Image source, PA Media

It's a big day in Leicester in England. Restaurants, pubs and haidressers in the city - which saw the UK's first local lockdown - are allowed to open for the first time since March.

Businesses have spoken of their relief at finally being able to resume trading.

"Four-and-a-half months we have been shut. It is quite demoralising," said restaurant owner Dharmesh Lakhani.

"We are already one month behind the rest of the country. That was the toughest part. It made us feel inadequate."

Although he said he believed it would be a "slow start", Dharmesh said he was "really, really excited to finally get a chance to open the business and get into some sort of routine and normality".

Leicester was told it had to remain shut under a local lockdown at the end of June, as businesses elsewhere in England prepared to open.

Read more from Leicester here.

A number of locations around the world are advising against the use of masks with valves in them.

In Australia’s state of Victoria, the chief health officer has warned people not to wear the masks with valves as they can still breathe out the virus.

Professor Brett Sutton said on Twitter that the valve allows the wearer to breathe out more easily and stops moisture build-up.

“But the problem is that it allows you to breathe out the virus if you’re infected. So although it might protect you, it won’t properly protect others if you are infected”.

According to Fast Company, the early masks were designed to be worn in factories and coal mines. These industrial masks had valves which kept the wearer comfortable during a long shift while also blocking harmful dust, external. These masks were then sold in hardware stores for people doing home improvement.

"You think your dads are invincible," says Connor Mincher. "You think they'll live forever."

His father, Raza Ghulam, a warehouse manager from Newport in Wales, died with Covid-19 in April. Raza's brother, Ghulam Abbas, a taxi driver, also died with the virus just 12 hours later.

Their family has given an emotional interview to the BBC.

It comes as a number of reviews have concluded that people from ethnic minority backgrounds are disproportionately dying with the virus.

"Everyone knows that there are certain roles out there that only people from certain communities are doing and they're often the ones at most risk," said Connor.

Image source, Reuters

The first members of a larger team of medical experts from mainland China have arrived in Hong Kong to help with the new wave of infections there.

The territory is in the midst of a serious surge in cases after it initially managed to keep the virus at bay. For almost two weeks, daily cases have been above 100, fuelling fears that containment and contact tracing are not working well.

On Monday, two more deaths were linked to Covid-19, taking the overall toll to 37. Authorities confirmed 80 new cases.

Local media are reporting there are now plans to test the entire population (about 7.5m people).

Image source, Auckland International Airport Limited

Auckland International Airport in New Zealand is to be separated into two zones in preparation for a potential air corridor between the country and the Cook islands.

Zone A would be for countries that have a “bubble arrangement” with New Zealand and for people who have been in New Zealand for more than two weeks.

This zone would have restaurants,

Zone B would be for travellers from countries without a safe travel arrangement and for those who would have to go into quarantine, along with others transiting through the airport.

People in this zone would be completely closed off from the rest of the airport, according to Radio New Zealand, external.

The Aviation Council said plans were under way for similar moves at Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown airports.

Image source, Hayley Lewis

The lockdown is being eased further in parts of the UK today. Each of the nations is responsible for its own lockdown rules.

It's a big day in Wales, where pubs, cafes and restaurants will be able to serve customers indoors, and groups of up to 30 people can now meet outdoors.

Many young children will be able to play with their friends again, as children under 11 will no longer have to social distance.

Bingo halls and bowling alleys will also reopen on Monday. More from Wales here.

Meanwhile in Scotland, routine eye care, breast cancer screening and counselling support groups are among the services getting back up and running.

Rules will also be relaxed on outdoor sports coaching. More from Scotland here.

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Nobel Prize-winning geneticist and cell biologist Sir Paul Nurse, who is director of the Francis Crick Institute research centre, has criticised the UK government's communication with the public.

Speaking to the BBC, he said the public should be treated like adults - with more transparency.

"I think we need greater openness in the decision-making. It sometimes seems somewhat shrouded in secrecy," he said.

"And not only that, but better communication of what's happening. Treat the public as adults.

"I'll give one example. At the height of the infection I was at a select committee in April and a public health person, I think it was - they may have been from the Department for Health and Social Care - was saying all the testing needed for the NHS was in place.

"Yet we showed at the Francis Crick, at that time, 45% of front-line healthcare staff were infected and they were not being tested because capacity was inadequate.

"Now, that isn't a way to earn trust from the public. We need openness, transparency, scrutiny, and a leadership of people taking responsibility for the decision-making, and we need it now."

Image source, Reuters

The health ministry in Vietnam now says there have been three more deaths linked to Covid-19 there, bringing the total number to six. The deaths, all of which have been recorded in just the past three days, are the first in Vietnam since the pandemic began.

Health authorities are also warning that the strain of the virus detected in the new outbreak around the city of Da Nang is a more contagious one than the first wave.

Vietnam has recorded only about 600 confirmed cases - a very low figure for a country bordering China.

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Restrictions on daily life in many parts of the UK have been eased in recent weeks.

People can go back to work, and many pubs, shops and restaurants have reopened. But, overall, how has the easing of lockdown affected the UK?

Well, one thing is the number of coronavirus-related fines. The number of fines handed out has fallen significantly, as restrictions have started to ease.

Meanwhile, air pollution - which initially dropped compared to last year - was at times as high or higher than the equivalent day last year.

And while more people are returning to the workplace, these trips are still well below February levels.

Read the eight ways that the easing of lockdown has impacted the UK.

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A UK government scheme offering restaurant diners 50% off their meals begins today.

The offer - which lasts throughout August - only applies on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and the discount is capped at £10 per person.

The idea behind the "eat out to help out" scheme, as Chancellor Rishi Sunak has dubbed it, is to help the hospitality industry, which has struggled during lockdown.

There are 72,000 venues taking part, including some fast food outlets. Critics said unhealthy food should have been excluded from the scheme, especially after the government just unveiled its obesity strategy.

Read our full story here.

The government has created a searchable list of the restaurants taking part., external

When Vikas Pandey’s brother-in-law became sick with the virus, it was the hospital’s ward assistant who helped comfort his family.

With cases rising, India's ward assistants or ward boys have become messengers for family members desperate to know how their relatives are doing.

Hundreds of ward boys have been infected with the virus. Some have even died. But their contribution in the fight against coronavirus is rarely mentioned.

Read more here

Image source, Reuters

The number of coronavirus deaths in Iran is three times what the government claims, a BBC Persian service investigation has found.

The government’s own records appear to show almost 42,000 people died from Covid-19 symptoms up to 20 July, versus 14,405 reported by its health ministry.

Similarly, the number of infections is double official figures: 451,024 as opposed to 278,827.

The data was sent to the BBC by an anonymous source.

There have been irregularities in data between national and regional levels. Some , local authorities have spoken out and statisticians have tried to give alternative estimates.

Read more about BBC Persian’s findings here

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Parts of northern England - including Greater Manchester - are facing new lockdown restrictions, banning members of two different households visiting each other at home, in their gardens, or going out to restaurants together.

People can still go to pubs and restaurants - but only with people who they live with. They can't socialise with anyone else in any indoor public venue.

Business minister Nadhim Zahawi was challenged about the rules on BBC Breakfast. He's been asked why can people can go out and eat at a restaurant, while facing the other restrictions.

"The way we respond is we look at the data coming back," said Mr Zahawi.

"The data suggests that the virus is most prevalent in its spread through people coming into contact indoors in their homes with other people and so we respond to that.

"That doesn't mean that restaurants in Manchester, outdoor spaces, can't continue to serve if people follow the guidelines and act responsibly."

He said the decision to declare a major incident in Manchester was a "standard way" of allowing police and other agencies to get the support they needed.

Image source, EPA

Germany will conduct mandatory tests of travellers returning from areas with a high risk of Covid-19, according to the health ministry.

Health Minister Jens Spahn said: “We have first drafts. We want to co-ordinate this well with the states because they need to implement it at airports and train stations.”

Germany has been less badly affected by the pandemic than some European countries, but cases are rising.

On Monday, the number of confirmed cases in Germany rose by 509 to 210,402. The death toll rose by seven to 9,148, according to the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s disease and control prevention agency.

Image source, Reuters

HSBC has seen a larger-than-expected drop in its earnings as it copes with the coronavirus downturn.

The UK's biggest bank posted pre-tax profits of $4.3bn (£3.3bn), compared to $12.4bn for the same period last year.

The fall was much larger than analysts had forecast as HSBC was hit by loans turning bad and interest rates remaining low.

While HSBC is headquartered in London, more than half of its profits come from Hong Kong.

The bank is dealing with a number of challenges at the moment. It's not just the financial downturn caused by the coronavirus, but the bank is also embroiled in a political battle over its support for China's national security law in Hong Kong.

Read the full story here.

Each of the four nations of the UK is responsible for its own lockdown restrictions and the rate at which they're eased.

In Scotland, the government is gradually relaxing measures - with children due to return to school for the new term full-time later this month.

But on Sunday, a cluster of 13 cases was linked to a pub in Aberdeen. It's being investigated by public health officials and contact tracing has begun.

Figures from the Scottish government on Sunday showed 31 new cases of coronavirus overall in Scotland in a 24-hour period. That is the highest daily tally for more than eight weeks.

Scotland's national clinical director has now warned there has to be a "reverse gear" over easing lockdown.

"I am worried about indoor hospitality. I have been since before and when we made that change," said Prof Jason Leitch.

"I don't think we should overreact, but equally, of course, we should pay attention to outbreaks in call centres, pharmacies and pubs.

"There could come a time when we have to go backwards, no question, if we began to see clusters developing or community transmission at a higher level around the country."

There's more here.

Image source, EPA

The Philippines is bringing back strict quarantine measures in and around the capital Manila, to tackle a recent rise in virus cases.

The decision by President Rodrigo Duterte follows warnings from doctors and nurses the country was losing the fight against the disease and risking the collapse of its health system.

The measures are likely to include the shutdown of some businesses and public transport. They'll start on Tuesday and are to last two for weeks.

The government says it also wants to hire about 10,000 new health workers. Coronavirus infections have been rising in the Philippines despite one of the world's strictest and longest lockdowns, which began to ease in June.

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On Sunday, authorities in Greater Manchester in the north of England declared a major incident following recent rises in virus infection rates.

Greater Manchester is one of the areas in the UK which is facing new lockdown measures. Along with east Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire, people are banned from visiting another household at home.

Police in Greater Manchester said the decision to declare a major incident meant agencies would be able to respond "as effectively as possible" and extra resources could be used.

The city council has said people "should not be alarmed" by the news.

It said it was "standard practice" and meant authorities could "ramp up" the work to tackle the virus.

There's more on this story here.

Image source, Reuters

Retail will close in Melbourne under measures announced by Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews.

Under stage four restrictions, a number of industries including retail will close for at least six weeks from 23:59 (13:59 GMT) on Wednesday.

Other industries such as construction and manufacturing will have to reduce their operations and staffing levels.

Mr Andrews said the measures would affect 250,000 workers.

Supermarkets, grocery stores, pharmacies and banks will remain open.

Under the current regulations in Melbourne, only one person per household can go to the supermarket. It has to be a shop within 5km (3 miles) of your house and you're only allowed to leave your house for an hour.

Mr Andrews called on people to only buy the food they need and not “six weeks of groceries”.

“Today is a tough day and there are many more of those to come,” he said.

A curfew is already in place in the city from 20:00 to 05:00. Mr Andrews warned that the penalty for those not complying with the rules would increase. That measure is set to be announced on Tuesday.

Image source, Reuters

Starting on Thursday next week, Singapore will use an electronic tracker to monitor the 14 days of quarantine for anyone allowed to spend the time at home rather than in a state-run facility.

So far, the quarantine has only been monitored with spot checks and phone calls. From 11 August, people will have to wear an electronic tracking device that will record their GPS location.

And given that it’s Singapore, enforcement will likely be strict and unforgiving. Tampering with the device or flouting quarantine will lead to high fines and up to six months in prison.