Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he thinks face coverings “have a great deal of value in confined spaces” and the government will be looking at “tools of enforcement” in the next few days.

There have been calls for face coverings to be made compulsory in shops in England, and the PM says “the scientific evaluation” of their value in recent months “has been growing”.

Mr Johnson said in shops "it’s very important to wear a face covering", adding that "we should do that".

But he stopped short of announcing any compulsion to do so. He said the government will be looking at its guidance and "saying more in the next few days".

Image source, Getty Images

The UK government is facing calls to ban outdoor smoking at pubs and cafes in exchange for permission to serve "pavement drinks", according to reports.

The i newspaper says, external a cross-party group of peers will table an amendment to emergency legislation which will temporarily relax licensing laws to encourage eating and drinking outside in England and Wales.

That amendment will seek to ensure pavement licences are only granted subject to the condition that smoking is banned.

Liberal Democrat's Baroness Northover told the paper the move to introduce pavement licences should not be allowed to "become an excuse for increasing smoking in public places".

A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told the paper that councils would be able to set local conditions for licences.

Image source, Reuters

Mexico on Sunday passed Italy to become the country with the fourth-highest number of Covid-related deaths and in Bolivia a fourth cabinet member has tested positive. What's the situation in the rest of Latin America?

• Venezuela's president, Nicolás Maduro, has blamed neighbouring Colombia for an increase in coronavirus cases. He said smugglers who cross into Venezuela illegally from Colombia were behind the spike. "If it wasn't for them [the smugglers], there would be no outbreak at all in Venezuela and everything would be under control," he claimed. Both the mining minister, Tareck El Aissami, and powerful ruling party politician Diosdado Cabello have tested positive for the virus.

• Costa Rica's president says he wants to negotiate a financial aid package with the International Monetary Fund to soften the economic blow the Central American nation has suffered. While Costa Rica has managed to keep the number of infections relatively low - as of Sunday it had 7,596 cases and 30 deaths - the impact of the pandemic on its key tourism sector has been severe.
• The Catholic Church in Nicaragua has suspended its most popular religious festival to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes urged Nicaraguans to honour the life of Saint Domingo de Guzmán at home with devotion and creativity rather than taking part in the traditional 10 days of festivities.

Here is a reminder of what you need to know when travelling by bus, train, ferry or plane in England.

Everyone on these modes of transport now must wear a face-covering to help reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission.

However, the following people are exempt from the rules, external:

• Children under 11
• People with disabilities
• Those with breathing difficulties
• Anyone travelling with someone who relies on lip reading

If it is "reasonably necessary" for you to eat or drink, you can remove the face covering to do so.

The rail industry is also asking people to cover their face as they enter a station.

People can be refused travel if they don't follow the rules, and can be fined as a last resort.

Image source, Getty Images

Plans to double the maximum jail term for criminals who assault emergency workers to two years are being considered by the UK government.

Just two years ago, a previous law change doubled the maximum term from six months to 12 in England and Wales, and ministers have now launched a consultation on whether to increase the term further.

Firefighters, police officers, prison officers and NHS staff are among those covered by the law.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland told BBC Breakfast: "Stories of many front-line workers, particularly during this time of Covid, have really hit home not just with us but with the public as well and the vital importance of doing everything we can to safeguard our frontline emergency workers.

"Everything that needs to be done should be done, hence today's announcement."

More than 80 millionaires from around the world have signed a letter calling on their governments to permanently increase taxes on the wealthiest in response to the pandemic.

"Unlike tens of millions of people around the world, we do not have to worry about losing our jobs, our homes, or our ability to support our families. We are not fighting on the frontlines of this emergency and we are much less likely to be its victims," the petition reads.

"So please. Tax us. Tax us. Tax us. It is the right choice. It is the only choice."

The letter has been signed by 83 people from seven countries, external so far, including Disney heirs Tom and Abigail Disney; the founder of the Warehouse Group, Stephen Tindall; and the co-founder of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, Jerry Greenfield.

Image source, Getty Images

The National Trust is reopening some of its properties today for the first time since lockdown.

Five houses in England will welcome back visitors, external as part of its plans for a phased approach to reopen gradually, including Petworth House in West Sussex and the Lyme Park estate in Cheshire.

The National Trust has already opened more than 130 gardens and parks in England, Wales and Northern Ireland after lockdown restrictions were eased in June.

Image source, Reuters

We’ve already heard about the potential long-term health impact of Covid-19, as well as its effects on the brain.

But researchers now say the disease may also affect the hearts of those hospitalised with the disease.

A new study by Edinburgh University of more than 1,200 patients in 69 countries found that more than half of all patients showed abnormalities in the heart, with 15% suffering from severe cardiac disease.

It's worth bearing in mind that the study only included people with severe cases of Covid-19, whereas the vast majority of people with coronavirus only experience mild symptoms.

The lead researcher of the study, Prof Marc Dweck, told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that the research marked "a very important opportunity for us to improve the care of patients".

"Whilst this heart damage is potentially a very serious problem for these patients and [is] likely to have an important influence on their ability to survive and recover from the illness, we have very, very good treatments for heart failure now," he said.

"And so if we can identify Covid-19 patients where the heart is involved, there's the potential to give them the therapies that can help them get better quicker."

Image source, Reuters

The Balearic Islands make masks mandatory in public and Finland lifts travel restrictions. Here’s the latest from Europe

• The government of Spain’s Balearic Islands – including Ibiza and Mallorca – have made masks compulsory in public, starting on Monday. The only exceptions to the rule are when people are swimming, playing sport, or at the beach. Catalonia made a similar decision last week
• Finland has lifted travel restrictions for 17 more European countries and 11 nations outside Europe. But the border remains shut to the UK and also to Sweden, where infection rates remain high
• Outbreaks continue to worsen in the Balkans. Romania is recording around 500 new cases every day, and states including Austria, Greece and Hungary have imposed travel restrictions on Romanians
• Kosovo, meanwhile, has banned public events and religious gatherings amid a fresh surge in cases. The infection rate now stands at close to 150 per 100,000 residents

Menaka Rao
Contributor

Image source, Getty Images

Coronavirus restrictions around the world have made it more difficult for women to safely terminate their pregnancies.

But in India, where an estimated 15.6 million abortions taken place every year, recent research shows that more than 1.85 million procedures are likely to be "compromised" by the pandemic.

While contraception and abortions are supposed to remain essential procedures during India's lockdown, many women seeking access to sexual or reproductive health services in the country have been turned away.

This has left them facing more invasive or even unsafe abortions, while others have been forced to continue with unwanted pregnancies.

Read the full story here

Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

A new study of people who have caught and recovered from coronavirus raises the prospect that immunity to the virus may be short-lived.

Scientists at King’s College London studied, external how the body naturally fights off the virus by making antibodies, and how long these last in the weeks and months after recovery.

Almost all of the 96 people in the study had detectable antibodies that could neutralise and stop coronavirus. But levels began to wane over the three months of the study.

What’s not clear yet is whether this decline leaves us vulnerable to the same virus again. Similar short-lived responses are seen with other viruses, like the common cold. So it’s possible that we may be able to get reinfected.

But even if we’re left with no detectable antibodies, that doesn’t necessarily mean we have no immunity. Antibodies are not the only thing that gives us protection. Our bodies can also make T cells to help fight off invaders.

More and longer studies are needed to see what happens if people come into contact with the virus a second or third time. Do they get sick or are they primed to fight it off because their body has already done so before? These types of study will be important for understanding how well a vaccine might work and how often a booster dose might be needed to provide lasting immunity.

What do Britain's children think of home-schooling during the Covid-19 pandemic? We've caught up with young people in London and the Wirral to hear what they have missed, what they have found hard, what they have enjoyed, and what their concerns are for the future.

Image source, Molly Williams

Four months after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, doctors are still on a steep learning curve. One surprise is just how long symptoms seem to last, for some patients.

Dr John Wright of Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) has talked to two young women who are still tired and breathless many weeks after falling ill.

Amira Valli, a doctor from a neighbouring hospital, has been getting out of breath when climbing a single flight of stairs.

Molly Williams, a physio at BRI, has always been a super-fit athlete but "being breathless is becoming my norm", she says. On top of that she is experiencing waves of emotion, and having difficulty with her memory.

For both of them, it's about three months since they first got sick. Read more here.

Image source, Reuters

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says "targeted action" is being taken against more than 100 local outbreaks of coronavirus every week in the UK.

Mr Hancock wrote in the Daily Telegraph, external that increased testing meant officials could now be targeted in their response, allowing lockdown restrictions to continue being lifted.

His comments came after 73 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed at a farm in Herefordshire.

Around 200 workers have been told to self-isolate following the outbreak.

Mr Hancock has stressed that most measures to contain coronavirus will not involve a whole city - like in Leicester - but instead centre on much smaller areas, even just one business or building - and he says these interventions often go unreported by the media and unnoticed by all except those directly involved.

Lina Sinjab
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Lebanon has reported 166 new cases in the last 24 hours - its highest record in a single day since February.

More than 133 of the newly registered infections are among Syrians working for Ramco, a waste management company that collects rubbish in Lebanon and employs Bengali and Syrian workers.

The company's car park has been turned into a quarantine area for those who have been infected, while hundreds of other workers will be tested.

Foreign workers are poorly paid in Lebanon with no legal rights to protect them, but in this case the employees' treatment and accommodation is being provided by Ramco and the Lebanese ministry of health.

With restrictions easing and the country opening up, many people are not adhering to protective measures such as social distancing and wearing masks in public spaces, and it is feared that Lebanon could face a second wave of infections.

Two lawmakers in Madagascar have died after developing Covid-19, the country's president has said.

President Andry Rajoelina said on Sunday that one member each from the upper and lower chambers of parliament had succumbed to the disease, while 25 others had tested positive, AFP news agency reports.

Last week Madagascar reintroduced a strict lockdown across one of its main regions, which includes the capital Antananarivo, after a rise in cases.

The country has reported almost 4,900 infections and 35 deaths during the pandemic, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University.

The president has faced controversy after promoting an untested herbal tonic as a treatment for Covid-19.

Leicester city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby says he "very much hopes" the lockdown restrictions in the city will be lifted soon.

It is nearly two weeks since the UK city was put into a local lockdown following a spike in Covid-19 cases and the government is expected to review it this week.

Sir Peter told BBC Breakfast that the data has shown that around 10% of the city has recorded a higher transmission of the virus.

He said: "It's very clear when you look at the data that it's a couple of areas of the city that have got a higher than the average transmission of the virus, and certainly the way in which the city has been locked down in its entirety, and indeed beyond our boundary, is not justified."

He added that his conversations with the Department of Health last week suggested "they haven't yet got a clue of how on earth they're going to measure what constitutes success in this".

Tokyo's governor, Yuriko Koike, on Monday said that the Olympics must happen next year as a "symbol of world unity" in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, reported Reuters.

Japan has managed to keep any massive outbreak at bay but there have been recent spikes in infections in Tokyo, which has more than a third of the country's total tally of 20,000-plus registered cases.

The 2020 Olympics were slated to take place in July but plans were scuppered due to the pandemic.

"I want to host them as a symbol of the world coming together to overcome this tough situation and of strengthened bonds among humankind," Koike told Reuters.

The governor didn't divulge any details on a deadline to decide whether the Games could go ahead.

Image source, EPA

At least 9.7 million children around the world may never return to school because of the coronavirus pandemic, a UK charity has warned.

Save the Children said the economic impact of the crisis on countries around the world could force children to enter the workplace early, external. Girls "are likely to be much worse affected than boys", the charity said, with many facing the threat of early marriage.

The areas most at risk of seeing children drop out of education include countries in West and Central Africa, as well as Yemen and Afghanistan.

"This is an unprecedented education emergency and governments must urgently invest in learning,” Save the Children's president and CEO Janti Soeripto said.

UK Justice Secretary Robert Buckland says wearing a face covering in an enclosed space is “a sensible” approach but the public can trusted “to do the right thing”.

Currently, face coverings are compulsory on public transport in England, but not in shops – unlike in Scotland.

Mr Buckland told BBC Breakfast there was a distinction between public transport and a shop when it comes to risk, because you are "always moving about" in a shop.

He says he always carries a face covering with him and he wears it when going into a “small shop”, although whether it should be worn in a supermarket would depend on how busy it was.

“The use of a covering in a closed environment, particularly a small one, is a sensible course of action,” he said.

His remarks come after senior minister Michael Gove said he does not think face coverings should be compulsory in shops, saying he trusts people's common sense.