The Daily Mail has “One metre is enough!”.

The Associated Press is carrying a report that says Chinese officials sat on releasing the genetic map, or genome, of the coronavirus for over a week after multiple government labs had fully decoded it, not sharing details key to designing tests, drugs and vaccines.

AP reports that strict controls on information and competition within the Chinese public health system were largely to blame.

Even then, China stalled for at least two weeks more on giving WHO the details it needed, according to recordings of multiple internal meetings held by the UN health agency in January all at a time when the outbreak arguably might have been dramatically slowed.

Although the World Health Organization continued to publicly commend China, the recordings obtained by the AP show they were concerned China was not sharing enough information to assess the risk posed by the new virus, costing the world valuable time.

“We’re currently at the stage where yes, they’re giving it to us 15 minutes before it appears on CCTV,” said WHOs top official in China, Dr Gauden Galea, referring to the state-owned China Central Television, in one meeting.

The story behind the early response to the pandemic comes at a time when the UN health agency is under siege.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said China has always provided information to WHO and the world in a most timely fashion.

The new information does not support the narrative of either the US or China, but portrays an agency now stuck in the middle that was urgently trying to solicit more data.

Although international law obliges countries to report information to WHO that could have an impact on public health, the UN agency has no enforcement powers.

The AP has found rather than colluding with China, WHO was itself largely kept in the dark, as China gave it only the minimal information required.

WHO officials worried about how to press China for more information without angering authorities or jeopardising Chinese scientists, whom they praised for decoding the genome with astonishing speed.

Dr Michael Ryan, WHO’s emergencies chief, said the best way to protect China was for WHO to do its own independent analysis, because otherwise the spread of the virus between people would be in question and other countries will take action accordingly.

“Our leadership and staff have worked night and day.to support and share information with all Member States equally, and engage in frank and forthright conversations with governments at all levels,” a WHO statement said.

Tens of thousands of new arrivals to the UK will be able to go food shopping, change accommodation and use public transport from airports during a 14-day quarantine imposed to prevent a second wave of coronavirus, under draft plans to be laid before parliament.

The rules, still being finalised and due to be published on Tuesday before coming into effect next week, have prompted cross-party concerns about the potentially limited impact on public health amid warnings of the severe damage that could be caused to the travel and aviation industry.

The sooner the government scraps it, the better,” said the Labour MP, Ben Bradshaw.

More on Singapore and the government there is racing to create additional housing for about 60,000 migrant workers by the end of this year, as it seeks to reduce the density in dormitories which have seen mass outbreaks of the coronavirus infection, Reuters reports.

The nation of 5.7 million people has more than 35,000 cases, one of the largest numbers in Asia, largely due to infections in cramped, bunk-bed accommodation that house more than 300,000 mostly South Asian workers.

The government said dormitories were a practical approach to housing migrant workers in land-scarce Singapore, but it was looking to improve accommodation standards.

The government is also studying the possibility of building and leasing out these dormitories.

Singapore has recorded more than 35,000 coronavirus cases and 24 deaths.

In case you missed it the World Health Organization has warned that that Central and South America had become “intense zones for transmission of this virus” and had not reached their peak in cases.

On Monday Brazil registered 11,598 additional cases of coronavirus and 623 new deaths on Monday, taking its confirmed cases to 526,447 and deaths to 29,937.

The US remains way out in front and is approaching 2 million infections (1,811,357) with more than 105,000 deaths.

The full story on Anthony Fauci, the government’s top public health expert and a member of the national coronavirus taskforce, saying on Monday that he is no longer in frequent contact with Donald Trump – comments likely to spark fresh fears that he is being frozen out of the White House

Fauci noted that they used to have taskforce meetings daily, including on the weekend, and said that frequently, the two would talk after the meetings, estimating that a month ago, they met four times a week

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 213 to 182,028, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday

It already declined 1.3% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months, it said – a slight improvement from its first announcement in April of a 1.4% contraction, but still the biggest drop in gross domestic product since the 2008 global financial crisis

South Korea endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the coronavirus outside mainland China, and while it never imposed a compulsory lockdown, strict social distancing was widely observed from March until it started loosening restrictions last month

Private consumption decreased 6.5% in January-March from the previous quarter “as expenditures on goods and services both decreased”, the BOK said

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated the world economy will contract three percent this year, saying it is expected to “experience its worst recession since the Great Depression” over the pandemic

Health officials and even government scientists have warned against the easing of the coronavirus lockdown in England, saying it could lead to a surge in infections

South Korea is testing a new quick response (QR) code system this week to log visitors at high-risk entertainment facilities, restaurants and churches in a bid to track coronavirus cases and prevent further spread of the disease, Reuters reports

The person’s information will be logged in a database kept by the Social Security Information Service for four weeks, before it is automatically deleted, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare

López Obrador said he’s taking all necessary precautions he drove the 1,000 miles from Mexico City over the weekend rather than flying on a trip to promote construction of one of his signature infrastructure projects the Mayan Train

Mexican officials said last week that more than 5,000 companies had implemented protocols that would allow them to reopen this week

The research, part-funded by the World Health Organization (WHO) and published in the Lancet, will add to the debate in the UK about whether the 2-metre rule should be reduced

Last week, Boris Johnson said he hoped to “be able to reduce that [2-metre] distance”, to make it easier to travel on public transport and boost the hospitality industry

Palau, in the north Pacific, is one of a handful of countries globally with zero cases of coronavirus

The topic has proven hugely divisive as the government has sought to balance the rights of citizens to return with the need to keep its small population safe