Yahoo News Coronavirus: The 13 major developments that happened on Wednesday
Here’s what you need to know on 3 June. This article was updated at 5pm.
Deaths: The number of people who have died across the UK after contracting coronavirus has risen by 359 in 24 hours. Read more here.
Politics: Boris Johnson has pledged to take direct control of the government’s handling of coronavirus after a fortnight marred by a row over his aide Dominic Cummings and problems with the test and trace scheme. The Telegraph reports a shake-up that will see the pandemic response run by two centrally-run committees. Read more here.
Policy: Schools in Wales will reopen at a third of their full capacity from 29 June, the country’s education minister has announced. Kirsty Williams said there would be a phased approach, with staggered starts, lessons and breaks. Read more here.
More than two in five primary schools in England did not open their doors to more children on Monday, a survey suggests. The proportion of schools that have reopened to pupils in nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 in England varies significantly depending on the region, according to the National Education Union. Read more here.
Foreign travellers who disobey quarantine rules on entering the UK could be deported, it’s expected to be announced today. Priti Patel, the home secretary, is to set out plans for people arriving in the UK to isolate for 14 days to prevent coronavirus cases being introduced from overseas. Read more here.
Lockdown laws: Police in London are fining black and Asian people disproportionately, new figures show. Statistics released by the Metropolitan Police show that more than a quarter of fines for lockdown violations (253) have been handed to black people, who make up 12% of the capital’s population. A further 23 per cent (220) were given to Asian people, who are 18% of London residents. Read more here.
The UK government should open public toilets to help those who suffer with chronic illnesses like Crohn’s, says one sufferer. Toni Kelly, 43, from Middlesex, has suffered from inflammatory bowel disease since she was 17, and has to go to the toilet up to seven times a day. Read more here.
Holiday hopes: Italy has said Britons can travel there on holiday this summer without quarantining on arrival. However, current UK government guidelines mean Brits would have to isolate for 14 days on their return – and that only essential journeys should be made. Read more here.
Testing: Boris Johnson has promised all COVID-19 tests will be carried out with 24 hours by the end of June. He set the target for all tests, except postal testing. Read more here.
Read more about COVID-19
How to get a coronavirus test if you have symptoms
What you can and can’t do under lockdown rules
In pictures: How UK school classrooms could look in new normal
How public transport could look after lockdown
How our public spaces will change in the future
Rest of the world
Wuhan has identified 300 new cases of coronavirus following a huge drive to test all 10 million residents, according to officials. During the 19-day testing program, the city found no infections among 1,174 close contacts of positive cases, suggesting they were not spreading it easily to others. Read more here.
Sweden should have done more to contain coronavirus and keep the death rate from the infection lower, the man in charge of the country’s pandemic strategy has said. The country currently has the highest death rate from the virus in the world, according to figures published by Our World In Data. Read more here.
Positive news
Jane Collins, who is 104, and one of the oldest people to contract the coronavirus in the UK, says champagne is the secret to her long life. Collins fought off COVID-19 in 10 days and is now back at Gables Care home in Derby to continue enjoying her winning combination of cake and champagne. Read more here.
A heartwarming video shows the moment Suzanne Vaughan, 43, saw her children again after making the difficult decision to separate because of the risk of spreading COVID-19. Her daughters Bella, nine, and Hettie, seven, who were staying with their aunt Charlotte in Peterborough, got the shock of their lives when their mum surprised them on Sunday. Read more here.
