The Papers: 'New' isolation rule and 'Maddie cops find cellar'

Image caption The self-isolation period for people with coronavirus symptoms in England is to increase by three days, taking it to 10, according to the Daily Telegraph. The paper says the move will be announced later today by the deputy chief medical officer, Jonathan Van-Tam. However, it says ministers are also exploring ways to reduce the 14-day quarantine period for those entering the UK, which it suggests could also be made 10 days. Image caption The same story is the focus for the Times, which says the measure to increase the isolation period comes amid "mounting concern that Britain could be weeks away from a second wave". The paper says it has been told that the government's chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, is concerned the UK could be "two to three weeks behind Spain in terms of the spread of the virus". Image caption UK travel bosses demanding help from the government to save the industry is the lead in the i. It says the PM is under pressure to create a "nuanced" travel policy that does not rely on two-week quarantine. Image caption The prime minister has pledged a "two-pronged attack to avert a catastrophic second wave" of coronavirus, reports the Daily Express. It says he is "threatening" to remove more holiday destinations from the UK's safe travel list as well as taking targeted action with local lockdowns. Image caption The police search at an allotment linked to the main suspect in the Madeleine McCann case also features on many of the front pages. "Maddie cops find secret cellar" is the headline in the Daily Star. Image caption The Daily Mirror also focuses on the secret cellar, saying it was found under a hut on an allotment where the main suspect, Christian B, lived in Hanover. Image caption Officers "carted away slabs of rubble" from the allotment, reports the Metro. The paper quotes a neighbour as saying the suspect lived "off the grid" there in a van. Image caption The Daily Mail leads on a survey showing that only one in 10 people are having face-to-face GP appointments. It claims the vast majority of appointments are being done by phone or online, which it says comes three months "after ministers vowed to get the NHS back to normal". Image caption "Young British and Black" is the headline in the Guardian, which splashes on a special report on what it calls the Black Lives Matter generation. It features some of their voices, saying that "millions of words have been written about the lives of young black Britons" and "today they speak for themselves". Image caption And the Financial Times leads on Santander recording a £10bn loss - partly down to the bank writing off £5bn in its UK bank. The paper says the move shows Santander retains faith in the UK.

Many of Thursday's newspaper front pages have named the suspect in the Madeleine McCann case. Because of German privacy law, and the BBC website being accessible in Germany, the BBC has not included his surname.

The Daily Telegraph leads with a report that the mandatory stay-at-home period for people showing Covid-19 symptoms is set to be increased from seven to 10 days.

The Times has a similar story, putting the measure down to "mounting concern" that Britain could be weeks away from a second wave".

The Telegraph adds that the health secretary is also exploring ways to reduce the 14-day quarantine period for those entering the UK - making 10 days the standard self-isolation period.

"That was quick", reads its front page caption, alongside a picture of a mask-wearing Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, returning home early from his Spanish holiday.

Image caption Grant Shapps left a family holiday in Spain early after quarantine restrictions came into force

The Guardian reports ministers are being urged to adopt a "zero Covid" approach and seek total elimination of the virus.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have already set a target of no infections, it says, and the independent Sage committee of leading scientists and medical experts now advocates England must do the same.

The government has "not set out a systematic approach" and lacks "clear, single-minded determination" - the British Medical Association's Dr Chaand Nagpaul is quoted as saying, while the NHS Confederation cautions ministers should only declare such an ambition if it is "achievable".

Image copyright Getty Images/EPA/Reuters Image caption Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Apple's Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai defend their firms

The Financial Times features front-page photos of the chief executives of Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook. "Tech titans: grilled on Capitol Hill" is its headline.

The TechCrunch website says Jeff Bezos made a "bungled attempt" to reassure the House Antitrust Subcommittee that Amazon did not copy any of its independent sellers' products. The Washington Post says its members asked "meandering questions that teetered between privacy issues and conspiracy theories".

The paper argues the tech bosses' appearance, via videolink, made them seem small and "less consequential than they actually are". "Even a tech wizard like Jeff Bezos", it notes, "sometimes forgot to unmute himself".

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Police hunting for Madeleine McCann search an allotment in Hanover

The Metro leads with the news that German authorities, digging up a patch of land in the search for Madeleine McCann, have found what appears to be a hidden cellar under the prime suspect's home.

The Daily Mirror pictures a police officer carrying out the excavation.

Sign up for a morning briefing direct to your inbox

"I may get my leg amputated to compete in the Paralympics" is the rather alarming back page headline in the Telegraph. It has an interview with the British wheelchair basketball player champion, George Bates.

I have "the wrong type of disability" he says, after being told his Complex Regional Pain Syndrome - from which he has suffered since the age of 11 - fails to meet the International Paralympic Committee's more strictly-defined impairment criteria.

He says he will appeal against what he calls a "mad" and discriminatory decision - before considering a more extreme method of winning gold next year at Tokyo.

Finally, the Daily Mail marks "the end of an era", as it notes the demise of the printed Argos catalogue. After 47 years of advertising electrical massage machines, fondue sets and portable hairdryers, "Covid's killed the Argos book of dreams!", reads its headline.

With a billion copies, the paper says that at its height the retail catalogue was Europe's most widely-printed publication - found in three-quarters of British homes and only beaten by the Bible for its sheer ubiquity.

But on Wednesday staff were told the company would now only display and list its products online.