Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told Parliament that arrivals to England who lie on their passenger locator forms can be jailed for up to 10 years.

The study, which began in May, using swabs from about 120,000 to 160,000 randomly selected people, has revealed a doubling of cases in England every week.

As part of preparations aimed at preventing a second COVID-19 wave during the upcoming winter, the UK government is to trial routine weekly testing of the population, which former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt asserts should become the norm.

A coronavirus contact-tracing app for England has edged a step closer with the launch of a new public trial, after months of delays.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock is reportedly expected to announce that the isolation period in England will be extended to 10 days.

The government stands accused of lacking clarity as face mask regulations are published less than 24 hours before coming into effect resulting in much public confusion.

The current growth rate is minus 4 per cent to minus 2 per cent and the estimate for the reproduction rate – or R number – remains at 0.7 to 0.9.