Exeter University has announced it is investing in commercial same-day tests for its students.

Cambridge University also says it's going to offer weekly tests for students living in its accommodation.

Sean Fielding, who has been co-ordinating Exeter University's testing plans, explained that students could contact a rapid-response hub phone line to get a test.

Tests would be delivered on to campus and then collected by "trained providers" and sent to a lab.

The university, he said, was aiming for a maximum turnaround of 24 hours between getting a test and a result, though results had been provided in as little as 11 hours, he said.

Asked about whether the university would sanction students who met in groups greater than six, Mr Fielding added: "In the end it does come down to them being community-minded.

"We have a pledge that all of our students should keep to about how to behave and that, we think, will be a key part of that whole community approach to making our campuses secure and of course the places around us."

Image source, Getty Images

Universities should switch to full online learning only as a last resort in the event of a local coronavirus outbreak, new guidance says.

Hundreds of thousands of students due to arrive at England's universities in the coming weeks face a ban on house parties under the new "rule of six".

Students will be told to limit socialising, avoid staying within separate "households", and be taught in managed groups.

But the guidance was issued just days before some universities are due to welcome students to campus.

Read more here.

BBC OS

Image source, Milena Moya

This week marks six months since Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic.

The virus has infected nearly 28 million people around the world and killed more than 900,000.

Every day this week, BBC OS on World Service radio is hearing voices of those who have lost their loved ones to coronavirus.

Today, people in South America - where cases continue to rise - are sending their tributes.

In Chile, more than 11,000 people have died. Militza Moya lives in Chile’s capital, Santiago. She lost her father, Juan Carlos Moya, to coronavirus in June. He died aged 62.

Here is her tribute to him:

Listen to “Remembering those lost to Covid-19” on BBC OS here at 16:00 GMT (17:00 BST)

Image source, Jeff Overs for the BBC

Among the voices questioning the UK government's "moonshot" plan for mass population testing is former health secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Hunt, who now chairs the influential Commons health select committee, said he wanted to know how far current and existing testing technology could be expanded to help reach the goal of up to 10 million tests a day.

"Mass testing is so important to getting the country back to running as normal," he said.

"Whilst we all want those new technlogies to succeed, it would be helpful to have an understanding how much expansion we can expect on the technologies we already have."

Image source, PA Media

The head of the NHS test and trace system has insisted it is working, despite more missed targets and the number of close contacts being reached falling to a record low.

Figures show the system has recorded the highest weekly number of positive tests since it was launched at the end of May.

A total of 9,864 new people tested positive for Covid-19 in England in the week to 2 September - an increase of 43% in positive cases on the previous week.

But the figures published by the Department of Health and Social Care on Thursday also showed the proportion of close contacts traced fell again.

Some 69.2% of close contacts of people who tested positive were reached through the system that week - down slightly from 69.8% in the previous week. This is the lowest weekly percentage since Test and Trace was launched.

Baroness Dido Harding, who is interim executive chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, said: "NHS Test and Trace is working and every week we consistently reach the majority of people testing positive and their contacts.

"We are doing more testing for the British public than other comparable European countries and we are adding thousands more tests a day."

Image source, EPA

As we reported earlier (see our 11:15 post), Israel has recorded another record high in daily infections - with 3,904 new cases on Wednesday.

The government is now set to consider whether to impose a nationwide lockdown.

Israeli media said the proposed measure could take effect on Thursday, external - a day before the Jewish New Year festival of Rosh Hashanah - and include the closures of schools, restaurants, shopping malls, markets and event venues.

Another option under consideration is a so-called "breathing" closure, external in which businesses would close for weeks but movement would be less curtailed.

Read our full story here.

Image source, Reuters

Earlier this week, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte pardoned a US marine convicted of killing a transgender woman. Now, his spokesman says he believes the pardon was linked to the need for a potential US vaccine.

Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton served just over half of a 10-year prison sentence for the murder of Jennifer Laude.

Spokesman Harry Roque said on Thursday the pardon would help the country’s chances of gaining access to the vaccine.

“As we all know, our President has emphasised the need for a vaccine,” he said. “The grant of a pardon to Pemberton is in line with our President’s desire that the Philippines should also benefit when Americans develop a vaccine.”

Mr Roque insisted that this was his personal opinion.

More than 245,000 cases have been confirmed and 3,986 people have died in the country since the outbreak began.

A lawyer for Ms Laude’s family, had called the pardon a “mockery” of the country’s justice system, and the decision caused outrage among LGBT groups.

Read more about the pardon here.

BBC Radio 5 Live

This morning, BBC Radio 5 Live’s Your Call programme asked people if they felt it was their civic duty to stick to the new rules for social gatherings in England.

You can listen to the discussion here.

What do you think? Call 08085 909 693 or text 85058.

Image source, Getty Images

The disruption to hospitals in England during the pandemic has meant the number of patients facing long waits for routine operations has soared.

More than two million people - half the total - have been waiting more than 18 weeks while one in five have been waiting more than a year, NHS England figures showed.

But there are some encouraging signs, with treatments happening in hospitals on the increase.

Read more here from our health correspondent Nick Triggle here.

Image source, Reuters

Los Angeles County has advised against Trick or Treating this upcoming Halloween.

It had originally banned the practice of collecting sweets from local houses while in fancy dress, but the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has now revised the plan so it is simply "not recommended".

It advises against it “because it can be very difficult to maintain proper social distancing on porches and at front doors, ensure that everyone answering or coming to the door is appropriately masked to prevent disease spread and because sharing food is risky,” a release from the department said, external.

People have been asked to find alternative ways of marking the day. Halloween parties or carnivals with non-household members are also banned, although car parades and film nights at drive-in venues are permitted.

It comes as people in the UK are nervous about how Christmas will be celebrated.

Newspapers such as The Independent, external have warned “Christmas celebrations are in jeopardy” following the re-introduction of restrictions on the numbers of people gathering in England.

Image source, Reuters

The Japan Sumo Association says 19 wrestlers from the Tamanoi stable in Tokyo have tested positive, and now the entire 28-member team will miss the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament starting this weekend, Kyodo News reports.

However, tournament organisers say the 15-day event in the capital will go ahead as planned.

In May, a 28-year-old Sumo wrestler died due to multiple organ failure caused by Covid-19, in what was the sport's first virus-related fatality.

Thousands of migrants and asylum seekers are sleeping rough on the Greek island of Lesbos, after fire destroyed their overcrowded camp.

Officials are struggling to prevent a health crisis after 35 people there tested positive for coronavirus.

The BBC's Bethany Bell is at the scene, and sent this report:

Image source, Reuters

"Along the road from the burnt-out Moria camp groups of migrants sit at the kerbside and under olive trees. Some are carrying small bags, others are pushing shopping trolleys filled with blankets.

One woman from Afghanistan held her baby girl, born 25 days ago. She said she and her family had spent the night out in the open, as the police had not let them return to Moria. She said no-one had brought them either food or water.

A few steps away in the blazing sun, a Syrian woman fed her baby from a bottle. Police have set up roadblocks preventing refugees from leaving the area to go towards the main town, Mytilene, and the port. When one migrant approached them, the police shouted "Go back, Covid, Covid!"

A young Afghan boy hunched his shoulders and frowned. "Lesbos no good," he said."

Read the full story here.

Image source, PA Media

It's been a busy morning. Here's the latest about coronavirus in the UK:

• Scientists and health professionals have raised doubts about Prime Minister Boris Johnson's "Operation Moonshot" plan for mass coronavirus testing - saying there are are issues with laboratory capacity for current tests
• Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced the maximum size of social gatherings has been cut to six people - as in England from next week - but in Scotland, the six can be drawn from two households at most
• The number of people diagnosed with Covid-19 in England has risen by 43% in a week, latest community testing figures showed. Some 9,864 infections were confirmed in the seven days to 2 September
• Disruption to hospitals in England during the pandemic has meant the number of patients facing long waits for routine operations has soared, with more than two million people on the waiting list
• And Conservative minister Jacob Rees-Mogg is self-isolating at home after one of his children showed symptoms of coronavirus

The Conservative chairman of the Commons Science and Technology Select Committee, Greg Clark, has called on Health Secretary Matt Hancock to get a "grip" of the testing situation.

Speaking after Mr Hancock delivered his coronavirus statement to MPs, Mr Clark said: "The secretary of state must accept that there is a problem here.

"Constituents of mine in Kent this week displaying symptoms were advised to go for tests to Bude in Cornwall and Galashiels in Scotland.

"This is in a mild September before the autumn and winter when people have coughs and colds that may look like symptoms of Covid.

"And it is no good blaming people who are asymptomatic - I'd be interested to see if the secretary of state could say what percentage of people are turning up for testing that don't have symptoms...

"This is an urgent matter, it needs a grip before the autumn bites, the autumn-winter bites. Will he commit by the end of the month to make sure anyone who has symptoms of Covid can get a test at a reasonable place, convenient to their home?"

Responding to Mr Clark, Mr Hancock said ensuring everyone with symptoms can get a test close to their home "is of course my goal".

Mr Hancock was also asked by his predecessor, Jeremy Hunt, about how much of the prime minister's "moonshot target" would be delivered using existing technologies.

Responding, Mr Hancock told MPs: "We want this to go as fast as we can and we want this to go as large as we reasonably can but we do not put a specific figure on it. What we do is put all of our weight and support behind this project."

Image source, Getty Images

France's makeup market has been hit hard by the pandemic, recording a 17% drop in sales since the start of the year, according to the information and data company Nielsen.

Lipstick sales fell 75% during the lockdown period - perhaps unsurprisingly, because face masks have been mandatory in public places.

However, many women are now focusing on eye makeup instead. The sales of mascaras, eye liners and eye shadows have now returned to the pre-crisis levels, Nielsen says.

Analysts have suggested that, with the widespread use of face coverings, some people now feel that their eyes need to be more expressive and make a bigger impression.

It's just one of the small ways in which the pandemic has changed daily life for many.

Another side-effect of masks? Mask-induced acne, also known as "maskne".

The number of people allowed to meet up in Scotland has been cut to six amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic "accelerating".

The rule change was made as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a "tightening and extension" of lockdown rules.

Changes planned for later in September have been put back to October.

It means that theatres, live music venues, indoor soft play facilities and indoor contact sports for people aged over 12 will not now open next Monday.

It comes after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that gatherings would be limited in England to no more than six people.

Jon Ashworth addresses the issue of support for workers who test positive for coronavirus, saying a study found 75% of infected people were not properly self-isolating.

The UK Labour Party's shadow health secretary said there needs to be a system so that those who are low paid and in insecure work can isolate without fear of losing their jobs.

On testing, Mr Ashworth said there had been "examples after examples" of people having to travel hundreds of miles for tests.

With children going back to school this month and more people returning to workplaces, it was obvious there would be more demand on testing, Mr Ashworth says.

"It isn't the fault of ill people asking for tests - it's his fault for not providing them," he says.

Mr Ashworth finishes by asking how much the "moonshot" testing plans will cost.

Mr Hancock responds by saying Mr Ashworth cannot decide if he wants testing to be increased or not.

He also says the government has so far earmarked £500m for the "moonshot" testing plans but more would be available.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth responds to Matt Hancock's Commons statement, saying Labour welcomed the new restrictions.

He begins by saying there have been "many examples" of classes and groups starting the new term at home and not in education.

Is it really the policy of the government that if there are one or two positive cases in a year group that the whole year group is sent home for two weeks?, he asks.

The shadow health secretary also asks if parents and carers will therefore be eligible for sick pay and financial support, given they will have to take time off to care for children in these circumstances.

Mr Hancock responds by saying that if someone within a bubble in schools tests positive for the virus, the whole bubble has to self-isolate.

Image source, Reuters

Positive coronavirus cases rose by 43% in the week ending 2 September compared with the previous week, government data shows.

The increase to 9,864 new positive cases is the highest weekly number since NHS Test and Trace was launched at the end of May

Around 69.2% of their close contacts were reached in the same period, down slightly from 69.8% in the previous week, and the lowest weekly percentage since NHS Test and Trace was launched in May.

For cases handled by local health protection teams, 96.6% of contacts were reached and asked to self-isolate in the week to 2 September. For cases handled online or in call centres, the figure was 61.3%.

Almost 80,000 people identified as close contacts of confirmed coronavirus cases have not been reached by England's tracing service since its launch.

The data shows that - overall since the service launched - 293,452 close contacts of those who have tested positive were reached by the service - 78.8% of those identified.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been giving a statement to MPs in the House of Commons about the government's new coronavirus restrictions.

Mr Hancock begins his statement by saying he regards it as "incredibly important to come to the House as often as possible" after he was admonished by Speaker Lindsay Hoyle for not announcing the new measures in the House of Commons.

The health secretary goes on to reiterate the already-announced new restrictions on social gatherings in England.

He also responds to critics of the government's new "moonshot" virus testing plans, accusing them of being "naysayers".

"They are against everything that's needed to sort this problem for this country, and they would do far better to support their constituents and get with the programme."