The prime minister begins his statement to MPs by explaining why he won't be announcing a second national lockdown for the UK.

"I do not believe that would be the right course," he says, citing damage to the economy and to children who would miss out on school.

He says there are others who disagree with measures entirely and would like to see them lifted.

But if we were to follow that course, "and let the virus rip", then the "bleak mathematics dictate that we would suffer not only an intolerable death toll" but would also put "huge strain" on the NHS and doctors and nurses would be unable to treat patients for cancer, heart disease and other conditions, he says.

The PM says further restrictions will help to save lives and protect the NHS while keeping children in school and protecting livelihoods.

Vicki Young
Deputy Political Editor

A familiar theme from the prime minister as he sets out the balance he’s trying to strike between protecting lives and keeping education and the economy going.

Many of his own MPs have been arguing against tighter restrictions.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has started his statement to the House of Commons.

He is setting out details of the new three-level system for England, which would label regions as being on medium, high or very high alert.

Each level would have different lockdown rules.

While we wait for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to begin his statement in the House of Commons, here is a reminder of what the government's advisers said at a briefing this morning:

• NHS Nightingale hospitals in Manchester, Sunderland and Harrogate are being asked to get ready to take patients.
• More people are now in hospital with Covid than before restrictions were announced in March.
• The rise in coronavirus cases is now being seen "nationwide" not just in northern England.
• Cases in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been increasing too.
• There has been a steep rise in the numbers of over-65s - particularly the over-85s - being admitted to hospital.
• NHS staff working in the parts of England with the highest Covid rates would be offered regular tests to check if they had the virus.

MPs in the Greater Manchester region say they have been told their area will be placed under Tier 2 restrictions in the new coronavirus lockdown system in England.

Speaking to BBC News, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said officials in the area were "glad that government has listened".

"We had no evidence that hospitality was the primary course of spread in our city region," he said.

"However, it's important to say that any restrictions will choke off trade to our pubs, restaurants, even our shops.

"So, any restrictions must come with a full economic support package otherwise we are going to see a risk of redundancies and business failure running up to Christmas."

Mr Burnham said he did not know what the category means in its entirety.

But he said it primarily meant "a ban on social mixing indoors in any setting", which he described as "still a major restriction".

Some Labour MPs have complained about the short notice they were given to join a briefing today about coronavirus restrictions.

Kate Osborne, MP for Jarrow in north-east England, tweeted, external that she had received a meeting invite along with other MPs in the region to discuss further measures "with just seven minutes' notice".

She added: "Disgraceful. Do they even know what they’re doing?!"

Another, Jim McMahon, MP for Oldham West & Royton in north-west England, said he got an invite from the health secretary giving him 21 minutes' notice.

He tweeted:, external "I'll dial in of course, but this is really poor even by current standards, like most things it appears an afterthought."

Ellie Price
Political correspondent

When Boris Johnson stands up at 15:30 BST there will be a bit more clarity [on] exactly what being in a medium area, a high risk area and a very high risk area might look like.

For example, in this very high risk area, I think we're going to hear more about exactly what that might mean. it looks very much like it will mean a closure of bars and pubs and not necessarily restaurants - but also a ban on mixing of households in and outside.

Move down to tier two, it looks like that will be less stringent but probably still that stopping of households mixing.

And then down to tier one, to the least high, the medium risk areas and that will basically be the sort of general rules for England at the moment - the rule of six and social distancing.

I think the plan for the government is really to try and simplify what has become quite complicated with different areas having different restrictions in place.

Image source, Reuters

Amy Coney Barrett, US President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, is appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee despite coronavirus concerns.

The confirmation hearing room has been prepared in consultation with health officials to ensure that social-distancing rules are met.

Two Republican senators on the committee, Mike Lee and Thom Tillis, have recently tested positive. Lee is attending today's hearing in person. Tillis tweeted on Sunday night that he was about to finish his quarantine and was following remotely.

Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee who is also a panel member, is also participating remotely.

Judge Barrett's nomination so close to the 3 November presidential election has sparked a political row between the Republicans and rival Democrats.

Judge Barrett's approval would cement a conservative majority on the top court.

Follow live coverage for what is expected to be a fiery confirmation hearing here.

Image source, Reuters

It's not long now until Prime Minister Boris Johnson will speak to MPs about the new coronavirus lockdown system in England.

He will address Parliament at 15:30 BST and give a press conference at 19:00.

He's expected to announce a new "three tier" system - which would categorise regions as on medium, high or very high alert.

Each level would have different lockdown rules.

Earlier, Johnson chaired a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra meeting.

Business owners in Liverpool are calling for clarity and detail from the prime minister, as some will be forced to close under new coronavirus measures.

Smithdown Road in Wavertree, Liverpool, has an eclectic mix of businesses, bars and cafes.

Adele Allan is fully masked up with a visor and PPE, busy working in her barbershop.

The idea of the city being put under further coronavirus restrictions, as part of a new three-tier system for England, has "got me really worried", she says.

"Even if we aren’t shut down, people are frightened and worried about coming to get their hair cut. There’s total confusion," she says.

A few doors away, Niall Scott is a bar manager at TriBeCa. It’s a bar and pizzeria so he isn't sure if it'll be allowed to stay open.

"Monday is a big day for us because we’re planning ahead for the week, ordering thousands of pounds' worth of food and drink. We need guidance on if we are going to be open or not," he says.

A few miles away, Connor O’Brien, who owns a firm operating gyms in the city centre, says the impact of forced closures on the area's fitness businesses would be "catastrophic" and "heartbreaking".

He says no coronavirus cases have been traced back to his gyms since they reopened following lockdown, and that the science and data "does not justify this closure" - adding that gyms are "vital" to people’s mental health and overall well-being.

Marianna Spring
Specialist disinformation and social media reporter

With an announcement coming today of new measures to tackle coronavirus in England, rumours are understandably spreading in Facebook and WhatsApp groups.

A lot of the online conversation has been fuelled by speculation in the press and conflicting briefings from politicians.

It’s a fertile time for misinformation to spread on social media. Here’s a reminder of how you can stop bad information going viral:

1. Interrogate the source - and pause before you share. Where has the information come from? A copied and pasted message that’s attributed to a friend of a friend is much less reliable that trusted sources for updates
2. Ask yourself how a post makes you feel. Often misleading information and conspiracy theories play on the feelings of worry and frustration that come with news about possible restrictions
3. Think about bias. Lots of people share false claims about lockdown or coronavirus that confirm their political opinion

Criticism of the government’s handling of the pandemic, general confusion and opposition to lockdown are all very legitimate.

False claims that coronavirus is a “hoax” or unhelpful panicky messages are less useful.

Three NHS Nightingale hospitals in northern England are being asked to get ready to take patients amid warnings from scientists that increased hospital admissions could soon mean wards fill up.

Here's more from NHS medical director Prof Stephen Powis, who announced in a Downing Street press conference earlier that the hospitals in Manchester, Sunderland and Harrogate are "being mobilised" over the next few weeks.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The fact there are more Covid patients in English hospitals now than there was when lockdown was announced is alarming.

But the comparison needs a bit of context, too.

There has been a gradual and slow build-up to the 3,500 cases in English hospitals in recent weeks. Around 500 new coronavirus patients a day are being admitted at the moment – with a few hundred being discharged too.

The daily new admissions is on the upward trend - it’s doubling every fortnight at the moment.

But, compare that to the first peak of the virus in the UK, and the picture is somewhat different.

The numbers being admitted were exploding then - doubling every few days and threatening to overwhelm hospitals everywhere. Soon some 3,000 Covid patients were being admitted to hospital each day. That is three times worse than the NHS would normally see for all types of respiratory viruses in the middle of winter.

What we are seeing currently is not like that.

The danger with Covid, of course, is things can get worse rapidly. That has certainly happened in north-west England and could be repeated elsewhere. The coming weeks will be crucial.

Anne Soy
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta are due to launch a call to action on Monday to raise $5bn (£3.8bn) for educating the most vulnerable children around the world.

The number of children out of school has risen sharply during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) estimates that up to 1.3 billion learners globally are out of school and experts are warning that many may never return as their countries’ economies contract.

The two leaders will also announce plans to co-host a major education summit in the UK mid next year to rally support for this cause.

Prime Minister Johnson and President Kenyatta will urge world leaders to support their efforts to get more children to school by investing in an initiative dubbed the Global Partnership for Education.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, about a quarter of a billion children were out of school. That number increased six-fold by April of this year because of school closures meant to help slow down the spread of the virus.

The school closures have left children mostly in poor regions even more vulnerable.

Girls are more likely to fall victim to female genital mutilation, early marriage or teen pregnancy, and boys living in conflict zones are at a greater risk of being recruited into armed groups.

Image source, Getty Images

Hello and thank you for following our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, brought to your by our team in London and colleagues around world.

If you're just joining us, here are some of today's biggest developments:

• NHS Medical Director Stephen Powis says more people are now in hospital with Covid than before the country's lockdown in March. Case numbers are also rising markedly in areas of northern England
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to speak in the Commons at 15:30 BST, and give a conference later this evening. It's expected that he will announce a new, three-level alert system for England - with Liverpool facing the strictest curbs
• More than 37.5m cases of coronavirus have now been confirmed worldwide, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll has also risen to 1.07m
• Chinese authorities in Qingdao say they will be testing the city's entire population of nine million people for Covid-19, over a period of five days. It comes after the discovery of a dozen cases linked to a hospital treating coronavirus patients arriving from abroad
• Top US government scientist Anthony Fauci has said an edited clip of him used in a Trump campaign ad is misleading.

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier we heard that the Welsh government is considering all options - including national measures - to tackle rising coronavirus cases.

Now the Scottish government has said it will implement a three-tier framework of Covid restrictions - similar to that being introduced in England - later in October.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said her devolved administration was aiming to "align as closely as possible with other UK nations" on a strategic level.

New measures were imposed chiefly in Scotland's central belt at the weekend, but Ms Sturgeon said these "reset" restrictions were "temporary" and would be replaced with a multi-tier system.

• England's three-tier lockdown system to be unveiled

She also said that “professional advisers” told the UK government’s Cobra meeting on coronavirus this morning that the “very minimum level of tier 3” restrictions due to be announced in England today are “probably not sufficient to get R back under 1”.

Ms Sturgeon was responding to a question about reports that some bars and restaurants may still be allowed to open under the strictest level of the UK’s government’s new tier system for England.

Ministers have also been considering ways to curb the spread in Northern Ireland, as infection rates continue to spiral.

Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst

Image source, Getty Images

This week, the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao will test all nine million of its residents during a five-day testing drive.

Everyone will receive two nucleic acid tests, a serum test for antibodies, and those who test positive will undergo seven days of monitoring.

This was confirmed within 24 hours of the region confirming 12 new cases of Covid-19 – six with symptoms, and six without.

China learnt heavy lessons during its initial outbreak of Covid-19 at the beginning of the year, and it has now been nine months since the first death from Covid-19, in the central city of Wuhan.

At the time, the country was criticised both domestically and internationally for not controlling the situation in the city of Wuhan faster. It has since been standard procedure for mass testing to be carried out as soon as a single case of Covid-19 is identified in order to prevent a more widespread outbreak.

But also, as the national Global Times newspaper notes today, external, China’s basic medical insurance funds “cannot afford nationwide free Covid-19 vaccinations”.

The country’s government had earlier warned that it does not have the capacity to provide testing and treatment for all 1.4 billion Chinese people.

So this is why blitz tests are carried out. The hope is that any trace of the virus, no matter how small – even if it’s on import packaging, or if a patient is asymptomatic – will be eradicated, and won’t be given a chance to spread.

Image source, Getty Images

David Ho is a virologist whose team at Columbia University is on the frontline in the quest to find monoclonal antibodies to fight Covid-19.

President Donald Trump, who was given a monoclonal antibody therapy from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, has hailed the cocktail, but scientists say far more testing needs to be done.

While Ho's current focus is on coronavirus, he made his name in HIV/AIDS research.

In the 1990s, he helped discover a ground-breaking drug cocktail for treating the illness. This made it a manageable disease, rather than a death sentence.

One of his most famous patients was NBA legend Magic Johnson, who announced he was HIV positive in 1991.

Speaking to CBS about Trump's statement that people should not be afraid of coronavirus, Ho said: "Well, I think we should be fearful of what this virus could do to an infected person.

"Over a million people have died. And over 200,000 Americans have died. We have to give this virus its due respect."

Philippa Roxby
Health reporter, BBC News

In the midst of bleak warnings over rising hospital admissions for Covid-19, NHS medical director Stephen Powis has urged people to keep using the health service for any health problem.

As we reported earlier, at a Downing Street press conference he said that includes worrying chest pains, or any potential signs of cancer such as blood in the urine.

During the first wave of the epidemic in the UK, the NHS had to stop non-urgent surgery.

Services for cancer, heart problems, mental health issues and many other areas were also reduced - or people were put off seeking help, which meant many didn’t receive the treatment they needed.

• Year-long waits for NHS care at highest since 2008
• Undetected breast cancer warning for thousands of women

This time around, health bosses are determined that doesn’t happen.

The message is that they will do everything in their power to maintain services.

And that means people must continue to contact their GP if they have a health issue or any suspect symptoms.

The fear is that a second wave of Covid-19 this winter will not only cause deaths from the virus, but many more from other conditions that were ignored.