Iran has released its latest coronavirus figures, saying that in the last 24 hours 2,615 new cases of the disease were reported.

Another 120 people died, a spokesman for the country's ministry of health said.

Iran was one of the worst affected countries early on in the pandemic.

Image source, AFP

Queen Elizabeth II has thanked businesses across the world on Friday for their response to the pandemic.

"As many organisations around the country are reopening, I send my warmest best wishes and support to business communities throughout the United Kingdom, Commonwealth and across the world," she said in a message to the British Chambers of Commerce, of which she is a patron.

"At a time of great difficulty for many, it is heart-warming to see the civic response and generosity of so many businesses, small and large, to the challenges posed, whether supporting the health sector or vulnerable communities.

"I wish all businesses every success in their endeavours in the weeks and months ahead."

Robert Cuffe
BBC head of statistics

Jewish men are twice as likely to die with Covid-19 and Jewish women 20% more likely to die with Covid-19 than Christian men and women, according to analysis from the Office for National Statistics.

The analysis is based on deaths that occurred between 2 March and 15 May for which coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate and that could be linked to religion from the 2011 census.

The risks for Sikhs, people who did not state a religion and people of no religion was slightly lower than for Christians.

The ONS analysis adjusted for region, socio-economic status and ethnicity.

The risk of dying was no different for Muslims compared to Christians after adjusting for these factors.

Robert Cuffe
BBC head of statistics

The death rate from coronavirus is twice as high for people with disabilities, according to analysis by the Office for National Statistics.

This group saw 200 deaths per 100,000 men and 140 deaths per 100,000 women.

Among people who were not disabled, there were 70 deaths with Covid-19 per 100,000 men and 36 deaths per 100,000 women.

• Pandemic sees spike in learning disabled deaths
• Parents of disabled children 'cut off and ignored'

The analysis is based on deaths between 2 March and 15 May for which coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate.

The 2011 census defines as disabled people who say that their daily activities are “limited a lot” by a health problem or disability.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says the lowering of the Covid-19 alert level from four to three is a "big moment" for the UK and shows the "government's plan is working".

He says: "The UK moving to a lower alert level is a big moment for the country, and a real testament to the British people's determination to beat this virus.

"The government's plan is working. Infection rates are rapidly falling, we have protected the NHS and, thanks to the hard work of millions in our health and social care services, we are getting the country back on her feet."

Mark Lowen
BBC News, Rome

Italy was where the coronavirus outbreak erupted in Europe in late February, with the first recorded case in the northern region of Lombardy. But it was long thought that the virus had been circulating here earlier.

Now that suspicion has been stood up by Italy’s national health institute, whose researchers found traces of it in waste water in the cities of Milan and Turin in December, and in Bologna a month later.

Exactly how Covid-19 first came to Italy has never been found. This study could help identify the source of the infection and shows the importance of waste water to tracking the path of the virus.

Image source, PA Media

The Covid-19 alert level, which has just been reduced from level four to three, is designed to help the UK government decide how tough social-distancing measures should be.

• Level five (red) - a "material risk of healthcare services being overwhelmed" - extremely strict social distancing
• Level four - a high or rising level of transmission - enforced social distancing
• Level three - the virus is in general circulation - social distancing relaxed
• Level two - the number of cases and transmission are low - minimal social distancing
• Level one (green) - Covid-19 is no longer present in the UK - no social distancing

The level is determined by the reproduction R number, a scientific measure of how fast the virus is spreading as well as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases at any one time.

All four chief medical officers of the UK nations opposed the prime minister's hopes of lowering the Covid-19 alert level last month, according to BBC economics editor Faisal Islam.

The government pressed on with the modest easing of the lockdown, even after the Boris Johnson promised that any relaxation would be conditional on a lowering of the alert level.

Read more on how the alert system works here.

More now on the news that the UK Covid-19 alert level has moved down from four to three.

In a statement, the chief medical officers for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland say they have reviewed the evidence and agree with the recommendation to lower the alert level.

"There has been a steady decrease in cases we have seen in all four nations, and this continues," the statement says.

"It does not mean that the pandemic is over. The virus is still in general circulation, and localised outbreaks are likely to occur.

"We have made progress against the virus thanks to the efforts of the public and we need the public to continue to follow the guidelines carefully to ensure this progress continues."

The UK Covid-19 Alert level has moved down from four to three, BBC home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford reports.

Level four represents a high or rising level of transmission, while level three means the virus is in general circulation.

• How does the Covid-19 alert system work?

Image source, AFP

Coronavirus was already present in northern Italy in December 2019, some two months before the first known case was diagnosed, according to a study by Italy's national health institute, external, the ISS.

Traces of the virus were detected in samples of waste water in the cities of Milan and Turin at the end of last year, and in Bologna in January, the ISS said.

The institute carried out an analysis of waste water collected from October 2019 to February 2020 before Covid-19 officially hit Italy.

Samples from October and November 2019 were negative, showing the virus had yet to arrive, ISS water quality expert Giuseppina La Rosa said.

M Ilyas Khan
BBC News, Islamabad

Image source, EPA

Countrywide "smart lockdowns" have been put in place in Pakistan to combat coronavirus spread, but the country’s medical community is questioning just how smart the lockdowns are.

Starting on Tuesday, the government has enforced the lockdowns in hundreds of places with high Covid-19 rates. Those under lockdown have been asked to stay at home, and all businesses have been ordered to be closed, except for essential services like pharmacies and food shops.

But many opposition groups and healthcare workers point out that tens of thousands of other areas remain open.

Dr Qaisar Sajjad, secretary of the Pakistan Medical Association, has called the move a “non-serious measure”.

Doctors’ associations and opposition groups are instead pushing for a countrywide lockdown. And the World Health Organization has suggested a 15-day on, 15-day off lockdown across Pakistan.

But Pakistan’s battle against the coronavirus has been mired in controversy right from the start. When the Sindh local government – which is the only provincial government run by an opposition party – went for a province-wide lockdown in March, Prime Minister Imran Khan famously warned that "if you try to save people from corona, they will die of hunger".

Khan also controversially claimed that Covid was only a form of flu, and was seen to favour the concept of herd immunity as a way to defeat the virus.

It is widely believed that when infection rates rose, it was the military that stepped in to impose lockdowns, but those lockdowns were undermined by consistent opposition from the prime minister.

Critics say his wavering attitude rendered lockdowns a controversial and non-serious measure in the eyes of the general public. And they fear, as the virus now spreads, that those in the least affected areas will not take notice until it arrives on their doorstep.

Image source, AFP

EU leaders are gathering virtually for a video summit focused on an ambitious €750bn (£676bn; $840bn) EU recovery fund to deal with the coronavirus crisis.

Several northern European nations are resisting part of the EU Commission plan because it involves collectively raising €500bn as grants for countries worst hit by the pandemic, notably Italy and Spain.

The BBC’s Gavin Lee in Brussels says this fund, called Next Generation EU, is unprecedented in scale.

Traditionally the EU helps member states through loans, which have to be paid back, though the terms can be generous.

A group known as the “frugal four” - Sweden, Denmark, Austria and the Netherlands - have made clear their continued opposition to grants. There are also divisions over the proposed €1.1 trillion EU budget.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron however firmly back the Commission’s plan.

Diplomats say there will be no real compromise until leaders are able to meet face to face, in July.

Image source, Getty Images

We've been hearing this morning that people with South Asian heritage are more likely to die from coronavirus after being admitted to hospitals in Great Britain compared with other ethnic groups, according to a new study.

Dr Ewen Harrison, professor of surgery and data science at the University of Edinburgh, who led the study, says: "We have shown a clear 20% increase in the risk of death in South Asian people who are in hospital with Covid-19.

"South Asian people look very different in hospital to other groups, in particular, white people," he tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"They're younger - 12 years younger on average - less likely to have pre-existing conditions such as lung disease, dementia or obesity, but much more likely to have diabetes.

"In fact, 40% of the South Asians in hospital with Covid-19 have diabetes. We think this is quite a significant contributor to their increased likelihood of death."

The findings were made public online, external ahead of being formally published in a medical journal.

• Why are more people from BAME backgrounds dying?

A woman in the Republic of Ireland has been moved out of intensive care after spending 79 days on a ventilator.

Mary Sullivan was admitted after suffering a heart attack on 11 March and tested positive for Covid-19. She then developed respiratory failure and her condition deteriorated, leading her to require life support.

Doctors at the hospital in Cork where she is being treated believe she has spent the longest time on a ventilator of any Covid-19 patient in Ireland or the UK.

Broadcaster RTE showed staff applauding her as she left the hospital's intensive care unit on Thursday.

Image source, Getty Images

Wales' First Minister, Mark Drakeford, says lockdown measures have been succeeding, meaning more restrictions can be eased over coming weeks.

From Monday, non-essential retail shops will be allowed to open, provided they can do it safely and on 29 June, schools in Wales will reopen.

From 6 July, the "stay local" guidance to only travel within a five-mile area will be lifted, provided coronavirus cases continue to reduce. In the meantime, if people have a "compassionate reason" to visit a family member who doesn't live locally they can do so, the first minister says.

From 13 July, self-contained accommodation, such as cottages and static caravans, will be able to start taking bookings.

More details will be given at Wales' daily press conference later, Drakeford tells BBC Radio Wales' Breakfast programme.

As we've just reported, government borrowing hit a record monthly high of £55.2bn in May.

Coronavirus has continued to press heavily on finances, as public sector net debt has climbed.

• Where do governments borrow money from?

Online sales rose to their highest proportion on record in May while consumers stayed at home.

Retail sales partly recovered in May, despite the continuation of coronavirus-related lockdown measures.

Sales were boosted by a 42% rise at household goods stores as DIY shops and garden centres reopened in parts of the UK.

On Monday, the Spanish city's opera house, which has been closed for the past three months, is due to reopen with an unusual concert.

While Puccini’s Crisantemi (Chrysanthemums) will be streamed on the Liceu's website, the piece itself will be performed in front of 2,292 plants.

The artist behind the performance, Eugenio Ampudia, explains his thinking, external:

“At a time when an important part of humanity has been confined to limited spaces and has been forced to renounce mobility, nature has advanced to occupy the spaces that we have taken from it."

The plants will then be delivered to 2,292 health professionals, ​​accompanied by a certificate from the artist, as a thank you for their work during the crisis.

Simon Gompertz
Personal finance correspondent

Banks have been told to give even more time to millions of people struggling with credit as a result of the coronavirus.

Credit card, store card, catalogue credit and personal loan customers will be able to ask for a further three-month deferral of repayments and interest. The help was first given in April.

Although the deferrals have been called payment holidays, the money will have to be paid back after the end of the deferral period.

So the financial regulator, the FCA, says if borrowers can resume their payments they should, to avoid getting into more serious difficulty later on.

Current account users have been offered interest-free overdrafts of up to £500. These have been extended for three months as well – and applications can now be made up to 31 October.

Banks have until Monday to comment on the plans, which will be implemented soon after.

Image source, Getty Images

Schools minister Nick Gibb says the government's "clear intention" is to have all children back at English schools in September.

Gibb tells Sky News: "We're led of course by the science and the medical advice, there are over a million children now in our schools and we are taking every step in a cautious way."

He says the government is working with schools, "taking advice", and giving them plenty of notice to plan for reopening.

"Of course, we're working on other contingency plans but the clear intention is that we'll have all children back in school in September," he says.

The UK currently has the third highest number of recorded coronavirus deaths in the world. Only the US and Brazil have had more, and both countries have far bigger populations.

But just comparing Covid-19 deaths doesn't give the full picture as countries have different ways of recording deaths.

Scientists and ministers say it's better to look at total deaths, even the ones that aren't caused by coronavirus.

So what can we learn about the UK's toll if we look at it this way? Find out here.