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Assaults on emergency workers in England and Wales increased by almost a third in July compared to the same period last year, new figures show.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) chairman, Martin Hewitt, says he was “disgusted” by the rise, which occurred during the four weeks to 2 August.

Police figures suggest crime is slowly returning to pre-lockdown levels with forces registering a 7% decline during the four weeks, which is lower than the reduction in the previous three months.

Separately, the NPCC says 46 fixed penalty fines have been imposed on people who refused to wear a face mask - 38 on public transport and eight in a shop.

Three fines were issued by police to those who failed to self-isolate after arriving in England from overseas.

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More on the French prime minister's remarks this morning in which he said the number of departments where the virus was in active circulation had gone from two to 21.

Paris is already a so-called "red zone" and Jean Castex says wearing masks everywhere in the capital will become compulsory. It's already required in several streets and areas of the city but the PM says the head of police and the mayor, Anne Hidalgo, are going to extend that to the whole of Paris. He said there's also a question mark over the "inner ring" of areas surrounding Paris, where the vast majority of the capital's population lives.

Only this week, face-coverings were made compulsory throughout France's second city Marseille. Mayor Michèle Rubirola has just announced that 500,000 free masks will be handed out to all secondary school students and those on income support.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Olivier Véran has promised to step up Covid testing to reach a million tests a week in September, with the aim of making them available to "anyone who needs one and anyone who wants one".

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Boris Johnson has hired personal trainer Harry Jameson to lose weight, after acknowledging he was "too fat" when he caught coronavirus.

The UK prime minister was admitted to hospital with the virus in April and spent several days in intensive care but says he has since "been steadily building up my fitness".

His time in hospital is thought to have prompted a change in his views on tackling obesity, with the government's recent strategy taking a more interventionist approach, including a proposal to ban TV junk food adverts before 21:00.

Studies have suggested being obese increase the risk of hospital treatment and death from Covid-19.

Mr Jameson has also helped Love Island host Laura Whitmore train and has a regular slot on her BBC radio show.

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Prime Minister Jean Castex says the virus is four times more prevalent in the French population than a month ago and 21 areas are now classified as "red zones". That's up from just two earlier today.

"The epidemic is gaining ground and now is the time we have to intervene," he said in a press conference. If France didn't act fast the spread could become "exponential".

Although the spread is primarily among young people, hospital admissions are gradually rising to around 800 a week. The transmission rate is now 1.4 and the French PM says "the virus is spreading all over the country".

While he stressed the "aim is to do everything to avoid a lockdown, especially across the board", Mr Castex said the health ministry was putting plans in place either for local or national lockdowns.

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Germany appears poised to limit private parties to a maximum of 25 people, and extend a ban on large events to the end of the year, as cases continue to rise in the country.

The ban on large gatherings was due to end in October.

Meanwhile the government also looks set to impose a €50 (£45; $59) fine on people not wearing masks, and keep fans out of stadiums until at least the end of the year, according to reports from German media and AFP news agency.

Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to meet the leaders of the country's 16 federal states later today to officially agree on new measures, which would apply nationwide.

Some media report that there could be exceptions in areas with low case numbers.

At the moment, each German state sets its own fines - leading to marked variations. In Bavaria someone can be fined €250 for not wearing a mask, for example, while in Hamburg this is only €40.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

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There is concern about a rising number of coronavirus cases in Gibraltar ahead of a decision later today on UK quarantine restrictions.

At least one part of the UK is expected to require people arriving from the British Overseas Territory to self-isolate for two weeks.

But the issue has been described as a “sticking point” because of diplomatic concerns.

It is also understood there is discussion about requiring people arriving from Jamaica and the Czech Republic to quarantine. The rest of the UK could also follow Scotland and require isolation on arrival from Switzerland too.

Cuba is among the countries where there has been a decline in case numbers – and it is possible it could be added to the quarantine exemption list.

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Around 1.3 million passengers arrived in the UK by air in July, according to figures published by the Home Office.

This was higher than the average for April, May and June when there were fewer than 200,000 arrivals by air each month, but 89% lower than the total of 11.1 million in July 2019.

At the beginning of July, blanket measures requiring people arriving in the UK to quarantine for two weeks were lifted for more than 50 low risk countries.

However, self-isolation is still mandatory for arrivals from some destinations, with Croatia, Austria and Trinidad and Tobago the most recent additions to quarantine list.

You can read more about the UK's travel rules here. And we're expecting an update to the countries on the UK's quarantine list later today.

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Argentina has for the first time registered more than 10,000 new daily coronavirus cases since the pandemic began.

The health authorities said on Wednesday that the number of infections registered in the past 24 hours was 10,550, up from 8,871 on Tuesday.

It has not been a good week for Argentina, which on Monday had its highest daily death toll with 381 Covid-related fatalities.

A strict lockdown imposed early on in the pandemic kept the number of cases relatively low in Argentina for months, especially compared with its neighbour Brazil, but its infection curve is now rising steeply.

The government said it would announce in the next 48 hours what measures it would take to curb the recent spike.

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Health officials are ramping up efforts to ensure everyone who needs a flu vaccine has one.

The UK's largest flu-immunisation programme so far will see 30 million people offered the vaccine.

But new analysis by the BBC has found the take-up rate among those in vulnerable groups eligible for a free jab has declined in recent years.

Experts are concerned a big flu season combined with coronavirus could overwhelm hospitals.

Our health team have looked at what the UK is doing to combat this.

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The number of new cases in the Australian state of Victoria is easing, with the state reporting its lowest one-day rise in new cases in almost two months.

The state recorded 113 new cases in the past 24 hours, the lowest single-day increase since 5 July.

Victoria, which is the epicentre of the country's second surge of infections, is currently in lockdown, with the city of Melbourne under stricter restrictions than the rest of the state.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews says they're now planning how to ease restrictions when Melbourne's lockdown is due to end in September.

"Hopefully soon we'll see those numbers in double digits and we can have... a really clear discussion about what the back end of September looks like," Andrews told reporters.

Robin Brant
BBC News, Beijing

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Earlier this month, the head of a well-known, privately-owned Chinese conglomerate told his staff that a vaccine for Covid-19 was expected to come to market by November.

The boss, whose firm has a healthcare division, said that he saw it as a portent of economic recovery; a chance for his firms to sell more, according to a person privy to the comments.

Within a few weeks the Chinese government was forced to go public with its apparent progress.

The novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19 originated in humans in China, before it spread ceaselessly across the world. Now China is using its global footprint in a relentless effort to win the race to develop and deploy an effective vaccine.

Last week one of the developmental vaccines was pictured in state-run media; a small branded box was shown, held up by a smiling woman in a lab.

Sinopharm said it hopes to have it ready to go on sale by December. It even named a price, equivalent to about $140 (£106).

Read more about this here

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Authorities in the Gaza Strip have extended the lockdown there for another three days - meaning mosques, schools and many businesses will remain closed, and people will continue to be urged to only leave home for essential reasons.

A 48-hour curfew was imposed earlier this week after the first Covid-19 infections were found among the general population. Since then, two patients have died and about 20 other cases have been recorded, some of them at the main hospital.

Aid agencies say Gaza's two million residents of the strip were already under strain, as not only is there a long-running blockade by Egypt and Israel, but electricity supplies have been slashed to just a few hours a day.

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City centres could become "ghost towns" if the prime minister does not do more to encourage workers to go back to the office, the head of the CBI says.

Dame Carolyn Fairbairn said allowing staff to work from home had helped keep firms afloat during the pandemic.

But as offices stood empty, thousands of local businesses that relied on the passing trade were suffering, she said.

It comes as a BBC study found 50 major UK employers had no plans to return all staff to the office full time.

Read more.

Image source, SERGEI BOBYLEV

Complacency in the UK over the flu jab risks overwhelming the NHS, experts have warned, as data reveals the scale of the challenge in expanding the vaccination programme.

Last month, the government announced plans to double the amount of people who receive the influenza jab.

But BBC analysis has found the take-up rate among those people in vulnerable groups eligible for a free jab has declined in recent years.

Asked about the figures on BBC Breakfast, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said England would have "the biggest flu vaccination programme ever" this autumn to avoid a flu outbreak at the same time as dealing with coronavirus.

He said the government was "targeting efforts" at getting as many over-65s and those with underlying health conditions vaccinated as possible, and the programme would be extended to those aged 50-64 "if we have enough".

Read more.

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From France, Italy and Spain to Switzerland and Croatia, new infections are rising in what some fear is a resurgence of the pandemic as governments try to manage the return to school.

• France has recorded 5,429 new cases in 24 hours - the highest number since the mass rollout of Covid testing. Prime Minister Jean Castex says the state has its part to play but "everyone has to feel involved in fighting the epidemic". He's giving an update later this morning
• Italy has seen a surge in cases with 1,367 reported new infections on Wednesday and 13 deaths
• Spain's regional leaders will meet health and education officials to co-ordinate the return to school as infections continue to rise - 3,594 in 24 hours. Madrid is the worst affected region but Andalusia in the far south has recorded its highest figure of 846 cases since March
• Summer tourism is key to Croatia's economy but it's also brought a steep rise in infection - a record 358 new cases in this country of 4.2 million people.
• As Swiss infections reach their highest number since April, the city with the biggest problem is Zurich. Face-coverings in the city's clubs are being made compulsory for parties with more than 100 people under the slogan "no mask, no party".

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We reported yesterday that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had quietly changed its guidance on testing, to say that people who’ve come into contact with someone confirmed to have the virus now don’t need to get tested themselves.

Now CDC Director Dr Robert Redfield has defended that decision, telling US media that the new guidelines, which were “co-ordinated in conjunction with the White House Coronavirus Task Force”, had “received appropriate attention, consultation and input from task force experts”.

The change has come as confirmed daily new cases of the virus fall in the US.

However, experts say this is at least partly due to a fall in the rate of testing.

Krutika Pathi
BBC News, Delhi

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India reported a new record of daily infections on Wednesday as more than 76,000 tested positive across the country. Simultaneously, fatalities also crossed 60,000 yesterday, which means the South Asian country has the fourth highest death toll in the world.

India has confirmed more than three million cases so far, with the latest million taking just 15 days to reach. In comparison, the country took 21 days to confirm two million cases and 167 days to reach the first million.

When India first went into a strict lockdown in March, it was clear that the urban and metropolitan cities were at the centre of the outbreak.

While that continues to be the case, experts have started to warn that the virus is slowly spreading into more far-flung and rural parts of the country. Most recently, a remote tribe in India's Andamans archipelago became the latest to record its first cases of the virus.

But India’s government has consistently pointed towards a high recovery rate as a sign of success in its battle against Covid-19. For every 100 infected, approximately 76 have recovered, contributing to a low case fatality ratio of around 1.8%., external

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Engineering giant Rolls-Royce, which makes jet engines, has reported record losses after the pandemic caused demand for air travel to slump.

The firm reported a pre-tax loss of £5.4bn for the first half of this year.

On Wednesday, it confirmed plans to close factories in Nottinghamshire and Lancashire, as part of plans to cut 3,000 jobs across the UK.

The move is part of a previously announced cost-cutting exercise that will see the company slash its global workforce by a fifth, following the drastic fall in air travel because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Read more.

The health secretary has defended a scheme offering workers on low incomes in parts of England where there are high rates of coronavirus up to £182 if they have to self-isolate.

Some council leaders have said the payment is not enough of an incentive to ensure people to stay at home from work.

But Matt Hancock told BBC Breakfast the payment was in addition to other benefits people may receive and would make sure people "don't lose out from doing the right thing".

He said it would initially be trialled in Blackburn with Darwen, Pendle and Oldham because these areas had the most "acute need" but had the potential to be rolled out further if it was successful.

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If you’re joining us from the UK here’s the latest stories you need to know about this morning.

• People on low incomes in parts of England where there are high rates of coronavirus will be able to claim up to £182 if they have to self-isolate
• Pent-up demand has led to properties taking less time to sell since the height of lockdown, according to research
• Complacency over the flu jab risks overwhelming the NHS, experts warn, as data reveals the scale of the challenge in expanding the vaccination programme
• Charities say many schools and colleges are not aware they can order free period products through a government scheme, amid concerns Covid-19 has left more pupils struggling to access and afford tampons and pads.