Coronavirus - 3rd May

Summary for Sunday, 3rd May

Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Here are the main developments to bring you up to speed:

• Churches in Germany are opening for Sunday services for the first time since the lockdown began in March, but singing is banned to prevent new infections
  
• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has revealed that "contingency plans" were drawn up last month while he was seriously ill in hospital with coronavirus
  
• UK coronavirus deaths stand at 28,131, but the rate is slowing
  
• The pandemic has now infected more than 3.3 million people worldwide and caused more than 240,000 deaths
  
• Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says his company Berkshire Hathaway has sold all of its shares in the four largest US airlines. He said "the world has changed" because of the coronavirus
  
• More than 65,000 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in the US, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally
  

• Portugal's six-week state of emergency has ended, but face masks are now compulsory on public transport and people are still being asked to stay at home where possible
  
• Thailand has reopened parks and small shops as authorities begin a phased easing of restrictions
  

Sassuolo first top flight football team in Italy to resume training

Sassuolo are set to become the first Serie A side to re-start training following the coronavirus shutdown.
The club, based in northern Italy, said its players could use the club’s facilities on an optional basis. They will train individually.
Professional teams will be allowed to train together from 18 May although they will still have to respect social distancing guidelines.
Italian football’s top flight has been suspended since 9 March and the league and the country’s federation (FIGC) both want to complete the season, although the government says it has not yet decided whether it will give permission.
Italy has suffered the heaviest death toll in Europe from coronavirus, at nearly 29,000.

Germany's faithful embrace the new normal

Damien McGuinness - BBC News, Berlin


Churches in Germany can now open their doors again to worshippers but services will be very different.
After weeks of negotiations with officials, religious leaders have come up with strict rules to prevent coronavirus infections.
Churches will restrict numbers attending and people will have to keep at least 2m (6ft) apart.
Singing, which officials say can spread the virus, is banned and priests will have to wear a mask when giving out communion.
Jewish and Muslim leaders are also introducing special hygiene rules for synagogues and mosques.
Religious leaders supported the government’s lockdown in March - but increasingly have been asking, if shops can open, why can’t places of worship?
They have welcomed the move to allow services. Particularly in the current situation, said one Jewish leader, people need the support and comfort of their faith.

Key developments from the UK

In case you missed it, here’s a round-up of the key developments in the UK overnight and yesterday:

• Boris Johnson has revealed that “contingency plans” were made while he was seriously ill with coronavirus in hospital, where he was given “litres and litres of oxygen”
  
• The government has pledged £76m to support vulnerable children, victims of domestic violence and modern slavery who have been “trapped” at home
  
• The British Chambers of Commerce has called on ministers to set out plans for a "carefully phased" lifting of lockdown conditions
  
• A reliable antibody test could be ready for mass production by June, a firm working with Oxford University has said
  
• Millions of people will be asked to track their movements by downloading a nationwide app in a few weeks’ time to limit the spread of the virus
  
• Eurostar passengers will be required to wear face masks or face coverings from Monday
  

Lifting UK lockdown shouldn't be 'arbitrary'

The UK government should not introduce an "arbitrary age limit" when lifting lockdown measures, the chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA) has said.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul acknowledged that older people were at a higher risk from coronavirus, but added that a “large number” of people under 70 could also have underlying health conditions, also putting them at risk.
“What’s really important if we are to ease the lockdown is to look at the risk of everyone rather than just have an arbitrary age limit," Dr Nagpaul told BBC Breakfast.
“We don’t want an arbitrary approach.”
He said that when easing lockdown, the government "should be assuring all of us that it is... safer for people to be going outdoors".
Staying indoors for prolonged periods can lead to other problems, he said, potentially affecting people's mental and physical health.
“You can’t just look in isolation at the Covid situation," he added.

Staggering work 'could avoid travel peaks'

Sky News
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says the "road map" for easing the UK lockdown promised next week will not mark an instant return to "business as usual".
He says staggering work times, for example, could prove "very important" in helping avoid "morning peaks" in transport usage.
Asked about reports that people might have their temperature checked before using public transport, he says that's a "moot point" as "people shouldn't be leaving home if they're not feeling well".
He says there will be a new rail timetable for May, although there will not be "anywhere near” the usual number of services.

Germany gradually reopens as death rate slows

The re-opening of churches is the latest easing of Germany's full lockdown restrictions in place since 22 March.
Last week, German authorities said playgrounds and cultural institutions such as museums and zoos would be given the green light to re-open.
It still remains a gloomy picture for hotels and restaurants though. Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that the federal and state governments will not make a decision on the hospitality industry at their next meeting on 6 May, but instead focus on further relaxing the rules for schools, childcare centers and sports facilities.
Germany's death toll rose by 74 to 6,649 in figures released on Sunday, while the number of confirmed coronavirus cases increased by 793 to 162,496, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.

UK visitors could be required to have NHS app

Sky News
Asked about border restrictions, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says people coming into the UK could be required to download the NHS contract-tracking app currently being developed.
This will be trialled next week on the Isle of Wight, he says, then rolled out for the “population at large" later this month.
He says about 50-60% of the population will need to download the app to make the system work, and the "whole country" will be asked to participate.

Thai restaurants restart with plastic barriers between diners

Thailand has allowed businesses including markets, hairdressers and some sports venues to reopen as authorities begin a phased easing of coronavirus restrictions.
Restaurants have also reopened but with strict social distancing, even requiring clear plastic barriers between diners. The ban on alcohol sales is being lifted, but only for home consumption.
The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says the success of the new measures will be re-evaluated after two weeks.
In addition, any Thais returning from overseas must spend 14 days in state-designated quarantine facilities, such as hotels, and must pay the bills themselves, the Bangkok Post reported.
The country reported only three new infections on Sunday and no new deaths. Thailand has seen a total of 2,969 coronavirus cases and 54 deaths since the outbreak began.

'In children's interests to return to school'

It is in the interests of the "vast majority" of children if they return to school, the head of England's schools watchdog has said.
Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman told Sky News: “If we look at children, it is their interests.”
Ms Spielman said there is a "great deal of logic" in getting younger children back to school as a priority as they need a simple, structured routine.
"The youngest children are the ones who need the greatest of care and oversight," she added.
She also suggested that there could be a "mixed economy" for "some while", with some children returning to school while others learn at home.

UK death toll 'could be towards 30,000'

The Andrew Marr Show
There's been much discussion about the total number of deaths in the UK and how it compares to other countries.
Prof Sir Ian Diamond, Head of the Office for National Statistics, says the official death toll of 28,131 only includes people who have died after a positive test for Covid-19.
He says once deaths where Covid-19 is mentioned on a death certificate are included, that figure could be "towards 30,000".
But he cautions that comparisons between countries are "unbelievably difficult" - and a league table of the worst hit in Europe is "almost impossible to calculate".
He says he is currently "not prepared" to say the UK is "heading for the top".

Covid-19 patients suffer kidney problems

New figures show more than 2,000 patients with Covid-19 admitted to intensive care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland suffered kidney failure.
They all needed specialist renal treatment to keep them alive which, in turn, increased the demand for haemofiltration equipment.
Maurice, student and singer, spent 22 days on a ventilator. He told BBC News: "My kidneys failed several times. What people fail to realise is it's not just pneumonia, it does go for other organs."
Dr Graham Lipkin of The Renal Association said: "The virus can be seen in very fine structures of kidneys.
"It affects the stickiness of blood, with the blood becoming sludgy. Because kidneys are full of little blood vessels, sludges up in the kidneys and that's when they start to fail."

Welsh schools 'not able to reopen before June'

First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford says his "strong preference" is for UK nations to ease lockdown restrictions on the same timetable.
He says schools will require three weeks to prepare after being told to reopen, meaning "we are talking about the beginning of June" before they would be able to do so.
He cautions that schools will not be able to open "as they did before" if social distancing guidelines are to be respected, with children of the "greatest priority" returning first.
He says if people do not think it is safe to send their children back to school, they may "vote with their feet".

'Age discrimination' if older people can't go out post-lockdown

Asking older people to remain in lockdown longer as restrictions are lifted for the rest of the country would be "age discrimination", a Conservative peer has warned.
Baroness Ros Altmann said: "Using an age-based criteria would be fundamentally wrong and could potentially cost the lives of many people, and risk social unrest."
The former work and pensions minister added that "many" older people have told her "they would rebel and they would risk going to prison" if they were asked to isolate for longer than the rest of the population.

Iran mosques to reopen from Monday

Some mosques in Iran are set to reopen having been closed since mid-March because of the spread of coronavirus in the country.
Iranians have had to make do with attending drive-ins to watch sermons during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
President Hassan Rouhani said mosques in 132 low-risk or "white" cities and towns had been given clearance to open their doors from Monday.
He added: "Friday prayer sermons will resume in those areas as well... However, all these steps will be taken by respecting the health protocols."
Rouhani said that a similar plan was in place for schools from 16 May.
The country - the worst affected in the region - has had 96,448 confirmed cases of coronavirus and a death toll of 6,156.

False positives 'caused by dead lung cells' - WHO expert

Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead on Covid-19 for the World Health Organization, is asked about reports from some countries that people have tested positive a second time after recovering from the virus.
She says what is actually happening in these cases is that, as people's lungs heal, some dead cells are showing up in the tests, triggering a positive result where there has been no re-infection.
But she says scientists are still "trying to understand" how strong a level of immunity people will have once they've had the virus.
On the origin of the virus, she says it has had a "natural origin" from bats, although the intermediate species that spread the virus from them to humans is not yet known.

Singapore reports more infections among migrant workers

Singapore has confirmed 657 new coronavirus infections, taking the total to 18,205.
The health ministry said on Sunday that most of the new cases were among migrant workers living in dormitories.
There was no word on any new deaths, with the toll for the city-state currently standing at 17. More details will be available later on Sunday, the ministry said.
Last month Singapore reported a surge of infections linked to industrial sites and tightly packed worker dormitories. About 300,000 low-wage workers, mostly from South Asia, work in Singapore in construction and maintenance.

'We know an underground network of hairdressers'

Most people in the UK are happy to observe lockdown restrictions, accepting that they are there for everyone's best interests. However, a minority continues to flout the rules.
The BBC spoke to three people who explained why they turned a blind eye to the guidelines.
Read Jim Reed's full report here

Care home infections falling, says UK minister

Asked whether care homes could become the new "epicentre" of transmission, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says he hopes "that won't be the case".
Infections in care homes "are now falling rather than rising," he adds.
He's also pushed on how many of the 18,000 contact-tracers the government wants to put in place have been recruited so far - but he says he "doesn't have a number".
He adds that it should be "relatively straightforward" to recruit the non-medical staff required, and it's "not a ridiculous ask at all".

Rival group to UK government's scientific advice set up

A lack of transparency over the advice guiding the UK government's coronavirus response has spurred a former chief scientific adviser to create his own "independent" group.
Sir David King said he was worried about the lack of transparency around the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) committee and keen to "demonstrate what independent science advice looks like".
“When I was in government I was facing you guys (the press) myself as chief scientific adviser.
"I don’t see that Sir Patrick (Vallance) is being allowed to come onto broadcasting corporations... to say what his advice is independently," he said.
Sir David raised concerns about Boris Johnson's chief adviser Dominic Cummings attending Sage meetings.
Sir David said his group "is really there to illustrate the importance of transparency".
"That’s how you gain the trust of the public," he said.

Russia records biggest daily rise in coronavirus cases

While some regions are now starting to see confirmed cases and deaths fall following the introduction of strict lockdown restrictions, others are only now seeing them rise.
Russia has recorded its biggest one-day increase in new cases since the start of the outbreak with more than 10,000 people testing positive.
The biggest jump is in Moscow – where temporary hospital facilities are being opened all the time – though the official death rate in Russia remains relatively low at 1,280.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin - who announced on Thursday that he had caught the virus - is still being treated in hospital, although is working from there.
The Russian authorities put the rise down to a big increase in testing – more than 40,000 people a day in Moscow alone. They also say up to half of the new cases are people without symptoms, including those detected through screening, like healthcare workers.
Russia now has 134,687 coronavirus cases, according to latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.
It is among the countries where the mortality rate is rising fastest, roughly doubling the number of deaths in the last 10 days.
We've been tracking the global outbreak here

Lockdown-weary New Yorkers bask in sun and other US stories

If you're just joining us from the US, good morning and a warm welcome to our live coverage.

• A spell of warm weather has seen thousands of New Yorkers flocking to the city's parks - but police and other officials have been on hand to warn people about social distancing. City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned lockdown-weary residents not to flout the guidelines and ban on "nonessential gatherings" is in force until at least 15 May. New York state has recorded at least 313,000 cases and more than 18,900 deaths
  
• Former president George W. Bush has urged Americans to come together in a video message released on Saturday. “In the final analysis, we are not partisan combatants", he said in a video project that also featured Oprah Winfrey and Julia Roberts 
  
• Florida is to lift its restrictions on Monday. Shops and restaurants will reopen but at reduced capacity and social distancing will be required. Some surgical procedures will also resume. Schools, bars, gyms, hairdressers and care homes will stay closed
  
• The pandemic has left nearly 30 million unemployed in the US. Now, many are turning to charities for help
  

Spain records lowest daily death toll in over six weeks

Spain has recorded its lowest daily death toll linked to coronavirus since 18 March, new figures from the health ministry show.
A total of 164 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, the lowest number in over six weeks, while new cases of the virus rose to 217,466 from 216,582.
Experts caution that numbers collated at the weekend are sometimes lower but have said that the figures are favourable.
A total of 25,264 have died with coronavirus in Spain but the country has started to gradually ease restrictions. Adults were able to exercise outdoors on Saturday for the first time in seven weeks. From Monday, face masks will be compulsory on all public transport

UK round-up: Testing, tracing and ageism

Here's a round-up of the main points that came out of this morning's political shows in the UK if you missed them:

• The UK's death toll could be more like 30,000, the head of the Office for National Statistics has said
  
• Fewer people would have died from coronavirus in the UK if there had been greater testing capacity before the pandemic struck, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said
  
• Businesses are being asked to stagger employees' working hours when the lockdown eases
  
• People coming into the UK could be required to download the NHS contact-tracing app currently being developed, which will be trialled next week on the Isle of Wight
  
• The UK government has been urged by the British Medical Association not to introduce an "arbitrary age limit" when lifting lockdown measures, with a Conservative peer saying it would be "age discrimination" to ask older people to remain indoors
  
• Doctors are "at the mercy of donations", the BMA has warned, after finding that nearly half of doctors have sourced their own personal protective equipment due to a lack of NHS availability
  
• And the head of Ofsted said it was in the interests of children to return to school as soon as possible, but there was no "no-brainer" solution on how to do that
  

German minister boosts Bundesliga restart hopes

Schalke's players were back in training last week

Time is running out for European leagues to decide whether to resume their respective competitions, and that includes the Bundesliga.
The German league has been given a boost by Horst Seehofer, the country's interior minister, who told Bild am Sonntag that a plan put forward for Bundesliga matches to be played behind closed doors was plausible.
However, he said if there was a coronavirus case at a club then that club, and maybe the team they played against, would have to be quarantined for two weeks.
The interview with Seehofer was carried out before news was released of three members of FC Cologne testing positive.
The Bundesliga wants to restart in mid-May, and a government meeting on Wednesday should provide further clarity.
Uefa, European football's governing body, has given leagues a 25 May deadline to declare their intent.

Why is testing important?

Testing has been discussed a great detail, with UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps saying fewer people would have died from coronavirus if there had been greater testing capacity.
The government said it met its target of 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of April, although the 122,347 figure included more than 40,000 kits sent to people’s homes.
Unlike the UK, countries like Germany and South Korea rapidly stockpiled kits and made the test available to a larger number of labs.
Prof John Newton, of Public Health England, has said the six-figure testing level would be needed for the next phase of the response to the pandemic.
Tests not only help diagnose people individually, but can be used to understand how far the virus has spread in the population.
Tests can also help people such as NHS workers know whether they are safe to go to work.
A total of 20,000 households in England will be tested every month for a year - for active coronavirus infections and for antibodies indicating a past infection.
Read more about testing here.

Virus spreading rapidly in Russia's regions

Sarah Rainsford -BBC Moscow Correspondent

Workers build a new hospital for coronavirus patients outside the village of Golokhvastovo, southwest of Moscow

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases here is rising steadily each day.
The Russian authorities put that down to a big increase in testing. They also say up to half of the 10,000 new cases are people without symptoms.
Still, the virus is spreading more quickly now in Russia’s regions - where hospital facilities are far worse than in the capital and where medics have been complaining they don’t have the masks and protective clothing to keep them safe.
And even here, in Moscow, some 1,700 people are being admitted to hospital each day, increasing the strain on the system.

Special delivery - rise of the milkmen and women

Simon Mellin set up The Modern Milkman in Colne, Lancashire, with three friends

With supermarket online delivery slots at a premium during coronavirus self-isolation, thousands of people have been turning to traditional - but for some, new - methods of getting their daily pint.
Despite distribution issues leading to milk being poured away, demand for doorstep deliveries has risen, with a growing army of milkmen and women providing fruit juices, bread and other items, along with bottles of the white stuff.
"The lockdown is going to change the way people shop forever," says Simon Mellin, who bought a milk round and developed a smartphone app to allow customers to order.
When lockdown began, they had an influx of 1,200 new customers a day and now make 50,000 deliveries a week across Greater Manchester, Yorkshire and east Lancashire, along with their newest hub in Nottinghamshire.
Read more on a silver lining for milk deliveries

Afghanistan reports rise in cases as children go hungry

New figures released by Afghanistan's public health ministry show that 179 new positive cases of coronavirus have been recorded over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 2,469. Seventy-two people in the country have died from the illness so far.
While the numbers might appear comparatively small, Afghanistan has limited access to testing and the health system faces huge challenges following decades of conflict.
Charities have warned that more than seven million children in the country are at risk of hunger as food prices soar due to the pandemic.
Save the Children said a third of the population was facing food shortages.

10 million surgical gloves arrive in the UK

Ten million pairs of surgical gloves have arrived in the UK from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Airbus A340 9H-EAL, with "Thank You NHS" written on its fuselage, arrived at Bournemouth Airport this morning.
Several deliveries of personal protective equipment (PPE) have arrived in the UK.
Last month, a delivery of PPE from Turkey, due to have 400,000 gowns, was pushed back several times.
It is not clear how many surgical gloves NHS staff get through a day, but it was estimated last month that medical staff were using approximately 150,000 gowns a day.

'Covid toe' and other rashes puzzle doctors

Zoe Kleinman - Technology reporter, BBC News

"Covid toe" is a rash that can look like chilblains

Five rashes, including 'Covid toe', are affecting some hospital patients diagnosed with coronavirus, a small study by Spanish doctors has found.
The rashes tended to appear in younger people and lasted several days.
It is not uncommon for a rash to be a symptom of a virus, such as the spots that indicate chicken pox.
But the researchers said they were surprised to see so many varieties of rash with Covid-19.
Rashes are not currently included in the list of symptoms of the illness.

• More on this story here.
  

Tanzania latest country to import herbal tea 'cure'

It was launched after being tested on fewer than 20 people

The president of Tanzania says he will send a plane to Madagascar to import a herbal tonic which has been touted as a cure for coronavirus by the country's president despite there being no evidence to support the claim.
Congo-Brazzaville's president has also promised to import the drink, named Covid-Organics.
It is produced from the artemisia plant - the source of an ingredient used in a malaria treatment.
The drink has been picked up in other African countries including Guinea-Bissau.
The World Health Organization has said there is no proof of any cure and has advised people against self-medicating.
See here for more on this dubious cure.

Could working hours be staggered post lockdown?

Businesses in the UK could be asked to stagger employees' working hours when the lockdown eventually eases, the transport secretary has said.
Grant Shapps told the BBC the move would help to prevent crowded commutes that risked spreading coronavirus.
Shapps said more buses and trains would run but that he hoped to encourage cycling and walking.
He also said he was working with train companies and unions on maintaining social distancing rules.
The UK was "actively looking at" quarantining people travelling from abroad, he added.
Read the full story here

Death toll in England rises by 327

A further 327 people with coronavirus have died in England, bringing the total number of confirmed hospital deaths in the country to 21,180.
Of the 327 new deaths announced:

• 56 occurred on 2 May
  
• 125 occurred on 1 May
  
• 43 occurred on 30 April
  

The figures also show 95 of the new deaths took place between 1 April and 29 April, with eight deaths occurring in March.
Figures published today show 8 April remains the day with the highest number of hospital deaths - 867.
Fourteen more people have died in Wales, taking the total number of deaths to 983.
In Scotland, 12 further deaths were announced, bringing the total to 1,571.
Five further deaths were confirmed in Northern Ireland, bringing the total to 381.
The latest UK-wide figures - which use a different timeframe to those of the individual nations - will be published later.
The UK-wide figure now includes deaths in care homes and the community as well as hospitals.

Portugal ends state of emergency after early lockdown

Having been in a state of emergency since mid-March, Portugal has begun easing some restrictions after recording just over 1,000 deaths for a population of around 10 million people.
Portugal will allow small stores to reopen from Monday, though the larger stores will have to wait until 1 June to reopen.
The country declared a state of emergency on 18 March, when its death toll was just two. The lockdown shut most non-essential services to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Portugal has not been hit nearly as badly as neighbouring Spain, where more than 25,000 deaths have been recorded.
Even before the state of emergency was imposed, Portugal closed schools and nightclubs, banned gatherings of large groups, suspended flights to Italy and halted tourism with Spain.

The UK picture

We should be hearing from the UK government in 15 minutes.
While we wait, here's some of the latest developments in the UK's handling of the coronavirus:

• Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has suggested firms could be asked to stagger employees' working hours to avoid transport congestion when the lockdown is eased
  
• Shapps also said he was "actively looking at" asking people arriving into the UK to quarantine, and they could be required to download an NHS contact-tracing app
  
• He confirmed a trial of the app would begin next week, and 50-60% of the UK population would eventually need to download it for it to be effective
  
• A former UK scientific advisor has assembled a panel of experts to offer advice independently to the government’s official advisory group
  

Vienna Airport introduces on-site testing

Vienna Airport is to offer coronavirus testing to new arrivals rather than sending them into a 14-day quarantine.
Tests will be available at the aiport in the Austrian capital from Monday and will take around two to three hours.
Until now people arriving at the airport have been required to produce a recent health certificate illustrating a negative Covid-19 result or enter quarantine for two weeks.
Austria has recorded 598 coronavirus deaths but is beginning to ease lockdown measures.
The Austrian announcement comes as UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said he is "actively looking" at imposing compulsory quarantine 14-day measures on people entering the UK.

What did we learn from today's UK briefing?

• Michael Gove announced that a total of 28,446 people have now died with coronavirus in the UK, an increase of 315 on Saturday’s figure
  
• Today’s figures show testing has fallen to 76,496 tests in the 24 hours up to 09:00 BST on Sunday – a drop of more than a third on the 122,000 tests carried out on 30 April. It comes after the health secretary had previously announced that the UK had met its target of carrying out 100,000 tests-a-day by the end of April
  
• NHS England's Stephen Powis, said the UK has now passed the peak of hospital admissions, particularly in London
  
• When asked about whether the UK would be prepared for future outbreaks of the virus, Powis said the NHS is "incredibly flexible," and can increase capacity at short notice.
  
• Gove said the Prime Minister will next week set out a plan on how the country may be able gradually to ease lockdown restrictions.
  
• Powis said a contact tracing app, due to be trialled on the Isle of Wight next week, will be just “one component of a number of measures that will be needed" to help the country move into the next stage of dealing with the outbreak
  
• When asked whether the Nightingale hospitals were "built in error" given that they are almost empty, Powis said: "Absolutely 100% not”
  

Froome concerned about Tour de France attracting crowds

Froome has won the Tour de France four times

British cyclist Chris Froome thinks the Tour de France can work without spectators but does not know how organisers can stop large crowds from attending.
The Tour, originally scheduled to start on 27 June, is now due to begin on 29 August.
No French mass gatherings are allowed before September, but the government has said the Tour could start in August if the first stages were carefully run.
“Would the organisers be able to keep people from coming and gathering in large crowds?" said Froome, 34.

• More on this story here.
  

Top US diplomat again says China to blame

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blamed China for the severity of the coronavirus outbreak, telling ABC News that the country “had the opportunity to prevent all of the calamity that has befallen the world” but tried to “conceal and hide and confuse” information.
The Trump administration has in recent weeks increasingly pointed the finger at China, in what BBC correspondent Barbara Plett Usher wrote recently was a co-ordinated effort to reframe Trump's handling of the pandemic ahead of November's election.
When asked about an unproven theory that the virus was manmade - a notion President Donald Trump has also repeatedly suggested - Pompeo said he did not disbelieve the theory, claiming “the best experts so far seem to think it was manmade”.
But last week, the US intelligence community stated that it agreed with a scientific consensus that the virus was not manmade or modified.
When asked about that assessment live on the show, Pompeo reversed course, saying he agreed with the intelligence analysis and had “no reason to doubt” its accuracy.
The secretary later said he couldn’t answer whether the virus was intentionally or accidentally released as “the Chinese Communist Party has refused to cooperate with world health experts”.

• Read Barbara’s full analysis here
  

Italy deaths near 29,000

Italy has reported 174 new coronavirus-related deaths, which is the country's lowest toll since lockdown measures were rolled out in early March.
The total number of people who have died is 28,884, while the total number of cases has increased to 210,717.
There are 17,242 patients in hospital with symptoms, 1,501 in intensive care, while 81,436 are self-isolating at home.
Italy is preparing to relax measures from Monday, with people being allowed to visit their relatives in small numbers. Parks, factories and building sites will reopen, but schools will not restart classes until September.


Austrian doctors issue warning after lockdown loosened
Bethany Bell - News Correspondent
The President of the Austrian Medical Association, Thomas Szekeres, has appealed to Austrians to be careful, following the easing of some of the country's lockdown restrictions.
In a statement, he said he was concerned by pictures of long queues outside some shops on Saturday. He urged Austrians to continue to observe strict hygiene measures, including wearing face masks, washing hands and keeping their distance.
"We have achieved a great deal in recent weeks," he said, "but we must not undo the successes of this first stage.”
All shops have now re-opened in Austria and people no longer need a reason to leave home, although home working is still encouraged and people are asked to keep at least a metre apart.

US city eases mask rule after violent threats

In Stillwater, Oklahoma, officials softened a requirement to wear face coverings in stores and restaurants on the same day it went into effect, after people were threatened for trying to enforce it.
City Manager Norman McNickle said a number of local business staff were “threatened with physical violence and showered with verbal abuse” on 1 May - within three hours of the rule’s enactment.
In one case, someone threatened staff with a firearm.
McNickle said those with objections mistakenly believed the requirement was unconstitutional.
But it was just a show of "respect and kindness to others" he said.
The city government still recommends wearing a mask but it is no longer mandatory.
Read more on the US pushback against Covid-19 restrictions here.

NYC governor sets out 90-day protective kit stockpile

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the governors of neighbouring New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Delaware have announced a regional purchasing consortium to identify equipment and suppliers together, instead of competing against each other.
Rhode Island and Massachusetts are also to be part of the new coalition.
Cuomo said New York state will now require all hospitals to have a 90-day stockpile of all personal protective equipment.
Other key points:

• Saturday saw 789 new Covid-19 cases in the state
  
• The number of New Yorkers in hospital due to Covid-19 fell below 10,000 for the first time since March, and deaths also declined, with 280 in the last day
  
• Cuomo again noted the virus strain affecting NYC was not from China, but a “totally different” one from Europe, saying some medical experts told him “our strain was more virulent than the strain that came from China”
  
• Cuomo said while the Trump administration’s travel ban on China “may have been helpful, the horse was already out of the barn” as the virus was in Europe and no one was watching out for European travellers
  
• He called people not wearing masks “disrespectful” to front-line workers and other residents, adding many employees are doing “unprecedented work” to sanitise public spaces
  

Yemen: The country unable to cope

Naomi Grimly, Global Affairs Correspondent

Social distancing advice is not being heeded in places like markets

Yemen's health system is in a state of collapse - leaving it unlikely to be able to cope with an outbreak of coronavirus.
Dr Shalal Hasel is a hardworking official from the Department of Epidemiological Surveillance in the Yemeni province of Lahj. Usually his job focuses on dealing with outbreaks of cholera but now he's working round the clock to make sure Yemen is preparing properly for Covid-19.
Although - at 30 - he's young and energetic, he's already sounding despondent.
"You'll know about the deteriorating health situation in Yemen - especially after conflict and war. Hospitals here are limited and not equipped to receive coronavirus cases."
Yemen currently has only 208 ventilators; another 417 are supposed to be on their way. It's a long way short of the many thousands being gathered or manufactured by developed countries.
See here for more on Yemen's coronavirus battle.