Coronavirus - 28th August

Summary for Friday, 28th August

• Rules requiring Parisians to wear masks come into force as France reports 6,111 new cases - highest since peak of outbreak
  
• In Spain, children as young as six will have to wear face coverings at school
  
• Germans are told not to travel to high-risk countries and regions, as top state official says: "Corona is fully back in Germany"
  
• UK government will encourage people to return to workplaces in a new campaign
  
• New daily infections in the UK increased to 1,522 on Thursday - the highest since mid-June
  
• US President Donald Trump pledges a vaccine before the end of the year, "or maybe even sooner"
  
• About 24.5 million cases have officially been confirmed worldwide so far, with 831,000 deaths
  

Welcome to our live coverage of the pandemic

Good morning from London. We will be keeping you updated on the latest coronavirus news from the UK and across the world today.
Here are the latest headlines.

• Countries across western Europe are announcing tougher infection control measures, as cases surge on the continent. France has made mask-wearing mandatory across Paris, Germany will fine people €50 fine for not wearing a mask in places where it’s mandatory, and in Spain, children as young as six will be required to wear face coverings at school
  
• US President Donald Trump has accepted the Republican nomination for November’s election in front of a crowd of more than 1,000 people. The audience was seated on white chairs placed just inches from each other on the White House's South Lawn, with little sign of social distancing or mask-wearing. The Trump campaign says it took appropriate health precautions
  
• A UK study suggests the risk posed by Covid-19 to children with no underlying health conditions is “tiny” - although the risk is higher for black children, children with health conditions and very young babies
  
• Travellers in Switzerland, Jamaica and the Czech Republic will now need to quarantine for two weeks when they return to the UK, if they arrive after 04:00 BST on Saturday. However, people can now return from Cuba without needing to self-isolate because of a drop in cases there
  

New clusters emerge in Australia outside Victoria

New Covid-19 clusters have emerged in Australia, away from the epicentre of the outbreak in Melbourne, Victoria.
New infections largely believed to be linked to gyms and clubs have been found in Sydney. Health officials say 11 new cases have been reported in and around the city since Wednesday, and there are fears that number could grow.
Two schools were also shut after cases involving staff members were confirmed.
A mother at one of the schools told ABC News that she wasn't surprised because "people in the eastern suburbs, in general, haven't been taking any precautions".
In the state of Queensland, correctional facilities were locked down after a correctional services trainer tested positive.
Meanwhile Victoria, which is currently in strict lockdown, has been celebrating its lowest number of daily new cases since the beginning of July. State Premier Daniel Andrews said hopes were high that the spread of the virus was slowing.

Peru says high death rate is down to its 'transparency'

The African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says the continent has seen a 20% drop in the number of new Covid-19 cases over the last week.
While this is potentially good news, Africa CDC warns that it shouldn't be taken at face value, as it could be down to less widespread testing in some countries.
Many African countries, for example, have abandoned random testing and are only testing in areas where cases have already been reported.
The Africa CDC is also concerned about rising daily cases in Tunisia, Morocco, Uganda and Burkina Faso. It says that eastern and northern African regions are still recording increases in new infections.
There have now been more than 1.2 million confirmed cases of the virus on the African continent and more than 28,000 deaths.
Read more about how fast the virus is spreading in Africa here

Go back to work if it's safe, says UK minister

As the UK government prepares an advertising blitz to encourage people back to work, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said staff at his own department were returning to the office in what he called a "gradual process".
Speaking to the BBC, Shapps said that people should go back to their workplaces where it was safe to do so, adding that there were some things which were "impossible" to do remotely.
"But I suspect we'll see more flexible working than we've seen in the past and it will be for employers and employees to work out the right balance in their particular cases."
Speaking from his home, Shapps acknowledged the return of pupils to school and parents to work tended to "create pressures" on the public transport system.
"We'll be watching those very carefully and looking to, for example, in some cases, to run additional services where we see those problems bubble up," he said.
The government will launch a publicity campaign next week to promote the positives of returning to the workplace - amid a threat to thousands of jobs at sandwich shops and other retailers that rely on customers from city centre offices.
Read more on what bosses have to do to keep staff safe here

Africa's drop in cases treated with caution

The African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says the continent has seen a 20% drop in the number of new Covid-19 cases over the last week.
While this is potentially good news, Africa CDC warns that it shouldn't be taken at face value, as it could be down to less widespread testing in some countries.
Many African countries, for example, have abandoned random testing and are only testing in areas where cases have already been reported.
The Africa CDC is also concerned about rising daily cases in Tunisia, Morocco, Uganda and Burkina Faso. It says that eastern and northern African regions are still recording increases in new infections.
There have now been more than 1.2 million confirmed cases of the virus on the African continent and more than 28,000 deaths.
Read more about how fast the virus is spreading in Africa here.

Here's how South Korea is tightening restrictions

Laura Bicker - BBC News, Seoul
South Korea is strengthening its anti-virus measures in and around the highly populated capital city Seoul, with new restrictions coming into force from Sunday.
All restaurants and cafes will have to close their doors at 21:00 and offer a delivery-only service after that time. Indoor sports facilities, including gyms, are being ordered to close and visits to care homes will be restricted. All after-school academies will also be closed.
A third of all public companies and government offices will work from home, and private companies are being encouraged to do the same.
The move comes as health officials warn that the country is on the brink of a nationwide outbreak.
For more than 10 days the daily number of new cases has been over 200. This is still low in global terms, but for a country used to fewer than 30 new daily infections, it is being seen as cause for alarm.
The fresh outbreak has spread quickly among right wing Presbyterian churchgoers who rallied in Seoul on 15 August. Many followers believe the virus is part of a conspiracy by the government and are refusing to be tested.

Leicester saw most virus deaths last month

New figures show the city of Leicester in the East Midlands - which was the first English city to reimpose lockdown restrictions - saw the most Covid-19 deaths of any local authority in England and Wales in July.
Office for National Statistics data revealed 92% of local authorities saw fewer than 10 deaths each - with 71 areas seeing zero deaths in July.
Just two saw more than 20 deaths that month - Leicester, with 24, and Ashford, Kent, with 21.

Don't break your quarantine, UK minister urges

More than 4,000 cases where people broke quarantine rules after coming into the UK have been referred to police, the transport secretary has said.
Grant Shapps warned that those not staying at home for 14 days after arriving from designated countries risked getting a criminal record.
He told Times Radio: "It is a serious matter. More than that though, you are in danger of putting other people's lives at risk and that of course is a much more serious matter."
He added that "about 1,000 people [in quarantine] are contacted every single day".
On LBC radio, Shapps also urged: "Don't break your quarantine, and for goodness sake be sensible."
It comes as the UK adds a quarantine requirement for arrivals from Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Jamaica from 04:00 BST on Saturday. Scotland already requires travellers from Switzerland to self-isolate.

Germany's Merkel: Things will get worse

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that the virus situation will become more challenging in the coming months, as winter approaches.
"Some things are likely to be more difficult over the next few months than they are in the summer," she said at her annual summer press conference on Friday. "We have all enjoyed the freedoms and relative protection from aerosols in the summer, which is possible through life outdoors."
She was referring to the micro-particles of the virus that are thought to spread through the air, especially in poorly-ventiliated indoor areas.
It comes as German officials urge citizens to stop travelling to countries and regions deemed "high risk". As in many other European countries, infections have surged in Germany in recent weeks, though it is not as badly affected as Spain or France.
A ban on major events has also been extended until the end of the year, and most states in Germany have agreed to introduce a €50 (£45) fine for people not wearing masks in places where it's mandatory.

Gatwick says air travel recovery could take half a decade

London's Gatwick Airport has said demand for air travel might not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2025.
It revealed losses of £321m in the first six months of this year due to the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Passenger numbers fell from 22.2 million to 7.5 million over the same period and the airport said in a statement that the recovery to pre-pandemic traffic levels "is forecast to be four to five years".

India's case numbers climb higher and higher

India has been steadily adding to its Covid-19 caseload - it has recorded more than 60,000 new cases every day for most of August.
In the last 24 hours, it added 76,827 new cases, a record for this month. The total tally - nearly 3.4 million cases - is the third-highest in the world.
Experts say the huge caseload is not unexpected given India's mammoth population of 1.3 billion people and the fact that the country has mostly reopened.
They also believe that there will be no single peak as the pandemic spreads through different states.
The death toll from the virus remains relatively low - about 61,700 deaths have been reported so far. But the figure puts India close behind Mexico, which currently has the world's third highest number of deaths from Covid-19.

Re-cap: Latest from the UK

Let's catch up with the latest on coronavirus in the UK this lunchtime:

• Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said that, where it's safe to do so, people should start going back to offices - as the government prepares to launch a campaign to encourage employees to stop working from home
  
• New laws have come into force in England and Wales that mean organisers of illegal raves and music events can be fined £10,000 - with gatherings of more than 30 people targeted
  
• An army of health professionals will be trained to give the coronavirus vaccine, if and when one is shown to work
  
• Head teachers in England and Wales have a simple message for pupils preparing to start the new term: "We're ready for you"
  
• And the government is being urged to provide emergency financial help to tenants in England who have fallen into arrears due to coronavirus
  

£10,000 illegal rave fines come into force in England and Wales

A bit more on the restrictions for parties as the UK gears up for the August bank holiday weekend.
There are new fines in force of up to £10,000 for anyone organising an illegal rave or music event in England and Wales - or gatherings of more than 30 people - and you could be fined £100 for taking part.
In London, 4,500 officers will be on duty over the bank holiday weekend as police expect a rise in the number of illegal events - but the Metropolitan Police Federation’s Ken Marsh has said the rules are hard to enforce.
In Wales, people are also being urged not to overwhelm popular hotspots after police became aware of unlicensed music events being planned this weekend.
And in Scotland, police have the power to break up house parties with more than 15 people from today, in a bid to reduce transmission of Covid-19. Health officials warned such gatherings could present "high-risk super-spreader environments".
So you can you host a party? Here's a reminder of the rules as you make your own plans.

In Paris, wearing masks 'is better than being locked down'

Lucy Williamson - BBC's Paris Correspondent
Meanwhile, mask-wearing has taken over the streets of Paris by stealth over the past few months, and the blanket enforcement of face-masks in and around the capital from 08:00 today triggered little real outcry.
Except for one thing: the new rules were originally designed to apply to cyclists and runners along with pedestrians.
By the time the regulation came into force this morning, the Paris town-hall had intervened, and won a reprieve, saying it was “dangerous” and “counterproductive” to force these two groups to wear masks, especially when the mayor has been encouraging people to cycle to work, to relieve pressure on public transport.
Runner and cyclists aside, only a handful of people were still out without a mask in my neighbourhood this morning, and there seems to be a lot of support for the measure around the capital.
“It’s better than being locked down,” one woman said. Another resident said the government should have brought it in earlier, so that “the situation wouldn’t have got as bad as it is now”.
The French prime minister, Jean Castex, said yesterday that 21 areas of France were now designated as “red zones” where the virus was again actively circulating, and figures from the national health agency last night said there had been more than 6,000 new infections over the previous 24 hours – a new high since the end of lockdown here.

Mask trial to end in biggest Dutch cities

Anyone not wearing a face covering in certain areas risks a fine of €95 (£85) - but not for much longer

We mentioned earlier that Amsterdam and Rotterdam have been running a pilot scheme this month requiring face coverings in the busiest areas. The two biggest Dutch cities have now decided to drop the trial from Monday.
Masks are required on public transport but they have proved broadly unpopular in the Netherlands.
Since the mask trial began, the main shopping streets in these two cities have seen visitor numbers fall by almost a third, according to a survey.
So the two mayors have decided that as the warm weather and high tourist season draw to a close it's probably easier to just ask people to maintain social distancing of 1.5m (5ft).

All Dutch mink farms to be shut by March after outbreaks

The Dutch government has brought forward the date by which all mink farms must be permanently closed, after coronavirus outbreaks among animals at 41 fur farms since the start of the pandemic.
Mink are small animals, similar to ferrets, that are bred for their fur. The Netherlands exports 80m euros worth of the fur every year, mostly to China.
The mink breeding industry in the Netherlands had originally been told to shut down by 2024 for animal rights reasons, but all farms will now have to close by next March. The government has reportedly set aside 180m euros to compensate farmers for the early closures.
Scientists are investigating not only how the virus spread to the mink, but also whether they can pass it back to humans. Some farm workers have been found to be infected.

If you're just joining us...

Good afternoon from London, where about five of us, all working from home, are keeping you updated on the coronavirus pandemic. If you're in the Americas, good morning, and good evening to our readers in Asia.
To help you catch up, here are the latest global headlines.

• European countries and cities are tightening their virus rules. In France, a new rule requiring everyone in Paris to wear masks in public came into force today, Germans have been told not to travel to high-risk countries or regions, and in Spain children as young as six have been asked to wear masks in schools
  
• France reported 6,111 new cases of the virus on Thursday - the highest single-day increase since the peak of the outbreak in late March
  
• US President Donald Trump accepted his nomination to be the Republican candidate in November's election in front of an in-person crowd of more than 1,000 people. Photos from the event show audience members close together, with few masks in sight
  
• There have been 76,827 new confirmed cases of the virus in India in the last 24 hours - a record single-day increase for this month
  
• The African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 20% drop in new cases on the continent in the last week - but the public health body has urged caution, saying it may be down to less widespread testing in some countries
  
• New clusters of the virus have emerged in Australia, away from the country's epicentre in Melbourne. New infections have been found in Sydney, as well as in the state of Queensland
  
• There have now been more than 24.4m confirmed cases of the virus and more than 832,000 deaths worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University
  

UK August bank holiday - without festivals

Glastonbury's Pyramid stage pictured in happier times

The August bank holiday weekend is almost upon us in the UK - but this year looks a little different.
While the AA estimates around 12 million drivers will be hitting the road from today for the last getaway opportunity of the summer, it says traffic volumes will be down on previous years due to music festivals and sporting events being cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Hundreds of people who usually work at events such as Glastonbury, BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend, Reading, Leeds and the Isle of Wight have been left without a job - and in some cases with no income at all.
Mary Shelley Smith has been serving up food to bands and punters at festivals for 30 years, and says the company she works for, Eat to the Beat, has been left completely devastated.
"We were at the sharp end of it. Events just dropped off," she said, adding: "It's quite frightening - it's knocked all of our income off."

A RYANAIR passenger found himself removed from a plane after he received a positive Covid-19 diagnosis while waiting for the flight to take off.
Rachael O'Connor - Irish Post
The unnamed man and a companion were due to fly from Stansted Airport, England, to Pisa in Italy, despite the man awaiting test results for coronavirus.
According to Ryanair, the pair were seated on the flight for only ten minutes when he received his diagnosis via text, and the pair were then "offloaded" and brought to an isolation room in Stansted airport.
The NHS advises anyone with symptoms who are awaiting a test result to self-isolate for two weeks or until they receive a negative diagnosis.
According to other passengers on the Ryanair flight, the man and his companion were removed by officials in HazMat suits, and the flight went ahead after a delay of one hour 20 minutes following a full cleaning of the seats overhead cabins.
In a statement, Ryanair said:
"Since this passenger and his companion had complied fully with Ryanair health regulations, they were both wearing masks at all times at Stansted Airport and for the very short period - less than 10 minutes - they were seated on the aircraft prior to departure.
"There was little if any risk of Covid-19 transmission to other passengers or crew members as all of whom were also wearing face masks at all times.
"The aircraft departed for Pisa following a delay of one hour and 20 minutes to allow for the empty seats and overhead cabin bins to be disinfected to comply with all UK health authority guidance.
"Ryanair apologises to all passengers for this short delay."
A spokesperson for Stansted Airport, meanwhile, confirmed the incident, stating:
"We were made aware of the passenger by the airline and members of the airport's fire service attended the aircraft and escorted the passenger and travel partner to an isolation area, where they were put in contact with Public Health England who then oversaw the passenger's onward journey."

TikTok stars 'to be charged' over virus partying

Officials have described their house as "a nightclub in the hills"

Officials in the US city of Los Angeles are expected to announce criminal charges against two TikTok stars later on Friday over their alleged pandemic partying.
Bryce Hall and Blake Gray, who have 13 million and six million followers respectively, have faced mounting criticism for hosting parties in spite of the pandemic and social distancing rules.
Trailing the announcement, City Attorney Mike Feuer's office said the charges were part of a "crackdown" against the "havoc" of party houses in the area.
Authorities cut off utility access, including water and electricity supply, to a Hollywood Hills mansion being rented by the pair and another influencer earlier this month.
That decision came days after footage showing dozens of maskless partygoers celebrating Hall's 21st birthday at another LA mansion flooded social media.
The influencer later admitted on YouTube that throwing the party "was not the most responsible thing to do" given "everything going on" and shared footage of himself and friends being tested for coronavirus.
Other big online names, like YouTuber Jake Paul, have also come under fire for their partying in recent months.

Virus protest to go ahead in Berlin

A protest against virus restrictions in Berlin attracted about 20,000 people at the start of August

A court in Berlin has overturned a ban on a planned protest against Germany’s coronavirus restrictions.
In a ruling on Friday, Berlin’s Administrative Court said the protest could take place in the city on Saturday under certain conditions.
The demonstration is expected to draw thousands of people at a time when coronavirus cases are on the rise in Germany.
Earlier this week, Berlin’s state government announced that it would prohibit the demonstration, citing virus-related concerns.
Protest organisers accused the government of denying them freedom of assembly and expression.
A similar protest was held in the German capital at the beginning of August. Far-right activists, Covid-19 deniers and conspiracy theorists were among the protest’s diverse attendees.
Demonstrators held up banners with slogans including "Corona, false alarm" at the protest, which was eventually broken up by police, who accused organisers of not respecting Covid-19 regulations.

Notting Hill Carnival fans urged to stay home and watch online

The event normally attracts more than one million people to the streets of west London

Notting Hill Carnival partygoers are being urged to stay off the streets this weekend as the event moves online for the first time in its 54-year history due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A decision to cancel the west London street party was announced in May - and rather than one million people dancing around Notting Hill, Westbourne Park and Kensington, revellers will have to watch streamed performances from the comfort of their own homes.
The carnival’s executive director, Matthew Phillip, said cancelling the carnival was not an easy decision, adding: "We did it in the interest of safety, so we would urge people to stay at home. We don't want anything to jeopardise the future of the carnival."
Among those featuring in the digital celebrations is Mikey Dread, who for nearly 40 years has spent his August Bank Holiday on a corner of west London running one of the carnival's most famous reggae sound systems - Channel One.
He said: "We've done a recording already. We went in there, did an hour and that was it."

Egypt's mosques hold first Friday prayers since March

Large mosques in Egypt have held Friday prayers for the first time since they were suspended in March.
Worshippers followed precautionary measures, including wearing face masks, maintaining physical distancing, and bringing their own disinfected prayer mats. The sermons themselves were limited to a maximum of 10 minutes.
There have been about 98,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in Egypt and just over 5,300 deaths.
In these photos, worshippers pray at the newly-reopened Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo.

US deaths could exceed 200,000 by mid-September

The coronavirus death toll in the US could rise above 200,000 by the middle of September, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has predicted.
The CDC on Thursday released its forecast for national deaths related to Covid-19 for the next four weeks.
An estimated 4,000 to 8,300 new deaths are expected to be recorded during the week ending 19 September, the CDC said.
The CDC’s worst-case scenario would see 207,000 deaths in total reported by that date.
At least 180,000 people have died with Covid-19 so far in the US, the highest number in the world, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
The US of course has a large population. At 55.27, the US’s death rate per 100,000 people is the 11th highest in the world, the university’s analysis shows.

Head of hospital where Covid-19 first identified 'dismissed'

Kerry Allen - BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst

Dr Li Wenliang, who worked at Wuhan Central Hospital, first raised the alarm on coronavirus, and later died with it

The head of the hospital in the Chinese city of Wuhan where Covid-19 was first identified is no longer in her role, Chinese media are reporting today.
Independent media suggest she might have been removed over criticism of her initial handling of the coronavirus.
The Caixin news website says that Cai Li, the party secretary of the Wuhan Central Hospital, was “dismissed” from her role.
There have been criticisms over the running of the Wuhan Central Hospital since the death of Covid-19 “whistleblower” doctor, Li Wenliang (pictured above), in early February.
In June, the death of another doctor at the hospital, Hu Weifeng, led to widespread calls on Chinese social media networks for Cai Li to be investigated, or sacked.
Critics say she holds responsibility for suppressing early warnings of the virus, and not ensuring the safety of employees at the hospital.
A Wuhan-based academic told Radio Free Asia in June that Ms Cai was not a medical professional but a “bureaucrat”, and that “all the decisions she has made during this epidemic have been based on orders from higher up”.

New daily Covid-19 cases in UK down from Thursday

There are 1,276 new daily confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, down from the 1,522 recorded on Thursday, according to the latest government figures.
A further nine people have died within 28 days of testing positive for the virus across all settings, taking the overall UK death toll to 41,486.
The UK has been increasing the number of tests it is conducting, particularly in areas with local outbreaks.

Coronavirus cases levelling off in England - ONS

We've just had the daily UK coronavirus figures. And meanwhile, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows cases of coronavirus are levelling off in England. That's according to swab tests of thousands of people in random households.
The ONS estimates there are 2,200 new infections per day.
Following a low point in June in the percentage of people testing positive for the virus, there was a small increase in July. It says this is staying stable for the week ending 20 August.
The figures are based on tests on people whether they have symptoms or not, giving one of the most accurate pictures of whether new infections are increasing.
Patients in hospitals, care homes or other institutional settings are not included in this data.

"Significant" outbreak at Norfolk poultry factory

Some 80 workers have tested positive for Covid-19 at Banham Poultry processing factory in Attleborough, Norfolk.
Tests were carried out on 347 staff after seven tested positive for the virus on Monday.
The county's director of public health, Dr Louise Smith, said it was being regarded as a "significant national outbreak".
Staff from the affected cutting area of the factory have been asked to go into isolation along with their households. Dr Smith said: "The action has been taken because we believe it is the best way to protect the wider public from further infection."
The source of the outbreak is not yet known but Dr Smith said there was no evidence it began in the factory.

Local lockdown restrictions to be lifted in parts of England

Tighter measures imposed to stop the spread of Covid-19 are to be lifted in parts of Greater Manchester, Lancashire and West Yorkshire after infections there dropped, the UK government has announced.
From Wednesday 2 September, two households will be able to mix again in some areas, including Bolton, Stockport, Trafford, Hyndburn and Burnley.
Parts of Bradford will have restrictions eased except for Bradford city and Keighley town.
The changes also mean relaxed rules in Calderdale except for Halifax and Kirklees, excluding Dewsbury.
Batley will also have measures eased.
The Department of Health and Social Care said there had been "positive progress" in those places.
There have been some improvements in Leicester, which has also seen tougher restrictions imposed - but current measures will be kept in place for a further two weeks as cases "remain high".
Read the full story

Restrictions remain in England's virus hotspots

In areas where coronavirus infections are still rising, local restrictions will remain in force.
That includes Pendle and Blackburn, where residents will continue to be advised to avoid mixing with anyone from another household anywhere.
At 67.8, the number of cases per 100,000 in Pendle was the highest of anywhere in England in the week ending 20 August, the UK government said.
The ban on two households mixing indoors will also continue in Preston.
On top of the restrictions on indoor gatherings, some leisure-sector businesses will continue to remain closed.
The government said a review of these measures will take place by 11 September.

Hungary to close borders to foreigners

Hungary will not allow foreigners to enter the country from 1 September to curb the spread of coronavirus, the prime minister’s cabinet chief has said.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff Gergely Gulyas said "most of the origins of new infections are foreign".
“Hungary is green, all other countries have turned red," Gulyas said, referring to the rise in coronavirus cases worldwide.
Gulyas said Hungarian citizens returning from abroad will be allowed to enter as long as they present two negative coronavirus tests or quarantine themselves for 14 days.
He said the government would specify other exceptions at a later date. The border closure will be maintained for a month, he added.
Hungary has fared better than some of its European neighbours, recording about 5,500 infections and 600 deaths to date.

New York sees lowest infection rate since pandemic began

The US state of New York has reported the lowest coronavirus infection rate since the start of the pandemic, Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced.
Cuomo said the state’s infection rate dropped to 0.65% on Friday, a new record low.
New York State's infection rate has now been under 1% every day for three weeks, the governor said in a news release.
Thanking New Yorkers for their discipline, Mr Cumo said the declining infection rate was evidence that wearing masks, social distancing and washing hands “makes a real difference”.
“Yesterday's data also shows that we aren't necessarily finding more positives with more testing, which is a good new development,” he added.
“We aren't out of the woods yet, so keep it up, be safe and stay New York Tough."
As of Friday New York, which was once the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic in the US, had recorded 432,767 infections and 25,312 deaths.

Macron: Nationwide lockdown cannot be ruled out in France

The UK, no longer in the EU but in a transition period, added France to its quarantine list earlier this month

A second nationwide lockdown cannot be ruled out in France if coronavirus infections spiral out of control, President Emmanuel Macron has warned.
Macron said his government was doing everything possible to avoid the country-wide imposition of coronavirus restrictions.
"We've learned enough to know that nothing can be ruled out. But we're doing everything to prevent it,” Macron said on Friday.
Coronavirus infections in France have spiked in recent weeks, raising fears of a second wave and the return of restrictions that would damage an already weakened economy.
France recorded a daily tally of 6,111 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, the highest level since lockdown ended. Overall, more than 30,500 people have died and almost 300,000 have been infected in France.
Earlier, Macron called on European countries to take a more co-ordinated approach to coronavirus travel restrictions.
He urged European nations not to “repeat the mistakes of March”, a month when many countries promptly and unilaterally closed their borders to curb the virus, undermining the EU's cherished principle of freedom of movement.

France records 7,300 new cases

France has recorded 7,379 additional confirmed cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, health authorities announced on Friday.
The figure marks an increase of more than 1,000 on the 6,111 new cases reported on Thursday - the highest number since early May.
Despite a sharp rise in cases in recent weeks, daily death tolls have remained low. A further 20 people were confirmed to have died with Covid-19 on Friday, bringing France’s overall death toll to 30,596.
France’s director general of health said the rapid growth of cases was “very worrying”.
Moments before the figures were released on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said a second national lockdown could not be ruled out.

Today’s main coronavirus headlines in the UK

Here's a reminder of today’s main coronavirus headlines from the UK:

• People will again be encouraged to go back to the workplace in a government ad campaign starting next week
  
• Tightened restrictions to stop the spread of Covid-19 are to be eased in parts of Greater Manchester, Lancashire and West Yorkshire
  
• Virus cases are continuing to level off in England, according to ONS data from swab tests of thousands of people in random households
  
• The number of people claiming unemployment benefits has surged since the start of the coronavirus pandemic but the most deprived areas have been hit hardest
  
• Staycations are expected to boost bank holiday traffic despite none of the usual events held at the end of August, such as the Notting Hill Carnival and the Reading and Leeds festivals
  

France's lockdown warning and other global stories

In case you missed them, here are some of the main coronavirus developments from across the world on Friday:

• France’s president said a second national lockdown could not be ruled out, as the country recorded more than 7,300 new coronavirus cases, Meanwhile, wearing a face mask in public became mandatory across Paris
  
• Hungary said it would close its borders to foreigners from 1 September after seeing a spike in coronavirus infections from abroad
  
• A court in Berlin overturned a ban on a planned protest against Germany’s coronavirus restrictions, paving the way for thousands to attend the rally on Saturday
  
• The US state of New York reported its lowest coronavirus infection rate since the start of the pandemic
  
• US President Donald Trump accepted his nomination to be the Republican candidate in November's election in front of an in-person crowd, with little social distancing on display
  
• A further 76,827 new confirmed cases of the virus were recorded in India on Friday - a record single-day increase for this month
  
• Large mosques in Egypt held Friday prayers for the first time since they were suspended in March
  

Goodbye - and thanks for joining us

That's it for our live coverage for today.

It was edited by Kevin Ponniah and Holly Wallis, and written by George Bowden, Paul Kirby, Ashitha Nagesh, Joshua Nevett and Jo Couzens.