The UK's test and trace system as been plunged into chaos upon launch with NHS staff unable to access the system.
An army of 25,000 contact tracers had been due to be begin work on Thursday, but the programme's first day has been beset by problems and the government has admitted it will not be "fully operational" until the end of June.
Meanwhile, groups of up to eight from two different households will be allowed to meet outdoors in Scotland after Nicola Sturgeon announce the country's first step out of lockdown.
Premier League clubs agree to restart season
The Premier League is set to return on 17 June after all 20 clubs agreed to come back that week in Thursday’s ‘D-Day’ video conference.
While the official date proposed and agreed upon is 20 June, the competition will first complete two games in hand - Manchester City vs Arsenal and Aston Villa vs Sheffield United - three days earlier, reports Miguel Delaney:
MP warns of surge in hate crime after lockdown
"A wave of hate could spill over from online echo chambers back into our communities after the coronavirus lockdown", a Labour MP has warned.
Writing in The Independent, Bambos Charalambous notes: "Before lockdown, blame for coronavirus was already being directed at the British Chinese, East Asian, Muslim, Jewish and LGBT+ communities."
He said some people would look for "someone to blame over the coronavirus pandemic" and "these vulnerabilities are preyed upon by the far-right".
Charalambous added "any increase in our freedom sadly comes with the risk of a rebound in hate crime" and urged the government and social media companies to act.
Read his full piece here.
16 more deaths in Northern Ireland
The number of deaths among people who have tested positive for Covid-19 in Northern Ireland has risen to 518 after a further two fatalities were reported by the Department of Health.
A further 16 confirmed cases of the disease were reported this afternoon, taking the total in the country since the outbreak began to 4,679.
185 previously unreported deaths added to England's toll
NHS England has announced 185 new deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 26,234.
Of those, 29 occurred on 27 May, 73 were on 26 May, and 19 were on 25 May.
The figures also show 54 of the new deaths took place between 2 and 24 May, and the remaining 10 deaths occurred in April with the earliest on 10 April.
NHS England releases updated figures each day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, often including previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago. This is because of the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19, for post-mortem examinations to be processed and for data from the tests to be validated.
Starmer 'would have sacked Cummings from the outset'
Labour leader Keir Starmer, asked if Dominic Cummings should go over his lockdown breach, said he "would have sacked him from the outset" if he was prime minister.
Speaking during a virtual Call Keir event for residents of Doncaster, he added: "The inquiries into what he may have thought about his own family is secondary.
"The only question that would've mattered to me as prime miniser is 'is this going to make it less likely that other people will comply with the rules?'. f the answer to that is 'yes' then I, as prime minister, would've got rid of him.
"I think the fact that Boris Johnson hasn't has weakened him."
Average of 133,000 people in private homes had coronavirus at any given time
An average of 133,000 people in private households in England had Covid-19 at any given time between 11 and 24 May, according to new estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This is the equivalent of 0.24 per cent of the community population.
The ONS said the figures are at a similar level to its previous estimate last week, suggesting the number of people with coronavirus in England is "relatively stable".
The figures do not include those in hospitals, care homes or other institutional settings.
Matt Hancock says he will not have a foreign holiday this summer
Matt Hancock has doubled down on his assertion that summer is essentially cancelled this year by announcing he will not travel abroad, travel correspondent Simon Calder reports.
The health secretary told the BBC’s Today programme: “I was already going to not leave the UK this summer, I’d already made that decision.
“But I think you know everybody is doing their level best to try to get the country back on her feet.”
Senior Pakistani broadcaster dies of coronavirus
A senior broadcaster and engineer at state run radio station, Radio Pakistan, died of corona today, reports Raza Hamdani, The Independent's consultant editor in Islamabad.
The total number of journalists dying of corona stands at five.
A total of over 150 journalists in Pakistan have contracted the virus. Half of these journalists are based in Lahore.
Journalists bodies are urging media houses to take precautions and provide journalists in the field with protective gear.
Contact tracers struggling to access tracing website
A former junior doctor recruited as a contact tracer said she has struggled to access the website needed to fulfil her role.
The woman, who chose not to be named, told BBC Radio 4's The World At One programme: "I have tried to do things but they haven't given the final log-on information to enable me to get on to the system to do the work.
"We received the information that it was going live very late last night, much later than the prime minister had told us all during the day. They said you're going to get your final log-on details, that came about ten, twenty minutes later, and I tried last night to make sure - because you have to authenticate yourself.
"I tried that last night about 22.30, 23.00 and the server wasn't able to respond, presumably the other people were trying to do the same. I tried that again this morning, 08.00, and got the same response.
"I've called the help desk and they told me they are aware the server is overlooked with people trying to register this final time."
Prime minister stands by senior aide despite Durham Police findings
Boris Johnson is standing by senior aide Dominic Cummings despite the Durham Police findings.
A Number 10 spokesman said: "The police have made clear they are taking no action against Mr Cummings over his self-isolation and that going to Durham did not breach the regulations.
"The prime minister has said he believes Mr Cummings behaved reasonably and legally given all the circumstances, and he regards this issue as closed."
Dominic Cummings broke lockdown rules by driving to Barnard Castle, Durham Police conclude
Dominic Cummings broke coronavirus laws by taking a trip to Barnard Castle with his family, police have said.
But Durham Constabulary said it would not be taking any further action against the prime minister’s chief adviser.
An investigation concluded that the journey on Easter Sunday would have warranted police intervention as a breach of the Health Protection Regulations, which enforce the lockdown.
Police found that Mr Cummings did not break the law with his initial 260-mile journey from London to his parents’ farm in County Durham.
Groups of eight from two household can meet in Scotland from tomorrow
People from two different households in Scotland will be able to meet at a distance in a garden or a park from tomorrow, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The first minister urged Scots to meet up in groups no larger than eight people and to practice social distancing when they see others, avoiding close contact, sharing food and going inside other people's houses.
The advice is at odds with that of the UK government for England, where people are allowed to meet one other person.
Lizzy Buchan has more details:
Coronavirus test and trace system plunged into chaos as NHS staff unable to log in
The launch of the government’s new coronavirus tracing programme has been hit by problems as NHS workers struggled to log into the computer system.
Several contact tracers told The Independent they could not access the website when it launched this morning, with staff left unable to work.
The new NHS Test and Trace system is being rolled out across England with the help of 25,000 contact tracers, with people who come into close contact with a coronavirus sufferer told to self-isolate for 14 days.
But the launch of the programme was plunged into chaos when some contact tracers were unable to log onto their systems. Screenshots shared by staff show that a "critical incident" had been reported within the system.
One contact tracer, a senior NHS nurse, told The Independent they were booked to work from 8am to noon on Thursday but by 11.30am had still been unable to log in and neither had 14 of their colleagues they were speaking to.
My colleagues Lizzy Buchan and Shaun Lintern have the full story:
Scotland to begin relaxation of lockdown
Scotland is ready to enter its the first stage of its relaxation of lockdown, Nicola Sturgeon has announced.
The first minister said the country's 'R' number - the rate of transmission - remained between 0.7 to 1 and deaths, intensive care admissions and infections all showed a sustained downward trend.
The launch of test and trace today has also bolstered confidence that Scotland is ready to loosen restrictions, she added.
The first phase of the relaxation will focus on outdoor activities and businesses, where the risk of infection is lower.
Scots urged to remain cautious during first step out of lockdown
Scotland's deputy first minister has stressed the need for personal responsibility as the country is prepares to enter the first phase of a "route map" out of lockdown.
John Swinney addressed Holyrood's Covid-19 Committee this morning ahead of the expected announcement Nicola Sturgeon that coronavirus has been sufficiently suppressed to start easing restrictions.
Swinney told MSPs that Scottish government messaging should push the public into thinking about the implications of their actions, with the possibility of lockdown measures being reimposed if the virus beings to take hold again.
While he refused to pre-empt Sturgeon's announcement, her deputy said "some very strong elements of constraint" will remain as the first phase is entered.
Last week, Sturgeon announced plans for a four-phase emergence from lockdown and earmarked Thursday as the possible first step - provided the suppression of the virus continued.
In the first phase, it is expected people will be able to meet one other household while outside, as long as social distancing is adhered to, as well as taking part in some outdoor, non-team sports and resuming open-air jobs.
Some personal responsibility will also have to be taken by the public, Swinney said, adding: "I accept that if the message in lockdown is 'only leave home if you have one of a very, very small number of very good reasons to do so', that is an easier message to secure public compliance and adherence with to a message which enables a bit more freedom for individuals.
"What we have to encourage people to do, as part of the government's messaging, is to think about the implications for themselves of not complying with the direction of travel which we are setting out.
"If we don't comply, we'll be back here ... reapplying new constraints and we will be dealing with a deeper health crisis within our society than we have already dealt with over the last 10 weeks or so."
Not safe to begin reopening schools next week, Independent Sage warns
A group of independent scientists has warned it is not safe to begin reopening schools next week and claimed the government is ignoring its own advisers as it pushes for classes to resume on 1 June.
In a new report, the Independent Sage group said the proposals risk “a new surge of cases of Covid-19 in some communities”.
They added the government’s scientific advisory committee, Sage, has modelled the impact of seven different ways schools could reopen, which all result in the ‘R’ rate – or the rate of transmission – increasing.
Read Zoe Tidman's story here:
Test and trace 'won't be fully operational until end of June'
The UK's test and trace programme "won't be fully operational on a local level" until the end of the June, the scheme's leader is reported to have told MPs.
Labour MP Ben Bradshaw said Dido Harding's comment came during a conference call this morning.
"Not sure where that leaves Johnson’s promise of a fully operational 'world beating' system by Monday," he tweeted
NHS Providers warned yesterday that "key bits" of test and trace were not yet ready and the UK had "a long way to go" before it the system was "fit for purpose".
Hancock laughs off suggestion test and trace brought forward to distract from Cummings row
Matt Hancock has laughed off the suggestion the government’s new test and trace system was brought forward to distract from the controversy over Dominic Cummings's lockdown-breaching drive to Durham.
The health secretary began chuckling during an interview on Sky News when host Kay Burley asked whether he had “rushed” today's launch to help push the saga surrounding Boris Johnson's key aide down the news agenda.
“It’s priceless Kay – I’m normally accused of delaying these things, of bringing them in too slowly,” said Hancock, grinning and shaking his head.
“You can’t accuse me both of rushing and of there being a delay,” he added, laughing vigorously and shaking his head again.
Burley responded: “I suppose many of my viewers will think it’s not a laughing matter."
Hancock, turning more serious, then replied: “Yes, well I can’t quite work out whether you’re telling me I’ve gone too fast or too slow. I think we’ve got it just right.”
Labour MP Rosena Allin-Khan, the shadow cabinet member for mental health and an NHS doctor, called Hancock's reaction "an insult".
"This is not a joke. This has been painful for so many families," she tweeted.
Travel leaders call for quarantine scheme to be crapped
Leaders of high-profile travel companies have called for the UK to scrap its plan to quarantine overseas arrivals for 14 days, calling the strategy “poorly thought-out, wholly detrimental to industry recovery and more or less unworkable”.
More than 70 travel industry chairs, chief executives and general managers have written to home secretary Priti Patel urging the immediate withdrawal of the plan, due to come in force on 8 June, reports Simon Calder:
The government is facing calls to fund a living wage for key workers after a carer claimed she had to rely on food donations when she got coronavirus.
A petition calling for higher salaries for care workers and social care staff has been launched by a woman who said she struggled financially when she fell ill with the virus.
The woman suffered Covid-19 for for nearly a month, and turned to food donations as her low-paid, zero-hour contract job left little support, according to a charity leading the campaign for better pay.
Citizens UK is demanding a real living wage – £9.30 an hour, or £10.75 in London – for all key workers, and is starting the campaign by calling for the social care sector to get an immediate £1.4bn cash boost to increase staff pay.
Read the full story by Zoe Tidman:
