Coronavirus news you may have missed over the weekend: Boris Johnson to reveal lockdown exit strategy, as health secretary sows confusion on rules for over-70s

Spaniards also seen out exercising for first time in seven weeks, while report claims China deliberately destroyed evidence

More than 3.5 million people have been infected with coronavirus worldwide and almost 247,000 deaths have been reported.

In the UK, 28,446 people have died from Covid-19.

Here is your morning briefing of the coronavirus news you might have missed over the weekend.

NHS coronavirus app to be trialled on Isle of Wight this week as minister floats ‘staggered’ work start times

A new NHS app to help trace those who have come into contact with coronavirus will be rolled out later this month, the government has said.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Sunday morning that the software will “go into testing this week on the Isle of Wight”.

He also said the government was looking at staggering work start times as part of measures to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 when the lockdown is lifted.

Gove says some social distancing ‘to remain in place until Covid-19 vaccine found’

Some level of social distancing will remain until a coronavirus vaccine has been developed, even though the government is working to restore people’s lives to “as close to normal as possible”, Michael Gove has said.

The Cabinet Office minister warned people would have to live with “some degree of constraint” for many months and suggested the British public would have to accept a “new normal” going forward.

Tory peer warns over-70s ‘willing to risk prison’ to break self-isolation if it continues...

A former pensions minister has warned that people over the age of 70 would “rebel” and “risk going to prison” if the government mandates they must continue self-isolating even after the lockdown has lifted.

Baroness Ros Altmann, a Tory peer, told Sophy Ridge on Sky News that if the over-70 age group were put “under house arrest while everybody else is free”, it could risk “social unrest”, and that “lots” of people have told her they would rather break the rules.

...while health secretary sows confusion on rules of over-70s coronavirus self-isolation

The health secretary has sowed confusion about whether those aged over 70 should be self-isolating from coronavirus or not – after appearing to muddle up the government’s instructions to different groups.

Matt Hancock took to social media to claim that “the clinically vulnerable, who are advised to stay in lockdown for 12 weeks, emphatically DO NOT include all over 70s”.

Top scientists set up their own committee to advise government amid concerns over political interference

Sir David King, a former government chief scientific adviser, has assembled a group of independent experts to look at how the UK could work its way out of the coronavirus lockdown.

He said the 12-strong committee had been created “in response to concerns over the lack of transparency” from Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage)

The body, which will hold its first press conference on Monday, will focus on seven key points, including how testing and tracing can work, and the future of social distancing.

Survey reveals almost half of all doctors had to buy own PPE or rely on donations

A new survey by the British Medical Association (BMA) revealed 48 per cent of doctors have had to buy their own personal protective equipment (PPE) or have received it through a donation.

Although it acknowledged PPE supplies have improved, the BMA said the responses of 16,343 doctors in England shows more must be done to protect healthcare workers.

Trump says intelligence told him coronavirus was ‘non-threatening’ in January

Donald Trump pushed back on Sunday against reporting that intelligence officials were issuing classified reports to his administration as early as November 2019 warning about the early outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China.

The president also claimed the restrictions he placed on travel to the US from China in January have saved “tens of thousands” of American lives, which he has used as a data point to defend against criticism that he did not take the threat of the coronavirus seriously.

Report claims China deliberately destroyed evidence about start of coronavirus

A research assessment reported to have been compiled by the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance of western states has claimed the Chinese government deliberately hid or destroyed evidence about the initial outbreak of the coronavirus.

The document charts how Beijing denied at first that the disease could be transmitted between humans; silenced or “disappeared” medics who tried to warn of the outbreak; blocked access by international organisations to Wuhan, where it originated; and refused to provide live samples to international scientists trying to find a vaccine.


Spain allows adults out to exercise for first time in seven weeks

Images emerged of Spaniards savouring their first taste of life after lockdown as adults were allowed out for exercise on Saturday for the first time in seven weeks.

Any form of sport or exercise is allowed as long as it is carried out individually under new rules for outdoor activity, and people must adhere to specific time slots based on their age groups.

Spain’s coronavirus lockdown measures have been among the strictest in the world.

UK daily tests fall to 76,496 just two days after 100,000 target met

The daily number of coronavirus tests in the UK have dropped below the government’s target of 100,000 to 76,496, just two days after meeting it.

The government previously vowed to carry out 100,000 tests a day by the end of April and reached its target on 1 May, reporting 122,347 tests had been done. On 2 May, 105,937 tests were carried out.