UK holidaymakers race to return home before quarantine rules kick in for Croatia, Austria and Trinidad and Tobago
The changes come into place at 04:00 BST on Saturday
Extra restrictions are being brought in for parts of northern England from midnight on Saturday
People in Oldham, Blackburn and parts of Pendle will not be allowed to socialise with those outside their household
South Korea sees 324 new cases of coronavirus, its highest single day total since March, with most cases traced to churches
US Democratic White House nominee Joe Biden attacks Donald Trump's coronavirus response, saying "he failed to protect us"
Australia's PM hails "a week of increased hope" after its lowest increase in cases in five weeks
Thank you for joining us for our live coverage on the coronavirus pandemic.
Today, it's been edited by Helier Cheung and Lauren Turner, and written by Penny Spiller, Joseph Lee, Victoria Bisset and Jo Couzens.
Soon we will be pausing our live coverage for today but, before we do, here's a reminder of today’s main headlines from the UK and around the world:
Image source, ReutersDr Tedros says Covid-19 could be tamed faster than the Spanish flu of 1918
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it hopes the planet will be over the coronavirus pandemic in less than two years.
Its head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted it should be possible to tame it faster than it took with the deadly 1918 Spanish flu.
He said "globalisation, closeness, connectedness" today has allowed Covid-19 to spread around the world at lightning speed but that we also now have the advantage of far better technology.
"It took three waves for [Spanish flu] to infect most of the susceptible individuals," WHO emergencies chief Michael Ryan said.
Mick Pickering's wife Patsy said: "At some points I thought he was going to die."
Mick Pickering has been discharged from hospital after 110 days battling coronavirus - he said he was "amazed" to discover he had been in an induced coma for seven weeks.
The 65-year-old left Nottingham City Hospital on Friday after being admitted on 4 April.
When he was woken up, he said: "I didn't realise I'd been there so long."
Staff at the hospital lined up and clapped as he left the hospital in a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce.
A spokesperson for the hospital said: "He is much improved and now able to walk independently, talk, wash himself and make an all-important cup of tea."
Image source, PA MediaLearner drivers in England and Wales trying to book a driving test today have been left disappointed after the website crashed due to "unprecedented demand" after several months of suspension during lockdown.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) started taking bookings again for England and Wales from 08:00 BST today.
It said it would release more test slots on Monday but will not be able to accept bookings for any more than six weeks in advance.
The DVSA said some 210,000 tests were cancelled and tens of thousands more were delayed because of the virus.
Driving tests in Scotland are set to restart from 14 September, but people are not yet able to book a slot.
Rod Dennis, spokesman for RAC, said: "The pandemic has put into sharp focus just how important the car is to so many people's lives, whether they are driving to see friends or family, having a day out or getting to a place of work."
Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent
There are three key sources of data when it comes to judging which direction the pandemic is going in the UK: the daily confirmed cases, the Office for National Statistics monitoring programme (which involves random sampling) and the R value modelled by government experts.
All show slightly different pictures. The latest ONS survey, published on Friday, suggests rises seen since June have levelled off. Meanwhile, the government advisory body Sage says it does not have confidence the R number is below one, suggesting the epidemic is growing.
If you look at the daily confirmed cases, it shows the number of new infections have nearly doubled over the past six weeks to more than 1,000 a day. But that has happened partly because the number of tests being done has increased.
Even with the increase in testing, it is clear that not everyone who is infected is being diagnosed – part of the problem is that people can have the virus but not show symptoms. The ONS survey suggests the number of new infections is actually double that being identified by the testing system.
Overall, it suggests there has probably been a steady, gradual increase over the past few weeks. But this needs to be put into context. At the peak, the UK was estimated to be seeing 100,000 new infections a day.
The focus now is ensuring those areas that are seeing the most cases are able to contain the spread.
Image source, ReutersThe scale of the coronavirus pandemic in Mexico is "under-represented" and "under-recognised", the World Health Organization said on Friday.
According to Reuters news agency, Dr Mike Ryan, the head of the WHO's health emergencies programme, told a briefing in Geneva that the equivalent of around three people per 100,000 were being tested in Mexico.
The US, in comparison, tests around 150 per 100,000 people, he said.
Mexico has the third highest number of deaths in the world, with almost 60,000 fatalities recorded since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Two towns in the south of Tunisia face overnight curfews following a renewed spike in cases.
Hamma and Hamma Gharbia will face lockdowns from 1700 until 0500 every day until 27 August, the official news agency TAP said on Friday.
The governor of Gabes province said in a statement that the situation was "worrying", with 48 new cases recorded on Thursday.
The country has witnessed a rise in cases since it reopened its borders in later June, with more than 100 per day over the last two weeks, according to Reuters news agency.
As parts of northern England prepare for renewed restrictions, here's a look at the situation across the UK.
While the number of daily cases have dipped, they're still higher than they were two weeks ago.
But there is good news, with deaths remaining low.
As we've already reported, the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said the number of coronavirus deaths in the country looks set to fall in the coming weeks.
But the CDC's new forecast, external shows that the US could pass 200,000 deaths in the next four weeks.
The new figures, based on modelling from 33 groups, suggest that between 187,000 and 205,000 deaths could be reported by 12 September.
The number of reported new deaths per week is expected to increase in Minnesota, while states including Arizona, Florida, Mississippi and South Carolina are likely to see a decrease.
Almost 175,000 Americans have died and 5.5 million have been infected with coronavirus since the pandemic began, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
Image source, Getty ImagesNot finger-licking good: traces of coronavirus have been found on packs of frozen chicken wings
Traces of coronavirus have recently been found on frozen shrimp and frozen chicken wings from South America and packaging in China. But what is the risk of spreading the virus through food packaging?
In theory, it may be possible, with lab-based studies showing the virus can survive for hours - or even days - on cardboard and types of plastic. Lower temperatures also help the virus.
But scientists say the experiment used a much larger sample of the virus than would occur in the real world, increasing the chances that some would survive.
Emanuel Goldman, professor of microbiology at Rutgers University, said the chance of transmission in this way was "very small".
Scientists do not now think that touching your eyes, nose and mouth after touching an infected surface is the main way for Covid-19 to spread.
Instead, droplets produced when an infected person coughs, laughs or talks during face-to-face contact are thought to be the biggest risk.
Image source, PA MediaSchool pupils in Scotland may have to wear face coverings in future, Nicola Sturgeon has suggested.
The first minister said at her daily briefing scientific that advice was constantly under review, and there was a "possibility" rules would change.
She said the issue of face coverings would be discussed at a meeting of the education recovery group today.
However, she stressed there was no evidence that coronavirus among young people was being transmitted in schools.
Asked if it might become compulsory for pupils - particularly in secondary schools - to wear face coverings on the premises, she said: "I do think there is a possibility that our advice on that may change."
Image source, ReutersUS coronavirus deaths could begin to slow in the next week, the head of the nation's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said.
Dr Robert Redfield said the effects of increased adherence to social distancing and other preventative measures would begin to show soon.
“Interventions are going to have a lag of three or four weeks,” he told the Journal of the American Medical Association. “You and I are going to see the cases continue to drop. And then hopefully this week and next week, you’re going to start seeing the death rate really start to drop again.”
Other stories making the headlines in the US today:
Two more people have died from coronavirus, down from six the previous day, according to the latest daily government figures.
It brings the total number of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for the virus to 41,405. The actual death toll is believed to be higher.
Some 1,033 new positive cases of Covid-19 have been recorded as of today, down from 1,182 on Thursday, the figures also show.
Image source, ReutersProtesters allege funds to fight Covid-19 have been stolen
The Kenyan capital has been hit by anti-corruption protests, and strikes by doctors, amid growing anger over the authorities' handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Police used tear gas to try and disperse a number of people protesting over the alleged misuse of funds to fight Covid-19. One of the protesters said 12 people were arrested at the rally in Nairobi's Uhuru Park.
The government has however denied misappropriating funds despite earlier saying it would investigate the allegations.
Meanwhile, some 300 doctors in the city's public hospitals have gone on strike calling for better pay and working conditions including personal protective equipment (PPE). One doctor said "we... will not play Russian roulette with the government anymore".
Out of the more than 30,000 cases in Kenya, close to 700 of those infected are healthcare workers, and several have died, the BBC's Rhoda Odhiambo in Nairobi reports.
Image source, ReutersBritons in Dubrovnik faced the choice of an early return or two weeks of quarantine
With quarantine restrictions being placed on another set of countries, Your Questions Answered is tackling some of your queries about the dos and don'ts of travel in the pandemic.
Steve in Fareham asked about Croatia and quarantine measures.
Q: What does a country like Croatia have to do to be put back on the UK list of countries where two weeks' isolation on return is unnecessary?
A: It's not entirely clear. At the moment, the government does not publish the criteria for its decisions regarding quarantine, although it is thought to take into account a number of factors, such as the number of people affected, the number of deaths and the country's testing capacity.
Croatia was put on the list because it has recently seen a spike in infections.
There have been calls for more transparency about the process. Earlier this month, MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee urged the government to publish the analysis behind its decisions, saying: "It will build more support for the difficult balancing judgements it has to take if it is open about the evidence behind them."
Image source, ReutersPupils are being asked to travel to school in the autumn without using public transport
Pupils shouldn’t use public transport to get to and from school unless they have to, according to new government guidance, external.
The Department for Education says this is to ensure there’s enough capacity on buses, trams and trains for those who have no other way of getting there.
The guidance says children and teenagers can share a car to school with someone outside of their support bubble or household, so long as they share with the same people each time, keep the windows open for ventilation and wear a face covering if they’re older than 11.
It also states that schools and colleges may need to stagger or adjust start and finish times to keep groups apart – but says this should not affect how long children spend in lessons.
Image source, ReutersSchools in Berlin resumed teaching two weeks ago
Coronavirus infections have been reported at more than 40 schools in the German capital Berlin, just two weeks after schools resumed teaching, a local newspaper says.
The daily Berliner Zeitung reports, external that dozens of teaching staff and hundreds of students are currently in quarantine across Berlin following confirmed infections. The city has a total of 825 schools.
While the quarantine numbers may seem alarming, the newspaper argues that the figures actually show that the systems in place are working. "In most cases, only one student, teacher or member of staff is infected and so far there have been no cases of infections inside a school," it said.
Nonetheless, there are concerns over how quickly the virus can spread and whether protective measures are strong enough - school children in the capital are required to wear masks in hallways, during breaks and when entering classrooms, but are allowed to take them off during lessons.
Coronavirus cases in Germany have been rising since the end of July, with officials blaming the increase on returning holidaymakers and social gatherings.
The issue of masks in schools has been considered elsewhere, with France announcing late on Thursday that all pupils above the age of 11 will have to wear face coverings when teaching resumes in just over a week.
The ban on landlords evicting tenants in England has been extended until 20 September.
Courts were due to resume eviction proceedings on Monday, sparking fears for about 230,000 renters who had fallen into arrears since the pandemic began.
Charities, health bodies and renters argued that the ban should stay in place because of the financial impact of the crisis.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said: "The ban should not be lifted until the government has a credible plan to ensure that no-one loses their home as a result of coronavirus.”
But the National Residential Landlords Association said the blanket extension was "unacceptable", adding that landlords "cannot be expected to foot the bill for government failure”.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe R number - the rate of reproduction - of coronavirus in the UK has risen to between 0.9-1.1, according to the Government Office for Science and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).
The figures suggest there is a risk that the overall coronavirus epidemic in the UK is growing, government scientists say.
The latest growth rate for the whole of the UK is between minus 3% to plus 1%, a slight change from between minus 4% to minus 1% last week.
The growth rate of Covid-19 transmission reflects how quickly the number of infections is changing day by day.
