UK coronavirus live: Johnson signals stricter face mask rules and says people should 'go back to work if they can' – as it happened

That’s all from our UK live blog for today but please follow the developments worldwide on our global blog.

Thank you following the blog today. Below is a summary of the key stories.

• UK official death toll rises by 48 since yesterday – The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said 44,650 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Thursday – up by 48 from 44,602 the previous day.

• 22 Covid-19 deaths in England – A further 22 people in England have died after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 29,013, NHS England said.

• In Wales there were no new coronavirus deaths recorded, with the number remaining at 1,540, Public Health Wales said.

• Nicola Sturgeon announced there were no new coronavirus deaths in Scotland for the second consecutive day. Up to eight people are allowed to meet indoors as Sturgeon also urged people to continue to wear face coverings in Scotland.

• Boris Johnson has urged Britons to go back to work if they can, in a shift from the government’s policy of asking people to work from home. He ended today’s #PeoplesPMQs with: “I do want people to start to go to work now if you can, but remember to follow the guidance because that is the way to save lives.”

• The PM also hinted there may be stricter rules on face coverings to come. He said: “We need to be stricter in insisting that people wear face coverings in confined places, transport and shops where they are meeting people they don’t normally meet.”

• 16 homeless people known to have died with coronavirus – Analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has found that 16 homeless people are known to have died with coronavirus in England during the first three months of lockdown.

• Six in 10 adults would feel ‘uncomfortable’ eating indoors at a restaurant – In a poll of 1,788 adults in Britain carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) between 2-5 July, 21% of adults said they would feel comfortable or very comfortable doing so, with 60% feeling the opposite.

• Boris Johnson has thanked school leavers for making “sacrifices” that will have saved many lives amid the coronavirus pandemic.

• Leading charities have told the government relatives of dementia patients should be treated as key workers so they can visit their family members and be tested for coronavirus where necessary.
  

Boris Johnson has been pictured wearing a mask, seemingly for the first time in public, during a visit to local businesses in Uxbridge today.

Earlier today culture minister Caroline Dinenage said she wears a mask “all the time” during an interview with Radio 4 after the government came under pressure to answer why more senior figures had not been pictured wearing face coverings.

Social media users raised concerns this week after the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, was pictured serving food to customers at a Wagamama restaurant in central London without a face covering.

Sadiq Khan has reacted to Boris Johnson stating there may be stricter regulations regarding face masks during the #peoplesPMQs session this afternoon.

Boris Johnson is being urged to apologise for historical comments he made about the Srebrenica massacre. Tony Lloyd MP has written to the prime minister, with support from over 30 cross-party MPs, calling on him to apologise for remarks he made in 1997 about the genocide, ahead of its 25^th anniversary tomorrow.

Johnson wrote: “All right, I say, the fate of Srebrenica was appalling. But they weren’t exactly angels, these Muslims.”

In July 1995, 8,000 mostly Muslim men and boys were taken by Serbian forces from a “safe enclave” of Srebrenica protected by Dutch UN peacekeepers and murdered.

Lloyd said:

As we commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the atrocity, it is unthinkable that you would publicly attend national memorial events without having apologised for such comments.

There can be no excuse for in any way blaming the victims of a genocide for its perpetration, not even for a prime minister.

Meanwhile, to attend such events without reflection on your previous comments is an insult to the victims and their families who continue to suffer the consequences to this day.

Moreover, considering your long and significant history of racist, Islamophobic and prejudicial statements, your comments about Srebrenica cannot be seen as an isolated incident.”

You can read more on the Srebrenica massacre here:

Sadiq Khan has urged Londoners to wear face masks when they are in enclosed spaces. The Mayor of London was in Borough Market this afternoon visiting local business that are reopening for the weekend.

An increase in confirmed cases of young people with coronavirus in south Liverpool has led public health officials to warn that the illness can infect anyone. There have been around 30 cases in the area over the last fortnight, half of them in people aged 15-24.

Places affected include Belle Vale, Childwall, Woolton, Knotty Ash, Allerton and Hunts Cross, as well as Haleswood in Knowsley.

Matt Ashton, Liverpool’s director of public health, said:

Everyone is at risk of Covid-19, but we know that there is a perception among younger people that they are less at risk.

The easing of the lockdown means this is a really dangerous moment for case numbers and we need people not to let their guard down and throw away all of the sacrifices we have made since March.

We owe it to each other to take precautions and look after each other, regardless of their age.”

Boris Johnson has urged Britons to go back to work if they can, in a shift from the government’s policy of asking people to work from home.

The PM concluded the #PeoplesPMQs with the following message:

I do want people to start to go to work now if you can, but remember to follow the guidance because that is the way to save lives.

I think everybody has sort of taken the ‘Stay at home if you can’ … I think we should now say, well, ‘Go back to work if you can.’ Because I think it’s very important that people should try to lead their lives more normally.

I want to see more people feeling confident to use the shops, use the restaurants, and get back into work – but only if we all follow the guidance.”

Could the UK economy afford another nationwide lockdown, or will there be more local lockdowns in the event of a spike?

“We won’t if we can possibly avoid it,” the PM said, suggesting the “whack-a-mole” method of local lockdowns where there are spikes, as in Leicester, would be preferred. I’m pro-mole, but it’s the way forward.”

Johnson added:

It’s in the winter when we really have to be on it, we’re going to have flu, and a risk the virus will come back again.”

A university student planning to start his course in September asked what the government have planned to help universities and their incoming students.

They’ve [universities] had to cope by saying they will have to do a lot of teaching online through Zoom.

The best thing for universities is for them to get back to normal life as close as possible. To get our universities prospering again we need to get them back to life as normal

I would like to see universities come back in the Autumn like schools. It should happen, it must happen.”

The PM then echoed the government’s advice to follow hand washing and social distancing guidance to reduce infection numbers. The student then asked if “bubbles” of students could return, similar to how schools have returned but the PM suggested different guidance regarding universities returning will be produced in the near future.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said 44,650 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Thursday – up by 48 from 44,602 the previous day.

The government figures do not include all deaths involving Covid-19 across the UK, which are thought to have passed 55,000.

The DHSC also said that in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Friday, 160,970 tests were carried out or dispatched across all pillars, with 512 positive results. Overall, a total of 288,133 cases have been confirmed.

The PM hints there may be stricter regulations coming to encourage people to wear face coverings in public.

He said:

We need to be stricter in insisting that people wear face coverings in confined places, transport and shops where they are meeting people they don’t normally meet.”

Johnson said expert opinion on face coverings had shifted over the course of the pandemic and that he was
“very keen to follow that”.

Boris Johnson is answering pre-selected questions from people across the UK. Jason in Kettering is asking on behalf of his dad who worked in manufacturing and was made redundant during lockdown.

Johnson said:

Someone in the manufacturing industry is a massive asset to this country. The best we can do for him is to get things moving and to get the manufacturing industry moving again.”

A small outbreak of Covid-19 has been reported at an accommodation centre for asylum seekers and refugees in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, the BBC reports.

Wakefield Council said a number of residents at Urban House, run by the private company Mears Group, had tested positive for the virus. Those affected have been isolated and given treatment and support at another location.

Anna Hartley, Wakefield Council’s director of public health, said: “A mobile testing unit is being set up at the site and we’re continuing to work closely with Mears Group, the Home Office and Public Health England to help limit any further potential spread.

“Please be reassured that the risk to those in the local area is very low, however, we ask everyone to please continue to follow government guidance on regular handwashing and social distancing to help keep yourself and others safe.”