The governor of the US state of Missouri, who opposes mask mandates, has tested positive for coronavirus.

Republican Mike Parson received his result on Wednesday, hours after his wife tested positive.

"I want everyone to know that myself and the first lady are both fine," he said in a video uploaded to Twitter, adding that his wife had been displaying minor symptoms and both were now quarantining.

Although the governor has previously recommended people wear masks and socially distance, he has rejected calls to introduce state rules requiring people to wear face coverings.

On Sunday, Parson posted photos of himself at a re-election event in the state alongside four other men. While they appeared to stand at a distance, none of them wore a mask.

More than 1,900 people are confirmed to have died with coronavirus in Missouri, which has seen around 120,000 reported infections, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Labour's Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds has called for the chancellor in his House of Commons statement today to announce "targeted wage support" for people in industries still struggling due to the pandemic.

"We think it's a real priority that those industries directly impacted by the crisis get that support," she told BBC Breakfast, saying sectors such as hospitality and advanced manufacturing had been badly hit and needed a system of wage support "for the future".

She said that "above all, we can't have this kind of last-minute response again", criticising Chancellor Rishi Sunak for being slow to announce measures such as support for people self-isolating and tackling the threat to jobs this autumn and winter.

"We need to have much more future planning from the chancellor," Dodds said.

But she declined to set out what Labour's plan would be, saying it was not for the opposition to determine "exactly how that works".

Image source, Reuters

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been under mounting pressure to replace the furlough scheme, which protected UK jobs during the pandemic by paying 80% of salaries but which is due to expire next month.

At about 11:45 BST, he is due to make a statement in the House of Commons, where he is expected to unveil a plan to reduce job losses in the second wave of the pandemic over the winter.

In July, about five million people were receiving some or all of their income through the furlough scheme, mostly hospitality sector workers who face new restrictions with an enforced 22:00 closing time from this evening in England.

It is understood that Sunak has been looking at different forms of wage subsidy and financial help, including a salary top-up scheme, similar to those already operating in France and Germany.

Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank, said he expected a "big rise" in unemployment when the existing furlough scheme expires at the end of next month.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the UK government does not "rule out" telling university students not to go home at Christmas to avoid spreading infection if the coronavirus crisis worsens.

"We haven't reached that point yet," he told BBC Breakfast. "I don't rule out anything.

"And if you have the last nine months that I've had, you'd understand why we don't rule out anything. It's not something that I want to do.

"But what's important is that we of course keep people safe and keep the virus under control."

Hancock was responding to a report in the i newspaper that scientists on the Sage scientific advisory group had warned the step could be necessary to prevent larger outbreaks "spilling over from [higher education] institutions" when term ends.

The health secretary also told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the UK was still "on track" for its target of 500,000 tests a day by the end of October.

Hancock said the accuracy of the newly-launched contact tracing app for England and Wales was "increasing all the time"

"What we know for absolute sure is the app will not tell you to self-isolate because you have been in close contact with someone unless you have been in close contact."

Image source, PA Media

The UK is taking part in talks to run a "challenge trial" where healthy volunteers agree to be deliberately given coronavirus to test whether vaccines work and speed up research.

One of the potential volunteers for the trial, which could take place in London in January, is Alastair Fraser-Urquhart, a student in biomedicine.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think a challenge trial has the potential to save thousands of lives and really bring the world out of the pandemic sooner. It was just something that made instant sense to me."

Part of the group 1Day Sooner, which supports challenge trial volunteers, he said it would mean staying in "bio-containment" at a research facility for two weeks or more to prevent any risk of test subjects infecting anyone else.

Prof Peter Horby, an infectious diseases expert from Oxford University, said challenge trials have a long history going back to the earliest days of vaccination and have "real potential to advance science".

He said a Covid-19 challenge trial would be ethical because the risk to otherwise healthy young people was "extremely low" and some treatments to reduce the severity of the disease are now available, if the vaccines being tested fail.

Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst

Image source, CCTV

A highly anticipated drama about Covid-19 has come under fierce criticism for downplaying the role of women during China's epidemic fight.

"Heroes in Harm's Way" premiered on China's flagship TV channel, CCTV-1, on 17 September. It aired during primetime, and promised to be the first TV drama "based on real life stories", external about frontline workers in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the site of the first coronavirus outbreak.

The title of the show implied that it was going to highlight the major contributions women had made in China's epidemic fight. Women account for the majority of China's front-line workers.

However, the show's pilot, released with much fanfare and publicity, was panned on China's IMDB-like website, Douban. Film critics noted that it scored an embarrassing 2.4 out of 10, external, and it received many critical comments, mainly about its depiction of women, before they were suddenly suspended on the site.

Viewers have taken particular offence to the fact that many of the female characters play a hindering or subservient role compared with their male counterparts.

Read the full story here.

Image source, Getty Images

Face masks are no longer mandatory on public transport in most of New Zealand as new coronavirus cases continue to fall.

From midnight on Wednesday, they are required only in Auckland, the heart of a recent outbreak, and on planes.

The rest of New Zealand lifted all pandemic restrictions on Monday.

New Zealand was widely praised for its swift response to Covid-19 and everyday life largely went back to normal in June, but the virus reappeared in Auckland in August.

The country's biggest city went back into lockdown, temporarily, as other curbs were re-imposed elsewhere.

New Zealand has now recorded 1,468 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 25 deaths.

Read the full story here.

Image source, Reuters

Some 2,500 students at Lausanne’s EHL hotel management school in Switzerland are having to self-isolate until Monday after an outbreak thought to be linked to one or more parties. Eleven positive cases have been identified and authorities say they're too widespread to make the quarantine more targeted.

Three-quarters of the student body have been ordered to remain at home or in their accommodation until 28 September. EHL is one of the world’s top hotel and catering schools.

France is shutting restaurants and bars in its second city Marseille from Saturday, as daily infections nationally hit 13,072 on Wednesday. Mayor Michèle Rubirola says nothing justifies a total closure and another local leader has condemned the move as "collective punishment".

New rules come into force in Munich in southern Germany this morning; masks are compulsory in the city centre for anyone over the age of six and meetings are limited to five people.

Covid-related deaths in Spain have topped 31,000 after 130 more fatalities were reported on Wednesday.

It'll be a big night in the Hungarian capital Budapest, where up to 20,000 fans will be allowed to watch Bayern Munich play Sevilla in the Uefa Super Cup final. But the two clubs expect only around 1,500 of their supporters to travel because of the pandemic.

Image source, Getty Images

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has unveiled an "ambitious plan for an unprecedented reality" amid rising Covid-19 cases in the country.

The announcements made on Wednesday include a plan to create more than a million jobs, a commitment to extend wage subsidies until next summer, and support for industries hardest hit by the virus - like the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors.

There was also a promise to make a significant, long-term investment in childcare, which is seen by some economists as key to helping women fully return to the workforce.

Following the announcement, Mr Trudeau warned Canadians that a second wave of the pandemic was "already under way".

"We're on the brink of a fall that could be much worse than the spring," he said.

Read the full story here.

Image source, Reuters

Israel made headlines last week as it became the first industrialised country to enter a second nationwide lockdown.

But after daily cases reached a record 6,861 in the country on Wednesday, the government has now announced even stricter rules to come into force from Friday.

While the private sector was initially allowed to continue working as long as face-to-face contact with consumers was avoided, only essential businesses will now stay open. There will also be new restrictions on protests.

The government has decided against closing synagogues for Yom Kippur – one of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar – amid opposition from religious groups. However, services will only be able to operate under restrictive measures.

Here's a more detailed look at this morning's main headlines from around the UK to bring you up to speed:

• At 12:30 BST, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak is due to announce a plan to replace the furlough scheme, aimed at minimising further unemployment as coronavirus restrictions continue into the winter. The plan is expected to be a salary top-up scheme similar to Germany's
• A contact-tracing smartphone app has been launched in England and Wales, designed to tell users they need to self-isolate for 14 days if it detects they have been in contact with someone who was infected
• Pharmacy chain Boots has suspended flu jab bookings amid "unprecedented demand", following calls to increase vaccinations to reduce the impact of flu during the pandemic. But NHS England says stocks remain available
• The UK is discussing plans to be the first country in the world to carry out "human challenge studies" of potential vaccines, where healthy volunteers are deliberately infected with the virus after vaccination to test its effectiveness. The studies could start in London in January
• A former head of the UK civil service, Lord O'Donnell, will say in a speech today that the UK has lacked leadership and "over-promised and under-delivered" during the pandemic
• Northern Ireland ministers will consider whether to follow the rest of the UK in imposing a 22:00 closing time on the hospitality industry
• Hundreds of students at Glasgow University have been told to self-isolate after 124 tested positive for Covid-19.

Hello from the UK and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

We will bring you the latest updates from the UK and around the world throughout the day.

Here is a recap of the latest key global developments:

• The number of confirmed coronavirus deaths around the world has passed 975,000, according to Johns Hopkins University

• Around 2,500 students at an elite hospitality school in Switzerland are in quarantine after a spike in cases. Authorities said the number of outbreaks, which emerged after private student parties, more targeted lockdowns impossible
• Face masks are no longer mandatory on public transport in most of New Zealand as cases drop. They are now only required in Auckland – the centre of a recent outbreak – and on planes
• Israel is to introduce more restrictions from this Friday, a week after entering its second lockdown. The new rules were announced on Thursday morning and will allow fewer businesses to operate and impose further curbs on travel
• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced an "ambitious plan" to increase jobs and spending on childcare, including through taxes on "extreme wealth inequality".