Coronavirus news – live: Boris Johnson hints two-metre rule could be scrapped in schools, after Covid-19 alert level lowered

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Over-50s and keys workers to be given priority for coronavirus vaccine, Hancock says

Boris Johnson has hinted he may scrap the two-metre social distancing rule for schools, adding: “Watch this space.” His comments came after schools in England were offered £1bn to help children catch up on learning lost due to coronavirus.

Plus, the UK’s Covid-19 alert level has been lowered from 4 to 3 on the recommendation of the four chief medical officers, who nonetheless warned: “It does not mean that the pandemic is over.”

Also on Friday, figures showed that black men suffered the highest coronavirus death rate of any group at the height of the UK’s epidemic.

Key Points

• UK death toll rises by 173
• 2-metre distancing may be axed for schools
• Covid-19 alert level lowered
• Black men have worst Covid-19 death rate in UK
• £1bn catch-up fund for English schools
• Masks becoming mandatory across US

[19 June 2020 13:40 · Jon Sharman]

Covid-19 'in retreat' in Scotland

Coronavirus is firmly in retreat in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has said, after she took further steps to ease lockdown north of the border.

The country has moved into the second phase of a four-step plan for easing restrictions, meaning people can now meet up with other households.

Speaking at the Scottish government's coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh on Friday, Ms Sturgeon stressed that while Covid-19 "hasn't gone away" there was "no doubt the virus in Scotland is now firmly in retreat".

She said: "That is why the changes to the rules and the guidance I announced yesterday, though significant, were also careful, because we know we have to keep the virus in retreat.

"If we all keep doing the right thing, I am more optimistic than I have been in a long time that we are now firmly on the track to getting normality back into our lives."

[19 June 2020 13:50 · Chiara.Giordano]

Retail sales rose in May

Retail sales jumped 12 per cent in May after record lows in April as lockdown restrictions eased and some shops began to re-open, official figures show, writes Ben Chapman.

Sales remained 13.1 per cent below levels seen in February before the coronavirus pandemic hit, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Non-food stores enjoyed the biggest gains as DIY chains including B&Q re-opened their doors after closing to implement social distancing measures such as changing layouts and placing markings on floors.

[19 June 2020 14:00 · Jon Sharman]

Boris Johnson says 'watch this space' when asked if the two-metre social distancing rule will be reduced to one metre in schools

[19 June 2020 14:05 · Jon Sharman]

PM hopes to avoid second national lockdown

Boris Johnson says he hopes the time of national lockdowns to tackle the coronavirus outbreak was receding and that local measures could be used instead.

"We are now moving into a different phase," he said, adding that local measures and test and trace systems could be used "rather than going back to the national lockdown."

[19 June 2020 14:20 · Jon Sharman]

Coronavirus present in Italy as early as December last year

Traces of coronavirus have shown up in Italy’s water from December last year – suggesting the virus was circulating more than a month before the country reported its first cases, writes Zoe Tidman.

Scientists discovered the presence of SARS-Cov-2 – the virus which causes Covid-19 – in wastewater collected from two northern cities towards the end of 2019.

Italy reported its first confirmed infection in late January.

[19 June 2020 14:30 · Jon Sharman]

Some NI schools 'won't be able to fully reopen'

Many schools in Northern Ireland will not be able to return to full-capacity teaching in September, the Stormont education minister has said.

Peter Weir's comments came after headteachers expressed concern at the suggestion by ministers that most pupils would return to classrooms full-time in the autumn.

Mr Weir said he anticipated that children would only return on a part-time basis "in quite a large number of schools".

[19 June 2020 14:35 · Jon Sharman]

Coronavirus alert level downgraded as cases continue to fall

[19 June 2020 14:50 · Jon Sharman]

Americans less happy than ever amid pandemic

Happiness among Americans has fallen to the lowest level in nearly five decades during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new poll, writes Anthony Cuthbertson.

The Covid Response Tracking Study, conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), found that morale was at the lowest point it has ever been since tracking emotional health trends began in 1972.

The number of people who described themselves as very happy fell by 17 points to just 14 per cent in 2020. The previous record low ⁠— seen shortly after the 2007/8 Financial Crisis ⁠— was 29 per cent.

[19 June 2020 14:52 · Jon Sharman]

UK death toll rises

The UK's coronavirus death toll has risen 42,461 from 42,288, an increase of 173.

[19 June 2020 15:00 · Jon Sharman]

Saudi Arabia update

The number of coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia passed 150,000 on Friday following a rise in new infections over the past 10 days.

The health ministry reported 4,301 new cases today, taking the total to 150,292, with 1,184 deaths.

It means that 50,000 new cases have been found in less than a fortnight.

The number of new infections has continued to rise in recent weeks, after authorities began phasing out restrictions on movement and travel on 28 May.