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Coronavirus news: First UK local lockdown imposed in Leicester as WHO chief warns pandemic ‘not even close to being over’

Follow the latest updates in the UK and worldwide

Zoe Tidman,Harry Cockburn,Peter Stubley
Monday 29 June 2020 18:59 EDT
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Bill Gates says current coronavirus picture in US is 'more bleak' than he would have expected

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Britain’s first local lockdown has been imposed in Leicester by the government after a surge in coronavirus cases in the city.

Health secretary Matt Hancock said schools and non-essential retail shops will have to close again, while existing anti-coronavirus measures would be extended for at least two weeks longer than the rest of the country.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, has called the pandemic a “disaster” for the UK and made it clear he wants to boost infrastructure spending to help the economy.

Globally, the death toll for Covid-19 has topped half a million, while more than 10 million people have tested positive for the virus.

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Hello and welcome to The Independent's rolling coronavirus coverage

Zoe Tidman29 June 2020 08:04

Leicester lockdown

The mayor of Leicester, which is facing the country’s first local lockdown amid a spike in coronavirus cases, has slammed the “intensely frustrating” process of getting data from the government.

The city has recorded 866 of its 2,987 Covid-19 cases in the last two weeks – sparking speculation that its inhabitants could be plunged into a localised lockdown.

Chiara Giordano reports:

Zoe Tidman29 June 2020 08:18

Global death toll passes 500,000

Half a million people have now died with coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The grim total was reached on the same day the total number of known infections worldwide passed 10 million. Five million people have recovered from the disease.

Vincent Wood has the full story: 

Zoe Tidman29 June 2020 08:35

US lockdowns

Areas of the US have reversed decisions to relax lockdown measures amid a spike in coronavirus cases. 

More Florida beaches will be closing again to avoid further spread of the new coronavirus as officials try to clamp down on large gatherings after a surge in infections. 

Ron DeSantis, the state's governor, said interactions among young people are driving the spike.  "Caution was thrown to the wind and so we are where we are," he said. 

California ordered some bars to close on Sunday, the first major rollback of efforts to reopen the economy in the US state.

The order for bars to close in Los Angeles and six other counties followed moves by Texas and Florida to shut all their bars on Friday.

Andrew Buncombe has more on US lockdowns: 

Zoe Tidman29 June 2020 08:48

'Disaster'

The UK prime minister has said the coronavirus outbreak has been a "disaster" for the country.

Boris Johnson told Times Radio he wanted to set out a plan to "bounce forward" following the pandemic.

"This has been a disaster, let's not mince our words, this has been an absolute nightmare for the country," he said.

The British PM added: "We really want to build back better, to do things differently, to invest in infrastructure, transport, broadband - you name it."

Lizzy Buchan has the full story:

Additional reporting by Press Association

Zoe Tidman29 June 2020 09:02

Mental health

Labour has set out plans for a shake-up of mental health support to ensure that 3.1 million NHS and care workers who have been under intense pressure during the coronavirus crisis get access to the same fast-tracked help and advice, our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports. 

Rosena Allin-Khan, the shadow mental health minister, said the current system was “inadequate” because it did not cover private sector staff doing NHS and social care work.

Full story below:

Zoe Tidman29 June 2020 09:16

Cancer patients

Half a million people with cancer in the UK are afraid to the leave the house due to the threat of coronavirus, a new survey suggests, Sarah Young writes.

Research from Macmillan Cancer Support suggests that 19 per cent of cancer patients in the UK have scarcely left their homes because they are too afraid to do so.

Zoe Tidman29 June 2020 09:30

Coronavirus tracked

Trying to keep up with the coronavirus crisis around the world is not easy.

My colleague Anthony Cuthbertson has put together a handy visual guide tracking Covid-19's spread to make things easier. 

Zoe Tidman29 June 2020 09:45

Fines for parents

Gavin Williamson has said parents in England could risk fines if they do not send their children back to school in September. 

"It is going to be compulsory for children to return back to school unless there's a very good reason, or a local spike where there have had to be local lockdowns," the education secretary told LBC radio station.

"We do have to get back into compulsory education as part of that, obviously fines sit alongside that.

Additional reporting by Press Association

Zoe Tidman29 June 2020 10:00

Coronavirus testing

Lives were lost because of delays to Britain’s expansion of testing and the decision to create privatised mega-labs to process swabs, NHS leaders and health experts have told The Independent.

Read our health correspondant Shaun Lintern's full investigation into Britain's coronavirus testing here: 

Zoe Tidman29 June 2020 10:15

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