Coronavirus news: England hospital admissions up nearly one-quarter in a day, as MPs back 'rule of six'

See how we covered Tuesday’s events live

MPs vote in favour of 'rule of six' regulations in England

The number of people admitted to English hospitals with coronavirus leapt by nearly one-quarter from Saturday to Sunday, government figures revealed.

There were 478 admissions on Sunday, the most recent day for which figures have been provided, up from 386 the day before.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has won a Commons vote on the “rule of six”, despite anger at the government’s ability to bypass parliamentary scrutiny during the pandemic. MPs voted in favour by 287 votes to 17 – but 12 Tories rebelled and voted against the regulation.

Growing frustration with restrictions on freedom comes at a time when some experts are warning those crackdowns may have to become more stringent.

Speaking on BBC Newsnight on Tuesday, Professor John Edmunds said a return to national lockdown should come sooner rather than later.

The Sage adviser said: "We are starting to get to a point where we really will have to take really critical action otherwise we are going to run the risk of turning the National Health Service back into the national Covid service.

"These local restrictions that have been put in place in much of the north of England really haven't been very effective. We need to take much more stringent measures, not just in the north of England, we need to do it countrywide, and bring the epidemic back under control."

He was speaking after it became likely that new a local lockdown would be imposed in Nottingham, where the director of public health described a spike in cases as “significant and worrying”.

In the US, Donald Trump has continued to downplay the dangers of Covid-19, despite contracting it himself. He also called an abrupt halt to negotiations with Democrats on badly-needed new economic stimulus.

Key Points

• England hospital admissions up 24% in a day
• Coronavirus vaccine may be ready by end of 2020, WHO chief says
• Nottingham expect local lockdown after surge in cases
• Johnson to face backbench MPs with vote on ‘rule of six’
• Students 'on the whole' behind university cases spikes
• Johnson says coronavirus crisis will be over by this time next year
• Coronavirus deaths rise for third week in a row in England and Wales
• Further restrictions ‘could be needed to keep virus under control’
• WHO warns of significant increase in ‘coronavirus fatigue’

[6 October 2020 22:38 · Jon Sharman]

Facebook totally bans QAnon

Facebook is banning QAnon accounts from across all its platforms, the social media firm has announced, writes Graeme Massie.

The tech giant says it is a significant change in its policy, that was only implemented in August, which removed 1,500 accounts and groups relating to QAnon conspiracy theories that discussed violence.

[6 October 2020 22:45 · Jon Sharman]

Trump kept out of Oval Office

Donald Trump is working from makeshift office space in the White House living quarters rather than the Oval Office, with only a few senior staff gaining face-to-face access while he receives treatment for COVID-19, officials said on Tuesday.

The Oval Office, where the president normally works, off limits now that several staffers have been infected and forced to work from home.

Aides said they were looking at where else he might safely work in the West Wing.

[6 October 2020 23:01 · Jon Sharman]

102-year-old wears Hazmat-style outfit to cast 'most important' vote of her life

A 102-year-old woman in a makeshift hazmat suit ventured out into the world to cast her vote in the 2020 US election on Monday, writes Graig Graziosi.

Beatrice Lumpkin, of Chicago, told CBS Radio that she has not missed a single election in 80 years. 

[6 October 2020 23:20 · Jon Sharman]

Bring back full lockdown, says UK government adviser

Professor John Edmunds, a member of Sage, has said he believes tougher national lockdown restrictions are needed.

He told BBC Newsnight: "We are starting to get to a point where we really will have to take really critical action otherwise we are going to run the risk of turning the National Health Service back into the national Covid service.

"These local restrictions that have been put in place in much of the north of England really haven't been very effective. We need to take much more stringent measures, not just in the north of England, we need to do it countrywide, and bring the epidemic back under control."

He said the current "light touch" measures were merely "delaying the inevitable".

"We will at some point put very stringent measures in place because we will have to when hospitals start to really fill up," he said.

"Frankly, the better strategy is to put them in place now."

[6 October 2020 23:25 · Jon Sharman]

High number of new cases in Brazil

Brazil registered 41,906 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, the highest number for a single day since 11 September, according to the health ministry.

Deaths rose by 819 to 147,494.

[6 October 2020 23:40 · Jon Sharman]

What might a ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown in the UK look like?

As coronavirus cases continue to soar across the UK and warnings pile up over the impact of a second wave on the NHS, it is likely that the government will implement stricter regulations nationwide, writes Liam James.

Professor Neil Ferguson, who helped shape the initial March lockdown, warned on Tuesday that further restrictions may be necessary to stem the spread as cases are likely doubling every fortnight and even as quickly as every seven days in some areas. In order to curb the spike, Downing Street is reportedly considering “circuit-breaker” measures.  

[6 October 2020 23:50 · Jon Sharman]

Analysis: Trumps adds Covid denial to his emerging homestretch re-election message

Donald Trump returned to the White House in dramatic fashion, vowing to return to the campaign trail and previewing a final re-election message built on several main issues, writes John T Bennett. 

Despite contracting the coronavirus, a key part of his homestretch sales pitch will be to downplay a sickness that has killed at least 210,000 Americans.