Pallab Ghosh
Science correspondent, BBC News

The government’s aim is to slow down and then reverse the surge in coronavirus cases through the measures it’s announced today. But are they enough?

Privately many of the scientists on the scientific advisory group don’t think the further tightening of restrictions in England go far enough. Some would have liked to have seen a strengthening of the "rule of six" so that six people from only two households could meet.

Others would have preferred complete closure of bars and restaurants for a period of time.

There’s support though for the reversion to the work from home if you can message, which will reduce infection on public transport.

And many applaud the prime minister for warning people that restrictions are likely to be in place for six months. After that, the warm spring weather will reduce the lifetime of the virus and enable people to spend more time outdoors.

But the scientists say the main unknown in their calculations is whether people will comply with the restrictions and stay at home when required to.

An analysis by Sage found fewer than 20% of people fully isolated if they were asked to by the Test and Trace service. There are anecdotal reports of people ignoring social distancing guidelines. Unless these behaviours change, the scientists say, the gentle brake the government has applied to a return to a more normal life will have to become an emergency stop, possibly within weeks.

President Donald Trump said in March that if deaths from coronavirus remained under 200,000 then the US would have done a "very good job". Tuesday saw the country reach that death toll, according to data from Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

More than 6.8 million people are known to have been infected in the US, more than in any other country.

The milestone comes amid an increase in cases in a number of states, including North Dakota and Utah.

You can read more on this story here.

Image source, Reuters

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has told the World at One "inaction on test, track and trace and financial support have left us in a worse position and we are seeing the virus out of control".

She said while Labour supported the introduction of measures brought in by the government the "inadequacy and incompetence" of the prime minister meant the situation was out of control.

The MP for Ashton-under-Lyme said additional restrictions in Greater Manchester, which have already been in place, had not made a difference due to a lack of testing.

Image source, Reuters

European Council President Charles Michel has postponed an EU summit of leaders and quarantined himself after a security guard “with whom he was in close contact early last week” tested positive for Covid-19.

The president himself tested negative but “respecting Belgian rules, he has gone into quarantine as of today”, his spokesman said.

A meeting of the European Council was due to take place on Thursday and Friday, but has now been put back a week, until 1-2 October.

The number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus has passed 400,000 after 4,926 cases were confirmed as of 09:00 BST on Tuesday.

It takes the overall confirmed cases to 403,551.

A further 37 people died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, bringing the UK total to 41,825.

Laura Kuenssberg
Political editor

Image source, PA Media

It's not a day for optimists, even though the prime minister himself is one of that tribe.

Tomorrow, it will be six months exactly since he told the nation to stay at home.

This time, Boris Johnson stopped well short of slamming the country's doors shut.

But what really stood out in his long statement in a miserable-looking Commons was his message that the limits put in place today will last another six months.

Even if you are very fond of your own company, lucky enough to have a secure job you enjoy and a comfy spare room where you can do it, it is quite something to contemplate.

The government now expects that all our lives will be subject to restrictions of one kind or another for a whole year - March 2020 to March 2021.

As each month ticks by, it becomes harder to imagine a return to anything like normal political life, or, more importantly, the way we all live.

We may not be waiting for a return to life as we knew it, but grinding through a moment of change.

Read more from Laura's blog here.

After Nicola Sturgeon's statement at Holyrood here are some of the new "tough" measures which have been announced:

• from tomorrow visiting other households will not be permitted - this will be reviewed every three weeks

• exceptions to the new regulation include those living alone, or alone with children who form extended households as well as couples who have formed non-cohabiting relationships, informal childcare and tradespeople
• meeting outdoors in groups of six from two households, including in gardens, is allowed and children under 12 do not count towards either limit
• young people aged 12 to 18 can meet outdoors in groups of up to six from any number of households
• people are advised not to car share with anyone from a different household
• Hospitality businesses will have a strict 22:00 curfew
• workers should work from home and, if employers do not comply, a legal duty may be introduced
• people have also been advised not to travel overseas during October half term and the period should be used as an opportunity to limit social interaction
• there will not be a return to shielding for people who are considered vulnerable

The first minister said she hoped reports that the restrictions could be in place for six months would not be true but said until a vaccine or other scientific developments are made "Covid will continue to have an impact on our lives".

Image source, PA Media

Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the CBI which says it speaks for 190,000 UK businesses, said the announcement that there will be no full-scale lockdown was met with the "most enormous relief".

But the new measures would be a blow to the economy, she said, and called for support for struggling businesses.

This need not involve extending the furlough scheme, she said - a "successor scheme" could be less generous but more targeted. Otherwise more jobs would be lost in coming weeks, she warned.

"10pm on paper looks relatively modest but for restaurant it's the difference between one or two sittings," she told the BBC.

She went on to call for a real effort around national testing - it's "our biggest, strongest weapon we have against the virus".

Image source, Getty Images

In England, the limit of up to six people from multiple households meeting up applies both indoors and outdoors, and to all ages.

Gatherings in private homes, venues such as pubs and restaurants, and in outdoor spaces like parks are all affected.

In Scotland, from Wednesday people will not be allowed to visit each other’s homes. Meetings in public indoor settings - such as pubs and restaurants - will continue to be limited to a maximum of six people from two households.

And up to six people from two different households can continue to meet outdoors, including in private gardens. Children under 12 will be exempt from both the limit of six and the limit of two households, if meeting outside.

In Wales, it is now illegal for more than six people to meet indoors - and even then, the six people must be from an "extended household", external. Children aged 10 and under do not count in the total. Up to 30 people from different homes can still meet outside.

Northern Ireland has announced tougher rules. Social mixing of households will now not be allowed inside private homes at all - although there are some exemptions, external.

Up to six people from two households can meet in private gardens. In other places, both inside and outside, up to 15 can gather with social distancing - but venues, such as pubs, must carry out risk assessments.

Read more on these rules here.

Image source, EPA

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a global ceasefire by the end of the year so that countries can focus on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

And, without naming the US and China, he told the virtual UN General Assembly: “We must do everything to avoid a new Cold War.”

“We are moving in a very dangerous direction. Our world cannot afford a future where the two largest economies split the globe in a Great Fracture – each with its own trade and financial rules and internet and artificial intelligence capacities.”

He appealed to the UN Security Council "for a stepped-up international effort" to achieve a universal ceasefire by 2021. "We have 100 days. The clock is ticking."

Leaders' speeches are being delivered via video-link. In the chamber itself in New York, each of the 193 UN member countries is represented by a single diplomat wearing a mask.

US President Donald Trump, in a recorded speech to the General Assembly, is set to again attack China for alleged falsehoods over the origins of the coronavirus and call on the UN to hold Beijing “accountable for their actions”.

Reality Check

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “This country is now testing more than any other country in Europe.”

He’s made the Europe comparison several times before. In terms of overall tests to diagnose whether someone has coronavirus, he’s right – according to data collected by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Between 9 March and 6 September, its data shows:

• the UK did more than 16.4m tests
• Germany did 13.3m tests
• Italy did 8.8m tests
• France did 8.3m tests

On testing relative to the size of a country's population, the UK ranks highly (over the same period): the UK did 246 tests for every 1,000 people compared with Germany which tested 160 per 1,000.

A handful of countries tested more though – including Denmark with 459 tests per 1,000.

We’ve looked at the comparisons in more detail here.

Image source, Getty Images

Until the pandemic hit, working from home was not common in Spain. Now home working is set to have its own rights and protections after the government agreed a draft legal framework with unions and business leaders.

Under the proposals, seen by Reuters, employers must bankroll all expenses incurred by employees working from home, including computer equipment and furniture. All working arrangements are voluntarily agreed between firms and their employees, and both are entitled to ask for flexible working hours.

The rules, if approved by parliament, will apply to anyone who spends at least 30% of their statutory hours working from home.

Spain has the highest number of coronavirus cases in Europe, with more than 640,000 since the start of the pandemic and more than 30,000 deaths.

Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

The key to breaking chains of coronavirus transmission is keeping people physically apart in as many situations as possible.

Leaders from the devolved nations have been given the same scientific data but are taking different approaches to managing the rising coronavirus cases the UK is now seeing.

In both Northern Ireland and Scotland, households will no longer be able to mix indoors (with some exceptions). In England the focus is on getting more people to work from home and bringing in a 10pm curfew in pubs and restaurants. Socialising at home with other households can continue – as long as the group is no bigger than six people.

Shutting bars, pubs and restaurants earlier in the evening will reduce the window of opportunity for socialising, but whether the new measures will be enough to limit the spread of coronavirus from person to person is unclear.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears to be reluctant to impose more rules on people in their homes for now. But he says he is willing to deploy "greater firepower" and more restrictions in the coming weeks if cases continue to grow.

Boris Johnson has announced new restrictions to try to stop the spread of coronavirus in England, which he said would probably stay in place for the next six months.

They include shop staff having to wear face masks, weddings being limited to a maximum of 15 people and people being told to work from home wherever possible.

Pubs, bars and restaurants will have to close at 22:00 BST from Thursday. And fines for breaking laws on gatherings and not wearing a mask will also increase to £200 for a first offence.

Here is a breakdown of all the new restrictions.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says she wants employers who have urged workers back into the office to have a rethink and says a "legal duty" to allow home working could be introduced.

She also says a package of support will be introduced for those who are self-isolating. Her government is working with councils to ensure that those asked to self-isolate will be contacted and offered essential practical support.

And support grants of £500 will be introduced for those on low incomes who have to self-isolate.

The Scottish government is also now advising against car-sharing.

The first minister said: “We know from Test and Protect data that sharing car journeys presents a significant risk of transmission.

“We’re therefore advising against car-sharing with people outside your own household.”

Scotland has followed England in introducing a 22:00 closing time for pubs, bars and restaurants.

The first minister said her government was seeking to strike a balance between reducing the spread of the virus and protecting jobs in the hospitality industry.

Ms Sturgeon said: "This decision today means we can reduce the amount of time people are able to spend in licensed premises, thereby curtailing the spread of the virus while still allowing businesses to trade and provide jobs. This is the best balance for now."

While a ban on meeting in homes is being brought in by Nicola Sturgeon, six people from two households will still be able to meet outdoors, including in a garden.

The first minister says the government intends to exempt young people aged under 12 from both the limit of six people indoors and the limit of two households when outdoors.

"There will be no limit on the ability of children under 12 to play together outdoors," she said.

Young people aged 12 to 18 will be able to meet in groups of six outdoors, with no limit on the number of households they come from - but Ms Sturgeon stresses that this will be kept under review.

The ban on meeting in homes will not affect indoor public spaces, where six people from two households can still meet.

People from different households will no longer be able to meet indoors anywhere in Scotland, the first minister says.

Ms Sturgeon says it is known the coronavirus can be transmitted more easily indoors.

The rules will come in on Friday but the first minister is asking people to respect it from Wednesday.

The first minister says the measures she will set out are "tough" but not a full-on lockdown like we had in March.

"By acting early and substantially I hope these measures will be in place for a shorter period," she said.

To keep the economy going and protect the NHS, Ms Sturgeon says: "We must stop the virus from spiraling out of control and can only do that if we accept restrictions in other parts of our lives."