Health Secretary Matt Hancock says the UK government is doing everything in its power to prevent a second wave of coronavirus as we move into autumn and winter.

But he warned that it was crucial for everyone in the country to play their part. He thanked the British public for everything they had done so far - but stressed they must maintain their resolve in the months ahead.

Making a Commons statement, he told MPs the "best case scenario" was for a vaccine this year, adding that trials had gone well and the Oxford vaccine remained a "world leader".

He added he will ask the Commons to approve plans that would allow a range of trained clinical personnel to administer any such vaccine, so it can be rolled out more quickly.

Mr Hancock said the government is doing all it can to prepare the NHS for winter - and help restore normality in the UK.

He added that everyone has to remain vigilant as many schools in England return this week.

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Scotland's first minister has been outlining her government's priorities for the rest of 2020 and into 2021 - and unsurprisingly, the coronavirus pandemic was a major theme.

Nicola Sturgeon announced that a new proximity tracing app, Protect Scotland, will be launched later this month. It will help notify people, and give advice, if they've been exposed to someone who has tested positive.

Sturgeon said she wanted to do everything possible to avoid another national lockdown, with testing capacity being extended and made more accessible.

She also warned that everyone had to be prepared for a second wave of the virus, if it happens, with the NHS maintaining capacity to deal with coronavirus patients if necessary.

You can read more on Sturgeon's plans here.

Her statement comes amid concern about a number of new cases in the Glasgow area. Talks are being held to decide if action is needed to tackle the issue.

The first minister said 66 of the 154 new cases reported in Scotland had been in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.

The government says it has made "significant progress" in its test and trace programme - after criticism it has been slow to get it fully up and running.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons that more than 300,000 people had been reached in the three months it has been running.

He added he would like to see anyone who wants a test to get one.

Dominic Hughes
Health correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Ministers have been accused by a local council leader of causing "chaos and confusion" over the easing of lockdown measures in Greater Manchester,

In a strongly worded letter to the health secretary, the leader of Trafford Council says the government has adopted a "haphazard and nakedly political approach" to public health.

Andrew Western has already complained that the advice of local public health officials - to delay any relaxation - has been ignored.

Faced with a rising number of Covid-19 infections in the borough, he is now demanding an urgent update from the government given the changing picture.

He accuses ministers of only listening to local Conservative MPs who have been pushing the lifting of lockdown measures, rather than public health experts.

He also complains that no-one from government has been in touch with the council to explain the decision to lift lockdown measures – and says ministers have taken an approach which left him with little confidence in the health department at a time of national crisis.

Image source, Getty Images

The European Commission - the EU executive - is to formally object to the closure of Hungary's borders to all foreigners from Tuesday, a measure the government says is needed to combat a rise in coronavirus infections.

Christian Wigand, a Commission spokesman, said the EU commissioners in charge of justice and home affairs intended to remind Budapest that EU rules on freedom of movement were clear, and there could be no discrimination between EU citizens at the border.

"There are clear rules on free movement in the European Union and every member state needs to follow," he said.

Hungary says it will only admit visitors from the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia as well as a few other exceptions. Returning residents will have to self-isolate for 14 days unless they provide two negative Covid-19 tests.

The number of infections has risen in Hungary in recent days. The country has reported around 6,200 cases with 616 deaths as of Tuesday.

Image source, Ann Summers

Lingerie and sex toy chain Ann Summers has warned the landlords of its stores to take a "more pragmatic approach" to rent in light of the pandemic.

It says if that does not happen, it would seek to restructure rent costs through a Company Voluntary Arrangement.

That is an insolvency procedure that allows a company to reach agreement with creditors regarding payment of all, or part of its debts - or in this case, its rental costs. The process often leads to store closures and is seen as a warning flag that a firm is struggling.

Ann Summers chief executive Jacqueline Gold said landlords had to recognise the retail landscape had changed.

Writing in Retail Week, external, she said the ultimatum was "no idle threat".

Gold said many landlords had been open to renegotiating rental costs without a Company Voluntary Arrangement, but that others continued "to bury their heads in the sand".

Ann Summers benefited from a boom in online orders during lockdown. As a result, the firm says it expects this year's results to show significant improvement from last year. But the 90 physical stores it has across the UK and Republic of Ireland were forced to close temporarily.

The Welsh government has said it is "deeply concerned" at reports that rules on mask-wearing were not properly enforced on board a flight to Cardiff where 16 passengers have tested positive for coronavirus.

The 193 passengers and crew who were on board flight TOM6215 from Zante in Greece on 25 August are being asked to self-isolate for a fortnight.

But some passengers reported that people on the flight were not wearing masks properly and were mingling on the plane.

Wales' Education Minister Kirsty Williams said the government was "deeply concerned" at reports about "the lack of appropriate measures to keep everybody on that flight safe".

She said Health Minister Vaughan Gething was speaking to "all the relevant parties" and would make a statement later.

Tour operator Tui said safety was a priority and it was concerned by the claims, while Spencer Birns, interim CEO of Cardiff Airport, said Tui was taking "every necessary measure".

Image source, EPA

If you're just joining us, here are the main developments around the world in the past 24 hours:

• Hong Kong has started mass coronavirus testing, under a new scheme backed by the Chinese government. A health workers union says the voluntary programme is a waste of resources, while activists say it could be used to collect DNA samples
• In France, masks are being made "systematic" in all shared, enclosed workplaces as of today. But companies may be able to avoid the new regulation if rigorous social distancing measures are put in place instead
• Millions of children across Europe have gone back to school - but social distancing rules widely differ across the continent
• In China, nearly 1.4 million children in Wuhan are also back in the classroom as the authorities have reopened every school and nursery in the city where the pandemic started late last year
• In Russia, the number of confirmed infections has now passed one million; more than 17,000 people have died

• In Nigeria, doctors in the capital Abuja begin an "indefinite" strike over non-payment of "Covid-19 hazard and inducement allowance" since April

Image source, PA Media

More than 300,000 pupils are due back in the classroom today as nearly all schools in Northern Ireland reopen fully for the first time since March.

Michael Allen, principal of Lisneal College in Londonderry, said 900 students were due back today and they were returning to "a very different school environment" from the one they left in March.

"There will be quite a number of pupils for whom this is their first experience of the new protocols in school," he said.

"It is all-hands-on-deck this morning to make sure as pupils come through the door that they come through the correct door, that they sanitise and wash their hands."

Allen said the pandemic had been the most challenging period of his teaching career and that he hoped "never to have a year like this again".

"We have been trying to understand what the difficulties are and then trying to analyse and scrutinise the guidance we get while trying to implement that, whilst at the same time taking 1,000 questions a day from different people where we do not have the answers," he said.

Image source, Getty Images

Toots Hibbert, the 77-year-old Jamaican frontman of reggae and ska group Toots and the Maytals, is in an intensive care unit in hospital with a possible coronavirus infection.

In a statement, his family said the singer had had a Covid-19 test and was now awaiting the results.

"The family would like to assure those concerned that he is making positive progress and is receiving the best possible treatment.

"He is resting and in good spirits, and is showing signs of improvement by the hour," the statement said.

Hibbert was taken to a private hospital in Jamaica's capital Kingston on Sunday following complaints of breathing difficulties, his manager was quoted as saying by the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper., external

Andrew Walker
BBC World Service economics correspondent

Prices in the eurozone fell in the 12 months to August, according to new figures from the EU's statistics agency. The consumer prices index was 0.2% lower. Inflation in the eurozone has been persistently below the European Central Bank’s target.

Inflation that is too low can be a problem. It means that central banks' main tool for stimulating a weak economy - cutting interest rates - is less effective.

And if low inflation turns into persistent deflation with falling prices, it can lead to consumers postponing spending. It can also exacerbate debt problems.

So far this is just one month of price decline in the eurozone, but it highlights a long period of very low inflation that has been aggravated by the pandemic.

Fuel prices have fallen sharply as people have cut back on travel, but the impact on prices has been much wider. One measure of inflation which excludes volatile energy and food prices has hit its lowest level in the history of the euro.

Image source, PA Media

More than one in 10 pupils in Scotland were absent from school last week - but the Scottish government said other winter infections, and not coronavirus, are to blame.

Only about 21,000 of the 73,000 absences at the end of last week were recorded as Covid-related, with ministers saying it was common for other viral infections to spread after a "prolonged break" from school.

Covid-related absences include "a positive test, showing symptoms, self-isolation, quarantining, and parents not sending their child to school against public health guidance".

The Scottish government has said it is important for parents to be able to distinguish between possible Covid-19 symptoms - a new, continuous cough, a high temperature or a loss of smell or taste - and other winter infections, so children do not stay off school unnecessarily.

On 17 August, shortly after classes resumed, attendance levels were much higher at 95.8% – above the usual average over the school year of between 93% and 94%.

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining us this lunchtime, here's what's been happening in the UK so far today:

• There are warnings of "chaos and hardship" for holidaymakers if coronavirus quarantine measures are reintroduced for those arriving in the UK from Portugal - which is thought to currently be under consideration by the UK government
• Companies using the government's coronavirus furlough scheme are now having to contribute to workers' wages as the scheme winds down. The scheme saw 80% of eligible people's wages paid - but that's now going down to 70% with the employer paying the other 10%. It's due to close at the end of October
• A decision on whether or not to delay next year's GCSE and A-level exams in England is to be made "very soon", according to Schools Minister Nick Gibb.
• Thousands more people in England with type 2 diabetes who are overweight are being offered the chance to try a soup-and-shake weight-loss plan for free. Having type 2 diabetes can increase the risk of complications from Covid-19
• More than one in 10 pupils in Scotland is absent from school with attendance down to 86.7%, according to Scottish government figures. Of those 73,000 absences, 21,832 have been recorded as Covid-19 related

Image source, EPA

Venice is preparing to launch its annual film festival on Wednesday - the first such international event to do so since the pandemic closed film competitions around the world.

The Cannes film festival and other international festivals were forced to go mostly online this year.

Director Alberto Barbera says the very fact that the Venice film festival is going ahead in front of actual audiences this week sends a positive message.

"We think that it's time to restart for cinema," he told Reuters news agency.

"We need to reopen the theatres. We need to distribute new films. We need to start shooting new films again, and I hope that the festival will be a sign of solidarity and encouragement for everybody involved with the film industry."

The event, now in its 77th year, runs until 12 September.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told his ministerial colleagues that people in the UK are going back to the office "in huge numbers" as MPs returned to Parliament after the summer break.

He said that although there would be "more outbreaks" of "this wretched Covid", he was "absolutely confident" that the country could cope with them.

"Bit by bit, this incredible country is getting back on its feet and recovering from this crisis," he said.

Conservative MP Tim Loughton has described the UK government’s U-turn over the grading of GCSE and A-level results as a “shambles”.

The former education minister told the BBC the government needs to get “control of the agenda again".

He said: “It’s certainly been a turbulent summer and things have not gone as well as they should have done, particularly within the school system so it’s really important that the government reasserts its authority, it gets control of the agenda again.”

He went on to say there had been a "shambles over the school exam system" adding: "We've absolutely got to get that right."

Loughton said questions had been raised over the fact Education Secretary Gavin Williamson had not been sacked following the controversy, adding: “Ministers have lost their jobs for a lot less, including education ministers.”

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to ground many flights, people are looking for ways to get their flying fix without travelling abroad.

With that in mind, numerous companies are coming up with ways of catering to those who want to remember what it's like to be back in the skies. From airplane food at home to flights to nowhere, here's how you can get your travel fix.

• Pyjamas and amenity kits: Qantas is not planning to offer international flights until next year, but you can purchase pyjamas from the airline along with amenity packs. Many of the items for sale would be found in the airline's premium cabins

• Would you like some nuts? When the pandemic hit, suppliers for airlines were among the first to feel the pinch. One supplier, GNS Foods, has been selling its nuts to United Airlines for the past two years. But in March, the airline removed the products from all of its flights. GNS Foods was left with more than 30,000lbs (13 tonnes) of excess nuts
• Flights to nowhere: in July, Taiwan's Songshan airport offered people the opportunity to go on a "flight to nowhere". Customers would be able to check in, go through airport security and then board a plane. The only catch? The flight was not going anywhere. The event proved so popular that a number of airlines have since offered similar experiences
• An airplane meal from your armchair: a number of airlines are selling their airplane food online. Tamam Kitchen in Israel provides in-flight food to El Al and Turkish Airlines. Customers are now able to purchase its food online, external, according to Lonely Planet. Similar initiatives are available from airline food suppliers in Canada, Australia and Thailand

Image source, Reuters

Russia says its number of recorded coronavirus cases has now passed one million.

With a total of 1,000,048 reported cases, Russia has the fourth largest number of reported cases in the world after the US, Brazil and India.

More than 815,000 people have so far recovered, authorities say, and more than 17,000 have died, according to the country's coronavirus crisis centre.

Despite passing this new figure, many Russians seem fairly relaxed about the pandemic, partly because officials constantly stress a relatively low death rate - and progress on producing a Russian vaccine, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Moscow.

Excess mortality figures suggest the daily official tally of Covid fatalities is an underestimate though, she adds.

Image source, EPA

After a surge in cases, Argentina has jumped ahead of Chile and is now among the 10 countries with the highest number of confirmed infections in the world.

As of Monday, it had more than 417,000 cases and 8,660 Covid-related deaths. A strict and early lockdown meant that cases at first spread slowly, but in recent months there has been a jump and, on Friday, they reached a new daily high with 11,717 cases reported in the previous 24 hours.

Bolivia on Monday surpassed the 5,000 Covid-related deaths mark. But there were some good news as the country's Director of Epidemiology Virgilio Prieto said he expected the number of new cases to plateau in the coming days.

Lockdown measures are also being eased from Tuesday with Bolivians allowed out until 20:00 local time on weekdays rather than 17:00.

Meanwhile, Brazil, the worst affected country in Latin America, is approaching four million confirmed cases. While it had its highest daily number of new infections at the end of July with more than 70,000 cases, it still registered just below 50,000 new infections on Monday.

Image source, PA Media

On a day when many pupils are returning to school for the first time in months, head teacher Cassie Buchanan of Charles Dickens Primary School in Borough, south-east London, said it was "brilliant" to see the children again.

“I think the children, before they came, were feeling a real mix of emotions, just like the adults - from nerves to excitement to maybe a little bit worried," she told the PA news agency.

“But now they’ve been back in the classrooms, we’ve walked around this morning and seen just a sea of smiling faces. I think everyone’s just so pleased to be back with their friends.”

Image source, PA Media

Odetta Patterson, from Southwark, who has two children aged four and six at the school, said she was "quite worried" and wasn't going to send her children in - until her husband said "go for it".

She said: "Now they’re in I feel quite safe, the school have done a great job and it’s for the best. My eldest has missed his friends since March and wanted to go back.”

Jordan Cullen from Bermondsey said: “I think my kids know to keep their distance, wash their hands and be sensible so I think they’ll be absolutely fine.

“You can’t scare the kids, I’ve tried to make them feel it’s a normal day in school, they’re still kids at the end of the day."

Image source, PA Media