Image source, Getty Images

If you're just catching up with the news this morning, these are the main headlines in the UK this morning.

• All eyes are on north-east England where an announcement is expected later about a local lockdown. It could affect nearly two million people in the Northumberland, Newcastle, Sunderland, North and South Tyneside, Gateshead and County Durham council areas
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson has told the Sun newspaper that "the only way to make sure the country is able to enjoy Christmas is to be tough now" - he's previously said the government is doing "everything in our power" to avoid a national lockdown
• In the same interview, the prime minister said he was not in fan of "sneak culture" - and that people should talk directly to those breaking social distancing rules, instead of reporting them to police for meeting in groups of more than six
• John Lewis is scrapping its staff bonus for the first time since 1953. The chain has been hit by lockdown store closures
• Care homes in England will receive extra funding of £546m to try to reduce transmission of coronavirus during the winter. The fund, set up in May, has now been extended until March
• It's clear by now that the UK's testing system is not working as it should, with people being told tests are not available - or that they have to travel hundreds of miles in some case, to get one. We've an explainer here on what's going wrong

Anna Holligan
BBC News Hague correspondent

Infection rates have hit a new daily peak in the Netherlands - the country was recently added to the UK's red alert list, and its neighbours are following suit.

And yet on the streets of Dutch cities people are behaving as if the virus has vanished.

There's a burgeoning movement which subscribes to the "it's a government hoax to control us" conspiracy, Dutch Facebook and Twitter are resplendent with images mocking those who take the risk of infection seriously. Police were called to a friends picnic the other day after a stranger began coughing and wishing coronavirus on them after they tried to create some social distance.

Why aren't the Dutch panicking? My (Dutch) Twitter followers offered some insights.

• This is a deliberate and successful gaslighting campaign by the government
• A message that Covid only affects the elderly and sick
• "Iedereen moet het voor zichzelf beslissen" - everybody has to decide for themselves
• A toxic mix of Dutch exceptionalism governed by technocratic leaders.

The government, by the way, plans to announce new restrictions tomorrow.

Image source, EPA

If you're just joining us, these are the latest coronavirus headlines from around Europe:

• In Spain, students are taking part in strike action calling for improved safety measures in schools and universities. They are demanding stricter cleaning measures and better protection for teachers. It comes as the country recorded 239 new deaths from the virus, the highest figure since June. Infections are also rising quickly and a large proportion of these are in the capital, Madrid
• Protest action is also expected in France, where unions are calling for a day of demonstrations over the government's response to the economic hardship caused by the pandemic. The government has predicted 800,000 jobs could be lost this year
• Cases are continuing to rise in many countries. France recorded almost 10,000 new cases over the past 24 hours, the Czech Republic has seen a major rise, and Germany's daily cases were the second-highest since April. But hospital admissions are at a lower level than at the beginning of the pandemic

• And around Europe restrictions are being reimposed in some areas after they were eased following the initial lockdown. You can read our handy country-by-country breakdown of the rules here

A £546m funding package to help protect care homes from coronavirus over winter is to be announced in the UK.

The plan includes extra funding to make sure staff are limited to working in only one home - and that they are compensated for any reduced hours, the prime minister announced in the Sun.

Money will also be spent to help care workers reduce their use of public transport, and stock up on personal protective equipment.

Full details are going to be announced later today.

There have been thousands of deaths in care homes of people who had coronavirus.

Boris Johnson also warned that there may need to be restrictions on family visits to care homes in his interview in the Sun.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

The governor of San Andrés says bodies are piling up on the Caribbean island after its only funeral parlour was hit by coronavirus.

The parlour's owner has Covid-19 and has had to be flown to hospital on the Colombian mainland. Her son has also tested positive, leaving only one employee at work.

Governor Everth Hawkins said his administration was buying refrigerated trucks to store the bodies.

Nine people have died with coronavirus so far on the Colombian island which has a population of about 75,000.

Colombia is the country with the sixth highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world with more than 735,000 infections.

Image source, PA Media

As we've been writing, a new local lockdown is expected to be announced in the North East - affecting some two million people.

But where in the UK is currently under tightened restrictions?

It's a growing list.

• People in Rhondda Cynon Taf should not leave the area without a reasonable excuse like going to work or school. Pubs and restaurants must close by 23:00 and people should not meet other households indoors
• Households in Birmingham, Solihull and Sandwell are not allowed to mix
• People living in Lanarkshire are not allowed to meet other households indoors
• People in Ballymena town, the Belfast council area and certain Northern Irish postcodes are not allowed to go to each other's homes
• People in Caerphilly county are being told not to leave without good reason and should not meet indoors with anyone outside their household
• In parts of Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Lancashire, people cannot meet anyone outside their own household, external, or support bubble, in an indoor venue
• People in Oldham, Blackburn with Darwen and Pendle should not meet anyone from outside their household, externaloutdoors
• In Bolton, there are visitor limits on care homes, while hospitality venues will only be able to serve takeaways , externaland must close between 22:00 and 05:00
• In Leicester, people cannot meet someone from another household , externalin an indoor public venue. However, they can meet other households outside
• People living in Glasgow city, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire are banned from meeting people from another household inside their home, external

You can read up more on local restrictions here.

A nursing home in Connecticut has been closed and its residents moved elsewhere after an outbreak of coronavirus, report US media. Four people died at the home in Norwich where at least 30 people were infected.

The state's department of health ordered the institution to close after it concluded the outbreak could not be brought under control before the end of September.

Investigations into the outbreak revealed inadequate staffing, lack of personal protective equipment and a failure to isolate sick residents, reports the New York Times.

Image source, Getty Images

John Lewis has confirmed that staff will not receive a bonus for the first time since 1953 after it was hit by lockdown store closures.

The chain posted a £55m loss for the six months to 25 July. Even before the pandemic, it had warned it might not be able to pay the usual staff bonus.

Chairwoman Dame Sharon White told staff today that the announcement would "come as a blow".

The last time that John Lewis, which operates as a partnership, decided not to pay a bonus to its staff was in the aftermath of World War Two.

"We came through then to be even stronger and we will do so again," the company's boss said.

Image source, Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters

We've been reporting on the politics of vaccine development and distribution in the US - and the climate of claim and counter-claim involving President Trump and his top scientists. In Bahrain, meanwhile, the Crown Prince has stepped forward in the country's clinical trials by volunteering as a participant.

Around 6,000 people are taking part in the phase III trials, conducted by Abu-Dhabi based G42 Healthcare using a vaccine developed by Sinopharm CNBG, the sixth-largest producer of vaccines in the world.

Volunteers, including Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, are then monitored to study the production of antibodies.

Image source, Getty Images

South Korean car manufacturer Kia Motors has suspended production at two factories near Seoul after eight workers tested positive for coronavirus.

Kia, the country's second largest car manufacturer, closed the plants in Gwangmyeong, just south of the capital, on Wednesday and sent all 6,000 workers home, a company spokesman told the country's Yonhap news agency.

The firm said it would reopen the plants after disinfecting them.

Kia has a total of eight plants in South Korea and seven overseas.

South Korea has fared relatively well in the coronavirus pandemic, though a cluster linked to a church last month caused alarm and was eventually linked to some 5,200 cases.

The country saw 153 new infections on Thursday, as total infections reached 22,657 with just 372 deaths.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

There has been speculation that the UK could have to go under a new national lockdown.

But Health Minister Edward Argar says it is not currently needed - "if we get this right with local lockdowns".

"We saw in Leicester it worked, we saw those rates come right down - it does work and it does control it at a local level," he told the Today programme.

"I don't think we are at a place where we would wish to see or need to see a national level of restrictions."

Argar stressed that people needed to stick to the social distancing rules however.

Image source, Getty Images

Nitin Gadkari, a senior cabinet minister, has tested positive for coronavirus. The news comes just days after at least 17 MPs tested positive as the monsoon session of parliament began on Monday.

"I am at present doing well with the blessings and good wishes of all. I have isolated myself," the minister said.

India has confirmed more than five million cases - the second-highest in the world after the US - and more than 80,000 reported deaths. The country has stepped up testing, which partly explains rising numbers, but experts are worried at the speed at which the virus is spreading.

Over the past week, cases have shot to 90,000 per day. And seven states, which are the worst-affected, account for about 45% of the country's population. But it's death rate remains low, with 60 deaths per million and its case fatality rate, a measure of deaths among Covid-19 patients, is just 1.6%.

Simon Atkinson
BBC News, Sydney

While flying around the country is second nature to many Australians - the closure of both international and state borders has put a stop to a lot of that.

But it seems some people here are desperate to get in the air - even if the destination is, well, exactly where they took off.

National carrier Qantas today released tickets for a seven-hour scenic flight from Sydney that promises spectacular views of Uluru in Northern Territory, and the Whitsunday Islands and Gold Coast in Queensland - before cruising above the Harbour Bridge and Opera House on its return to Sydney

Because the plane does not land, those travel restrictions and quarantine rules do not apply. And the airline sold all 150 seats in just 10 minutes making it - the airline reckons - its fastest selling flight ever.

The airline said the flight would be carbon offset - and that it would not generate any profits for Qantas. Some cash would be useful for the airline, though, as it is currently haemorrhaging about A$40m ($29m; £22m) a week and has made thousands of staff redundant.

Frontline NHS workers and care staff will be prioritised for coronavirus testing, UK Health Minister Edward Argar says.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme amid concerns about people not being able to access tests, he said guidance on the issue was due out in the coming days.

Teachers would also be included in the priority group.

It might be the case, he added, that others could have to wait longer to get a test.

Image source, Getty Images

A trial is starting in parts of England that will see people booking an appointment to attend A&E, by calling NHS 111.

The pilots are live in Cornwall, Portsmouth, Hampshire and Blackpool and have just begun in Warrington.

The aim is to reduce pressure on emergency departments as they face increased winter pressures with coronavirus and flu cases.

But those in a life-threatening condition should still call 999.

Under the changes, patients will still be able to seek help at A&E without an appointment, but officials say they are likely to end up waiting longer than those who have gone through 111.

South Africa, which had one of the world's earliest and strictest lockdowns, has announced a further easing of anti-coronavirus measures.

From 20 September an overnight curfew will be reduced, gatherings will be allowed at 50% of a venue's capacity, and alcohol will again be on sale.

"We have withstood the coronavirus storm," said President Cyril Ramaphosa in a televised address to the nation.

But rules on social distancing and mask-wearing will remain in place.

Image source, Reuters

Public health officials at NHS Lothian are investigating a coronavirus cluster at university student accommodation.

A number of people have tested positive at Edinburgh Napier University's Bainfield accommodation. Contacts are being traced and told to isolate for two weeks.

But the university remains open though, with students and staff who haven't been asked to self-isolate have been told to attend as normal.

Meanwhile, a Highland hotel has shut after being linked to a coronavirus cluster.

NHS Highland said four cases of Covid-19 have been identified in the Kinlochleven community, all of which have been linked to the MacDonald Hotel.

The hotel has now been closed with all staff advised to self-isolate for 14 days. Contact tracing is being carried out.

Image source, Getty Images

So - what exactly should you do if you see people breaking the rules of social distancing, and gathering in groups of more than six?

Policing Minister Kit Malthouse has suggested people should report their neighbours if they’re seen socialising in bigger groups. And Home Secretary Priti Patel has also said she would report gatherings of more than six people.

But now Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged people to speak to rule breakers directly, before reporting them to police.

It comes after the new rules came into force in England, Scotland and Wales this week (with some variations between the regions).

Speaking to the Sun, Mr Johnson said he was no fan of “sneak culture” - but added it was “reasonable for authorities to know” if there was “some kind of Animal House party taking place” with “hot tubs and so forth”.

He was referring to 1978 film National Lampoon’s Animal House, which features a toga party.

As you've seen, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield and US President Donald Trump have been giving contrasting messages on face masks and vaccines.

Just how different are the messages?

Image source, PA Media

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told MPs on Wednesday: "We are now testing more per head of population than France, Germany and Spain and conducting more tests than any other European country."

He’s right - according to data collected by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), an EU agency.

For the week ending 30 August, the figures show:

• UK - 19 tests per 1,000
• France -13 tests per 1,000
• Germany - 13 tests per 1,000
• Spain - 12 tests per 1,000

A few countries in Europe rank higher than the UK on this measure though, including Denmark on 42 tests per 1,000.

When it comes to overall tests, as of 30 August, the UK had processed just over 15 million antigen tests (the tests which tell you whether you currently have coronavirus).

This total is higher than any other country in Europe, according to ECDC figures. Germany, for example, had processed 12.3 million tests by this date and France 7.4 million.