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

Atlanta mayor to defy governor and sign order mandating mask wearing

Atlanta's mayor has said she will sign an executive order mandating masks in Georgia's largest city, defying Governor Brian Kemp's decision to strongly encourage but not require face coverings.

Like a number of other local leaders in Georgia, mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has unsuccessfully appealed to Mr Kemp to change his order saying local government cannot exceed the state’s requirements.

“Other cities have taken the approach that they are going to defy the governor's executive order. Savannah has done it, some other cities have done it, and Atlanta is going to do it today,” Ms Bottoms told MSBC on Wednesday.

“Because the fact of the matter is that Covid-19 is wreaking havoc on our cities, specifically black and brown communities with higher death rates.”

The change of policy came after the Atlanta mayor announced she had tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday.

Mr Kemp has asked mayors and county commissioners to build public support for voluntary mask wearing.

Joe Biden is reportedly considering Ms Bottoms as a potential vice presidential running mate.

Leicester's garment industry

Politicians in Leicester have refuted and criticised Boris Johnson’s attempt to blame the local mayor for the exploitation of workers within the city’s garment industry, Samuel Lovett reports. 

The sector has once again fallen under scrutiny following reports workers in a Leicester-based factory were making clothes destined for Boohoo, the fast fashion retailer for as little as £3.50 pounds an hour.

The report also claimed that few measures had been put in place to prevent the potential spread of coronavirus among workers.

Stress of lockdown and Covid-19? 

The psychological stress of social isolation may make people more susceptible to severe Covid-19 infection, a US scientist has claimed.

Dr Sheldon Cohen, who is a psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, said evidence from his previous research suggests social stressors are linked to an increased vulnerability to upper respiratory viruses, such as those which cause common cold.

He believes there is a possibility that the psychological effect of stay-at-home measures, adopted by countries around the world to slow down the spread of the virus by minimising contact between people, might play a similar role by increasing a person's susceptibility to Covid-19 illness.

He said stay-at-home measures can increase interpersonal stressors, such as loneliness, loss of employment and familial conflict, which may be "powerful predictors of how a person will respond if exposed to coronavirus".

Press Association

New York City mayor's plan for schools

Bill de Blasio, New York City's mayor, has unveiled a plan for reopening the country's largest school system in September.

It includes a "blended learning" schedule that would have students alternating between classrooms and their homes.

Under the plan, which requires state approval, more than one million public school students would spend two days at school and three learning at home, and then reversing the sequence in the following week.

The scheme is designed to limit the number of students and teachers in school buildings to prevent spreading the coronavirus.

Reuters

'We're all on the same page'

The White House has denied pressuring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into scrapping and revising guidelines for reopening schools in the autumn even after Donald Trump made clear his opposition to the suggested rules in a morning tweet, John T Bennett writes.

"No, not at all," Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told a reporter when asked if pressure to change them was applied. "We're all on the same page."

Green money

Homeowners are set to receive vouchers worth thousands of pounds to help make their properties more energy efficient and potentially save hundreds on bills each year.

My colleague Chiara Giordano has taken a look at the scheme: 

More than 1.7 million cases in Brazil

The number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus in Brazil has topped 1.7 million after the country recorded 44,571 new cases. 

Meanwhile, the death toll jumped by more than 1,200 on Wednesday, according to the health ministry. 

Around 67,900 people have died after contracting the virus in Brazil to date. 

It is the second-worst outbreak in the world after the US. 

Additional reporting by Reuters

That is all from us for today. Thanks for following.