Coronavirus news – live: Shoppers risk fines as face masks become mandatory in England on 24 July

Experts urge government to make face masks mandatory in shops

Public health experts and retail chiefs have urged the government to reconsider making face masks mandatory in shops as people return to the high street.

Michael Gove, the cabinet office minister, said on Sunday that masks would not become “mandatory” but encouraged people to wear one.

Pressure has grown on the UK government after Scotland made mask-wearing mandatory in shops last week.

Our policy correspondent, Jon Stone, has the full story below:

German health minister warns travellers to stay alert on holiday

Germany’s health minister has warned travellers to remain alert when on holiday abroad as he insisted the country could prevent a second wave of coronavirus this autumn if people stay vigilant.

Jens Spahn told a news conference on Monday that he was worried by pictures showing holidaymakers partying in Mallorca and ignoring social distancing over the weekend.

“I understand the impatience, but where there are parties the infection risk is particularly high,” Mr Spahn said.

“That's why we have to try particularly now in the holiday season to prevent infections. We don't automatically have to expect a second wave in the autumn and winter. 

“Together, as a society, we can prevent that, as we did once before: breaking the wave and keeping the pandemic in check.”

WHO reports record daily increase in global cases for third time in eight days

Although the UK’s coronavirus epidemic is slowly shrinking, the picture around the world is less encouraging.

On Sunday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported a record increase in global cases for the third time in eight days, with the total number of infections rising by 230,370 in a 24-hour period.

The spike has mainly been caused by increases in the US, Brazil, India and South Africa.

Our reporter, Louise Boyle, has the full story below:

Too early to know if coronavirus immunity fades quickly, virologist suggests

Virologist Professor Keith Neal has suggested it is too early to say whether coronavirus immunity fades quickly, following a King’s College London study which suggested immunity might only last a few months.

“It's not unexpected that antibody levels fall and then the people who had milder illness and therefore mounted a decent immune response were the ones who lost their antibodies most,” Professor Neal told BBC Breakfast.

“I think that time will tell - currently, as far as I'm aware, nobody has caught Covid-19 twice badly, lots of reports of positive tests, negative-positive and that's a failure of testing.

“We won't really know how effective immunity is until we see possible reinfections and we haven't seen that yet.”

Michael Rosen says it was ‘luck' which got him through coronavirus illness

Children’s author Michael Rosen has said it was “luck” that helped him survive his coronavirus infection as he thanked NHS staff who saved his life “several times”.

“Right from the very beginning, we followed the instructions, which was not to go to the GP and not to go to A&E,” Mr Rosen told Good Morning Britain.

“It was only because we have a friend on the patch here who is a GP and she tested my oxygen levels, and Emma [Mr Rosen’s wife] rushed me to A&E to get tested.

“In the end it was luck, I might have gone that night. At various stages over the three to four months, I might have disappeared.”

The former Children’s Laureate added that he was unable to see out of his left eye or hear out of his left ear following his illness.

A map produced by the scientific publication Our World in Data has shown the share of daily coronavirus tests which are coming back positive - also known as the positivity rate - around the world.

Countries in blue are successfully keeping their positivity rate below 3 per cent, as recommended by the World Health Organisation, while countries in orange or red are failing (indicating not all cases are being tracked).

The UK and much of Europe, along with countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Uganda, Morocco and Canada, are in the blue section.

Meanwhile, the US, Sweden and India are at-risk.

France ‘considering’ tightening rules over wearing face masks

France is considering expanding rules over when people should wear face masks, according to the country's new prime minister.

“The issue of widening the use and wearing of masks is under a lot of consideration,” Jean Castex told reporters over the weekend.

“In particular, that would concern as a matter of priority all places - whatever they are - which are enclosed.”

People in France already have to wear face masks on public transport but coverings are not yet mandatory in shops.

Our reporter, Zoe Tidman, has the full story below:

Spanish judge strikes down strict coronavirus lockdown for Catalan area

A Spanish judge has barred Catalan authorities from confining about 160,000 people to their homes in the city of Lleida and seven other towns over a coronavirus outbreak, saying the regional government had exceeded its powers.

People will still not be able to leave the area, under a lockdown decided earlier this month after an increase in cases, but they can move freely within the area, the judge said.

“What is proposed today goes far beyond a simple limitation of movement and seriously affects constitutionally recognised rights,” Judge Elena Garcia-Munoz Alarco said in the ruling.

People in Lleida have been banned from leaving the area since 4 July, except for specific reasons such as going to or from work. 

However, the judge ruled that the move by the regional authorities - who have mounted a sustained campaign for independence from Spain - went too far and did not go through the right channels.

The national prosecutor had also criticised the Catalan government's decision. 

Quim Torra, the Catalan regional leader, has called on residents of the city to follow his government’s orders despite the judge’s decision.

Labour MP says he does not know what his party’s policy on face masks is

Labour MP Clive Lewis has said he does not know what his party’s policy on wearing face masks is amid growing calls for the government to make them mandatory in shops.

Mr Lewis, who is a Labour backbencher, was asked by Times Radio’s Matt Chorley to clarify the party’s position on the issue.

He replied: “I’d like to know as well. If we’re going to call for clarity... then it would be good to have clarity on our own policy.”

“And I’m sure there’s some press officer screaming at me in Labour HQ saying: ‘We do have policy on this.’ I don’t know it but if it is there, then it would be good if you knew it.”

You can find the exchange below:

37-year-old man who died from coronavirus dismissed pandemic ‘hype’ on Facebook

A man from Ohio has died from coronavirus after repeatedly dismissing the risks posed by the pandemic on social media.

Richard Rose, who was 37, died at home on 4 July just days after he tested positive for Covid-19.

In a series of posts which have since gone viral, he said he was not going to wear a face mask because he would not “buy into the damn hype” over the virus.

Our reporter, Andrew Naughtie, has the full story below: