As it happened. Thursday's UK coronavirus developments

As we bring our live coverage to a close, here's a final roundup of today's key developments in the UK:

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson led a Downing Street briefing earlier alongside Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK government's chief scientific adviser. The three men were questioned on issues including the extra support announced by the chancellor for workers and businesses hit by Covid restrictions; the latest on a potential vaccine and the government's localised approach to fighting the virus
• The UK recorded another 21,242 coronavirus cases, while a further 189 people have died within 28 days of a positive test, according to the latest government figures
• The Spanish Canary Islands, the Maldives, Denmark and the Greek island of Mykonos have been added to the UK's list of travel corridors. People returning from these countries from 04.00 BST on Sunday will no longer need to self-isolate for two weeks. But people arriving from Liechtenstein after this time will need to self-isolate after its exemption was removed
• Stoke, Coventry and Slough are to move into tier two restrictions on Saturday. Meanwhile discussions are now formally under way with local leaders in Warrington about moving into tier three - the highest Covid alert level in England. But Leeds Council say that, although talks about a similar move for West Yorkshire are ongoing, it does not expect any immindent change in its status

Take a look at our charts with the latest on coronavirus in the UK - including a map of the local authorities with extra restrictions in place and the most recent data on the number of positive cases.

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BBCCopyright: BBC

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Nottingham's seven-day coronavirus infection rate has fallen again.

The latest figure - reflecting cases for the week to 19 October - is 561.4 per 100,000 people, down from 604.5 yesterday.

Nottingham now has the fifth highest rate in England, behind Knowsley, Blackburn with Darwen, Rossendale and Liverpool.

Nottingham City CouncilCopyright: Nottingham City Council

The city and county of Nottinghamshire are still waiting to hear whether they will be made subject to tier three restrictions in the coming days.

A meeting between local leaders and a government minister was due to take place at 16:30.

During his coronavirus briefing, televised live on BBC One this afternoon, Boris Johnson said he wanted to travel "a middle course between the Scylla of another national lockdown and the Charybdis of an uncontrolled virus".

Scylla is a monster from Greek mythology who lived on a rock. While Charybdis refers to a nearby deadly whirlpool.

Heroic figures such as Odysseus would have to pick a careful course between the two foes to avoid being eaten or drowned.

If, like us, that reference had you scratching your head, you weren't alone...

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Two in five children aged 11 to 16 in England feel the coronavirus lockdown has made their lives worse, an NHS report on mental health suggests.

They said their biggest anxieties were about missing school and family and friends contracting Covid-19.

Mental disorders have risen across both genders since 2017. In boys, they rose from 11% to 16% and in girls from 10% to 15%, the report found.

Anne Longfield, the children's commissioner for England, described the increase as "extremely alarming" and called for a properly-funded children's mental health service and for every school to have its own NHS-funded counsellor.

The report is based on a survey of 3,570 children and young people up to the age of 22 who were interviewed in 2017 and followed up online in July during the coronavirus pandemic.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Responding to questions about whether West Yorkshire could move into tier three, a statement just issued by Leeds City Council says: “We are awaiting further talks with government regarding restrictions that are in place to tackle coronavirus in Leeds.

"At this current time we are not expecting tier status to change in Leeds this week.”

Earlier today the government said discussions with West Yorkshire (Bradford, Leeds, Kirklees, Calderdale, Wakefield) about moving to the very high alert level were ongoing.

Rishi Sunak has given an interview to explain the new measures he is taking to adapt his Winter Economic Plan, reflecting new regional restrictions in England.

"I've always said that we would need to adapt our financial support as the situation evolves," he said. "That's why today we're announcing three measures that will ensure that we can protect more jobs and support more businesses through the difficult winter months ahead."

Mr Sunak added he has always said he would "adapt and evolve our support as the health situation changes and that's clearly what's happened over the past few weeks".

Employers, he said, "believe in the principle that this is a shared endeavour that they want to support their employees alongside the government and taxpayer, and they think it's right that employees are doing some work".

He ends with a message to people in England: "Whether you're in a tier two area [or a] tier three area, we've got support in place for you on a national basis".

A timely reminder as to the reason why you are seeing the prime minister and the chanellor together addressing BBC One viewers in the afternoon. The latest daily update shows the UK recorded another 21,242 coronavirus cases according to the government's dashboard, while a further 189 people were reported to have died within 28 days of a positive test.

The Spanish Canary Islands, the Maldives, Denmark and the Greek island of Mykonos have been added to the UK's list of travel corridors, the transport secretary has announced.

Writing on Twitter, Grant Shapps said people returning from these destinations from 04.00 BST on Sunday will no longer need to self-isolate for two weeks.

However, Liechtenstein has become the only country to lose its exemption this week, meaning people returning from the country will need to quarantine on their return.

Lastly, Jane Kirby of the Press Association asked Sir Patrick Vallance if a decent level of roll-out of a potential vaccine is achieved by next spring, how soon people might be able to stop social distancing and wearing face coverings.

She asked the PM if he would reconsider his opposition to a national circuit break - a short, sharp lockdown - if those in Northern Ireland and Wales are shown to be more effective than tier three restrictions in England.

Sir Patrick replies first, insisting he will not speculate on how effective the vaccines are going to be, but says once we know how effective they are, it could be determined "how to use them best".

"Clearly the aim of vaccination is to try to take most of the load of the infection spread onto the vaccine in order to be able to relieve other measures and that's got to be an aim we would all wish for," he adds.

The PM said a national circuit break would be "very damaging" economically, socially and mentally for the country.

"We do think the local measures are right, and I repeat my gratitude to local leadership across the country, people who are helping to get the R rate down across their neighbourhoods... and that's what we're going to continue with."

Chris Smyth from the Times asked if the level of financial help will be available until a vaccine is in widespread use.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the Job Support Scheme will last for at least six months through to the spring with a review point halfway through.

Boris Johnson said "billions more is going in to support jobs and livelihoods" but adds "we are going to have to pay this money back".

He said the government's objective is to keep the economy going so "the UK can bounce back".

Smyth also asked if the test and trace scheme can still keep up with rising cases.

Boris Johnson replied that there are "interesting testing technologies" being developed but added "for the moment we have to use the tools we've got".

On vaccines, Sir Patrick said "things are progressing well" but suggest "the widespread use of vaccines isn't going to be until spring next year".

Richard Partington of the Guardian asks the PM and the chancellor why the government was prepared to "go to the wall" over £5m with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham during the tier three negotiations, when they were preparing to announce "billions of pounds" more support in today's expansion.

Boris Johnson says the negotiations between regional leaders and the government was "all about fairness" and making sure "everybody got the same package". He said No 10 is looking to address the national picture now and change with the evolving virus situation.

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

Sky News' Beth Rigby asks if today's financial measures are an acknowledgement that "you were not supporting parts of the north of England properly during the summer".

Chancellor Rishi Sunak replies: "We want people to have equal support wherever they are."

Rigby also asks Sir Patrick Vallance if he is disappointed that the test and trace scheme is reaching less than 60% of contacts.

"It is very clear there is room for improvement," says Sir Patrick.

He adds that the "effectiveness of test and trace is less when the case numbers are high".

Ben Kentish of LBC asks about the latest NHS test and trace figures which showed that just 15% of coronavirus test results were returned within 24 hours.

Boris Johnson says he "shares peoples' frustrations" and acknowledged the need to improve the situation to get faster turnaround times.

He defends the achievements of the scheme as "colossal", including the expansion of testing capacity, adding that the "technology is improving the whole time".

The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg challenges the chancellor on the "problems" with the first version of the Job Support Scheme and the changes to it.

The chancellor replies that the government will adapt and resolve its financial aid response "as the situation adapts and changes and as health restrictions change".

"Ultimately what we're trying to do is to protect peoples' jobs and income."

She also asks Sir Patrick Vallance about whether people elsewhere in the UK could be facing a "digital" Christmas - which is what people in Scotland could be facing after a warning from the clinical director there.

Sir Patrick says some level of restrictions will need to be in place "for a while" to get case numbers down, but progress is already being seen in some areas of the country.

"A lot depends on what happens now over the next few weeks," he adds, insisting the situation must be closely monitored.

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Yvonne in Surrey asks what would happen to the supply chain in the event of a national or local lockdown.

She wants to know what financial help would be available to cover the costs of wages to businesses which have not been specifically told to close but have had a drop in income, due to other businesses in their supply chain being told to close.

The PM says No 10 is "doing everything we can" to support businesses through the crisis and outlines some of the support and relief measures in place.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak adds that businesses told to close will be able to get grants of up to £3,000 per month for the length of closure and the wages of staff will be paid at two thirds. He adds there are support measures in place for businesses not told to close, announced earlier today.

Now onto questions.

Liam from Bradford asks how the government will encourage innovative businesses.

Boris Johnson replies that business rates are "unprecedentedly low". And he adds that the government is investing in skills.

Rishi Sunak also points to government schemes to invest in start-up funds.

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

Sir Patrick Vallance now talks through the government slides.

He says the number of infections and people being admitted into hospital are continuing to rise. He adds that the more patients there are with Covid, the more pressure on the healthcare system overall.

He says the R rate is growing but is still half of the natural R rate of three - and that this reflects "the huge effort people have made to adhere to the measures in place" such as wearing masks and washing hands.

"But the epidemic is still growing," he adds.

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The prime minister's opening contribution to the news conference was a familiar one. The messy reality of a regional approach in England - with rules different here from they are there - represents a pragmatic approach to the pandemic, he claims.

Why?

The two alternatives, Boris Johnson argues, would be worse: lockdown, or letting the virus rip.

It is a longstanding technique in political speech writing to paint your opponents as occupying relatively extreme positions either side of your own.

But in this instance is also the crux of the government's argument: seemingly arbitrary rules, changing rapidly and varying geographically, might seem baffling, but they're better, or less worse, than doing anything else.