Summary We’ll be closing this blog now, so to keep up with any major lines from the emergency debate and other UK news, do follow along on the global blog. In the meantime, here’s are the key points from today’s coronavirus briefing, where Hancock said the virus is “in retreat”. A further 55 people have died after contracting Covid-19 in UK, taking the country’s death toll to 40,597. This is the lowest daily total of newly reported deaths since 22 March, but there is often a reporting lag over a weekend. The figures do not include all deaths across the UK, which is thought to have passed 50,000. There were 138,183 tests carried out yesterday There were 1,205 new confirmed cases yesterday, the lowest since the end of March The number of Covid-19 hospital admissions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was 519 (down from 661 on 29 May) The number of people on ventilators on the UK as a whole is 516 Sage estimates the R rate is below 1 in all regions, and the number of Covid-19 patients in hospital is falling in all regions Over a million test kits have been sent to 9,000 elderly care homes, Hancock said. The test results so far do not show a significant rise in positive cases, but homes are have been given the option to test when they prefer. From today, all remaining adult care homes in England will be able to order the whole care home testing service for residents and staff. This is over 6,000 further care homes, Hancock said. In these extraordinary times, the Guardian’s editorial independence has never been more important. Because no one sets our agenda, or edits our editor, we can keep delivering quality, trustworthy, fact-checked journalism each and every day. Free from commercial or political bias, we can report fearlessly on world events and challenge those in power. Your support protects the Guardian’s independence. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to accurate news and calm explanation. No matter how unpredictable the future feels, we will remain with you, delivering high quality news so we can all make critical decisions about our lives, health and security – based on fact, not fiction. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. Valerie Vaz, shadow Leader of the House, has said parliament needs to restore a way for all MPs to participate as equals, instead with a two-tier system. She raised the a number of “myths” Rees-Mogg has perpetuated, including the following: That physical parliament provides more efficient scrutiny: she countered it by saying there can only be 50 members in the chamber. That MPs are returning safely. Vaz raised the 400 member queue and 45-minute long queue. That the House does not work effectively on behalf of constituencies. She said MPs are working for their constituents as they always do. Line-by-line scrutiny of bills - she said the system has only just been set up, and select committees have been able to participate. Carmichael has said the lack of virtual votes for those living with a shielding partner or family member violates the principe of equality, saying those who do not understand this should read the “constitutional textbooks”. Rees-Mogg has said MPs are key workers, and many of their constituents are continuing to take risks to work. Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine has said this is not about scrutiny or parliamentary proceeding, as important as they are: it is about public health. “We are in the middle of a pandemic”, and risk taking the virus to constituents and others along the way. “That is much more important than the process by which we scrutinise the government.” Labour’s Angela Eagle has asked Rees-Mogg to stop “caricaturing” MPs who are shielding or have vulnerable members of family as “not wanting to be here”. Rees-Mogg has reiterated virtual provisions for those who are shielding, as well as proxy votes and pairing. He doesn’t raise the issue of those with vulnerable family members. Carmichael has asked: If scrutiny of government was as important to the Leader of the House as he is making it out to be, shouldn’t the PM have made the statement to parliament before broadcasting it? The question of virtual participation for both those who are shielding, and those who are living with someone who is shielding, has been repeatedly raised. Rees-Mogg has said those who are shielding can vote by proxy, which he adds is the “majority” of those who would be excluded. Parliament has been compared to school, with Zoom being called a “good stopgap” but not the sufficient. Carmichael has agreed he doesn’t want it used indefinitely, but it is right for this moment. Covid-19 has been confirmed among prisoners in a new prison, the latest update from the Ministry of Justice reveals. As of 5pm on Sunday, 485 prisoners had tested positive for the coronavirus in 80 prisons, compared with 482 inmates in 79 prisons on Thursday. The number of infected staff rose less than 1% in the period to 954 across 105 prisons. The numbers are not live cases and include those who have recovered. There are about 79,800 prisoners across 117 prisons in England and Wales, and about 33,000 staff working in public sector prisons. The current regime, which has included a ban on family visits, reduced time spent out of cells to about 30 minutes a day, suspended prison transfers and forced new arrivals to be quarantined for 14 days, has been hailed a success by ministers as deaths and infection rates behind bars have been significantly lower than expected. Twenty three prisoners and nine staff are known to have died, as well as one prison escort driver and one NHS trust employee working in a secure training centre. Rees-Mogg has said parliament has a duty to meet in person, saying parliament was running “at a snail’s pace”. Others have disputed this, including by commenting on the queuing system’s inefficiency. He has said the ending of virtual proceedings is contrary to government guidance to others. It has been proposed that there is a second vote on virtual process, as those who were shielding could not vote. Carmichael has added in event that “it all goes horribly wrong” there will only be one person - Rees-Mogg - and one party responsible for that. Carmichael has said his objection is based on public safety, and is not a question of personal interest. He raises the issue of having to travel by plane, with people who may be going to Aberdeen for hospital operation, saying “the idea I might inadvertently transmit the virus makes my blood run cold”. Emergency Commons debate over MPs" attendance There is an emergency debate in the House of Commons over the return to physical attendance, following a call by Jacob Rees Mogg. Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael has been a vocal critic, raising the government’s guidance that those who can work from home should. And that concludes today’s government coronavirus briefing. Hancock said he hoped the government would be able to get to a position where people were able to go on holiday this summer. For those who aren’t able to go abroad for a holiday, I know the impact that that will have this summer. I understand that. I just hope that we will be able to get to a position where people will be able to go on holiday - including domestically - safely, carefully and in a Covid-secure way. The Guardian’s Haroon Siddique asks: If, as you and the prime minister say, the UK is not a racist country, which implies there is not structural racism in the UK, please can you explain why black, asian and minority ethnic people are disproportionately dying from Covid-19? Could you also explain why black people are being fined disproportionately under lockdown rules? Hancock responds that it’s important to “get the science right” around this, and take into account a number of considerations such as occupation, levels of comorbidity, housing, and then act. The absolutely critical piece of work is to follow on from the PHE report that was published last week with the answer to the question objectively and based on the science why is that death rate higher and take into account all the considerations. As and when we find conclusions we will put them into place. The second question went unanswered. When asked why the government is enforcing two-metre distancing while other countries, such as France, use one metre, Hancock said: “The science is clear, the closer you are the more likely you are to pass on the virus. He added that some other countries are also insisting on two-metre distancing, and the two-metre rule is under review at all time. He said the “current working plan” was for secondary schools to fully reopen in England from September at the earliest, despite concerns about the two-metre rule making that difficult. For both schools and the economy it was a matter of working out how to open in a way that does not lead to an increased spread of the virus. That is going to require ingenuity, you can already see the ingenuity in lots of areas of the economy - bars that have turned themselves into takeaways, all sorts of different ways that people are providing services and making their business work in a way that is consistent with social distancing. We’ve got to be innovative, we’ve got to be thoughtful about this. Hancock insisted it is safe for people to send their loved ones into care homes. With all of the measures that we’ve put in place over the past few months, all of the billions of pounds extra that we’ve put in, it’s clear that the epidemic in care homes is coming under control. Even those care homes where there are cases have very strong infection control procedures in place. In fact, if you look at the proportion of people in the UK who have sadly died in care homes, it is significantly lower than in comparable countries across Europe.