Coronavirus news – live: Boris Johnson eases lockdown further with 'support bubbles' as ex-adviser says early restrictions could have halved death toll
Introducing lockdown measures a week earlier could have halved the UK’s coronavirus death toll, preventing thousands of deaths, former government adviser Professor Neil Ferguson has claimed.
It comes as Boris Johnson announces people in single adult households - including both those who live alone and single parents - will be able to bring another household into their home as part of a 'support bubble'.
Health bosses have also warned the Covid-19 crisis could see the waiting list for NHS treatment double to about 10 million by the end of the year.
Boris Johnson, meanwhile, is set to announce children will soon be able to visit zoos in the latest easing of lockdown measures during today's Downing Street briefing - although their wait to go back to school could last months.
Zoos in England are to be allowed to reopen their doors to visitors from Monday, after Boris Johnson announced a further relaxation of coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
Also to be permitted to readmit visitors from 15 June will be outdoor attractions where people stay in their cars, such as safari parks and drive-in cinemas, given the low risk of coronavirus transmission.
NHS waiting list could double to 10 million by end of year
Around 10 million people will be on the waiting list for NHS treatment by the end of the year - more than double the current figure, health bosses have said.
Projections by the NHS Confederation show that the combined effects of keeping up social distancing, the backlog of treatments and challenges around staffing mean the list is expected to rise from around 4.2 million currently to around 10 million by Christmas.
This is the most realistic scenario, and assumes the health service making a steady return to full capacity within the next 12 months.
The pessimistic scenario, according to the NHS Confederation, assumes a second wave of Covid-19 and a lack of treatments or a vaccine, pushing the waiting list to around 11 million by the end of the year.
The most optimistic scenario assumes a faster return to normal, where the waiting list will be around eight million by the end of the year.
The confederation, which represents health and care leaders, published a new report warning that the health service in England "faces an uphill battle" as it continues to manage thousands of sick and recovering Covid-19 patients while also trying to restart services such as those for cancer, stroke and heart disease.
Our health correspondent Shaun Lintern reported this figure in a special investigation on Saturday:
France could end emergency health measures next month
The French government is considering whether to end emergency health measures imposed to tackle the pandemic on 10 July.
Prime minister Edouard Philippe's office today said the possible date of 10 July was one of several options being examined at present.
France has eased many of its earlier strict lockdown measures as data has shown signs the virus may be fading away in the country, with shops, holiday resorts and tourist attractions slowly re-opening.
However the public is still being encouraged to wear face masks when outside and to maintain distances of at least one metre from one another, while most employees are continuing to work from home rather than the office.
Official data published on Tuesday showed France's coronavirus death toll had risen by 87 to 29,296. This marked the highest daily toll since 2 June, but remained under 100 for the seventh day in a row.
Hungary and Croatia will lift restrictions on cross-border travel from Friday as the coronavirus pandemic has subsided and remains under control in both countries, Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto announced today.
Szijjarto said in a Facebook video that previous border openings with Austria, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic had not caused a spike in new cases.
Hungary has had a relatively modest infection rate, largely thanks to an early and strict lockdown.
As of today, out of a population of 10 million, it has registered 4,027 infections, including 551 deaths, 2,355 recoveries and 1,121 active cases.
NHS Confederation chief executive Niall Dickson has said the entire health service is under "huge pressure" after projections showed the combined effects of social distancing, a backlog of treatments and staffing challenges could see NHS waiting lists double to about 10 million by Christmas.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There is going to be huge pressure to get waiting lists down.
"There's also going to be huge pressure in other parts of the service - we shouldn't just concentrate on waiting lists or hospitals but also look at what's happening in community services and primary care.
"Because in all those areas the ability of the service to meet demand, and growing demand, over this period will be severely constrained by the fact that Covid is still around - so we are still treating Covid patients and recovering Covid patients.
"But we are also dealing with this un-met demand which has built up over this period as well as inheriting what happened before Covid, which was already a service under great strain."
Frankie and Benny's to close 125 restaurants (Andrew Matthews/PA) Up to 3,000 jobs are on the line after the owner of Frankie and Benny's announced plans to close 125 restaurants across the country.
The Restaurant Group said it was seeking approval from its landlords for a deal that would let it reduce the number of restaurants it runs and negotiate lower rents for many of those left over.
Bosses said the hospitality industry was facing "well documented" problems after the coronavirus pandemic forced many in the sector to close their doors.
If landlords approve the deal, known as a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), it will leave the firm's leisure arm with about 160 sites.
It will also allow it to exit about 25 restaurants which have already been closed.
The Restaurant Group also owns pan-Asian chain Wagamama, and runs several pubs and concessions in airports. These will not be affected by the news, it said.
The stores that will close are "principally" Frankie and Benny's restaurants, it added.
Britain must be braced for widespread riots this summer, a government adviser says, warning poorer people and areas will be hit harder by the coronavirus fallout, our deputy political editor Rob Merrick reports.
Police and the government are being urged to prepare now for the risk of “serious public disorder” on the scale of the 2011 riots – particularly if curbs on freedoms have to be reimposed.
Test, track and trace figures won't be published until data 'robust', says minister
Business minister Nadhim Zahawi has said the figures for the test, track and trace system will not be published until the government believes the data is "robust".
Asked how many people are in the track and trace system, Mr Zahawi told BBC Breakfast: "We are currently not publishing the figures because quite rightly the statistical experts want us to be robust when we publish them.
"Because the worst of all worlds is to publish figures that are then having to be changed or are wrong, because you've got people who have been tracked and then traced and then tested in mobile testing locations or in other forms.
"We want to make sure the figures are right. Last week the statisticians wrote to the government, to Matt Hancock, to say we need the data to be more granular that is what we're working on that is what we will deliver.
"This country has a proud track record of making sure that we are transparent on everything we do, we will learn the lesson from this I guarantee."
He added: "When we think, rightly that the figures are robust and that they are correct and we are working with the statisticians to make sure that they are.
"There's no point publishing figures that are then wrong that is the worst of all outcomes in my view."
Teachers must be paid extra to run summer catch-up classes, a former Ofsted chief has said, condemning the government’s failure to reopen primaries.
Sir Michael Wilshaw attacked the “absolutely astonishing” botching of the promise that younger children would return before the holidays – blaming a split between No 10 and the department for education.
Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has the the full details:
Russia reports more than 8,000 new coronavirus cases
Russia has reported 8,404 new cases of the coronavirus, taking the nationwide tally of infections to 493,657.
The country's coronavirus crisis response centre said 216 people have died from the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall death toll to 6,358.
The owner of Frankie & Benny's has announced that it will be permanently closing 125 of its restaurants across the UK, putting up to 3,000 jobs on the line.
Bulgaria extends epidemic emergency until end of June
Bulgaria will extend its epidemic emergency until the end of June to fight the spread of coronavirus after an increase in new cases, mainly in the south, prime minister Boyko Borissov has announced.
The Balkan country has eased most of the restrictive measures it imposed in the middle of March, allowing restaurants and shopping centres to reopen and lifting bans on inter-city travel.
It has also lifted an entry ban for citizens from the European Union, but is keeping its borders closed for travellers from other countries, except for neighbouring Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro.
Mr Borissov said the government did not plan to introduce new restrictions for the time being, but appealed to people to keep social distancing and weak protective masks.
He defended the extension, saying it has been proposed to avoid any escalation in cases that could overwhelm hospitals.
Bulgaria declared a one-month epidemic emergency on 13 May - replacing a previous state of emergency - allowing the health minister to extend the coronavirus restrictions.
Bulgaria, one of the European countries least-affected by the coronavirus, has so far recorded 2,889 cases, including 167 deaths. Over the past 24 hours it recorded 79 new cases.
Potential Covid-19 vaccine from China shows promise in animal tests
A potential Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Chinese researchers has shown promise during trials in monkeys, triggering antibodies and raising no safety issues, while a human trial with more than 1,000 participants is under way, researchers have said.
The vaccine candidate, called BBIBP-CorV, induced high-level neutralising antibodies that can block the virus from infecting cells in monkeys, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits, researchers said in a paper published in online by the medical journal Cell on Saturday.
"These results support the further evaluation of BBIBP-CorV in a clinical trial," researchers said in the paper.
BBIBP-CorV, developed by Beijing Institute of Biological Products affiliated to state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), is among five candidates China is testing in humans.
More than 100 potential COVID-19 vaccines are in various stages of development around the world.
As well as appearing safe and able to generate an immune response in animals, BBIBP-CorV did not appear to trigger antibodies that could boost the infection - a phenomenon known as antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE)- the researchers said, although this does not necessarily guarantee ADE won't occur in human tests.
Apart from BBIBP-CorV, Sinopharm, which has invested 1 billion yuan (£110.8m) in vaccine projects, is testing in humans another vaccine candidate developed by its Wuhan-based unit. The two shots have been given to more than 2,000 people in clinical trials.
Indonesia reports biggest daily rise in infections
Indonesia has reported its biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases for a second successive day, with 1,241 new infections, taking its total to 34,316.
There were 36 new Covid-19 related deaths, taking the number of fatalities to 1,959, according to health ministry official Achmad Yurianto.
12,129 patients have recovered, he added, while data from Indonesia's Covid-19 task force shows at least 287,470 people have been tested.
Monsoon Accessorize, the company that owns the two clothing and accessories brands of the same names, has fallen into administration, Helen Coffey reports.
The company announced it would be closing 35 shops, putting 545 jobs at risk.
While Monsoon Accessorize is understood to have been turning a profit before the coronavirus pandemic hit, the nationwide lockdown has left owner Peter Simon unable to keep paying rent on the high street chains’ combined 230 UK stores.
Malaysia will begin reopening schools from 24 June, its education minister has said, as the country enters recovery mode after three months of strict curbs on movement and businesses to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Southeast Asia's third-largest economy began lifting most coronavirus restrictions from Wednesday, after the government declared the outbreak was under control.
Schools will be reopened in stages, beginning with students facing public examinations and equivalent international school examinations this year, Mohd Radzi Jidin, said.
Malaysia has reported 8,336 cases of Covid-19 and 117 deaths.
Singapore approves Gilead antiviral drug for Covid-19 treatment
Singapore's Health Sciences Authority says it has granted conditional approval for Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir for the treatment of some patients with Covid-19 infection.
South Korea, Japan, India and the United States have also approved the drug for emergency use.
Gavin Williamson has been accused of ignoring warnings that poorer and ethnic minority pupils will suffer when “estimated grades” replace formal exams this summer.
