Coronavirus map live: 2,288 new cases in france fuels travel concerns

SECOND WAVE: DATA SUGGESTS A SPIKE IN UK AFTER SCHOOLS REOPEN THIS BLOG IS NOW CLOSED. FOR TODAY'S UPDATES VISIT HERE. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said on Friday that the Government would

"not hesitate" in ordering travellers coming back from countries with high COVID-19 to self-isolate for 14 days. Belgium, Andorra and The Bahamas are the latest countries to make

it onto the list, as people returning from those countries from Saturday will be ordered to quarantine. Eurostar has said it recorded an increase in passengers travelling on its trains from

Brussels to London on Friday, beating the deadline. Meanwhile the UK coronavirus death toll has increased by 98 - exactly double the rise reported yesterday. Ninety-one deaths occurred in

England and seven in Wales. There were no new fatalities reported in Scotland or Northern Ireland. The official UK death toll from COVID-19 now stands at 46,511. Across the UK 871 fresh

infections were announced, bringing the total to 309,005.  The jump in deaths comes as Boris Johnson is expected to address the nation today to make major changes to the UK's local

lockdown measures.  Mr Johnson is expected to make an announcement on the status of the local restrictions in the North West of England and Leicester, which were hastily introduced last

week. Residents in Preston are braced to see further restrictions imposed, after a rise in coronavirus infections in the Lancashire city.  Officials in Preston have urged residents to avoid

having visitors in their homes, though official rules have yet to be introduced. Preston City Council said evidence from Public Health England showed a spike in coronavirus cases in the

locality, with the majority of the new infections spread through households and community transmission.  The number of new cases in France rose by a third on Friday, compared to Thursday

(Image: GETTY/PA) Preston has become the latest UK city to have lockdown restrictions stepped up (Image: GETTY) The council’s chief executive Adrian Phillips said officials were aware that

the coronavirus was spreading via “community transmissions” across the city. Last Thursday Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced on Twitter that lockdown restrictions would be tightened in

Greater Manchester, parts of West Yorkshire and East Lancashire.  The new rules banned people in separate households from meeting indoors. When announcing the new lockdown restrictions, Mr

Hancock said the surges of infections were largely caused by people not abiding by social distancing rules. The Government was criticised for announcing the new measures on social media, and

for giving little notice to residents.  Last weekend Greater Manchester declared a major incident as coronavirus infections continued to soar. Huge spikes were recorded in Manchester,

Tameside and Oldham. Having now declared a major incident, Manchester can access extra national resources - such as the army - if it becomes necessary. FOLLOW EXPRESS.CO.UK FOR LIVE UPDATES:

Coronavirus map live (Image: Express) 9.40PM UPDATE: LABOUR DEMANDS GOVERNMENT ANSWERS OVER DEAL FOR 50M UNUSABLE MASKS  International Trade Secretary Liz Truss must confirm if she knew one

of her advisers approached the Government about a deal for 50 million unusable face masks, a shadow minister has said. In a letter to Ms Truss, shadow international trade minister Bill

Esterson has demanded to know whether trade adviser Andrew Mills discussed a deal regarding the masks, which were supplied to the UK Government in April but cannot be used in the NHS because

of safety concerns. The masks were bought for NHS England from Ayanda Capital as part of a £252 million contract, but the Government says because they use ear-loop fastenings rather than

head loops, they may not fit tightly enough for clinical use. 8.29PM UPDATE: VENEZUELANS BREAKING CORONAVIRUS RULES PUNISHED BY BEATING Security forces are punishing some Venezuelans who

violate anti-coronavirus measures with physical exercise, sitting under the sun and even beating, witnesses and rights groups say. Roberto Vargas was heading to buy flour with his children

in Caracas on Thursday when he lowered his face mask to wipe sweat from his face, he said. A National Guard officer noticed and ordered him to spend 50 minutes sat on the roadside with

several dozen others, the builder recounted. He said: "This is madness." Local rights groups say authorities are handing out such punishments around the country for infractions

ranging from not queuing correctly for groceries to disobeying curfews. One group, Provea, on July 31 posted a video on Twitter apparently showing a soldier in western Tachira state ordering

three young men to do pushups while saying "I should not be in the street." France may be the next country to make it onto the quarantine list (Image: GETTY) 7.17PM UPDATE: THREE

IRISH COUNTIES PLACED UNDER NEW CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS  The Taoiseach has announced fresh restrictions for counties Kildare, Laois and Offaly following a surge of coronavirus cases. In a

special address to the nation Micheal Martin said the virus was still a "deep and urgent threat". He said a number of limited restrictions will apply to the three counties for two

weeks from midnight. These include restricting movement within the counties, with the exception of work purposes and other essential journeys; restaurants and pubs serving food to close,

apart from takeaway services, deliveries and limited outdoor dining; and the closure of indoor entertainment and sport venues such as cinemas, theatres, museums, galleries and bingo halls.

Visits to prisons, acute hospitals and nursing homes will be suspended except on compassionate grounds. People have been asked not to travel to those counties unless for work. 6.31PM UPDATE:

 WHO INFIGHTING ERUPTS AS FRANCE AND GERMANY QUIT REFORM TALKS OVER 'RUDE' TRUMP DEMANDS Tensions in the World Health Organisation (WHO) erupted on Friday as France and Germany

quit talks on reforming the global body in protest over attempts by Donald Trump to lead the negotiations. Officials confirmed both countries had bowed out of meetings, with one source

saying it was not acceptable for the United States to take charge of the overhaul process as it is leaving the WHO. President Trump has been fiercely critical of the United Nations agency

over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and in July announced the US would be pulling out of the WHO. For the full story click here. 6.02PM UPDATE: CHANCELLOR WARNS OF FURTHER TRAVEL

DISRUPTION AMID CONCERNS FRANCE WILL ENTER QUARANTINE LIST  Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned holidaymakers of the risk of travelling abroad during the coronavirus crisis amid concerns

France may be the next nation to be added to the quarantine list. He said on Friday that ministers will "not hesitate" in ordering travellers coming back from countries with high

COVID-19 rates to isolate for 14 days, as Belgium, Andorra and The Bahamas lose their exempted status. Travellers returning to the UK from those three nations from Saturday must enter

quarantine, and there are fears those coming back from France could be next with cases there increasing. Eurostar said it recorded an increase in passengers travelling on its trains from

Brussels to London on Friday, beating the deadline. Mr Sunak told Sky News: "It's a tricky situation. What I can say to people is we're in the midst of a global pandemic and

that means there is always the risk of disruption to travel plans and people need to bear that in mind. "It's the right thing for us to do to keep everything under review on a

constant basis talking with our scientists, our medical advisers, and if we need to take action as you've seen overnight we will of course not hesitate to do that and we're doing

that to protect people's health." Rishi Sunak visited a pub on the Isle of Bute on Friday (Image: GETTY) 5.15PM UPDATE: 'EXTREMELY IMPORTANT' FOR PRESTON AUTHORITIES TO

TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION  Lancashire's director of public health, Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, said: "In the past week, the number of positive cases in Preston has increased significantly

and it is extremely important that we act now to prevent the situation from getting any worse. "The evidence is clear, we all need to take extra precautions to protect our loved ones. 

Coronavirus affects all of communities and we all need to do our part to prevent the spread from continuing rise. "I also want to be clear that this is affecting people from both south

Asian and white ethnic backgrounds, particularly those living in poor socio-economic conditions in our city. "We need to avoid mixing between households and to maintain two metre social

distancing particularly in pubs and clubs." 4.42PM UPDATE: PRESTON IN LOCKDOWN Preston has become the latest UK city to be put into local lockdown due to a surge in coronavirus cases.

  The rolling seven-day rate of new infections has risen from 20.3 per 100,000 in the seven days to July 27, to 32.8 per in the seven days to August 3.  Different households in Preston will

not be permitted to meet indoors, under the new restrictions.  4.22PM UPDATE: COUNCIL ISSUES 'RED ALERT' AS SOCIAL DISTANCING IMPOSSIBLE ON PACKED BEACHES A "red alert"

warning has been issued by Bournemouth Council after photos showing thousands of people packed onto the town's beaches caused concern about social distancing rules.  Britons flocked to

Bournemouth beach on Friday as temperatues were forcast to hit 40C at the start of a three-day heatwave. Hundreds of people also headed to other beaches in Dorset to enjoy the weather.

Bournemouth Council's Beach Check app has showed red for most of its beaches. For the full story click here.  4.05PM UPDATE: UK DEATHS DOUBLE SINCE YESTERDAY Ninety-eight new Covid

fatalities were recorded in the past 24 hours - double the number reported on Thursday.  Ninety-one deaths occurred in England and seven in Wales.  There were no new deaths in Northern

Ireland or Scotland.  RELATED ARTICLES 3.38PM UPDATE: US SURPASSES 160,000 CORONAVIRUS DEATHS AS SCHOOL OPENINGS NEAR US deaths from the coronavirus pandemic exceeded 160,000 on Friday,

nearly a quarter of the world's total, according to a Reuters tally, as the country debates whether schools are ready to reopen their doors in the coming weeks. The country with the

most coronavirus cases, the United States recorded 160,003 deaths and 4.91 million cases. Coronavirus deaths are rising in 23 states and cases in 20 states, according to a Reuters analysis

of data the past two weeks compared with the prior two weeks. On a per-capita basis, the United States ranks 10th highest in the world for both cases and deaths. The grim milestone marks an

increase of 10,000 deaths in nine days in the United States. 2.50PM UPDATE: NORTHERN IRELAND ANNOUNCES LATEST FIGURES Fifteen more positive cases of coronavirus have been detected in

Northern Ireland, the Department of Health said. The total number of people who have been infected is now 6,064. No new deaths were recorded. 2.12PM UPDATE: R RATE RISES TO 0.8-1 IN THE UK

The reproduction number of the coronavirus among people in the United Kingdom has risen to 0.8-1, Britain's health ministry said on Friday. Last week, the R rate stood at 0.8-0.9,

itself up from 0.7-0.9 the previous week. The health ministry said: "We are starting to see early indications that these values may be increasing. "This is not yet fully reflected

in these estimates because the data used to calculate R and growth rate reflect the situation from a few weeks ago. It is also important to recognise that these are estimates, and there is a

high degree of uncertainty with them." 1.24PM UPDATE: EVENING STANDARD TO CUT THIRD OF JOBS AFTER CORONAVIRUS HITS ADVERTISING The Evening Standard is to cut around a third of jobs

after advertising and circulation were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. It is understood that around 115 employees at the media business will be affected by the cost-cutting move. The

company has said it will focus on its "digital and mobile offering" as part of the restructure, while also developing a live events business. Chief executive Charles Yardley said:

"The proposed restructuring at the Evening Standard comes at a challenging time for the industry, which has been accentuated by the pandemic. "However, there remains a huge

opportunity for the company, moving from London's leading newspaper to London's leading media platform, delivering the best content and services to our readers and our customers

across multiple channels, whilst also launching new products and experiences." 12.52PM UPDATE: PEOPLE TESTING POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS HAVE LEVELLED OFF, NEW DATA REVEALS The number of

people testing positive for coronavirus in the community has levelled off, according to official figures. An estimated 28,300 people in England had coronavirus during the week of July 27 to

August 2, the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has found. That equates to about 0.05 percent of the population, or one in 1,900 individuals and does not include the

number of cases in care homes and hospitals. An average of 3,700 people per day in private households in England were estimated to be newly infected with coronavirus during the same period.

This is down slightly from 4,200 per day in the period July 20 to July 26. New coronavirus cases in Germany topped 1,000 for the first time since May (Image: Getty) 12.33PM UPDATE: HOLIDAY

POLL: SHOULD FRANCE BE NEXT HOLIDAY DESTINATION TO FACE UK QUARANTINE RULES? FRANCE could be the next country to be added to the UK quarantine list amid a surge in coronavirus cases.

Express.co.uk is asking you should travellers returning to the UK from Emmanuel Macron’s nation be required to isolate for 14 days? VOTE HERE 11.56AM UPDATE: NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO DISCUSS

SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE, SAYS CHANCELLOR During a visit to Scotland today, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the whole of the UK needs to prioritise recovering from the pandemic. Following a visit

to generator manufacturers Peak Scientific in Glasgow on Friday morning, Mr Sunak said he believes Scotland is one of the UK's "power brands" in the tourism sector and could

drive the recovery of the whole country. He added: "I don't think now is the time to be talking about these constitutional questions, I think everyone's sole focus and my sole

focus right now is doing what we can to protect people's jobs and their livelihoods at what is an incredibly difficult time for our economy. "That's what I think everyone

should be focused on, let's not focus on these divisive constitutional questions, let's focus on rebuilding for the future." 11.45AM UPDATE: TEACHER’S CONCERNED ABOUT SAFETY

AS SCOTTISH SCHOOLS REOPEN, SAYS UNION Less than a fifth of teachers in Scotland are confident schools are currently safe to reopen next week, according to a survey. The EIS union found 64

percent of teachers support the resumption of classes next week, but just 18 percent have confidence in the safety measures put in place so far. Asked about returning to work in schools, 62

percent of teachers said they feel either "somewhat unsafe" or "very unsafe". First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said schools will reopen from August 11 and will welcome

pupils back by August 18 at the latest. The interim results reflect the responses of 24,354 teachers who completed the union's survey between its launch on Tuesday and Thursday morning.

The Government is expected to announce changes to local lockdowns in the north of England today (Image: Getty) RELATED ARTICLES 10.48AM UPDATE: CASES IN GERMANY TOP 1,000 FOR THE FIRST TIME

SINCE MAY Fears have erupted of a second lockdown in Germany after new coronavirus cases reached the 1,000-a-day threshold for the first time since May. Berlin has now announced that

compulsory testing would be in force from Saturday after the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's public health agency, reported 1,045 new cases in a single day yesterday. Jens Spahn,

German health minister, said that the increase was partly due to more tests taking place. But he also stressed that the impact of holidaymakers returning to Germany and of flagging social

distancing discipline was also significant. 10.03AM UPDATE: LANDLORD ADMITS ‘REGRET’ AFTER PUB LINKED TO CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK The landlord of a Staffordshire pub linked to a coronavirus

outbreak has admitted he was "simply not strong enough" in ensuring social distancing measures were enforced. Custodio Pinto, who runs the Crown and Anchor in Stone,

Stoke-on-Trent, apologised on Facebook after at least 19 confirmed cases of coronavirus were linked to the venue. Mr Pinto wrote: "First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest

regret for all the anguish, disruption and sadness that the events that occurred in the Crown and Anchor last month have caused to so many. "I have lived in Stone since 2001 where we

have raised our three children and it has always been nothing but the greatest pleasure to be part of this fantastic community. "However, on July 18, I accept that I was simply not

strong enough in enforcing the Government's COVID-19 secure rules, despite detailed preparation according to their guidelines. "I regret I was complacent in enforcing these rules

with the customers." Around 1,000 people have been tested after health chiefs urged anyone who had worked at or visited the pub between July 16 and 18 to get checked. 9.19AM UPDATE:

SUNAK WARNS OF TRAVEL DISRUPTION Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned holidaymakers of the risk of travelling abroad during the coronavirus crisis amid concerns France may be the next nation to

be added to the quarantine list. He said on Friday that ministers will "not hesitate" in ordering travellers coming back from countries with high coronavirus rates to isolate for

14 days, as Belgium, Andorra and The Bahamas lose their exempted status. Travellers returning to the UK from those three nations from Saturday must enter quarantine, and there are fears

those coming back from France could be next with cases there increasing. Mr Sunak told Sky News: "It's a tricky situation. What I can say to people is we're in the midst of a

global pandemic and that means there is always the risk of disruption to travel plans and people need to bear that in mind. "It's the right thing for us to do to keep everything

under review on a constant basis talking with our scientists, our medical advisers, and if we need to take action as you've seen overnight we will of course not hesitate to do that and

we're doing that to protect people's health." Where coronavirus cases are rising in the UK (Image: Express) 8.37AM UPDATE: PRESTON POISED FOR LOCAL LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS

Officials in Preston have warned it could become the latest area to face a local lockdown amid rising infection rates, with 47 new cases in the past week. Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, the director

of public health at Lancashire County Council, said the city had taken action ahead of an expected announcement by the Government and Public Health England today. He told BBC Breakfast:

“We’re not waiting for others to tell us what to do here in Preston, we’ve already activated our plans, making more tests available and asking people to avoid social contacts.” 8.14AM

UPDATE: NEW 'KICKRSTART SCHEME' TO OFFER YOUNG PEOPLE JOBS Rishi Sunak has said a forthcoming "Kickstart scheme" will offer Government-subsidised jobs for youn people at

risk of long-term unemployment.  The scheme will provide at least the national living wage and 25-hours per week of work, along with training. The Chancellor told BBC Breakfast: “That will

help a generation of young people get into the labour market. "Young people, in particular, are most at risk in a crisis like this and we want to protect their prospects for the

long-term. If they don’t have a job early in their career that will have a negative impact on them for many years to come. “We also significantly increased the cash incentives for businesses

to take on new apprenticeships, 2,000 to take on a young apprentice, 1,500 to take on an apprentice over the age of 25. That’s a great way for people to get into work and earn and learn at

the same time.” 8.06AM UPDATE: RISHI SUNAK VISITS SCOTLAND TODAY TO HIGHLIGHTS HIS CORONAVIRUS SUPPORT MEASURES Rishi Sunak will visit Scottish businesses that have benefitted from his

coronavirus support schemes as he aims to stem growing support for independence. The Chancellor will point out that backing worth £2.3 billion has been given to more than 65,000 firms in

Scotland since the pandemic began, and pledge to keep supporting “every corner of the UK”. The trip will mark the fourth visit north of the border by a Cabinet minister in just over two

weeks.