Coronavirus - 10th September

Summary for Thursday, 10th September

• More than 900,000 deaths around the world have been linked to coronavirus, a tally from Johns Hopkins University says
  
• US President Donald Trump said he "played down" the risk of the virus to avoid panic, according to a new book
  
• UK medical experts have raised doubts over the PM's plan to have "millions" of coronavirus tests processed each day
  
• Indonesia's capital will bring back restrictions, with the governor warning of an "emergency" situation as hospitals fill up
  
• India has a record jump in daily Covid-19 infections, with 95,735 new cases detected in a single day
  

Thanks for joining our rolling coverage of the global coronavirus pandemic - it's Helier Cheung, George Bowden and Yaroslav Lukov with you today in London.
Our team and BBC reporters around the globe will be bringing you all the latest developments – so stay with us for regular updates.
To help you catch up, here are some of the main headlines from across the world:

• Global deaths linked to Covid-19 have now passed 900,000, according to Johns Hopkins University - with the US making up more than a fifth of deaths
  
• US President Donald Trump admitted earlier this year that he knew Covid-19 was deadly - but said he wanted to "play down" the virus to avoid panic, according to a new book and recording
  
• Shipping coronavirus vaccines around the world will be the "largest transport challenge ever" and require the equivalent of 8,000 Boeing 747s, according to the airline industry.
  
• Indonesia’s capital Jakarta will bring back social distancing measures, with the governor warning of an "emergency" situation as hospitals fill up
  
• The Japan Sumo Association says 18 wrestlers from one stable tested positive, meaning that the entire squad will miss the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament starting this weekend
  

Latest from the UK

Meanwhile, here is a quick catch-up on coronavirus news in the UK today:

• Scientists and health professionals have raised doubts about Prime Minister Boris Johnson's "Operation Moonshot" plan for mass coronavirus testing - which he hopes will give millions of people results within minutes
  
• A leaked Whitehall document puts the cost of the plan at £100 billion – almost the cost of the entire NHS England budget, according to the BBC’s Health Editor Hugh Pym
  
• Businesses and other public settings where people meet socially in England will have to record contact details of anyone on their premises from 18 September to tackle the spread of coronavirus
  
• Indoor venues in Scotland, including concert halls and theatres, will learn later if they can reopen from Monday - Nicola Sturgeon is due to announce any further changes to lockdown restrictions at her coronavirus briefing
  
• A private company has agreed to provide Exeter University with thousands of coronavirus tests that give results in 24 hours. The deal is thought to be the first of its kind in the UK
  
• Christmas is still a few months away - but there are concerns that social distancing restrictions could still be in place then, making it difficult for families to gather to celebrate
  

We’re also expecting to hear from Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who is facing media questions this morning, as well as Jenny Harries, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England.

Latest around Europe

French authorities are watching infection rates in about 20 cities, according to the head of France's scientific council, Jean-François Delfraissy. In the past 24 hours 8,577 new infections have been announced and the head of the Bordeaux area in the south-west, Alain Anziani, says there's a "strong risk" of a local lockdown. But Mr Delfraissy says everything must be done to avoid more lockdowns: "The stakes are as much about society as health." Elsewhere in Europe:

• Wearing masks in the Czech Republic is compulsory in enclosed spaces again from today - more than 1,000 coronavirus cases have been declared for a second day in a row
  
• Spain has reported another 4,410 infections as schools restart today in several areas. Masks are obligatory for anyone aged six and over
  
• Portugal has registered 646 new infections - its highest since 20 April - and ministers will decide today on new rules for a key moment next week, when children return to class.
  

Which countries have been hit with the most deaths?

As we mentioned earlier, the global death toll from the coronavirus has passed 900,000, while the number of confirmed infections is nearing 28 million, based on a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
The US is still by far the worst hit country, with more than 6.3m cases, and 190,000 deaths - more than a fifth of the total.
Brazil is in second place with more than 128,000 deaths, followed by India with over 75,000 dead.
Mexico and the UK have the fourth and fifth most deaths - 69,000 and 41,000 respectively.
India in particular has been recorded more cases, and deaths, than other countries in recent days - even as some social distancing measures are being lifted.

India sets yet another daily infections record

Krutika Pathi - BBC News, Delhi
India has confirmed another record number of daily infections as it recorded 95,735 new cases in the last 24 hours.
But the latest spike comes amid a week which has been dotted with daily infections over 90,000, representative of just how large the caseload is becoming in India.
The rising numbers are partly explained by states across the country actively ramping up their testing - more than one million tests are being carried out every day, according to the health ministry.
But with the country continuing to open up, it's not surprising that cases are mounting. The capital, Delhi, just allowed bars and pubs to re-open this week and schools across India are preparing to open their doors later this month.
With 4.4 million cases, India has the second-highest caseload after the US. But the government and some experts point to the country's high recovery rate as a source of good news. For every 100 confirmed with the virus, nearly 78 have recovered . Consequently, active cases in the country remain low, taking up about 20.6% of total cases.

R number is certainly above 1 in England

More now on the new social distancing rules in England, announced yesterday, that will restrict gatherings to six people from Monday.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps tells BBC Breakfast the new rule came about after extensive discussions with medical and scientific advisers.
He concedes the advice is much simpler than previous guidance, adding "you need to set some rules and you need to stick by them".
It also means that he won't be able to invite both his parents to his home from Monday, because there are five people in his household.

• What are social distancing and self-isolation rules?
  

Asked about gatherings such as art classes or fitness classes, Shapps says that businesses will have put in measures to ensure they are Covid-secure.
"A professionally organised thing would be suitable but we do ask people to be very sensible and very smart about not gathering in groups more than six where it is not in a formal Covid-secure environment, like a business."
Shapps adds that if the public follows the new advice, the R number - the rate at which an infected person passes the virus to someone else - will come down below 1.
"We know for certain it is somewhere above 1 because it is growing," he says.

• What is the R number and how is it calculated?
  

UK expert suggests pausing the rush to get workers back to offices

Professor Neil Ferguson, a leading epidemiologist whose modelling work was used by the UK government before the lockdown in March, has told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that coronavirus infections will rise among all age groups - not just the young.
Prof Ferguson says contact rates have increased across all age groups in the past three weeks. "So we would expect... that infection will start propagating across all age groups," he said.
He pointed toward the US, where places like Florida and California saw an increase in cases among younger people followed by an uptick in deaths.
Prof Ferguson says new measures announced in England "will take some weeks to have an effect" - he put the timescale around two to three weeks for case numbers to be impacted by the new rules on social gatherings.
The increase in case numbers seen this week does not account for the reopening of schools, he added.


In recent weeks, the government had tried to encourage workers to go back to the office - but Prof Ferguson said this was a tricky balance.
"I'm still working from home, many people I know are still working from home, and certainly I think we should hesitate and maybe pause the headlong rush to get everybody back into offices.
"But some people have to work [away from home] and I completely understand the concerns in many quarters that everyone working at home has an economic impact, especially on city centres."

Shapps: This is not going back into a full lockdown

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says that he believes the majority of people will abide by the new "rule of six" in England, the restricts gatherings to no more than six people from Monday.
"People actually generally want to do the right thing, nobody wants to spread this around," he told the BBC.
The creation of coronavirus "marshals" will remind people to wear face coverings and maintain distancing with the police able to enforce the "rule of six" if needed, he said, adding: "This is not going back into a full lockdown."
Lisa Nandy, shadow foreign secretary for the opposition Labour party, told BBC Breakfast she believed the government was right to introduce tighter coronavirus restrictions in England.
However, she added that the timing could confuse people - with restrictions brought in with another weekend to go before they begin.
“Most people want to do the right thing but they also need to understand what that is,” she said.
“I think most of the public do understand that as difficult as this is we do have to make sure as we go into winter, and as the NHS is preparing for winter flu and other outbreaks, that we’ve got to make sure the NHS is protected."

Trump 'deliberately played down virus to avoid panic'

More now on a story that's dominating news outlets in the US.
President Donald Trump knew Covid-19 was deadlier than the flu before it hit the country, but decided to "play it down" in his public comments because he didn't want to "create a panic", according to a new book and taped conversations with Bob Woodward.
Woodward, who broke the Watergate scandal and is one of the nation's most respected journalists, interviewed Trump 18 times from December to July.
Trump is quoted Woodward's book Rage as telling him the virus was "deadly stuff", in early February, before the first US death was confirmed.
However, in the weeks that followed, Trump publicly implied the flu was more dangerous than Covid-19, and said: "Just stay calm. It will go away."
After details of the book emerged, Trump's Democratic rival, Joe Biden, described Trump's approach as a "dereliction of duty" and "a life-and-death betrayal of the American people”.
However, Trump has defended his position, saying on Wednesday: "I don't want people to be frightened, I don't want to create panic... certainly I'm not going to drive this country or the world into a frenzy."
Read our full story here.

Risk of dying from coronavirus 'doubles every six years'

The risk of dying from coronavirus "doubles every six years", Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, a statistician at the University of Cambridge, has said.
"A 20-year-old has double the risk of a 14-year-old," he told the BBC, adding: "It's like a horrible form of compound interest."
"The real danger points, in a sense, are intergenerational meetings. At the moment, the people who are getting the virus are the 20-29s - if 5,000 get it, there may be one death if you're unlucky, there will be other sort of long-term conditions as well.
"But if 5,000 people my age - 67 - get it, there would be about 75 deaths, and for people older, in their 80s, it would be 10 times that many.
"So it shows the crucial care is where the generations meet, and I think what this shows is that, for the young, anyone over 55 should be treated with caution, respect, in terms of masks and the distance and so on."
'Huge danger'
Spiegelhalter also said Boris Johnson's "Operation Moonshot" project - which would see millions of UK-wide tests carried out daily - could lead to hundreds of thousands of people being unnecessarily labelled as having coronavirus.
"Statisticians are just sort of banging their heads on the wall at this, because mass screening always seems like a good idea in any disease - 'Oh yes, let's test everybody'. But the huge danger is false positives - no tests are perfect, it is not a simple yes/no thing."

Harries: Mass testing will need to solve false positive problem

Here's more analysis on "Operation Moonshot" - the UK government's plan to see millions of coronavirus tests carried out daily.
England's deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries says there will be technical solutions to allow for mass testing, but it is for politicians to weigh up the costs of any new programme.
Dr Harries said that the relevant technology would become available in the coming months, but problems such as false positives would need to be solved before any new test is rolled out.
She said "whole mass population testing" is quite different from the testing regime available to those with symptoms in the UK at the moment.
"The tricky thing with this is not so much the technology... the issue actually is how it gets used in practice."
"Although testing is really important... the issue is that if people have symptoms they need to come out of society in order to prevent disease transmission."

Singapore to roll out contact-tracing tokens

The TraceTogether app has been downloaded 2.4 million times in Singapore

Singapore will start handing out TraceTogether contact-tracing devices nationwide next week.
The Bluetooth-enabled tokens are aimed at people who do not own or prefer not to use a mobile phone.
The free devices have unique QR codes and a battery life of up to nine months.
This comes as Singapore strengthens its contact-tracing network to prepare for larger gatherings to take place as restrictions are slowly eased.
A pilot scheme to use either the free tokens or the mobile app to check in at certain venues will also start next month. The app has been downloaded 2.4 million times.

Indonesia's capital 'running out of isolation beds'

Resty Woro Yuniar - BBC News, Jakarta
Indonesia’s capital Jakarta will re-implement stricter social restrictions, starting on Monday, as the number of Covid-19 cases have soared in the past month.
Governor Anies Baswedan said on Wednesday night that 77% of isolation beds in the capital are currently occupied and the city will run out of beds by 17 September. He also said that Covid-19 intensive care units in the capital would be fully occupied by 15 September if cases continue to increase.
Stricter social restrictions will see office workers working from home; shopping centres and places of worship closed, and bigger scrutiny of traffic around the capital's borders.
This will also mean that non-essential industries will be shut down again, dealing another blow to an already-reeling economy that saw its biggest GDP contraction in more than two decades in the second quarter this year.
These new measures will produce mixed feelings among Jakartans. Some agree with the strict social restrictions, but others, particularly those whose daily incomes have been affected, disagree. A large number of people are still not observing social distancing or mask wearing.
As of Thursday, Jakarta has recorded over 50,000 Covid-19 cases, the highest number in Indonesia, and over 1,300 virus-linked deaths. Overall, Indonesia has recorded more than 207,000 Covid-19 cases and more than 8,400 virus-linked deaths, the highest coronavirus mortality rate in Southeast Asia.

Analysis: Lockdown bought time, but now for a balancing act

Nick Triggle - Health Correspondent
Many experts believe plans to roll out mass rapid testing this winter is unrealistic . Piloting is still taking place to see if the technologies work – millions of tests would then need to be manufactured and distributed.
The focus on this “moonshot” plan is perhaps a distraction from the difficult decisions the country faces.
The level of infection is still low – despite the recent rises.
But do not expect them to stay this way.
Respiratory viruses tend to do better in the autumn and winter because of the colder weather and fact people are indoors more.
Ministers will then face the choice of more restrictions to try to curb the virus in the knowledge these will damage people’s health in other ways as well as harming education and the economy.
Or let the virus spread, while focusing efforts on protecting the vulnerable – that means protecting care homes and perhaps reintroducing shielding.
Lockdown bought us time, but simply deferred the problem.
Progress has been made in the past six months – there are better treatments, more testing and a network of contact tracers – but perhaps not as much as hoped.
The UK – like all nations – faces a tricky act of balancing harms.

• How to get a covid test
  

Crisis 'within touching distance' in Israel's hospitals

Tom Bateman - BBC Middle East correspondent


Israel has recorded another record high in daily coronavirus infections - with 3,904 new cases on Wednesday.
The coronavirus ‘czar’ Prof Ronni Gamzu – himself in quarantine after a colleague tested positive – will make new recommendations at a cabinet meeting with a national lockdown said to be back on the table.
Israel was lauded in the Spring for tackling the epidemic with early action that contained the spread of infection and saw a very low death rate compared to other countries.
Now the government is coming in for widespread criticism for losing control. A top scientist warned on Thursday that a crisis is “within touching distance” at some hospitals.
Four hundred and seventy four patients are seriously ill while more than 1,000 people have died with the virus since the outbreak started.
The cabinet recently imposed school closures and new nighttime restrictions in the worst affected towns. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his government is doing “everything to maintain the economy and safeguard health and lives”.

UK House of Commons leader self-isolating

Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg is self-isolating while a family member awaits a coronavirus test result.
Deputy Chief Whip Stuart Andrew told the Commons: "A member of the leader of the House's household is awaiting a Covid test result after having been symptomatic. The leader is therefore self-isolating along with his family."

Assange hearing delayed over Covid fears

An extradition hearing for WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange has been postponed until Monday due to concerns that one of the lawyers involved may have been exposed to coronavirus.
Mr Assange is fighting extradition from the UK to the US where he is wanted for conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law over the release of confidential cables by WikiLeaks in 2010-2011.
Presiding Judge Vanessa Baraitster told the Old Bailey in central London that the lawyer would be tested for the virus at the end of this week, Reuters news agency reported.

New challenges ahead for South Korea

Laura Bicker - BBC News
It’s been a tense time in Seoul. And despite a drop in daily cases, health officials are not yet breathing a sigh of relief.
For the last two weeks the usually neon-lit social life of this city has been switched off at 9pm. It’s the first time the 25 million people of Seoul and its surrounding suburbs have seen such a near-lockdown since this pandemic began.
Restaurants, cafes, bakeries and of course nightclubs and karaoke bars have all closed to comply with the curfew. Some of the city’s parks have also been shut to stop people gathering in the late summer sunshine.
The stricter social distancing measures were put in place to combat a spike in infections which started in early August. 4,000 cases were reported in a month – many linked to a far-right conservative church.
It prompted widespread anger and fear. Could the country’s well known “test, track and trace” measures really get this outbreak under control?
The answer appears to be yes. The number of daily reported cases have stayed below 200 for the last eight days.
There’s still a lot to do to get case numbers back below 50. A decision will be made later this week on whether to relax the current measures or keep them in place.
And there’s another concern. One of the biggest Korean holidays of the year is around the corner. Chuseok is a major harvest festival when most people head to their family’s home town and spend time with their relatives.
Health officials are already warning South Koreans that they may have to suffer bigger sacrifices if the virus continues to spread. But discouraging people from travelling on this most important of traditional gatherings might prove to be a tough ask.

Top US health official questions Trump's vaccine goal

The debate about when a vaccine will be ready - and whether it will be safe - is still rumbling on.
US President Donald Trump has said he wants one available in the US before November's election.
But the director of America's National Institutes of Health, Dr Francis Collins, has questioned this prediction.
“Certainly, to try to predict whether it happens on a particular week before or after a particular date in early November is well beyond anything that any scientist right now could tell you and be confident they know what they are saying,” Dr Collins told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday.
No vaccine has yet completed clinical trials, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) - leading some scientists to fear the search for a vaccine is being politicised, and public trust could be damaged.
Earlier this week, a group of nine vaccine developers this week announced a "historic pledge" to uphold scientific and ethical standards in the search for a vaccine.
The firms, including Pfizer and Merck, said they would only apply for regulatory approval after vaccines went through three phases of clinical study.

England's testing system sees highest weekly number of positive cases

Positive coronavirus cases rose by 43% in the week ending 2 September compared with the previous week, government data shows.
The increase to 9,864 new positive cases is the highest weekly number since NHS Test and Trace was launched at the end of May
Around 69.2% of their close contacts were reached in the same period, down slightly from 69.8% in the previous week, and the lowest weekly percentage since NHS Test and Trace was launched in May.
For cases handled by local health protection teams, 96.6% of contacts were reached and asked to self-isolate in the week to 2 September. For cases handled online or in call centres, the figure was 61.3%.
Almost 80,000 people identified as close contacts of confirmed coronavirus cases have not been reached by England's tracing service since its launch.
The data shows that - overall since the service launched - 293,452 close contacts of those who have tested positive were reached by the service - 78.8% of those identified.

Maximum size of gatherings in Scotland also cut to six

The number of people allowed to meet up in Scotland has been cut to six amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic "accelerating".
The rule change was made as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a "tightening and extension" of lockdown rules.
Changes planned for later in September have been put back to October.
It means that theatres, live music venues, indoor soft play facilities and indoor contact sports for people aged over 12 will not now open next Monday.
It comes after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that gatherings would be limited in England to no more than six people.

Round-up: Latest from the UK

It's been a busy morning. Here's the latest about coronavirus in the UK:

• Scientists and health professionals have raised doubts about Prime Minister Boris Johnson's "Operation Moonshot" plan for mass coronavirus testing - saying there are are issues with laboratory capacity for current tests
  
• Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced the maximum size of social gatherings has been cut to six people - as in England from next week - but in Scotland, the six can be drawn from two households at most
  
• The number of people diagnosed with Covid-19 in England has risen by 43% in a week, latest community testing figures showed. Some 9,864 infections were confirmed in the seven days to 2 September
  
• Disruption to hospitals in England during the pandemic has meant the number of patients facing long waits for routine operations has soared, with more than two million people on the waiting list
  
• And Conservative minister Jacob Rees-Mogg is self-isolating at home after one of his children showed symptoms of coronavirus
  

'Go back, Covid! Covid!'

Thousands of migrants and asylum seekers are sleeping rough on the Greek island of Lesbos, after fire destroyed their overcrowded camp.
Officials are struggling to prevent a health crisis after 35 people there tested positive for coronavirus.
The BBC's Bethany Bell is at the scene, and sent this report:


"Along the road from the burnt-out Moria camp groups of migrants sit at the kerbside and under olive trees. Some are carrying small bags, others are pushing shopping trolleys filled with blankets.
One woman from Afghanistan held her baby girl, born 25 days ago. She said she and her family had spent the night out in the open, as the police had not let them return to Moria. She said no-one had brought them either food or water.
A few steps away in the blazing sun, a Syrian woman fed her baby from a bottle. Police have set up roadblocks preventing refugees from leaving the area to go towards the main town, Mytilene, and the port. When one migrant approached them, the police shouted "Go back, Covid, Covid!"
A young Afghan boy hunched his shoulders and frowned. "Lesbos no good," he said."
Read the full story here .

Nineteen Sumo wrestlers test positive

The Japan Sumo Association says 19 wrestlers from the Tamanoi stable in Tokyo have tested positive, and now the entire 28-member team will miss the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament starting this weekend, Kyodo News reports.
However, tournament organisers say the 15-day event in the capital will go ahead as planned.
In May, a 28-year-old Sumo wrestler died due to multiple organ failure caused by Covid-19, in what was the sport's first virus-related fatality.

Los Angeles advises against Trick or Treating

Los Angeles County has advised against Trick or Treating this upcoming Halloween.
It had originally banned the practice of collecting sweets from local houses while in fancy dress, but the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has now revised the plan so it is simply "not recommended".
It advises against it “because it can be very difficult to maintain proper social distancing on porches and at front doors, ensure that everyone answering or coming to the door is appropriately masked to prevent disease spread and because sharing food is risky,” a release from the department said .
People have been asked to find alternative ways of marking the day. Halloween parties or carnivals with non-household members are also banned, although car parades and film nights at drive-in venues are permitted.
It comes as people in the UK are nervous about how Christmas will be celebrated.
Newspapers such as The Independent have warned “Christmas celebrations are in jeopardy” following the re-introduction of restrictions on the numbers of people gathering in England.

Number of patients facing long waits for operations soars

The disruption to hospitals in England during the pandemic has meant the number of patients facing long waits for routine operations has soared.
More than two million people - half the total - have been waiting more than 18 weeks while one in five have been waiting more than a year, NHS England figures showed.
But there are some encouraging signs, with treatments happening in hospitals on the increase.
Read more here from our health correspondent Nick Triggle here .

Two options as Israel mulls nationwide lockdown

As we reported earlier (see our 11:15 post), Israel has recorded another record high in daily infections - with 3,904 new cases on Wednesday.
The government is now set to consider whether to impose a nationwide lockdown.
Israeli media said the proposed measure could take effect on Thursday - a day before the Jewish New Year festival of Rosh Hashanah - and include the closures of schools, restaurants, shopping malls, markets and event venues.
Another option under consideration is a so-called "breathing" closure in which businesses would close for weeks but movement would be less curtailed.
Read our full story here.

Seventy people contract virus at Minnesota wedding

At least 70 people in the US state of Minnesota have contracted coronavirus at a wedding.
The wedding on 22 August in the city of Ghent had about 270 guests, exceeding the allowed capacity.
Attendees and their close contacts have been asked to isolate.
State infectious disease director Kris Ehresmann told NBC News on Wednesday the number had grown from 58 last week to 70.
At a news conference last week, Ms Ehresmann claimed people were avoiding getting tested. She said healthcare workers were among those infected.
Minnesota has recorded more than 81,868 cases and 1,869 deaths since the pandemic began.

UK records more than 2,000 cases for fifth day in a row

A further 2,919 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK - up from 2,659 on Wednesday and the fifth day in a row where cases have exceeded 2,000.
It brings the total number of cases to 358,138.
A further 14 deaths were recorded, within 28 days of a positive test, bringing the total number by this criteria to 41,608.

UK afternoon headlines

Good afternoon. Here's a round-up of the main coronavirus developments in the UK so far today:

• The new coronavirus rules in England banning social gatherings of more than six people will not be kept in place "any longer than we have to", Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said . The law comes into force on Monday, with Mr Hancock saying it was "vital" to control the virus for the "long term"
  
• The number of people testing positive for coronavirus in the UK has exceeded 2,000 for the fifth day in a row. A further 2,919 people tested positive - up from 2,659 on Wednesday
  
• The number of people allowed to meet up in Scotland has been cut to six - a day after the same restriction was announced for England. It came as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a "tightening and extension" of lockdown rules in Scotland
  
• The disruption to hospitals in England during the pandemic has meant the number of patients facing long waits for routine operations has soared . More than two million people on the waiting list - half the total - have been waiting more than 18 weeks, the highest since records began in 2007
  
• Universities should switch to full online learning only as a last resort in the event of a local coronavirus outbreak, new guidance says . Students should also limit socialising, staying within separate "households", and should be taught in managed groups, it says
  

Portugal to be removed from UK travel corridors list

Portugal, excluding the autonomous islands of the Azores and Madeira, is among a number of countries to be removed from England's safe travel list, the transport secretary has announced .
The new rules mean people arriving in England from mainland Portugal after 04:00 on Saturday 12 September will need to self-isolate for 14 days.
Hungary, French Polynesia and Reunion Island have also been removed from the list.

  Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP:
  Data shows we need to remove PORTUGAL (minus the AZORES and MADEIRA), HUNGARY, FRENCH POLYNESIA and REUNION from the Travel Corridor list to keep everyone safe. If you arrive in England from these destinations after 4am Saturday, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days.

Portugal announces new social restrictions

Portugal has announced new restrictions to control the spread of the virus on the same day that the UK removed the country's mainland its safe travel corridor..
The Portuguese authorities have now restricted social gatherings to 10 people, down from 20 previously. The sale of alcohol will be banned from 20:00 local time (19:00 GMT) along with drinking in public spaces.
Portugal recorded 646 infections on Wednesday, the highest since 20 April.

Sweden added to England's travel corridors list

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps explained that "enhanced data" meant the government now had "the capability to assess islands separate to their mainland countries".
This means that those arriving in England from the Azores or Madeira from 04:00 on Saturday will not have to self-isolate.
Mr Shapps added that Sweden had been added to the travel corridors list, meaning people arriving in England from there will no longer have to self-isolate.
You can see the travel corridors list here

New restrictions for parts of Northern Ireland

Restrictions on visiting other households are to be reintroduced in parts of Northern Ireland after a rise in cases of coronavirus.
The new rules affect people in Ballymena, those who live in the Belfast council area and addresses with postcodes BT43, BT28 and BT29.
Those postcodes take in parts of Glenavy, Lisburn and Crumlin.
There will be a limited number of exemptions.

Analysis: The focus now is on hospital admissions

Nick Triggle - Health Correspondent
Given the rise in coronavirus cases there has been recently, there is now a lot of focus on what is happening to hospital admissions.
On the face of it there are some signs hospital cases may be starting to go up. There are currently 837 patients in hospital with Covid-19 – a week ago it was under 750.
These numbers vary from day to day though so it is too early to say whether it is the start of the expected upward trend.
There is also another complication. Scotland counts someone as a hospital case if they have ever tested positive for the virus – and the country accounts for a third of all cases despite only having 8% of the UK’s population.
If you just count England, which relies on a positive test 14 days before admission or after admission, the cases are around 100 higher than they were last week.
The figures though remain a long way from the peak in the spring when 20,000 patients were in hospital with the virus.

Covid outbreak at hospital 'may have killed 18'

Health directors at Weston General Hospital in North Somerset have apologised after an internal investigation revealed hospital-acquired coronavirus infections may have contributed to the deaths of 18 patients.
An outbreak hit the hospital in May , forcing it to close to new admissions.
A report by the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust identified a total of 31 patients who died having contracted coronavirus while they were an inpatient.
A single cause for the outbreak has not yet been identified.
"We apologise unreservedly," said the trust's medical director, Dr William Oldfield.
Read more

What happened around the world today?

Global deaths linked to the virus have now surpassed 900,000, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University. Here are some of the other big stories from today:

• US President Trump has defended his decision to downplay the risks of Covid-19, saying his answers to a journalist were proper. According to a book by journalist Bob Woodward, Mr Trump claimed he “played down” the risk to avoid panic
  
• Portugal has announced restrictions on public gatherings and the sale of alcohol on the same day that the UK announced it was taking Portugal’s mainland off its air corridor list
  
• Israel is considering a nationwide lockdown as the country experiences a new daily record number of cases - 3,904
  
• Indonesia’s capital Jakarta is bringing back restrictions, with the governor warning of an “emergency” situation as hospitals fill up. About 77% of isolation beds in Jakarta are currently occupied and the city will run out of beds by 17 September, Governor Anies Baswedan said
  
• France reported 9,843 new cases on Thursday. Deaths increased by 19, according to French health authorities
  

That's it from us for today

We'll soon be pausing our coronavirus live page for the day and will be back tomorrow. Thanks for joining us.
Here is a recap of the main developments from the UK:

• Passengers from mainland Portugal to England will have to quarantine from 04:00 BST on Saturday, just weeks after the country was put on the safe travel list . Wales and Scotland had already imposed the mandatory two weeks of self-isolation earlier this month
  
• Scotland has followed England in limiting the number of people who can meet together to six people. Restrictions on visiting other households are also to be reintroduced in parts of Northern Ireland
  
• Meanwhile, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said new coronavirus rules in England banning social gatherings of more than six people will not be kept in place "any longer than we have to" . "This sacrifice is vital to control the virus for the long term," he told MPs
  

Today's live page writers were Yaroslav Lukov, George Bowden, Sophie Williams and Alex Therrien. The editors were Helier Cheung and Rob Corp.