The coronavirus death toll in England has risen by 866 over 24 hours, as police and politicians urge the public not to ignore lockdown rules during a Easter bank holiday weekend.
Some forces have warned they may have to crack down harder on those flouting orders to stay indoors, after foreign secretary Dominic Raab urged people not to “ruin” the country’s progress on suppressing the Covid-19 outbreak.
In the US, the latest coronavirus figures show New York alone - where infections have topped 159,000 - now has more cases of the virus than every other country in world.
A total of 495 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.
The figure is an increase of 48 from 447 on Thursday. Some 5,275 people have now tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by 318 from 4,957 the day before.
There are 207 people in intensive care with coronavirus or coronavirus symptoms, a decrease of five on Thursday, while 1,832 people are in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19.
Northern Ireland death toll up 10
The number of people with coronavirus who have died in a hospital setting in Northern Ireland has risen to 92, with 10 further deaths confirmed today.
There were 112 new cases of the virus, bringing the total of confirmed positive tests in the region since the outbreak began to 1,589.
Death toll in Wales climbs by 29
Another 29 coronavirus deaths have been reported in Wales, taking the total to 315.
There have been 502 further confirmed cases of the virus, bringing the total number of confirmed positive tests to 4,591, Public Health Wales said.
Man charged with fraud after 'pretending to be NHS worker to get six free nights at a hotel'
A man has been charged with fraud after allegedly spending six free nights at a hotel by claiming to be an NHS worker.
Ben Quince checked into the Casa Hotel in Chesterfield, at the end of March on a floor reserved for NHS staff, Derbyshire Police said.
He stayed there for six nights and allegedly told staff he worked in the A&E department at Chesterfield Royal Hospital.
Shops can sell whatever they have in stock, government confirms
The government has confirmed shops currently permitted to open are allowed to sell whatever they have in stock.
866 more people die in England
A further 866 people who tested positive for Covid-19 have died in England, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths in the country's hospitals to 8,114.
The latest patients to die were aged between 27 and 100, according to NHS England. Fifty-six of them, aged between 40 and 93, had no known underlying health condition.
An Australian minister has resigned after being accused of breaching the country’s ban on non-essential travel by relocating to his holiday home during the coronavirus pandemic.
Don Harwin, the New South Wales arts minister, has argued he travelled to his second home before the imposition of the nationwide travel ban.
He said he was “confident” he had followed the rules but resigned because he did not want his circumstances to be a “distraction” from the government’s work on Covid-19.
“The Premier and her team are doing an outstanding job during the biggest crisis our state and nation have faced during our lifetimes,” he said.
“It is absolutely vital they should be able to focus entirely on the health and economic issues facing our community.”
Our reporter, Samuel Lovett, has the full story below:
Police attempts to stop the public breaking lockdown rules over Easter could breach human rights laws, MPs have warned.
A report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights has said police may be punishing members of the public “without any legal basis”, as forces have threatened to fine people for travelling to rural areas or making “non-essential journeys”.
The report warned of “widespread confusion as to what people are and are not permitted to do” which has led to people being questioned, fined and even arrested when they have not broken the law.
Our home affairs correspondent, Lizzie Dearden, has the full story below:
Police enforcement of lockdown measures over Easter 'could breach human rights laws'
'Some police forces will take a more proactive approach than is necessary and perhaps even lawful,' says reportThe PM’s official spokesperson has said he is confident Robert Jenrick, the housing secretary, “complied with the social distancing rules” following a row over his decision to visit his elderly parents.
Mr Jenrick has previously said he visited his parents to “deliver some essentials - including medicines” because they were both self-isolating due to their age and his father’s medical condition.
Paul Cosford, emeritus director of Public Health England (PHE), has said the housing secretary seems to have acted “within the guidelines” when he travelled 40 miles to his parent’s home.
“The Secretary of State has set out in two different statements the reasons for the journeys which he made,” the spokesperson said.
“We're confident that he complied with the social distancing rules.”
Nick Thomas-Symonds, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said it was “very important for public confidence” that Mr Jenrick explained himself, but agreed the minister had followed the rules if he had just delivered medicine to his parents.
Although government guidelines state you should not visit anyone who lives outside your own home, including elderly relatives, you are allowed to “leave your house to help them, for example by dropping shopping or medication at their door”.
Hospitals in Thailand have started giving newborn babies plastic face shields to help protect them against coronavirus.
Nurses at a hospital in Bangkok have been pictured holding babies wearing the masks on maternity wards and another hospital has adopted the same measure.
Our reporter, Samuel Lovett, has the full story below:
The top US infectious disease expert has warned it is too early to relax lockdown restrictions, even though hard-hit areas such as New York are beginning to show positive signs in the battle against coronavirus.
Dr Anthony Fauci made the warning as the Trump administration’s top economic officials suggested the US economy could start to reopen for normal business in May - much earlier than health experts have recommended.
“What we’re seeing right now is favourable signs,” Dr Fauci told CNN, citing progress in New York.
But he said: “The one thing you don't want to do is you don't want to get out there prematurely and then wind up back in the same situation.
“Now is no time to back off.”
Donald Trump has signalled he wants to get the economy moving again as soon as possible, particularly well ahead of the November presidential election.
“Obviously we're looking for the kinds of things that would indicate that we can go forward in a gradual way to essentially reopen the country to a more normal way,” Dr Fauci added.
How lethal could a prolonged lockdown be for people on low incomes?
It will be the least well-off who suffer the most in a prolonged shutdown of the UK, writes The Independent's economics editor Ben Chu.
He analyses the evidence here:
15,000 coronavirus tests over 24 hours
Some 15,194 coronavirus tests were carried out in NHS and Public Health England lab in the 24 hours up to 9am on Thursday, reports Andrew Woodcock. Those included 2,970 tests on NHS staff
Health secretary Matt Hancock had pledged 100,000 coronavirus would be taking place daily by the end of April, a target which itself was downgraded from the 250,000 promised weeks earlier by Boris Johnson.
In total, more than 27,000 NHS staff and family members have now been tested, 8,628 of them in drive-through centres, which Downing Street described as “significant progress” since last week.
Some 29 million items of personal protective equipment were delivered to 268 trusts and health organisations yesterday, said No 10.
The number of ventilators available to the NHS remains unchanged at 10,000, with 1,500 on order and due to arrive soon.
Boris Johnson's recovery from coronavirus is "just beginning" after he left intensive care yesterday, Downing Street has said.
The PM's official spokesman added his medical team would decide when he was fit enough to return to work full-time, reports The Independent's political editor Andrew Woodcock.
The spokesman said: “The prime minister is back on a ward and continuing his recovery, which is at an early stage. He continues to be in very good spirits.
“The prime minister is just beginning his recovery and he will be taking advice from his medical team.”
The spokesman said he was “not aware” of any direct contact between the PM and his Number 10 team since he left intensive care.
Asked when Johnson could be expected to return to work, the spokesman said: “Decisions such as this will be on the advice of his medical team. They have given him brilliant care and the PM wants to thank the NHS for all they are doing.”
He said Johnson “waved his thanks” to doctors and nurses as he was moved out of intensive care and into a ward at St Thomas’s Hospital in London.
The spokesman confirmed that Dominic Raab continues to deputise for the PM and is chairing important meetings, such as this morning’s daily Covid-19 “war cabinet” and the gatherings of the Cobra emergency committee.
The spokesman declined to predict whether Johnson would be back in time to make the decision on whether to lift the lockdown after the initial three weeks, which end on 16 April.
But he added: “The First Secretary of State and cabinet have all the authority they need to take key decisions at the right time.”
A doctor who died of coronavirus after warning Boris Johnson about a lack of protective equipment was a “kind and compassionate hero”, his son has said.
Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, a consultant urologist at Homerton Hospital in east London, urged the prime minister to ensure every NHS worker was protected in a direct plea on Facebook last month.
Following the 53-year-old’s death on Wednesday, his son Intisar said he was glad that the issue was now getting the attention it needed.
“It pains me to say that my father is not the first and he is unfortunately not going to be the last NHS frontline worker to die,” Intisar Chowdhury told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“If there is anything we can do to minimise that from happening as much as possible, that’s all we need to do.”
Peter Stubley reports the full story:
Swiss death toll reaches 805
Switzerland's coronavirus death toll has increased by 49 to 805, the country's public health ministry has said.
The number of people who have tested positive for the virus also increased to 24,308, up from 23,574 on Thursday.
Case for universal basic income 'strengthened immeasurably' by coronavirus pandemic
The case for introducing a universal basic income for all citizens has been strengthened “immeasurably” by the coronavirus pandemic, Nicola Sturgeon has insisted.
Scotland’s first minister said she had “long been interested” in the concept which would see existing means tested benefits replaced with a flat-rate income, regardless of earnings, to all citizens.
But the SNP leader said it would require the co-operation of the UK government, which has recently rejected the idea.
My colleague Ashley Cowburn has the full story:
Recovered coronavirus patients testing positive again, says South Korea
Ninety-one patients who had recovered from coronavirus have since tested positive again, officials in South Korea have said.
Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, told a briefing the virus may have been "reactivated" rather than the patients being re-infected.
South Korean epidemiologists are investigating what caused the case to re-emerge.
The prospect of people being re-infected with the virus is of international concern, as many countries are hoping that infected populations will develop sufficient immunity to prevent a resurgence of the pandemic.
In the UK, there are plans to roll out antibody tests which the government hope would allow people who have had undiagnosed Covid-19 to return to normal life.
Germany donates ventilators to NHS
The German army is donating 60 mobile ventilators to the NHS as the UK scrambles to obtain enough life-saving equipment to cope with the expected peak of its coronavirus outbreak.
The German embassy confirmed a report in Der Spiegel that the Bundeswehr would be sending the kit to the UK as soon as possible.
The NHS is currently reported to have around 10,000 ventilators - 8,000 short of the 18,000 which health secretary Matt Hancock has said will be required.
The government has appealed to British manufacturers to fill the gap, but while a number of firms have come forward it is taking time to gear up production.
In the meantime, the NHS has been seeking to source supplies from overseas, including 200 from the United States.
Employees made redundant after being denied government help
There have been "heartbreaking" cases of employees made redundant after being denied help from the government's job retention scheme, Citizens Advice has said.
The charity warned attempts to protect workers during the coronavirus pandemic could be undermined by confusion and "patchy use" of the scheme by some employers.
Advisers are seeing daily cases of people who are at risk of slipping through the safety net despite potentially being entitled to support.
About six million people in the UK have had their hours cut, been laid off or made redundant, according to the charity's research. Almost four out of 10 have lost household income because of the crisis, with nearly one in 12 losing 80 per cent of household income.
Dame Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: "The government has unveiled a remarkable package of support to help people keep their heads above water during this crisis.It must now ensure employers are using this to protect their workers, as well as opening it up to cover even more people.
"We're already starting to see heartbreaking cases where employees have been denied help from the scheme and have instead been made redundant. While it's not clear how much of this is due to confusion, cash flow fears, or the need to downsize, we think the government needs a clear plan to protect people if the support is not filtering through."
