Britons are scrambling to make the most of the final day of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme before it ends tonight.
Diners have been queuing for hours outside some establishments on Bank Holiday Monday to receive the discount, which offers people half price restaurant food up to £10 per person.
In Winchester, some restaurant-goers queued for three hours to get a table, according to the MailOnline, with Brandon Reis, 25, saying: "The opportunity to make savings like this may never come again, so I've been eating out two to three times a week."
The scheme has been wildly successful, with more than 64 million meals discounted in the first three weeks alone, according to the Treasury.
Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, has been urged to continue the scheme by targeting city centres worst-hit by the shift to home working during the coronavirus pandemic - read more here.
Follow the latest updates below
04:33 PM
What's happened today?
That's it from us at Telegraph HQ today, here are all the major developments that happened today.
The UK has recorded 1,406 daily confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to government data published today, down from 1,715 on Sunday. Two people died within 28 days of testing positive for the disease, the daily statistics release said, bringing the total death toll under that measure to 41,501.
The World Health Organization called on countries to persevere with restrictions to tackle Covid-19, director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said today, saying opening up without control of the virus would be a "recipe for disaster".
New guidance for Scottish schools makes it mandatory for pupils and staff to wear masks in communal areas and on transport because of the "difficulty" of physical distancing in "crowded corridor environments".
Britons scrambled to make the most of the final day of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme before it ends tonight. The Chancellor has been urged to extend the scheme to help city centres.
Civil servants are telling Whitehall staff not to return to the office because the Government will reverse its back-to-work stance in the face of a second wave of coronavirus.
A Tui flight from Zante to Cardiff on which almost 200 passengers and crew were told to self-isolate after coronavirus cases were confirmed was full of "Covidiots", a passenger has said. There are now 16 Covid-19 infections linked to flight TOM6215, Public Health Wales (PHW) has announced, and the airline has launched a "full investigation".
Hundreds of headteachers will defy Government orders andblock their pupils’ return to the classroom, a union has warned. A survey by the National Association of Headteachers shows more than 700 schools, or 3 per cent of the total number, will phase students back or use 'transition periods' to reopen.
Police descended on an illegal rave of more than 3,000 people this weekend as it emerged officers had started issuing £10,000 fines for those breaking the law.
The European Commission has said it would contribute 400 million euros (£358 million) to an initiative led by the World Health Organization to buy Covid-19 vaccines.
Portugal could be added back on the UK's quarantine list this week, due to a rise in coronavirus cases. There were 21.1 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in Portugal in the seven days to August 30, up from 19.4 in the seven days to August 29.
04:21 PM
Spain registers 23,000 new Covid-19 cases since Friday
Spain has registered more than 23,000 new coronavirus cases since Friday, health emergency chief Fernando Simon told a news conference today, suggesting the infection rate had declined slightly from a peak reached the previous week.
Health ministry data showed 2,489 new cases were diagnosed in the past 24 hours, while the cumulative total of cases since the onset of the pandemic hit 462,858.
Five people died in the past day, bringing the total death toll to 29,094, the data showed.
The latest statistics could be modified in future as Spain retroactively adjusts its daily data.
04:14 PM
Government Covid-19 information adverts wrongly disabled by Facebook
Tens of thousands pounds worth of government coronavirus public awareness adverts have been mistakenly pulled from Facebook in a labelling error, John Reynolds reports.
Government online advertising campaigns for NHS Test and Trace and social distancing are among the campaigns wrongly removed from Facebook, and its sister platforms Instagram and Messenger, as they were judged to be political adverts.
WATCH: 'I did not feel safe', says Tui flight passenger
03:40 PM
'Covid on wheels': French rail passengers stuck for over 24 hours in train
Two thousand passengers were trapped overnight on three high-speed French TGV trains after a massive power outage on a line to Paris from the Spanish border, Henry Samuel reports.
One train arrived in the French capital more than a day late, prompting furious travellers to warn they were stuck in potential Covid clusters without food, drink or toilet paper.
The UK has recorded 1,406 daily confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to government data published today, down from 1,715 on Sunday.
Two people died within 28 days of testing positive for the disease, the daily statistics release said, bringing the total death toll under that measure to 41,501.
03:06 PM
In pictures: Scotland's schools reopen with new Covid-19 rules
New guidance for Scottish schools makes it mandatory for pupils and staff to wear masks because of the "difficulty" of physical distancing in "crowded corridor environments".
The new rules, which came into effect today, are "precautionary judgments" based on World Health Organisation advice and concerns from schools since they reopened two weeks ago, John Swinney, Scotland's Education Secretary said.
Pupils at Rosshall Academy wear face coverings as it becomes mandatory in corridors and communal areas - Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Leah McCallum (left) and Rebecca Ross, S4 students at St Columba's High School, Gourock, put on their protective face masks as the requirement for secondary school pupils to wear face coverings when moving around school comes into effect from today across Scotland. - Jane Barlow/PA Wire Students at St Columba's High School, Gourock, wear protective face masks as they head to lessons as the requirement for secondary school pupils to wear face coverings when moving around school comes into effect from today across Scotland. - Jane Barlow/PA Wire
03:01 PM
Face masks mandatory for Scottish pupils from today
John Swinney announced updated guidance for schools making it mandatory for pupils and staff to wear masks because of the "difficulty" of physical distancing in "crowded corridor environments".
But he rejected the idea that pupils should be sent home if they fail to wear a face covering, when asked whether he agreed with the suggestion by the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA) at the Government's coronavirus briefing.
"We've got to make sure that the wearing of face coverings in schools becomes essentially a habitual part of school life," he said.
"In our guidance, we make it clear that young people should be encouraged and motivated and required to do that, but it should not result in exclusion from school if they don't do that.
"I don't agree with the SSTA that young people should be excluded from school if they're not wearing face coverings, but I do think schools need to build up the cultural understanding and awareness of the importance of wearing face coverings as something that is done to protect all of the school population - staff and pupils alike."
02:49 PM
Hundreds of ravers defy police and remain at illegal gathering
Rave which started in the early hours of Sunday in the forest at Neath Port Talbot, near the village of Banwen. Taken on 30/08/2020 - Richard Swingler
At least 400 people remain at the site of an illegal rave in Wales, despite a massive police presence.
Around 3,000 people from all over the UK descended on the site in a disused opencast coal mine in Banwen, close to the Brecon Beacons, on Sunday.
Officers from South Wales Police, with the help of Dyfed-Powys Police and the British Transport Police, seized multiple sound systems and issued a dispersal order - but many refused to move on.
A police helicopter was also used to monitor the event.
Eight people have now been issued with a court summons, which could see them hit with a fine of up to £10,000 under the Welsh Government's new coronavirus laws. Others have been issued fixed penalty notices for parking offences, while some have had their cars towed.
The remaining ravers have been warned to either move on by nightfall on Monday or risk arrest.
Assistant chief constable David Thorne, of South Wales Police, told the PA news agency that the force had difficulty shifting people from the 4,000 acre site, which is usually used for rally car racing.
"When there's 3,000 people to enforce a dispersal order on it becomes a massive issue," he said.
Russian teaching union urges against mandatory vaccine for staff
A small independent Russian teachers' union is urging members not to be coerced into accepting shots of the "Sputnik V" coronavirus vaccine which is to be mandatory for military personnel.
Moscow clinics last week began receiving supplies of the vaccine, which has been approved for use inside Russia even though the final Phase III tests, involving 40,000 people, began only last Wednesday.
From September, doctors and teachers will be among the first to be offered the jab on a voluntary basis, officials have said, an arrangement President Vladimir Putin has said he supports.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said shots of the vaccine will be made mandatory for military personnel.
An employee at work at the Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Healthcare Ministry that produces a COVID-19 vaccine - Vyacheslav Prokofyev\\TASS via Getty
With Russian schools re-opening on September 1 for the first time since March, the teachers' union Uchitel has launched an online petition against making the vaccine mandatory for teachers before all clinical trials are complete.
"It's likely that school principals will be under pressure for everyone to be vaccinated," the petition says.
Uchitel represents only about 700 of Russia's 1.2 million school teachers, a senior union official said, but it says nearly 1,400 people have signed its petition.
The Health Ministry said vaccination would be voluntary and redirected other questions to the Education Ministry, which did not reply to Reuters' request for a comment.
02:11 PM
Scottish Covid-19 cases hit three month high
A three-month high in coronavirus cases in Scotland is "undoubtedly a concern", Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The First Minister said she feels "a greater sense of anxiety today" than at any time "probably for the last couple of months".
In the last 24 hours, 160 new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded, the highest total since May 16 and an increase on the 123 announced on Sunday. It brings the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 20,478.
With no deaths in almost a week of people who have been confirmed to have contracted the virus, the number of fatalities remains at 2,494.
The majority of new cases are in the central belt, with 69 in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area and 27 in Lanarkshire.
Speaking during the daily coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon said the "quite high" numbers of new cases were "partly a result of greater numbers of people being tested" and she stressed the proportion of people testing positive was still below 1 per cent.
01:50 PM
African migrants 'left to die' in Saudi Arabia’s hellish Covid detention centres
Saudi Arabia, one of the wealthiest countries on earth, is keeping hundreds if not thousands of African migrants locked in heinous conditions reminiscent of Libya’s slave camps as part of a drive to stop the spread of Covid-19, an investigation by The Sunday Telegraph has found.
Graphic mobile phone images sent to the newspaper by migrants held inside the detention centres show dozens of emaciated men crippled by the Arabian heat lying shirtless in tightly packed rows in small rooms with barred windows.
Read the full story by Will Brown and Zecharias Zelalem,here.
01:35 PM
Fears for Portugal's travel corridor as cases rise
Portugal could be added back on to the UK's quarantine list due to a rise in Covid-19 cases.
There were 21.1 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in Portugal in the seven days to August 30, up from 19.4 in the seven days to August 29.
A seven-day rate of 20 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people is the threshold above which the UK Government considers triggering quarantine conditions.
Searches for flights to Portugal soared after the country was removed from the UK's quarantine list just over a week ago. Passengers arriving in the UK from Portugal no longer had to self-isolate from 4 am on Saturday August 22 after an approved travel corridor was confirmed.
Travellers returning from Switzerland, Jamaica and the Czech Republic were the latest to be told they must quarantine for 14 days if they were arriving in the UK after 4am on Saturday following spikes in coronavirus infection rates.
You can currently travel to the following destinations, check out our travel blog for more:
Denmark
Faroe Islands (Visitors required to take Covid-19 test at airport on arrival)
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Iceland (Open to tourists, but all arrivals must pay to be tested for coronavirus or self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival. Children born in 2005 or later are exempt)
Italy
Liechtenstein
Poland
Portugal (Those visiting the Azores and Madeira must show proof of a negative Covid-19 test, carried out no more than 72 hours before you arrive, or take a test on arrival and await the results within 12 hours at their accommodation)
San Marino
Slovakia
Slovenia
Turkey
Vatican City
01:19 PM
England records four further Covid-19 deaths
A further four people, who tested positive for Covid-19 have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 29,554, NHS England has said.
The patients were between 58 and 75 years-old and all had known underlying health conditions.
The date of death ranges from 16 June to 29 August 2020, NHS England added.
12:58 PM
What it’s like to be on the Covid vaccine trial
She first signed up to the Oxford trial in March. Now Lottie Gross has been given a booster vaccine - Paul Grover for the Telegraph
Lottie Gross first signed up to the Oxford vaccine trial in March, now she has been given a booster vaccine and describes her experience.
With Oxford being my local hospital, it made sense that I should volunteer my relatively healthy body for their experiment. I was rigorously screened with blood tests and health checks, and then in April I became one of the first 500 people to get an injection. I don’t know what I’ve had – the trial is being done blind, meaning no one knows whether it was the Covid-19 vaccine or the control vaccine (a meningitis drug) – but I’ve certainly had no symptoms of the virus so far...
Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko has said that mass vaccination of high risk groups in the country against Covid-19 would begin in November-December this year, Russian news agencies reported.
Russia this month became the first country to grant regulatory approval to a Covid-19 vaccine after less than two months of human testing, prompting international experts to question its safety and efficacy.
Major medical care gains could be wiped out due to Covid-19, WHO warns
More than 90 per cent of countries have seen ordinary health services disrupted by the pandemic, with major gains in medical care attained over decades vulnerable to being wiped out in a short period, a World Health Organization (WHO) survey has revealed.
The WHO has frequently warned about other life-saving programmes being impacted by the pandemic and has sent countries mitigation advice, but the survey yielded the first WHO data so far on the scale of disruptions.
"The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on essential health services is a source of great concern," said a report on the study released today. "Major health gains achieved over the past two decades can be wiped out in a short period of time..."
The survey includes responses from between May and July from more than 100 countries. Among the most affected services were routine immunisations (70 per cent), family planning (68 per cent) and cancer diagnosis and treatment (55 per cent), while emergency services were disturbed in almost a quarter of responding countries.
The Eastern Mediterranean Region, which includes Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen, was most affected followed by the African and Southeast Asian regions, it showed. The Americas was not part of the survey.
12:11 PM
Worldwide Covid-19 deaths edge towards one million
11:49 AM
Chancellor urged to extend Eat Out to Help Out scheme
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak places an Eat Out to Help Out sticker in the window of a business during a visit to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, Scotland. - Jeff J Mitchell/PA Wire
Rishi Sunak is being urged to extend his Eat Out to Help Out scheme by targeting city centres worst-hit by the shift to home working during the coronavirus pandemic as the initiative comes to an end on Monday.
Allies of the Chancellor believe he should continue the popular scheme in areas such as the City of London, which remain largely deserted.
Covid jokes and fake coughing banned for returning pupils, schools warn
Pupils risk being excluded for "malicious coughing" or making "inappropriate" jokes about the coronavirus pandemic, some schools have warned.
The new behavioural guidelines have been issued to parents as many schools prepare to welcome children back into their classrooms in England this week.
It comes as the Department for Education (DfE) said teachers could see an increase in bad behaviour due to pupils' lack of regular attendance and "classroom discipline" during the pandemic.
The Ark Alexandra Academy in Hastings, east Sussex, has set out a list of "coronavirus red lines" which will result in fixed-term exclusions for pupils should they be breached.
These include "deliberate or malicious" coughs or sneezes, "humorous, inappropriate comments or statements" related to Covid-19 and "purposeful physical contact with any other person".
Meanwhile, Ark Byron Primary Academy in Acton, west London, said in its letter to parents that if a pupil refuses to follow hygiene routines and social distancing instructions they will "immediately be moved to a separate area".
It said: "Some behaviours (eg coughing deliberately on another person) that were previously 'simply' anti-social, are now potentially extremely serious."
The DfE said schools should clearly state the consequences for bad behaviour, particularly around new movement restrictions and hygiene rules.
11:15 AM
European Commission to contribute 400 million euros to vaccine scheme
The European Commission has said it would contribute 400 million euros (£358 million) to an initiative led by the World Health Organization to buy Covid-19 vaccines.
The initiative, dubbed COVAX, aims to purchase 2 billion doses by the end of 2021 of potential Covid-19 shots from several vaccine makers.
The EU Commission is negotiating advance purchases of Covid-19 vaccines with several drugmakers on behalf of the 27 EU states and has said in past weeks EU governments cannot buy vaccines through parallel procurement schemes.
The Commission added in a statement that it was ready, together with EU states, "to put expertise and resources at work within COVAX to accelerate and scale-up development and manufacturing of a global supply of vaccines for citizens across the world, in poor and rich countries".
WATCH: Labour calls for next year's exams to be delayed to help pupils catch up
Shadow education secretary Kate Green has said exams due to be sat next May need to be delayed until June or July. Labour are calling on the government to act now to ensure pupils are given the most amount of support before they take A-level, GCSE or BTEC exams.
Watch below.
10:30 AM
Hong Kong schools to reopen following u-turn
Hong Kong will resume face-to-face school classes from September 23 as the country's authorities aim to reduce its coronavirus restrictions, which kept around 900,000 students working at home for over four months.
Kevin Yeung, the city's Secretary for Education, said the resumption would be phased with grades 1, 5 and 6 resuming for secondary schools, primary schools and upper kindergartens on September 23, while other grades would open on September 29.
The city's government had said at the start of August that face-to-face classes would be suspended indefinitely as the Chinese special administrative region battled to control a third wave of the coronavirus.
The reversal in policy comes with new daily cases dropping substantially to single and low double digits from triple digits a few weeks earlier. The Chinese government is also offering mass coronavirus testing for all Hong Kong residents starting this week.
In pictures: Coronavirus pandemic around the world
Markus Soeder, state premier in the southern federal state of Bavaria, wears a face mask in the colors of Bavaria as he arrives on August 31, 2020 at the state chancellery in Munich, southern Germany, for a regional summit on schools and education - PETER KNEFFEL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images A health worker wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) collects a swab sample from a woman for a free Covid-19 coronavirus test at a Municipal Corporation park in Hyderabad on August 31 - NOAH SEELAM/AFP via Getty Images Cyclists wear masks during the 107th Tour de France Stage 3 a 198km stage from Nice to Sisteron - Sebastien Nogier - Pool/Getty Images A participant of a dissolved protest camp related to the demonstrations against coronavirus pandemic regulations folds down a tent next to policemen in Berlin, Germany, 31 August - CLEMENS BILAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
09:47 AM
Headteachers to block their pupils’ return to the classroom
Hundreds of headteachers will defy Government orders and block their pupils’ return to the classroom, a union has warned. - Digital Vision /Sally Anscombe
Hundreds of headteachers will defy Government orders and block their pupils’ return to the classroom, a union has warned.
A survey by the National Association of Headteachers shows more than 700 schools, or 3 per cent of the total number, will phase students back or use 'transition periods' to reopen.
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said all schools should be fully reopened from the start of September, following heavy disruption to the summer term amid the coronavirus pandemic.
India's death toll becomes third highest in the world
This just in from Ben Farmer, Telegraph's South Asia Correspondent:
India's official Covid-19 death toll has now passed that of Mexico, leaving the world's second most populous nation behind only Brazil and the US in the grim ranking of countries most badly affected.
India reported 78,512 novel coronavirus infections on Monday, more than any other country, as the coronavirus sweeps through the nation's rural hinterlands. India's coronavirus deaths went up by 971 in the past 24 hours, taking the tally to 64,469, the health ministry said, just surpassing Mexico.
Brazil has seen more than 120,000 deaths and America has seen more than 185,000 according to figures from John Hopkins University.
09:15 AM
Tui investigating claims that masks were not enforced on quarantined flight
An update on our post from 08:34:
Tui has responded to claims from passengers that protocols were not enforced on a flight from Zante to Cardiff, which has resulted in nearly 200 people being required to self-isolate.
A spokeswoman for Tui said: "The health and safety of passengers is always our priority and we are concerned to hear of Mrs Whitfield's claims.
"Our crew are trained to the highest standards and in line with European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) guidelines.
"Passengers are informed prior to travel and via PA announcements on the flight that they have to wear masks throughout and are not allowed to move around the cabin.
"Masks can only be removed when consuming food and drink. A full investigation is now under way as these concerns weren't reported during the flight or before today."
08:59 AM
Piers Corbyn fined £10,000 for organising anti-lockdown protest
Piers Corbyn (left) the brother of former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, speaking at a Stop New Normal protest at Portobello Green in London. - Jonathan Brady/PA Wire
Piers Corbyn said he has been slapped with a £10,000 fine under newly-introduced coronavirus laws for organising an anti-lockdown protest in central London.
The brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was among those to attend the "Unite for Freedom" protest on Saturday, which was held in Trafalgar Square.
The 73-year-old, a climate change denier who set up controversial weather forecasting business Weather Action, said on Twitter he had been handed the fixed penalty fine as "organiser".
Read the latesthere.
08:45 AM
The Philippines records 3,446 new cases
The Philippines has reported 3,446 new coronavirus infections and 38 deaths, taking its nationwide total to 220,819 and fatalities to 3,558, its health ministry said.
The ministry also said on Monday that five Philippine hospitals have been identified as candidates for potential clinical trials of a Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by China-based Sinovac Biotech.
08:33 AM
Majority of English counties support local lockdowns
Nearly one in seven people in Bristol would be strongly opposed to a local lockdown in their area, new data from YouGov shows.
But the survey of more than 25,000 adults in England revealed majority of counties would support a new lockdown in the event of a surge in cases.
The majority of people in all but five counties said they would strongly support a lockdown, with the highest support seen in Northumberland (78 per cent), Cheshire (68 per cent) and East Sussex (66 per cent).
The areas which are most opposed include West Yorkshire, where one in ten adults are strongly opposed to a local lockdown in their area and almost one in seven (13 per cent) adults in Bristol would be strongly opposed.
Check out the map below to see which areas currently have the highest coronavirus cases.
08:05 AM
Bank Holiday reading
Here are five stories from across The Telegraph to read this Bank Holiday.
Russia has reported 4,993 new coronavirus cases, bringing its nationwide tally to 995,319, the fourth largest in the world.
The country's coronavirus taskforce said 83 people had died over the last 24 hours, pushing the official death toll to 17,176.
07:34 AM
Quarantined Tui passengers criticised for being 'covidiots'
Nearly 200 people returning on a flight from Zante to Cardiff have been told to self-isolate, after many passengers were not wearing masks and up to seven may have been infectious, according to reports.
Passengers have told the BBC the Tui flight was a "debacle" and "full of covidiots".
Public Health Wales (PHW) has reportedly told the 193 passengers and crew who were on board the flight on August 25 to self-isolate for a 14 days, and the number of confirmed cases among passengers has now risen to 16, all of whom are believed to have been infected in Zante, PHW said.
Passenger Stephanie Whitfield told the BBC: "This flight was a debacle. The chap next to me had his mask around his neck. Not only did the airline not pull him up on it, they gave him a free drink when he said he knew a member of the crew.
"Loads of people were taking their masks off and wandering up and down the aisles to talk to others.
"As soon as the flight landed, a load of people took their masks off immediately. The flight was full of selfish 'covidiots' and an inept crew who couldn't care less."
06:52 AM
Paris to offer free tests in the capital
The Paris local municipality said on Monday that it would look to make free Covid-19 testing available in all of the capital's 20 districts (arrondissements), as authorities battle against signs of a re-emergence of the virus in France.
The Paris mayor's office added in a statement that from Monday onwards, there would be three permanent laboratories set up to conduct free tests, as well as two other mobile laboratories that would go around the capital.
06:20 AM
India's surge in cases continues
A health worker takes a swab sample from a woman in Chennai - AFP
India has registered 78,512 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, maintaining an upward surge.
The Health Ministry on Monday also reported 948 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities up to 64,469.
The surge has raised the country's total reported virus cases since the pandemic began to more than 3.6 million.
A country of 1.4 billion people, India now has the fastest-growing reported coronavirus caseload of any country in the world, seeing more than 75,000 new cases for five straight days.
The virus has hit India's major cities and is now fast spreading in smaller towns and rural areas.
06:01 AM
Half a million people living in Hong Kong sign up for free testing
People wearing masks walk past a signboard reading 'together, we fight the virus' in Hong Kong - China News Service
Hong Kong authorities say nearly half a million people have registered for a free universal coronavirus testing program that is due to begin tomorrow.
Residents registering online have already booked out 80 testing sites in gymnasiums and community centres for the initial day of the program, according to the government's website.
Hong Kong launched the testing effort to track down paths of infection that have consistently added to case numbers despite strict social distancing and other measures imposed on the densely populated semi-autonomous Chinese city of 7.5 million.
All who wish to be tested can do so at no cost. Hong Kong has counted more than 4,800 cases and 88 deaths.
05:39 AM
Auckland lifts its lockdown today
Safety measures include wearing masks on public transport in Auckland - Reuters
New Zealand lifted a lockdown in the city of Auckland today and is mandating masks on public transport. The nation's largest city had been in a lockdown for more than two weeks after an outbreak of the coronavirus was discovered earlier this month, following more than three months without any community transmission.
Health Minister Chris Hipkins said it was safe to reopen Auckland because all the recent infections have been linked to the same cluster through contact tracing.
"We're already seeing signs of the city getting back to normal," he said. Anecdotally, about 90pc of public transport passengers in Auckland have been wearing masks, Hipkins added.
New Zealand's nine new infections reported Monday included four in recently returned travelers who are in quarantine.
05:04 AM
Xinjiang government forces unproven medicine on people in lockdown
This photo provided by a Uighur under quarantine shows a bottle of unidentified traditional Chinese medicine in China. - AP
When police arrested the middle-aged Uighur woman at the height of China's coronavirus outbreak, she was crammed into a cell with dozens of other women in a detention centre.
There, she said, she was forced to drink a medicine that made her feel weak and nauseous, guards watching as she gulped. She and the others also had to strip naked once a week and cover their faces as guards hosed them and their cells down with disinfectant "like firemen," she said.
"It was scalding," recounted the woman by phone from Xinjiang, declining to be named out of fear of retribution. "My hands were ruined, my skin was peeling."
The government in China's far northwest Xinjiang region is resorting to draconian measures to combat the coronavirus, including physically locking residents in homes, imposing quarantines of more than 40 days and arresting those who do not comply. Furthermore, in what experts call a breach of medical ethics, some residents are being coerced into swallowing traditional Chinese medicine, according to government notices, social media posts and interviews with three people in quarantine in Xinjiang.
South Korea reports increase in infections going untraced
South Korea has counted its 18th straight day of triple-digit daily jumps in cases as its health minister warned about an increase in transmissions gone untraced and infections among senior citizens.
Of the 248 new cases reported on Monday, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 187 were from the Seoul metropolitan area.
Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said epidemiological workers are having more difficulty tracking transmissions and predicting infection routes, saying they haven't been able to trace the infection source of more than 20 per cent of the cases found in the past two weeks.
Officials also say many of those who tested positive this month were 60 years or older, an age group more likely to experience serious health complications.
A worker disinfects an alley in Seoul, South Korea - Getty
03:25 AM
Australian state records deadliest day, looks to ease restrictions
The state at the epicentre of Australia's second-wave of infections said on Monday the number of new cases fell to a near two-month low, allowing authorities to detail in a week's time how stringent lockdown measures will be lifted.
Victoria said it has detected 73 new infections in the past 24 hours, the lowest since July 3.
The easing number of cases comes as the state capital Melbourne begins its fourth week of a six-week lockdown that sees residents confined to their homes, a nightly curfew imposed and large parts of the state economy ordered to close.
The total lockdown is set to end on Sep 13 and state Premier Daniel Andrews said his government will on Sunday detail how restrictions will be slowly eased.
Victoria said its death toll rose by 41, including 22 fatalities which came from aged care facilities in the weeks leading up to Aug 27. Australia's previous one-day record for deaths was on Aug 25 when 25 people died.
With restrictions in place Centre Place in Melbourne is shuttered up - ERIK ANDERSON/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
02:14 AM
Thousands arrested for 'virus-related crimes' in China
Nearly 5,800 people suspected of killing health workers, selling defective medical equipment and lying about their travel history have been arrested in China for epidemic-related crimes since January, the state prosecutor's office said.
One case involved a shopper that killed another customer who reminded him to wear a mask in a supermarket.
Other cases included a person who deliberately mowed down medical workers with a car, and another was arrested for stabbing a health inspector with a dagger when monitoring temperatures.
Some have also been accused of embezzling money collected from fundraisers to help coronavirus patients, selling defective medical equipment and lying about their travel history or health condition.
12:13 AM
China reports 17 new cases, nine more than yesterday
China reported 17 new Covid-19 cases on August 30, up from 9 reported a day earlier, the country's health authority report today.
The National Health Commission said all of the new cases were imported infections involving travellers returning from abroad, marking the 15th straight day of no local infections for the country.
The number of asymptomatic cases rose to 19 from 4 reported a day earlier.
China's total number of Covid-19 infections now stands at 85,048, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.
11:13 PM
Utah State University's wastewater showed elevated levels of Covid
Utah State University plans to test nearly 300 students for Covid-19 after wastewater samples from four dormitories showed elevated levels of the coronavirus.
The 287 students who will be tested on Monday live in dorms on the campus in Logan. There have been no reported positive tests for Covid-19 in those residence halls so far.
Students in those dorms must quarantine until the test results are available, which could take up to four days. They are also asked to fill out a form to ensure they receive academic support, food deliveries and other resources.
Classes are scheduled to begin today for about 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Utah State is one of a small handful of schools using wastewater sampling to help safeguard against a Covid-19 outbreak, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Officials with the University of Arizona said on Thursday that the school used wastewater testing to prevent a Covid-19 outbreak on campus.
A test of just over 300 people in one dorm with elevated levels of coronavirus in the wastewater turned up two cases, said university President Robert Robbins. Neither student had symptoms. They were isolated.
A water quality scientist, conducts tests on a water sample - Reuters
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US floats idea of early approval for eventual vaccine
The head of the US Food and Drug Administration raised the possibility in an interview published on Sunday that a future vaccine against the coronavirus might be given emergency approval before the end of trials designed to ensure its safety and effectiveness.
A request for such extraordinary approval would have to come from the vaccine developer, Stephen Hahn told the Financial Times.
"If they do that before the end of Phase Three," which involves large-scale human testing, "we may find that appropriate. We may find that inappropriate, we will make a determination."
But Mr Hahn insisted he was not acting under pressure from President Donald Trump, who has been pushing hard for a vaccine, saying one might be ready before US elections on November 3.
"This is going to be a science, medicine, data decision," Mr Hahn said. "This is not going to be a political decision."
Wait to 2022 to see an NHS consultant, patients told as non-Covid services are still badly behind despite the pandemic peaking more than four months ago
Israel’s strike on Iran on Friday morning will not come as a surprise to Western observers – but it will cause great concern in Washington and London as the region tips closer towards an all-out war.
Samantha Davis, the wife of Star Wars and Harry Potter actor Warwick Davis and herself an actress, has died aged 53. Samantha co-founded the dwarfism charity Little People UK and featured in the final Harry Potter film, alongside Warwick. Warwick announced the news in a statement to the BBC, revealing she had died on 24 March.
While Western eyes are fixed on Tehran and Tel Aviv, Ukraine’s frontlines are showing clear signs of crumbling. There is a very real possibility they could crumble this summer if we do not throw the kitchen sink at Russia. Even if we do, it may already be too late for the weapons and munitions long promised by the West to save the day.
King Charles is said to have extended an olive branch to his youngest son and his wife by 'hinting' they should visit Balmoral this summer - but it could put the couple in a 'difficult position'.
Meghan Markle was on hand to congratulate her husband Prince Harry and his Royal Salute Sentebale team after they won the Royal Salute Polo Cup in Wellington, Florida
BBC Breakfast star Carol Kirkwood has been missing from the show this week. The weather presenter's absence comes after she shared an update on her health last week…
Springtime On The Farm returned to Channel 5 with Helen Skelton and Jules Hudson but fans had the same complaint for the show and the former Blue Peter presenter
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh's daughter Lady Louise Windsor has to follow a very antiquated rule with regards to her younger brother James, Earl of Wessex
The rest of Europe, Remainers like to tell us, is forging ahead into a glorious green future while Brexit Britain is stalling, the government backsliding one by one on its net zero commitments.
Meghan Markle is said to be missing "some aspects" of life in the UK and is worried that her children may grow up to "blame her" if they are "deprived" of the chance to be working royals in the UK.
This Morning guest Catherine was left stunned as she learnt the real value of her £10 charity shop bargain during the latest episode of the ITV chat show.
