The total deaths as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 44,220, an increase of 516 as of Sunday 5 July.

Pubs, restaurants and hairdressers reopened on Saturday as part of the Government’s plans to ease the lockdown. Saturday night saw large crowds outside of pubs across the country. The chair of the police federation has said that it is “crystal clear” that drunk people are unable to socially distance. 

Concerns have been raised about the workplace practices of the company Boohoo, whose factories are located in Leicester, after the companies’ exploitative work practices were linked to the increase of local cases of Coronavirus. Authorities including the National Crime Agency are investigating Leicester’s garment industry, which has for a long time been accused of paying illegal wages and pushing staff to work throughout the lockdown. On Sunday Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, told the press that the government was “not just asking nicely” and said that authorities could fine and shut down premises that were failing to abide by health and safety standards. This comes as The Sunday Times’ investigation found that Boohoo offered £3.50 an hour to its workers. 

The EU and the UK have failed to meet the 30 June deadline for completing assessments of each other’s financial services regulation. Completing these assessments are a prerequisite for mutual market access 

The Government has laid out guidelines for a return of all school children in September. Limits on student group sizes will be dropped but pupils will be organised into bubbles of class or year group to limit the spread of the virus. The education secretary, Gavin Williamson, stated that children would not face a “watered down curriculum”. The general secretary of the National Education Union has criticised the government for putting too much emphasis on a return to school, rather than a combination of blended learning and rotating year groups. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association for Headteachers, has urged the government to provide a Plan B in the likely event of a second wave. 

Socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested today in connection with alleged sex crimes involving Jeffrey Epstein. Acting US attorney Audrey Strauss told reporters that Prince Andrew, a friend of both Epstein and Maxwell, is “welcome” to come in and speak with the prosecution about the ongoing investigation.

The total deaths as a result of Coronavirus now stand at 43,995, an increase of 89 as of today. 

In Prime Minister’s questions today Keir Starmer, the leader of the Opposition, attacked Boris Johnson for his handling of Leicester’s lockdown. Starmer claimed that Leicester’s local authority had only known about 80 new positive cases in the two-week period leading up the lockdown, when the real figure was 944. The Leader of the Labour Party stated that Leicester’s local authority had not received the test data that would have allowed them to act sooner. 

Bradford, Barnsley, and Rochdale have been revealed as the places with the highest Coronavirus infections after Leicester. Leicester has 140 cases per 100,000 indviduals whilst Bradford, Barnsley, Rochdale have 69, 55, and 54 respectively. 

Trade talks between the UK and the EU are still ongoing and in the most recent development Michel Barnier has stated that Britain cannot retain freedom of movement rights for financial services. 

An 18-year-old man has been arrested today on suspicion of murdering 27-year-old Nicole Smallman and 46 year old Bibaa Henry. The friends were murdered in in Fryent Garden’s Park in Wembley on 5 June after celebrating Ms Henry’s birthday. 

Leicester is to be put under a tighter lockdown then the rest of the country from Tuesday. These changes come after the city reported an increase in Coronavirus cases. The Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, has said that from Tuesday, non-essential shops will be asked to close, and schools will remain open for vulnerable children and the children of key workers 

The Government has announced that schools in England could drop some non-core subjects next academic year. In the new changes, set to be announced on Thursday, pupils are expected to be organised in bubbles of up to 240 pupils in secondary school. These children will be allowed to mix freely and there will be staggered start and end dates for the school day as well as separate breaks.

Boris Johnson plans to give a speech later this week in which he hopes to unveil public spending worth £5 billion, which he will target improvements to schools, hospitals and infrastructure projects. 

The total deaths as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 43,575, an increase of 25 as of today. 

Six people, including a police officer and two teenagers, have been seriously injured in an attack in Glasgow today. The assailant was later shot and killed by armed police. The incident is not being treated as terror related.

The total death toll as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 43,414, an increase of 186 as of today.

Holiday makers are expected to be allowed to travel to certain European cities from 6 July. Under the new traffic light system Britons would be allowed to travel to green or amber countries without self-isolating. The Prime Minister has said that he will set out the full list of countries next week.

Rebecca Long Bailey has been sacked from her position as shadow education secretary after retweeting an article which critics alleged espoused anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. The article, an interview with the Mancunian actor Maxime Peake, has lead to controversy because in it Peake stated that American police had learned their tactics from “seminars with Israeli secret services”. 

Thousands of people have ignored social distancing guidelines in Bournemouth today, leading to packed beaches forcing the local council to declare a major incident. In Brixton, police were called to disperse a party and were met by resistance by locals who threw projectiles at officers, forcing them to retreat. 

The total death toll as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 43,230, an increase of 149 as of today. 

The Housing Secretary, Robert Jernick, has come under fire for granting planning permission for a £1 billion property scheme two weeks before the developer donated £12,000 to the Conservative Party. Leaked document reveal that Jernick knew that the property tycoon Richard Desmond had only 24 hours to have the development approved by the council before new community charges that would have cost the developer £45 million. The Labour Party have called for an enquiry into the affair. 

The total death toll as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 42,927, an increase of 171 as of today. 

In the Daily Briefing Boris Johnson announcing the loosening of the two-metre rule to what he referred to as “one metre plus”. What this means in practice is that public spaces are allowed to reopen and operate with a one metre instead of a two-metre rule in place if they implement changes that mitigate the spread of the virus. 

The Prime Minister also announced that the following public venues will be allowed to reopen. 

• hotels
• bed and breakfasts
• caravan parks
• places of worships 
• bars  
• libraries
• restaurants
• cafés
• bars and pubs
• social clubs
• cinemas
• museums and galleries
• hair salons and barbers
• outdoor playgrounds and outdoor gyms

Night clubs, swimming pools and indoor gyms will, however, not be allowed to reopen. 

From 4 July your household will be able to meet another household in doors, as long both households remain socially distant throughout. 

The total deaths as a result Coronavirus now stands at 42,647, an increase of 15 as of today. For the first time since the peak the number of positive cases is below 1,000, at 958. In the daily briefing Matt Hancock stated that these positive figures show that the government has made good progress with their attempts to combat the virus. 

Hancock, alongside the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, also announced changes to the Government’s shielding guidelines for vulnerable people. Dr Jenny Harries set forward a two-step plan for the loosening of social distancing guidelines for people that have been asked to shield themselves from the wider public. 

From 6 July people that are shielding can meet with groups of up to six people outdoors. People living alone can also form support bubbles with another household and sleep over if they chose to. 

From 1 August people will be able to return to work and attending public gatherings. 

In the coming days the Health Secretary will write to everyone that has been asked to shield to give them information on how these changes will affect them. Centrally provided medical and food deliveries for people that have been asked to shield will stop on 1 July. Money has also been made available to local councils to help people struggling to pay bills and buy food. 

The total deaths as a result of Coronavirus now stand at 42,461, an increase of 173 as of today. 

In the daily briefing Gavin Williamson, the education Secretary, announced that the government will lower the alert level from 4 to 3 today. Level 3 means that the virus is in general circulation whereas level 4 means that transmission is high and rising. 

The Government has received criticism for seemingly downplaying the amount of Coronavirus deaths during the peak of the outbreak. According to ONS figures there were 22 days in which the total deaths were above 1,000 and near 1,500 deaths in one day. 

The UK Government’s debt exceeded the size of the economy in May for the first time in 50 years.