Coronavirus news: UK could be locked out of EU vaccine scheme, as Johnson refuses to apologise for care home comments

Good morning. Here are the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.

'Evidence emerging' of airborne spread of coronavirus

The World Health Organisation has acknowledged "evidence emerging" of the airborne spread of the coronavirus, after a group of scientists urged the global body to update its guidance on how the respiratory disease passes between people.

"We have been talking about the possibility of airborne transmission and aerosol transmission as one of the modes of transmission of Covid-19," Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead on the Covid-19 pandemic at the WHO, told a news briefing.

The WHO has previously said the virus that causes the Covid-19 respiratory disease spreads primarily through small droplets expelled from the nose and mouth of an infected person that quickly sink to the ground.

But in an open letter to the Geneva-based agency, published on Monday in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal, 239 scientists in 32 countries outlined evidence that they say shows floating virus particles can infect people who breathe them in.

Because those smaller exhaled particles can linger in the air, the scientists in the group had been urging WHO to update its guidance.

Australia's second-largest city goes into six-week lockdown

The Australian city of Melbourne and parts of its surrounding area will re-enter lockdown for six weeks from Wednesday night due to an unsustainable rate of coronavirus spread.

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, said the federal government's medical advice agreed with the Victorian government that the move was necessary. 

He said: "I hope it isn't for that long. I hope it's for a shorter period as possible." 

Mr Morrison said Australia's seven other states and territories would continue to relax pandemic restrictions. 

Another 134 cases have been announced in the state of Victoria in the last 24 hours. 

Breaches of infection controls at Melbourne hotels where international travelers are required to isolate for 14 days have been blamed for much of the disease spread. The state government last week responded by banning new arrivals at Melbourne Airport for two weeks. 

New Zealand to charge coronavirus patient who went shopping

New Zealand authorities have said they will press charges against a coronavirus patient who escaped from quarantine and went shopping at a supermarket.

Air Commodore Darryn Webb, the head of managed isolation and quarantine, said the 32-year-old man escaped through a fence at the Stamford Plaza hotel in Auckland and was gone for just over an hour before returning.

The man later tested positive for the virus.

Mr Webb said the man is a New Zealand citizen who recently returned from India and his actions were "completely unacceptable".

New Zealand has eliminated community transmission of the virus and is trying to contain cases at the border by placing new arrivals into a 14-day quarantine at various hotels.

Depending on exactly what charges are brought, the man could face a fine or a maximum of six months in jail if found guilty.

Mr Webb said CCTV footage indicated that the man had not been in close contact with other people at the Countdown supermarket and had used a self-service checkout.

Nevertheless, the supermarket has been closed for a deep clean.

Any new French lockdown would be targeted, not nationwide, new PM says

France's new prime minister, Jean Castex, has said that in case of a new major coronavirus outbreak, any new lockdown would be targeted, not nationwide.

He also said in an interview with news channel BFM that after talks on pension reform were halted due to a two-month coronavirus lockdown, new talks with unions would start before July 20.

Russian coronavirus cases pass 700,000

The total number of coronavirus cases in Russia has passed 700,000, as the country reported 6,562 new infections in the past 24 hours.

The country's coronavirus crisis response centre said 173 people had died from the virus overnight, taking the official death toll to 10,667.

Total infections stand at 700,792. Russia says 472,511 people have recovered.

Uzbekistan to impose second wave of lockdown restrictions

Uzbekistan will impose a second wave of lockdown restrictions between 10 July and 1 August to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Central Asian nation's government has announced.

The former Soviet republic will limit the movement of vehicles, close non-food shopping malls and markets, parks, cafes and restaurants and entertainment venues, it said in a statement. 

More than half a million confirmed cases recorded in Africa

Africa now has more than half a million confirmed coronavirus cases. 

The continent-wide total is now at least over 504,000 after South Africa recorded another day of more than 10,000 confirmed cases as a new global hot spot. 

The true number of cases among Africa's 1.3 billion people is unknown as its 54 countries continue to face a serious shortage of testing materials for the virus.

"A tremendous problem, a real crisis of access," the World Health Organization's Africa chief, Matshidiso Moeti, said last week. 

So far most testing has been concentrated in capital cities, but infections in many cases have spread beyond them. 

Ireland's Covid-19 tracing app nears 1 million downloads in 24 hours

Ireland expects 1 million people to have downloaded a voluntary app to trace contacts of Covid-19 patients within 24 hours of its formal launch, which its health service operator said would make it the most successful launch in the world.

On Tuesday, Ireland became the latest country to launch a phone-tracking app that alerts users if someone they have been in contact with develops Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

By 0700 GMT on Wednesday, 865,000 people had downloaded it, health minister Stephen Donnelly said.

Crossing 1 million would mean 25 per cent of the population over the age of 15 have signed up for the app, which captures users' movements without further activation and allows the health service to contact them.

"We expect to be at 1 million users of our new Covid Tracker App within 24 hours of our formal launch. By far the most successful launch anywhere in the world," Paul Reid, the head of Ireland's Health Service Executive (HSE), said on Twitter.