Schools have been given new guidance that says teachers should socially distance from one another and older pupils from September. Officials have also set out how mobile testing units will respond to outbreaks at schools.
Meanwhile, a coronavirus outbreak that forced the reimposition of lockdown conditions in Leicester has no obvious source, Public Health England has said. The embattled body suggested the spike could have been driven by community transmission.
In the US, officials recorded the country’s biggest-yet daily rise in Covid-19 infections with about 50,700 new cases on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. Donald Trump said yesterday he hoped the virus would “sort of, just disappear”.
No obvious source for Leicester outbreak, says PHE
A spike in coronavirus cases in Leicester may have been driven by community transmission rather than a specific outbreak, a report has found.
Public Health England found "no explanatory outbreaks in care homes, hospital settings, or industrial processes" after new infections forced Britain's first local lockdown.
The PHE report found an increase in the number of people aged under 19 who had been infected in the east Midlands city, from 5 per cent of all cases in mid-May to 15 per cent in June, and a similar increase in infections among working-age people.
"If an excess of infections has occurred then it is occurring in young and middle-aged people," the report said.
It added that there was no "analytical link" between the reopening of schools to more pupils in June and the increased infection rate, but that further investigation would be "sensible".
Here's our latest on Leicester from Andy Gregory, reporting on an outbreak at the city's crisp factory.
US sets another grim record for new infections
Officials in the US logged some 50,700 new cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
It was far and away the biggest-yet single-day rise, some 5,000 cases above previous peaks.
States are continuing to reverse their lockdown-easing measures, led by California, which has been hard-hit.
"The spread of this virus continues at a rate that is particularly concerning," said California governor Gavin Newsom said.
He ordered bars to close, banned indoor dining and imposed other restrictions in 19 counties, affecting more than 70 per cent of the state's population.
Texas again surpassed its previous record on Wednesday with 8,076 new cases, while South Carolina reported 24 more coronavirus deaths, a single-day high for the state. Tennessee and Alaska also had record numbers of new cases on Wednesday.
Michelle Grisham, the governor of New Mexico, has extended her state's emergency public health order until 15 July, adding that authorities would "aggressively" enforce mandatory mask rules.
'I hope it'll just disappear'
Donald Trump has repeated a claim that the coronavirus is going to “just disappear”, as the United States announced a record number of new cases, writes Richard Hall.
“I think we’re gonna be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that’s going to, sort of, just disappear – I hope,” Mr Trump told Fox Business.
The president’s remarks come amid mounting criticism of his administration’s handling of the pandemic, which has claimed the lives of 129,000 Americans.
PM attacked for claiming local councils given Covid-19 data
Boris Johnson has come under fire for claiming health data on coronavirus infections has been shared with local councils across the country, writes Shaun Lintern.
The Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Public Health said granular data on infections was still not fully available to local councils and public health experts.
In Leicester, where 300,000 people are facing weeks of lockdown after a spike in infections, one senior NHS doctor said the city’s hospital had no information to help plan its response to the virus.
Schools to be told to overhaul curriculums, report says
Schools in England are expected to be told to overhaul the curriculum, stagger break times and group children into “bubbles” when they return to the classroom in September, according to guidelines to be published by the government.
Education secretary Gavin Williamson is due to announce the plans for getting all pupils back after the summer following up to six months at home - on the same day schools in Leicester close again as part of the city's lockdown extension.
The Daily Telegraph reported that a draft of the official guidance also bans the mixing of year groups - such as in assemblies - as well as school choirs, and suggests teachers also stagger the start and end of the day.
Gavin Williamson is to make a statement in the Commons this morning. You can check outour morning politics briefing for more.
The government is to hold its first coronavirus news briefing for a week today. Expect to hear a bit more about this, then...
India infections pass 600,000
India's coronavirus infections passed the 600,000 mark on Thursday as authorities try to contain the pandemic and ease lockdown at the same time, the health ministry said.
Some 17,834 people have died in the country.
Fresh challenges to protect people from the virus emerged for disaster management officials in the northeast state of Assam amid torrential rainfall, where floods and landslides killed 57 people this week and more than 1.5 million were forced to flee their homes.
Assam's health minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, said the state had started testing aggressively to identify coronavirus cases among villagers forced to take shelter in community halls, schools and government buildings.
"We were isolating new coronavirus hotspots; the situation is very critical," Mr Sarma told Reuters.
'Pubs reopening will not be a triumphant return to normality'
It was going to be the ultimate crossover between Christmas Eve and the World Cup match when England beat Colombia 4-3 on penalties, writes Sophie Gallagher.
The atmosphere at the pub would be electric, so busy you could barely move, full of friends and family you hadn’t seen in months, and strangers who quickly became friends, such was the strength of the camaraderie forged in the months spent fighting coronavirus.
On 4 July, the UK will see the biggest relaxation in lockdown rules in England so far.
Breaking: Fauci says greater US outbreak now possible
The White House's top coronavirus adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, has said the US is facing a new surge in coronavirus cases because the country "never got things down to baseline", and that there is now a risk of an even greater outbreak.
Brazil gives masks to indigenous Yanomami people
Brazilian soldiers handed out masks to Yanomami indigenous people on Wednesday on the second day of a military operation to protect isolated tribes from Covid-19.
The Yanomami are the last major isolated people in the Amazon rainforest where dozens of indigenous communities have been infected with the latest disease to come from the outside to threaten their existence.
The indigenous umbrella organization APIB said 405 indigenous people had died of coronavirus by 27 June, with 9,983 infected among 112 different tribes.
A gold rush that has brought an estimated 20,000 gold prospectors to invade the Brazil largest reservation has poisoned rivers and destroyed forest, and the Yanomami say the miners have brought the novel coronavirus.
Indigenous leaders appealed to Brazil's supreme court on Wednesday to order the federal government to protect isolated tribes by barring outsiders from reservation lands and expelling illegal poachers, loggers and wildcat miners.
PM told to 'act now' on retraining for jobless
No retraining is available to give workers facing unemployment because of the pandemic a “lifeline” back into new jobs, a study warns today, writes Rob Merrick.
A £3bn government pot for skills announced last year has yet to be allocated – even as the UK faces a feared jobless count of 4.5 million by the end of the year, it says.
Now Boris Johnson is urged to release the funds as his “number one priority”, amid fears the Treasury could try to claw it back as coronavirus opens up a huge budget ‘black hole’.
The warning came after it was revealed that more than 12,000 jobs were set to be lost after a stream of high-street retailers and aviation companies announced cuts.
Councils in line for extra money
A further £500m will be funnelled to councils to help deal with coronavirus and cover lost income, Robert Jenrick has said.
The embattled local government secretary said: "From supporting the most vulnerable and keeping vital services running to operating local track and trace, council workers have been at the forefront of this great national effort and are the unsung heroes of this pandemic.
"Today I am providing a further package of support that takes our support for councils during this pandemic to £4.3bn to help meet the immediate pressures councils are facing.
"I know that the loss of revenue from car parks and leisure centres has created huge difficulties, so I am introducing a new scheme to help cover these losses."
Yesterday, local authorities warned that their Covid-19 "funding gap" had risen to some £7bn.
Ministers hoping for sensible Saturday
Local government minister Simon Clarke has called on Britons to display "common sense" when lockdown restrictions are eased on 4 July.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It is important that people exercise good judgment and common sense here.
"I think the overwhelming majority will. Inevitably, there will be a small majority that will not.
"But, it is important that we get back to normal. We can't keep our entire country in full lockdown forever."
NZ health minister resigns
New Zealand’s health minister has resigned amid mounting criticism of his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and a series of personal blunders that sparked national outrage, writes Matt Mathers.
Labour’s Dr David Clarke, who has held the health brief since 2017, officially stepped down from his post on Thursday, saying his presence was “distracting” from the government’s battle against the novel disease.
Clarke was deemed to have flouted his own public health advice twice in April; once by going mountain biking, and a second time by taking his family for a breach trip 23km (14 miles) away from his Dunedin home in south New Zealand.
Vue cinemas to reopen from 31 July
Vue, the cinema chain, has said it will begin a phased reopening of its UK venues from 31 July.
They were due to reopen on July 10, but the company said changes to releases including "Mulan" had forced it to alter its own plans.
It said in a statement: "We know from successfully reopening cinemas across Europe - including some 70 sites in Germany, Denmark, Holland, Lithuania, Poland and Italy - that audiences after lockdown are itching to enjoy the big screen experience again, with the added reassurance of rigorous new operating protocols and appropriate physical distancing.
"From the moment we reopen, customers will be met with a host of quality classics including the 10th anniversary edition of Chris Nolan's Inception and George Lucas's Empire Strikes Back, as well as popular event cinema such as National Theatre Live's critically acclaimed Fleabag."
"Mulan" and another high-profile release, "Tenet", are due now to land in mid-August.
Showcase cinemas and 10 Odeon cinemas around England plan to open from July 4 onwards.
Government reportedly preparing near-total U-turn on quarantine
In what appears to be an astonishing U-turn, the government is set to reverse its controversial blanket quarantine policy from Monday, 6 July, writes Simon Calder.
The government currently has a “double lock” in place designed to prevent overseas tourism. The Foreign Office warns against all but essential travel anywhere abroad.
New guidance for schools
Teachers should distance themselves from each other and older students when a full return to school takes place in September, new government guidance says.
Secondary school workers who need to move between classrooms and year groups should try and keep their distance "as much as they can" - preferably two metres from other adults, the advice says.
Older children should be kept apart from other groups and staff where possible, and they should be encouraged to keep their distance within groups.
The advice comes as the government has announced that schools will be told to keep children in class or year-group-sized "bubbles".
- Whole schools may not be closed if a few cases arise
Closing entire schools may not be necessary if there are a number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 on site, according to the new Department for Education guidance.
An outbreak is defined as two or more confirmed cases of coronavirus within a fortnight. The guidance says the whole site or year group may have to self-isolate at home.
But it adds that whole-school closures "will not generally be necessary" if schools implement the recommended controls.
Mobile testing units will be dispatched to test the infected person's contacts, focusing on their class, then year group and rest of the school if necessary, officials said.
Our policy correspondent Jon Stone has more details and reaction:
Education update: Nursery restrictions to be lifted, and GCSEs could be delayed
Limits on group sizes will be lifted in nurseries, childminders, and other early years providers from later this month, the Department for Education has said.
Early years providers in England have been able to open more widely to children since 1 June, but there have been restrictions on group sizes.
From 20 July, these restrictions will be lifted so that providers can increase the number of children they admit from the start of the summer holiday.
Meanwhile, 2021's GCSE exams could be delayed and more optional questions may appear in test papers under proposals unveiled by England's exams regulator.
Ofqual has launched a two-week consultation on its plans for the GCSE and A-level exam series next year following months of school closures.
GCSEs could be postponed until 7 June next year.
ICYMI: Heseltine brands PM's recovery strategy 'deeply disappointing'
Former Tory deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine has described Boris Johnson’s economic recovery speech as “deeply disappointing”, as he claimed there was a “glaring omission” to draw local leaders into talks over spending pledges, writes Ashley Cowburn.
Lord Heseltine’s scathing remarks follow the prime minister’s major address in Dudley earlier this week, where he outlined plans for £5bn in accelerated spending, infrastructure investment and planning reform to try and fend off the severe effects of a looming recession.
