Data lag means key models did not include all data on tiered system, admits Vallance 

• The UK’s terrorism threat level has been raised to “severe” in advance of Thursday's national lockdown and following terror attacks in Europe, as the Cabinet Office orders a review of UK contingency plans to prepare hospitals for more seriously ill patients. 
• The R-rate in England has fallen to 1, King’s College has said, leading to hopes that a national lockdown can be avoided.
• Nearly half of coronavirus patients in some NHS hospitals are likely to have caught it there, “shocking” figures show. 
• War heroes will be forced to stand outside in the cold on Remembrance Sunday rather than attend traditional church services, under the new national lockdown rules.
• Britons rushed to the cash machine ahead of the second lockdown as the vulnerable prepared to “hunker down” and pay friends and neighbours to do their shopping.
• Hospitals' intensive care units are no busier than normal for the majority of trusts, leaked documents show, raising more questions about whether a national lockdown is justifiable.
• Cambridge students have been told that they will not be able to graduate if they leave their accommodation during lockdown, as ministers urge young people not to go home.

​Follow the latest updates in Wednesday's live blog.

Models which projected that there could be 4,000 deaths a day at the peak of a second wave were not intended to "scare people", the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser has insisted.

Speaking at the Science and Technology select committee on Tuesday afternoon, Sir Patrick Vallance defended now controversial models presented at the pivotal press conference on Saturday.

"I don't think it is fair to say it is discredited," he said, in response to accusations that the data included was old. 

But Sir Patrick did concede that, because there is a lag in key indicators, the models were not able to factor in all of the data about the new tiered system, which came into effect on October 14. 

"These are scenarios put together on assumptions to look at what a reasonable worst-case scenario might be," he said, stressing that this is just one aspect of the data that has fed into the decision to introduce a second lockdown.

Prof Chris Whitty, England's Chief Medical Officer, added that the full effects of the tiers "won’t yet be feeding through fully into the numbers".

He told MPs that there was evidence that Tier 2 and Tier 3 restrictions have had some effect to slow coronavirus transmission rates. Yet because R-rates were above one everywhere and cases were doubling, there was not time to wait to see if the tiered system worked.

He added that "reaching the peak which we reached in April, strikes me as an entirely realistic situation".

GPs are to be put on standby in case of a potential Covid-19 vaccine rollout beginning in December, reports suggest.

GP magazine Pulse reported that family doctors are going to be told to be prepared to start vaccinating over-85s and frontline workers from early December.

Work has been going on behind the scenes to prepare for any potential Covid vaccine and how it could be rolled out.

Pulse reported that GPs will receive a "directed enhanced service" (DES) from next week which sets out how they deliver a service above their usual contract.

It has been told the DES on a potential Covid vaccine rollout is "imminent, potentially by next week".

There are two frontrunners in the Covid-19 vaccine race - candidates from German biotech firm BioNtech and US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the vaccine candidate being developed by University of Oxford and AstraZeneca.

Both vaccine candidates are currently in phase three clinical trials. But before any vaccine comes to the market, regulators have to confirm they are safe and effective - it has been suggested that regulators could be getting clinical data within weeks.

Related: Governments face agonising decisions about who to vaccinate first

Here's a look at the key UK developments today - scroll down to 5:28pm for the latest global overview.

• Boris Johnson told the Cabinet that there is light beyond the "uncertain gloom of November", while defending the England-wide lockdown set to come into effect on Thursday. He has insisted it will come to an end on December 2. 
• Prof Chris Whitty called the Great Barrington declaration, which proposes long-term shielding of the vulnerable, as "dangerously flawed, impractical and ethically really difficult" as he was quizzed by MPs at a select committee meeting this afternoon.
• At the same briefing, Sir Patrick Vallance defended the now controversial models shown at the press conference announcing a new lockdown, insisting they are not "discredited".  But he admitted that, because there is a lag in key indicators, the models were not able to factor in all of the data about the new tiered system.
• Chancellor Rishi Sunak is facing calls to release a six-month economic plan, after announcing that the furlough scheme will be extended until December 2. Devolved governments have asked for clarity about how the scheme could be used in future. 
• In Wales, groups of up to four people will be allowed to meet up in cafes, pubs and restaurants when the country's firebreak ends next week, the First Minister has said.
• A mass testing scheme could be rolled out to "millions" by Christmas if trials in Liverpool are successful.  Everyone living or working in the city will be offered tests, regardless of whether they have symptoms.
• The number of weekly deaths involving coronavirus is at its highest since early June, new statistics show, and 11 per cent above normal levels. 
• The R value may be around 1 as cases in England, Scotland and Wales are plateauing, according to Prof Tim Spector, who runs the Covid symptom study. 

Religious leaders have challenged the government's decision to ban “essential” communal worship during lockdown.

Continuation of public worship is “essential”, the leaders of the Church of England, the Roman Catholic church and orthodox Judaism, along with Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Pentecostal representatives, have warned.

In an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick, and Minister of State Lord Stephen Greenhalgh, the coalition of England’s most senior faith leaders conclude: “We strongly disagree with the decision to suspend public worship during this time.”

In comments which mark a dramatic shift in tone from the first lockdown earlier this year, the faith leaders revealed that they disagree with the Government’s  policy to close places of worship which, they claim, have proved they can be “made safe from Covid transmission”.

Gabriella Swirling has more on this story here.

The government has just published a list of all the businesses that will be able to remain open during the looming four week lockdown in England. It includes:

• Food retailers including supermarkets and corner shops
• Off-licences and licensed shops selling alcohol
• Pharmacies and chemists
• Newsagents
• Hardware stores
• Building merchants
• Petrol stations, car repair and MOT services
• Bicycle shops
• Taxi and vehicle hire services
• Banks, building societies, credit unions, currency exchanges and other similar financial businesses
• Post Offices
• Funeral directors
• Laundrettes and dry cleaners
• Dental practices, osteopaths, opticians and other medical services
• Veterinary surgeries and pet shops
• Agricultural supplies shops
• Storage and distribution facilities
• Car parks
• Public toilets
• Garden centres

Geneva, Switzerland:

 Oklahoma City, United States

 Sao Paulo, Brazil

 Stoke-on-Trent, UK

As Liverpool becomes England’s first city to be offered mass coronavirus testing, our Health Editor Laura Donnelly tells Theodora Louloudis why the trial could offer a glimpse into the UK’s future, and why its success hinges entirely on public co-operation:

The number of coronavirus patients in Wales needing critical care is less than half of what it was during the peak of the virus despite rising hospital admissions, the chief executive of NHS Wales said.

Speaking at a media briefing, Dr Andrew Goodall said early intervention by doctors, aided by increased testing, and improvements with oxygen therapies meant that both demand on intensive care units and mortality rates were lower compared with April.

Demand for critical care capacity in Wales is 60 per cent lower than at the peak, with 57 people currently receiving treatment, while 1,275 people currently occupy hospital beds because of Covid-19 in non-critical care areas.

The number of Covid patients occupying non-critical hospital beds is just 9 per cent lower than it was in April and is the highest amount since that time, with numbers expected to rise further in the coming days.

But Dr Goodall said increasing admissions were not resulting in greater demand for critical care beds, saying the numbers were "lower than expected" and represented "a good sign".

The issue of whether children should be able to play outside, group sport in lockdown came up during the bumper select committee today.

As our Global Health Security editor, Paul Nuki, notes - Prof Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance left the door open for restrictions on youth sports lifted, suggesting the contribution to spread would be small but it is a matter for ministers. 

Telegraph View:  Let's keep kids active in lockdown

More than 7,000 people have been given the wrong dates for self-isolation by Test and Trace, according to Sky News - a report that raises further questions about the troubled service.

An error in the software used by Test and Trace meant that the contact-tracing system gave contacts of people who had tested positive for coronavirus the wrong dates for the start and end of their quarantine.

A total of 7,230 people in England were affected, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed.

While most were contacted with new advice on when their self-isolation period should end, 2,455 individuals had already finished self-isolating before they could be reached. It is not clear whether they were told to end their self-isolation too early too late. 

Sweden has limited the size of groups that can eat together in restaurants to eight and issued stricter instructions to people in three further regions as the number of cases rises sharply in regions across the country,  Richard Orange reports. 

The country's prime minister Stefan Lofven said people in the country had to make a greater effort to follow local and national guidelines if they wanted to be able to celebrate Lucia Day, a festival of lights, on December 13.

"Everything we're doing now is going to make a difference for how we get to celebrate Lucia and Christmas," Mr Lofven said. "We know how dangerous [Covid-19] is, we have nearly 6,000 people dead."

The number of weekly coronavirus cases in Sweden has more than doubled from 9,000 to over 18,000 over the past two weeks, with 272 cases per 100,000 people over the past fortnight, and rising numbers in intensive care.

The Swedish Public Health Agency has responded by issuing people in the most hard-hit regions with instructions to avoid contact with people they do not usually meet, and to avoid places such as shops, shopping centres, museums, swimming pools and gyms.

There are no fines or other sanctions for ignoring the instructions, and it remains to be seen whether they will be sufficient to put a brake on the rise in cases. 

Now that the bumper select committee is over, here's a quick overview of all the international news we missed while covering evidence from Prof Whitty and Sir Patrick:

• The United States Elections Project at the University of Florida have confirmed that over 100 million Americans have voted early this year, in part due to the pandemic. This sets the stage for a record turnout in this election - follow all the latest developments here. 
• Russia has reported more than 18,000 daily cases for a record five straight days, bringing cumulative cases to 1.6m. Authorities have resisted a second lockdown despite reports about overwhelmed hospitals, drug shortages and inundated medical workers.
• French supermarkets are banned from selling flowers and books but they can sell baby care products during the monthlong lockdown, according to a decree published today which lays out the products considered "essential" items.
• In an effort to avoid closing nursing homes, Germany has announced a new strategy to use antigen tests to screen all visitors for Covid-19. Nursing homes will receive up to 20 free tests each month per resident. 
• Greece has expanded a night curfew on movement and shut restaurants, bars, theatres and museums in the most populous areas of the country for one month on today amid a new peak in infections.
• Poland plans to dispatch the army to help identify hospitals where beds are available for Covid-19 patients and where there are shortages, the health minister has revealed.
• In Sri Lanka, authorities have extended the school holidays for two more weeks, postponing the opening of classes amid a surge of Covid-19 patients from two clusters in Colombo and the capital's suburbs.

Adding to the Prof Whitty's comprehensive attack of the Great Barrington Declaration, Sir Patrick Vallance says that even if you were able to totally shield those at most risk,you would still see a significant number of deaths in younger people.

Long-Covid could also cause a lot of problems and a big health burden on the NHS. 

He adds that multi-generational households are common in this country, especially in some of the communities most hard hit by this already, making it hard for the young and old to remain separate.

But the pair end the select committee on a more positive note, suggesting that there are "multiple shots" at vaccines and treatments.

Asked whether we may have a difficult winter, but a bright spring, both Prof Whitty and Sir Patrick say: "brighter".

And with that, the select committee comes to a close. 

Greg Clark asked Prof Chris Whitty for his thoughts on the Great Barrington Declaration, which urges governments to shield vulnerable people and let the rest of the population continue life as normal.

In a very strong and unequivocal response, Prof Whitty says he means "no disrespect" to the experts involved but he considers the plans to be "dangerously flawed, impractical and ethically really difficult". 

The biggest weakness, he says, is the starting point that herd immunity will inevitable be acquired if you leave it long enough. This is not the case for most of the diseases he has worked on, including malaria, HIV, Ebola, Prof Whitty says.

"It never occurs. The idea that this is a fundamental thing is simple incorrect."

The second reason is that it is "pratically not possible" to identify and shield the vulnerable population, he says. 

"Theoretically that is attractive... but the idea you can do that and for year after year is simply impractical. We have looked at this, everyone says what a great idea until you look at the practicalities."

The third point, he says, is that very large numbers of people would die if you had any hope of achieving some sort of herd immunity - as this would require people up 70 per cent of the population to contract Covid.

"If you think of a 0.1 per cent fatality rate, that means a lot of people would die unless you could fully," he said. 

"Other than that it may have some merits," Prof Whitty adds. "But I am very cautious about it. To have this as an element of this in policy would be ethically difficult."

The committee chair, Greg Clark, asks Prof Chris Whitty if he is comfortable with the prospect that Wales will lift while England is under lockdown. 

"I am very much under the view that under the devolved system that is a case for Wales, and I have no intention to interfere", says Prof Chris Whitty. 

Greg Clark then asks why there should not then be different restrictions in Cornwall comapred to London.

Prof Whitty says that that difference is being eroded across England because the R value is rising everywhere, and fastest in some of the low prevalent areas. And it is not just a matter of the rate, but also about how many resources different regions have to cope with cases. 

Sir Patrick Vallance adds that this is an important point because it is not yet visible. There is a real merit in acting sooner before you have a huge issue on your hands, he says. 

Greg Clark is pushing the experts further on what could happen come December 2. Is the R rate going to have dropped sufficiently?

"My expectation is across the country as a whole, that is what I would hope," says Prof Chris Whitty.

But he adds: "I think the sensible thing to do is to wait until we see the effect of this and then take a view... lets see where the data find us." He says he has confidence in the public to comply with restrictions. 

Prof Whitty also refuses to be drawn on what could happen if the R rate is still above one come December, suggesting there are "endless possibilities" and local circumstances could be significant. He says what happens should R stay above one will be a decision for Ministers. 

Prof Whitty is then asked what the government wants to achieve. He says the primary strategic goal of the government is to reduce mortality, but this is one of many - including protecting the economy.

In response to a question about whether our response would have been less dramatic if we had six time more intensive care beds, Sir Patrick Vallance says there would have been "more headroom".

But he says that, without lockdown, there would still have been many more deaths. It would have to be a question for society if this was acceptable or ot. 

Sir Patrick Vallance has been asked what evidence there is for introducing measures including closing places of worship and preventing children from playing sports. 

He said that "we do not have good evidence on the exact value of each intervention on R". While Sage has published a paper looking at the impacts of different interventions, the evidence is not precise.

But he added that a lockdown is an overall package, and excluding certain measures just because of weak evidence reduces the overall impact of restrctions. 

"I’m afraid it’s a rather blunt instrument," Sir Patrick said.

Prof Whitty then added that while churches may be able to strictly follow social distancing guidelines, there may be issues when people congregate outside after a service. 

Responding to yet another criticism of the "avalanche" of data and graphics shown at the Saturday press conference, Prof Whitty quips that "this committee keeps saying to publish more data and when we do so we are told to publish less." 

"I would always like to get things more simple than they were and clearer than they were", adds Sir Patrick.

The pair are later asked whether they expect to be able to lift restrictions on 2 December

"That is what the Prime Minister has said he is going to do," says Sir Patrick, adding that it not a modelling decision by one for ministers and elected politicians. 

Prof Whitty adds that the fundamental aim of the lockdown is to ensure that there is a "realistic possibility" that restrictions can be lifted on December 2 and that England will move to a "different state of play". 

MPs then ask why the UK has been so much worse affected than other countries. 

Sir Patrick says this still isn't entirely clear, but in the UK the virus was seeded with multiple infections - other countries have had more localised outbreaks. 

He added that when dealing with epidemics, it is important to "go quite early and go quite significant". The challenge is that it is hard to make the case for an early intervention when people cannot yet see how serious the trajectory is. 

Attention now turns towards the economy, with the pair asked whether it is right to assume there are health implications from the tier system and lockdown?

Yes, says Prof Chris Whitty.

And how much time and impact Sage spends looking at the economic ramifications of Covid restrictions?

"We don't. That's not the role of Sage," says Sir Patrick Vallance. "We have been very clear that this sits in HMT. We do not look at the economic impacts and we are not mandated to do so."

Prof Whitty adds that he takes his responsibility to inform the Treasury of the epidemiological and public health impacts.

"None of us are under any illusions, this is really really problematic. We are choosing between bad choices."

Sir Patrick reiterates that Sage is not the place to discuss the economic aspects. Conversations between health and economic advisers take place elsewhere. Sage brings together and analyses the scientific, epidemiological and public health data. 

Prof Chris Whitty has now been asked about testing capacity and whether asymptomatic individuals should have access to tests.

Whitty says the latter group are not necessarily a priority. Instead a key reason to increase capacity for test and trace is to ensure that everyone who has symptoms through the winter period can access testing.

He says that this includes people who may have other respiratory viruses, as it is necessary to rule out Covid in these situations. 

"In terms of the people who have symptoms, my assumption is that test and trace will have the capacity to offer testing," he says. 

He has also been asked about the shielding programme and whether it saved lives.

He says that the programme was useful in the first wave and did save lives, but there were disadvantages - particularly around loneliness and mental health. It has been decided that it would be best to apply a less strict version of the policy as a result. 

He says that we have learned a great deal over the last six months, and the biggest change is that there is "not sufficient evidence" to urge children to shield.

Jeremy Hunt has asked whether the advisers agree with the Sage assessment that test and trace is only having a marginal impact.

"Even under optimal conditions, test and trace will do much better in lower conditions", says Prof Whitty. But it has made good progress since it was first introduced and it would be unreasonable to expect the system to pick up asymptomatic cases. 

He says that if the lockdown measures are introduced, it will have the benefit of reducing cases and allowing the test and trace system to work more effectively. But even then, test and trace is just one element that needs to be in place. 

Sir Patrick says that you can see this trend across Europe too, with test and trace working most effectively when cases are low. 

Prof Whitty also says that commentary suggesting compliance for self-isolation is very low is misleading. Even if people follow some of the steps, it will help reduce the spread of Covid.

Continuing on the controversial models, Prof Whitty insists that even a "conservative" estimate would be of concern and it is "entire feasibly" that we could reach the peak seen in April.

Jeremy Hunt then asks why we should expect deaths to be so high when we have added tools, for instance dexamethasone. 

Prof Whitty stresses that the models have taken into account new treatment options, with perhaps a halving in the mortality rate. But he adds that if there is exponential rise, there will still be a substantial increase in fatalities. 

He adds that in his advice to ministers, he focuses on six week projections which tend to be more reliable. 

Prof Whitty stresses again that "most of the additional deaths stack up because you don’t deal with Covid".

Four factors contribute to overall deaths, he adds. Deaths from Covid; deaths caused because emergency services are overwhelmed; deaths from people missing medical treatment and deaths from economic recession.

The conversation then turns back to modelling. Sir Patrick Vallance asks if these will be published before the vote on restrictions in Parliament tomorrow. 

"The assumptions underlying the models will be published in full," he says, adding that the intention is to publish all the data as soon as possible. 

Going into more detail about the six week forecast, Sir Patrick says that the data on fatalities is around the same as two of the models included in the data, but two models have predicted more deaths. 

But in response to a question about whether MPs should disregard the model is "discredited", Sir Patrick responded quite strongly

"Its not at all fair to say its discredited," says Sir Patrick. "I think the right graphs to focus on in terms of forward projections are the six-week forward projections.. and to base it on the data today which shows where things are in hospitals at the moment which are filling up.

"These are not forecasts, they are models that tell you how things should look."

The advisers are being pushed to defend the modelling shown on Saturday, with MPs accusing them of being alarmist and attempting to scare people into lockdown.

Graham Stringer, a Labour MP, asks: Was it sensible to show the graph showing 4,000 deaths a day without caveats?

"Well I hope not," says Sir Patrick, adding that it is important to try to explain on what may be coming based on the data you have today. He says he positioned the models as projections from major academic groups from two weeks ago, but he is sorry if that was not clear. 

He adds that they were criticised in September after estimating that deaths could reach 200 a day by November - a modelling prediction that has since been shown to be relatively accurate, even an under-estimate. 

He also says that that people are interested in the reasonable worst-case scenario and repeats that modellers think these long-term projections are important to share. 

There is also a discussion about whether evidence in the public domain is skewed towards health data as economic models are not shared. Sir Patrick says the role of Sage is to focus on public health and science, and other parts of the government focus on the other ramifications of the pandemic.

Greg Clark has asked what impact Tier 2 and Tier 3 restrictions have made.

The Chief Medical Officer, Prof Whitty, says that both tiers have had the effect of slowing transmission - although more so in Tier 3 than in Tier 2.

But he adds that there is a marked age deferential in dropping cases, with the greatest reduction in young adults. 

"There is a differential effect across all ages. My hope is that it levelling off in older ages as well," he says, adding that there is no data to confirm this hope yet and it would be "very imprudent" act on this basis - especially as it is this group who will need hospital care, he says. 

Clark asked whether the implication, therefore, is that tiered levels are not working for older age groups?

The implication is that the tiers have slowed down the spread of Covid, particularly tier three, "but there is no evidence in my view at this point that the R is reliably falling below one," Prof Whitty says. 

He says it might be hovering around this rate, but that does not mean that the pandemic is contracting. 

Greg Clark is now pushing Sir Patrick Vallance on whether the predictions used to enter lockown took into account the impact of the restrictions introduced on October 9. 

"The medium term projections were approved on Thursday, they are the latest estimate from Spi-M [a sub group of Sage] based on all the data they have at the moment."

But Sir Patrick adds that there is a lag in much of the data that we have on Covid, so it the information feeding the models will not be completely up to date

"The forward projection is the best estimate from the modelling groups on what to expect going forward," Sir Patrick says.

Pushed further, he adds that if you look at the data over the last six months the actual data has been a "pretty good" guide as to what would happen, so we can be relatively confident in them. 

Prof Whitty is now being quizzed about NHS hospital capacity. He starts by stressing that concerns about non-Covid care has got muddled:

"The way you prevent those services from being impinged on or in some cases cancelled is by keeping Covid cases down," he told MPs.

He added that  there is some evidence of a slowing epidemic, particularly in the North East and to some extent the North West. But "the trouble about things doubling is you move from a few to many cases very quickly."

Greg Clark then asks whether Prof Whitty and Sir Patrick believe that without measures intensive care capacity would be overrun?

Sir Patrick says that the data shown on Saturday (see chart) came from the NHS, and he agrees with it - "with all the caveats  that it is a model".

He said there is a serious risk of hospitals being overrun "if nothing is done". 

Prof Whitty adds that if R remains above one, you have "very little headway". 

"We are looking forward in a bad way to know that the most difficult time for respirator viruses is over the winter month. So the chance that something will improve without action over the coming months is quite low.

"If you are giving advice to ministers, that is the advice you have to give." 

The Science and Technology select committee has just started, with MPs grilling  Sir Patrick Vallance and Prof Chris Whitty on the data behind the decision to enter another lockdown.

Greg Clark, chair of the committee, has started by asking what modelling tells us about what we may expect to see over the coming weeks and months.

"The R remains above one everywhere, the epidemic continues to grow," Sir Patrick responded, stressing that the six week forward projection provides the greatest reliability.

"They look as though that period you would expect if nothing changed the number of hospitalisations to breach the first wave number towards the end of November, and the number of deaths to equal the first wave numbers somewhere in mid December. "

Asked about the charts that were shown on Saturday (see chart), which have created considerable controversy.

Sir Patrick said that they were a few weeks old but tracked this period and were used to inform a reasonable worst case scenario. He said that the R rate was assumed at between 1.3 and 1.5 and came up with the range of scenarios shared at the weekend. 

Sir Patrick adds that Sage has come to a consensus statement about what the next six weeks look like, but not beyond that point. 

But Prof Whitty adds that "you don't need that much modelling to show you that we are on an exponential rise", with deaths, hospitalisations and cases already rising rapidly. 

A further 225 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 33,335.

Patients were aged between 47 and 101 years old. All except 11, aged 52 to 99 years old, had known underlying health conditions.

The date of death ranges from 21 October to 2 November 2020. 

The worst-affected region was the North West, where 80 deaths were registered, followed by the North East & Yorkshire (51) and the Midlands (49) and the South East (20). 

There were nine deaths registered in London and eight in both the East of England and South West. 

We are expecting Prof Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance to appear before the Science and Technology Committee at around 2:30pm to discuss the data that led to England's second lockdown. 

But before that, here is a quick overview of UK developments today:

• There is "light ahead" in the battle against the coronavirus, Boris Johnson told the Cabinet this morning, as he defended upcoming national measures.

• The number of weekly deaths involving coronavirus is at its highest since early June, ONS figures show, while overall deaths are 11 per cent higher than the expected level for this week, based on the average of the last five years.
• Cabinet ministers have created confusion about the rules which will apply when England's second national lockdown begins on Thursday, with Michael Gove forced to apologise for wrongly suggesting that people would be able to play singles tennis or golf in pairs.
• Rishi Sunak is facing demands from MPs to publish an assessment of the economic harm that England's lockdown will cause.
• Chief Secretary to the Treasury Stephen Barclay reiterated that the Government's financial support schemes "apply on a UK-wide basis" amid uncertainty about whether the scheme will apply to devolved nations beyond England's lockdown. 
• Residents in Greater Manchester believe the Government is treating the south of England better than the North in its response to coronavirus, a poll has found.
• Labour is calling on ministers to reintroduce their spring lockdown policy of taking every rough sleeper off the streets as England braces for a month-long coronavirus shutdown.
• And stockpiling has reared its ugly head again, with shoppers saying they are in "absolute disbelief" after seeing some supermarket shelves emptying once more.

Scientists at Imperial College have found no traces of Sars-CoV-2 on surfaces and in teh air on London's bus or tube network.

Experts also carried out tests last month, the BBC reports, and it is the second time swabs from escalators, handrails and Oyster Card readers have tested negative.

The team at Imperial used a special sensor which sucked the air through a filter at around 300 litres per minute. 

Lilli Matson, chief safety health and environment officer for Transport for London, called the results were "hugely reassuring" - especially for customers using the transport network for essential journeys during the next lockdown phase.

But she added that guidance on social distancing and mask coverings also need to be followed to ensure safety. 

Georgia has imposed additional restrictions in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the government said today.

It will be mandatory to wear masks outdoors as well as indoors, all restaurants and cafes across the ex-Soviet country must close at 10 pm, and online study at schools and universities in ten big cities, including the capital Tbilisi, will continue until November 25.

All social events such as weddings, wakes, birthday parties and baptisms remain banned, the government said in a statement.

Georgia, which ended a state of emergency over the coronavirus on May 22, was removed from the U.S. Centres for Disesase Control and Prevention (CDC) "green zone" list in October due to a sharp rise in cases since early September.

The South Caucasus country of 3.7 million people has reported a total of 44,522 Covid-19 infections, with 362 of those on Tuesday.

Over on our US election liveblog, Verity Bowman has helpfully pulled together this list of everything you need to know as the nation heads to the ballot box amid a surging coronavirus pandemic:

• The US is confronting multiple crises and is choosing between two candidates with very different visions for the future.
• Mr Trump has downplayed the coronavirus outbreak and bucked public health guidelines by holding his signature campaign rallies featuring crowds of supporters - often unmasked - packed shoulder to shoulder.
• Even today, speaking on Fox and Friends, the President said of the pandemic: "I say rounding the corner. Some people don't like that phrase, but I use that phrase". 
• His reelection depends on driving up his margins in rural areas and smaller towns and cities.
• Mr Biden has said he would heed the advice of scientists. The Democrats stopped knocking on doors in the spring, going all-digital and phone. 
•  He has pledged to work with state and local officials across the country to push mask mandates and has called on Congress to pass a sweeping response package.
• Absentee voting amid coronavirus has changed the vote-counting timeline, and there are not uniform practices for counting across the states. This makes it difficult to predict when certain key battlegrounds might be called.

Working-age adults who live with young children are less likely to die of Covid-19 and other causes, research suggests.

The findings, which are yet to be peer-reviewed, come from a population-based study involving nearly 12 million adults in England.

The researchers found that adults aged below 65, who were living with youngsters between 0-11 years old, were about 25 per cent less likely to die of Covid-19 and had a 32 per cent lower risk of dying from non-Covid-19 causes, compared with those without children.

The researchers believe this is because those with young children in their homes are more likely to lead healthier lifestyles, putting them at slightly lower risk of dying from Covid-19 or other causes.

The study also looked to see whether children passing on colds, caused by four other seasonal human coronaviruses, may provide protective immunity against Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

They said that based on the results, any cross-reactive immunity to Sars-CoV-2 from other coronavirus was unlikely.

"We do not find that that theory has any backing from our results," said Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. "And so, we are still left with a puzzle as to why children do have low risk (of Covid-19)."

India’s capital of New Delhi is seeing its worst wave of Covid-19 infections since the beginning of the pandemic, as rising air pollution is reducing inhabitants' ability to resist the virus.

The densely-populated megacity, home to an estimated 30 million people, has averaged more than 5,200 new daily cases so far this week, despite a nationwide drop in new infections.

Public health experts believe there are multiple factors behind New Delhi's recent surge – including fatigue adhering to Covid-19 precautions and a succession of major Hindu festivals – but studies, including one from Harvard University, suggest its hazardous air pollution is key.

Long-term exposure to pollutants can reduce lung function and inflame the airways, making it more difficult for someone to fight off Covid-19.

It also causes and then worsens underlying chronic health conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes, which are thought to leave sufferers more susceptible to the virus.

Pollution also means the virus can spread over greater distances by travelling on the particles themselves before infecting others.

Joe Wallen has the full story here. 

Belgium's surging second wave has forced it to move some severely ill patients, many on ventilators, to neighbouring Germany, and air ambulances began flying Belgian patients further into the country today.

The helicopter operator transports each Covid patient inside a giant transparent plastic bag connected to medical devices. Most of the transferred patients are intubated and on ventilators.

Belgium, hit hard in the first wave, now has Europe's highest per capita number of confirmed new infections, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Ambulances began taking patients across the border last week and have so far transferred 15. Air ambulance helicopters started transferring patients deeper into Germany as of today.

Martin Kotthaus, Germany's ambassador to Belgium, said a mechanism had been set up to allow Belgian patients to transfer to hospitals in the German state North Rhine-Westphalia, where there is more spare capacity.

"In the first wave, Germany had more than 230 patients from Italy, France and the Netherlands. Now we are extending our help to Belgium," he told Reuters. "But in the future, it might be Germans who would have to come to Belgium."

The government's three-tier system was effective in bringing down the number of coronavirus cases, an Oxford University professor has claimed. 

Carl Heneghan, director of the university's Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, said cases in Liverpool, where the most severe restrictions were imposed, had been brought down by a half and that hospital admissions had "stabilised".

Professor Heneghan said new lockdown measures should be based on "actual data" rather than models that had shown to be wrong, after he described how one forecast of 4,000 deaths a day was "mathematically proven" to be incorrect.

He told the Today programme: "Many of the measures are working as intended." It comes as Government advisers Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Chris Whitty are summoned before MPs this afternoon to explain the evidence for a national lockdown.

From Thursday, new national restrictions will be imposed across England for four weeks after Boris Johnson said action was needed to prevent a "medical and moral disaster" for the NHS.

Related:

At her daily briefing, Nicola Sturgeon has said there are "encouraging signs" that the increase in new cases in Scotland is slowing down. 

But the First Minister added that the number of people testing positive remains high in parts of the country, suggesting that she could not rule out introducing the strictest controls in parts of the country. 

Over the last 24 hours, a further 28 people have died and 999 people have tested positive in Scotland. Last Tuesday, this figure stood at 1,327, while two weeks ago today the  1,456 cases were recorded.

But Sturgeon said there was no room for complacency, even though the country is "relatively speaking in a strong position".

The issue of furlough was also raised during the briefing. Sturgeon said that Boris Johnson "appears to have agreed" that access to the scheme will be available to devolved governments after England leaves lockdown on December 2. 

But she added that she welcomed the commitment with a "necessary degree of caution", as there is yet to be any confirmation from the Treasury. 

Coronavirus cases are increasing fast in Sweden, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven warned today, as he announced stricter recommendations for three more regions.

"We have a very serious situation," Lofven told a news conference. "More and more intensive care beds are now being used to treat Covid  patients. The respite we got this summer is over."

He also said parties at restaurants would be limited to eight people.

Sweden has seen a surge in new infections in recent weeks, surpassing peaks set in the spring, though levels are not as high as in countries like Belgium, Spain and France relative to the size of the population.

Justice minister Alex Chalk warned those who commit anti-social behaviour during the pandemic that "justice will be done".

During justice questions, Labour's Dame Diana Johnson said levels of anti-social behaviour were growing in parts of her Hull North constituency, adding: "The perpetrators behave as if they're beyond the reach of the justice system and the law."

Responding, Mr Chalk told the Commons: "Those people who want to perpetrate anti-social behaviour should understand that the courts are operating, police are there to make arrests and that justice will be done.

"That is what is being delivered during this pandemic thanks to the hard work of plenty of people."

In response to Labour's shadow justice minister Peter Kyle, Mr Chalk added: "In the magistrates' courts the backlog is being eroded because ... disposals have exceeded receipts since the end of July, the number of trial courts is higher than the baseline."

A number of updates here from across Europe this morning:

• The Danish parliament has suspended voting and other meetings after several five lawmakers tested positive for Covid-19 and six ministers entered self-isolation while awaiting test results.
• Meanwhile in Germany, the DIVI association for intensive and emergency medicine has revealed that the country has seen a sixfold increase in the number of people being treated in ICU for Covid-19 over the last month. 
• The association added that many medical employees are working at full capacity, and urged hospitals to move away from regular operations when there are high coronavirus rates.
• This comes as the health minister has said that hundreds of thousands of people in Germany are in quarantine because they have tested positive for the coronavirus or have come into contact with someone who has Covid-19.
• And in Spain, the northern Spanish region of Castilla and Leon ordered a shutdown of bars and restaurants today, and demanded tougher measures from the national government to defeat one of Europe's worst outbreaks.

Residents in Greater Manchester believe the Government is treating the south of England better than the North in its response to coronavirus, a poll has found.

A YouGov survey commissioned by BBC North West after the city was placed into Tier 3 showed that 67 per cent of people asked thought that the South was being given better treatment - with only 1 per cent believing the opposite was true.

Greater Manchester was moved into the highest alert level in October after more than a week of negotiations between local leaders and the Government about restrictions and financial support packages failed to reach an agreement.

The region's mayor, Andy Burnham, accused the Government of treating the North with "contempt" as the row erupted over the proposed restrictions.

At the weekend, regional mayors said Prime Minister Boris Johnson had shown that he thinks voters in the North are worth less than those in the South after announcing an extension to the furlough scheme as part of national coronavirus restrictions that was not offered to those regions placed in Tier 3.

The poll, of 1,028 people, found that 70 per cent of respondents believe the Government is handling Covid-19 badly; and 61 per cent disapprove of Mr Johnson's handling of the issue, with 67 per cent having either not much or no confidence in the Prime Minister making the right decisions.

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum has  had received an experimental coronavirus vaccine, becoming the latest United Arab Emirates official to take part in the trials.

Two vaccines are undergoing third-phase trials in the UAE, one produced by Chinese drug giant Sinopharm, and Russia's Sputnik-V, named after the Soviet-era satellite.

"While receiving the COVID-19 vaccine today," Sheikh Mohammed captioned a photograph of himself he posted on Twitter with his sleeve rolled up, as a healthcare worker in full protective equipment administered the injection.

"We wish everyone safety and great health, and we are proud of our teams who have worked relentlessly to make the vaccine available in the UAE," he said, without specifying which vaccine he took.

Sheikh Mohammed is also prime minister of the UAE, a collection of seven emirates which has so far recorded more than 136,000 coronavirus cases, 503 of them fatal.

The foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, and deputy prime minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al-Nahyan have also taken the experimental vaccine.

Experts have been responding to the news that entire cities will be given weekly coronavirus testing, starting in Liverpool this week, as part of new efforts to track and stop the spread of the virus across the UK.

Dr Luke Allen, a GP academic clinical fellow at the University of Oxford, said that “this is exactly the kind of mass-testing that should have been introduced months ago.”

He added that, if implemented smoothly, the initiative will provide a much clearer picture of the spread of Covid-19. 

“This granular detail will enable public health teams to trace both symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers, as well as their close contacts, and stop the virus in its tracks.”

However he noted that there “are several big 'ifs'.”

“People need to show up for testing, testing should happen repeatedly in order to track changes over time, and - most importantly - the track and trace system needs to function effectively.”

Others have been more cautious. Dr Alexander Edwards, associate orofessor in Biomedical Technology at the University of Reading, said “headlines that mass testing will somehow transform the situation we are now in” should be qualified. 

“Technology and testing is one of our most powerful tools, but technology is nothing without a joined-up and supportive public health strategy,” he said. 

A top White House official delivered a bleak warning on Monday, cautioning the Trump administration that the coronavirus is entering a new and “deadly phase”.

Dr Deborah Birx, a leader in the administration's response to the pandemic, demanded a more aggressive approach as she predicted that the US will continue to see days where over 100,000 cases are recorded per day.

"We are entering the most concerning and most deadly phase," Dr Birx wrote in a memo distributed to top administration officials. 

She added that the nation was not implementing "balanced" measures needed to slow the spread of the virus. One recipient confirmed the contents that were initially reported Monday by The Washington Post.

Dr Brix also warned against the type of rallies Mr Trump has been holding during his reelection campaign. Many supporters have neglected to wear masks or follow social distancing regulations. 

The pandemic has become a defining aspect of the election, with many supporters turning towards Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the hope of a more vigorous approach.

Follow Verity Bowman on the election liveblog for all the latest news and updates from the US.

Here's a look at how the pandemic is affecting life across the globe - in pictures:

Buenos Aires, Argentina:

 Havana, Cuba:

Pittsburgh, United States:

Cusco, Peru

 

Researchers have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) system which they claim can detect coronavirus by analysing the sound of people coughing.

Scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said the AI works because the virus causes temporary muscular impairment which can cause small differences to people’s speech or the sound of their cough – even if they have no other symptoms.

Tests performed on 4,000 recordings of people forcing themselves to cough showed that the system was able to reliably detect coronavirus, the researchers wrote in paper published the IEEE Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology.

When given new cough recordings, the AI was able to identify coughs from people who were confirmed to have Covid-19 98.5 per cent of the time. It was also able to identify coronavirus in those who were assymptomatic 100 per cent of the time.

James Cook has more details here. 

The number of people moving out of Tokyo this year has eclipsed those moving in – resulting in the city’s population dropping for the first time since 2013, Danielle Demetriou reports.

New figures, released by the Internal Affairs Ministry, showed that 194,400 people moved into the densely populated Japanese capital between April and September this year, while 200,000 moved out.

May – the peak of a nationwide state of emergency due to the pandemic – was the first month since 2013 to experience a net drop in Tokyo’s population, with outflow continuing to exceed inflow between July and September.

The figures appear to reflect how a growing number of Tokyo residents are choosing to swap big city life for rural or suburban living as a result of the pandemic, a trend replicated globally, fuelled further by the rise of remote working.

Coronavirus levels have remained low in Japan compared to many other regions in Europe and the United States, with 102,000 cases and 1,787 deaths in total. Tokyo, however, has been the hardest-hit region in Japan, accounting for more than 30,000 cases and 461 deaths.

Polish authorities are considering tightening restrictions to combat a spiralling outbreak, the prime minister's chief of staff said today, but he insisted that any steps would stop short of a severe lockdown.

Michal Dworczyk was speaking ahead of the release of official data showing the total number of infections had passed 400,000 - after doubling in less than two weeks.

Polish media have reported that new restrictions can be expected tomorrow, and Dworczyk told private broadcaster TVN24 the government is analysing its options.

The government has already closed gyms, swimming pools, and limited restaurants' activity to selling food for take away only.

Support for the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party has fallen in recent opinion polls, as voters are unhappy with how it prepared for the second wave of pandemic. On top of that, thousands have been protesting almost every day against tightening of the abortion law.

 Related: Why Europe's efforts to stop a second wave of Covid were doomed to fail

The number of weekly deaths involving coronavirus is at its highest since early June, according to ONS figures published today, while overall deaths are 11% higher than the expected level for this week, based on the average of the last five years. (see 10:26).

The ONS has published a useful Twitter thread diving into these numbers - below is a chart showing deaths involving Covid-19 broken down by location and region across England and Wales.

Some key other points:

• Of the 10,739 deaths registered in Week 42, 978 mention Covid-19 on the death certificate (9.1% of all deaths). 
• Of these fatalities, 89.4% had this recorded as the underlying cause of death. By contrast, of the 1,719 deaths involving influenza and pneumonia, 17.6% had these as the underlying cause.
• Overall, just under 63,000 deaths involving Covid-19 have now occurred in the UK.

The world is holding its breath for a safe and effective Covid vaccine -  but a jab is only one part of the pandemic solution and diagnostic testing is a near-invisible but essential enabler of their development, write Catharina Boehme and Peter Sands:

Why are vaccines dependent on tests? Firstly, in the research and development stage, volunteers in vaccine trials are routinely tested to establish whether they are currently or have previously been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

To be able to accurately interpret the study results, it is critical that we understand how this relatively small proportion of the population responds to the vaccine, as well as to future re-exposure to the virus.

Secondly, testing will be needed for ongoing public health surveillance as we monitor the impact of the introduction of vaccines.

Post-licensure population-level studies are critical to collect ongoing effectiveness data on new vaccines, as they tell us whether a vaccine’s performance in real-world settings truly matches up with that seen in the clinical trials.

Read the full piece here. 

In Bahrain, authorities have granted limited emergency approval for the use of a Chinese Covid vaccine candidate in frontline workers, according to the state news agency, BNA.

 The United Arab Emirates in September allowed similar emergency use of the same vaccine for frontline workers at high risk of infection with the new coronavirus.

The vaccine candidate, nearing the end of phase III trials in Egypt, Bahrain and Jordan, is a partnership between Sinopharm's China National Biotec Group (CNBG) and Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and cloud computing company Group 42 (G42).

Related: The real Contagion: governments face agonising decisions about who to vaccinate first

Just joining us? Here's a roundup of the key developments to be aware of across the globe:

• Entire cities will be given weekly coronavirus testing, starting in Liverpool this week, as part of new efforts to track and stop the spread of the virus across the UK and "defeat this virus by the spring".

• Mass testing has been used in other parts of the world, including China, where authorities say they have tested over 4.7 million people after a 17-year-old girl tested positive in a remote part of western the country last week.

• A total of 978 deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending October 23 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, according to the ONS. 
• The French government will reimpose an evening curfew on Paris, and possibly the Ile-de-France region around the capital, to tackle worsening Covid-19 figures, government spokesman Gabriel Attal has revealed.
• Greece will impose a two-week lockdown in northern regions and suspend flights, while Italy will tighten restrictions but is holding back from reintroducing a nationwide lockdown as infections, hospital admissions and deaths surge.
• The situation in Ukraine is close to catastrophic and the nation must prepare for the worst, according to health minister Maksym Stepanov. The country registered a record 8,899 new Covid cases in the past 24 hours.
• Argentina is expecting 10 million doses of Russia's main experimental coronavirus vaccine between December and January.
• And in the United States, Americans are counting down the final hours to vote in a competition starkly divided by its two candidates and dominated by the pandemic. 

The influential Treasury Select Committee has called for Rishi Sunak to release of the economic impact assessment for England's lockdown measures.

The committee's Tory chairman Mel Stride has written to the Chancellorto request the analysis before MPs vote on the lockdown measures on Wednesday.

"As part of our inquiry into the economic impact of coronavirus, the Treasury Committee has examined the wider modelling of the effects of the pandemic," Mr Stride said.

"To aid this inquiry, and also to assist MPs ahead of the vote on Wednesday on new lockdown measures, it would be helpful if the Treasury published the work that it has carried out in respect of the various interventions considered by the Government."

A total of 978 deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending October 23 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It is the highest number of deaths involving Covid-19 since the week ending June 12.

It is up from 670 deaths in the week to October 16 - a jump of 46pc.

Liverpool is to pilot the UK's first mass testing regime on Friday amid plans to test all residents and workers on a "regular basis".

The city has had severe restrictions imposed following an outbreak of coronavirus cases, but ministers hope action taken this week could help tackle the spread of the virus across the country.

Speaking about the mass testing plans, Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson told the BBC: "It is going to start on Friday of this week.

"Logistically, we are talking to the armed forces personnel and others about where to site about 30 units across the city, with some of them being mobile units."

Robert Jenrick said a new testing strategy in Liverpool is a "major step forward".

He told Times Radio: "This is a really exciting opportunity, it's an offer to all the people in Liverpool and those who work in the city centre to be tested on a regular basis.

"There will be a mix of different tests deployed - some will be using the traditional swab tests that we are now familiar with but which do take time to be processed, and as many as possible will be using the faster lateral flow test that can enable you to get the results within an hour."

 

Care home visits must be allowed to continue in the second national lockdown, experts have said.

More than 60 organisations and experts have called on the Government to enable visits to care homes to continue.

They said banning visits is "intrinsically harmful" and causes "extreme anguish".

In an open letter to Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock, the 60 organisations, researchers, professionals and bodies representing relatives, carers and providers, brought together by the National Care Forum, said that prohibiting visits denies residents their human rights.

They said that as the Government finalises regulations for the national lockdown, it must be the "default position" that care homes are open for visiting.

The letter states: "Care homes must be supported to enable visits by families and loved ones, now and in the future.

"We can no longer stand by and watch the erosion of people's human rights and the impact of isolation through the effective blanket bans on visiting in care homes.

"We know that isolation caused by restrictions on visits from loved ones is intrinsically harmful and we have heard over and again the extreme anguish that this is causing."

Signatories of the letter include academics, the charities Age UK, Alzheimer's Society, the Care Provider Alliance, the British Geriatrics Society and the Royal Society of Public Health.

Carl Heneghan, director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of Oxford, claimed the R value in Liverpool is "well below one at this moment in time".

He said there is a "problem" in Liverpool but that cases in the city have halved and hospital admissions have "stabilised".

"You've got ... these pockets around the country where trusts like Liverpool have got into trouble with over half the patients being Covid patients," he told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.

"But let's look at the data, the data in Liverpool is showing cases have come down by about half, admissions have now stabilised, so, yes, there is a problem in Liverpool.

"But, actually, the tier restrictions... the people in Liverpool have dropped cases from about 490 a day down to 260 a day - a significant drop. The R value is well below one in Liverpool at this moment in time."

 

Michael Gove has apologised after he suggested people would still be able to play singles tennis or golf in pairs during the impending national lockdown.

The Cabinet Office Minister made the comments during a question-and-answer session with constituents, despite Downing Street insisting it would not change direction over the decision to close golf courses and tennis clubs.

During the session, streamed on Facebook, Mr Gove was responding to a question about whether doubles tennis could continue when new restrictions are imposed.

He said : "The key thing here is that you'll probably be able to continue to play singles tennis. At the moment the guidance that we have is that if people are appropriately socially distanced they can take exercise with one other person.   "That's why I mentioned golf earlier, golf clubs, clubhouses will have to be closed but we are looking at allowing people to play on golf courses with one other appropriately distanced.

"I think the same will apply to tennis. If you're playing tennis out of doors.. notwithstanding the weather.. lots of people will want to in order to stay fit and to keep healthy then I hope it will be the case that we will be able to provide further details to be published that you can play with one other person."

But today he apologised over the remarks.

"My apologies, I got this wrong," Mr Gove tweeted, alongside a link to Government guidance.

"Outdoor leisure facilities including tennis courts and golf courses will be closed from Thursday."

 

The Housing Secretary said a mass testing scheme in Liverpool would be made "as simple and accessible as possible" and could be rolled out across the country if proved to be successful.

Mr Jenrick told BBC Breakfast: "This will mean that we'll be able to get on top of the virus faster, understand where there are positive cases and ask those people to self-isolate, to properly contact trace everyone they've been in contact with and get a much better picture of what's happening with the virus, where it is within the city.

"If this is a success, and I obviously really hope that it will be and the people in Liverpool will get behind it, then we'll be looking to roll this out in other towns and cities, and make millions more of these rapid tests available for Christmas."

Mr Jenrick said he did not know how many rapid tests are currently available.

He added: "The offer to the people of Liverpool is clear, which is that anyone can be tested regardless of whether you have the symptoms or not, and we will make available enough testing capacity to do that on a regular basis."

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has accused Boris Johnson of of "panic" decision-making regarding the new national lockdown which comes into force on Thursday.

Ms Dodds told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have had very panicked, last-minute decision-making.

"Obviously, changes made to the furlough scheme just five hours before when it was due to close. Apparently, self-employed people completely forgotten about, then, finally their situation announced yesterday."

One Parisian is getting infected with COVID-19 every 30 seconds, while every 15 minutes there is a Parisian arriving in hospital as a result of the disease, health minister Olivier Veran said on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

Veran made the comments to RTL Radio in response to demands by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to open up small bookshops and other smaller stores to try to keep commerce and social activity ticking over despite a new lockdown in France.

Veran said any such move was too risky given the high COVID-19 infection rates in the French capital.

"She cannot ignore the fact that every 15 minutes, in the hospitals of Paris, there is someone ill who has been hospitalised with COVID. She cannot ignore the fact that every 30 seconds, there is a Parisian who has been contaminated," said Veran.

"We want to save the Parisians and the French people and we do that with determination and consistency," he added.

France reported a record 52,518 new COVID-19 on Monday, while the country's COVID-19 death toll rose by 416 to 37,435. 

So, here we go again. On Thursday we will see England become the last of the four home nations to be cast back into lockdown, to last at least four weeks.

We all now face an unwelcome re-run of the dark days of spring, when our lives were suddenly restricted in a way we’d never imagined. This time, we at least know what’s coming – though the days will truly be dark, and not just metaphorically.

Here’s how to get yourself through the next few weeks.

China reported 49 new cases for Nov. 2, up from 24 a day earlier, the national health authority reported on Tuesday.

The National Health Commission said in a statement 44 of the new cases were imported infections originating from overseas and the other five were locally transmitted cases in the northwestern Xinjiang region.

Among the 44 imported cases, four were on a flight to the central city of Wuhan from New Delhi, India. 

They were the city's first imported cases since Aug. 7.

The commission also reported 61 new asymptomatic cases, compared with 30 a day earlier. Of the total, 19 were passengers on the same flight from New Delhi to Wuhan, where the virus first emerged last year.

Xinjiang region reported 13 new local asymptomatic cases. Authorities in the region conducted large scale testing after a recent outbreak.

Holidaymakers are still waiting on £1bn of refunds from the first lockdown, consumer group Which? has said, as thousands more trips are expected to be cancelled this month.

If a packaged holiday is called off by the provider, travellers are supposed to receive their money back within 14 days. However many have been forced to wait longer as firms are inundated with requests.

Which? said nearly 10 million people are estimated to have had a holiday cancelled since March, but a survey of 7,500 people suggested that one in five who had requested a refund were still waiting for it at the beginning of October.

Read the full story

Read more: Meet the Britons who are travelling regardless of lockdown

On Monday,  for the first time after eight months of lockdown, lucky visitors were brought to the Machu Picchu ruins by bus. 

Peru ordered a total lockdown and closed its borders in March. It has since become one of the worst-affected countries in Latin America, with the highest mortality rate in the world, after the tiny republic of San Marino.

India recorded 38,310 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, taking its tally to 8.27 million, health ministry data showed on Tuesday.

It was the ninth straight day that infections numbered fewer than 50,000, as cases have dipped from a September peak, but experts warn the current season of festivals could lead to another spike.

Deaths rose by 490, carrying the toll to 123,097, the ministry added.

Sri Lankan villagers have defied a coronavirus curfew to try to save about 100 whales stranded on their beach on the island's southwest coast.

Men waded into the breaking surf to push the small whales back out to sea on Monday while curious villagers gathered on the beach at Panadura, south of the capital, Colombo, to watch, ignoring a 24-hour coronavirus curfew.

"I was fishing when I saw a dark patch and about 100 came ashore," said fisherman Upul Ranjith. "We've pushed as many as we can back to sea.""I don't know why this has happened. It's never happened before. This is the first time I've seen it," Mr Ranjith said.

Australia on Tuesday reported one locally acquired case of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, while New Zealand registered its first community transmission in more than two weeks after a worker at a quarantine facility tested positive.

Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, reported the one domestic case, though it and Queensland state said there were six infections among people returning from overseas and in quarantine.

The result means Victoria state, the epicentre of Australia's outbreak, has now gone four days without detecting any new infections.

Meanwhile, New Zealand began testing close contacts of the country's first locally acquired case since mid-October.

New Zealand said the unnamed woman in her 50s is a health worker who had been working at a quarantine centre in the South Island city of Christchurch.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) said on Tuesday it will fund the development of the protein-based S-Trimer Covid-19 vaccine candidate by China's Clover Biopharmaceuticals Inc.

CEPI's total investment in S-Trimer will be up to $328 million, it said in a statement.

Oslo, Norway-based CEPI was set up in 2017 to fight emerging epidemics and is backed by 14 governments, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Britain's Wellcome Trust.

The extension of CEPI's partnership with Clover comes months after it invested $66 million to boost the Chinese company's Covid-19 vaccine trial in July.

Read more: When will a coronavirus jab be ready in the UK?

Quarantine could be safely cut from 14 to five days to kickstart travel after the national lockdown and in time for Christmas ski holidays, according to the most comprehensive study yet of Covid tests on passengers.

The research, based on analysis of data from more than 105,000 passengers, found that tests on the fifth day of quarantine detected between 83 per cent and 90 per cent of Covid cases.

The analysis of test results from passengers arriving in Canada, Iceland, France and Jersey showed tests on the fifth day were just as effective at detecting Covid as those on the seventh day, where the rate was between 84 per cent and 90 per cent.

Read the full story

Read more: Escape lockdown - Six places you can still fly to before Thursday

Panama's President Laurentino Cortizo has began self-isolating after a close co-worker tested positive for the coronavirus, the presidency said on Monday, without revealing the name or position of the person who was infected.

Mr Cortizo has taken two coronavirus tests, which were both negative, but will continue isolating "until he repeats the tests in a few days", the presidency said on Twitter.

• Entire cities will be given weekly coronavirus testing, starting in Liverpool this week, as part of new efforts to track and stop the spread of the virus across the UK.
• Sir Patrick Vallance and Professor Chris Whitty have been summoned before MPs to explain the evidence for a national lockdown, after their 4,000 deaths figure was questioned by scientists.
• The Duke of Cambridge was “very ill” with coronavirus at the height of the pandemic but “broke with precedent” by keeping his diagnosis a secret because the nation was already scared, it emerged on Monday.
• More than two million people classed as "extremely vulnerable" to Covid-19 will be urged to ask neighbours to do their shopping or have groceries delivered as the Government abandons its formal shielding programme.
• Test and Trace is struggling because people do not want to pick up their phone to unknown numbers, a government adviser has said.
• Wales will have its hardest border with England for "several centuries" after the Welsh firebreak is lifted and the English lockdown comes into force, Mark Drakeford has claimed. 
• Boris Johnson has announced a multi-billion pound boost to help the the self-employed  survive the second lockdown, but faced calls to plug gaps that have left millions without access to additional support.