Coronavirus news: Education secretary insists ‘no child should be out of school’ after government issues long-awaited guidance on pupils returning to classroom

Indonesia in drive to create own vaccine

Indonesia is working to produce its own Covid-19 vaccine next year, the head of Indonesia's national coronavirus research team said on Thursday.

"The production capability and capacity of biotech companies in the world is, we know, limited, and global supply chains also have challenges," Ali Ghufron Mukti, head of the innovation team at Indonesia's research and technology ministry, said.

"Therefore, it is necessary for Indonesia to develop its own Covid-19 vaccine. And it will be by Indonesia, from Indonesia, to Indonesia," he said.

Experts hope to have a jab ready for trials by early next year.

Indonesia's foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, has spoken in recent months about the need for developing countries to have access to any future vaccine, amid concern that rich countries would try to corner a limited supply.

Trump 'all for masks' now, apparently

Donald Trump appears to have opened up to the prospect of wearing a face mask, endorsing the idea that Americans should cover their faces to prevent the spread of coronavirus – despite widespread hatred for masks among his base, some of whom have spread conspiracy theories and wild judgements about the risks of using them, writes Andrew Naughtie.

In an interview with Fox Business, Mr Trump stopped short of endorsing mandatory mask-wearing, as has been introduced in some jurisdictions and backed by politicians including house speaker Nancy Pelosi. However, he was noticeably warmer toward face coverings than many of his conservative allies.

Heads to judge whether parents should be fined for keeping their children out of school

Headteachers will be able to judge whether parents should face being fined for failing to send their children to England's schools in September, ​Downing Street has suggested.

The prime minister's official spokesperson said: "Returning to school in September will be mandatory. "It's always the case that headteachers do have some discretion.

"They know their pupils and their family situations. But, in general, children need to get back in to school and get back learning again.'' 

Treasury deletes 'Super Saturday' tweet

The Treasury has deleted a tweet encouraging the public to head for a drink when pubs reopen in England on Saturday, following criticism that it was an irresponsible message to send during the coronavirus health crisis, writes Rory Sullivan.

In a tweet on Wednesday, the Treasury wrote: “Grab a drink and raise a glass, pubs are reopening their doors from 4 July.”

The post, which was accompanied by a graphic which read “Pubs are back”, was quickly taken down after it prompted a backlash on social media, with critics suggesting that its celebratory tone ignored the reality of the epidemic which has killed almost 44,000 in the UK so far.

No10 defends latest test and trace figures

Downing Street has defended the results of NHS Test and Trace after the release of the latest figures on its operation.

Just three-quarters of people referred to the system were reached for details of people they had been in touch with.

The PM's spokesperson said: "It is a new, large-scale service designed to help us to contain the virus.

"We have now reached more than 130,000 people who may otherwise unknowingly have spread the virus.

"But we have always said that we will continue making improvements as we go along so that we do reach more people, more quickly.

"We are working hard to reach people, by sending reminders, making the service more accessible by opening new walk-in local testing centres, increasing translation services and concentrating calls at the times that work best for the public."

But the spokesperson added: "We do also need the public to continue to play their part, providing vital information to Test and Trace to help to protect families, communities and ultimately to save lives."

You can read more about the latest figures below:

'Don't overdo it,' Johnson tells drinkers

Boris Johnson is to issue a plea to England’s drinkers not to “overdo it” when pubs reopen for business on Saturday after 15 weeks of lockdown, writes Andrew Woodcock.

The prime minister will return to the 10 Downing Street lectern on Friday evening in a revival of the press conferences held on a daily basis until last week.

Oman sees 'scary' surge in cases

A "scary" surge in Covid-19 cases has pushed Oman to boost hospital capacity, especially for intensive care units, the country's health minister has said.

Oman reported 1,361 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday with three deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing its total count to 42,555 cases with 188 deaths.

"In the last six weeks there has been a radical change which is very disturbing and scary," Ahmed bin al-Saeedi told a news briefing.

He blamed individuals for not wearing masks or social distancing.

Some workers were going into offices when they had been in contact with infected people, instead of self isolating, he added.

He said there had been more than 9,000 new infections and 43 deaths since last Thursday, the biggest weekly spike since Oman first reported cases in late February.

Mr Saeedi said Oman, a country of 4.7 million people, was working to increase capacity at intensive care units and planned to set up a field hospital with 250 to 300 beds in the Muscat region for non-urgent cases.

Number of people testing positive is 'flat', says ONS

An average of 25,000 people in English homes had Covid-19 at any given time between 14 and 27 June, according to new estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The figures do not include people staying in hospitals, care homes or other institutional settings.

The ONS said its estimates suggested the percentage testing positive had decreased over time since it was first measured on April 26 and that "this downward trend appears to have now levelled off".

The ONS also estimated that there were 25,000 new cases per week.between 14 and 27 June.

However, uncertainty surrounding the estimates means there is no evidence that "the current trend is anything other than flat", it said. 

The Independent's face mask buying guide

The coronavirus pandemic has meant that face masks and coverings will become part of daily life, writes Louise Whitbread.

The UK government and the World Health Organisation have both advised wearing face coverings in a bid to reduce the infection transmission of Covid-19.

Since 15 June, it has been mandatory in England to wear them while using public transport and in hospitals. Failure to follow these rules can result in people being refused entry and a £100 fine.

Don't discharge patients straight into care homes if there's a second wave, says expert

Hospital patients should not be discharged directly into care homes during any second wave of coronavirus wave, but should be kept in interim beds to avoid spreading disease, an expert has said.

Gill Livingston, professor of psychiatry of older people at University College London, said there should be separate "step-down" beds for elderly patients to help care homes stay free of Covid-19.

Asked if there was one thing she would want to see done differently in a second wave, she said: "I think we cannot discharge people from a hospital to a care home immediately, that we have to have some interim step-down beds, outside of care homes.

"We know that even when they are swabbed that these swabs are by no means perfect, with 70- to 80-per-cent sensitivity.

"And so people have to have an interim time before they go to care homes, so that hopefully many of the care homes will remain free of Covid."