UK PM says he does not want 'to see this country constantly locking down'
Boris Johnson says 'each day that passes without action' around UK will mean more people dying
PM 'may need to intervene' if tougher new measures are not agreed with Greater Manchester
Mr Johnson urges region's mayor Andy Burnham to 'engage constructively' with the government
Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance says coronavirus 'growing everywhere' and spreading to older age groups
Public Health England epidemiologist Dr Susan Hopkins urges people to keep personal contacts low
We are now closing our live page. Thanks for joining us today.
The live page writers today were:
Alexandra Fouché, Ella Wills, Sophie Williams, Justin Parkinson, Gavin Stamp and Alex Therrien.
The page was edited by Mal Siret and Martha Buckley.
Image source, Getty ImagesWe will soon be bringing our coronavirus live page to a pause for the day.
Before we do, here are the main UK stories from today:
Image source, ReutersHere are the main stories from around the world today:
Danai Howard
BBC News
Image source, Getty ImagesInternet searches in Hong Kong for flights to Singapore have jumped by 400% following the announcement that the two cities were planning a potential "travel bubble".
The travel website Expedia said it saw a three-digit surge in the number of customers, while prices for flights in December rose by at least 57% in the last 24 hours, to $3,297 [Hong Kong dollars] (£329) for a round-trip. Meanwhile, the share price for Hong Kong’s airline Cathay Pacific jumped by 7% following the announcement on Thursday.
The travel bubble would mean that people would be able to travel between Hong Kong and Singapore without the need to quarantine, but Singapore’s Transport Minister, Ong Ye Kung, has said travellers would still need to have received negative Covid-19 test results to travel under the scheme.
International travel to Asia collapsed during the pandemic, with passenger numbers down 97% in August, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines.
The Singapore-Hong Kong deal will provide some much-needed relief for the region’s aviation and tourism sectors.
“It is a safe, careful, but significant step forward to revive air travel, and provide a model for future collaboration with other parts of the world," Mr Ong said.
Tensions are running high between Downing Street and local leaders in Greater Manchester, who have been unable to agree on whether the areas should move to England's highest, tier-three level of Covid restrictions.
Mayor Andy Burnham, his deputy mayors and other Greater Manchester leaders have just released a statement, saying: "At our last meeting with Downing Street officials yesterday morning, we were told they would arrange a further meeting later in the day to provide a response to our requests. That did not happen and, despite being on standby all day today, we are still waiting for it to be arranged. We can assure the prime minister that we are ready to meet at any time to try to agree a way forward.
They add that they are “not convinced that closing hospitality venues is the only way to protect hospitals" and they would prefer to look at other measures "such as reinstating shielding arrangements and introducing tougher instant closure powers on non-compliant pubs, restaurants, shops and other business premises”.
It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned he may “have to intervene” if tier-three measures were not agreed for Manchester.
The prime minister urged Mayor Andy Burnham to "engage constructively" with the government, saying the situation was worsening every day and "time is of the essence".
Circuit breaker lockdowns have been used in some countries such as Singapore and Israel as way of reducing the number of cases of coronavirus by stopping the ways it can spread.
Wales says it will spend the next few days considering a circuit-breaker lockdown which they're calling a 'fire break'.
But how do they work? How long is a Covid circuit breaker? How can it help fight coronavirus?
Circuit breaker lockdown: What is a circuit breaker?
Gavin Lee
BBC Europe reporter
Image source, ReutersBelgium is seeing a rise in the number of Covid cases
All bars, cafes and restaurants across Belgium will close from Monday for a month, following a surge in the number of Covid 19 cases.
A night time curfew will also be in place across the country from Monday from midnight until 5am.
The Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo announced the measures this evening, stating that the country had entered a “very serious alert phase, phase four”.
The measures will also mean that people can only have one close contact outside of their household, compared to four close contacts previously.
Mr De Croo also stated that working from home will be compulsory for all workers who are able to. Sales of alcohol will also be banned after 8pm.
He added that the situation could be reviewed after two weeks for all measures.
Belgium has had an average of 6,000 infections and 20 deaths per day in the past 7 days, including a rise of 7,360 cases in a single day recorded on Wednesday.
The infection rate over the past two weeks stands at 549 infections per 100,000 people. That’s an increase of 182% compared to that two weeks before.
The daily flow of patients at several hospitals in Brussels and Wallonia is starting to put pressure on the health system again, according to medical staff.
Officials have now ordered hospitals to reserve 50% of ICU beds for Covid patients, up from 30%.
Image source, Getty ImagesPharmaceutical giant Pfizer has confirmed it will not apply for emergency authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine before late next month - puncturing President Donald Trump's hope for a virus jab before the 3 November presidential election.
In a statement, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the company may know whether or not their vaccine is effective by the end of October, but that the time needed to collect safety and manufacturing data will push the authorisation date several weeks later.
"We are operating at the speed of science," he said.
Trump has hinted that a vaccine might be ready before Americans go to the polls next month, fueling speculation that the timeline is politically motivated.
At a town hall event last night, Democratic challenger Joe Biden said he would take a vaccine when it becomes ready, if "the body of scientists" say it is safe.
Image source, Getty ImagesFormer New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says "there was no contact tracing done" with him by the White House after he tested positive for Covid-19.
"My contact tracing was done by my local county board of health. They called me when i was in the hospital," he said to ABC News in his first televised interview since his release from hospital.
The Republican was present at the 26 September Rose Garden event, now under scrutiny as a possible super-spreading event.
Christie has since expressed regret over the event, saying he incorrectly believed the White House was a "safe zone" and that he was "wrong" not to wear a mask.
"I let my guard down. And it was wrong, it was just a big mistake," he said to ABC.
Asked on Friday if he has since urged President Trump to advocate for mask wearing, Christie said that "everybody's going to make their own decisions on that".
A new three-tier system has been introduced in England to help control the spread of the virus and prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed.
But what rules happen at what tier?
The BBC’s health correspondent, Laura Foster, has a summary.
Covid tier lockdown: What is the tier lockdown system in England?
As almost every day brings another record high in the number of daily infections in Russia, the authorities have been tightening restrictions across the vast country.
They differ from region to region since President Vladimir Putin delegated significant powers for fighting the epidemic to local authorities in April.
On 16 October, Russia reported another spike of 15,150 new coronavirus cases, up from 13,754 the previous day. In late August, the number was below 5,000. The daily death toll from Covid-19 has been rising too, reaching an all-time high of 286 yesterday.
To combat the spread of the epidemic, employers in some cities have been told to move at least some of their staff to home working, some regional administrations have urged locals to stay at home, but no part of Russia has returned to the strict lockdown measures that were imposed at the start of the pandemic.
Wearing a face mask in shops or on public transport is mandatory in most Russian regions.
Employers in Moscow, Rostov and Volgograd have been ordered to switch at least 30% of staff – as well as everyone older than 65 - to working from home.
Also in Moscow, the autumn school holidays were extended from one week to two (until 18 October) and older pupils will be moved to distance learning until the end of the month.
The authorities in Moscow, Volgograd, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area, Nizhny Novgorod Region, Krasnodar Territory and Russia-annexed Crimea ruled that people over 65, pregnant women and those with chronic diseases must stay at home.
In Rostov, local residents are required to stay at home unless they are on the way to work, shopping or engaged in one of a number of other activities such as exercising or walking a dog.
Mass public events are banned in Rostov Region, Krasnodar Territory, Transbaikal Territory, Udmurtia and the city of Sevastopol in Crimea.
Stavropol Territory requires visitors from other regions to quarantine for 14 days.
Leningrad Region introduced, external "red", "yellow" and "green" zones depending on the density of Covid-19 cases in the area, and limits the number of people present in these zones accordingly.
Kaliningrad Region banned cinemas on weekends. Bars and night clubs are closed in Kaliningrad Region, Chukotka and Rostov Region.
Rostov Region and Lipetsk Region suspended routine medical care, except for urgent conditions, for everyone apart from Covid-19 patients.
Today's developments have done nothing to provide the clarity desperately needed by one business owner in Greater Manchester - who still doesn't know whether her area will move into the highest Covid alert level.
Emma Shone, co-owner of gin and whisky bar Number 6 in Sale, Trafford, was left none the wiser after this afternoon's Downing Street press conference.
She said: "It’s completely frustrating for us as a local business.
"There are no winners in either tier two or tier three but for us he [the prime minister] needs to make that decision.
"We are going into yet another weekend of uncertainty about whether we have the hours for our staff, whether we purchase more stock.
"We went through that last weekend and now we're about to go through it again.
"Given the urgency Boris Johnson makes in all his press conferences, it seems very unclear as to why he won’t make that decision and take it out of the hands of [Greater Manchester Mayor] Andy Burnham, who appears to be making a very political statement as opposed to what is good for our local businesses.
"For us it is just devastating that we still don’t have a decision as we go into another weekend."
Image source, Getty ImagesThe US reported more than 65,000 cases across the country on Thursday - the most in a single day since July - as it inches toward a total of eight million infections.
Uncontrolled outbreaks are raging on in the Upper Midwest, in states like Wisconsin and Montana. Nearby, North Dakota and South Dakota are now adding more cases than any states have since the start of the pandemic.
The return of students to colleges and universities has been linked to the rapid spread. A recent study from the US Centers for Disease Control on the almost 100,000 coronavirus cases reported between 2 August and 5 September - around when college students began their return to school - found that weekly cases among those aged 18-22 increased by 55% nationally.
Authorities have also pointed to a rise in "pandemic fatigue", now more than six months after the outbreak reached the US.
Image source, Getty Creative StockPassengers were banned from disembarking from a ship in Malta
Passengers have been stopped from disembarking a cruise ship in Malta due to a suspected case of Covid-19.
The MSC Grandiosa cruise ship was allowed into Valetta harbour but left the port after collecting supplies.
During the beginning of the pandemic, cruise ships were involved in a large number of cases.
Malta allowed cruise ships into its harbours on the condition that passengers did not mix with locals.
As we have been reporting, discussions are still ongoing about Greater Manchester going into the highest Covid alert level.
The government wants the area to go into tier three, but Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has called the tougher rules "flawed and unfair" and wants more financial support for people affected.
During today's coronavirus press conference, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he may "need to intervene" in order to save lives.
Now, Burnham has responded, flagging up comments made by the chief scientific adviser to the government, Sir Patrick Vallance, who has said he thinks tier-three restrictions will not be enough to control the virus.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Image source, EPAItaly is seeing cases of the virus rise
More than 10,000 cases were confirmed in Italy on Friday, the highest ever daily figure reported in the country.
A further 55 deaths were reported.
During the height of the pandemic in March, Italy was badly affected.
More than 36,427 people have died and more than 391,000 people have contracted the virus since the outbreak began there.
Reality Check
Boris Johnson has been talking about the financial support available for those in areas with the highest level of local restrictions – tier three.
“The Job Support Scheme combined with Universal Credit means that those on low incomes who are affected by business closures will receive at least 80% of their wages,”he said.
The Job Support Scheme (JSS) replaces furlough from 1 November.
People’s entitlement to Universal Credit depends on many factors such as income, whether the claimant has children and whether they have savings.
For example, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, if you have more than £16,000 in savings, you are not entitled to any Universal Credit, which means you would only get the 67% of your wages paid by JSS (up to a maximum of £2,100 a month).
In this case, you could get a little more than 67% of your usual income (because you would be paying a bit less tax) but not as much as 80% of it.
You can read more about the Job Support Scheme here.
The three main symptoms of coronavirus are a fever, a continuous dry cough or a loss of smell or taste.
Anyone showing these symptoms should get a coronavirus test and stay at home to stop the coronavirus from spreading further.
But how do you know if you have coronavirus or are ill with something else? What do the symptoms of coronavirus feel like?
Coronavirus symptoms: What are they and how long should I self-isolate?
Image source, ReutersRestaurants and bars can only offer take-away or delivery services until 30 October
About 1,000 hospitality workers protested in Barcelona on Thursday against a 15-day shutdown of bars and restaurants by the regional government.
Under the new restrictions, bars and restaurants may only offer takeaway services or deliver orders until 30 October.
Hospitality association Fecasarm said the shutdown would affect some 30,000 establishments throughout the region.
Catalonia is Spain's second worst affected region after the region of Madrid.
Spain confirmed more than 13,300 cases on Thursday.
Image source, ReutersCatalonia is Spain's second-worst affected region after Madrid
Image source, ReutersThe protest comes as Spain announced more than 13,000 cases on Friday
Labour MPs are beginning to react after Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to “engage constructively” with the government.
Mr Burnham has called the proposed tier three rules "flawed and unfair" and wants more financial support for people affected.
Lucy Powell, MP for Manchester Central, branded the prime minister’s comments “pathetic”.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Labour’s shadow health minister Alex Norris MP said the government's local and regional approach was not "enough".
"We think we need this circuit breaker to give us time to sort these significant problems in testing and tracing. We've had the worst week last week for tracing. The system's falling over," the MP for Nottingham North said.
Speaking to the BBC News Channel, he said: "If the government are doing things that we think are ignoring the science, that are not in the nation's best interest, we've got a responsibility to speak up - which is what you've seen this week with Keir Starmer articulating and arguing for a circuit breaker... We think it's the best way forward.”
He said Nottingham MPs and council leaders would be meeting with the government to discuss further local restrictions next week.