HERE'S everything coronavirus-related you need to know from the past 24-hours.

  • There once again have been no further coronavirus deaths in hospitals in the North-East and North Yorkshire, while five people who tested positive have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals to 29,347. Another two deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result.
  • Diners will be able to enjoy half-price meals starting on today as the Government kick-starts its August scheme aimed at boosting restaurant and pub trade following the lockdown. The Eat Out to Help Out will see bills slashed by 50 per cent on all eat-in meals ordered between Monday and Wednesday this month at participating restaurants, cafes and bars.
  • Nine out of ten medium-sized businesses have made staff redundant due to the Covid-19 crisis, a study suggests. Just under a third of 500 firms surveyed said they had already made around a fifth of their workforce redundant, despite the Government's Job Retention Scheme running until the end of October.
  • Redcar and Cleveland could lose about 3,000 jobs in the next six months because of the impact of the coronavirus, councillors have been told. The stark warning came at a meeting of the authority’s growth, enterprise and environment improvement committee. There are fears that firms will begin laying staff off when Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s job retention scheme – which pays for 80 per cent of the salary of workers placed on furlough – ends in October.
  • There are currently no plans to shut pubs after a rise in coronavirus transmissions in England, said the Housing Secretary. Robert Jenrick, asked on Times Radio whether the Government would look to close pubs in such an event, said: "We don't have any plans to do that." He also said schools would definitely return to full capacity in September and confirmed it would be the priority should there be a second spike of infections.
  • Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has cast doubt on reports of fresh draconian new lockdown restrictions for London and said talk of an expanded shielding programme was "just speculation". His comments come after reports surfaced that Boris Johnson had ordered officials to work up a plan for avoiding a second national lockdown.