News in brief

● Five London bus workers died after testing positive for Covid-19. Trade union Unite said the deaths were a “terrible tragedy”.

● The public has been urged not to make an “impulsive decision” to get a pet as new figures show a surge in interest in adopting a puppy. The Kennel Club said that with people staying at home due to the Covid-19 lockdown, it was “unsurprising” that more were considering getting a dog, but that no-one should rush into such a move.

● Two staff members at north London’s Pentonville Prison have died after suffering Covid-19 symptoms, the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said. Bovil Peter and Patrick Beckford were both support staff workers at the jail, and were believed to be aged in their 60s.

● Around £700,000 of funding has been announced to help museums and galleries in Scotland which have felt the serious impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The urgent response fund will be open for applications from Wednesday with many independent venues at risk with restrictions introduced across the country. Organisational body Museums Galleries Scotland has suspended regular funding programmes until further notice to allow for flexibility during the uncertainty brought by the coronavirus outbreak.

● The head of Oxfam Scotland has expressed his fears over the spread of coronavirus in refugee camps, with up to 250 people sharing one tap in some places. Jamie Livingstone said the virus could also be catastrophic for people in places hit by conflicts, such as Yemen, Syria and South Sudan.

● Flights to bring back stranded Britons from the Indian cities of Delhi, Goa and Mumbai will begin next week, the government has said. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is continuing with a £75 million operation to bring people back to the UK in the face of travel restrictions caused by coronavirus. The FCO said 10 airlines had joined its scheme and that it would charter flights to airlift Britons from Bolivia, Ecuador and Philippines.

● The Scottish Parliament “has to continue to operate”, Scotland’s Constitution Secretary Mike Russell has said, in order to pass emergency legislation to tackle the spread of the virus.