Coronavirus: National and international news
The UK government currently advises against all but essential international travel. It will outline details later of its quarantine proposals – due to come in on Monday – which will require the majority of those arriving in the UK from abroad to self-isolate for 14 days.
Mr Argar told BBC Breakfast: “I know that one of the many things that people will desperately want to do is have a holiday, but as a health minister I’m very cautious on this.
“I hope that people will be able to go on holiday at some point this year, but I can’t make that promise as I have to be cautious and go with the science.”
Several gatherings of extended families in the north-western German city of Göttingen two weekends ago have resulted in a local spike of the coronavirus, which authorities say has highlighted the need to stick to physical distancing rules.
As Germany slowly emerges from its lockdown restrictions, the outbreaks in Göttingen serve to illustrate the challenge of keeping the virus contained, despite the relatively efficient tracking and tracing system in place in the country.
Spain reported zero new deaths from coronavirus on Tuesday, the second straight day where officials claimed to have suffered no fatalities.
The country also reported that 137 new cases of the virus had been diagnosed in the previous 24 hours.
Both daily totals have fallen sharply since Spain changed the way it tallies its figures, amid accusations they are now unreliable.
New Zealand could lift its remaining restrictions on social distancing and group gatherings next week, after recording no new coronavirus cases for an 11th consecutive day.
“Our strategy of go hard, go early has paid off,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday.
“In moving to level one so soon, we will be one of the first countries in the world to have experienced a Covid-19 outbreak and then return to that level of normality so quickly.”
More than 10,000 people have died with coronavirus in Mexico, the country’s health minister has announced.
The announcement came on the same day that many restrictions brought in to curb the spread of the virus were lifted.
The number of confirmed cases was more than 93,000 as of Monday, according to official figures.
That figure means Mexico is the fourth worst affected country in Latin America after Brazil, Peru and Chile.
On Tuesday, France began the second phase of easing lockdown rules, after two months of nationwide restrictions due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Under the new rules, cafes and restaurants are allowed to reopen indoor sitting in the so-called green zones, meaning where Covid-19 infections rate has significantly diminished.
In Paris, where the virus has not been put under control, eating and drinking facilities can only welcome customers in outside terraces.
Over the weekend, parks and public gardens reopened, while beaches, museums, historical monuments, swimming pools, gyms and theatres reopened on Tuesday, with schools reopening progressively.
