Watch football in your own homes, says government

And as we wind down our live page, here’s a round-up of some of the biggest stories in the UK:

• Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden urged people to stay at home to watch the return of England's Premier League. The first game between Aston Villa and Sheffield United ended in a 0-0 draw at Villa Park
• Health Minister Lord Bethell said the UK's contact tracing app will now be ready "before the winter" appearing to contradict recent promises it would be launched this month
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to state that schools are safe to reopen across England
• Life-saving coronavirus treatment dexamethasone went into use across the UK
• Health Secretary Matt Hancock was seen slapping a colleague on the back in the House of Commons, despite social distancing measures in place to curb the spread of coronavirus
• And the country's death toll rose by 184 to 42,153 - there were a further 1,115 confirmed coronavirus cases

We will shortly be pausing our live coverage. Today there were signs of the pandemic worsening in Latin America, and localised infections are causing concern in some countries where the virus is largely considered to be under control. The top stories on Wednesday:

• In Latin America the president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández is in hospital with pneumonia after testing positive for the virus. Hard-hit Brazil reported almost 35,000 new cases - its highest daily figure. Meanwhile Chile introduced a tighter lockdown that permits citizens of Santiago to leave their homes just twice a week - cases there have soared past 200,000 nationally
• There have been 8.1m confirmed cases across the world since the outbreak began, and 441,000 deaths
• A spike in infections in Beijing, China continues as people in 27 neighbourhoods are forbidden from leaving the city
• In Germany, 7,000 people have been told to go into quarantine after hundreds of workers tested positive at a slaughterhouse in Gütersloh

• New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has ordered the military to oversee the country's quarantine and border operations after two infected people arrived from the UK
• In Russia, any visitors for President Vladimir Putin must pass through a special disinfection tunnel
• And finally, living through a pandemic has caused many people to struggle with their mental health. Our colleague has taken a look at how our brains are responding to the pandemic. Watch her video here.

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After two months at home - two months of virtual happy hours, socially distanced hangouts, and learning when to unmute yourself on Zoom - all 50 US states and the District of Columbia have begun the process of reopening.

For some, that means the first face-to-face interactions with friends and family outside of their household in weeks.

But how do you navigate the risks? Is sharing snacks okay? And is the briefest of hugs acceptable? Find out here.

We reported earlier that Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez had announced he and his wife had tested positive for Covid-19.

The president was later taken to hospital and is now being treated for pneumonia, Reuters quotes Francis Contreras, a spokesman for Honduran health agency Sinager, as saying.

He said the president was on an intravenous drip but was generally in good heath.

Mr Hernandez tweeted that he felt good and appreciated all the support he had received.

The Latin American nation has registered just under 10,000 Covid-19 infections and 330 deaths.

The Premier League has finally returned.There were no fans. But then there were no goals either.

Aston Villa and Sheffield United drew 0-0 at Villa Park after a 100-day hiatus.

There was a moment's silence observed to remember all those who have died in the coronavirus outbreak, including the father of Villa manager Dean Smith.

The players and match officials also all took a knee to mark the death of African American George Floyd in the US, and the players' names were replaced with the words Black Lives Matter.

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Southend University HospitalCopyright: Southend University Hospital

An NHS nurse who spent 75 days as a coronavirus patient at the hospital where he works has recovered and left amid clapping from colleagues.

Felix Khor, 68, spent 45 days in the intensive care ward at Southend Hospital in Essex, where he has worked for 15 years, and was put on a ventilator.

He then spent several weeks on a different ward.

He was admitted to hospital in early April and was discharged on Monday.

Read his story here.

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Earlier we reported that 400 workers at a slaughterhouse in Gütersloh in western Germany had tested positive since Monday.

Now some 7,000 people have been told to go into quarantine.

Employees' families will have to isolate themselves and schools and nurseries in the area have been closed. The abattoir has also been temporarily shut.

A number of abattoirs in Germany and elsewhere in Europe have been hit by Covid-19. They often rely on migrant labour. Some face allegations that poor working conditions and cramped accommodation facilitate the spread of the virus.

Germany has had nearly 9,000 deaths from Covid-19, which is significantly less than some other western European countries, including the UK, France and Italy.

More than 1,500 UK paediatricians have signed a letter to the prime minister calling for clear plans for getting children back into school.

They say the absence of millions of children from schools "risks scarring the life chances of a generation of young people".

Their concerns centre on the mental and physical health of children who have missed many months of education.

Plans for schools reopening have been published in Scotland and Wales.

The letter from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health calls on the UK government and the Northern Ireland Executive to follow suit.

Read about what they have to say here.

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A UK health says the country's coronavirus contact tracing app will be now ready "before the winter".

Lord Bethell, the minister for innovation at the Department of Health and Social Care, said he was unable to give a date for its launch - adding that the application was "not a priority".

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said the comments appeared to contradict statements made by ministers in the recent past.

Read more here.

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Financial pressure on the UK government due to the coronavirus outbreak has prompted more speculation over the level of future rises in the state pension.

At the moment, pensioners are guaranteed rising payments through a so-called "triple lock". Pensions rise each year by a rate of inflation, the increase in average wages or 2.5% - whichever is highest.

But with the coronavirus furlough scheme picking up 80% of millions of wages until it ends in October, next year's average wage rise will be as high as 18%.

Will the government scrap the triple lock, will it postpone it, or are pensioners in line for a bumper increase?

Read more here.

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Around 2.8 million pints of out-of-date beer will need to be disposed of from Wales's shut pubs and clubs, the Campaign for Real Ale has estimated.

But "highly polluting" beer "poses a significant environmental risk" according to Natural Resources Wales.

Welsh Water says it will work with businesses "to agree how and when the drinks can be disposed of".

But an opposition politician warned that the company was not used to dealing with such a volume of old beer.

Wales's 3,500 pubs and clubs - along with cafes and restaurants - have been closed since 20 March.

Read more here.

Chile has announced a stricter lockdown in its capital after Covid-19 infections nationwide soared past 200,000.

Chile is one of the worst affected nations in South America and Santiago has been badly hit.

Residents of Santiago now face what has been termed "maximum" restrictions on movement.

The infection rate nationwide rose to 220,628, the health ministry said, after 31,412 previously unconfirmed cases were added to 4,757 new ones.

Chile has also recorded 3,383 deaths.

In a joint ministerial briefing, officials said residents of Santiago would be granted permission to leave their homes just twice a week instead of five times.

This is despite lockdowns lasting three months having already been in place in some parts of the capital.

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The return to Premier League football is having a poignant start. When the game began at Villa, players, officials and staff took a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

When referee Michael Oliver blew the whistle for kick-off, he and his officials joined all the players in kneeling for around 10 seconds to protest against racial injustice and to stand in support of others after the death of George Floyd in the US.

All players warmed up in Black Lives Matters t-shirts, with their names on the back of the match shirts replaced with the same message.

Games are being played behind closed doors because of the pandemic, with few journalists, officials and ground staff spaced out in the quiet stadium.

Instead of crowd noise there is just the chat and commotion of the players, managers and officials.

At the UK government daily briefing earlier, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden warned fans to watch the game at home, rather than meet up and spread the virus.

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AFPCopyright: AFP

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Germany has extended a ban on large gatherings until at least the end of October, Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced.

The number of new coronavirus infections has stabilised at a low level, she said, but people should continue social distancing and wear masks, report German media.

The ban could affect events including the Frankfurt book fair, which attracts around 300,000 visitors and which organisers had said until now was going ahead, plus of course large sports events.

Rules on gathering size vary across Germany's states. Before the new announcement was made, for example, Berlin's rules allowed up to 200 people to gather for outdoor events until 16 June, increasing to 500 from 16 June and to 1,000 from 30 June.

Schools will also return to normal after the summer holidays, Merkel added, after speaking with the leaders of Germany's 16 states in Berlin on Wednesday.

We reported yesterday on dexamethasone, the cheap and widely available drug that can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with coronavirus.

Today, the World Health Organization issued some cautions, stressing that the steroid should only be used under medical supervision and that it should be reserved for exceptionally ill patients.

It also cautions there is no evidence it could prevent infection, or treat milder illness.

The head of the WHO's emergencies programme, Mike Ryan, said: "It is exceptionally important in this case, that the drug is reserved for use in severely ill and critical patients who can benefit from this drug clearly."

Some doctors also want to see more data, citing possible side-effects.

A major trial in the UK showed the drug cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth.

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Read more about dexamethasone here.

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Campaigners have called on the government to make pet theft a specific offence after instances of the crime "went through the roof" in lockdown.

Beverley Cuddy, editor of Dogs Today magazine, told MPs dog prices "went up and up" during lockdown and cases of theft increased.

She joined others to tell MPs tougher penalties were needed to deter thieves.

The government has said it is already an offence under the Theft Act 1968, with a maximum penalty of seven years.

But campaigners complain those who steal animals can currently be punished in the same way as someone who steals a mobile phone or a laptop, as pets are classed simply as "property" under the act.

Read more here.

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The Eiffel Tower in Paris, one of France’s most visited landmarks, will reopen to visitors next week.

Tourism officials plan to start by limiting the number of visitors to the tower, following its longest closure since World War Two.

Only the first and second floors will be accessible to visitors, and lifts will remain closed in the first stage of reopening.

All surfaces in well-travelled areas will be cleaned every two hours, and all visitors over the age of 11 will be required to wear masks. A full reopening is expected by 25 June.

The tower normally receives around seven million visitors per year, but France's tourism industry has been hit hard after a lockdown was imposed in March.

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A woman in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg has been fined for writing on Facebook that her local hospital was avoiding diagnosing patients with coronavirus, according to Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

"The hospital is packed, people are dying in their masses, everyone is being diagnosed with 'pneumonia'. They put him in a corridor," Tatiana Znak wrote, describing the death of a family friend.

The court found she has misrepresented the situation and insisted that no-one had died of the disease there.

Znak was fined 15,000 roubles (about $200). Her lawyer says she will appeal against the decision, saying "we will go to the European Court of Human Rights if need be".

Russia has the third-highest number of cases in the world (552,549) and 7,468 deaths, according to official figures.

• Nightmare spreads through Russia's care homes