The number of people being sent to hospital with coronavirus symptoms has continued to decline over the weekend, the first minister has said.

Mark Drakeford thanked the people of Wales for continuing to observe guidelines.

"I said on Friday that there were signs in our system that the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 has stabilised, and the new admissions for the virus had started to decline", he said.

"I’m pleased to say that this pattern has persisted over the weekend and that we can take further confidence that the measures we are all taking continue to save lives".

Mr Drakeford said he had spoken to police chiefs and "it is therefore very good to say" that following another weekend of fine weather "observations of the continued restrictions remains at a high level".

But he added that the impact of the virus "remains very real" and the weekend saw "another sad and sombre milestone" when the number of deaths in Wales exceeded 500 for the first time.

"I never want to come to these press conferences without taking a moment to remember each of those lives, and the human cost which the pandemic is taken from so many Welsh families."

First Minister Mark Drakeford is about to give the Welsh Government's daily update on how it's responding to the coronavirus crisis.

You can watch the press conference live on BBC One Wales and on the Coronavirus Daily Update video link above.

Wrexham firefighter Steve Landon expects to be home within days, saying he is "getting stronger every day" weeks after he was rushed into hospital with coronavirus symptoms.

Mr Landon has spent three weeks in intensive care after being diagnosed with Covid-19.

His wife Becky has posted a video update on social media which shows Mr Landon paying an emotional tribute to NHS staff for being "my family while I haven't been with mine".

Staff at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil clap for two Covid-19 patients as they are discharged.

Image source, Wales News Service

If the rates of NHS staff testing positive for coronavirus increase it could be more challenging for the health service, the doctor leading Wales' response to the pandemic said.

Dr Giri Shankar, incident director at Public Health Wales, said about 40% of health workers tested for the virus were testing positive.

These included a number with mild or no symptoms.

"Not everyone who gets infected will have serious consequences," he told BBC Wales Breakfast with Claire Summers.

Earlier this month, NHS Wales said staff absence was running at between 8% and 10% - twice the normal rate - but was higher in some places.

"Clearly if the proportion [who test positive] goes higher and higher it will get more challenging," added Dr Shankar.

"We have to be keeping a close eye on that and make sure the infection rate does not go up."

A minute's silence may be observed across the UK next week to pay tribute to NHS workers who have died with coronavirus.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said the UK government was actively looking at the idea, proposed by health unions Unison, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives.

It could be on Tuesday 28 April - International Workers' Memorial Day - two days before the weekly "clap for our carers" event.

There have been 43 verified deaths of NHS staff during the pandemic so far, although the real figure is likely to be higher and continues to rise.

Among those who have died is grandfather Gareth Roberts, who had worked as a nurse at sites across the Cardiff and Vale health board since the 1980s and died at Prince Charles Hospital, Merthyr Tydfil.

A friend of Mr Roberts described him as "a proper genuine, lovely guy" amid concerns over a lack of personal protective equipment.

Image source, Family photo

Image source, Alex Foulkes

A backpacker quarantined in a Peruvian hostel with strangers for six weeks is on his way home after finally being able to leave the country.

Alex Foulkes, 31, from Wrexham, had spent months saving for the backpacking trip around South America.

But a day after arriving in Cusco, the gateway to Machu Picchu, all 160 guests at the hostel he was staying in were put into quarantine after a former guest tested positive for coronavirus.

They had been confined to their dormitories for 23 hours a day, and had been warned that breaching the restrictions could result in up to 10 years in jail.

Mr Foulkes, a freelance film-maker, is now en-route to Germany, six weeks after his confinement began on March 15.

The group had been hoping to take a flight from the Peruvian capital Lima organised by the UK government last Wednesday but were prevented from flying there from Cusco.

However, after other stranded travellers from the Netherlands received help from the Dutch Embassy Mr Foulkes made it onto a flight to Frankfurt.

In a post on social media, his mum Gill said they had got a message out of the blue from their son that he had managed to leave on a flight to Germany.

"Hearts in mouth after the last week’s events we decided to wait until they were in the air and Alex had put his own post on before posting our own message," she wrote.

"Well I am thrilled to let you all know they are on the flight to Lima, they will then get on a flight at 21:00 BST our time to Frankfurt."

On arrival back in the UK Mr Foulkes is planning to stay with friends in the south of England.

Image source, Family Photo

Staff from the National Museum of Wales have joined the effort to make scrubs for frontline NHS staff.

A man has been jailed after wiping blood on a police officer's face during the coronavirus pandemic.

Darren Connolly, 35, was arrested following the incident in Pembrokeshire last Thursday.

Dyfed-Powys police officers had been taking part in the weekly clap for key workers when they were called to an address in Augustine Way, Haverfordwest, after reports of a fire.

When they got there they noticed Connolly had blood on his hand, and asked him to wash it off - but he instead wiped it on an officer's face, the force said.

He was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer and appeared in court on Saturday, where he was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison. He was also ordered to pay £120 compensation.

Chief Inspector Louise Harries said: “Once again one of our officers has been assaulted in an abhorrent way.

“Officers come to work to protect our communities and are doing everything they can to keep people safe. To be treated like this will never be acceptable.

“This can have not only a physical impact on officers, but a psychological one on them and indeed their own families."

BBC Bitesize has begun broadcasting lessons on the BBC Red Button for children who should have been going back to school today after the Easter holidays.

They will be broadcast from Monday to Friday from 09:00 BST, along with historical and scientific programmes from the BBC archives suitable for GCSE and other courses.

Each 20-minute lesson will cover a different age group from ages five to 14, presented by experts, teachers and familiar faces from the world of TV, sport and beyond.

As well as dedicated programmes covering maths, science and English, there will also be lessons featuring other subjects such as history, geography, music and art.

Alongside the new Bitesize Daily lessons, there will also be Teacher Talks - a brand new series offering helpful hints in tackling core concepts in maths and English as well as extra content from BBC Teach including their Live Lessons series.

The lessons can be followed live on the BBC Red Button every day, or on demand via BBC iPlayer.

Image source, Getty Images

Experts are calling on the public to practise "information hygiene" to help stop the spread of falsehoods online.

People are advised to stop and think before forwarding messages to friends and family, checking the source of the information and considering whether it sounds true or is just something you agree with.

Image source, House of Commons

A Welsh MP has said electronic voting for new laws must be introduced in the House of Commons to stop members being exposed to coronavirus.

MPs return to the House of Commons this week to debate, question ministers, and vote on legislation.

There are expected to be no more than 50 MPs in the chamber at any one time, with others expected to be able to ask questions virtually.

However, Rhondda Labour MP Chris Bryant raised concerns that voting systems could lead to the spread of the virus.

In Wales, assembly members have been voting electronically without leaving their seats in the Senedd chamber since the institution opened in 1999 - and some councils have been voting electronically even longer.

But in Parliament MPs vote in person by filing through two different corridors into the long rooms, called the voting lobbies, to record either an "Aye" or "No" vote.

Mr Bryant said using that method for votes during the pandemic would be "utterly mad".

"They flout every single social distancing rule and could perfectly easily be done electronically," he tweeted.

Staff, pupils and families at an independent school in mid Wales are the latest to pull together to make personal protective equipment (PPE) for care workers.

Dyfed Thomas, head of chemistry at Christ College Brecon, is overseeing the assembly, sterilisation and packaging of face shields in one of the school's laboratories.

Once packaged, Crowd PPE Powys, which is part of 3dCrowdUK, external, will be distributing the equipment to care homes and care workers.

“During such uncertain times it's important, now more than ever, that communities work together to support each other and those on the front line," said headmaster Gareth Pearson.

"We feel very privileged to be able to provide the facilities to help with this initiative and to be doing what we can to help.”

Image source, Christ College

Image source, North Wales Police

A police chief is calling for celebrations on May 8 to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day to be postponed and for the new three-week lockdown be extended for at least another week.

North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones said it was essential to send out a clear message about the importance of staying home to avoid causing a second wave of the coronavirus.

“If we relax the restrictions ahead of the bank holiday weekend, everybody is going to want to get out," he said.

“We must send out the same message as the one we sent out ahead of the Easter weekend and we must be just as robust in our enforcement of the lockdown.

“There are risks and deadly consequences if people do not respect the lockdown and don’t stay put."

Mr Jones and the three other Welsh police and crime commissioners have already raised the matter with the Welsh Government and will be seeking the support of UK Policing Minister Kit Malthouse when they have a conference call with him on Thursday.

A UK government pay scheme to help employers keep staff on the payroll despite not working due to coronavirus has gone live.

HMRC chief executive Jim Harra told the BBC's Today programme that 67,000 claims from bosses had been made in the first 30 minutes.

Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the government will cover 80% of workers' wages, up to £2,500 a month, if they are put on leave.

Millions of workers are expected to be "furloughed" because of the lockdown.

Image source, Getty Images

Thousands of production staff at the Airbus plant in Broughton, Flintshire, are due to return to work today.

Airbus, which extended its Easter break because of the coronavirus outbreak, says returning workers will receive appropriate social distancing training.

"We are looking forward to welcoming production and production support colleagues back to the sites," a spokesperson said.

"Colleagues not involved in production activities will continue to work from home where possible.

"The sites have been open in recent weeks and we have built on the strong foundations we started in mid-March in respect of health and safety, social distancing and hygiene."

Airbus says "extensive and thorough" recent work has included deep cleaning and ensuring social distancing.

It says personal protective equipment (PPE) will be available in the "very few instances" when two-metre distancing is not possible, while digital thermometers will be available should any employee feel unwell.

"We are ensuring that we remain aligned with the UK government guidelines," the spokesperson added.

"It has been confirmed that manufacturing sites are categorised as acceptable to travel to and from and continuing operations will help contribute to the national call for businesses to support the economy by continuing operations where it is safe to do so."

Earlier this month Airbus announced it was cutting production at its wing factory and had released 500 temporary staff at its sites in Broughton and Filton, Bristol.

The cuts are because of reduced demand for wings made in Wales for planes assembled in Spain, France and Germany.

The firm employs about 6,000 people at Broughton, and the company confirmed it was cutting production by one third because of coronavirus.

Welsh actor Michael Sheen, in a video interview with BBC Radio 5 Live's Emma Barnett, reminds us that we are all human - even those of us more accustomed to being in front of a camera.

If the rates of NHS staff testing positive increases it could be more challenging for the health service, the doctor leading Wales' response to the coronavirus pandemic has said.

Dr Giri Shankar, incident director on the Covid-19 outbreak for Public Health Wales, said about 40% of health workers tested for the virus were testing positive, including a number with mild or no symptoms.

"Not everyone who gets infected will have serious consequences," he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast with Claire Summers.

"After a direct period of isolation and recovery, they will be able to come back to work.

"Clearly if the proportion (who test positive) goes higher and higher it will get more challenging. We have to be keeping a close eye on that and make sure the infection rate does not go up."

But Dr Shankar said not everyone would be off at the same time, with staff returning to work while others become ill and self-isolate.

By the middle of April the Welsh Government had aimed to test about 5,000 people a day, but on Sunday just over 1,000 tests were carried out.

But Dr Shankar said tests were "not the be all and end all" and that the most important thing people could do to stop the spread of the virus was to follow the restrictions and stay at home.

He said in order to get to a point where restrictions could be lifted, they would need to consider the risk in hospitals and care homes, due to the amount of contact between staff and patients and residents.

"Instead of looking at numbers we need to be looking at who needs testing and are they getting it," Dr Shankar said.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

The UK is gearing up to use the blood of coronavirus survivors to treat hospital patients ill with the disease.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) wants people who have recovered from Covid-19 to donate blood so they can potentially assess the therapy in trials.

It comes after a similar trial was announced at Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales last week.

The hope is that the antibodies they have built up will help to clear the virus in others.

The US has already started a major project to study this, involving more than 1,500 hospitals.

Roger Harrabin
BBC environment analyst

Image source, Kaihsu Tai

BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin has paid tribute to Sir John Houghton, the Denbighshire-born climate scientist who died last week, aged 88, of suspected coronavirus.

John Houghton was a towering figure in the world of climate science. He persuaded many politicians about the gravity of the risk we’re taking with his calm, modest, authoritative manner.

As a Christian, in later years he took on the prickly challenge of persuading US evangelist preachers that humans really could influence the climate on earth.

He introduced me to the climate threat back in the late 1980s, and latterly I visited him in his Welsh home – heavily insulated, warmed by heat pump, with stupendous views over the ever-shifting Dovey estuary. A good man.

If you would like to pay tribute to Sir John, please tweet Roger Harrabin at: @rharrabin