Coronavirus: What you need to know this Friday (June 19)

At the Downing Street press conference he said testing on the Isle of Wight uncovered a "technical barrier".

"We found that our app works well on Android devices but Apple software prevents iPhones being used effectively for contact tracing unless you are using Apple's own technology," he said.

He said that the NHSX app was better at measuring distance than the Google/Apple model.

In other coronavirus news:

• Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said the Government wants to "open up" the UK when it "safely and responsibly" can, ahead of Emmanuel Macron's visit to London. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to raise the coronavirus quarantine with the French president during bilateral talks on Thursday. Mr Raab told Sky News: "We're going to look at it very carefully. As we've always said, the quarantine is there to stop the risk of reinfection precisely because we've got Covid down." Asked why it was in place when UK infection rates were higher than France, he said: "It's not quite as simple as that though because we've seen in Europe and in Asia that as countries come out of lockdown the risk of second waves and second spikes. But we will look at all the factors very carefully. We want to open up as soon as we safely and responsibly can and we will look at all the mechanisms to do so and of course we'll have a good conversation with the French. I'll be in Berlin tomorrow so we're talking to all of our European partners about these things." Mr Raab said Mr Macron would bestow the Legion d'Honneur on London.
• Dominic Raab also accused Russia and other states of trying to exploit the challenges created by the coronavirus crisis. Asked if Russia had intervened in the coronavirus response in the UK, the Foreign Secretary told Sky: "I certainly think that coronavirus and the challenges that it has created has created a perceived opportunity for various different state and non-state actors through cyber, through other means. I think we've seen it in relation to Hong Kong - I think some people are arguing that it is difficult to glean whether it is true or not that this is something the national security legislation that is being put forward is being done at a time when the world's attention has been on coronavirus." Pressed again, Mr Raab said: "I don't think they've made a material difference to our response in health terms but certainly Russia and other countries and indeed non-state actors see the challenges that Covid has created and are trying to exploit it. And we're making sure we have got the resilience, the defence and the capabilities to prevent them from doing so."
• The Foreign Secretary has warned there is a risk of legal challenges if the UK tries to form travel bridges with particular countries to the exclusion of others. Discussing French president Emmanuel Macron's visit to London today on BBC Breakfast, Dominic Raab said: "What we are going to look at is how (international travel) can be done safely and responsibly. Of course there is a risk of legal challenge if you open up for one country and not others so we want to make sure we can open up - and this is our starting point - as soon as we can safely and responsibly do so." He added: "If you open up the airports and don't open up the Eurotunnel or if you open up to one country but not in relation to others there is always a risk of legal challenge. Mr Raab said public health had to be "front and centre" of decision making.
• Dominic Raab said the UK needed to avoid "reinfection by the back door". The Foreign Secretary told BBC Breakfast: "Once we have got the prevalence and also the transmission rate of the virus even further down we can open up in a swifter way and in a more sure-footed way." When asked about the situation in New Zealand where Covid-19 was reintroduced by two British arrivals, Mr Raab replied: "It just shows you how careful we need to be." He added: "You can point to a specific example like that, and it is perfectly legitimate to do so, but over all the public have been terrific in following the guidelines."
• When asked why UK travellers are not being questioned on their reason for leaving the country, Mr Raab said: "That is a fundamentally misunderstanding of Foreign Office travel advice. We - based on the risk to UK travellers abroad because of terrorism or because of Covid-19 or the vulnerability of the systems in the country - give advice." He told BBC Breakfast that the final decision was then for the traveller themselves to make. Mr Raab said the fine for failing to quarantine for 14 days upon return to the UK is £1,000, adding: "That can be increased." He said the public needed to follow the rules "not because there is a sanction but because it is in the nation's health and national interest".
• Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said hospitality and tourism is "fraught with all sorts of particular risks" related to social distancing. When asked why shops are open but tourism is still limited, he said: "There is a higher level of risk of transmission, that's the advice we have had from the experts, so we do need to wait a little bit longer to make sure we can do that responsibly." He told BBC Breakfast: "We are itching to open up those sectors from a business point of view and also a consumer point of view but we have just got to do it in a responsible way."
• Dominic Raab said the UK would discuss the idea of travel corridors with France to enable the easing of the coronavirus quarantine measures. The Foreign Secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We'll look at conversations with the French and others about the so-called travel corridors and the exemptions to quarantine that can allow that to be done."
• London Mayor Sadiq Khan has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, calling for face coverings to be made compulsory in shops to limit the spread of coronavirus. He said: "It is increasingly clear that face coverings will play a key role in our efforts to stop the further spread of the virus and they need to become a more regular part of our day-to-day life. The high level of use on our public transport network has again shown that Londoners are willing to act to protect their community, but the Government's current rules are lagging behind other countries. With non-essential shops now opening and the public returning to our high streets, I urge the Government to follow World Health Organisation guidance and make these coverings mandatory for those shopping in retail outlets and in other spaces where it is impossible to keep a safe distance."
• The Blackpool Illuminations are to stay lit for an extra two months to boost tourism which has been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The resort's annual switch-on celebration in September will take place away from the public for the first time in more than 70 years, and be replaced by a televised closed event filmed inside the Tower Ballroom. Gillian Campbell, cabinet member for tourism and culture at Blackpool Council, said: "The annual switch-on event is the biggest night in Blackpool's events calendar. Sadly, it is simply not possible to stage an event of that scale given the current restrictions around social distancing and mass gatherings. We are very much aware of how much our tourism businesses are suffering as a result of the pandemic and we hope that, by extending the Blackpool Illuminations season by two months, it will give them an opportunity to bring in some additional trade." The extended Illuminations season will run from September 4 to January 3 2021.
• Nearly half of all working adults said they had worked from home at some point in the previous seven days between June 11 and 14 - up 41 per cent on the previous week, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Officials said this matched up with results from a separate Business Impact of Coronavirus Survey (BICS) which showed that 5 per cent of the workforce had returned from furlough leave between May 18 and June 14 as more businesses called staff back to work, either remotely or in person. Between June 5 and June 12, the volume of online job adverts in wholesale and retail increased from 24.1 per cent to 35.1 per cent of their 2019 average, in anticipation of non-essential retailers reopening, the ONS added.
• The ONS also said the wholesale and retail sector saw the biggest jump in sales during the period between May 18 and 31, suggesting turnover has increased compared with what is normally expected for this time of year. Data from the Business Impact of Coronavirus (Covid-19) Survey (BICS) also found that 5 per cent of the workforce returned in the final two weeks of May, with the largest proportions in construction and manufacturing respectively, the ONS added.
• Production at a chicken processing plant in North Wales has been shut down for a fortnight following a Covid-19 outbreak. Earlier this week, unions said they were aware of 13 cases among staff at the 2 Sisters factory in Llangefni, with 110 self-isolating as a precaution. In a statement, the 2 Sisters Food Group said: "The health, safety and wellbeing of our colleagues is ultimately the thing that matters most at our business. We are a responsible company with people at its core. Without our people we are nothing. Therefore in light of the current Covid-19 cases at our Llangefni site, we have decided to take the necessary action to clearly demonstrate how seriously we take this issue by doing the right thing. Doing the right thing means from today we will temporarily suspend production at our Llangefni site with immediate effect for a period of 14 days. We will not tolerate any unnecessary risks - however small - for our existing loyal workforce at the facility."
• A total of 14,045 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in England had their case transferred to the NHS Test and Trace contact tracing system during the first two weeks of its operation, according to figures from the Department of Health & Social Care. Of this total, 10,192 people (73 per cent) were reached and asked to provide details of recent contacts. The figures cover the period May 28 to June 10.
• During the first two weeks of Test and Trace, 87,639 people who had been identified as close contacts of people who had tested positive for Covid-19 were reached through the tracing system. This was 91 per cent out of a total of 96,746 identified contacts. The remaining 9,107 (9 per cent) were identified as close contacts but were not reached.
• The Test and Trace figures also show that 3 per cent of people (418) who tested positive for Covid-19 during the two-week period could not be reached because their communication details were not provided. A further 24 per cent (3,435) were not reached and asked to provide contact details. This includes people who the service was unable to reach because there had been no response to text, email and call reminders.
• The Department of Health and Social Care said some contacts who had been reached under the Test and Trace system had not agreed to self-isolate, despite having been in close contact with somebody who had tested positive for Covid-19. There were also some contacts the system had been unable to reach, either because no contact details had been provided or they had not responded to text, email and call reminders.
• A total of 2,464 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, up by two from 2,462 on Wednesday, Nicola Sturgeon said. Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Ms Sturgeon said 18,077 people have tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by 11 from 18,066 the previous day. There are 929 people in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, a decrease of 36. Of these patients, 23 were in intensive care, a decrease of one.
• The First Minister has announced that Scotland will be moving to the next phase out of lockdown. She told MSPs in Holyrood that the progress made in suppressing the virus was "clear and substantial", adding: "Taking account of that progress and the other evidence we are required to assess, I am therefore very pleased to confirm that the Scottish Government has concluded that we can now move into the next phase of our exit from lockdown." However, she also said the virus "has not gone away" and that the reason the virus had been suppressed to its current levels was "because of lockdown". The First Minister said: "So as we gradually remove the restrictions that have kept it under control, there is a very real risk that transmission could rise again. That is why - if we don't want to go backwards - we must progress carefully."
• Downing Street urged people contacted by the NHS Test and Trace service to follow the advice they receive to stop the spread of coronavirus, as it defended the reach of the scheme. The Prime Minister's official spokesman told a Westminster briefing: "NHS Test and Trace is a new, large scale service designed to help us contain the virus and save lives. This week's data shows tens of thousands of people who may have unwittingly spread the virus otherwise are now remaining safely at home. We continue to reach more people who may be at risk of passing the virus on and are grateful for the public's support. Everyone must play their part and we urge those with symptoms to book a test immediately, and those contacted by the service to follow the advice they receive." Asked if the Government was disappointed the scheme was not reaching more people, the spokesman said: "This is a new and large-scale service and I think it is important to recognise that it does show tens of thousands of people who might otherwise have been spreading the virus are at home."
• Some 140,359 coronavirus tests were provided in the 24 hours before 9am on Wednesday, Downing Street said. The PM's spokesman said, according to the latest figures on June 15, testing capacity stood at 241,540 per day. Figures for the number of people tested are still not available.
• Downing Street said the Government is looking at a "range of measures" to help children catch up after missing months of schooling. The Prime Minister's official spokesman told a Westminster briefing: "We're looking at a range of measures to help children make up for the time they spent out of school. The PM has been clear that the catch-up plan will cover not just the summer period, but also September and beyond." It follows reports that schools will be funded to hire private tutors to help pupils who have fallen behind.
• Spot checks to ensure people are complying with the coronavirus quarantine measures for arrivals have been carried out, Number 10 confirmed. Asked if the police or Border Force had carried out checks, the PM's spokesman said: "They will have been carrying out spot checks in accordance with the guidance and the policy."