MORE children will be returning to primary schools across the region today, but with social distancing measures in place in smaller class groups to limit the risk of a spread of coronavirus.

Top-level sport also returns in the form of horse racing at High Gosforth Park, Newcastle, and snooker at Milton Keynes as lockdown easing measures come into place.

Here are some of the other key coronavirus points from the last 24-hours.

NINE more deaths were recorded at hospital trusts across the North East and Yorkshire.

NHS England has announced 85 new deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 26,614.

But in the Downing Street briefing, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick confirmed the latest UK figure of fatalities in all settings from the virus rose by 113, bringing the total number of recorded fatalities to 38,489.

The number of people in hospital with coronavirus is now 7,639, a 15-per cent fall from the figure of 8,945 this time last week.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries said the number of available ventilators still in use in hospitals is under 10pc of those available, which she said was, "really good news", while she said there has been a “seismic change” in the potential transmission rate.

Mr Jenrick confirmed restrictions on clinically vulnerable people are to be slightly eased from today.

Speaking at the daily Downing Street briefing, the Communities Secretary said those considered most at risk of catching coronavirus, termed 'the shielded', have been asked to remain at home for the last nine to ten weeks.

But as lockdown restrictions for the general population have been eased, so the shielded can now leave their homes with either members of their own household or, for those living alone, to meet one person from another household.

Mr Jenrick conceded it has been an "extraordinary restriction" on the lives of people in the vulnerable bracket and guidance would be updated for the shielded at regular intervals.

Dame Louise Casey, the Government's adviser on rough sleeping, welcomed extra support offered to the homeless to ensure they have a roof over their head at night.

Mr Jenrick said the Government is committing £433m to provide "fast-track" safe accommodation to enable rough sleepers not to have to return to the streets.

He said it should see 6,000 supported homes made available for rough sleepers.

*THE role of NHS Volunteer Responders during the coronavirus crisis has received royal approval.

At the outset of Volunteers’ Week (June 1 - 7) the role of the responders, performing 250,000 tasks in recent weeks, has been heralded.

The Duchess of Cornwall, in her role as president of the Royal Voluntary Service, and other members of the royal family, including The Duchess of Cambridge, The Countess of Wessex and The Duchess of Gloucester, have joined the ranks of Volunteer Responders, taking part in ‘Check in and Chat’ calls with those self-isolating, vulnerable or elderly.

To mark Volunteers’ Week, and in recognition of a milestone quarter of a million tasks carried out by responders, The Duchess thanked volunteers across the country for the many acts of kindness they provide.

Meanwhile, the personal impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on doctors' wellbeing has been revealed in a major survey by the British Medical Association (BMA).

• DOCTORS from across the UK have told first-hand the effect that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on their mental health and wellbeing, describing increased stress, anxiety and emotional exhaustion in recent months.

In the BMA’s latest tracker survey, more than 7,000 doctors responded to questions about their mental health and more than 2,000 provided personal accounts of the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had.

They described how long working hours in unfamiliar settings, intensified conditions, worries about PPE, fear of contracting Covid and passing it on to their loved ones, losing such a high number of patients and seeing bereaved families, was having an effect on their own wellbeing.

The survey also found that 41-per cent of doctors were suffering with depression, anxiety, stress, burnout, emotional distress or another mental health condition relating to or made worse by their work, with 29pc saying this has got worse during the pandemic.