Chris Mason
Political Correspondent

The striking thing from the prime minister's briefing was his attempt to put a timeline on the new reality we are all adjusting to.

He said he hoped that "we can turn the tide within the next 12 weeks".

But when he was pressed as to what that actually meant, his confidence appeared to soften.

"I cannot stand here and tell you by the end of June we will be on the downward slope - but what i can say is this will be finite," he said.

He acknowledged too that he is often accused of being "unnecessarily boosterish about these things".

Convincing people that what they are being told to do is worthwhile, when much remains unknowable, is one of many challenges for ministers at the moment.

As promised, the key points from the UK news conference:

• Boris Johnson says he is confident the UK can "turn the tide" of the virus in the next 12 weeks, but only if people follow government advice
• He later says the disease "does not seem yet" to be responding to the government's interventions - social distancing, etc - adding: "I cannot tell you by the end of June we will be on a downward slope. It's possible."
• The PM reveals the first coronavirus patient has gone into trials for drugs that may treat the disease
• The government is in negotiations to buy antibody tests, similar to pregnancy tests, to check if people have had the virus
• Chief medical officer Chris Whitty says the NHS needs to increase the number beds capable of taking respiratory patients
• Mr Johnson says the government "may have to consider going further" with measures in London, but will not shut public transport
• The PM again appeals to the public to follow the measures, and for businesses to "stand by employees"

The press conference with Boris Johnson has now wrapped up. We'll bring you a summary of the key lines shortly.

We'll also bring you a summary of the main lines from the rest of the world soon too.

From a UK perspective, the next set piece we're expecting is a Question Time Special presented by Fiona Bruce, at 20:00 GMT on BBC One. Panellists include Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

We'll be watching it and picking out the most important moments.

Boris Johnson says coronavirus is "proceeding in a way that does not seem yet to be responding to our intervention".

But he says with the combination of measures the government has put forward, the UK can "get on top of it in the next 12 weeks".

The PM adds: "I cannot stand here and tell you by the end of June we will be on a downward slope.

"We don't know where we are, how long this thing will go on for, but what I can say is this is going to be finite, we will turn the tide and I can see how we can do this in the next 12 weeks."

Chief scientific officer Professor Patrick Vallance adds we are "at the beginning" of where the measures put in place "should be starting to have an impact on the rate of growth".

The UK government's chief medical Prof Chris Whitty says there is a need to increase the number of NHS beds capable of taking respiratory patients, adding that this was "the particular bottleneck for this infection".

Prof Whitty also warned that the pressure on hospitals in London was "going to go up", with it taking two weeks to see if the new social distancing measures were taking effect.

Asked about how the anti-body test will be rolled out, the UK government's chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, urges caution.

"We are confident there will be anti-body tests, we are not yet confident if the ones on the market are the right ones, so they are being tested out," he says.

The CMO says once they have the correct tests, they will go to healthcare workers first, before other members of society.

"Then we can say they have had this virus, are not likely to get it again, and we can be confident they can go back to work."

He says it will "be a while" before they have the tests in large enough numbers, and they will be "more useful the further on in the epidemic we are".

But, he adds: "They will make a big difference in the long run."

The UN's secretary general has issued a stark warning to world leaders about working together to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

"If we let the virus spread like wildfire - especially in the most vulnerable regions of the world - it would kill millions of people. Global solidarity is not only a moral imperative, it is in everyone's interests," Antonio Guterres said.

"The health catastrophe makes it clear that we are only as strong as the weakest health system."

Mr Guterres also urged governments and international bodies to better support the most financially vulnerable - low-wage workers, and small and medium-sized businesses.

A global recession, he added, is now "a near certainty".

Image source, Getty Images

Boris Johnson is asked about rumours of stricter measures in London.

The UK PM says he wants to "stress that we do want to see people following advice we have given in the capital, where the disease seems to have been making fastest progress".

He says there has been evidence of that, such as lower takings for bars and restaurants, and fewer people on the TfL network.

But he adds there is "some evidence that... there are some areas where people aren't quite following the advice in the way they need to do".

As a result the government "may have to consider going further", but there is "no prospect of us wanting to stop public transport in London".

Earlier, NHS England confirmed that another 29 people have died. Northern Ireland announced its first virus-related death today, and three more deaths were confirmed in Scotland.

The death toll in the country now stands at 137.

Boris Johnson also says the UK is in negotiations to buy an antibody test that is "as simple as a pregnancy test" to tell people if they have the disease.

"It is early days but if it works we will buy hundreds and thousands as soon as practicable," the PM adds.

He also implores the public to follow the advice the government has given, saying it is "absolutely vital".

He asks for businesses to "stand by employees, stand by workers, as we will stand by you".

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says UK scientists are "rapidly becoming so much better at understanding" the disease and how to tackle it.

He reveals that today, the first corona patient has been put into randomised trial on drugs that may treat the disease.

Mr Johnson also says the country is getting better at testing.

He adds: "The enemy is invisible and the answer is to remove the cloak of invisibility to know which of us is carrying it."

In Downing Street’s latest daily televised press conference he thanked the country for its "huge efforts" to comply with the government's advice.

Mr Johnson said "we can turn the tide within the next 12 weeks", adding: "I'm absolutely confident we can send the virus packing in this country."

He has been joined once again by the UK’s chief medical adviser, Prof Chris Whitty, and chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance.

We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates from the briefing.

And the PM has now started his briefing.

Italy has confirmed another 427 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising the toll to 3,405 - and therefore overtaking China, where the virus originated.

Image source, Getty Images

It seems the UK government’s press conference may be a little later than expected.

While we wait, here is our guide on what will happen now schools are closed.

Earlier we reported that Bruno Bruins, the minister spearheading the Netherlands' response to the coronavirus outbreak, had collapsed from exhaustion during a debate in parliament on Dutch readiness for the pandemic. The sitting was immediately suspended.

A day later and the health minister has resigned. Mr Bruins tweeted on Wednesday night that he had fainted because of "exhaustion and intensive weeks" but planned to get back to work on Thursday.

The reason for his resignation is not yet clear. Another 18 people have died in the Netherlands in the past 24 hours, bringing to 76 the number of fatalities. All are aged 63 to 95.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would move to rush the development of vaccines and treatments “as fast as it can possibly be done” for Covid-19, as the US infection rate hit 10,755 with major clusters on the West Coast and New York state.

Trump said that hydroxychloroquine - an old and inexpensive drug used to treat malaria - would be made available almost immediately to treat coronavirus.

Lab studies have suggested that the drug may keep Covid-19 from invading human cells.

“It’s been around for a long time, so we know if things don’t go as planned, it’s not going to kill anybody,” Mr Trump said.

The president also said that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved “compassionate use” for some patients, allowing ill people to use drugs not yet approved by the FDA.

Many noted the absence of Dr Anthony Fauci from the White House coronavirus briefing for a second day.

Dr Fauci, from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was - for a period - the face of the US response.

But since the US launched its virus response, Dr Fauci and Mr Trump have, at times, appeared at odds.

Last week, Dr Fauci said the system for coronavirus testing was “failing” just as Mr Trump spoke of the “tremendous” set up for testing in the US.

Image source, Getty Images

The UK government’s news conference is due to start shortly.

And while we wait, we look at the best way to tell kids about the outbreak.

Image source, Getty Images

Helen Briggs
BBC News

What is being said is that it’s an average of five days but there’s quite a lot of variability around that.

Some people show symptoms within a couple of days and some show symptoms much later. Some people get infected but don’t show symptoms at all.

It’s an unknown entity. We’re learning more about it every day.

Read more about what the symptoms are

As we await the latest news conference from the UK government, here is a guide to the symptoms of coronavirus.