Coronavirus news: Luton and Blackburn put on highest Covid-19 alert level, as face mask rules spark confusion across England

Good morning and welcome to The Independent's Coronavirus liveblog.

We will be posting all the latest developments related to the virus from around the world.

World leaders will send videos instead of physically gathering at the United Nations in September due to the coronavirus pandemic, the General Assembly decided on Wednesday, paving the way for people wary of travelling to the United States - like North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un - to participate.

The annual high-level meeting had been shaping up to be a week-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of the world body, but UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres suggested in May that leaders send video statements due to likely travel issues.

Traditionally hundreds of events are held on the sidelines of the U.N. debate, but General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande has urged states "to move all side events to virtual platforms to limit the footprint and number of people in the UN building."

Researchers are making "good progress" in developing vaccines against Covid-19, with a handful in late-stage trials, but their first use cannot be expected until early 2021, Mike Ryan, head of WHO's emergencies programme, said on Wednesday.

"We need to be fair about this, because this is a global good. Vaccines for this pandemic are not for the wealthy, they are not for the poor, they are for everybody," Dr Ryan said, noting that several vaccines were now in Phase 3 trials and none had failed, so far, in terms of safety or ability to generate an immune response.

India has recorded 685 virus deaths in the past 24 hours, as well as 444 previously unreported fatalities, bring the nationwide death toll from the pandemic to 29,861.

The Health Ministry on Thursday also reported a new record surge of 45,720 new coronavirus cases, taking the total tally of infections to 1,238,635.

Many states in India have started reimposing lockdowns as health authorities struggle to trace transmissions.

Late Wednesday, the Himalayan region of Kashmir announced a five-day complete lockdown in areas that have been categorised as red zones. A two-day complete lockdown also started Thursday in West Bengal state.

India has record the third most virus cases in the world after the United States and Brazil.

There has been a surge in calls to a domestic abuse helpline in the UK since lockdown.

More than 40,000 calls have been made to the National Domestic Abuse Helpline since the start of the coronavirus lockdown, and demand is rising as restrictions ease, according to the charity that runs it.

Refuge's telephone helpline, which ordinarily logs around 270 calls and contacts from women, friends and family members needing support every day, saw an increase of 77 per cent during June.

The first week in July saw a 54 per cent rise in women needing emergency accommodation when compared with the last week in June - the highest number of women needing emergency accommodation during the lockdown period.

During June, 73 per cent of calls to the helpline were from survivors of domestic abuse, and 40 per cent of these callers were provided with information on issues such as child contact and housing rights.

Refuge said 17 per cent of callers were supported to make safety plans and 15 per cent were looking for emergency accommodation indicating they needed to leave their homes urgently.

A report by financial watchdogs has slammed the government’s economic reaction to the pandemic as “astonishing” and warned that the Cabinet Office and Treasury must “learn the lessons” or risk making “similar mistakes” if a second wave of coronavirus were to hit the UK.

The cross-party Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) published a scathing report that found the government’s financial planning when Covid-19 hit was rushed and has left whole sectors behind.

Read the full story here:

The government has quietly cut the UK's foreign aid budget by £2.9 billion, blaming the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, announced the cuts without fanfare as MPs left parliament for their summer recess, meaning they could not be immediately scrutinised by parliament.

The government insists a "line by line" review of aid projects had prioritised the "40 most vulnerable countries" but aid organisations warned that the cuts were falling at a time of humanitarian crisis. Opposition critics branded the policy "callous".

South Africa reports record daily rise in coronavirus-related deaths

South Africa's confirmed coronavirus cases have nearly reached 400,000 as the country reports a new daily high of 572 deaths.

It is now one of the world's top five countries in terms of reported virus cases, and it makes up more than half of the cases on the African continent with 394,948. Deaths are at 5,940.

Public hospitals are struggling as patient numbers climb, and more than 5,000 health workers have been infected.

The struggles by Africa's most developed country in coping with the pandemic are a worrying sign for other, far less resourced countries across the continent as the spread of infections picks up speed.

California surpasses New York to become new epicentre of US outbreak

California has now surpassed New York to become the epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak in the United States.

Total cases in the most populous US state rose by 12,112 on Wednesday to a total of more than 421,000 - the biggest single-day increase since the pandemic started. California deaths also set a one-day record, rising by 159, according to a Reuters tally of county data.

New York has recorded by far the most deaths of any US state at more than 32,000 with California in fourth place with over 8,000 deaths.

If California were a country, it would rank fifth in the world for total coronavirus cases behind only the United States, Brazil, India and Russia. New York has more than 413,500 cases and has been adding on average 700 new ones a day in July. In California there is an average of 8,300 new cases a day.

The rapid increase of cases has made it difficult to trace the pathogen's path through the community through contact tracing, California secretary of health and human services Dr Mark Ghaly said on Tuesday.

"No one anticipated building a programme to contact trace the number of cases we're seeing here," he told a press conference.

Since its crush of cases earlier in the year, New York state has managed to get the virus under control, reporting the fewest hospitalisations in four months on Monday and only two deaths on Tuesday.

Nearly 143,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 - nearly a quarter of the global total.

Face masks will be mandatory in takeaways and coffee shops, minister confirms

A Tory cabinet minister has confirmed people in England will have to wear a face covering when buying takeaway food or drink at fast food restaurants or coffee shops from Friday.

Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis sought to clear up confusion over where it will be mandatory to wear face masks in England as of tomorrow.

He said a face covering would need to be worn inside enclosed spaces such as public transport, shops, supermarkets, banks and takeaways.

If you are sitting down and eating inside a takeaway, you won't have to cover your nose and mouth with a mask - but if you are paying for food or drink and then taking it away you will have to wear one.

He told BBC Breakfast: “What changes from tomorrow is you should wear face masks, not just on public transport, but if you are in shops or supermarkets.

"The difference that people may not be aware of, and what will be outlined in the regulations today, is if you are going in to a takeaway and you are eating inside then that is like hospitality, you are eating, it's not practical to wear a face mask, but if you are going in to buy a product and then leaving again you are treating it like a shop and you should be wearing a face mask."

Opposition MPs have accused the government of "making things up as they go along" over takeaways and sandwich shops after days of mixed messages and confusion.

People could face a fine of up to £100 for failing to comply with the new regulations, which will be published today - less than 24 hours before they come into effect.