England's four-week lockdown will make a 'real impact', the prime minister says at a news briefing
The chief executive of NHS England, Sir Simon Stevens, says the second wave 'is real and it's serious'
The new four-week lockdown in England means non-essential shops, pubs and gyms are closed
The furlough scheme is to be extended until the end of March with the government paying up to 80% of wages
The chancellor also says any part of the UK will be able to access the scheme if it needs to lock down in that time
The Bank of England is to pump an extra £150bn into the economy while UK interest rates are held at 0.1%
The US recorded more than 100,000 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday – a record one-day increase
At the briefing, a short animation is played to explain the timescale of coronavirus.
It says it takes five days for an infection to become symptoms, and another two to five days before someone needs to go into hospital.
The number of days before a patient dies or is discharged then ranges from between nine and 19.
Nick Eardley
Political correspondent
The prime minister is keen to point out he plans for lockdown in England to end in four weeks – despite the government saying today that furlough will be in place for another four months.
Many in the PM’s party are nervous about further lockdowns – and he hasn’t ruled it out completely.
But he has said several times in recent days that a return to the tier system on 2 December is the plan.
Image source, BBC SportSir Simon uses a slide to point to the rise in infections.
He says as we think about the next few weeks, "we already know what is likely to happen".
He adds: "Today's infections is tomorrow's order book for intensive care."
The chief executive of the NHS in England, Sir Simon Stevens, now takes over.
He says he asked some NHS staff what they would like to say to the public, and they came back with three points.
He said first that the second wave is real, second that the health service has been working hard to prepare and thirdly to continue to do that depends on the growth of the virus.
"Left unchecked it will disrupt care," he adds.
The prime minister ends his opening remarks with a plea for people in England to follow the new lockdown rules - insisting the country can "get through this" together.
The PM announces councils in England will get an additional £15m to help house rough sleepers during the winter months.
An extra £10m was also announced earlier this month.
However, a homeless charity has criticised government plans to allow communal night shelters to reopen if necessary.
Boris Johnson says efforts are also in hand towards a "shared approach" to Christmas between the UK and devolved governments.
He says he "knows how tough" the new restrictions across the UK will be, with people "quite frankly fed up" with the virus.
He says he has been reassured the four weeks of England's latest lockdown "is enough" to have a "real impact", and ministers hope to move back to a regional approach after that.
Opening the press conference, Boris Johnson says a "huge joint effort" is under way to put coronavirus "back in its box".
The prime minister adds that an "unprecedented" effort is also under way to protect jobs, and there is a "shared goal" across the UK to protect the NHS.
The UK government press conference on coronavirus has started, with Boris Johnson taking to the lectern at Downing Street.
He is joined by the chief executive of NHS England, Sir Simon Stevens.
We will bring you all the updates and analysis from our correspondents here, so stay tuned.
We should be hearing from Boris Johnson in the next few minutes.
But that gives you time to watch this video on why the R number is so important in the fight against Covid.
Coronavirus R0: What is the R number and why does it matter?
Image source, Getty ImagesThe furlough scheme will now run until the end of March 2021, so who will benefit?
You can be furloughed regardless of whether you are on full-time, part-time, agency, flexible or zero-hour contracts, but you must have been on the payroll by 30 October 2020. You do not need to have been furloughed before.
You can also take on other jobs while placed on leave, as long as it doesn't breach the rules of their existing contract.
If you were employed and on the payroll on 23 September and were made redundant or stopped working afterwards, you can be re-employed and be claimed for by companies.
While the government updates the system, employers will submit their wage claim to the government, and be refunded afterwards. After that, they will be paid upfront to cover the cost.
For more information about the furlough scheme, head here.
Image source, Getty ImagesWe will be hearing from Boris Johnson shortly with his latest update on coronavirus.
But while we wait, read our guide on what is different about Lockdown 2.0, compared to the original one in March.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Premier League is likely to scrap the controversial pay-per-view method for matches later this month.
A definitive decision was not taken at a shareholders' meeting on Thursday, but the £14.95 fee for some matches - which led to significant protests among fan groups - is expected to be dropped.
Clubs will instead look to devise a new solution that will come into force from 21 November, after the international break, and cover the Christmas period.
It is understood that the model used in September, where all games were shown live by the Premier League's broadcast partners - Sky Sports, BT Sport, the BBC and Amazon Prime - is the most likely option.
Fans have not been allowed to attend matches in England's top flight since coronavirus halted matches in March and, with the country going into a second lockdown, hopes of supporters returning have faded.
Image source, PA MediaWe should be hearing from Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the next 30 minutes.
He will be joined by Sir Simon Stevens – the chief executive of NHS England.
But before the briefing starts, let’s take a look at the latest from the UK.
Image source, ReutersScotland is in a better position than in England, said First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said there are "very tentative and cautious grounds for optimism" that the nation's coronavirus measures were taking effect.
She said the R number - a measure of how quickly the virus is spreading - had dropped to about one, meaning each person only infects one other on average and the epidemic stops growing.
A further 1,216 cases of coronavirus were recorded on Thursday, along with the deaths of 39 who had tested positive.
The number of people in hospital dropped by five to 1,252, while the number of patients in intensive care rose by one to 95.
Sturgeon said she still could not rule out a full lockdown but said that Scotland was in a "better position" than England.
"There is no room for complacency," she said, adding that she wanted to see a clearer reduction in the number of cases as the nation moves into winter.
From nurses to shopkeepers, doctors to bus drivers, tens of thousands of people have died with coronavirus across the UK.
As that number rises, many of you have chosen to leave tributes to family, friends and colleagues.
If you would like to add your own tribute to someone who has died with coronavirus, or to see some of those left by others, you can do so here.
Image source, EPAHere are some of the main developments from around the world:
A woman was arrested after removing her mother, who has dementia, from her care home.
This is the moment a 73-year-old woman was arrested after she took her mother, who has dementia, out of a care home before lockdown.
Ylenia Angeli said she took the "drastic action" because of a lack of face-to-face contact during the first wave of the pandemic.
Angeli said she wanted to care for her mother at home but, after police were called, she was returned to the East Yorkshire home.
The incident was filmed by Angeli's daughter, former Coronation Street actress Leandra Ashton.
Angeli was later released without being charged or taken into custody.
Humberside Police said they were called to a report of an assault and said it was their "legal duty" to return her mother to the care home.
The care home declined to comment.
It comes as the government faces criticism for proposing relatives visit residents in care homes during the pandemic from behind what the Alzheimer's Society called "prison-style screens".
The Job Retention Scheme - more commonly known as furlough – has been in place since 20 March and was due to end on 31 October.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed at the end of September that a new Job Support Scheme (JSS) would take its place as part of his Winter Economy Plan, paying half of an employee's unworked hours if they were at work for at least 30% of their usual time.
On 9 October, he extended that scheme - due to come in from November - to businesses forced to close by the pandemic, and on 22 October, he reduced the burden on employers to paying for just 5% of unworked hours.
But come Halloween, Boris Johnson announced a new four-week lockdown across England. As a result, he said the existing furlough scheme would be extended to cover the period, rather than being replaced with the JSS.
On Thursday, in the fifth announcement from the Treasury in six weeks, Mr Sunak extended this even further, promising furlough for 80% of employees' wages until the end of March 2021 - the same terms as the original furlough scheme before it started tapering in September.
Image source, Getty ImagesDowning Street has insisted the extension of the furlough scheme into next year was not related to the potential economic disruption caused by the end of the Brexit transition period.
The prime minister's official spokesman said: "That is absolutely not the case.
"The announcement made by the chancellor today is part of the government's ongoing support for businesses affected by coronavirus."
Earlier, the chancellor confirmed that the furlough scheme would be extended across the UK until the end of March.
The UK's post-Brexit transition period is due to end in December and it is yet to reach an agreement with the EU over their future trading relationship.