UK coronavirus live: lockdown eased for 2.2m people ‘shielding’ in England from Monday

People in Wales who have been shielding due to coronavirus will be able to exercise outdoors from Monday, PA Media reports.

They are also able to meet people from another household but must not go into another house or share food.

The Welsh Government has not made any other changes to the advice for those who are shielding.

Those in the group should not go shopping or attend work outside their home, and must continue to have food and medicine delivered to them.

Dr Frank Atherton, the chief medical officer for Wales, said:

Risk can never be completely eliminated but we advise those shielding to exercise at times that are less busy, so the risk of contact with others is reduced.

We have advised everyone in Wales to maintain social distance of two meters and keep good hygiene when meeting outdoors. For those who are shielding, strictly following these rules is vital.

Atherton is continuing to develop his advice for shielding people and will send a letter to them in the next few weeks to set out the next steps, the Welsh Government said.

Parents call for virtual school for Scottish pupils

Some parents are calling for a Scotland-wide virtual school as anxieties grow at the prospect of indefinite home schooling into the autumn and beyond.

While pupils transitioning into primary and secondary schools should be in class briefly before the summer holidays begin at the end of June, the majority of Scotland’s schoolchildren with not return until 11 August, and then to a blended model of in-school and at-home learning.

Libby Brooks has the full report:

Crowds of protesters have also gathered in Manchester, Liverpool and Cardiff in solidarity with the wave of demonstrations taking place across the US following the killing of an unarmed black man restrained by police.

These Black Lives Matter demonstrations were organised across the UK – including in London’s Trafalgar Square – after George Floyd died when a white officer held him down by pressing a knee into his neck last Monday in Minneapolis.

Some London protesters, crowded together despite social distancing restrictions, held signs reading “Justice for George” and “Rest in power”.

Earlier on Sunday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said video footage of Floyd’s death was “very distressing”, but he would not comment on President Donald Trump’s response to the widespread protests sparked by the killing.

The president has been criticised after warning on Twitter that “looting leads to shooting”.

He later attempted to clarify his words by further tweeting on Friday:

Looting leads to shooting, and that’s why a man was shot and killed in Minneapolis on Wednesday night – or look at what just happened in Louisville with 7 people shot. I don’t want this to happen, and that’s what the expression put out last night means.

Raab told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday:

I’m not going to start commenting on the commentary or indeed the press statements that other world leaders make, or indeed the US president.

What we do know is that the lead suspect has now been charged with murder, there is a federal review and we want to see de-escalation of all of those tensions and American come together.

NHS England has announced 85 new deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 26,614.

Of the 85 new deaths announced on Sunday:

• 15 occurred on May 30
• 31 occurred on May 29
• seven occurred on May 28

The figures also show 22 of the new deaths took place between May 8 and May 27, nine occurred in April, and the remaining one death took place on March 25.

NHS England releases updated figures each day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, often including previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago.

This is because of the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19, for post-mortem examinations to be processed and for data from the tests to be validated.

The figures published on Sunday by NHS England show April 8 continues to have the highest number for the most hospital deaths on a single day, with a current total of 894.

The number of people to die after testing positive for Covid-19 in Scotland has risen by nine to 2,362, according to the Scottish government.

The figures were revealed by health secretary Jeane Freeman during Sunday’s press briefing on the Covid-19 response.

The country has a total of 15,400 positive cases as of 9am on Sunday – an increase of 18 on the day prior.

Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Layla Moran has said the government’s decision to press ahead with reopening schools to more pupils on Monday is “deeply worrying” .

She said:

Ministers have repeatedly claimed to be guided by science through this crisis yet a number of scientists – including members of Sage – have expressed concern about the easing of lockdown.

It’s deeply worrying that plans to reopen schools tomorrow are going ahead despite the fact that the Covid-19 risk is still classified as ‘high’.

We all want to see children back in schools as an urgent priority. But not if this risks a new Covid-19 spike.

The government must guarantee that public health will not be put at risk as a result of a premature or rushed effort to get children back into classrooms.

Border dwellers grapple with English and Welsh lockdown rules

The discrepancies in lockdown rules between the UK’s four jurisdictions, from schools to exercise and social gatherings, has left those living in border areas of England and Wales grappling with conflicting guidelines.

In the UK, Wales has arguably the strictest lockdown still in place. While people in England don’t have a limit on the distance they can travel, those in Wales are still being told to “stay local”, and shops are likely to reopen later than England.

My colleague Molly Blackall has the full report:

The number of people to die after being infected with Covid-19 in Wales has risen by 11 to 1,342, Public Health Wales has announced.

Another 82 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 13,995.

Experts decry easing of coronavirus lockdown for England’s shielders

The government’s surprise announcement that more than 2 million of the most vulnerable people will be allowed outside from Monday lacks any scientific rationale and amounts to a public relations exercise, a leading virus expert has said.

Groups including the Residents and Relatives Association, which represents people in care homes, had called for steps toward lifting the tightest restrictions on the most vulnerable because of fears for their mental health, but the move came faster than many expected.

Rob Burley, the director of campaigns at Muscular Dystrophy UK, said advice to shield people with muscle-wasting conditions was already confusing, but that the sudden change risked making things worse.

“We are now faced with further confusion about why the advice has changed so suddenly when only a few weeks ago the government’s recovery strategy said shielding would have to remain in place for a further period,” he said.

Robert Booth has the full report:

A reminder that this is Aaron Walawalkar in London here, steering you through the latest UK coronavirus news. Please do to get in touch with me to share news tips or suggestions about our future coverage. We hugely value your contributions. You can contact me via DM on Twitter @AaronWala.

The government must plug the gaps in statutory sick pay provision and not force people to choose between public health and paying their bills, Labour has said.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the government must extend the assistance so both people and businesses are supported when asked to comply with instructions to self-isolate under the new NHS Test and Trace system.

If they do not, he warned, “people will be expected to make an impossible choice between self-isolating or putting food on the table”.

He was speaking as Labour unveiled a three-point plan to get test and trace working locally as it described the government’s current scheme as “total chaos”.

The fact that businesses with more than 250 employees cannot claim back statutory sick pay (SSP) from the HMRC when employees have been told to self-isolate “risks placing further financial stress” on larger firms, Labour said.

As the self-employed and low-paid do not qualify for sick pay at all and those who do receive one of the lowest rates in Europe, the party is calling on the government to urgently ensure people have what they need to meet basic living standards.

Reynolds said:

The Covid-19 crisis has exposed that our social security system is a safety net with too many holes in. The eligibility criteria for SSP has the same gaps, and if they are not filled, a cohort of people will be expected to make an impossible choice between self-isolating or putting food on the table.

The government must consider how emergency support can be made available for people in this situation, or otherwise risk the success of the scheme and pushing those who do comply but cannot work as a result into further hardship.

Here is a clip of hundreds of protesters kneeling in central London earlier today while chanting: “No justice, no peace.”

This act is symbolic of footage taken moments before Floyd’s death, which showed a white police officer kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes.

It also echoes a gesture made famous by NFL player Colin Kaepernick more than two years ago, after he refused to stand during the national anthem on multiple occasions to protest police brutality.

Hundreds of protesters have gathered in central London in solidarity with waves of demonstrations that have rocked the US following the killing of George Floyd.

Footage and pictures on social media show members of London’s Black Lives Matter movement chanting “I can’t breathe” and “stop killing us” in Trafalgar Square on Sunday.

Protesters can be seen holding signs and wearing masks and gloves:

Tense protests over the death of George Floyd and other police killings of black men spread across the US on Saturday night as mayors around the country imposed curfews and several governors called in the national guard amid scenes of violence, injuries and unrest.

Read more about the latest developments in the US here:

More than 2,500 Londoners have agreed not to pay rent so that they can afford food and other essentials amid the pandemic, campaigners have said.

The London Renters Union (LRU) has been urging renters to sign up to its Can’t Pay Won’t Pay campaign since it launched on May 15.

The people who have signed up have attended meetings to learn how tell their landlords they will be withholding rent, how to demand their landlord write off rent debt and also how to resist evictions, the LRU said.

“Because of lockdown, this month I’ve earned less than half of what I normally do, so it’s been impossible to pay the rent,” said Zara, a 40-year-old LRU organiser from east London.

“We’re not eligible for furloughing, self-employment support or Universal Credit. Our landlord already wanted to evict us, and now he’s trying to get us declared bankrupt.

“I don’t want my children to be worried that they might lose their home. I want to protect them from this.”

She urged the government to suspend rent, cancel rent debt and make the eviction ban permanent – accusing it of prioritising landlords’ profit over renters’ survival.

No10 special adviser Dominic Cummings has been photographed, with characteristic plastic bag, outside his home in north London on Sunday:

Nine-year-old Tobias Weller has completed his “ginormous challenge” – walking a marathon outside his house using his walker over 70 days.

Tobias – who has cerebral palsy and has been named Captain Tobias by his supporters in a nod to his inspiration, Captain Tom Moore – completed the distance on Sunday morning cheered on by his whole street in Sheffield.

Police closed off the road as neighbours put out bunting and balloons for the final leg of his marathon fundraising effort.

The young fundraiser has walked 750 metres of his 42,195-metre target each day and has raised more than £43,000 for Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Paces School, his special school in the city.

Weller was described as “incredible” and “an inspiration” by Olympic heptathlon champion Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, professional footballer Esme Morgan and BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker ahead of him beginning the final leg on his journey on Sunday morning.

Ennis-Hill said:

I have been following your story and I just want to say I think you are absolutely incredible. What a challenge you’ve taken on.