A spokesman for British Airways' owner, IAG, says it was "evident back in July that islands should be treated separately" when it comes to quarantine restrictions.

"The government is being too slow in making obvious decisions," he says.

"For most families summer is now over and the damage to the industry and the economy is done."

It comes after the transport secretary announced that England will be able to add and remove a country's islands to and from its quarantine list, and said officials are considering the use of testing to shorten the quarantine period.

The IAG spokesman adds: "On testing, we need to get on with it. We are way behind other countries on what has to be a more nuanced approach."

Heathrow Airport has welcomed the news that England will introduce different quarantine rules for island and mainland regions of the same country - and the announcement that officials are considering using testing to shorten the quarantine period.

A spokeswoman says: "If introduced, these vital policy changes would show the government understands how critical the restoration of air travel is to this country's economic recovery."

However, she adds that the government needs to"build on these developments and show global leadership to establish Common International Standards for testing before flight".

Image source, Reuters

Russia will give its coronavirus vaccine to volunteers this week in a new phase of the testing process, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko has told local media.

Murashko told RIA Novosti news agency on Monday, external that the vaccinations would be part of the post-registration stage of clinical trials. He gave no further details.

Russia licensed the Sputnik-V vaccine for local use in August, the first country to do so and before data had been published.

Last week, Russian scientists published the first report on their vaccine, saying early tests showed signs of an immune response.

Experts say the trials were too small to prove effectiveness and safety, and some Western experts have raised concerns that Russian researchers might be cutting corners.

But Moscow has dismissed those concerns, with President Vladimir Putin saying the vaccine works "quite effectively".

Mr Shapps adds that officials are "working actively on the practicalities of using testing" to cut down the 14-day quarantine period.

He says this could not be "a pure test-on-arrival option" - despite calls for the introduction of testing at airports - because "it would not work".

Last week PM Boris Johnson said said testing on arrival at airports would only identify 7% of virus cases.

My Shapps says: "My officials are working with health experts with the aim of cutting the quarantine period without adding to infection risk or infringing our overall NHS test capacity - which also now needs to cater to schools going back and universities returning."

He adds that the islands policy becomes active immediately and he will update MPs on quarantine testing "in the coming weeks".

The UK has recorded a further 2,948 coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, pushing the total number of cases above 350,000, official figures have shown.

Three more deaths linked to Covid-19 were also reported on Monday, taking the overall toll to 41,554 in the UK, according to the latest data, external.

Coronavirus infections have risen markedly in recent days, after increasing at a steadier rate of about 1,000 a day for most of August.

The rise has, in part, been attributed to an increase in testing capacity since the peak of the first wave of coronavirus earlier this year.

Mr Shapps tells the Commons that authorities now have a "more forensic picture" of the prevalence of coronavirus abroad, and that he has looked at whether "regionalised systems for international corridors" would be possible.

However, he says that "in many cases the international data is still simply too patchy" and there is "next to nothing to prevent people from moving around within a country’s border".

"I know that people will rightly point out that infection rates also vary across the United Kingdom, and indeed they do, but the difference is the countries we’re talking about all, by definition, have higher rates of infection than we do ourselves," he tells MPs.

"So I hope the House understands that the JBC (Joint Biosecurity Centre) and this government are therefore, at present, unable to introduce regional travel corridors from within the geographical boundaries of a nation state."

However, he adds: "When a region has has natural boundaries, like an island for example, the risk diminishes significantly. That presents us with a real opportunity."

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps adds that seven Greek islands will be removed from England's travel corridor list at 04:00 BST on Wednesday.

They are Lesvos, Tinos, Serifos, Mykonos, Crete, Santorini and Zakynthos (also known as Zante).

Mr Shapps tells MPs: "Greece remains within our travel corridor programme, but our new analysis shows that some of the islands are well outside of the parameters."

He said that those travelling from those islands were "at risk of spreading the new infection back home" and therefore would have to quarantine upon their return.

England is to introduce different quarantine rules for overseas travel from island or mainland regions of the same country, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says.

It means that England will be able to add or remove specific islands from its quarantine lists.

BBC OS

It’s six months this week since Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic.To mark the week, BBC OS on World Service radio has been hearing from some of those who lost their loved ones to coronavirus.

Today, Lili Sedghi, who lives in Stockholm, Sweden, remembers her father, 92-year-old Reza Sedghi. He passed away on 17 April, 2020. Here is her tribute, and her memories of her father.

“He taught me and my brother how to navigate and how to find our way by looking at the Sun and stars.

“But now, I’m lost without you daddy. I love every memory, every minute that I have had the honour of being with you, and being your daughter.

“From the time that I sat and watched you shine your shoes, until the day that you saved a young couple’s love by paying for their wedding.

“You are missed and loved forever.”

Listen to the full programme and more tributes here at 16:00 GMT (17:00 BST).

Image source, PA Media

We reported earlier that England players Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden were under investigation by the Football Association (FA) for allegedly breaching coronavirus regulations in Iceland.

Now England manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed that the pair broke coronavirus “secure-bubble” guidelines and have been asked to return home.

The breach happened on Saturday, after Manchester City’s Foden, 20, and Manchester United’s Greenwood, 18, made their international debuts in England’s 1-0 win over Iceland.

At a news conference on Monday, Southgate described the pair as "naive" and said they have apologised.

"We had to decide very quickly that they [Greenwood and Foden] couldn't have any interaction with the rest of the team and wouldn't be able to train,” Southgate said.

"Given the procedures we have to follow now they will have to travel back to England separately.

"Nobody from outside our party has been into the areas of the hotel that we occupy."

Image source, Getty Images

Denmark announced new limits on public gatherings in 18 municipalities, including the capital Copenhagen, after a recent spike in coronavirus cases.

From Wednesday, the number of people allowed to gather will be lowered from 100 to 50. Restaurants, bars and cafes will also have their opening hours limited to midnight.

Over 1,000 cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Denmark over the last week - the highest increase for months. Copenhagen has also seen a marked increase, with more than 190 cases since the beginning of this month.

BBC Newsbeat

"Don't kill your gran". Those are the words of Health Secretary Matt Hancock as he urges people to adhere to rules designed to tackle the spread of coronavirus.

"The message to everybody of any age, the risk of spreading it to others - and, especially others who are older, and therefore highly vulnerable to the disease - that risk is real," he tells BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat.

He says sticking to social distancing rules is "incredibly important" and reminds listeners that the virus can be passed on before symptoms appear.

"The question is, how much are you willing to risk the lives of yourself and others by breaking the social distancing rules?" he says.

"Don't kill your gran by catching coronavirus and then passing it on."

His concerns about the spread among young people were echoed by Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon earlier, who said that even for younger people Covid-19 could be a "really nasty disease".

The virus "will eventually seep into older and more vulnerable groups", she said, adding: "To be blunt, some young people will go on to infect their older friends or relatives."

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

There is understandable concern about the rise in infections that has been seen in the UK.

But it needs context - at the peak of the pandemic in spring modelling put the number of new cases at around 100,000 a day., external

Some of the rise seen in recent weeks is down to more testing, but that won't be the only factor.

It was always going to be the case that as people mix more (to go to work and school, not just socialising) and summer ends (respiratory viruses tend to do better in the colder months) cases would go up.

The crucial questions are: by how much? And to what extent will they spill over into older, more vulnerable age groups?

If it can be contained within younger age groups, who are at such low risk of complications, it would, in theory, not be much of a problem.

But achieving that is going to be difficult.

The social distancing that is now becoming a routine part of our everyday lives and the test and trace teams in place will help.

But sadly hospitalisations and deaths will soon start going up - they do every winter because of flu even though we have a vaccine and some immunity.

Keeping that rise as low as possible - while allowing society to function with children going to school and people being able to work - is the tightrope we will all now need to walk.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is expected to give the government’s backing to the idea of “regional travel corridors” in a statement in the Commons this afternoon.

It would allow the UK government to apply its travel corridor to either a country’s mainland or specific islands if the infection rates were significantly different.

That could mean that certain regions with a lower infection rate, like Spain’s Canary islands, could, at some point, be removed from the quarantine list.

However, it is also possible that Greek islands, which have been causing concern, could be added very soon to the UK government’s quarantine list.

One airline called the anticipated announcement “too little too late”.

A further 133 cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in Wales, bringing the total number there to 18,514.

Public Health Wales said no further deaths had been reported. The death toll remains at 1,597.

It comes as the leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council warned that a local lockdown could be put in place if "necessary".

Dr Giri Shankar of Public Health Wales says the body is "concerned" about the rise in cases in the area.

Speaking about Wales more broadly, he urges parents not to withdraw children from schools unless asked to do so by the school or local authority.

"We are now seeing a steady increase in cases in a number of communities across Wales and our investigations show that many of these have been transmitted due to a lack of social distancing," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

With school terms beginning again, students in the Canadian province of Quebec have been ordered to return to classrooms, despite concerns about coronavirus.

The province was once the epicentre of Canada's outbreak, but in May elementary schools outside of Montreal reopened briefly, without major problems. Returns were voluntary and classes were capped at 15 students, with strict social distancing rules.

But under this latest order, there are no limits on class sizes and attendance is mandatory unless students have a doctor's note.

A group of parents are also challenging the mandatory order in court.

Quebec authorities argue there aren't enough teachers to take on both in-person and remote learning. They also insist safeguards are in place to ensure students' health, and keeping kids at home is more dangerous than sending them back to their classrooms.

Image source, Getty Images

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been urged by a councillor from her own party to consider shutting Scotland's pubs to tackle the spread of Covid-19.

Chris McEleny, who has served as SNP group leader on Inverclyde Council, said keeping bars open is "not compatible" with efforts to control the virus.

He said: "If we want to keep ourselves and others safe, keep schools open full time and make workplaces more productive again, the decision to reimpose lockdown restrictions on all pubs must now be on the table."

He added: "Pubs being open has clearly desensitised our caution at a population level with people regularly asking why can I not visit a family member, why can I not go to a funeral, or go here or there when pubs are full across the country?"

Last week, Scotland's deputy first minister defended a decision to keep pubs open in greater Glasgow despite the introduction of limits on social contact.

Image source, EPA

Spain is seeing a growing row over the reopening of schools, with some parents refusing to send their children in amid a spike in cases.

"Going back to school is being treated like an experiment, we're like guinea pigs," one parent, Aroa Miranda, told the AFP news agency.

"For my eight-year-old, I will pretend he's ill so I don't have to send him to school," she said.

Some Spanish pupils have been back on a voluntary basis since late May, but all students are set to return this month.

There have been some protests and petitions calling for increased safety measures after a record spike in cases was recorded on Friday.

Many children are returning today for the first time since the pandemic began. Masks will be mandatory for anyone over the age of six and social distancing measures have been put in place.

You can read more about how European countries are reopening schools here.

Here's what you need to know if you're just catching up:

• The UK could see a second spike in coronavirus cases if young people don't follow social distancing rules, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said
• Leading business groups have warned that the UK risks another wave of job cuts and a slower economic recovery if its furlough scheme is not extended
• In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said ministers could "put the brakes" on further easing of lockdown restrictions amid a rise in the number of cases
• The Football Association is investigating allegations England midfielder Phil Foden and forward Mason Greenwood broke quarantine rules after Saturday's victory in Iceland
• Representatives of Northern Ireland's pub industry said they are meeting Stormont ministers seeking "urgent" measures to help reopen non-food bars
• A local lockdown could be put in place in Caerphilly county in Wales if "necessary", the leader of the council has warned
• Also in Wales, secondary schools and colleges are to receive £2.3m to provide face masks for students
• Positive test results in some schools mean pupils are being told to stay home. They include Castle Rock School in Leicestershire (which was visited by the PM last month), Samuel Ward Academy in Suffolk and Ysgol Bro Edern in Cardiff

Image source, Reuters

The Football Association (FA) is investigating reports that England players Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden broke quarantine rules after a match in Iceland.

Both players made their debut for the national team in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Iceland, but were absent from training on Monday morning.

Manchester City's Foden, 21, and Manchester United's Greenwood, 18, are not expected to feature in England’s next Uefa Nations League fixture against Denmark on Tuesday.

England manager Gareth Southgate is due to hold a pre-match news conference this afternoon.

In a separate development, Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez and defender Aymeric Laporte have tested positive for Covid-19.

Mahrez and Laporte - neither of whom were displaying coronavirus symptoms - have gone into quarantine in line with UK government rules.