If you were still clinging to hopes of a foreign holiday this summer, a government announcement could be about to make that prospect look even more distant. Home Secretary Priti Patel is expected to announce fines of up to £1,000 for international travellers who fail to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival in the UK. The plans, expected to come into force next month, would allow health officials to carry out spot checks at private addresses.

There are a few exemptions, such as road hauliers and medical officials, along with those arriving from the Republic of Ireland. However, there is confirmation that people travelling from France will not be exempt, as was initially suggested. Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary describes quarantining travellers as "idiotic" and trade body Airlines UK argues it "would effectively kill" international travel. Meanwhile, as our live page notes, Australia's trade minister says travellers from Down Under should be exempt as they "pose a low risk to the world".
If you've already ditched plans for a foreign jaunt, we assess whether camping on our own shores could provide the R&R you need.

The timing of any decision to go into lockdown was always going to come under scrutiny. And a study by New York's Columbia University estimates there may have been 36,000 fewer coronavirus-related deaths had the US entered lockdown a week earlier. US President Donald Trump calls the report, which has yet to be peer reviewed, a "political hit job".
Could the UK have acted earlier? One biology professor, who joined the government's scientific advisory group mid-lockdown, says he would have liked ministers to have acted "a week or two weeks earlier". Prof Sir Ian Boyd tells the BBC's Coronavirus Newscast: "It would have made quite a big difference to the steepness of the curve of infection and therefore the death rate." Ministers have always insisted they have been guided by the scientific advice during the pandemic.

A BBC Breakfast survey suggests most English councils cannot guarantee primaries will reopen on 1 June, the date targeted by the UK government. Of 99 authorities to respond to the survey, 68 said they could not be sure schools would reopen to Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils. The Scottish government says schools will reopen in August, blending part-time school study with home learning, while some pupils in Northern Ireland will also return in late August. The Welsh government has yet to set out its timetable.

Life is likely to be very different for office workers the world over after the easing of lockdown restrictions, with Facebook and New Zealand's prime minister being the latest to back more flexible policies such as working from home and shorter working weeks. There's also encouraging news about the job market in some parts of the UK, according to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation. It identifies the roles in demand.

Some papers lead on the government's purchase of 10 million swab tests designed to indicate whether or not someone has had coronavirus, with the Daily Express saying it offers "fresh hope" in the battle to control Covid-19. If a trial is effective, it could be rolled out within six weeks, the Daily Mail says. And the Daily Mirror agrees it could be a "game-changer". Others focus on Boris Johnson's "U-turn" in scrapping the fees that overseas NHS staff and care workers must pay to use the health service. No 10 backed down 24 hours after the prime minister defended the charge, says the i. Read the full review.

From elsewhere

Head to BBC Sounds to hear more from that Coronavirus Newscast interview with government scientific adviser Prof Sir Ian Boyd. And Science in Action has been picking through the 100-plus different Covid-19 vaccine trials under way to find the most promising.

Take inspiration from nature, with our video showing how bumble bees trick plants into flowering early during times when pollen is scarce. Another clip, filmed by an Australian angler, shows about 40 sharks in a feeding frenzy over a school of fish. You can find out how the "holy grail" of gaming graphics - a Hollywood special effects technique called ray tracing - is being brought to the next generation of home consoles. Read why, despite headlining festivals, Haim feel they aren't afforded the same respect as male counterparts in the world of rock. And, as it's Friday, you can test your knowledge in our Quiz of the Week's news.