Summary for Tuesday, 22nd September
Hello and welcome to our live reporting of the coronavirus pandemic. Here are the main stories so far on Tuesday:
Pubs, bars and restaurants in England will have to close by 10pm every night from Thursday, and only table service will be permitted.
We’re expecting Boris Johnson to set out the new measures in the Commons at 12:30 BST before he addresses the nation in a live broadcast at 20:00 BST.
People in Northern Ireland will not be allowed to visit someone else's home from 18:00 BST with a few exceptions, such as childcare. Up to six people from two households can meet in private gardens.
Tighter restrictions are also coming into force in four more parts of South Wales - Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend, Blaenau Gwent and Newport. Hundreds of thousands of people will not be allowed to enter or leave their own areas without a valid reason, such as work.Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will announce tougher measures for Scotland today.
She says she'll wait to make the announcement until after an emergency meeting with Boris Johnson.
BBC News understands the government is poised to scrap plans for the return of some spectators to sporting venues next month. Pilot events have been taking place - with a maximum attendance of 1,000.
And about 30 million people in England are to be offered a flu jab in the biggest ever such vaccination programme.
Public Health England hopes to reduce the burden on the NHS during the winter and minimise the number of people who could become simultaneously infected with both flu and the coronavirus.
But Hugo Lopez-Gatell also said that the pace of the pandemic was slowing. "We now have eight consecutive weeks of a falling (caseload)," he said on Monday.
The official death toll now stands at 73,697 people.
Latin America is the hardest-hit region, with around 8.7 million cases reported and 322,000 deaths. Peru, Colombia and Brazil have seen large outbreaks. Argentina broke its record last week for daily rises in cases after it reported almost 13,000 in one day.
The country is now ranked second worst in the EU in terms of daily growth in cases, Interior Minister Jan Hamacek said.
The country had managed to avoid the worst of the pandemic by swiftly imposing a lockdown in the spring - thousands of Czechs even attended a "farewell party" for the pandemic in central Prague in July.
But a further 1,476 infections were confirmed on Monday, bringing the total to 50,764 in the nation of 10 million people.
Mr Babis said it was a mistake to lift restrictions in the summer. "Even I got carried away by the coming summer and the general mood. That was a mistake I don't want to make again," he said. However he said he did not want to introduce the same wide-ranging measures, and called on Czechs to act responsibly.
A preliminary study in Norway by the public health institute says nine out of 10 people who died in the first three months of the country's pandemic were also suffering from chronic illnesses. Norway was not as badly hit as other European countries, with 236 Covid-related deaths from March until May, and no excess mortality was recorded.
Travellers from seven areas of France will have to provide a negative Covid test before entering Italy, because of the sharp increase in infection. The capital's Ile-de-France region as well as the far south are among the areas affected.
Russia has recorded its highest number of daily infections since July - 6,215 new cases have been reported and another 160 deaths, bringing the total to 19,469. Moscow is the worst-hit city.
He says there is "significant anxiety" in the scientific community as they are seeing cases rise in the under 50s as well as the elderly.
He tells the BBC's Today programme he can see the country having to ban households from mixing; reduce sporting events; move higher education to an online service and place more stringent measures on the hospitality sector.
"The time to act is now," he warns.
- Boris Johnson is set to address MPs and the whole nation on further coronavirus restrictions for England
- English pubs must close at 22:00 from Thursday, he is expected to say
- And people in England should work from home if they can, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove says
- The US Centers for Disease Control withdraws advice on aerosol transmission
- It comes a day after top scientist warned urgent action was needed to stem a spike in infections
- Cases in Mexico surpass 700,000 - Latin America is the worst hit region
- Hollywood unions reach a deal with studios on resuming production
- Czech PM admits mistake in easing lockdown too early
- Over 31.2 million Covid-19 cases are confirmed worldwide, with more than 960,000 deaths
Hello and welcome to our live reporting of the coronavirus pandemic. Here are the main stories so far on Tuesday:
- UK PM Boris Johnson will announce new restrictions to fight coronavirus - he'll make a statement to the House of Commons at 12.30 (11.30 GMT). Pubs will have to close from 22.00 from Thursday
- Mexico's total number of confirmed infections has risen past 700,000 as the virus continues to spread rapidly in Latin America
- New safety measures for making films in the age of coronavirus have been agreed by Hollywood's unions raising hopes that the industry can soon resume production
- The prime minister of Czech Republic has admitted it was a mistake to ease restrictions in the summer - the country of 10 million people now has more than 50,000 cases
- Stock markets in Asia recorded large falls on Tuesday following significant losses in Europe and US markets on Monday. There are growing fears about the further impact of the pandemic on economic performance
New restrictions to be announced in UK
More now on those announcements expected in the UK today.Pubs, bars and restaurants in England will have to close by 10pm every night from Thursday, and only table service will be permitted.
We’re expecting Boris Johnson to set out the new measures in the Commons at 12:30 BST before he addresses the nation in a live broadcast at 20:00 BST.
People in Northern Ireland will not be allowed to visit someone else's home from 18:00 BST with a few exceptions, such as childcare. Up to six people from two households can meet in private gardens.
Tighter restrictions are also coming into force in four more parts of South Wales - Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend, Blaenau Gwent and Newport. Hundreds of thousands of people will not be allowed to enter or leave their own areas without a valid reason, such as work.Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will announce tougher measures for Scotland today.
She says she'll wait to make the announcement until after an emergency meeting with Boris Johnson.
BBC News understands the government is poised to scrap plans for the return of some spectators to sporting venues next month. Pilot events have been taking place - with a maximum attendance of 1,000.
And about 30 million people in England are to be offered a flu jab in the biggest ever such vaccination programme.
Public Health England hopes to reduce the burden on the NHS during the winter and minimise the number of people who could become simultaneously infected with both flu and the coronavirus.
Mexico passes 700,000 cases
More than 700,000 people in Mexico have now been infected with coronavirus, according to official statistics, but the deputy health minister has warned that the true number is much higher.But Hugo Lopez-Gatell also said that the pace of the pandemic was slowing. "We now have eight consecutive weeks of a falling (caseload)," he said on Monday.
The official death toll now stands at 73,697 people.
Latin America is the hardest-hit region, with around 8.7 million cases reported and 322,000 deaths. Peru, Colombia and Brazil have seen large outbreaks. Argentina broke its record last week for daily rises in cases after it reported almost 13,000 in one day.
'The epidemic is back' - Czech prime minister
The Czech Republic finds itself "in a very difficult situation again" Prime Minister Andrej Babis told the nation in a special address on Monday night, adding "the epidemic is back".The country is now ranked second worst in the EU in terms of daily growth in cases, Interior Minister Jan Hamacek said.
The country had managed to avoid the worst of the pandemic by swiftly imposing a lockdown in the spring - thousands of Czechs even attended a "farewell party" for the pandemic in central Prague in July.
But a further 1,476 infections were confirmed on Monday, bringing the total to 50,764 in the nation of 10 million people.
Mr Babis said it was a mistake to lift restrictions in the summer. "Even I got carried away by the coming summer and the general mood. That was a mistake I don't want to make again," he said. However he said he did not want to introduce the same wide-ranging measures, and called on Czechs to act responsibly.
Latest around Europe
Spain has seen 31,428 new infections since Friday and health officials have made clear it is in the middle of a second wave of Covid-19. Worst affected is the capital Madrid, where some 850,000 people can no longer leave their local areas. Now Health Minister Salvador Illa says all Madrileños should "restrict to the maximum" their movement to stop further infection. Mayor José Luis Martínez Almeida agrees - "unless it's essential".A preliminary study in Norway by the public health institute says nine out of 10 people who died in the first three months of the country's pandemic were also suffering from chronic illnesses. Norway was not as badly hit as other European countries, with 236 Covid-related deaths from March until May, and no excess mortality was recorded.
Travellers from seven areas of France will have to provide a negative Covid test before entering Italy, because of the sharp increase in infection. The capital's Ile-de-France region as well as the far south are among the areas affected.
Russia has recorded its highest number of daily infections since July - 6,215 new cases have been reported and another 160 deaths, bringing the total to 19,469. Moscow is the worst-hit city.
Scientist warns new UK measures not enough
Calum Semple, a professor of child health and outbreak medicine at the University of Liverpool, does not believe the new measures in England go far enough.He says there is "significant anxiety" in the scientific community as they are seeing cases rise in the under 50s as well as the elderly.
He tells the BBC's Today programme he can see the country having to ban households from mixing; reduce sporting events; move higher education to an online service and place more stringent measures on the hospitality sector.
"The time to act is now," he warns.