental and physical health.

A letter to the health secretary calls on the government to "urgently" address what it calls the "hidden catastrophe" which is taking place in care homes.

Despite the lack of guidance, many homes in England have been allowing visits from relatives, but usually only once a week per person and for very limited amounts of time.

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has told the BBC it will be setting out further details "shortly" on how it can "carefully and safely" allow visiting in care homes.

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, told BBC Radio 4: "Families are a really important part of care delivery."

But he added: "But, by the same token, we've got to balance the protection of the people who live in those care homes.

"We do need guidance. We need access to testing."

Read more.

Italy has banned arrivals from 13 "at-risk" countries. Health minister Roberto Speranza says the pandemic is in its most acute phase so no-one is allowed in from countries including Armenia, Brazil, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kuwait, North Macedonia, Moldova and Peru. Meanwhile arrivals from Serbia into the UK will now have to quarantine because of the rise in cases there. In other developments:

Bulgaria has banned football fans from stadiums and closed indoor nightclubs because of a spike in infections.

Image source, Getty Images

The current season resumed on 5 June and a new season set for 24 July may be delayed after a number of clubs in the top two flights reported infections. A record 330 cases were reported nationally on Friday.

As the search for a vaccine continues, Russian reports suggest volunteers have formed an immune response during an official trial and will be discharged from hospital next week. A second group of volunteers will be tested next week.

French health minister Olivier Véran has appealed to people not to let down their guard. "I can see there's been a relaxation in behaviour - we need social distancing every day."

Can you become reinfected with coronavirus if you've already had it?

BBC Health reporter Rachel Schraer explains how the human body can recover by producing specific antibodies to Covid-19, which can then spring into action if you encounter the virus again.

However, she adds, developing natural antibodies - or receiving a vaccine - does not necessarily mean you'll be protected forever.

Image source, Getty Images

Foreign travellers visiting South Korea from countries with high numbers of coronavirus cases will need to provide certificates showing a negative test result, the Yonhap news agency reports.

The new measure, due to be implemented on Monday, will require vistors to show paperwork "issued within 48 hours", Yonhap says, quoting the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

It adds that the certificates must be issued from testing centres and medical facilities acknowledged by Seoul.

Last month, South Korea warned that it was experiencing a second wave of coronavirus, despite recording relatively low numbers.

Katy Austin
Business Correspondent

Image source, Reuters

At Gatwick airport on Friday there is a "steady stream" of passengers, but the airport experience is "quite different", reports Katy Austin.

Face masks are mandatory "at all times", including security, check-in staff sit behind plastic screens and there are multiple signs reminding passengers of the social distancing regulations.

The departure lounges remain quiet, with many cafes and restaurants still closed and passengers "only a fraction of what there would have been this time last year".

Easy Jet began operating some flights from the airport on Friday, and Tui begins operating some routes on Saturday.

"Gatwick, like many other businesses across the aviation industry, has been hit very hard by the travel restrictions imposed by the pandemic," our correspondent says.

"They will certainly be hoping that flights ramp up in the coming weeks."

Image source, facebook.com/jairmessias.bolsonaro

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has posted on Facebook, external that he was "very well" despite having tested positive for the virus.

He announced on Tuesday he had tested positive after developing a high temperature and a cough.

On Facebook, Bolsonaro again advocated the use of the drug hydroxychloroquine - which he and US President Donald Trump have praised in the past despite it being unproven.

Bolsonaro has repeatedly dismissed the seriousness of the virus and opposed lockdowns ordered by regional governors in Brazilian states.

More detail now on the news that Hong Kong is shutting all schools after a spike in local cases of Covid-19.

The city reported 42 new cases on Thursday - the second consecutive day of rising local infections. Education Secretary Kevin Yeung said some of the recent cases involved students and parents.

Schools in Hong Kong have mostly been shut since February and some international education schools are already on summer break.

But the government has now ordered all schools to close from Monday, bringing forward the start of the summer holidays.

Yvette Tan
BBC News, Singapore

It was a very hygienic voting process when I voted this afternoon.

I was given an allotted time, in an effort to space us out and keep group sizes controlled. But before I could even enter the centre, my temperature was taken.

Once they were satisfied with that, I was allowed to proceed to the next counter, where I was given my polling card and told to sanitise my hands.

I was then given a pair of gloves which stuck rather uncomfortably to my now germ-free hands.

The actual voting process itself took about 10 seconds - each poll was fixed with pens that stamped a cross.

On our way out we were told to dispose of our gloves. And that was it - over in about 15 minutes.

Since I voted, however, the need for gloves has been dropped - as authorities said it was causing overly long queues.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Passengers entering England from 59 destinations - including many popular holiday spots - will no longer have to quarantine as of today.

However, not all of them have ended restrictions for UK tourists when they arrive there.

Arrivals are exempt from quarantine , externalif they arrive in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from:

Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Mauritius, Monaco, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Réunion, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, South Korea, Spain, St Barthélemy, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Pierre and Miquelon, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Vatican City, Vietnam.

The 14 British Overseas Territories are also exempt.

The government has said the list will be kept under review.

You will still have to isolate for 14 days if you arrive back in England from Canada, the US and much of Central or South America.

Countries in Africa, the Middle East and most of Asia are also excluded - as are Sweden, Portugal and Russia.

We reported moments ago that the Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan has warned its citizens about a strain of pneumonia that appears to be more deadly in the region than Covid-19.

Kazakhstan's health ministry has released a statement denying the reports, labelling them "fake news".

The ministry said the data relating to bacterial, fungal and viral pneumonia infections, which also included cases unconfirmed by laboratory tests, were in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

"The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan reiterates that the information provided by the Kazakh and Chinese media does not correspond to reality," it said.

Hong Kong's education officials confirm all schools will be shut from Monday after a spike in local cases of Covid-19.

If you are just joining us, here's what's happening around the UK:

• As of today, travellers arriving in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 59 countries and 14 British overseas territories will no longer have to undergo two weeks' quarantine on arrival
• Wearing a face covering is now compulsory in shops across Scotland, although people with certain medical conditions or disabilities, and children under five, will be exempt
• The government is being urged to allow relatives of care home residents with dementia to resume visits - with testing available - amid fears the ongoing separation is causing patients to deteriorate
• And measures announced on Friday will see "large parts of Wales' visitor, hospitality, leisure and tourism industries reopen"