Health secretary Matt Hancock has vowed to conduct 100,000 coronavirus tests per day by the end of April after facing widespread criticism for failing to approach levels of testing in countries such as Germany.
Speaking in his first press conference since testing positive for the virus Mr Hancock, who has held a virtual meeting with the pharmaceutical industry to ask for help in scaling up capacity, also said he would write off £13bn of historic debt against the health service.
Downing Street also revealed that people could be given “immunity certificates” to prove they have recovered from coronavirus and can leave the lockdown early - however criticism remains over their use.
The move, already planned in Germany, will be considered if hoped-for antibody tests – showing a person was infected but is now healthy – become available on a mass scale.
The plans emerged as deaths in the UK rose by a record 569 in 24 hours, to a total of 2,921, health officials have announced.
Globally, coronavirus cases have pushed past 1 million mark after doubling in the space of eight days.
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British Airways furloughs 36,000 staff
Three months ago, British Airways and its staff were beginning what was expected to be their most successful-ever year, Simon Cadler writes. Today BA, in common with the rest of the airline industry, is on life-support as scheduled flying reaches a near-standstill.
A combination of international flight bans, national lockdowns and passenger concerns about coronavirus have created the biggest crisis in modern aviation history. In response, British Airways is to suspend 36,000 employees.
British Airways furloughs 36,000 staff in worst-ever crisis
The IndependentUnlike rival easyJet, BA will continue to operate a skeleton serviceLabour calls for greater clarity on government testing strategy
Shadow attorney general Baroness Chakrabarti said Labour wants the government to show clarity in its testing strategy and how it will protect Britons on health and economic matters.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Never has an opposition wanted a government to succeed as much as we want to help the Government defeat the coronavirus, and everything I say is in that spirit."
Lady Chakrabarti added: "We're asking the government to be transparent and to be clear... about what its plans are to deliver the kind of scale of testing that we need, both to get the NHS workforce tested but also to return as quickly as possible to community-based testing.
"Without widespread testing in the population, we don't understand - having listened to experts - the way out of the lockdown."
Research labs repurposed for coronavirus testing
Sir Paul Nurse, chief executive of the Francis Crick Institute, said its research laboratory had been repurposed so it could carry out Covid-19 tests at a rate of 500 a day by next week - rising to 2,000 a day in future.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We hope that we can roll this out to other research institutes so that everybody can contribute."
Sir Paul added: "A metaphor here is Dunkirk - we are a lot of little boats and the little boats can be effective.
"The Government has put some big boats, destroyers in place. That's a bit more cumbersome to get working and we wish them all the luck to do that, but we little boats can contribute as well."
Sir Paul said their tests can be turned around in fewer than 24 hours, which could help get NHS staff back on the front line.
German deaths rise to 872
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has risen to 73,522 while 872 people have died of the disease, statistics from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases show.
Cases rose by 6,156 compared with the previous day while the death toll climbed by 140.
Testing and social distancing 'critically important'
Professor Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director of Public Health England, said testing is "critically important" but that social distancing is too.
He told Good Morning Britain: "Social distancing is absolutely the way that we will reduce the spread of this infection and ultimately will get on top of it."
He said social distancing measures will need to stay in place until spread of the disease becomes "minimal".
Prof Cosford admitted testing numbers in England appear low but insisted they will "increase rapidly".
He said: "I know 2,000 doesn't sound a lot compared with the many hundreds of thousands of NHS staff that we've got but that is now ramping up quickly."
Asked why the process is taking so long, he said: "This is an incredibly complex operation to put in place in a very short period of time."
He added that there is "24/7 work" going on to overcome "a whole range of issues" when it comes to ensuring testing is rolled out properly.
Prof Cosford said the NHS looks set to remain "within capacity" if social distancing works.
He told Good Morning Britain: "If we get to a position where demand outstrips supply, and all the figures that I have seen so far look as if we won't get to that position, certainly it looks as if we should be able to stay within capacity if the social distancing works and that's why the social distancing is so important."
Asked about new guidance for doctors should hospitals become overwhelmed with patients, he said that situation could lead to "difficult decisions" for medics.
He said: "Of course we've always said there will be huge challenges in dealing with this pandemic and if we get to a position where the requirement outweighs the supply then there will be some difficult decisions that people have to make. But all our efforts are to making sure that doesn't happen."
Third UK prisoner dies after contracting coronavirus
A third British prisoner has died after contracting coronavirus.
The 77-year-old man, who was serving at HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire, died in hospital on Friday.
He had a number of underlying health conditions.
Coronavirus news you may have missed overnight
Here’s your morning briefing of everything you may have missed overnight, from Ciara Giordano.
Coronavirus news you might have missed overnight
New NHS figures suggest more than 1.7 million could already have Covid-19Chinese city bans eating of dogs and cats
The Chinese city of Shenzhen has banned the eating of dogs and cats as part of a wider clampdown on the wildlife trade since the emergence of the new coronavirus.
Scientists suspect the coronavirus passed to humans from animals.
Some of the earliest infections were found in people who had exposure to a wildlife market in the central city of Wuhan, where bats, snakes, civets and other animals were sold.
Philippine president says lockdown violators could be shot
The president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has warned violators of coronavirus lockdown measures they could be shot for causing trouble and said abuse of medical workers was a serious crime that would not be tolerated.
In a televised address, Mr Duterte said it was vital everyone cooperates and follows home quarantine measures, as authorities try to slow the contagion and spare the country's fragile health system from being overwhelmed.
The Philippines has recorded 96 coronavirus deaths and 2,311 confirmed cases, all but three in the past three weeks, with infections now being reported in the hundreds every day.
"It is getting worse. So once again I'm telling you the seriousness of the problem and that you must listen," Mr Duterte said yesterday.
"My orders to the police and military ... if there is trouble and there's an occasion that they fight back and your lives are in danger, shoot them dead.
"Is that understood? Dead. Instead of causing trouble, I will bury you."
Prisoners serving short sentences should be released, former chief inspector of prisons says
Former chief inspector of prisons Lord Ramsbotham has called for the early release of some prisoners serving short sentences to help overcrowded jails cope with the coronavirus outbreak.
Lord Ramsbotham said he was "very worried" about the effect of the crisis on the country's jails, saying prison staff depleted by the virus would not be able to handle the crisis.
His comments came in a letter to The Daily Telegraph written with a cross-party coalition of 50 fellow members of the House of Lords, police and crime commissioners, leading academics and charities, who all urged ministers to suspend short jail sentences.
"The remand prisoners in particular should be let out," Lord Ramsbotham said.
"They should also examine indeterminate sentence prisoners."
Nearly one million apply for universal credit in fortnight amid pandemic
Nearly one million people have applied for universal credit in the past fortnight, highlighting the stark economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Ashley Cowburn reports.
The Department for Work and Pensions said it had seen a surge in benefit claims, with almost 950,000 new claims since 16 March – up from around 100,000 in a normal two-week period.
Nearly one million apply for universal credit in fortnight amid coronavirus crisis
Almost 950,000 new claims since 16 March – up from around 100,000 in a normal two-week periodPatients could have treatment offered to others with higher chances of survival
Coronavirus patients could have their treatment withdrawn and offered to others who are more likely to survive, new guidance for doctors has warned.
The British Medical Association's (BMA) latest ethics advice said health professionals could be forced to make "grave decisions" should hospitals become overwhelmed with patients.
The document warns that decisions around rationing scarce resources, such as ventilators, could determine whether large numbers of patients will receive life-saving treatment or not.
Sainsbury's becomes first major retailer to sell 'Big Issue'
Sainsbury’s has become the first major supermarket in the UK to stock The Big Issue magazine online and in hundreds of stores across the nation, Sabrina Barr reports.
On Friday 20 March, the publication decided to ask its street vendors to stop selling the magazine on the streets with the immediate effect to protect them against the Covid-19 pandemic.
While street sales have come to a halt during the lockdown, from today the magazine will be sold for the first time by major retailers in order to achieve as many sales as possible in the current climate.
Sainsbury's becomes first major supermarket to sell Big Issue as coronavirus lockdown halts street sales
The Big Issue magazine offers homeless and vulnerably housed people the chance to earn a legitimate incomeBritons on coronavirus-stricken cruise ships to be evacuated
Donald Trump said arrangements had been made with the UK government to evacuate British passengers on two cruise ships set to soon dock in Florida after being hit by the coronavirus.
Four people have died aboard the cruise ship Zaandam, including 75-year-old British man John Carter, whose widow has been isolated on board since his death.
The couple were among 200 Britons on the ship, which has recorded nine confirmed cases of Covid-19 and has some 200 people on board who have reported flu-like symptoms.
The Zaandam offloaded its healthy passengers onto its sister-ship, the Rotterdam, earlier this week, with both vessels having been denied entry to ports in several countries.
The cruise liners are seeking to dock in Florida but have become embroiled in a dispute, with local authorities reluctant to take more patients into a state healthcare system already stretched by the coronavirus outbreak.
However, Mr Trump said on Wednesday there was no choice but to allow the ships to dock and for those aboard to disembark.
Trump intervenes to allow coronavirus-struck cruise ship to dock in Florida
President Trump has overturned Florida governor’s rejection of ship with Covid-19 casesTrump criticises China's coronavirus statistics
Donald Trump has said the coronavirus statistics China was reporting seemed "a little bit on the light side," while his national security adviser said Washington had no way of knowing if Beijing's figures were accurate.
The comments came after a senior Republican politician cast doubt on Beijing's data and Bloomberg News said a classified US intelligence report had concluded that China had under-reported the total cases and deaths it had suffered.
Mr Trump told a daily briefing by his coronavirus task force that he had not received an intelligence report on China's data, but added: "The numbers seem to be a little bit on the light side - and I am being nice when I say that - relative to what we witnessed and what was reported."
Mr Trump said he had discussed how China had dealt with the coronavirus outbreak in a phone call with China's president, Xi Jinping, last Friday, but "not so much the numbers."
SpaceX bans Zoom over safety concerns
SpaceX has banned Zoom, saying that it is unsafe, Andrew Griffin reports.
Elon Musk's private space company said that employees could no longer use the video conferencing app because of "significant privacy and security concerns".
Instead, it advised people working from home to use more traditional methods to communicate with each other.
SpaceX bans Zoom over privacy concerns
Nasa also prohibits employees from using ZoomMore people using transport than in previous days, Boris Johnson says
Boris Johnson tweeted: "Yesterday's data showed more people were using transport than in previous days.
"Please do not leave your house unless absolutely necessary.It really will save lives."
Spain coronavirus death toll passes 10,000
Spain's coronavirus death toll has risen by 950 to 10,003, health officials saidUK cases 'could hit plateau in 2 to 3 weeks', says top health official
One of Britain’s top health officials has said the number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus could “plateau” in the next two to three weeks, as he conceded to frustration that not enough people in the UK were being tested, Adam Forrest reports.
Professor Paul Cosford, emeritus medical director of Public Health England, could not rule out the possibility the UK was on course for 1,000 deaths a day by the weekend.
