MPs have warned the UK could get itself locked out of the EU's coronavirus vaccine programme by refusing to pay increased EU budget contributions this year to fund the scheme.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has refused to apologise for his claim that some care homes “didn’t really follow the procedures” to protect residents and staff from coronavirus during PMQs.
It came as Mark Drakeford, Wales’ first minister, warned wearing a face mask was not a “magic bullet” for preventing the spread of coronavirus amid calls for mandatory use of face coverings in the country.
Follow the day's updates as they happened:
'Evidence emerging' of airborne spread of coronavirus
The World Health Organisation has acknowledged "evidence emerging" of the airborne spread of the coronavirus, after a group of scientists urged the global body to update its guidance on how the respiratory disease passes between people.
"We have been talking about the possibility of airborne transmission and aerosol transmission as one of the modes of transmission of Covid-19," Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead on the Covid-19 pandemic at the WHO, told a news briefing.
The WHO has previously said the virus that causes the Covid-19 respiratory disease spreads primarily through small droplets expelled from the nose and mouth of an infected person that quickly sink to the ground.
But in an open letter to the Geneva-based agency, published on Monday in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal, 239 scientists in 32 countries outlined evidence that they say shows floating virus particles can infect people who breathe them in.
Because those smaller exhaled particles can linger in the air, the scientists in the group had been urging WHO to update its guidance.
Australia's second-largest city goes into six-week lockdown
The Australian city of Melbourne and parts of its surrounding area will re-enter lockdown for six weeks from Wednesday night due to an unsustainable rate of coronavirus spread.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, said the federal government's medical advice agreed with the Victorian government that the move was necessary.
He said: "I hope it isn't for that long. I hope it's for a shorter period as possible."
Mr Morrison said Australia's seven other states and territories would continue to relax pandemic restrictions.
Another 134 cases have been announced in the state of Victoria in the last 24 hours.
Breaches of infection controls at Melbourne hotels where international travelers are required to isolate for 14 days have been blamed for much of the disease spread. The state government last week responded by banning new arrivals at Melbourne Airport for two weeks.
New Zealand to charge coronavirus patient who went shopping
New Zealand authorities have said they will press charges against a coronavirus patient who escaped from quarantine and went shopping at a supermarket.
Air Commodore Darryn Webb, the head of managed isolation and quarantine, said the 32-year-old man escaped through a fence at the Stamford Plaza hotel in Auckland and was gone for just over an hour before returning.
The man later tested positive for the virus.
Mr Webb said the man is a New Zealand citizen who recently returned from India and his actions were "completely unacceptable".
New Zealand has eliminated community transmission of the virus and is trying to contain cases at the border by placing new arrivals into a 14-day quarantine at various hotels.
Depending on exactly what charges are brought, the man could face a fine or a maximum of six months in jail if found guilty.
Mr Webb said CCTV footage indicated that the man had not been in close contact with other people at the Countdown supermarket and had used a self-service checkout.
Nevertheless, the supermarket has been closed for a deep clean.
US gives formal notice it is withdrawing from World Health Organisation next year
The US announced it would withdraw from the World Health Organisation in a statement on Tuesday.
The United Nations announced the country would withdraw from the organisation after it received a letter from president Donald Trump more than a month ago, Graig Graziosi reports.
Mr Trump gave the WHO a one-year notice of his intention to withdraw from the UN health organisation.
The US joined the organisation in 1948 and currently owes the WHO more than $200m in back contributions. The US’s contribution to the WHO accounted for approximately 15 per cent of the organisation’s budget.
Mr Trump threatened to leave the organisation last month after claiming the organisation was unwilling to challenge China regarding the coronavirus.
Any new French lockdown would be targeted, not nationwide, new PM says
France's new prime minister, Jean Castex, has said that in case of a new major coronavirus outbreak, any new lockdown would be targeted, not nationwide.
He also said in an interview with news channel BFM that after talks on pension reform were halted due to a two-month coronavirus lockdown, new talks with unions would start before July 20.
Russian coronavirus cases pass 700,000
The total number of coronavirus cases in Russia has passed 700,000, as the country reported 6,562 new infections in the past 24 hours.
The country's coronavirus crisis response centre said 173 people had died from the virus overnight, taking the official death toll to 10,667.
Total infections stand at 700,792. Russia says 472,511 people have recovered.
Uzbekistan to impose second wave of lockdown restrictions
Uzbekistan will impose a second wave of lockdown restrictions between 10 July and 1 August to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Central Asian nation's government has announced.
The former Soviet republic will limit the movement of vehicles, close non-food shopping malls and markets, parks, cafes and restaurants and entertainment venues, it said in a statement.
More than half a million confirmed cases recorded in Africa
Africa now has more than half a million confirmed coronavirus cases.
The continent-wide total is now at least over 504,000 after South Africa recorded another day of more than 10,000 confirmed cases as a new global hot spot.
The true number of cases among Africa's 1.3 billion people is unknown as its 54 countries continue to face a serious shortage of testing materials for the virus.
"A tremendous problem, a real crisis of access," the World Health Organization's Africa chief, Matshidiso Moeti, said last week.
So far most testing has been concentrated in capital cities, but infections in many cases have spread beyond them.
Ireland's Covid-19 tracing app nears 1 million downloads in 24 hours
Ireland expects 1 million people to have downloaded a voluntary app to trace contacts of Covid-19 patients within 24 hours of its formal launch, which its health service operator said would make it the most successful launch in the world.
On Tuesday, Ireland became the latest country to launch a phone-tracking app that alerts users if someone they have been in contact with develops Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
By 0700 GMT on Wednesday, 865,000 people had downloaded it, health minister Stephen Donnelly said.
Crossing 1 million would mean 25 per cent of the population over the age of 15 have signed up for the app, which captures users' movements without further activation and allows the health service to contact them.
"We expect to be at 1 million users of our new Covid Tracker App within 24 hours of our formal launch. By far the most successful launch anywhere in the world," Paul Reid, the head of Ireland's Health Service Executive (HSE), said on Twitter.
Pandemic plunges working world into 'unprecedented crisis', ILO says
Global leaders called for a comprehensive approach to counter the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which International Labour Organisation chief Guy Ryder said on Wednesday had plunged the world of work into "unprecedented crisis".
"Let's be clear: it's not a choice between health or jobs and the economy. They are interlinked: we will either win on all fronts or fail on all fronts," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told an ILO summit that will be addressed by dozens of heads of state and government.
Airborne transmission of coronavirus cannot be ruled out, WHO says
Officials at the World Health Organisation (WHO) have acknowledged there is “evidence emerging” that Covid-19 can spread through the air in enclosed spaces, Matt Mathers reports.
The health body insists, however, that the main way the infection spreads is through droplets discharged from the body when people cough, sneeze or shout.
“We have been talking about the possibility of airborne transmission and aerosol transmission as one of the modes of transmission of Covid-19,” Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead on the pandemic at the WHO, said at a briefing on Tuesday.
“The possibility of airborne transmission in public settings – especially in very specific conditions, crowded, closed, poorly ventilated settings that have been described, cannot be ruled out.”
It comes just days after a group of 230 scientists wrote an open letter to the WHO urging the body to update its guidance.
Panic-buying returns as millions in Melbourne brace for new lockdown
Australian supermarkets have imposed limits on purchases of essential items after a return to lockdown in Melbourne triggered a fresh burst of panic-buying, Chris Baynes reports.
Shoppers tweeted pictures of empty shelves and queues in stores ahead of a new stay-at-home order coming into force in the country’s second largest city on Wednesday night.
Victoria state authorities announced on Tuesday that coronavirus restrictions in Melbourne and the surrounding area would be tightened following a record surge in infections.
About five million residents will re-enter lockdown for six weeks, with orders to only leave their homes to buy food, go to work, give or receive care, or exercise.
Catalonia makes masks mandatory
Catalonia's regional authorities will decide to make it mandatory to wear masks regardless of people's ability to maintain a safe distance, becoming Spain's first region to do so, Catalan regional leader Quim Torra said.
Mr Torra said the measure would come into force on Thursday.
Wearing masks indoors and outdoors is mandatory in Spain if people cannot guarantee a 1.5 metre distance from one another until a cure or vaccine for the coronavirus is found.
Sailors from HMS Prince of Wales run Covid-19 testing stations
Sailors from Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales are helping to run Covid-19 testing stations.
The teams from the Portsmouth-based warship are currently manning seven mobile testing unit sites across Hampshire including Eastleigh, Fawley and Brockenhurst with further assistance planned for Farnborough and Alton.
The crew members are carrying out the work while the Prince of Wales is undergoing maintenance ahead of sea trials including embarking F-35 Lightning jets for the first time.
Technician Steven James, who's normally responsible for the carrier's communications and IT systems, said: "While learning about the process and procedure, I have an understanding of the virus and how to protect myself and others from it.
"This has been a learning curve for all of the public and ourselves and together we can put an end to the virus."
Nearly 3,000 military personnel are involved in assisting with the national response to the pandemic with Royal Marines also running testing centres in the South West.
Netherlands bans arrivals from Serbia and Montenegro
The Netherlands shut its borders to people from Serbia and Montenegro again, a week after opening them, citing a rapid rise in coronavirus infections in both countries.
Travellers from Serbia and Montenegro regained access to the Netherlands on July 1 when the Dutch, following European Union guidelines, reopened their borders to a list of 14 countries outside the bloc.
But the government said a rise in coronavirus infections in Serbia and Montenegro had forced it to take those countries off the list again, and that Dutch travellers should only visit them if absolutely necessary.
Serbia declared a lockdown in Belgrade over the coming weekend due to the Covid-19 surge, sparking overnight rioting in the capital in which dozens were injured.
Earlier on Wednesday, Austria issued travel warnings for Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova because of the worsening coronavirus situation there.
Conservationists sound alarm over use of horseshoe crab blood in race to find coronavirus vaccine
The horseshoe crab is a strange creature, Harry Cockburn writes.
It is not actually a crab, lacking pincers, and is considered a living fossil due to its origin 450 million years ago. What’s more, this unlikely animal has now become highly prized by the pharmaceutical industry due to the peculiar properties of its blood.
Horseshoe crab blood is used to test the sterility of vaccines. This is because components of the animals’ blood react particularly strongly if they come into contact with any endotoxins – the materials from pathogenic bacteria. The result is a clot. If scientists add horseshoe crab blood to their vaccines and see a clot, it means the vaccine is not safe to be tested.
In Europe, a new synthetic alternative to horseshoe crab blood was recognised as being safe in 2016, but in America, it is yet to gain approval from the Federal Drug Administration (FDA).
As a result, US pharmaceutical firms – some of the biggest in the world – remain dependent on horseshoe crabs.
WHO chief pulls out of London events after US confirms exit
World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has pulled out of a London event at the last minute after organisers said he had to attend meetings linked to the US notification of its withdrawal from the WHO.
The event at London's Chatham House think tank had been due to feature Tedros in a live webinar about the Covid-19 pandemic led by David Heymann, a former senior WHO official and a professor of global health.
Mr Heymann told the online event: "I have been in touch with his [Mr Tedros'] office on another issue (this morning), and I was told he has a series of diplomatic meetings today which is the result of the US withdrawal."
The United States confirmed on Tuesday it will leave the WHO on 6 July, 2021.
Donald Trump has accused the agency of becoming a puppet for China during the Covid-19 pandemic. The WHO denies this.
Scientists warn of coronavirus-related brain damage
Scientists have warned of a potential wave of coronavirus-related brain damage as new evidence suggested Covid-19 can lead to severe neurological complications, including inflammation, psychosis and delirium.
A study by researchers at University College London (UCL) described 43 cases of patients with Covid-19 who suffered either temporary brain dysfunction, strokes, nerve damage or other serious brain effects.
Adrian Owen, a neuroscientist at Western University in Canada, said the emerging evidence underlined the need for large, detailed studies and global data collection to assess how common such neurological and psychiatric complications were.
He is running an international research project at covidbrainstudy.com where patients can sign up to complete a series of cognitive tests to see whether their brain functions have altered since getting Covid-19.
Dozens injured in rioting over reimposed lockdown in Serbia
Dozens of demonstrators and police were injured in overnight rioting in Belgrade, triggered when a crowd stormed Serbia's parliament in protest at plans to reimpose a lockdown following a surge in coronavirus cases.
Footage showed police kicking and beating people with truncheons while protesters pelted officers with stones and bottles, after thousands chanting for the resignation ofpPresident Aleksandar Vucic gathered outside the building.
Mr Vucic announced the new lockdown on Tuesday, saying it was needed because of the rising number of coronavirus cases.
The government's critics say its decisions to allow soccer matches, religious festivities, parties, and private gatherings to resume, and parliamentary elections to go ahead on 21 June, are to blame for the spike in infections.
