Coronavirus - 7th May

Summary for Thursday, 7th May

Welcome back to our rolling coverage where we’ll keep you up to date on all news around the global coronavirus pandemic, writing from across Asia and Australia and later Europe and the US.
Here’s what you need to know so far.

• US President Donald Trump has described the pandemic as an “attack” on the country worse than Pearl Harbor or 9/11, again blaming China for failing to stop the outbreak
  
• He has also changed his plans to end his administration’s coronavirus task force, saying he didn’t know it was so popular
  
• India begins a large repatriation operation to bring home nearly 15,000 of its citizens but some of the flights have been pushed to Friday as crew members’ tests have been delayed
  
• The pandemic has set Indonesia’s poverty eradication efforts back by a decade, the government said, as two million people lost their jobs in the past six weeks
  
• Australia hopes to reopen its economy by July, banking its success in containing the virus will continue
  
• In Europe, the gradual easing of lockdown measures continues - Germany will allow its football league to resume in empty stadiums, while in Belgium retailers will be allowed to open from next week
  
• In the UK, the recorded death toll has risen past 30,000 which is the highest in Europe and second only to the United States.
  

Trump decries 'worst attack' on US

US President Donald Trump has again turned his anger at China, where the virus was first detected, now outright calling it the "worst attack we've ever had". He said it was worse than the Pearl Harbour attack that brought the US into World War Two and worse than the 9/11 attacks on New York.
"And it should have never happened. Could've been stopped at the source. Could've been stopped in China. It should've been stopped right at the source. And it wasn't."
The US has now recorded more than 70,000 deaths with Covid-19.

Queensland expands home visits for Mothers' Day

It’s Mothers’ Day this weekend in many parts of the world, and in Queensland families will be able to visit each other in groups.
Up to five people from the same home can visit another person. “I think this is going to be welcomed by families,” said state premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Queensland only has 50 active cases.
Australian states are all moving at their own speeds out of lockdown after largely containing the virus. While this is a boon for Queensland mums, in neighbouring New South Wales, the two-visitor rule still holds. And in Victoria, any non-essential households visits are still banned.
But on Friday all state leaders and the prime minister are set to review the rules, and Australians everywhere are anticipating new freedoms.

Controversial cruise ship now in Manila

Howard Johnson - Philippines Correspondent, BBC News
Ruby Princess, the cruise ship at the centre of a public inquiry and criminal investigation about the spread of Covid-19 in Australia, has arrived in the Philippines. It is currently anchored in Manila Bay waiting to repatriate Filipino crew.
In March the Carnival Corporation-owned ship allowed passengers to disembark in Sydney despite some exhibiting flu-like symptoms. More than 660 people associated with Ruby Princess passengers later tested positive for coronavirus and 13 have since died.
Crew currently on board the Ruby Princess will now have to undergo 14 days of self-isolation in ship cabins, followed by swab tests as mandated by the Philippine coast guard. More than 10 other cruise ships remain in Manila Bay’s anchorage area owing to large number of Filipinos who work in the cruise ship industry.
Roger Frizzell, a spokesperson for Carnival Corporation, told me they were working closely with governments and health authorities to repatriate their staff worldwide, but the process had become “more difficult lately with global port closures and travel restrictions”.
The ongoing public inquiry in Australia is expected to report its findings in mid-August.

German football to restart on 15 May

Good news for those of you missing sport. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that the country's top football league, the Bundesliga, could resume on 15 May.
The last match was played on 11 March, before football across most of Europe was halted. All remaining matches in Germany will be played behind closed doors.
Top-flight leagues in England, Spain and Italy are trying to find a way to complete their campaigns, although France's Ligue 1 will not resume and Paris St-Germain have been declared champions, while the Netherlands' Eredivisie season has been abandoned, with no champions, relegations or promotions.

UK again misses testing target as death toll rises

In the UK, the government on Wednesday missed its 100,000 per day testing target for the fourth consecutive day.
Only 69,463 tests were provided in the 24 hours up to 08:00 GMT on that day.
The UK also became the first country in Europe to pass 30,000 coronavirus deaths, according to the latest government figures.

Brazil reports highest daily death toll

In Brazil, 615 deaths were reported on Wednesday - the highest death toll for a single day anywhere in the southern hemisphere.
This brings the country's overall coronavirus-related death toll to more than 8,500.
Health Minister Nelson Teich said the government may now recommend the introduction of lockdown measures in some of the worst affected cities.
President Jair Bolsonaro has so far dismissed the severity of the pandemic, encouraging people to carry on working.

Indonesia's poverty battle 'set back a decade'

The virus outbreak has set back Indonesia's struggle to eradicate poverty by a decade, the country's finance minister says.
Around two million people have lost their jobs in the last weeks in what is South East Asia's biggest economy and most populous country.
"All of our achievement in reducing the poverty rate between 2011 to 2020 is reversed," Sri Mulyani Indrawati said.
The government expects cases to peak in late May and then go down the following month, unless there will be a second wave.
But like many of its neighbours, Indonesia is thought to have a much higher number of infections than official data suggests as testing capacity remains low.

India's big evacuation plan slightly delayed

India's mammoth repatriation operation has had a setback. Some flights were delayed as crew members are still waiting for their Covid-19 test results to come back, local media have reported.
The first flight heading out to pick people up will now take off at 23:15 local time from the national capital, Delhi, to Singapore on Thursday night. And the second one, a flight from Mumbai to London, is expected to depart on Friday morning.
Nearly 15,000 Indians are expected to return on more than 60 flights from 12 countries over the next week.
Passengers will pay their own fares and be quarantined on return. Indian navy ships are also assisting in the exercise.
India suspended all international travel in March before it went into lockdown to curb Covid-19 infections. The country currently has 33,414 active cases.
Eventually, about 200,000 Indians will be brought back, report local media. If successful, this would be India's biggest evacuation mission since 1990, when it rescued 170,000 civilians from Kuwait during the Gulf War. You can read more on the operation here.

Poland's presidential poll halted

Rallies have recently been held in Poland calling for the postponement of the presidential election

Poland's governing coalition parties have agreed to postpone this Sunday's presidential election because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party had wanted the vote to go ahead to get President Andrzej Duda re-elected.
But junior coalition partner Agreement and the opposition said PiS was putting political gain ahead of public health.
The election will now be rescheduled to a date "as soon as possible", and it will be a postal-only ballot

Trump reverses plan to axe virus task force

US President Donald Trump has made a turn on his earlier decision to end the White House virus task force.
The earlier plan had received widespread criticism and Trump explained his reversal by saying he had no idea how popular the task force was.
The task force currently reports to the president and co-ordinates with medical institutes, political staff and state governors. It also consults medical experts to formulate national guidelines on social distancing.
The US has about one third of all confirmed cases globally and more than double the number of deaths of any other country.
While infection and death rates have plateaued, there is acute concern over a second wave should lockdown measures be lifted.

Spotlight on Shanghai Disneyland's reopening

All eyes will be on Shanghai next week as Disney reopens its first theme park since the pandemic started.
The reopening could provide useful insights for companies looking to restart their operations after lockdowns.
The Chinese theme park is bringing in a raft of new health and safety measures for guests, including face masks, contact tracing and temperature checks. Virtual queuing and other technologies are also being considered Disney said.
The park was closed three months ago at the height of the virus outbreak in China.

NZ flags big society re-opening next week

New Zealand - hailed as one of the world leaders in containing the virus - has now announced it's looking at re-opening most elements of society as soon as next Wednesday.
Under "Level 2" lockdown - home gatherings should still be small, but up to 100 people will be able to attend events like weddings.
People will be able to go back to work or school, restaurants can re-open with tables spaced apart, and travel around the country will be allowed again. Public facilities can re-open, and sport competitions can resume too.
"Physical distancing, good hygiene and contact tracing will be essential to making Level 2 work," said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
A decision on this all going ahead will come Monday, but certainly, it's a big acceleration from the deep lockdown the nation was in just three weeks ago - where everyone had to stay home and only supermarkets and pharmacies were open.

The asylum seekers trapped in Mexican border cities

With all immigration into the US suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, many asylum seekers are trapped in dangerous Mexican border cities. Activists fear that court dates are being indefinitely postponed and claims for asylum simply dismissed without their day in court.
In the meantime, the situation inside the shelters and on the streets of Tijuana is steadily getting worse.

Researcher's murder sparks conspiracy theories

Bing Liu, a 37-year-old Chinese-born coronavirus researcher, was found dead over the weekend in his Pittsburgh house in the US. Police say it was a murder-suicide, and so far there's been no evidence pointing to anything otherwise.
But after colleagues said he was close to making "significant findings" on his studies of Covid-19, there's been online speculation on both Chinese social media and Twitter, floating conspiracy theories about his death.
Read more in this piece by the BBC's Zhaoyin Feng in Washington DC.

What's the latest from South Asia?

Here's a brief breakdown of headlines from across the South Asia region:

• with railway employees being called in to work to make necessary arrangements, local media report
  
• It's a similar trend of mounting numbers in Bangladesh, which crossed 11,000 cases on Wednesday, after daily infections spiked to 790 - the highest it's seen so far
  
• In Nepal, authorities have extended their lockdown by 10 days to 18 May as infections rise to 82
  
• And in Sri Lanka, officials on Tuesday said that more than 300 of the country's active 548 cases are from the Navy.
  

Would you report on your neighbour?

Much of the world is in some form of a coronavirus lockdown.
So if you saw someone breaking the rules, would you report them? Is it a civic duty - or just spying on the people living next to you?
The BBC's Frances Mao looked at how people around the world have been reacting towards recalcitrant neighbours and the people who "dob" on them - read more here.

Scientists puzzle over mutations impact

Researchers in the US and UK have identified hundreds of mutations of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes the disease Covid-19.
But no-one has yet established what this will mean for virus's spread in the population and for how effective a vaccine might be.
It's not unusual for a virus to mutate. The question is: which of these mutations actually do anything to change the severity or infectiousness of the disease?
Click here to read our in-depth report on this.

Asia's small fashion brands hit by virus impact

The coronavirus pandemic is having a major impact on fashion brands, large and small, worldwide.
For Malaysian-based clothing brand Mimpi Kita, the celebrations around Eid should be the biggest time of the year.
But with the coronavirus pandemic, sales have dropped by half. The lockdowns have disrupted business from supply chains in China all the way to outlets in Malaysia and London's trendy Notting Hill.
For now, Mimpi Kita have moved their factories towards producing PPE and the company hopes business can hang on until lockdowns are lifted.
Click here to read our story on how the pandemic is hitting small fashion brands in Asia.

Virus brings 'wildlife catastrophe' to Africa

A wildlife catastrophe is unfolding in Africa, according to park rangers and conservation experts.
They say the closure of safari tourism, due to the coronavirus pandemic, is decimating the industry, and leading to an increase in poaching.
Experts and rangers on the ground say they are seeing a surge in poaching as thousands of unemployed people dependent on the industry turn to wild animals for food. They also fear an upsurge in more organised poaching of endangered species.

Australian researchers warn of suicide risk

Outside those lives lost to the virus itself, how many will die due its devastating social and economic impacts?
In Australia, researchers have estimated the nation's suicides could increase by up to 50% due to impacts like job loss and the mental strain of lockdown. Around 3,000 deaths by suicide are recorded each year in Australia.
The modelling says up to a third of additional suicides would likely be young people.
"[Young people] are vulnerable to experiencing psychological, financial, and housing stress in the short and longer terms," the report from the University of Sydney and the Australian Medical Association said.
The government has pledged an extra A$500m (£260m; $350m) in funding to mental health services during the crisis.

Gowns ordered by UK from Turkey unusable

Some 400,000 surgical gowns ordered from Turkey have not been given to NHS workers because they do not meet British safety standards, the UK government has confirmed.
The shipment of personal protective equipment (PPE) was flown in last month - but is now stuck in a government warehouse.
It is not clear if the government will seek a refund from the suppliers.
During the past few months healthcare workers in the UK - including doctors and nurses - have complained about a lack of adequate kit such as gowns, masks and gloves.

China's response to Trump's criticism

Over the past few days, US President Donald Trump has kept up his accusations that China didn't do enough to stop the virus when it first emerged in Wuhan and Hubei.
But Trump has been accused of trying to deflect blame for his own handling of the crisis ahead of his bid for re-election in November.
Over in China, his accusations have of course also been dismissed. Beijing rejects allegations that it didn't warn the world early enough, that it wasn't transparent about its own outbreak, or that the virus is linked to a Wuhan laboratory.
While there have been only few attacks against Trump himself, Chinese state media have blasted US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as "evil" and "insane" after he claimed to have evidence that linked the virus to a Chinese lab.
And then there's been that Lego-like video from Chinese media, outright ridiculing the US response...

UK lockdown review could end 'stay at home' plea

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will review the country's coronavirus lockdown with his cabinet later, after suggesting some rules could be eased from Monday.
By law the government must review the restrictions every three weeks, and Thursday marks the latest deadline.
Mr Johnson will address the nation at the weekend to outline plans for the next stage of the lockdown.
It is understood the "stay at home" message could be scrapped, with ministers keen to restart the economy.

The health advice that is misleading or deadly

Reality Check



As countries around the world grapple with the coronavirus epidemic, there continues to be widespread sharing of health advice, ranging from the useless but relatively harmless to things that could be dangerous.
The BBC Reality Check team has looked at some of them.
If you don't have the time to read their full piece, at least take these bullet points with you...

• Drinking alcohol won't stop the virus
  
• Holding your breath can't tell you if you have the virus
  
• Mustard oil isn't an effective treatment
  
• Using a disinfectant can kill viruses on surfaces - but consuming or injecting it risks poisoning and death.
  

The hardship of being stuck on a ship for months

Seafarers across the world are stuck on their ships, spending months without shore leave as ports ban crew transfers.
Since March, many ports have refused to allow crew changes or shore leave, meaning for some that a three-month contract becomes almost twice as long.
Click here to read our full story on the sailors stuck on their ships.
The hardest part is not the length of time on board. It's the fact that they don't know the length of time they'll spend on board
"We have been under pressure for quite some time. It takes a toll on your mental health. If you don't know what's going to happen it's more frustrating mentally on you," one officer told the BBC.

What's the UK picture this morning?

If you're just waking up and joining us from around the UK then good morning, on a day the government is set to review the country's lockdown restrictions.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet his cabinet later after suggesting some rules could be eased from Monday, with ministers keen to restart the economy.
Johnson is then expected to address the nation at the weekend to outline the next stage of the lockdown.
However, it follows the UK's death toll passing the 30,000-mark, according to the latest government figures, making it the highest in Europe and second only to the United States.
The government also missed its 100,000 per day testing target for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday, with only 69,463 tests provided in the 24 hours up to 08:00 GMT on that day.
We'll be keeping you up to date with all the latest coronavirus updates from the UK and around the world as they unfold on Thursday.

Online fundraiser celebrates Asian music scene

There's a concert streaming online right now bringing together artists from more than 10 countries round the globe. They're putting on live performances to entertain whoever is stuck under lockdown at home - and to raise money for the fight against the pandemic.
Tune in here to watch
Asia Rising Forever - right now it's LOOΠΔ with some K-pop from South Korea
Big names from Japan, China and South Korea are taking part, but also artists from countries with less international exposure like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Bike boom as virus changes lifestyles

If you're heading out the door on essential trips soon, will you be taking the bus or a bike?
Fear of catching coronavirus on public transport has helped lead to a boom in cycle-to-work schemes.
Demand for more mobility and exercise amid lifestyle changes imposed by the lockdown has also boosted bike sales across the UK.

• Click here to read our full story.
  

Some bike stores are battling to meet demand. Broadrib Cycles in Bicester normally despatches 20-30 bikes a week, but manager Stuart Taylor says the shop is currently selling 50 bikes every day - and seeing a commensurate rise in demand for servicing.
"It's just gone crazy," he told the BBC. "People are dragging bikes out of sheds and garages and finding they need new tyres and cables."

Will we ever shake hands again?

James Jeffrey
Around the world, humans are struggling to ignore thousands of years of bio-social convention and avoid touching another. Shaking hands might be one of the hardest customs to lose in the post-pandemic world but there are alternatives.
The humble handshake spans the mundane to the potent, ranging from a simple greeting between strangers who will never meet again, to the sealing of billion-dollar deals between business titans.
It is a "literal gesture of human connectedness," a symbol of how humans have evolved to be deeply social, tactile-orientated animals, Cristine Legare, a psychology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said.
"The fact we went for the elbow bump as an alternative shows how important touch is - we didn't want to lose that physical connecting," Prof Legare added.
And with a history tracing back thousands of years, the handshake may be too entrenched to be easily halted.
You can read the full story here.

UN makes new appeal to fund virus response

Zimbabwe was among nine countries added to the list as the UN called for more funding

The United Nations has appealed for a further $4.7bn (£3.8bn) in funding to "protect millions of lives and stem the spread of coronavirus in fragile countries".
It follows the $2bn requested when the UN launched its global humanitarian response plan in March, of which around half has been received.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said the "most devastating" effects of the coronavirus pandemic would be felt in the world’s poorest countries.
“Unless we take action now, we should be prepared for a significant rise in conflict, hunger and poverty. The spectre of multiple famines looms," he said, stressing that "extraordinary measures" were needed.
Nine more vulnerable countries were added to a list of more than 50, with funds used to buy medical equipment to test and treat the sick, provide hand-washing stations, launch information campaigns and establish humanitarian airlifts to Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The UN says donors, dealing with their own crises, have already pledged more than $900m to help the poorest countries, but it is warning that much more is needed, our chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet reports.
In many of the world’s most fragile states, the peak of the disease is not expected for another three to six months. The money is expected to cover costs of the humanitarian response plan until December.

UK economy 'already in sharp recession'

Faisal Islam - BBC Economics Editor
The Bank of England anticipates the UK economy is already in a sharp recession, having contracted by a significant 3% in the first three months of the year and then an unprecedented 25% in the current quarter ending in June, in its scenario published on Thursday.
In its Monetary Policy Report, the most significant and thorough look at the economy since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the unemployment rate is expected to double to around 9%. The economic scenario is built on assumptions that the lockdown in the UK and the rest of the world is gradually lifted from early next month over a period of four months.
While there should be a bounce back in growth later this year, the Bank's "illustrative scenario" anticipates that this will largely come next year, with the economy this year suffering a record fall of 14%, and then growing by 15% next year.
The Bank warns that this is not a typical forecast and that "many other scenarios are plausible". But these numbers provide the sharpest analysis yet of the economic challenge of the virus and its pandemic.

Murder of Covid-19 researcher fuels conspiracy theories

The murder of a Chinese-born coronavirus researcher on US soil is fuelling conspiracy theories, our colleague Zhaoyin Feng from the BBC Chinese Service in Washington says.
Bing Liu, 37, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine was said to be on the verge of making "significant findings" linked to Covid-19 when he was found shot dead in his house on Saturday. Police say it was a murder-suicide resulting from "a lengthy dispute regarding an intimate partner".
There is "zero evidence" the case was linked to Liu's research work and the current public health crisis, they say.
However, the killing has sparked wild speculation online.

Bing Liu was an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

UK economy to have 'sharpest decline on record'

More now on the predictions by the Bank of England we talked about earlier. For 2020 as a whole, the UK economy is expected to contract by 14%. This would be the biggest annual decline on record, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data dating back to 1949.
It would also be the sharpest annual contraction since 1706, according to reconstructed Bank of England data stretching back to the 18th Century.
Details of the BoE's forecast are here.

The lockdown impact

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will review the coronavirus lockdown in England with his cabinet later, after suggesting some rules could be eased from Monday.
"Essentially we've got a lot of not very good options - it won't be one day and everything will change, but things could open up," Dr Adam Kucharski, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told us.
However, the virus remains massively contagious. Before lockdown, one infected person passed it onto at least three others on average - the so called R-number.
And less than 5% of the UK population is estimated to have been infected. Or to put that another way - more than 63 million are still vulnerable. If we just lift the lockdown, then another explosive outbreak is inevitable.
The goal has been to cut infections by around 70% to force the R-number below one (the point at which the outbreak starts to decline), and that has been achieved.
But there is not much wiggle room and one set of modelling suggests opening schools - and nothing else - would be enough to almost tip us back into a situation of rising cases.

South Australia records first case in two weeks

The first new coronavirus case in two weeks has been recorded in South Australia, after a man who returned from the UK in March tested positive.
The man in his 70s was tested after developing "very mild" symptoms. He self-quarantined after arriving in Australia and a small number of people he was in contact with have gone into isolation.
The case takes the total in the state to 439, with two active cases.
"I reassure you that we don’t have any new cases of community transmission," said chief public health officer Prof Nicola Spurrier.
In total, Australia has had 6,875 cases of the virus, and 97 deaths. It and New Zealand, which has also managed to control its outbreak, are planning a quarantine-free "travel bubble" between them.

How will 'test, track, trace' work?

The aim of the UK's strategy to control the virus is to identify cases and then perform rapid contact tracing and put those at risk in quarantine.
This strategy, also called "seek and destroy", will be supported by a voluntary smartphone app - currently being tested on the Isle of Wight - which will help identify contacts.
The more successfully this is done, the more it will reduce the ability of the virus to spread and the more restrictions can be lifted on day-to-day life.

Detained immigrant dies with Covid-19 in US

The Otay Mesa Detention Center has been a hotspot for the coronavirus

The first coronavirus-related death of an immigrant detained in the US has been reported at a centre in California.
The 57-year-old man, named by relatives as Carlos Ernesto Escobar Mejia, had been held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego since January and had been in hospital on a ventilator for a week, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
According to Escobar Mejia's sister, Rosa, they had fled civil war in El Salvador in the 1980s to join another sister, Maribel, living in the US. Both sisters became US citizens but Escobar Mejia did not get permanent residence.
"My brother was a one-of-a-kind person," Maribel Escobar said.
Although this is the first death, we have reported on a growing coronavirus crisis at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centres.
Otay Mesa, which currently holds about 1,000 people, has seen a spike of infections and detainees have complained that they are not being adequately protected. More than 200 people held there have tested positive for the virus, according to the Union-Tribune newspaper.

Why UN needs more money for poorer nations

Earlier we posted that the UN had appealed for billions of dollars in extra funding to help "fragile countries" though the coronavirus crisis and avert possible famines.
A list of more than 50 vulnerable nations has been expanded to include nine other countries: Benin, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Pakistan, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zimbabwe.
But why are poorer countries particularly hard hit by the pandemic?
Commodity prices - Many are exporters of commodities so falling oil prices for instance have a major impact
Fleeing investment - Developing nations will see international investors pull money out and of course scale down future investment
Foreign debt - Many poorer nations owe money to richer countries and they owe that money in US dollars or euros. If their national currencies lose value, it becomes much more expensive to repay or service these debts

What restrictions could be lifted?

Some restrictions in England could be eased from Monday, according to Boris Johnson.
Restrictions on activities can be put into three broad categories: Those with low, moderate and substantial risk of increasing transmission of the virus.

• Low risk activities include outdoor exercise, which has been restricted in some countries
  
• Moderate would include the opening of non-essential shops or allowing people to have occasional gatherings with others from outside their household
  
• Moves carrying substantial risk include lifting advice to work from home and reopening schools
  

There remains a nervousness within the scientific community advising the government about lifting restrictions in areas, like pubs, where the whole purpose is to bring people together.
And there is an emerging question around primary schools as young children, some studies suggest, cannot be infected as easily.
Read more from our health correspondent James Gallagher.

Belgium expands social circles - and other Europe news

Here's the latest from Europe:

• Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will later announce how France will finally ease its lockdown restrictions starting on Monday. The country has been divided into green and red regions - those less and more affected - and restrictions will be lifted in different ways, depending on the colour
  
• Belgium currently allows people to meet up with at most two others for outdoor exercise. The government has expanded that to four people from Sunday - but, as before, they must always be the same four. Social media was filled with comments about how or even if this was possible, and Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes admitted it would be confusing
  
• The Netherlands has outlined how it will slowly lift its own restrictions over the next four months. Primary schools and beauty salons open on Monday, with secondary schools joining them on 1 June, restaurants and bars on 1 July, and finally professional sports and sex work will be allowed to restart on 1 September
  
• And Germany’s Bundesliga could restart as soon as 15 May, according to reports. The date will be confirmed at a meeting between football clubs and the league heads later on Thursday
  

Djokovic and Nadal told off for returning to court

Some countries are beginning to lift restrictions on professional sports but two tennis stars have been ticked off for returning to the court too soon in Spain.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, world number one and two respectively, were both seen training this week but have been asked to delay their return until Monday.
Djokovic posted a video of himself at the Puente Romano Marbella Tennis Club, which has since apologised for wrongly interpreting Spanish regulations and allowing the Serb to train.
"We are sorry that our interpretation of the regulation could have been erroneous, and this could have inconvenienced Mr. Djokovic or any other citizen acting in good faith," the club said in a statement.
Nadal was training on a friend's court in Majorca but has been asked not to - this is out of concern that if players are injured, they will need to use the health system.
Meanwhile, Portugal and Juventus footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was criticised by a rival manager last month for breaking lockdown rules to train at a stadium in Madeira.
Other football stars have gotten into hot water for breaching restrictions for non-sporting reasons.

BA owner hopes to revive flights in July

International Airlines Group (IAG), which owns British Airways (BA), Aer Lingus and Iberia, says it is planning a "meaningful return" of flights in July at the earliest if lockdown measures are eased.
But the company said the plans were "highly uncertain", and subject to various travel restrictions.
The group has grounded 94% of its flights during the pandemic and says it does not expect passenger demand to fully recover before 2023.
Chief executive Willie Walsh said: "We will adapt our operating procedures to ensure our customers and our people are properly protected in this new environment."
IAG reported an operating loss of €535m (£466.6m) for the first three months of the year, marking a sharp fall from a profit of €135m in the same period in 2019. BA is set to cut up to 12,000 jobs due to the collapse in business.
More from the BBC's business team here.

Madonna says she had Covid-19 while on tour

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the American pop icon said she had coronavirus while on her Madame X world tour.
She clarified that she was not currently sick but that she had tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies.
"When you test positive for anti-bodies it means you HAD the virus which I clearly did as I was sick at the end of my tour in Paris over 7 weeks ago along with many other artists in my show but at the time we all thought we had a very bad flu," the singer wrote on Instagram, adding that everyone was now safe and healthy.
Madonna cut her world tour short after the French government banned all large gatherings.
The star, 61, has also donated $1m (£800,000) towards coronavirus vaccine research.

The pop icon has donated $1m towards efforts to develop a vaccine

Poland set for postal vote election

Adam Easton - Warsaw Correspondent

This banner hanging from a building in Warsaw reads "postpone the election"

Gowns ordered by UK from Turkey unusable

The chief executive of the NHS Confederation says supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) are now "generally better" in hospitals, despite the government confirming 400,000 surgical gowns ordered from Turkey did not meet British safety standards.
The shipment of PPE was flown in last month with significant media attention but has not been given to NHS workers and is now stuck in a government warehouse.
During the past few months healthcare workers in the UK - including doctors and nurses - have complained about a lack of adequate kit such as gowns, masks and gloves.
NHS Confederation chief executive Niall Dickson said care homes and GP surgeries were still facing "some difficulties".
He said the government needed to ensure "the rhetoric is matched by the reality on the ground" and that problems with the order from Turkey may encourage some NHS organisations to continue using their trusted local suppliers.
It comes after the Department of Health called on hospitals to rely on the government's national procurement scheme to help ensure NHS Trusts did not "compete with each other for the same supplies".

Will offices be safe for a return to work?

Jane Wakefield - Technology reporter
As lockdowns start to ease in many countries, a tentative return to offices will begin. Understandably, people will be concerned about their safety.
Alongside some mouldy old food in the communal fridges, there is likely to be an increase in the amount of technology used to monitor employees.
From thermal cameras taking your temperature when you enter the building to apps or wearables to alert you if you get too close to colleagues, work could soon feel like the film Minority Report.
The Edge in Amsterdam was voted one of the smartest and most sustainable buildings in the world a few years ago, and it is adapting its sensor-packed offices to the new reality of living with a contagious and potentially life-threatening virus.
Coen van Oostrom, the founder of the real-estate firm that built it, told us that there are a couple of "no brainer" changes that can happen immediately.

Turkish gown supplier: We've had no complaint

We have now heard from a spokesman for the Turkish company which supplied a consignment of personal protective equipment to the UK that did not meet safety standards.
Mehmet Duzen, spokesman for Selegna Tekstil, told the BBC the company had not received any complaint about the goods, or had any communication from the NHS, the British embassy in Ankara, or British government officials complaining about the quality of the gowns.
"The fabric we supplied was certified. All the goods were certified. If there was any problem they could do an inspection and send us a report," Duzen said.
He added that the NHS had been in contact with him as recently as Wednesday and there was no mention of any problem with the goods.
As a company, Selegna Tekstil were ready to respond in a professional way if there was any mistake, he said.

Why 2020 might be a write-off for gigs and festivals

With billions of people across the world under lockdown, it's only natural to wonder when things will return to normal. For those keen on music, a return to the festival mosh-pit sadly won't come anytime soon.
One top virologist that we talked to suggested concerts and festivals are unlikely to go ahead in the UK until at least next year.
Many major music, film and comedy events, including Glastonbury, Eurovision, Cannes and the Edinburgh Fringe, have already been scrapped, postponed or moved online due to Covid-19 concerns.
Others, including Reading and Leeds, and the BFI London Film Festival, remain in the diary but Dr Chris Smith believes it is "too optimistic" to think such social gatherings will take place. "
"The government has cost the country billions to get the transmission rate right down... So I can't see them saying, 'You know what, we think everyone needs a party' - it's too soon."
Read more from entertainment reporter Paul Glynn.

Lockdown bites poor as France eases grip

Lucy Williamson - BBC Paris correspondent
Behind a faded door, in a side-street near Montmartre, a long queue is starting to form. In Paris under lockdown, hotels and restaurants may be deserted but food banks are getting busier.
Women with pushchairs, men with umbrellas, everyone a metre apart; there's very little talking.
The government will set out later on Thursday how it plans to lift restrictions on movement from Monday. But for many the damage from one of Europe's strictest lockdowns has been done.
This centre, one of a network run by the charity Les Restos du Coeur (restaurants of the heart), saw a 40% rise in subscriptions last week.
Director François Coadour says the profile of his clients is also changing.
"We have workers, precarious workers, people who were moonlighting, and part-time workers," he told me. "These are people we didn't see before."
Read the full dispatch from Paris.

Just joining us?

If you are just joining us, a warm welcome. Our writers in London and Manchester (all working from home) will be keeping you updated throughout today, with contributions from BBC correspondents across the UK and the world.
Here's a snapshot of the key headlines:

• The UN has launched a $6.7bn (£5.5bn) appeal to help stem the spread of the coronavirus in the world’s most vulnerable countries. Senior official Mark Lowcock warned the pandemic could cause "multiple famines"
  
• The Bank of England sayus the UK economy is heading towards is greatest recession on record, "dramatically reducing" jobs and incomes
  
• It has emerged that nearly half a million much-needed protective gowns for UK healthworkers do not meet safety standards. The gowns were flown-in from Turkey but after inspection they are now sitting in a government warehouse
  
• US President Donald Trump has described the pandemic as the "worst attack" ever on the country, saying it would not have happened if China had acted more quickly. Critics say he is trying to distract from his own response to the crisis
  
• The first of more than 60 flights repatriating thousands of Indians stranded overseas by the coronavirus lockdown is due to set off on Thursda
  

Boris Johnson 'must show respect' to UK nations

The Scottish National Party leads a coalition in the Scottish government

Prime Minister Boris Johnson must "show respect" to the UK's devolved nations when outlining any changes to lockdown measures in England, a prominent Scottish MP has said.
Most Covid-19 matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are decided by their devolved governments, while Westminster sets policy for England (more on that here).
Ian Blackford, the Scottish National Party's leader at Westminster, said it was important that the whole of the UK pulls in the same direction but added that future advice in Scotland may differ to that issued in the rest of the UK.
"All of us want to work with him, but he has to show respect to the devolved administrations," he said of Johnson.
The warning comes as the prime minister prepares to review the lockdown with ministers, as is required by law every three weeks.
Mr Johnson is expected to announce any decisions for people living in England during a TV address on Sunday.

Moscow infections 'three times higher' than reported

Russia's capital Moscow has been the epicentre of the country's coronavirus outbreak. Official figures report 92,676 confirmed cases in the city, out of Russia's total 177,160 recorded infections.
But Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, has said the number of cases is far higher. According to Tass news agency, Sobyanin said there were actually around 300,000 in the city alone.
The latest official data shows Russia now has the fifth highest number of infections worldwide. In the last 24 hours case numbers grew by 11,231 - the fifth consecutive day that figure has been over 10,000.
The reported death toll is 1,625 - far lower than in many other countries, including those with smaller confirmed case totals.

Trump shifts focus to reopening economy

President Trump is moving ahead with plans to reopen the US and get the economy going again, despite concerns that the number of infections is not yet under control.
On Wednesday he acknowledged that lifting lockdowns could lead to an increase in deaths, but added: "Hopefully that won’t be the case."
He said the coronavirus task force would shift its focus to reopening the economy, a day after suggesting it would be disbanded. It is not clear exactly how the task force will change but Mr Trump said "we may add or subtract people to it".
The US currently has 1.2 million confirmed coronavirus infections and more than 73,000 related deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
More than 30 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in recent weeks as much of the country has stayed home. We'll be getting more unemployment data today and tomorrow which could further illustrate the economic toll of this crisis.

São Paulo governor: 'We're fighting two viruses'

João Doria is the governor of São Paulo, Brazil's wealthiest state. He was once an ally of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. But the two men have clashed over how to handle the coronavirus pandemic.
On Tuesday it was announced that 615 people had died of Covid-19 in Brazil in 24 hours - the highest death toll for a single day anywhere in the southern hemisphere.
Doria has imposed a state-wide quarantine to slow the virus; Bolsonaro wants only the most vulnerable to stay at home and is keen for people to return to work.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly downplayed the threat of Covid-19 and, last month, he controversially joined an anti-lockdown rally where he was seen coughing without covering his mouth.
This has put Doria on a collision course with Bolsonaro. "We have two viruses to combat, coronavirus and Bolsonaro virus," Doria told the BBC's South America correspondent Katy Watson.
Watch the interview here.

UK PM to make Sunday evening address

Boris Johnson will deliver a public statement at 19:00 on Sunday on the "route out of lockdown", our political editor Laura Kuenssberg reports.
The statement is expected to give the UK a sense of what happens next, with some changes expected to come in on Monday in England.
Ministers will decide what they want to do at a cabinet meeting today.

Lockdown to be extended in Scotland

The lockdown is to be extended in Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.
"Extreme caution is required at this critical juncture," she said.
By law, the social distancing measures across the UK have to be reviewed every three weeks.
However Ms Sturgeon said it was too soon to make meaningful changes without risking a resurgence of the virus.

Kenya relents on paying quarantine costs

Mercy Juma - BBC News, Nairobi

Most government isolation centres are charging at least $20 (£16) a day


Kenya's government says it will now start covering the costs of people sent into quarantine because they are suspected of having coronavirus.
The move is aimed at encouraging more people to come forward for testing, as many were afraid to do so in case they turned out to be positive and were sent into expensive quarantine.
Since the start of the pandemic, many people have been stuck in isolation centres long after they were supposed to leave because they cannot afford the bills.
Most government isolation facilities are charging at least $20 (£16) a day.
There have been desperate scenes, with some of those in quarantine threatening to jump from high-rise buildings.
Turnout for mass testing in low-income areas of the capital, Nairobi, and the city of Mombasa - the virus hotspots - has been poor.
Kenya has confirmed a total of 582 coronavirus cases, including 26 deaths and 190 recoveries.
Read more: The fear of being sentenced to a Kenyan quarantine centre

Hunger rises in US homes

More than one in five households in the United States is struggling to provide enough food, according to research by the Brookings Institution think-tank. The pandemic has left tens of millions unemployed in the US, with many now turning to charities and food banks for help.
Brookings' findings also show that by the end of April two in five homes with children under 12 were classed as "food insecure". That means they either said food had run out and they did not have enough money to buy more, or children were not eating enough because the family could not afford it.
In almost one in five households with children aged 12 and under, the children themselves were experiencing food insecurity.
According to the New York Times, the rate is three times as high as in 2008 during the worst of the recession caused by the global financial crisis.

Death toll rises by 59 in Scotland

A further 59 hospital deaths have been reported in Scotland over the last 24 hours. It takes the total number to 1,762.
That does not include deaths in the community, in places such as care homes - where latest figures show most deaths linked to Covid-19 in Scotland are now taking place.
Daily death toll figures for the UK's other nations, and the country as a whole, are expected later.

Nearly 3.2 million filed jobless claims in US last week

Nearly 3.2 million Americans filed for unemployment in the last week. That brings the number of jobless claims to some 33 million since mid-March, when Covid-19 led to shutdowns nationwide.
Thursday's Labor Department weekly report, however, is less than its previous number of new claims, which was over 3.8 million.
The count has been declining in recent weeks, but US analysts note the number is still unprecedented, even compared to the 2008 recession.
On Friday, we'll learn the unemployment numbers for April.
The president of the St Louis US Federal Reserve Bank, James Bullard, told CNBC that the report "will probably be one of the worst ever" in American history.

London's Notting Hill Carnival cancelled for first time

More than a million people attended last year's event in London

One of the UK's biggest annual events, the Notting Hill Carnival, has been cancelled for the first time in its 54-year history because of the coronavirus pandemic.
More than a million people attended last year's event in London over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
A statement on behalf of the organisers said: "The board has taken the decision that this year’s carnival will not take place on the streets of Notting Hill as it has done for over 50 years.
"We are working towards an alternate NHC 2020 that we hope will bring the carnival spirit to people from the safety of their homes, and make them feel connected and engaged."

Scotland 'will not be pressured' into easing lockdown

We have heard from Boris Johnson, who says the government will act with "maximum caution" when it comes to easing the lockdown in England.
A similar warning is coming from Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has insisted she will not be pressured into "lifting lockdown restrictions prematurely".
"The decisions we take now are a matter of life and death and that is why they weigh so heavily," Sturgeon said at her daily briefing, adding that she did not want to act too early, and risk a potential second spike of coronavirus.
She is due to talk to Johnson later on Thursday and said her preference was for the four nations of the UK to move together, but that any decisions "must be taken with great care" and she would "continue to err on the side of caution".

Chinese media hit back at US 'bullying'

Kerry Allen - BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst

China is mounting an aggressive media campaign to dismiss statements made by US politicians, particularly Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, about the coronavirus potentially having originated in a lab in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
Hu Xijin, editor of the national newspaper Global Times, says that now more “earlier confirmed cases have been found in the US and Europe, it will be more and more difficult for the Trump administration to accuse China of originating the novel coronavirus”.
His comments came after Michael Melham, a mayor in New Jersey, said he believed he contracted the virus in November - before cases were discovered in Wuhan.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said yesterday that the Chinese people would "never again accept bullying on the epidemic issue.”
Referring to Mr Pompeo's comments, she said: "We don’t know what he was referring to. He says on the one hand he’s not certain it’s from a lab, on the other hand he has evidence it’s from a lab. If he was to do the right thing he could save hundreds of thousands of lives."
The official People’s Daily is sharing this slogan today on a poster of what looks like a silhouette of Mr Pompeo spitting. It says: “Why are those blundering American politicians still living in dreamland?”

US airline drops 'distancing' seat charge after criticism

Frontier Airlines has said it will end a plan to charge passengers $39 (£31) per flight to ensure an empty middle seat during the Covid-19 crisis, following sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers.
This "More Room" option was to begin on Friday and last through to the end of August.
Peter DeFazio, who heads the House of Representatives transportation committee, accused the company of "capitalising on fear and passengers' well-founded concerns for their health and safety".
In a letter to lawmakers, Frontier chief Barry Biffle said it was "never the intent" to profit from safety, US media report.
"We simply wanted to provide our customers with an option for more space."
The airline industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. According to CBS News, US air travel has dropped over 90% compared with last year - but while many flights are close to empty, some are still full, prompting distancing concerns.

Further 383 deaths recorded in England

NHS England has announced 383 new deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths in hospitals in England to 22,432.
A further 18 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Wales, taking the Welsh death toll to 1,062.
Earlier, a further 59 hospital deaths were reported in Scotland, where the total number of coronavirus deaths is now 1,762.

Japan approves anti-viral drug Remdesivir

Japan has authorised the use of anti-viral drug Remdesivir to treat coronavirus patients.
The government said it was also considering approving another medication Avigan this month.
Japan is the second country to approve Remdesivir for treating coronavirus patients. The medicine received authorisation in the US for emergency use last week.
A trial showed the drug, used to treat Ebola, shortened the recovery time for patients with Covid-19.

US military bars some Covid-19 survivors

Americans who have been diagnosed with Covid-19 and sent to hospital because of it won't be able to join the US military - for the time being.
According to a memo that's been circulating on social media, the nation's military entrance processing stations have been told to take recruits' temperatures and ask questions regarding symptoms and possible exposure to the novel coronavirus.
The Pentagon confirmed to the BBC the interim guidance is that anyone who was in hospital with Covid-19 will be medically disqualified and would need a service waiver to join the military.

South Korea gives masks to foreign Korean War veterans

South Korea is providing a million face masks to foreign veterans of the Korean War to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of the conflict.
The Korean War began in June 1950 when North Korea invaded the South. It ended in a truce three years later.
The masks are being sent to an estimated 400,000 overseas survivors who fought for the South from more than 20 countries. All of these countries are currently experiencing difficulties with the virus, Seoul explained.
Many of the veterans live in the US, which supplied 90% of the foreign troops for South Korea during the conflict.
The average age of the veterans is 88, making them particularly vulnerable.

Sweden's death toll passes 3,000

Sweden has recorded another 99 coronavirus-related deaths, taking the total to 3,040.
Senior health official Anders Tegnell has faced criticism for not imposing the strict lockdown measures seen in neighbouring countries but he reiterated his defence of the strategy at a news briefing on Thursday.
"The curves show that we have, to a large extent, been successful in keeping (the outbreak) within the limits of what the healthcare system can manage," he told reporters.
Swedes can still go to bars and restaurants, but are urged to maintain strict social distancing and hygiene routines. The country has also kept schools open for children under the age of 16.

Bars and restaurants in Sweden have not closed during the pandemic


Sweden has recorded another 99 coronavirus-related deaths, taking the total to 3,040.
Senior health official Anders Tegnell has faced criticism for not imposing the strict lockdown measures seen in neighbouring countries but he reiterated his defence of the strategy at a news briefing on Thursday.
"The curves show that we have, to a large extent, been successful in keeping (the outbreak) within the limits of what the healthcare system can manage," he told reporters.
Swedes can still go to bars and restaurants, but are urged to maintain strict social distancing and hygiene routines. The country has also kept schools open for children under the age of 16.

Recovery depends on kind of jobs being lost

Samira Hussain - New York business correspondent
It’s hard to fathom just how quickly the labour market in the US has collapsed. Just two months ago the country’s unemployment rate was the lowest in 50 years. Now we are seeing record job losses, with millions of Americans out of work.
How quickly people can expect to get back to work will depend on the kinds of jobs that are being lost. The initial job losses were mostly in the services sector, restaurants, bars and retail stores. Presumably, once cities begin to reopen, those jobs will come back and people will work again.
But if we start to see more white collar jobs being lost, the recovery will take much longer. Alarmingly, we are already seeing evidence of that: engineers at Uber, designers at Airbnb and other office employees.
If that continues, the optimistic bounce-back being touted by the White House is looking even more unlikely.

Speeding amid lockdown causing most accidents

Tom Symonds - Home Affairs Correspondent


Speeding has overtaken drink-driving as the biggest cause of accidents on UK roads during lockdown as drivers deliberately breach the limits because of lack of congestion, says a senior traffic police officer.
Detective Superintendent Andy Cox, from the Metropolitan Police Roads Policing team told the BBC one driver had clocked 163 mph on a motorway or dual carriageway.
The highest speed seen in a 20mph (32km/h) zone was 73mph.
The Met is concerned speeding drivers could kill key workers who are more likely to be walking or cycling to work.
The latest figures suggest cases of "extreme speeding" discovered by police have increased, with 89 drivers ordered to appear in court. A small number of drivers have been taking part in road races, aided by the current lack of congestion, police say.
There have been 196 road collisions involving deaths or serious injuries in the Metropolitan Police area between the start of the lockdown and this Monday. Ten were fatal.

Moscow extends lockdown restrictions

Coronavirus restrictions in the Russian capital, Moscow, are to be extended until 31 May, the city's mayor has said.
Announcing the decision on his personal blog, Sergei Sobyanin said some measures would be relaxed from 12 May, including a return to work for industrial and construction companies.
However, he said it was still too early to reopen theatres, restaurants and sports facilities.
Moscow is the epicentre of Russia's coronavirus outbreak, having recorded 92,676 of the country's 177,160 cases. Mr Sobyanin has previously estimated that the true number of infections in the city is closer to 300,000.
Of Russia's 1,625 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths, more than 900 were in Moscow, according to Russian news agency Tass.

France to gradually end lockdown from 11 May

France will gradually end its lockdown from 11 May, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced earlier.
However tight restrictions will remain in place in regions still determined to be at risk (designated as "red zones"). Those are concentrated in the north and east of the country and include Île-de-France (the Paris region), Hauts-de-France, Grand Est and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The overseas territory of Mayotte, near Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, has also been designated a red zone.
In those areas, parks will remain closed along with secondary schools, and restrictions in general will be lifted more slowly.
In other parts of France - "green zones" - secondary schools, cafes and restaurants may open from early June if the infection rate remains low.
Philippe warned that the government has not ruled out postponing the lockdown if necessary. France's interior minister Christophe Castaner said those wanting to travel more than 100km (62 miles) within the country will have to have an official form.
The country's borders are to remain closed for now, he said.

Tanzania president 'wrong' about faulty tests

The World Health Organization and the head of the African Union (AU) body co-ordinating the continent's coronavirus response have rejected a suggestion from Tanzania's president that tests for the virus are faulty.
Last weekend, President John Magufuli, who has been criticised for his approach to dealing with the virus, claimed that he had secretly had some animals and fruits tested at a laboratory and that a paw-paw, a quail and a goat had returned positive samples.
But responding to a question about Mr Magufuli's comments, John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), told journalists that the test had "been validated and we know that they are performing very well".
Speaking at the WHO Africa media briefing, Dr Matshidiso Moeti also said the WHO was "convinced" the tests were not already contaminated.
In Tanzania, the government's main priority appears to be keeping the economy going as President Magufuli refuses to countenance the closure of markets or the lucrative port in the commercial hub of Dar es Salaam.
Mr Magufuli has insisted that people should still go to places of worship to find "true healing" - despite these being areas where social distancing is difficult to follow.

Imran Khan hopes Pakistanis play by rules

M Ilyas Khan - BBC News, Islamabad
Pakistan’s lifting of its nationwide lockdown from Saturday will see curbs eased on businesses, including marketplaces.
Out-patient departments that were ordered shut to curb the spread of infection will also reopen. But as part of a phased approach, schools and colleges will remain closed. All exams have been cancelled.
And shop opening times remain restricted; markets will open only in the day and be shut over weekends to try to prevent overcrowding. People prefer evening shopping during Ramadan after they have broken their fast.
In his address, Prime Minister Imran Khan stressed again that people had to ensure social distancing rules were obeyed. If not, the government would have to reimpose a stricter lockdown.
There are fears the situation could worsen under increased relaxation. Officials say more than 80% of total infections have been caused by local transmission.

Just joining us?

We should be hearing from the UK government in about 30 minutes. Here are the latest headlines if you're just joining us.

• Boris Johnson has urged caution amid reports on how the lockdown in England might be eased, saying the government will proceed with “maximum caution”. Scotland has extended its lockdown
  

• The Bank of England has warned that the UK economy is heading towards its sharpest recession on record
  
• Black men and women are nearly twice as likely to die with coronavirus as white people in England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics. People from Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities also have a significantly higher risk of dying
  
• And London’s Notting Hill Carnival, Europe's largest street festival, has been cancelled due to the pandemic
  

Lockdown and the UK – who decides what?

Restrictions on people’s movement are set out in laws that differ in each separate UK nation - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - and can be adapted differently.
This has led to some differences - for example only Wales has made it illegal to leave your house for exercise more than once a day. There are no daily limits elsewhere in the UK.
The power to shut and reopen schools and manage pubic transport is also held by each UK nation. As is the matter of social distancing in the workplace - Scotland and Wales differ legally to England and Northern Ireland, where the two-metre rule is not a requirement.
However some decisions, such as on border control at ports of entry and alcohol licensing, are taken by the UK government.
It is also worth noting that other decisions relevant to lockdowns - for example, whether to close parks - are taken at an even more local level by councils.
As our Scotland Editor Sarah Smith notes, we could soon see different parts of the UK operating under different lockdown rules.

Cocaine hidden in fake medical supplies van seized

Cocaine worth more than £25m has been seized from a fake medical supplies van heading to the UK.
It was claimed the vehicle was carrying important supplies to a UK hospital, but when searched, Border Force officers found 285kg of the Class A drug.
The seizure was made on Tuesday when the Belgian-registered van was stopped at UK border controls in Coquelles, France, the Home Office said on Thursday.

What did we learn from today's UK briefing?

Today's government press conference was led by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. He was joined by Sir Ian Diamond, chief statistician at the Office for National Statistics, and Dr Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer.
Here's what they told us:

• The R-rate, the rate of infection, is below one - somewhere between 0.5 and 0.9 - meaning on average each person with the virus passes it on to fewer than one other person. This is higher than the last estimate and is driven by the epidemic in care homes
  
• The lockdown rules are not changing today. Any changes to social distancing and lockdown measures will be limited and carefully monitored to ensure the R-rate does not rise. We will get more information on the government's plans from the prime minister on Sunday. Abandoning social distancing too quickly would lead to a second peak
  
• There was a technical hitch over the weekend which saw testing numbers fall but it has been resolved
  
• Restrictions on the border, for example at airports, may come in due course
  

Analysis: Is the UK government message clear?

Alex Forsyth - Political correspondent
With much speculation about Sunday’s announcement on lockdown measures in the UK, the government seems keen to manage expectations.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab’s emphasis today was on gradual steps; he spoke of this being a delicate and dangerous moment, with the virus remaining deadly.
He said the prime minister would set out a road map of how the country might come out of lockdown. But the government doesn’t want to release the handbrake and see the car race away just yet.
After Boris Johnson had said some measures could be eased as soon as Monday, the government has been accused of mixed messaging, particularly as the country approaches what could be a warm bank holiday weekend.
Today’s press conference seemed designed to both offer a glimmer of hope about how the country might move on, and to shroud it in caution - with emphasis that current measures still remain in place.
Whether that message comes across as clear or confused is the key question at what could be a crucial moment in attempts to manage this pandemic

Cut-outs replace football fans in German stadium

Fans may not be allowed into stadiums when the German football's Bundesliga returns later this month but one club is making sure their faces will be.
Borussia Monchengladbach are allowing supporters to have their picture printed onto a cut-out and placed in the stands.
So far, 4,500 cut-outs have been put in place with 12,000 more orders so far. Some away fans are even getting involved too.
A cut-out costs 19 euros (£17) with the money raised going to local charities.
The Bundesliga will resume behind closed doors on Saturday 16 May.

UK opposition leader welcomes lockdown extension

Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour party, says the government "is right to extend the lockdown" until the infection rate is under control
"The health and safety of the nation needs to come first," he said.
After debate about the clarity of government advice, he added: "There needs to be absolute clarity that we must follow the rules".
But he said it was right for the government to set out how the lockdown may be lifted in future.

Hispanic-Americans 'twice as likely to be fired'

Hispanic-Americans are nearly twice as likely than white Americans to have lost their job due to the coronavirus, according to a recent Washington Post-Ipsos poll.
The poll found that 20% of hispanic and 16% of black adults had been laid off or placed on temporary forced leave due to the pandemic.
In comparison, 11% of white people and 12% of Americans of other races are out of work, the poll finds.
Black and hispanic people are also more likely to be infected and killed by Covid-19, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Norway eases lockdown measures

Norway has announced the easing of its lockdown measures with groups of up to 20 people allowed to gather privately from today, Thursday, provided they stay one metre apart.
Similarly, events in public places with up to 50 people are allowed if they stick to the same social-distancing.
Norway has been in strict lockdown since 12 March.
From Monday all schools will reopen and from 1 June bars and amusement parks can reopen with social distancing measures.
Top-level football will be allowed again from 16 June.

Passengers told to wear gloves at some UK airports

Passengers travelling through some UK airports are being told to cover their faces and wear gloves due to Covid-19.
The new rules will apply to those travelling through Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports from Thursday.
The three airports are believed to be the first in the UK to introduce such strict hygiene rules.
Read more here.

Foreign tourists welcome in Georgia in July

Georgia will lift its lockdown in the capital Tbilisi and will allow shops to reopen from Monday.
Another lockdown in Rustavi will be lifted on 14 May.
The cities of Tbilisi, Rustavi, Batumi and Kutaisi were locked down on April 15, with bans on vehicles entering or leaving. Measures in Batumi and Kutaisi ended last week.
Georgia remains in a state of emergency until 22 May.
The emergency measures include a night curfew and the closure of most shops, restaurants and cafes. Public transport has been suspended and gatherings of more than three people are banned.
Georgia has reported 615 cases of coronavirus with nine deaths.
The country is set to reopen to foreign tourists from 1 July. Domestic tourism will resume from 15 June. Tourism is an important source of income to the country. Five million tourists visited Georgia in 2019. The industry accounted for 7.5% of the country's GDP in 2018

New York eviction moratorium extended until August

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has extended a moratorium on home evictions until 20 August.
The order is unlikely to appease activists from the Cancel Rent movement, according to US media.
The Atlantic magazine says the Cancel Rent movement has prompted more than 200,000 tenants to boycott rent payments and may be among the largest protest movements in American history.
Activists point to a recent US government study from the Federal Reserve that found that most Americans (and three out of five US renters) could not come up with $400 in an emergency.
On Thursday, Cuomo also announced an additional 231 deaths bringing the total death toll in New York to over 21,000.

Thousands of learner drivers in US given licences without test

If you're a learner driver nervously wondering what coronavirus restrictions will mean for you, you're probably not alone.
But if you happen to live in the US state of Georgia, there's good news: almost 20,000 learner drivers have been given licences without having to take their practical tests.
The test waiver was announced last month to help deal with a backlog caused by cancelled road tests, and Wisconsin will be following suit from Monday.
Not everyone is happy though, with many concerned the decision could affect road safety.
One petition calling for the tests to be reinstated has received over 1,000 signatures

Northern Canadian regions refuse travellers

More than 100 people have been refused entry into Canada's northern territories, according to CBC News.
Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories all have policies in place banning most outsiders, except essential workers, returning residents and those with treaty rights.
Some residents who have been refused entry have remained camped on the provincial border as they await the results of appeals, CBC reports.

What are the main developments today?

• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the government will proceed with "maximum caution" when considering easing coronavirus restrictions. He is due to announce plans for lockdown easing in England on Sunday
  
• UK government data suggest black people are nearly twice as likely as white people to die with Covid-19
  
• France will begin relaxing lockdown next week but restrictions in the Paris region will remain
  
• Nearly 3.3 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. Total claims since mid-March have now reached 33 million
  
• Norway has announced schools will be able to reopen on Monday and bars from 1 June. Cultural and sporting events of up to 200 people can start on 15 June
  
• The top Swedish health official, Anders Tegnell, has faced criticism for avoiding the lockdowns implemented by neighbouring countries - the death toll in Sweden has now passed 3,000
  

Danish shopping centres set to reopen

Denmark was one of the first European countries to go into lockdown in the middle of March and it is among the first to relax restrictions.
Smaller shops are already open, but shopping centres will now be allowed to welcome visitors from 11 May.
A week later, restaurants can open up. And older children can return to school.
"It is thanks to a united and impressive effort that we arein a situation where we are one of the countries that can starta serious reopening of our society once again," Prime MinisterMette Frederiksen said.
But there will be curbs on opening hours and numbers of people, and social distancing will remain in force.
Denmark has registered 514 deaths and more than 10,000 cases of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.

Trump: 'Very little contact' with infected aide

The president says he was tested on Wednesday and Thursday

President Donald Trump has told reporters that coronavirus testing at the White House will be increased from once a week to once per day after an aide who works in close contact with Trump tested positive for the virus.
“I’ve had very little contact with this person,” he said in the White House Oval Office, adding that he had himself been tested on Wednesday and Thursday.
Earlier today, Deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley confirmed that a member of the US military who works at the White House had tested positive.
CNN reported that the infected person, who is in the US Navy, was a personal valet to Trump.

Canada to boost salaries of front line workers

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a $3bn (£1.7bn) fund that will boost the pay of frontline workers during the pandemic.
"If you're risking your health to keep this country moving and you're making minimum wage, you deserve a raise," he told a daily briefing on Thursday.
The money will be shared among provinces who will determine who exactly will receive the money.
Trudeau said essential staff, often in minimum wage jobs, deserved a pay rise.
Some provinces have already taken action. Saskatchewan is topping up the monthly wages of those working with vulnerable people, while Ontario is boosting salaries by three dollars an hour.

Hundreds still dying in Europe, but rates continue falling

France has reported 178 new coronavirus deaths, down from 278 on Wednesday, meaning 25,987 people have died with the virus in hospitals and nursing homes. The figures come as the prime minister announced lockdown measures would remain in Paris and the north east, but ease elsewhere.
Fatalities in Italy also fell compared with Wednesday - 274 people died. The number of new infections also fell, but only by 43, to 1,401. The country's death toll stands at 29,958, the third highest in the world after the United States and the UK.
In Spain, 213 people died, down from 244 the previous day. Spain's parliament voted on Wednesday night to extend a state of emergency to control people's movements for two more weeks. More than 26,000 people have died.
And in Poland, which has one of the lowest death rates in the EU, 324 new infections were recorded and 22 virus-related deaths, taking the total number of victims to 755.

Trump touts Wuhan lab theory

"Something happened," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the theory that the coronavirus was released from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
"Probably it was incompetence. Somebody was stupid,” he added during a meeting with the Texas governor.
Over the weekend, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed he had seen "enormous evidence" that the virus had originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
On Wednesday, he told Fox Business network that he had "seen evidence that this likely came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology," but added that he'd be "happy to see evidence that disproves that".
Trump has promised a report on what role the institute played in the global outbreak. China has denied the theory.
Read more here: Is there any evidence for lab release theory?

Plan to reopen US 'abruptly shelved'

A 17-page report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), titled “Guidance for Implementing Opening Up America Again Framework" was abruptly shelved, according to AP News.
The document includes step-by-step guidance on how and when local authorities should allow businesses to reopen and life to resume as normal.
The report was meant to be published on Friday, but now the guidance "will never see the light of day," a CDC official told the AP.
The White House has sought to control guidance on the virus outbreak, rather than the CDC, which has traditionally let the US fight against epidemics.
For more than a week the White House has been asked to comment on states reopening, despite federal guidelines saying they had not yet met the necessary criteria to do so.

Rugby players apologise for breaking social distancing rules

A group of Saracens rugby players have apologised after breaking the UK coronavirus lockdown regulations.
England's Billy Vunipola, Alex Goode and Nick Isiekwe, Scotland back Sean Maitland and prop Josh Ibuanokpe were reportedly spotted in St Albans.
The Daily Mail said the players met for a coffee and a chat in the street and did not follow social distancing rules.
The Premiership season is currently suspended because of the pandemic.
"Management has spoken to the players involved, all of whom accept that they made an error in judgement," said a Saracens statement.
"The club has reminded these players as well as the whole Saracens squad of their responsibilities to themselves and the community around them and we are confident that this will not happen again."

Texas governor changes order to free beauty salon protester

The governor of Texas has amended his lockdown executive order to free a salon owner who was jailed after refusing to close down her business.
Gov Greg Abbott's order bans "confinement as a punishment" for violating virus mitigation orders.
Shelley Luther, the owner of Salon à la Mode in Dallas, was jailed for contempt of court on Tuesday after she refused to apologise and pay a fine for staying open despite official warnings.
Texas is nearing 1,000 Covid-19 deaths and 35,000 infections.
Read more here:
Texas governor amends lockdown order to free hair salon owner

German brewery gives out free beer to locals

A brewery in Germany has handed out 2,600 litres (690 gallons) of beer for free in order to prepare their tanks for when bars open again.
Willinger brewery in Hesse offered the beer to locals on Thursday. Dozens of people queued up while observing social distancing rules. Many took full buckets and boxes home with them.
The Deutsche Brauer Bund beer association has warned that breweries across the country are facing a collapse in sales due to a slump in exports.
Bavaria's Oktoberfest, the world's biggest beer festival, has been cancelled.

Israel claims further treatment breakthrough

Israeli Defence Minister Naftali Bennett has announced a “second breakthrough” towards a possible treatment for Covid-19 patients.
On Monday, he hailed the state-run Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) for developing a “monoclonal neutralising antibody” that could neutralise the disease inside carriers’ bodies.
Scientists there have now found a set of three more antibodies, which “specifically bind to distinct elements” of the Covid-19 virus and stop it infecting cells, according to Mr Bennett.

  :tweet:  :Left Quotes: Naftali Bennett:
1/9: Big news from Israel:
A second breakthrough:
During the past few days, our scientists at the the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR), have determined a set of 3 more antibodies that neutralize the novel corona virus (SARS-COV-2).

“Today when meeting them I requested that they move as quickly as possible to complete the work for a full treatment. I’ve ordered Israel’s Defense Ministry to spare no money or resources to make this happen,” he tweeted, adding that he viewed this as Israel’s “Manhattan Project” to defeat the pandemic.
The IIBR is “pursuing a patent” for the antibodies, after which an international manufacturer would be sought to mass-produce them.
But Mr Bennett stressed that the breakthrough had “the potential to progress towards a treatment for corona patients, and that it is not a vaccine for wide use”.

Up to 190,000 people could die of Covid-19 in Africa, WHO warns

Up to 190,000 people could die of Covid-19 during the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail, according to a study by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The study is based on prediction modelling and analysed 47 countries in the WHO Africa region – more than a billion people.
Countries such as Algeria, South Africa and Cameroon were at a high risk if containment measures are not prioritised, the study found.
Health services would be overwhelmed with the sheer number of people requiring hospitalisation, the WHO warned. An estimated 3.6-5.5 million people could need hospital treatment for the virus. Of those, around 52,000-107,000 would need breathing support.
The study recommends that hospitals increase their capacity. A survey of health services in the African region undertaken in March 2020 revealed that there were on average nine intensive care unit beds per million people.
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, said: “Covid-19 could become a fixture in our lives for the next several years unless a proactive approach is taken by many governments in the region. We need to test, trace, isolate and treat.”

California moves towards second phase of reopening

California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that the unprecedented two-month lockdown of the state - which put approximately four million people out work - is lifting on some businesses.
Starting on Friday, retail businesses will allow kerbside pickups. Manufacturing will also resume, provided that employees wear masks and stay six feet (two metres) apart.
Businesses where staff and customers come into close contact - such as hair salons - have not yet been given the green light to open.
Earlier this week, California became the first state to formally request a loan from the federal government to help with swelling jobless claims.


Thank you for tuning in to today's coverage of coronavirus around the world. We're wrapping up the live page for today but before we go, here's a round-up of what's been happening.

• US President Donald Trump said he would be tested daily for the virus from now on after one of his valets fell ill
  
• California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state's lockdown is lifting for some businesses on Friday
  
• Manufacturing and retail businesses are among those set to reopen. Retail businesses will allow kerbside pickups
  
• France will begin relaxing lockdown next week but restrictions in the Paris region will remain
  
• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the government will proceed with "maximum caution" when considering easing coronavirus restrictions. He is due to announce plans for lockdown easing in England on Sunday
  
• The Bank of England says the UK economy will shrink 14% this year, its deepest recession on record
  
• Black men and women are nearly twice as likely to die with coronavirus as white people in England and Wales, according to the government's Office for National Statistics. The government has launched a review
  
• New Zealand - hailed as one of the world's leaders in containing the virus - has announced it is looking at reopening most elements of society as soon as next Wednesday
  

Our coverage was brought to you today by Anna Jones, Yvette Tan, Krutika Pathi, Yaroslav Lukov, Andreas Illmer, Tessa Wong, Hugo Bachega, Kevin Ponniah, David Walker, Tom Spender, Sean Fanning, Sophie Williams, Max Matza, Helier Cheung, Matthew Henry, Alex Bysouth, Claire Heald, Frank Keogh, Emma Harrison, Paul Seddon and Lucy Webster.