Image source, PA Media

If you're just tuning into our live coverage now, here is a quick roundup of the key developments in the UK this Wednesday lunchtime:

• Deaths linked to coronavirus in Scotland have fallen to the lowest level since the start of the pandemic, with just six registered last week. New figures from the National Records of Scotland showed the number of deaths falling for the twelfth week in a row
• Fitness Coach Joe Wicks has held the final session of PE with Joe, after first starting the workouts 18 weeks ago for children stuck at home during the lockdown. Wicks, 33, who is known as the Body Coach, has raised £580,000 for the NHS through his online workouts and urged fans to "keep it up" as he ended his last session
• Nearly a quarter of textile firms in Leicester inspected for health and safety breaches since the lockdown have faced action, the government has said. Concerns about working conditions in the city's textile factories have grown in recent weeks after reports staff have been underpaid and unprotected from Covid-19. The city of Leicester was the first in the UK to be subjected to a local lockdown following a spike in infections last month
• Police in London will only enforce the wearing of masks in shops "as a last resort", the Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick has said, adding she hoped shoppers who refused to wear masks would be "shamed" into compliance. Wearing a face covering in shops and supermarkets in England is to become mandatory from 24 July
• A majority of British children struggled to continue learning at home during the lockdown, according to an Office for National Statistics report. It found that of the 52% who struggled, three-quarters of parents gave a lack of motivation as a reason

• In Scotland, beauticians, nail salons and tattoo parlours can reopen from today. All four nations of the UK are in charge of their own lockdown restrictions and beauty salons have already reopened in England and Northern Ireland
• Reducing staffing due to the coronavirus pandemic has meant there's a backlog of more than 400,000 passport applications in the UK, according to new figures
• Health experts warned politicians the virus will be with us for "decades" and even a vaccine is unlikely to eliminate it for good

Image source, EPA

Tokyo’s governor has urged people to stay at home during the upcoming four-day holiday.

The holiday begins on Thursday and comes as the capital experiences a surge in cases.

Last week the city hit a new daily record of 293 cases and the figure has stayed above 200 in recent days.

Governor Koike Yuriko warned in a press conference that the new daily number of infections is on the verge of exceeding 300., external

She said that infections were being reported at restaurants and theatres, with clusters confirmed in workplaces and schools.

It’s a change from a few weeks ago when Tokyo’s nightclubs were blamed for the rise in cases.

Image source, PA Wire

Earlier this week, it was reported that a coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford triggered an immune response.

Trials involving 1,077 people showed the injection led them to making antibodies and T-cells that can fight coronavirus.

Larger trials are under way and it is still too soon to know if this is enough to offer protection but the findings are hugely promising.

Richard Fisher, a science reporter at BBC Future, is one of those who has taken part in the trial and shares what it’s like to be one of the volunteers.

Read more here, external.

Image source, Getty Images

To those of you just joining us, here’s your lunchtime update of the latest headlines from around the world

• Australia has seen its worst day yet in the pandemic, recording more than 500 new cases
• US President Donald Trump has warned that the pandemic is going to get worse and told Americans to wear face masks to stop the spread
• Health officials in Belgium have warned that the country is experiencing a second wave of cases. The national security council will meet tomorrow to discuss the easing of lockdown measures and whether they will go ahead
• Aritana Yawalapiti, one of Brazil’s leading indigenous chiefs, has a severe case of Covid-19, according to his son. He has been moved to a hospital with intensive care facilities
• The head of the Pan American Health Organization says the virus shows “no signs of slowing down” in the Americas

Image source, AFP

Belgium is experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases, health officials warned on Wednesday.

The country’s national security council is set to meet on Thursday and could decide to postpone the next phase of uneasing of lockdown measures.

“The situation is not without an exit, we can still change the course of events, but we must act fast,” said spokesman Boudewijn Catry.

The average number of coronavirus cases per day between 12 to 18 July was 184.

It is an 89% increase in the average number of virus cases per day compared to the week of 5 to 11 July.

The reproduction number is now at 1.1.

Image source, Getty Images

The US Department of Justice has accused China of sponsoring hackers who are targeting labs developing Covid-19 vaccines.

Prosecutors said two Chinese men spied on a Massachusetts biotech firm in January which was researching possible cures for Covid-19. They also hacked a Maryland company less than a week after it said it was researching the illness.

Officials said the men were private hackers who occasionally received support from Chinese intelligence agents, including an officer from the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS).

The UK, US and Canada last week accused Russia of seeking to steal research related to Covid-19.

• Click here to read the full story

More than 14.9 million confirmed cases of the virus have been confirmed around the world and numbers continue to rise.

Our visual journalism team have put together a series of graphs and charts showing how the virus is growing.

Cases are also continuing to rise in the US. On Tuesday, President Trump called on Americans to wear masks to prevent further spread.

While the number of cases in some countries continue to rise, European nations are seeing a decline in deaths.

But other nations are seeing a second peak in cases.

Image source, Getty Images

Hong Kong has reported its highest daily total yet with 113 new cases.

Of those, 105 were local transmissions.

The city has seen a rise in the number of cases in recent weeks.

As we mentioned earlier, the city is enforcing stricter measures from midnight on Wednesday. People will be required to wear masks in all indoor public areas including shopping malls and markets.

Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan-Siu-chee said: “We do not rule out any further stringent measures, which would basically focus on social distancing.”

Image source, PA Media

Learner drivers in the UK previously told us they were feeling anxious for tests to restart, and now they finally have in some places.

From today, car driving tests have restarted in England., external They'll restart in Wales on 17 August but no date has been set for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

But with months of no tests - 210,000 tests were cancelled due to the pandemic, according to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency - there's a huge backlog.

The DVSA is urging candidates to ensure they have "had enough practice" before taking the test.

A string of safety measures are in place to protect learners and examiners - including compulsory face masks.

Any learner who makes a fault that means they will have failed will immediately be taken back to the test centre to minimise the amount of time spent in the car - rather than finishing the test as is usually the case.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, AFP

Authorities in Kashmir Valley have imposed a six-day lockdown following a spike in cases there.

The region has recorded more than 15,000 cases so far, with 260 deaths.

The restrictions come into place on Wednesday evening and will apply to the entire Kashmir valley, apart from one district, Bandipora.

Agriculture, horticulture and construction work will be allowed to continue.

The decision will be reviewed every six days, according to PTI news agency.

The lockdown comes a day after the government cancelled a well-known Hindu pilgrimage to a cave temple high in the Himalayas in the Kashmir region.

Image source, Getty Images

We've heard a lot about the hobbies people have taken up during lockdown, but another popular choice has been DIY.

Sales of paint, wallpaper, plants and compost have soared during lockdown, the owner of B&Q and Screwfix has said.

Kingfisher said people had been doing more DIY than usual, as like-for-like sales jumped by 21.6% in the three months to 18 July.

Store re-openings also boosted revenue, while online sales more than tripled.

Read more here - including on how the company is recruiting more workers to keep up with demand.

Image source, Getty Images

The World Health Organization has rejected allegations reportedly made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over its handling of the pandemic.

Mr Pompeo is currently visiting the UK for talks. Last night in London, Mr Pompeo was reported to have said that the head of the WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was "bought" by China and that there are "dead Britons" because of it.

In a statement issued in Geneva, the WHO said: "WHO is not aware of any such statement but we strongly reject any ad hominem attacks and unfounded allegations.

"WHO urges countries to remain focused on tackling the pandemic that is causing tragic loss of life and suffering.”

Behind the scenes there is shock and fury at Mr Pompeo’s comments, and a clear reluctance to respond in detail for fear of amplifying them, said the BBC's Geneva correspondent Imogen Foulkes.

There is also frustration at being caught in the crossfire in a row between the US and China which the WHO feels has little to do with it, and more to do with US/China trade disputes and with America’s own Covid-19 crisis.

US President Donald Trump has previously been critical of the WHO, and earlier this month began the process of withdrawing the US from the agency.

Image source, Reuters

As we mentioned earlier, Australia has marked its worst day for new coronavirus infections.

The country recorded 502 new cases of the virus over the past 24 hours. The previous record was 469 cases.

The majority of new cases were from Victoria state which is the epicentre of the current outbreak.

Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews said more than half of people who tested positive between 7 July and 21 July did not isolate.

“This means people have felt unwell and just gone about their business," he said. "They have gone out shopping, they have gone to work. They have been at the height of their infectivity and they have just continued on as usual."

He warned that the lockdown won’t just be for six weeks, as initially stated, unless people isolate after being tested.

Image source, Reuters

A total of 31 US states now have to quarantine for 14 days when visiting New York, New Jersey or Connecticut.

The list of states was updated on Tuesday. Of the 31 states, 10 were added on Tuesday, including Washington and Alaska. Only one state – Minnesota – was removed from the list.

It is based on a seven day rolling average of positive tests in excess of 10%, or positive cases exceeding 10 per 100,000 residents, according to New York’s coronavirus website.

The advisory aims to stop a resurgence of Covid-19 in the tri-state area. The three states were among the first to be affected by the virus earlier this year. More than 32,000 people died in New York alone, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

In a statement, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said: “As infection rates increase in 41 other states, our numbers continue to steadily decline, thanks to the hard work of New Yorkers and our incremental, data-driven opening.

“Yesterday, we had our lowest death toll since the pandemic began - and with no fatalities in New York City. While today's numbers are encouraging, we must remain vigilant.”

Image source, AFP

The Nobel foundation has announced that its ceremonies will be reformatted in light of the pandemic.

The ceremonies will be held in Oslo and Stockholm on 10 December and will comply with social distancing restrictions.

A statement from the Nobel Foundation said it was taking into account that only some or perhaps none of the Laureates will be on site.

It said that embassies and consulates could be roped in to deliver awards as it has done in the past when a winner has not been able to attend the ceremony in person.

The Nobel banquet, usually held in Stockholm City Hall, will not take place this year.

This is the first time since 1956 the event has been cancelled, according to the foundation.

Image source, Getty Images

Currently, most travel between the US and Europe is suspended - and airlines have been struggling.

British Airways and United Airlines are among the airlines calling for a joint virus testing programme in the US and Europe so travel can resume.

They've sent a letter to US Vice President Mike Pence and Ylva Johansson, the European commissioner for home affairs.

"We believe it is critical to find a way to reopen air services between the US and Europe,” the letter said.

The EU doesn’t currently allow visits from US residents, while the UK requires, external people arriving from the US to spend 14 days in self-imposed quarantine. The US bans entry to most passengers coming from Europe or the UK.

Image source, Luke Daniels

A UK hairdresser who sold milkshakes and gelato in his salon to earn money during the lockdown has said it was so successful he's going to keep it going.

Luke Daniels, who owns a hairdressers in Navenby, near Lincoln, was forced to close when lockdown started.

But in May, when some restrictions were eased, he transformed his salon into a gelato bar to generate an income.

He says he was faced with a dilemma when hair salons in England were allowed to reopen, and has now moved the new gelato business to a nearby vacated cafe.

Read more about Luke's story here.

Image source, EPA

The head of London's Metropolitan Police has said she hopes people will be “shamed” into complying with new rules on wearing face coverings in shops.

Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said police would respond as a last resort if shoppers without face masks refused to leave and were getting “aggressive”.

She told LBC:, external "Our approach to the regulations has been throughout to only use enforcement as a last resort."

She said the "vast, vast, vast majority of people do comply" with the restrictions.

Face masks will become compulsory in shops in England from Friday.

Different nations in the UK have different rules on masks. In Scotland, they are already compulsory in shops and on public transport. They're mandatory on public transport in Northern Ireland, and will become so in Wales from next week.

Andreas Illmer
Singapore

Much like everywhere else, tourism isn't exactly booming in Singapore right now. But the tiny city state and travel hub heavily depends on visitors cash flowing in. So what now?

Well, authorities are banking on getting their own citizens to step up to the task and they're urging locals to take what's been dubbed a "Singapoliday"!

The campaign is worth 45 million Singaporean dollars (£25m, $32m) and it trying to encourage locals to rediscover their island nation. The focus ranges from food to cultural cultural heritage, nature and of course shopping.

Oh, there's also a drive to get residents to ditch their apartments for a night and book one of the city's many luxurious hotels for a staycation.

Most of the action these hotels have seen over the past weeks was in fact people forced to quarantine. Just to give you an idea, the number of actual tourists dropped by 99.9% in May compared to last year.

Image source, Getty Images

Stricter measures in Hong Kong will come into effect from midnight on Wednesday making it mandatory to wear face masks in all indoor public areas.

Anyone flouting the rules could face a HK$5,000 (£509, $645) maximum fine.

A number of venues including gyms and entertainment centres will remain closed until 28 July. A ban on dining in restaurants after 6pm will also be in place until then.

Food and Health secretary Sophia Chan-Siu-chee said: “This is the most critical time for Hong Kong. We ask citizens to be patient and stay at home as much as possible.”

The city has seen a spike in cases in recent weeks. On Tuesday, 61 infections were confirmed and two people died.