Coronavirus: Medical school pressures, testing ramped up and Pizza Express woe

Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus outbreak this Wednesday morning. We'll have another update for you at 18:00 BST.

1. Fall-out from A-levels U-turn continues

The focus today is on medical schools - as a result of the climbdown, explained here in detail, there are more students who've met their offers to study medicine than there are places. The number of places is limited because the cost of training doctors far exceeds the fees paid by undergraduates - and those costs are subsidised by the taxpayer. Universities say without help from government they can't accommodate them all.

Students in Gavin Williamson's constituency were among those protesting over A-level grades

2. Testing ramped up

Free coronavirus tests will be offered to more UK households to help identify emerging outbreaks and stamp them out. The Office for National Statistics' Infection Survey, will test 150,000 people per fortnight in England by October, up from 28,000 now. It will gather more data in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland too. Read more on testing.

3. Renters 'at risk'

Labour is calling on the government to extend a ban on evictions in England. The freeze was introduced in March to protect renters during the pandemic, but it ends on Sunday. Housing charity Shelter estimates 227,000 people have fallen into arrears in recent months and could lose their homes, especially when the furlough scheme ends later this year. Wales has already extended its eviction protections and Scotland has proposed doing so too.

4. More High Street woe

Pizza Express has announced it plans to close 73 of its UK restaurants with the loss of up to 1,100 jobs. The company said the pandemic had made it necessary to take "some incredibly tough decisions to safeguard Pizza Express for the long term". The chancellor's "Eat out to hep out" scheme has given a boost to some food retailers, but caused problems for others. Here's how it works.

5. Banding together

Just days before lockdown was announced, all six members of indie band Sports Team moved in together. In the following weeks they fought a chart battle against Lady Gaga and found themselves nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Radio 1 Newsbeat called round to see why staying at home proved so productive.

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And don't forget...

Find more information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.

Plus, with all the anger and criticism directed at him during the exam grades row, how has Education Secretary Gavin Williamson managed to keep his job?

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