Coronavirus news – live: Russia Covid vaccine branded ‘foolish’ as young people who vape found to be seven times more at risk

Scottish football faces suspension after Celtic player failed to isolate following Spain trip

Scottish football’s return to action could be shut down after it emerged Celtic defender Boli Bolingoli took a secret trip to Spain and failed to self-isolate on his return, writes Gavin McCafferty.

The left-back came off the bench during Celtic’s 1-1 Scottish Premiership draw with Kilmarnock.

WHO talking with Russia on 'prequalification' for supposed new vacine

The World Health Organization (WHO) and Russian health authorities are discussing the process for possible WHO prequalification for Moscow's newly approved Covid-19 vaccine, a WHO spokesperson has said.

Vladimir Putin announced today that Russia had become the first country to grant regulatory approval to a Covid-19 vaccine.

The jab has undergone less than two months of human testing.

"We are in close contact with Russian health authorities and discussions are ongoing with respect to possible WHO prequalification of the vaccine, but again prequalification of any vaccine includes the rigorous review and assessment of all required safety and efficacy data," WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told a UN briefing in Geneva, referring to clinical trials.

In foreign markets the Russian vaccine will be called Sputnik V, after the Soviet-era satellite, Moscow announced.

The European destinations currently Covid-free

As concern grows about spikes in coronavirus infection rates in some European nations, including France, Malta and the Netherlands, The Independent can reveal places in five EU countries where no new cases have been reported in the past two weeks, writes Simon Calder.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has published a map showing that parts of Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Estonia and Finland offer a worry-free escape.

Tech billionaires' wealth skyrockets during lockdown

Apple boss Tim Cook has joined the billionaire’s club after the coronavirus pandemic helped the technology giant’s share price hit record highs, writes Anthony Cuthbertson.

His new-found status comes just days after Mark Zuckerberg became the third member of the so-called “Centibillionaire Club” when his personal wealth rose to $100 billion (£76bn).

The Facebook co-founder follows Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates in reaching a 12-figure net worth, with the Amazon and Microsoft founders also seeing their fortunes rise considerably in recent months.

Lancashire business leaders say they need extra support for lockdown restrictions

Business leaders from Lancashire have told the shadow chancellor that they need extra support in areas of the country affected by additional lockdown restrictions.

Labour’s Anneliese Dodds held a virtual meeting on Tuesday with business owners and workers from east Lancashire, which has seen extra measures brought in to control a rise in coronavirus cases in some areas.

“We need support for those businesses who have got themselves ready to reopen, they have restocked - there are an awful lot of food businesses - and they are literally now having to throw things away because they are not getting the take-up,” Miranda Barker, the chief executive of East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, said.

“We really need to try and campaign for some extra support for areas that are on this semi-lockdown now because they have got costs they just weren't able to prepare for.”

In east Lancashire, extra restrictions have been imposed in Pendle, which has the highest infection rate in England at the moment, as well as Burnley, Rossendale and Hyndburn to stop residents meeting other people in their homes, gardens or other indoor venues.

Ms Dodds said the government needed to have a “flexible approach” to supporting businesses in such areas.

“There hasn't been that support for the hospitality sector, in particular, that has been impacted substantially,” she said.

“Although we were told all this was focused on families associating with each other, or different friendship groups, it is having an impact on those businesses because lots of people would have decided to go and socialise together.

“We need to have that support there and ultimately businesses shouldn't be penalised for doing the right thing.”

Disease exhibits on show at reopening Science Museum

Visitors emerging from lockdown will enjoy exhibits chronicling humanity's battle with infectious diseases when London's Science Museum reopens next week, following its longest closure since the Second World War.

"Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries" tracks medical advances through history, and its timely displays include an iron lung used for polio patients in the 1950s, an isolation trolley from the 1970s, PPE from the Ebola epidemic and statistics on the effectiveness of vaccinations.

The five galleries, which initially opened in November 2019, "are very relevant of course for the Covid-19 pandemic," the museum's deputy director Julia Knights said.

The museum, which is being deep-cleaned, will re-open on 19 August.

Bosses are offering free timed tickets online to a reduced number of visitors to allow for social distancing and manage footfall in London's museum district.

Debenhams to cut 2,500 jobs due to financial impact of pandemic

The high street retailer Debenhams is set to axe 2,500 jobs across its stores and warehouses as the company looks to cut costs following the financial impact of the coronavirus lockdown.

It is the latest high street store to announce job cuts, following national retailers such as John Lewis and Boots.

"We have successfully reopened 124 stores, post-lockdown, and these are currently trading ahead of management expectations,” a spokesperson for Debenhams said.

“At the same time, the trading environment is clearly a long way from returning to normal and we have to ensure our store costs are aligned with realistic expectations.

“Those colleagues affected by redundancy have been informed and we are very grateful to them for their service and commitment to Debenhams.

“Such difficult decisions are being taken by many retailers right now, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to give Debenhams every chance of a viable future.”

More details on the breaking news about Debenhams’ job cuts can be found below:

New Zealand’s largest city in lockdown again after new cases emerge

New Zealand has announced it is putting its largest city, Auckland, into lockdown after four new coronavirus cases were discovered in the area - the first evidence of community transmission in the country for more than 100 days.

Ashley Bloomfield, director general of health, said the four confirmed cases were within one family in South Auckland.

They had no history of international travel.

Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s prime minister, said Auckland would move to level 3 restrictions from noon on Wednesday as a “precautionary approach”, meaning people have been advised to stay away from work and school and gatherings of more than 10 people have been restricted.

The restrictions will be applied for three days until Friday, which Ms Ardern said would be enough time to assess the situation and make sure widespread contact tracing has been carried out.

“This is something we have prepared for,” she said in a surprise news conference, adding that the increased caution was due to the source of the virus being unknown.

“We have had 102 days and it was easy to feel New Zealand was out of the woods. No country has gone as far as we did without having a resurgence. And because we were the only ones, we had to plan. And we have planned."

Travel into Auckland, on the North Island, will be restricted for people who do not live there, she added.

Ms Ardern also said the rest of New Zealand was entering alert level 2 from midday on Wednesday for three days - meaning social distancing measures will be applied again and mass gatherings will be limited to 100 people.

Cruise companies already cancelling holidays for 2021

Cruise companies around the world have already started cancelling 2021 holidays as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Seabourn, the ultra-luxury line owned by the Carnival Corporation, has cancelled upcoming sailings on three of its vessels, with trips on Seabourn Sojourn cancelled until May 2021.

The company said the decision was “a proactive action to deal with the circumstances continuing to evolve from the global response to the Covid-19 situation”.

Our reporter, Qin Xie, has the full story below: