Here's a round-up of some of the key coronavirus news points of the last 24-hours.

  • TWO further people have died in hospital in the North-East and North Yorkshire after testing positive for the coronavirus. Figures published on Monday afternoon show one NHS Trust in the region - the County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust - had reported two new Covid-19 deaths. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said 43,575 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Sunday, up by 25 from 43,550 the day before. The Government figures do not include all deaths involving Covid-19 across the UK, which are thought to have passed 54,000.

The Northern Echo:

The County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust has reported two new Covid-19 deaths

  • Leicester has recorded 866 new cases of coronavirus in the last two weeks - leading to speculation that the city would be locked down. Boris Johnson said the Government was "concerned about Leicester" where there has been a flare-up of coronavirus. On a visit to a construction site in west London, the Prime Minister said: "We are concerned about Leicester, we are concerned about any local outbreak. I want to stress to people that we are not out of the woods yet. We are making these cautious, calibrated steps, we are opening as much of hospitality as we can on July 4, opening as much of the economy as we can - some things, alas, still remain closed until they can become Covid-secure. But to make all that possible we have to remain vigilant."

The Northern Echo:

Maria Demetriou-Clamp and Robin Dignall disinfect chairs at their hair salon 'Hair @ 1RD' in Leicester as the city may be the first UK location to be subjected to a local lockdown after a spike in coronavirus cases Picture: PA

  • Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said the Government was still consulting on how to get children back to school, but said the plans would be unveiled this week. Asked if there will be a detailed plan this week, Mr Williamson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There will." Asked if all social distancing requirements could be removed to allow a total return, he said: "We're going to take the opportunity to spell out exactly as to how we will see a full return for all children back into school before the end of this week. As I'm sure you'll understand and appreciate at the moment, we're consulting and talking with different people, whether it's headteachers, whether it's unions, whether it's representative bodies." He later said parents could be fined if they do not send their children back to school after their scheduled restart in England in September.

The Northern Echo:

A detailed plan will be revealed this week about how to get children back to school, the Government says Picture: PIXABAY

  • People in the UK are still travelling less than 50% of their pre-pandemic distance despite lockdown restrictions easing, according to new figures. Movement is only increasing by around 2-3% each week, University of Oxford data shows. After sinking to a 98% reduction compared with pre-lockdown levels in mid-April, as of June 22 travelling had increased to around 45%. The Government dropped its "stay home" slogan on May 10. One of the researchers involved in the study of movement, Dr Matthias Qian, said: "We explain the slow and steady increase in mobility with the lockdown fatigue of the population while destination choices are limited. The key driver of population movement is the daily commute to work, and these commutes remain muted as many offices have yet to reopen." The highest levels of movement since the crisis began coincided with the hottest day of the year so far on June 25.

The Northern Echo:

People are continuing to travel less than before lockdown, despite measures easing Picture: PIXABAY

  • Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organisation told a press conference that today marks six-months since the received the first reports of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in China. He said: "The six-month anniversary of the outbreak coincides with reaching 10 million Covid-19 cases and 500,000 deaths" He added: "This is a moment for all of us to reflect on the progress we have made and the lessons we have learned, and to recommit ourselves to doing everything we can to save lives". Dr Tedros said the pandemic "is not even close to being over". He told the WHO press conference: "We all want this to be over. We all want to get on with our lives. But the hard reality is this is not even close to being over." He added: "We're all in this together, and we're all in this for the long haul. We will need even greater stores of resilience, patience, humility and generosity in the months ahead."