Coronavirus news – live: Face coverings will not be made in compulsory in shops, Michael Gove says as Herefordshire farm in lockdown
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Face coverings will not be made mandatory in shops, Michael Gove said – two days after Boris Johnson hinted that England could copy Scotland by introducing the rule.
The cabinet office minister also stepped up calls for people to return to work following reports that the government was set to ease restrictions on using public transport.
It came as a Herefordshire farm went into lockdown after 73 vegetable pickers tested positive for coronavirus. The 200 staff are being kept in isolation in mobile homes at the site.
Meanwhile Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would be prepared to impose a border quarantine with England to prevent the spread of the virus if necessary, though there were no “immediate plans” to do so.
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Hello and welcome to the Independent's live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in the UK and worldwide.
Trump finally wears a mask
If you missed it last night, here's our report on the first public appearance of Donald Trump wearing a face mask. Having previously said he chose not to wear one, he recently claimed he liked masks and added that they make him look like the Lone Ranger.
Last night it was also reported that one of the most famous Bollywood stars was in hospital with coronavirus.
Leaked report reveals 20 areas at most risk of local lockdown
In the UK, a list of 20 councils most at risk from coronavirus outbreaks was leaked to the Guardian/Observer.
Leicester remains the area of most concern but Sheffield, Kirklees and Bradford are among those regions thought to be facing possible local lockdowns.
It follows news that Belgium had imposed a 14-day quarantine on any arrivals from Leicester.
Boris Johnson set to ease restrictions on public transport
The government is reportedly looking at ways to encourage more people to use trains and buses as part of its bid to boost the economy.
Boris Johnson is expected to change current guidance which advises Britons to avoid public transport due to the risk of spreading coronavirus.
It follows his comments on Friday when he said he wanted people to go back to work "if they can" rather than work from home where possible.
The Sunday Telegraph reported a government source as saying: "Different departments are looking at ways to ease in the message of avoiding public transport. The best way to do this, and when, is currently under discussion.
"There is some debate about how best to get the message across that the government wants to allow more people to travel."
Taxes rises needed to pay for pandemic, says Gauke
Former treasury minister David Gauke has warned that tax increases will be necessary to pay for Chancellor Rishi Sunak's emergency spending plans.
Mr Sunak announced a "plan for jobs" which could cost up to £30 billion on Wednesday, the latest in a number of measures to dampen the impact of Covid-19.
However the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said the country could face decades of tax rises to repair finances, adding that managing the elevated debt from the pandemic would be a task "for not just the current Chancellor, but also many of his successors".
And Mr Gauke, who left the Commons last year, wrote in the Observer that "tax increases will have to do most of the heavy lifting" when the government tries to balance the books.
He said that the spending pledges would see government debt grow larger than the size of the UK economy, and the "political challenge" in increasing tax by the required amount would be "immense".
"Unlike the situation in 2010, it is hard to see that there are substantial savings to be made in Government spending," he wrote.
"The one obvious exception is the pension triple lock - if wages are stagnant (or even falling) and inflation is negligible, it would be an act of intergenerational unfairness to increase the state pension by 2.5 per cent.
"To give an indication of the scale of the undertaking, a £40bn tax rise would be the equivalent of an increase of 7p on the basic rate of income tax or raising the standard rate of VAT by 6 per cent."
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Meanwhile.... Walt Disney World reopens in Florida
Walt Disney World has reopened in Florida after nearly four months amid a surge in Covid-19 infections in the state.
Parts of the entertainment complex which bills itself as “the Most Magical Place on Earth” opened to visitors on Saturday with new rules to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.
World update
India reported record surge of 28,637 in the past 24 hours, prompting authorities to announce a weeklong lockdown in the key southern technology hub of Bangalore. The new confirmed cases took the national total to 849,553. The Health Ministry on Sunday also reported another 551 deaths for a total of 22,674. India has overtaken Russia in the number of cases and is currently behind the United States and Brazil, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
Russia has reported 6,615 new cases, taking its nationwide tally of infections to 727,162. The country's crisis response centre said 130 people had died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 11,335. A total of 501,061 people have recovered from the virus.
Australia's Victoria state has continued to see a surge of infections, with 273 new cases reported earlier today. It comes after Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, was put under a fresh six-week lockdown on Thursday due to a spike in cases in the community.
Germany has reported a further 248 cases, bringing the total to 198,804, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases. The reported COVID-19 death toll rose by three to 9,063.
Labour supports compulsory masks in shops
Labour could support the mandatory wearing of face coverings in shops, the party's shadow business minister has said.
Speaking to Sky News' Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, Lucy Powell said: "We do need to get a lot more confidence back in the system and if the mandatory wearing of face masks in shops will help to do that then we absolutely support it.
"We think the government - instead of just showing a bit of leg occasionally on these things by briefing newspapers or saying things that are not clear guidance in press conferences as the prime minister did on Friday - (should) get some clarity.
"That's really something that would get confidence back into the system and get people feeling that they can go to the shops, they can go to restaurants and go to bars."
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