Summary

  • A state of disaster has been declared in the Australian state of Victoria after a spike in infections

  • The city of Melbourne has been placed under curfew. Residents can go out once a day to shop for food or exercise

  • India has recorded more than 50,000 new cases of the virus for a fourth consecutive day

  • Bollywood giant Amitabh Bachchan is discharged from hospital after contracting coronavirus

  • Teachers and parents need "greater clarity" on the reopening of UK schools, a teachers' union says

  • Coronavirus is cited as the reason for holding Trump's election nomination without press in attendance

  • More than 500,000 cases have now been confirmed in South Africa, the country's health minister says

  • More than 17m cases and 685,000 deaths have been recorded worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University

Live Reporting

Alex Therrien, Alice Cuddy and David Walker

  1. England: How have the rules changed?

    Plans to ease more lockdown restrictions in England this weekend have been postponed for at least two weeks after an increase in coronavirus cases.

    Casinos and bowling alleys will remain shut, as the UK prime minister declared it was time to "squeeze the brake pedal".

    Face coverings will be mandatory in more indoor settings, such as cinemas.

    The news follows new local restrictions for people in parts of northern England, after a spike in virus cases.

    England's chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, warned the UK may have hit its limits on easing restrictions, saying: "we have probably reached near the limit, or the limits, of what we can do in terms of opening up society."

    Read the full story here.

  2. Kyrgios withdraws from US Open, citing Covid-19 concerns

    Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the US Open because of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it "hurts me at my core" to miss the tennis tournament.

    His decision is seen as a huge blow for the grand-slam event, which is set to be held without fans at Flushing Meadows in New York, with players having to follow strict measures.

    In a video on social media, Kyrgios, 25, criticised the behaviour of some players during the pandemic.

    "Let's take a breath here and remember what's important, which is health and safety as a community," said Kyrgios.

    Kyrgios has been a critic of men's world number one Novak Djokovic's decision to stage exhibition events during the pandemic, with a number of players who took part then testing positive for the virus, including the Serb.

    Read the full story

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  3. Teachers ‘need clarity’ on reopening of schools in the UK

    Schools in England are due to reopen in September

    Schools in England are due to reopen in September

    Teachers in the UK have expressed concern over plans to re-open schools in September.

    The NASUWT, a leading teachers’ union, said teachers and parents need "greater clarity" on reopening schools, amid a rise in coronavirus cases.

    The general secretary of the union, Patrick Roach, said schools need “sufficient time to review and, if necessary, adjust their reopening plans" in accordance with government advice.

    Schools in England are due to reopen in September. There are separate plans for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    The government said it has set out the cleaning controls schools in England should use.

    Professor Graham Medley, a scientist advising the government, told the BBC on Saturday that pubs or "other activities" in England may need to close to allow schools to reopen next month.

    Read the full story here

  4. What are the new restrictions in Victoria?

    As we reported earlier, the state of Victoria in Australia has gone deeper into lockdown, with new restrictions to be imposed on Sunday.

    Here is a summary of those new restrictions:

    • Victoria will move into stage-four restrictions at 18:00 (09:00 BST) on Sunday, placing further limits on the movement of people
    • A night-time curfew, between from 20:00 to 05:00, will be implemented across Melbourne
    • The only reasons for leaving home during these hours will be work, medical care or care-giving
    • Melbourne residents will only be allowed to shop and exercise within 5 km (3.1 miles) of their home
    • Exercise outside of the home will only be allowed for one hour at a time
    • All students across the state will return to home-based learning and childcare centres will be closed
    • Regional Victoria will move to stage-three restrictions from Thursday, meaning restaurants, cafes, bars and gyms will close

    Victoria’s state Premier Daniel Andrews tweeted an overview of his announcement, which can be seen below.

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  5. South Africa sees 500,000 cases

    South Africa has reported more than half a million coronavirus cases to date, its health minister has said, as a resurgence of Covid-19 sweeps the country.

    Zwelini Mkhize announced 10,107 new cases on Saturday, bringing the tally to 503,290, along with 8,153 deaths.

    South Africa is the hardest-hit country on the continent and accounts for half of all reported infections in Africa.

    The country had imposed a strict lockdown in April and May that slowed the spread of the coronavirus.

    But health authorities say the rate of infection is increasing rapidly, with cases currently concentrated around the capital, Pretoria.

    Infections are not expected to peak for another month.

    Read more about South Africa’s outbreak

    Coronavirus in South Africa: A day in the life of a contact tracer

  6. Victoria imposes stricter lockdown as cases rise

    Premier Daniel AndrewsEPA

    Premier Daniel Andrews said the restrictions were necessary to curb the spread of the virus

    A range of sweeping new lockdown restrictions have been imposed in the Australian state of Victoria to curb the spread of coronavirus.

    The state’s Premier Daniel Andrews declared a state of disaster, with new restrictions coming into effect at 18:00 local time (09:00 BST) on Sunday.

    Those new rules will include a night-time curfew, between 20:00 to 05:00, and stricter limitations on leaving home for residents in the state’s capital Melbourne.

    Mr Andrews said 671 new coronavirus cases had been detected and seven more people had died in the last 24 hours.

    He said the current rate of community transmission - including "mystery cases" that cannot be traced back to work or home - was far too high.

    "And they tell us, based on the current number, cases might begin to drop off, not in days or weeks, but months," Mr Andrews said. "That's not something I'm willing to accept."

    Read the full story here

  7. Live coverage has started

    Hello and welcome to our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks for joining us.

    Our teams from around the world are again ready to bring you the latest developments.

    To start with, here is a summary of the latest top stories.

    • As it stands there have been 17.8 million infections and 685,000 deaths related to the coronavirus pandemic globally, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University
    • The Australian state of Victoria has declared a state of disaster and imposed new lockdown rules after a spike in coronavirus cases
    • More than half million coronavirus have been confirmed in South Africa, according to the country's health minister
    • The US Republican Party has barred media from the convention where Donald Trump is expected to be nominated as its presidential election candidate, citing Covid-19 concerns
    • Meanwhile in the US, President Trump has contradicted his top diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci, arguing his assessment of lockdown measures in the US was “wrong”
    • India has reported more than 50,000 new infections of coronavirus for the third consecutive day
    • Thousands of protesters have gathered in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to call for the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic
    • In the UK, teachers and parents have asked for "greater clarity" on the reopening of schools amid a rise in coronavirus cases, a union has said