Here are the key coronavirus updates from the last 24-hours. 

  • A Further four people have died in hospitals in the North-East and North Yorkshire after testing positive for coronavirus. Figures published on Thursday afternoon confirmed further deaths reported in County Durham, Teesside and North Yorkshire. A total of 1,690 coronavirus hospital patients have now died in the region after testing positive for Covid-19.
  • A&E attendances at hospitals in England were down 42% last month compared with a year ago, new figures show. A total of 1.3 million attendances were recorded in May 2020, down from 2.2 million attendances in May 2019. NHS England, which published the figures, said the fall was "likely to be a result of the Covid-19 response" - an indication that people have continued to stay away from A&E departments because of the coronavirus outbreak.
  • Matt Hancock insisted NHS Test and Trace was performing beyond his expectations despite figures showing a third of positive cases could not be reached.
  • Baroness Harding, who is heading up the NHS Test and Trace programme, said the scheme had "got off to a good start". She told the Downing Street briefing: "Given that it is still early days this is really encouraging, it means that the vast majority of people are responding positively and willingly, sharing information and self-isolating when needed."

The Northern Echo:

  • Matt Hancock said the Government had not ruled out the introduction of an enforcement mechanism if people failed to comply with the test and trace system.
  • The Government said that in the 24 hours up to 9am yesterday, 197,007 tests were carried out or posted out and 1,266 tests were positive.
  • Latest figures show the number of coronavirus patients to die in the UK has risen by 151 to 41,279.