Newspaper headlines: 'Virus battle won by spring' as mass tests piloted
By BBC News Staff
Published
image captionThe Financial Times leads with Boris Johnson's insistence that England's lockdown is "time limited" and there will be a return to regional restrictions when it is lifted next month. But it says his "upbeat message failed to lift the gloom that has settled over the Tory party and among many business leaders".
image captionThe Daily Express also leads on comments the PM made in the House of Commons on Monday, following the announcement of the lockdown at the weekend. Mr Johnson has "vowed that Britain will defeat coronavirus by spring", it reports.
image captionThe Metro reports that the prime minister "defended" Baroness Dido Harding, head of NHS test and trace, despite "contact tracing falling to a record low" and Kate Bingham, who chairs the UK Vaccine Taskforce, after she was "accused of revealing confidential information to US financiers". The government says "inaccuracies are being addressed" with the Sunday Times over the report. The Metro's front page also features a picture of actor Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard, after a judge found that 12 of 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence had occurred.
image captionHalf a million people in Liverpool will be tested for coronavirus from Friday in a "pilot" for mass screening, the Guardian says. It also reports that the self-isolation period for those who test positive, and their contacts, could be halved as ministers "face pressure to improve" contact tracing.
image captionThe plan is for entire cities to be given "weekly Covid testing", according to the Daily Telegraph. Experts say the weekly tests - part of a £100bn "Moonshot" strategy that aims to see 10 million people tested a day - could "halve the reproduction rate", the paper reports.
image captionThe i says rapid testing "could be rolled out across [the] country before Christmas" if the pilot in Liverpool is successful. It would see results ready in an hour without a lab, the paper reports.
image captionAn image of Mr Johnson's top aide, Dominic Cummings, has been edited on to Steve McQueen's Great Escape motorbike on the front page of the Daily Star. It reports that "fed-up Brits" are "forming huge queues at airports" to leave the country before England's national lockdown begins.
image captionThe Daily Mail reports that Princess Diana's brother has accused the BBC of "a 'whitewash' over fake bank statements said to have helped land a historic interview with her". Charles Spencer has asked for an inquiry into the case and accused BBC journalist Martin Bashir of "yellow journalism". Mr Bashir has yet to respond to the allegations. Last month the BBC said he was "seriously unwell" with complications from coronavrius.
image captionAnd the Times leads with the US election - specifically, President Donald Trump's warning that a delay in declaring the result would "put [the] country in danger". It comes as the paper says "armies of lawyers on both sides are primed to contest the count", which could "create a hiatus" before the final result is known.