Coronavirus news: Boris Johnson set to make face masks mandatory in shops as WHO reports record global surge in infections

Johnson considering enforcing 'stricter' rules on mandatory face masks in shops

Boris Johnson has hinted that face coverings may soon be made mandatory in English shops, saying he is looking at ways to be “stricter” about their use.

Passengers on public transport are already required to wear face coverings to reduce the chance of spreading coronavirus, while masks are also required in retail premises in Scotland.

Our political editor, Andrew Woodcock, has more on this story below:

Expert opinion has shifted on face coverings, PM says

Boris Johnson has said expert opinion on the use of face coverings has shifted over the course of the pandemic.

“The balance of scientific opinion seems to have shifted more in favour of them than it was. We are very keen to follow that,” he said.

“I do want to get back to a world where the British people are able to shake hands - that's what we are aiming for.”

The prime minister added: “But face coverings, we increasingly think that we have got to be very insistent in confined spaces, where you are meeting people you don't normally come into contact with - transport, shops - wear a face cover.”

Johnson urges public to go back to work if they can

Boris Johnson has urged people to go back to work if they can, in an apparent shift in government policy from asking people to work from home.

“I want people to go back to work as carefully as possible. It's very important that people should be going back to work if they can now,” the prime minister said.

“I think everybody has sort of taken the 'stay at home if you can' - I think we should now say, well, 'go back to work if you can'. Because I think it's very important that people should try to lead their lives more normally.

“I want to see more people feeling confident to use the shops, use the restaurants, and get back into work - but only if we all follow the guidance.”

Mr Johnson added that he wanted to see universities restart teaching along with schools this autumn but noted the government would need to “provide proper guidance” for such a return.

Our reporter, Adam Forrest, has more details below on the rising reproduction (R) number in England:

Coronavirus must be suppressed ahead of winter, Johnson says

Boris Johnson has said it is important to suppress coronavirus ahead of the winter when the UK could see a second wave of the disease. 

“If we do that we have got a fantastic chance of slowly getting the economy going again over the summer, keeping it down, and then being in a good position for the colder months,” Mr Johnson said during an online Q&A session.

“It is going to be the winter where we are really going to have to be on it, because that is when you are going to get flu, you are going to get real problems of general public health, and there is a risk that the virus will come back again anyway.

“It is so important now to make real, real progress in driving it down.”

Two men arrested over suspected £500,000 ‘bounce back loan’ scam

Two men have been arrested over an alleged scam to claim “bounce back loans” from the government’s scheme to help small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

The main suspect, who is in his late 40s, is believed to have recruited people to set up fake companies and bank accounts.

Detectives have orders to freeze 10 bank accounts containing a total of £553,305 after finding application forms for bounce back loans following a routine drug search on a vehicle in Holland Park, west London, on Wednesday.

The two suspects have been arrested on suspicion of money laundering and fraud.

“I would like to assure the public that we take a zero tolerance approach to fraud-related criminality of any kind within our community, and we are committed to bringing those involved to justice,” Detective Sergeant Neil Stanley said.

"During these unprecedented times, we have intensified our effort to dismantle organised criminal networks and will continue to crackdown on individuals who are found to be exploiting government schemes for their own monetary gain."

Are global coronavirus death rates linked to a country's obesity levels?

Boris Johnson is expected to launch an anti-obesity drive following suggestions that weight is connected to the severity of coronavirus cases.

The theory is supported by researchers at Queen Mary University of London who argued the food industry had to take its share of the blame “not only for the obesity pandemic but also for the severity of Covid-19 disease and its devastating consequences”.

But can a national obesity problem really go some way towards explaining the UK’s high coronavirus death rate?

Our reporter, Vincent Wood, looked into the science behind the claims:

Government will not join EU vaccine scheme because UK one is more developed, Hancock says

Health secretary Matt Hancock has said the UK will not join an EU scheme to procure a coronavirus vaccine if one is successfully developed because its own procurement programmes are more developed.

Mr Hancock said signing up to the EU programme would have meant abandoning the UK’s own procurement programmes.

“We have chosen not to join the EU scheme on vaccine purchase,” he told Times Radio.

“The reason is that it wouldn't have allowed us to have a say in the vaccines that were procured, the price, the quantity of the delivery schedule.”

He added: “We are further ahead than the EU schemes are. We would have joined the EU scheme if they had allowed us also to continue with our own negotiations, but one of the conditions of the scheme was that we would have had to stop our own negotiations and only do them through the European Commission, and we weren't prepared to do that.

“We think we will go faster this way.”

WHO reports record daily increase in global coronavirus cases

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases, with the total rising by 228,102 in 24 hours.

The biggest increases were from the US, Brazil, India and South Africa, according to WHO’s daily report. 

Friday’s increase beat the previous record for new cases (212,326 on 4 July) by more than 15,000.

Although deaths remain steady at about 5,000 a day, there is a lag between increases in cases and increases in deaths.

It came after WHO warned on Thursday that the pandemic was “accelerating”, with the virus not under control in many countries.

Exclusive: ‘Clueless’ government officials unsure of how to bring Leicester out of lockdown

The government has not yet devised a concrete strategy for Leicester’s route out of its localised lockdown, the city's mayor has said, amid uncertainty over whether the tightening of restrictions has brought the city’s outbreak under control.

Sir Peter Soulsby told The Independent that the government “haven’t got any clue of what might be the route out and the thresholds that need to be reached to achieve this."

“They're reviewing it at the end of next week, but there is no consensus in government. There is no consensus whether it has been a success and what the next steps might be," he added.

Our reporter, Samuel Lovett, has the full story below: