UK lockdown extended for 'at least' three weekspublished at 22:24 British Summer Time 16 April 2020
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says relaxing measures too early would harm public health and the economy.
Read MoreRefuse crews abused for rejecting bins
Roads painted with 'thank you' to NHS staff
Major fast food chains reopen for deliveries
What's life like in lockdown with eight kids?
Updates on Thursday 16 April
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says relaxing measures too early would harm public health and the economy.
Read MoreWe'll be back tomorrow from 08:00 with more coverage of the impact of the coronavirus crisis in the West Midlands.
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Tom Davis
Bin lorries are being tailed by vans in Coventry to keep staff safe and allow them to follow social distancing rules.
The move allows two staff to be in the bin lorry's cab with a third in the support van.
The city council's using more than a dozen vans alongside minibuses that are no longer used by schools so crews can access toilet and handwashing facilities.
Allen Cook
BBC News
Colleagues will remember a nurse who died of suspected coronavirus during this week's "Clap for Carers" tribute to NHS staff.
Sister Leilani Dayrit, 47, who was based at St Cross Hospital in Rugby, had been self-isolating at home for seven days, her daughter said, before she died.
The University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust said , externalshe was a "passionate and proud nurse" and they would be giving her a round of applause at 20:00.
"Clap for Carers" has become a weekly event every Thursday in the UK with people saluting NHS staff and other key workers.
Allen Cook
BBC News
Green bin collections are going to be restarted in Warwick after being suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Many parts of England had suspended their garden bin and recycling pick-ups to give priority to household and clinical waste.
We told you earlier in the week garden waste collections had restarted in Worcester, external.
Warwick District Council says theirs will be back from Monday 20 April., external
West Mercia Police tweeted these photos, external of "ribbons of hope" tied on railings and trees in Newport, Shropshire, and said they'd been put in place while residents took their daily exercise.
Coventry Live
From Coventry Live:
Allen Cook
BBC News
This year's Shrewsbury Flower Show has been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Shropshire Horicultural Society said, external it made the decision to not hold the event - set for 14 and 15 August - "with deep regret".
It added the only other times the show had been cancelled in its 132-year history was during World War One and World War Two.
The foreign secretary says the current lockdown measures will continue for at least three more weeks.
Read MoreA four-year-old in Warwick had the police arrive earlier - to wish her a Happy Birthday.
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We're set for another fine evening which will turn into a dry night with mainly clear skies before clouds roll in during the early hours, bringing the odd shower. Low: 7C/45F.
Then there looks to be a change in the weather we've had for most of the week as it'll be mostly cloudy tomorrow, with heavy showers spreading in by late morning. High: 14C/57F.
Get the latest forecast for your area from the BBC Weather website.
BBC Shropshire
Six residents diagnosed with coronavirus have died at a care home in Shropshire.
We told you earlier about the deaths at Park House Care Home in Kinlet, Bridgnorth, although the number was unclear.
Public Health England has since confirmed the figure.
BBC Midlands Today
Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant has donated thousands of pounds to a Kidderminster company which is producing scrubs for healthcare workers.
MG Sportswear usually manufactures uniforms for schools, sports teams and airlines but has seen business grind to a halt because of the Covid-19 crisis.
The firm says the money from the rock star will help produce 1,000 sets of scrubs for NHS and care home workers., external
BBC Radio Stoke
Luxury car manufacturer Bentley Motors is extending the shutdown of its plant in Crewe by another three weeks.
With lockdown measures still in place, the firm says it's now planning to start limited production on 11 May.
Full output would then resume a week later, under the company's latest plan.
There are lots of flowers blooming across the West Midlands now and our BBC Weather Watchers have been sharing their photos of them today.
Here are three from users Peter Flynn in Edgbaston, Birmingham; BymsterFromLimster in Ludlow, Shropshire; and Videoman in Leek, Staffordshire:
Nearly £19,000 for the NHS has been raised in an auction by Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi.
Among the items up for grabs was one of Iommi's guitars, which alone raised £11,300.
The money will go to University Hospitals Birmingham in the musician's home city.
Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC WM
Birmingham’s front line care workers will run out of protective face masks within two weeks unless the government takes urgent action, according to the city's council leader.
Ian Ward along with two Birmingham MPs – Labour’s Liam Byrne and Conservative Andrew Mitchell - have sent a letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick.
The letter says supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) are "running desperately low", and asks for the government to be clear whether there is a lack of supply.
The government says there is enough of this "precious resource" to go around and this week unveiled a new plan, external so "those who need PPE can get it and at the right time".
The number of people with coronavirus who've died in the West Midlands has reached 1,831, the latest figures show., external
NHS England recorded another 78 deaths today for the region.
Scientists say "significant" measures should stay for some time, with the UK lockdown set to continue.
Read MorePrince William opens the Birmingham site and says "hospitals are about the people not the bricks".
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