Delay to Scotland easing, and Wembley to admit 60,000 fans

Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Tuesday evening. We’ll have another update for you tomorrow morning.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced that her government aims to have all legal coronavirus restrictions lifted on 9 August. She told MSPs there would be a delay to the easing of lockdown to allow more people to get their vaccinations. Ms Sturgeon added that the Scottish government would not recommend a widespread return to offices in August and that some settings would still require masks to be worn. The government’s original “route map” out of lockdown would have seen the whole of Scotland move to level zero from next Monday. That has now been pushed back to 19 July – the same date as restrictions are eased in England.

The largest crowds to attend a sporting event in the UK since the pandemic struck will be at Wembley stadium in London for the Euro 2020 semi-finals and final, after the government announced at least 60,000 fans will be allowed in to the games. The increase in capacity is taking place as part of the Events Research Programme. The decision comes as Italy’s prime minister had called for London to be stripped of hosting the final due to rising Covid cases. But football’s European governing body Uefa said it has “no plans” to do so.

A series of emails leaked to the BBC’s File on 4 suggest former No 10 aide Dominic Cummings tried to bypass the usual awarding process and fast-track a £530,000 government grant at the start of the pandemic. In an email, also leaked to the Guardian and Source Material, the PM’s ex-top adviser told civil servants to “immediately” issue the cash to research project Our World in Data with “no procurement, no lawyers, no meetings, no delay”. Further emails show civil servants had concerns about the timeframe and whether it was in line with the rules. The government says due diligence was followed in awarding the grant, which was eventually issued in summer 2020 in instalments.

The boss of digital dating app Tinder has told the BBC that coronavirus has changed people’s approach to match-making, where instead of choosing who they want to meet in real life, users are taking the time to get to know potential dates. Jim Lanzone said people are now having relationships virtually before taking the step of meeting up. And while the app will maintain the pre-pandemic approach where people would swipe right if they liked the look of someone, Mr Lanzone said changes coming in this week will mean daters can “show a more multidimensional version of themselves”.

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