Summary

  • Boris Johnson announces next steps for easing lockdown in England from 1 August

  • Employers given more discretion over office working and indoor performances allowed to resume

  • PM says local authorities will get more powers to bring in lockdowns in their areas to contain future outbreaks

  • Health Secretary Matt Hancock calls for urgent review into data on deaths in England

  • There have now been more than 1m confirmed cases in India, and 2m in Brazil

  • In the US, the daily total of new cases hits another record

  • The UK, US, and Canada accuse Russian spies of targeting vaccine researchers

  • Globally there have been 13.8 million cases since the outbreak began, with 589,000 deaths

Live Reporting

  1. How did India get to one million cases?

    Women queue for a health check-up in India's worst-hit state, MaharashtraGetty Images

    Women queue for a health check-up in India's worst-hit state, Maharashtra

    The Health Ministry has now confirmed that with more than 34,000 new infections in the last 24 hours, India has breached the one million mark. The number of deaths reported has now crossed 25,000.

    When India first went into lockdown, back in March, cases were hovering around 500. And when it started to gradually exit out of its lockdown on 8 June, confirmed cases had increased rapidly across states.

    With more than 1.3 billion people, the country was always a point of concern. With its densely populated cities, most experts anticipated India to become a big hotspot when cases were still in the thousands.

    From the first case, which was confirmed in January, to now, it took nearly 170 days to cross a million infections. Over the months, it raced past China, Europe's worst-hit countries, and most recently, Russia, to confirm the third-highest caseload in the world.

    In the past two months, we've heard heart-breaking stories of people unable to get care and hospitals overwhelmed. Simultaneously, testing across states has increased which could help explain the rise in numbers too.

    But it's worth noting that India's active cases are still relatively low at around 340,000. The number of people recovering from the virus is optimistic - for every 100 confirmed cases, 63 have recovered. And the mortality rate, at 2.55%, remains encouraging.

    Closed shops and empty streets in Bangalore cityGetty Images

    Closed shops and empty streets in Bangalore city, which is back under lockdown due to rising cases

  2. Russian spies targeting Covid-19 data

    Russian spies are targeting organisations trying to develop a coronavirus vaccine in the UK, US and Canada, security services have warned.

    The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said the hackers “almost certainly” operated “as part of Russian intelligence services”.

    It did not specify if any information had been stolen, but said vaccine research had not been hundred by the hackers. Russia has denied all responsibility saying it had “nothing to do with the attempts”.

    Read more here.

  3. More US states issue mask orders

    People in New Orleans, Louisiana, walk past a sign urging everyone to wear a face mask indoorsGetty Images

    People in New Orleans, Louisiana, walk past a sign urging everyone to wear a face mask indoors

    More than half of the 50 US states have now issued mask orders, as the outbreak continues to rage across the country.

    The latest to do so was Louisiana, where it is now mandatory to wear face coverings indoors. Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards also said bars across the south-eastern state would be closed.

    Earlier, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, also a Democrat, ordered everyone in the western state from age 10 to “wear a mask or face covering whenever they are in public”.

    However, this continues to be a divisive issue.

    In Georgia, Republican Governor Brian Kemp filed a lawsuit challenging the authority of the Democratic mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, to require wearing masks in the city.

    President Donald Trump last week wore a mask in public for the first time since the outbreak began. He had previously said he wouldn’t be doing that.

    Coronavirus: President Trump wears face mask for first time

  4. US sees biggest daily infection spike

    A paramedic leaves an ambulance in St Petersburg, Florida. Photo: 15 July 2020Reuters

    The US has reported more than 74,500 new cases on Thursday – the highest daily rise since the pandemic began in the country.

    This brings the total number of infections to more than 3,570,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.

    Covid-19 cases are now on the rise in 30 US states.

    Nearly 1,000 people have died in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall deaths to more than 138,000.

  5. Brazil passes two million virus cases

    A dancer poses for a portrait during a live streaming replacing the traditional Boi-Bumba folklore festival, cancelled amid the new coronavirus pandemic in Parintins, Amazonas state, Brazil, on June 27, 2020.AFP/Getty Images

    Brazil has now tallied more than two million confirmed virus cases.

    It was less than a month ago that Brazil reached one million cases - and there is little sign that the rate of increase is slowing.

    Brazil, which is home to around 210 million people, is the second worst affected country behind the US. But President Jair Bolsonaro, who tested positive for the virus, has continued to play down its health risks and fought against social distancing orders.

    More than 74,000 people have died from the virus - and the true figures are believed to be even higher.

    This is how the virus swept through the country, in pictures.

  6. Japan domestic travel campaign to exclude Tokyo

    A campaign aimed at increasing domestic travel across Japan will not include trips to Tokyo, Japan has said.

    The capital saw 286 cases on Thursday - a record high - sparking concerns that the virus could resurge.

    The "Go To Travel Campaign", which is due to kick off next Wednesday, will also exclude residents who live in Tokyo who want to travel outside the prefecture.

    The campaign will provide local travellers with subsidies for domestic travel - but not everyone is happy.

    “I wonder if it’s all right for the program to begin during this period,” Yamagata's Governor Mieko Yoshimura said, according to a Japan Times report. “It will contribute to the economy, but I cannot welcome it entirely.”

    Tokyo Tower is lit up as people gather in their cars to watch move at a drive-in theatre event underneath the city landmark, in Tokyo on June 20, 2020,AFP/Getty Images

  7. India virus infections cross one million - reports
    Breaking

    Infections have passed the one million mark in India, where more than 30,000 daily cases were confirmed on Thursday, local media report.

    For months now cases have been swelling in the country, which has the third highest caseload in the world after the US and Brazil.

    India's health ministry website, which publishes the total tally and state breakdowns, does not yet reflect the new numbers.

  8. Hello and welcome

    Welcome back to the BBC's live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and the impact it's having around the world.

    Here are some of the latest developments:

    • There have now been more than two million people infected in Brazil with the total doubling in the last month
    • In the US the daily total of new cases breaks another record-hitting 75,000 cases, according to Reuters
    • It comes as the top US infectious diseases expert has pleaded with young people not to go out to crowded places like bars
    • Tokyo is another hotspot we are watching after it reported the highest number of new case since the start of the pandemic
    • And Victoria in Australia also reported a record daily increase in infections while neighbouring New South Wales said it was banning dancing, singing and mingling at weddings.