Guy Delauney
BBC News, Belgrade

Image source, EPA

Croatia has reported a record number of new coronavirus cases for the third day in succession.

1,131 people tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday. It is the first time there have been more than a thousand new cases in one day.

Slovenia also reported a record number of cases for a third day. 834 people tested positive for Covid-19 today.

A partial lockdown is being enforced in seven out of the country’s 12 regions.

With lockdown rules in place around the UK, what is the best way to ensure you do everything you can to keep people safe?

Our health correspondent, Laura Foster, explains.

Image source, Reuters

Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has announced that he will take a Covid-19 vaccine - if doctors approve the treatment.

The president did not elaborate on what vaccine it was that he would take.

A number of vaccines are being developed around the world.

Mexico has the fourth highest number of deaths with 85,285 fatalities. A total of 834,910 cases have been confirmed since the outbreak began there.

Reality Check

At the Downing Street press conference, Boris Johnson was asked by a member of the public about “the government's guidance to single parents who have regular contact with their children, who live in a different county.”

Christopher from Margate, who lives in Kent and whose son lives in Essex, asked if he could visit him - if one of the areas was put under “a higher alert level”.

Mr Johnson advised him to go to the government website and check.

Ordinarily, separate households are not allowed to mix indoors, if one of the households is in a higher tier area.

However, according to the government guidance, there is an exemption in law, external “for arrangements where children do not live in the same household as both their parents or guardians.”

Therefore, these two households could mix and he could see his son in this scenario.

Your coronavirus questions answered.

Here are the main points the PM and his advisers made:

• Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham needs to engage with the government so that tier three measures can be brought in quickly
• Testing is being increased, with new systems being developed
• Firms will have to wait a while before they can get enough testing kits to make sure more staff can come in to work safely
• New cases numbered 362,000 in the two weeks to 8 October - "a big increase"
• Infection rates are increasing most quickly among the over-85s
• A circuit-breaker lockdown has not been ruled out
• Single parents who live in different areas to their children could face restrictions on seeing them

Reality Check

Boris Johnson mentioned a handful of statistics on the state of coronavirus in Greater Manchester.

The region has faced some form of additional restrictions since the end of July.

In almost all parts of Manchester, households have not been allowed to mix in private property, and in Bolton there was a three-week closure of restaurants and bars in September.

So have they worked?

Not according to the data – in fact, in some areas the case rate has increased significantly. Bolton's cases increased from 152 per 100,00 in the week before stricter restrictions were introduced to 265 cases per 100,000 when they were relaxed.

There might be different factors behind this. Extra testing could have helped push the rate up a bit and the arrival of students in the centre of Manchester – where there were a number of outbreaks – has also probably contributed to it.

But the overall trends appear genuine. Hospital admissions or diagnoses of coronavirus in major Manchester hospitals have trebled in the week to 11 October compared with the previous month.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, Pacemaker

Pubs, restaurants and cafes in Northern Ireland will close their doors to sit-in customers from 18:00 today, as they country is put under stricter Covid-19 restrictions.

Redmond McFadden, the president of the Chamber of Commerce in Londonderry said businesses there were concerned about the impact this would have.

"The worry is that four weeks won't be enough - or that we will relax again and then face further restrictions down the line," he advised. "The economy can't survive continuous restrictions and businesses don't want to have to rely on handouts."

"Companies have invested a lot of money to make it work and make their businesses safer; for example, wet bars were only open a matter of weeks and then had to close down again. Whilst staff are furloughed, business owners need to feed their families."

A further 15,650 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the UK, according to government figures, external. There were a further 136 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.

On Thursday, 18,980 cases and 138 deaths were reported.

Jessica Parker
BBC political correspondent

It was inevitable that Sir Patrick Vallance would be asked about his colleague’s startling comments from Monday; England chief medical officer Chris Whitty said that tier three, on its own, wouldn't be enough in high Covid-rate areas.

It’s no surprise to hear Sir Patrick state that he agrees. But he says that higher levels, above the base line, should be enough to drive the R rate below one IF they’re fully implemented and we all stick to them.

But there are still questions; precisely how high does the level have to be? And of course, as we’ve seen this week, local leaders aren’t necessarily convinced about the government’s plans and accompanying financial package.

The last question of the briefing is not about coronavirus but rather the UK's post-Brexit trade talks with the EU.

The FT's George Parker queries why the PM seems to be advocating the "lowest common denominator" trade deal with the EU which could lead to high tariffs on exports of car and food products, making life more difficult for sectors of the economy already hit by Covid.

In response, the PM says he wants a comprehensive Canada-style trade deal but that the EU appears not to want to play ball.

If they UK ends up leaving on the basis of a much more limited Australian style arrangement, which critics say would be tantamount to a no-deal outcome, he says the UK will still "prosper mightily".

And that brings the briefing to an end.

The Liverpool City Region leaders have said they will not accept being treated differently to other regions that go into the highest Covid alert level.

In a joint statement just before the Downing Street press conference, the area's metro mayor, city mayor and leaders of the six Liverpool City Region local authorities said they were "concerned" about differences in restrictions between their region and Lancashire.

It was announced today that Lancashire would move into tier three from Saturday but, unlike in Liverpool, its gyms and leisure centres will not close.

“We note the decision to move Lancashire into tier three today, while also being concerned that there appear to be differences between the two packages of measures, particularly the opening of gyms.

"We therefore require government to explain, with evidence, why they believe gyms in the Liverpool City Region are a greater risk for Covid transmission than those elsewhere.

“We simply will not accept our region being treated differently to other tier three areas, without robust scientific evidence."

The leaders added that they would support hospitality and leisure businesses affected by the new restrictions via a £40m emergency fund, using local funds that have been repurposed to support the area's economy.

"The fund has opened for applications today, and we are continuing to press the government for a wider economic support package, including increased funding for furlough and self-employed people.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the coronavirus press briefing that single parents living in different counties to their children would face restrictions on seeing them if the child's area went into heightened coronavirus restrictions.

Christopher, who lives in Margate, Kent, while his son lives in Essex, asked the prime minister at the Downing Street press conference if they could still see each other.

Mr Johnson told him: "Christopher I think the guidance, alas, is that - you should go on the website obviously and check - but when places go into a higher tier from the basic medium then there are restrictions on household contact, alas.

"So depending on how you define your household you may find there may be restrictions."

The Sun's Matt Dathan says families will be "spooked by" reported calls by the Sage advisory committee for repeated circuit breakers over the school holidays over the next year and asks what this means for Christmas.

In response, the PM says he does not want to see the UK "constantly locking down", given the memories of the "long" lockdown over the spring and early summer.

Vallance says a circuit breaker is a way of bring the R number down quickly, allowing the transmission rate to slow and "buy time".

But he says it is really an "extreme" version of other restrictions currently being pursued.

"There are different ways you can get R below 1. A circuit breaker is one way of doing it in a defined period."

Asked how long Lancashire is expected to remain under tier three restrictions, the PM says people in the county have been "going through some pretty tough times" for a couple of months already. He adds that he understands people's frustrations.

The amount by which the R rate needs to be reduced is not as big as in the spring, he adds. Boris Johnson also says he wants to see all areas out of restrictions "as quickly as possible".

Reality Check

Boris Johnson has described the negotiations with local government leaders in England about moving their areas into the most restrictive set of local rules, tier three, as “tough discussions – difficult decisions” and expressed regret that agreement has not been reached with the Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham.

While there have been talks about the detail and economic support for areas going into tier three, it is a decision that the Westminster government can take without agreement. Indeed, Mr Johnson said he could be forced to “intervene” in the case of Manchester.

Speaking on LBC this morning, London mayor Sadiq Khan confimed: “The government can impose, but the obvious point is it affects compliance if you’ve got respectable, credible local leaders, who would be good message carriers, saying Don’t follow government advice.’”

“That’s why it’s really important to try and work together.”

Next up is Sky's Sam Coates.

He suggests that daily case numbers of 40,000-50,000 a day surely justify more "draconian" action and asks whether the UK is ignoring the lessons of the first wave in not now considering some sort of circuit break, as is being contemplated in Wales.

The PM says "urgent action" is being taken with the highest prevalence and there are "areas of the country that need to do more".

He says he believes the package of local and national measures can bring the R number back down below 1, without the need for a blanket lockdown which will close schools and businesses.

"That is the trade off. It is incredibly difficult and we think the local approach is the best one for now."

However, he says he will not rule out the introduction of much tougher measures if needed.

And Vallance says, from an epidemiological point of view, the stronger and quicker the action, the better.

Asked about a possible "circuit-breaker" lockdown, as demanded by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, the PM says he is ruling nothing out.

Susan Hopkins of Public Health England adds that people need to take personal responsibility for reducing contact with others outside their household, and that testing is being "ramped up".

It's important to keep education open as much as possible over the winter, she adds.

Sir Patrick Vallance says "local knowledge and local insight" - on top of tier three restrictions - will help get the R rate below one.

The national government must "reserve the right to step in and do what's necessary", the PM says.

The UK government's chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, says it's "crucial" to get the R rate below one and that tier three restrictions on their own probably aren't enough to do this. He adds that extra restrictions accompanying them probably would be enough.

BBC deputy political editor Vicki Young asks whether the PM can impose more restrictions on Manchester and elsewhere. Boris Johnson says it's "much, much better" if the government can work with "friends" on councils.

He adds that it "doesn't make sense" to lock down areas with low infection rates, such as Cornwall and Norfolk.

He says it's "good that London has come on board" and urges Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to "come with us".

Asked what contact people living different counties with different restrictions in place, the PM says it's important to look at the government's website.