Coronavirus: Rapid one-hour tests to be rolled out for hospitals as record number of single-day cases recorded across globe

Our reporter, Olivia Petter, has some details below on the scenes at gyms, which have reopened for the first time since March today across in England:

UK potentially facing collapse of health and leisure infrastructure due to pandemic

The UK could be facing a collapse of its health and leisure infrastructure due to the impact of the coronavirus lockdown, even as pools and gyms have been allowed to reopen for the first time since March on Saturday.

Swim England warned earlier today that only about 20 per cent of pools in England would be opening, with thousands potentially shutting for good if the government does not intervene.

Jane Nickerson, chief executive of Swim England, said that even before the pandemic struck 40 per cent of the country's ageing pool stock was facing closure before the end of the decade.

Meanwhile, Community Leisure UK, the members' association that specialises in representing charitable leisure and culture trusts across England, Scotland and Wales, has estimated as many as 1,300 public leisure facilities could disappear by the end of the year, along with more than 58,000 jobs.

Germany may introduce compulsory coronavirus testing for holidaymakers

Germany may introduce compulsory coronavirus testing for holidaymakers returning from high-risk destinations, its health minister has said, after the number of new infections in the country hit a two-month high.

Jens Spahn, Germany’s health minister, told Deutschlandfunk radio that the government wanted to do everything possible to stem the spread of the virus while also respecting people's basic rights.

“We are also checking whether it is legally possible to oblige someone to do a test, because it would be an encroachment on freedom,” Mr Spahn said.

The minister added that the courts were examining all coronavirus measures to ensure they are proportionate in light of their impact on basic rights.

Mr Spahn and his regional counterparts in Germany’s federal states agreed on Friday that authorities would offer returning holidaymakers free tests on a voluntary basis.

Arrivals from countries designated as high-risk - such as the United States, Brazil and Turkey - will be eligible for immediate tests, while arrivals from other places will be able to get tested within three days.

The number of new confirmed Covid-19 cases increased sharply on Friday to 815, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said - the biggest daily total since mid-May.

Scotland reports no new coronavirus deaths for ninth day as schools decision looms

Scotland has reported no new coronavirus deaths for the ninth day in a row, government figures have shown.

The data, released on Saturday, showed 27 people tested positive for the virus over the last 24-hour period, taking the number of cases to 18,547 since the start of the pandemic.

Two people with coronavirus were in intensive care on Friday night.

The latest figures showed a continued suppression of Covid-19 in Scotland, which will need to be maintained if the regional government is to give the go-ahead for schools to return in August.

Both first minister Nicola Sturgeon and education secretary John Swinney have said that the return of pupils to classrooms will only happen if the virus continues to stay at low levels.

A final decision on schooling is set to take place at the end of next week.

Bolsonaro says he has tested negative for coronavirus on fourth attempt

Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has said he has tested negative for coronavirus on his fourth test since he was found to have caught Covid-19 on 7 July.

“Good morning everyone,” Mr Bolsonaro wrote on Twitter after reporting that his test was negative.

The far-right leader did not say when he did the new test but he had tested positive for a third time on Wednesday.

Mr Bolsonaro also posted a photo of himself with a box of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine - which he claimed helped to treat his infection, despite scientific evidence indicating it is ineffective against coronavirus.

The Brazilian president had spent many weekends since the beginning of the pandemic mingling with supporters, sometimes without wearing a mask, even as infections soared in his country.

According to the Brazilian government, there was a total of 85,238 confirmed coronavirus deaths and 2.3 million confirmed cases in the country on Friday - although the true number of cases is thought to be much higher.

Thousands flood Manila baseball stadium as government transportation system fails

Thousands of Filipinos have been crammed into a baseball stadium, breaking social distancing rules, after people wanting to return to their home provinces flooded a government transportation programme.

Officials had reserved the stadium as a place to test people before transporting them back to their home provinces as part of a programme to help those who had lost their jobs in the capital to return to their families.

Despite planning for 7,500 people to arrive at the stadium from Friday, officials were caught out when another 2,000 people arrived there.

You can find the full story below:

German cruise ship sets sail for first time since pandemic shut down industry

A German cruise ship has set sail for the first time since the industry was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, with strict precautions for passengers and crew on board.

The TUI cruise ship "Mein Schiff 2” set sail for a weekend cruise in the North Sea on Friday night, the dpa news agency reported.

Occupancy has been limited to 60 per cent so people can keep their distance, with passengers and crew required to stay 1.5 metres (5ft) away from each other or wear protective masks.

Passengers will also not serve themselves at the ship's buffet. 

The ship has sailed from the port of Hamburg towards Norway and passengers will spend the weekend at sea with no land stops before returning to Germany on Monday.

All passengers filled out a health questionnaire before boarding and had temperature checks.

India begins first human vaccine trials as cases soar

India has begun its first human trials for a coronavirus vaccine candidate after recording nearly 49,000 new cases in one day.

The additional infections took India's total cases to more than 1.3 million on Saturday, with surges seen in a quarter of the country's 36 states and union territories.

India has also reported 31,358 deaths, including 757 in the last 24 hours - a much lower death rate than the world’s two other worst-hit countries, the US and Brazil.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences, a teaching hospital in the capital of New Delhi, said it had administered the first dose of a trial Covid-19 vaccine on Friday.

The candidate vaccine, Covaxin, is among nearly two dozen that are in human trials around the world. AIIMS is among the 12 sites selected by the Indian Council for Medical Research for conducting the two-phase randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials of Covaxin.

New York’s coronavirus hospitalisations continue to drop, governor says

The number of people hospitalised with coronavirus in New York has continued to drop to its lowest levels since the pandemic began, the state’s governor has said.

Andrew Cuomo said there were at least 646 people hospitalised in the state on Friday, a new low since 18 March and down slightly from the previous day.

Daily statewide statistics showed New York had more than 750 newly confirmed cases on Saturday, representing about 1 per cent of all tests performed.

However, the true number of cases is likely to be higher as people who are infected but asymptomatic may not have been tested.

New York, once the pandemic’s epicentre, has so far avoided a surge in new cases like those plaguing other states in the South and West.

Mr Cuomo has repeatedly warned New Yorkers that the state could be at risk again if they abandon social distancing, face coverings and other practices adopted to stop the spread of the virus.

Further 767 people test positive for coronavirus in UK

A further 767 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK in the last 24-hour period, according to government statistics.

Of these cases, 172 were recorded in labs and NHS hospitals, while 595 were recorded in the wider community.

Although the government has paused its publication of daily deaths while it reviews reporting methods, its data page showed 61 additional deaths on Saturday.

A breakdown of the testing figures can be found below: