Lina Sinjab
BBC Middle East correspondent

Image source, Reuters

In Lebanon 1,006 coronavirus cases have been reported in a single day, the highest number since the virus was detected in the country in February.

This raises the red flag in a country of nearly four million which houses another million refugees. Hospitals and medical facilities are overwhelmed with cases.

Many people here are concerned and are following protection rules to the letter, but it is hard to enforce the hygiene measures on everyone in public areas especially in poor, densely populated neighbourhoods.

Schools and universities have reopened virtually with mostly online classes and a few physical ones where the number of students is limited.

The country’s economy is collapsing and it hit rock bottom after the blast in August that destroyed many parts of the city and killed nearly 200. Another lockdown will be difficult for many people whose businesses have suffered a year-long economic collapse.

Image source, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board

Welsh actor Michael Sheen has urged people to get the flu vaccine, as the NHS prepares for the coronavirus pandemic coinciding with flu season.

Eligible people are being encouraged to get their free flu vaccine, and Wales will see its biggest ever flu campaign launch on Monday.

In a video recorded for a Welsh health board, Hollywood actor Sheen said: "We all know how busy the NHS have been over the last few months dealing with the effects of Covid-19 and most of us have stood on our steps clapping for them.

"They still need our support.

"This year it is more important than ever to play your part in reducing the impact flu has on our hospitals.

"Please get the flu vaccination as soon as you can."

Read more here.

Image source, EPA

Research published by the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows coronavirus can spread easily among passengers on long-haul flights, external.

The report looks at the case of a woman who flew in business class from London to Vietnam in March. Although she passed a temperature check, she developed symptoms in the days following the flight and tested positive just five days later.

Contact tracers managed to link her to 15 of her fellow passengers who also later tested positive for the virus.

However, there is a caveat - at the time face coverings were not mandatory on flights, and so it is unlikely most of the passengers were wearing masks.

Image source, Getty Images

We’re also going to be hearing from Labour’s shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds later, at a speech at Labour’s party conference - which will be online due to the pandemic.

She is set to accuse the government of mismanaging billions of pounds spent in response to the pandemic – and accuse ministers of a “cavalier” approach to public spending.

She will point to actions, including the recall of unused testing kits and a decision not to use 50 million face masks bought for the NHS, as examples of waste.

But she’s also set to call for extra support for firms in struggling sectors – including plans for a job recovery scheme and £3bn in funding to retrain the unemployed or those at risk of losing their jobs.

"Recover jobs, retrain workers and rebuild business. Three steps to a better, more secure future," she will say.

The government said she was offering "recycled economic plans" and that they would hold the UK back and "hinder our recovery from coronavirus".

Read more here.

Image source, EPA

Most of New Zealand, which recorded no new cases of the virus today, is being moved to the lowest alert setting today.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said everywhere except the most populous city Auckland would be downgraded to level one. Auckland's alert, meanwhile, will move down from 2.5 to two on Wednesday, meaning that the limit on gatherings will increase from 10 people to 100. It could join the rest of the country at level one after a review in two weeks.

New Zealand has recorded just 25 deaths in a population of five million, and earlier this year had 102 days without community transmission following a strict two-month lockdown.

The lifting of restrictions means that mass gatherings, such as the first Bledisloe Cup rugby test between the All Blacks and Australia in the capital Wellington on 11 October, can go ahead without any restrictions.

Image source, Supreme Court

The former president of the Supreme Court, Lady Hale, has accused the UK Parliament of surrendering control when it voted to give the government emergency powers to impose the lockdown in March.

In an essay – seen and reported exclusively by the Guardian, external - Lady Hale is said to be highly critical of the way the restrictions were introduced with little scrutiny from MPs.

She emphasises the fact it took place six months after the Supreme Court ruled that Boris Johnson acted unlawfully when he advised the Queen to suspend parliament at a critical moment for Brexit.

“My plea is that we get back to a properly functioning constitution as soon as we possibly can,” said Lady Hale.

The Coronavirus Act 2020, which became law in March, gave the government wide-ranging powers in order to manage the pandemic. Parliament will vote next week whether to extend those powers.

Some senior Conservative MPs are already concerned about Parliament not having a say and want a vote every time the government wants to bring in new restrictions.

Sir Graham Brady, who represents Tory backbenchers, said he would table an amendment which would require the government to put any new measures to a vote of MPs.

The government “has got into the habit of ruling by decree without the usual debate and discussion,” Sir Graham told BBC Radio 4 Today’s programme.

Nick Triggle
Health correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The constant mantra is the virus must be suppressed and contained.

But how do you do this when people can be infectious without knowing they have it? Where it can be passed on silently because people do not develop symptoms?

The nation has been brought to a standstill once at immense cost to the economy, education and health more generally.

And now with cases rising there is the threat of new national restrictions, while large parts of the country have already found themselves back in partial lockdown.

But are we fighting a losing battle? Do we instead need to learn to live with the virus?

Read the piece here

Image source, PA Media

Around one in 20 children in England are out of school due to issues linked to the pandemic and lockdown, the children's commissioner Anne Longfield has suggested.

Schools reopened for the start of the new term in September in the UK (and August in Scotland).

Ms Longfield stressed the number of schools who have sent pupils home due to a Covid-19 case was very small.

But there were many other pupils, she said, with special needs or emotional problems, who had not yet returned from lockdown.

She also urged parents and schools to "hold their nerve" and continue sending pupils to school.

The full story is here.

Image source, Reuters

We've reported that England could see tighter measures to contain the virus - but this is already happening in other parts of Europe. In the Spanish capital Madrid, strict new measures have come into force after a sharp rise in cases and deaths there.

Under the new restrictions, more than 800,000 residents have been ordered to stay at home, and are only being allowed out for essential reasons such as to travel to work or to go to the doctor.

The measures have proved contentious, with some residents protesting against what they see as discrimination against poorer areas.

At the same time, restrictions are being imposed in parts of the Netherlands, with bars being told to close early and tighter limits on gatherings.

In the past week new regulations have been announced in Iceland, Denmark and parts of France, too.

Image source, EPA

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has been speaking on BBC Breakfast about the possibility of more coronavirus restrictions, ahead of a speech by England's chief medical officer later.

Mr Shapps said "we are at the tipping point" and "may need to go further" with lockdown restrictions if people don't follow the rules.

He said more restrictions were "something we would like to avoid" - but added "the data is the all-important thing".

He added that it will be "very interesting" to hear what Prof Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance have to say later.

Asked where the PM is, and why he is not coming out to speak at the same time, Mr Shapps said: "He’ll come out very soon after that and speak to the country.

"I think it's a welcome development, actually, to allow the medical experts and the scientists to speak on their own in their own language to set the picture out, and then you'll get the leadership."

And asked about reports of disagreements among cabinet ministers about whether or not to impose a second lockdown, Mr Shapps said "a debate is quite proper and that is exactly what you'd expect".

"Everyone recognises there is a tension between... the virus and the measures we need to take, and the economy and ensuring people's livelihoods are protected."

Image source, Reuters

The Taj Mahal has reopened to visitors after six months - the longest it has ever been shut.

The entire campus was sanitised before it opened at 08:00 local time (04:00 BST), and officials were seen wearing masks and face shields, local journalist Yogesh Kumar Singh has told the BBC. Authorities have also said there will be temperature checks at the entrance, and visitors will be asked to buy tickets digitally.

The Taj Mahal will also now only allow 5,000 visitors a day. Before the pandemic, the monument drew about 70,000 people daily.

The 17th-Century marble mausoleum was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his queen, Mumtaz Mahal.

It was last shut briefly in 1978 after Agra, where it is located, flooded, and before that it was closed for a few days in 1971 during a war between India and Pakistan.

Read more about the Taj Mahal's reopening here

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, PA Media

England’s chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty is due to make a statement on TV at 11:00 BST – after he spent Sunday with PM Boris Johnson and other ministers discussing possible coronavirus lockdown measures.

Prof Whitty – who is a household name now for his updates on the coronavirus – is expected to say that “the trend in the UK is heading in the wrong direction and we are at a critical point in the pandemic.

"We are looking at the data to see how to manage the spread of the virus ahead of a very challenging winter period," he is expected to say.

On Sunday, a further 3,899 daily cases and 18 deaths were reported in the UK, and the prime minister is understood to be considering a two-week mini lockdown in England.

Prof Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, are expected to explain how the virus is spreading and the potential scenarios as the winter approaches.

Our political correspondent Iain Watson suggests that the fact Prof Whitty and Sir Patrick are speaking – two mainstays of the No 10 news conferences when the virus was at its peak – means “you can assume that their briefing on the latest data will not convey good news”.

Read more on the story here.

Image source, Reuters

Good morning to our audience in the UK – where our top story is on England’s chief medical adviser Prof Chris Whitty who is due to make a televised speech later this morning.

Prof Whitty – who was a familiar face during No 10’s lockdown updates – is likely to warn that the UK is “heading in the wrong direction” and we’re at a “critical point in the pandemic”. You can read more here ahead of his 11:00 BST speech.

In other UK coronavirus news this morning:

• There’s another big speech, this time from Labour’s shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds who is later set to accuse the government of mismanaging billions of pounds spent in response to the pandemic
• Around one in 20 children in England are out of school due to issues linked to the pandemic and lockdown, the children’s commissioner has suggested. The actual number of schools who have sent pupils home because of Covid cases is small, she says, but many other children have not yet returned since lockdown
• The pandemic is a “window of opportunity” to reset the economy to take further action on climate change, Prince Charles has said
• More than 80,000 UK firms have voluntarily returned more than £215m to the government in furlough scheme payments they did not need or took in error

Image source, Reuters

Good morning - or if it’s later where you are, good afternoon. Thank you for joining our rolling coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our team is reporting from London today.

Here are the main headlines this morning.

• Tough new restrictions are coming into force in parts of Madrid, the capital of Spain, after a sharp rise in cases and deaths. More than 800,000 residents have been ordered to stay at home
• In parts of the Netherlands, too, bars have been told to close early and new limits have been placed on gatherings. Meanwhile Germany’s health minister has said the infection dynamic in countries like the Netherlands, Austria and France is worrying
• Things are more optimistic in New Zealand, which has just removed social distancing restrictions for all areas other than its most populous city Auckland. On Sunday, the country reported no new cases
• The Taj Mahal, one of the most iconic landmarks in the world, has reopened its doors to visitors after six months - the longest it has ever been shut. The move comes as India continues to battle a surge in cases and deaths
• The UN is going to hold its 75th anniversary commemoration event today - and because of the pandemic, national representatives will be celebrating virtually. The event will be live-streamed from 09:00 EDT (14:00 BST)
• The Emmys was also held virtually - it was broadcast from a largely empty theatre in Los Angeles, in the US, and TV stars accepted their awards at home. Succession and Schitts Creek were the big winners of the night
• There have now been more than 30.9 million cases of and almost 960,000 deaths with the virus worldwide, according to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University