Image source, Getty Images

Health authorities in Toronto say at least 550 people may have been exposed to coronavirus after a strip club worker tested positive for the virus.

Officials in the Canadian city said they have followed up with all known close contacts of the individual, who worked at the Brass Rail Tavern, and advised them all to self-isolate and get tested.

Toronto Public Health (TPH) also shared the timings and dates of when the person last worked on the premises.

“As a precaution, TPH is advising anyone who attended the Brass Rail Tavern during these dates and times to monitor themselves for Covid-19 symptoms for the 14 days after their last visit during this time period,” officials said in a statement.

The province of Ontario, where Toronto is based, continues to report some of the highest numbers of new cases in the country, though cases have been steadily falling nationally since mid-July.

Image source, Bernard Rust

As we mentioned earlier, those travelling from France and arriving after 04:00 BST (03:00 GMT) on Saturday will have to quarantine for 14 days.

Bernard Rust, from East Sussex, is currently on holiday in Normandy in northern France. His ferry back is due to arrive in Newhaven from Dieppe at 04:00 on Saturday morning and hopes there will be no delays.

“My ferry is scheduled to arrive at 4am precisely. What happens one minute either side of that?” he told the BBC.

“If the ferry sailing is smooth, we may beat the time, if not we may need to isolate.”

Rust and his partner tried to get an earlier departure but ended up sticking to their original booking. He said they would have had to pay an extra £240 for another booking.

Before leaving the UK, the pair said they checked to see whether or not their holiday would be ok.

“At what point do we enter the UK? Is it when we are in UK waters? When we dock? Or when we disembark? Some clarification would be helpful in planning the next two weeks,” he said.

Image source, Getty Images

A shopping mall in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen has been sealed off and put under police supervision, with around 200 people queuing outside waiting for Covid-19 tests, according to Reuters news agency.

A local health official told Reuters that concern had been raised by a coronavirus case in the IBC Mall. The infected individual was a 41-year-old woman who had been working as a temporary brand promoter at a supermarket in the building, a source told the agency.

The woman was diagnosed in her home city of Lufeng, over 93 miles (150km) away. Three members of her family have also tested positive.

An outbreak in July in Urumqi, a city in the western region of Xinjiang, is believed to have originated from the worker, according to Reuters.

Image source, EPA

Anthony Fauci, the doctor leading America's coronavirus response, says that temperature checks are not reliable for screening for the virus.

During a Facebook Live conversation, he said the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the White House had stopped temperature screening.

Many companies around the world have introduced temperature checks before allowing people access to a building.

Fauci said: “We have found that the [National Institutes of Health] that it is much, much better just to question people when they come in and save the time, because the temperatures are notoriously inaccurate many times.”

Image source, Scott Cuthbert

Thousands of holidaymakers have seen their plans thrown into chaos after UK quarantine measures were imposed on France and the Netherland from Saturday morning.

Some of them have been speaking to the BBC about what they plan to do.

Scott and Tracy Cuthbert, from the village of Bloxham in Oxfordshire, say cutting their holiday in the Loire valley short by six days was an "easy decision to make for us because we both need to work".

"It's ruined everyone's holiday and cut it short," Scott says. "Why 14-day quarantine when parts of the UK are probably more badly affected? I am very frustrated."

Read more from Scott and others here

A lawmaker in Georgia has created a whistleblower hotline so students can report unsafe conditions in their places of learning.

Rep Beth Moore set up an email address so that students can report anonymously.

Ms Moore told local media that she had received a number of messages since setting up the address, external.

It comes after a student in Georgia was suspended after taking a photo of her school’s crowded hallway. The school later reversed the condition to suspend her, according to CNN.

North Paulding High School faced national criticism for the image that showed students walking close together in a hallway. Shortly after, a number of cases were confirmed among students and staff. The school was temporarily closed.

Image source, EPA

The UK's estimated R number is unchanged at 0.8 to 1.0, according to the government.

The R number - the rate at which a person with the virus passes it on to another person - has been a key measure by which ministers have rated the UK's ability to ease lockdown restrictions.

Keeping it below 1 means infections steadily decrease.

The UK's latest growth rate range is -4% to -1% per day.

Speaking earlier, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said there was only so much "R budget" for opening up society without risking the number rising above 1.

Image source, Getty Images

A Florida sheriff has banned his officers from wearing face masks at work.

Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods' order also includes visitors to the office. It is thought to be the first such mask ban for US law enforcement.

"My order will stand as is when you are on-duty/working as my employee and representing my office - masks will not be worn," an email Sherriff Woods sent to his officers read, according to local paper the Ocala-Star Banner., external

Sheriff Woods, whose jurisdiction is about 80 miles (130km) north of Orlando, also said visitors must remove their masks before entering the lobby of the station, linking his decision to recent protests against police brutality and racism.

"In light of the current events when it comes to the sentiment and/or hatred toward law enforcement in our country today, this is being done to ensure there is clear communication and for identification purposes of any individual walking into a lobby," he wrote in his email.

Read more here

Households are not allowed to meet up indoors in large parts of northern England and the East Midlands.

The restrictions apply in the following areas:

• Greater Manchester, including the City of Manchester, Trafford, Stockport, Oldham, Bury, Wigan, Bolton, Tameside, Rochdale, and Salford
• Lancashire, including Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Rossendale, and Preston
• West Yorkshire, including Bradford, Calderdale, and Kirklees
• Leicester

Image source, PA Media

Revellers should limit the number of individual venues they visit after an outbreak of coronavirus was linked to city centre bars, Nicola Sturgeon has warned.

Scotland's first minister told a news conference on Friday that "nobody's social life should feel exactly as it was before".

She said: "We're asking customers to minimise the number of premises you visit in any one day.

"The more settings you go to, the more likely you might be to get Covid-19, and the more likely you might be to spread it.

"Visiting lots of pubs in a single day or evening massively increases the workload of Test and Protect [Scotland's test, trace, isolate and support strategy], so please think about that - it makes a really big difference if you stay in one pub."

A cluster of cases in Aberdeen this month have been traced back to more than 20 pubs and bars.

It is now law in Scotland for hospitality venues to keep a record of customer contact details as part of its Test and Protect programme.

Alistair Coleman
BBC Disinformation Unit

Image source, Getty Images

One of Peru’s regional governors has suggested that citizens eat llama and alpaca meat to fight the Covid-19 virus.

According to Peruvian radio, Elmer Caceres Llica of the southwestern Arequipa region said it was “scientifically proven” that the meat from both Andean animals is effective against the coronavirus.

However, he’s incorrectly cited studies that say llamas and alpacas carry antibodies that could potentially be modified to develop a Covid-19 treatment. The studies did not mention that eating meat could help a person combat the virus – llamas don’t have natural immunity to the virus, but scientists found that their antibodies were easy to adapt to make into a possible therapy for humans.

The governor is no stranger to controversy when it comes to coronavirus. He’s been criticised for repeatedly suggesting chlorine dioxide (bleach) as a treatment, and doctors last month called for his resignation over his handling of the crisis.

He’s also one of several leaders in Latin America to have reached out to Moscow to try to secure stocks of Russia’s newly-developed vaccine.

An underprepared health service and several social and economic factors mean that despite an early lockdown, Peru has been hit relatively hard by the virus. The country has one of the world’s highest excess death rates.

• Coronavirus cases rise sharply in Latin America

Image source, Reuters

More on the continuing of restrictions on households in large parts of England as authorities grapple with outbreaks.

The restrictions are remaining in place because the latest data does not show a decrease in the number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, the Department of Health said.

There were increases in cases in oldham and Pendle, and high case counts continued in Blackburn with Darwen, the department said.

Health minister Edward Argar said: "We will review the measures again next week as part of our ongoing surveillance and monitoring of the latest data.

"It is essential we all remain vigilant and I urge everyone in these areas to continue to follow the rules - wash your hands regularly, follow social distancing, get yourself a free test as soon as you get any symptoms, and isolate if NHS Test and Trace tells you to."

Image source, Getty Images

Coronavirus cases across England appear to be levelling off after increasing in July, despite flare-ups in local hotspots, according to new figures from Office for National Statistics.

It said an estimated 28,300 people in private households in England had Covid-19 between 3 August and 9 August - about 0.05% of the population, or one in 1,900 individuals.The estimate is unchanged from the previous week.

An average of 3,800 people per day in private households in England were estimated to be newly infected with Covid-19 between 3 August and 9 August.Estimates for the previous week of 27 July to 2 August, suggested an average of 3,700 new infections per day.

The figures do not include people staying in hospitals, care homes or other institutional settings.

Read more

Image source, Reuters

The Spanish government has announced it is closing bars and nightclubs and banning smoking in the street without a two-metre distance, as cases continue to rise in the country.

Restaurants will have to close by 01:00 (23:00 GMT) and will have to stop admitting customers at midnight.

Those seen drinking in the streets will be issued a fine, according to Health Minister Salvador Illa.

During a press conference on Friday, he said: “There has been a growing number of outbreaks in recent weeks. I am announcing that, for the first time, we have decided to adopt coordinated actions in terms of public health and that these measures have been adopted unanimously.”

He also called on people to avoid meeting those from outside the household.

On Thursday the north-western region of Galicia banned smoking in the street and in public places where social distancing was not possible.

The country reported 2,953 new cases of the virus, external on Thursday, according to El País.

Restrictions on gatherings for millions of people in northern England and Leicester are to remain in place, the Department of Health has said.

Limits on households meeting up have been in place in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, East Lancashire and Leicester for at least two weeks to combat rising infections.

Ministers have decided to keep them in place - and cancel a planned easing of lockdown restrictions there that will go ahead in the rest of England.

"This will help protect local residents and allow more time for the changes to have an effect, cutting transmission among households," the department said.

It added that latest data showed a continued rise in cases in Oldham and Pendle, while numbers remain high in Blackburn with Darwen.

Azeezat Olaoluwa
Women’s Affairs Journalist, BBC News

Image source, Anadolu

Up to 100 people are to be tested for coronavirus each week in The Gambia's capital city, Banjul.

Mayor Rohey Lowe said the tests will be free of charge in the city that has a population of more than 400,000 people.

"We must know our health status to protect our family, friends and community. We will be testing between 50-100 people weekly. We are not able to do daily testing due to human resource constraints," she told the BBC.

The Gambia's weak healthcare system has struggled to cope with the pandemic. President Adama Barrow last week declared a state of emergency - shutting border crossings and airspace.

He also imposed nationwide night-time curfew for 21 days that will end on 26 August.

The country has recorded more than 1,500 cases, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, and the capital is thought to be at risk of recording higher numbers.

Image source, PA Media

A system to award grades to students whose exams were cancelled during the coronavirus lockdown in the UK continues to cause controversy.

At least a third of entries for A-levels across England, Wales and Northern Ireland were downgraded from teacher predictions.

Now, opposition MPs are calling on the government to re-instate higher grades.

Labour said it was unacceptable that a "flawed system" had led to 280,000 pupils having their marks downgraded.

Its leader, Sir Keir Starmer, said ministers must follow the lead of Scotland, where teacher-assessed marks have ended up being accepted following a U-turn by the government there.

Read more here.

Image source, Luton Borough Council

Luton Borough Council has said it will launch a full investigation after the city's mayor broke lockdown rules.

Tahir Malik was pictured at a party in July, along with borough councillors Asif Masood and Waheed Akbar - soon after the town was designated as an "area of intervention" by Public Health England.

It's prompted hundreds of public complaints and Mr Malik, representing the Labour party, has since resigned.

Meanwhile, a councillor in Leicester is facing calls to resign after admitting breaking local lockdown rules.

Ruma Ali, who represents Leicester's Humberstone and Hamilton ward, was seen having a barbecue in her garden on 2 August, a few days after the city went into lockdown.

She said she "did not think" she was breaking the rules, as it was only family members present, and apologised for her "misunderstanding".

The European Commission has agreed to buy up to 400 million doses of a future vaccine from British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.

In a statement, external, the commission said it would purchase 300 million doses, with an option to secure 100 million more, on behalf of the union's 27 member states.

It said the decision to support AstraZeneca's vaccine was based on "a sound scientific approach... speed at delivery at scale, cost, risk sharing, liability and the production capacity able to supply the whole of the EU, among others."

The announcement follows an earlier deal with the pharma firm, reached in June, by Europe's Includive Vaccine's Alliance - a group formed by France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands to secure doses of the vaccine for member states.

The commission did not disclose the terms of the new deal, or say if terms of the earlier agreement had been modified.

Image source, Getty Images

Hello to those of you following our live coverage of the pandemic, brought to you by our team of reporters in London and across the world.

If you're just joining us, here are some of today's biggest developments so far:

• Thousands of holidaymakers have seen their plans thrown into chaos after the UK announced new quarantine measures. The 14-day isolation requirement, from 04:00 BST on Saturday, applies to people arriving from France, the Netherlands, Monaco, Malta, Turks and Caicos, and Aruba
• France has said the move will lead to "reciprocal measures"
• More than 20.9 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll has also risen to over 760,000

• Health authorities in Australia have been heavily criticised in an official inquiry into the Ruby Princess cruise ship coronavirus outbreak. A report found "serious errors" by New South Wales Health in its handling of suspected cases on board
• Meanwhile, in New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a 12-day extension of the country’s Covid-19 restrictions after a cluster of cases grew to 29
• North Korea has lifted a three-week lockdown in Kaesong, near the border with South Korea. The North said the city had been closed after a man who defected to the South crossed back over, showing symptoms of Covid-19
• Seven African countries will begin administering coronavirus antibody tests next week, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said. It's part of an effort to understand how widespread the infection is on the continent