Image source, Instagram

Three-time NBA champion Steph Curry took to Instagram today to speak live with Dr Anthony Fauci - the face of America’s fight against Covid-19.

Taking questions from fans online, the All-Star basketball player asked Dr Fauci all about Covid-19: its distinction from the seasonal flu, what it means to be recovered and if the US response was overblown.

“We’re not overreacting, right?” Curry asked Dr Fauci.

“There’s no overreaction to this,” Dr Fauci said, with a mini basketball net visible behind him. “We need to make that point. This is serious business.”

The novel coronavirus has left Curry without a job - the NBA joined all major professional sports leagues in the US in cancelling ongoing seasons this month in response to the outbreak.

“We are dealing with a serious problem,” Dr Fauci said, when asked about the “biggest misconception” about the virus, adding that it must be taken seriously.

“It’s not convenient to lock yourself in. It’s not convenient for you to not be playing basketball,” he said. But “we’ve got to, as a country, pull together”.

Tara McKelvey
BBC News, New York City

Long, white, rectangular-shaped trucks are parked outside of Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan and Elmhurst Hospital in Queens. The trucks are refrigerated morgues, last used after the 9/11 attacks. Now they are ready for the pandemic, providing a place for bodies if the city morgues fill up.

There are more than 21,000 cases of the virus in the city and, as New York state governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday, the number of those in hospitals increased by 40% in the past 24 hours.

In addition to deploying the trucks, New York officials are turning to the federal government for help.

The New York officials, as well as those from North Carolina and Hawaii, have asked Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) for “emergency mortuary assistance”, according to Politico.

BBC Question Time

UK Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick is pushed again on the timing - how long will all these measures last?

He says the government will review things at Easter but adds: "No-one is pretending this is going to be over by [then].

"What we do think is if each and every one of us does what we are asked... there is reason to believe within [12 weeks] we could see the beginnings of the turn of the tide, but it is on all of us."

The Lancet's Richard Horton says the public must be prepared for the "really tough challenge" of 12 weeks with these conditions.

"But if we don't suppress it, it is going to go on even longer," he adds. "We have to be tough now in order to get through this and return the economy to some semblance of order."

Mr Horton ends the programme with a warning the virus could return later in the year with a second, or even a third wave, adding: "We just don't know enough about this new virus."

Image source, Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II has said the UK is “enormously thankful” for the commitment of all those working in science, health and the emergency and public services.

In a message on Instagram as the country celebrated carers with a display of applause, the Queen said: “We are enormously thankful for the expertise and commitment of our scientists, medical practitioners and emergency and public services.”

And a video posted on the Royal Family's Twitter account showed people cheering and clapping within Windsor Castle, where the Queen and Prince Philip are staying.

Image source, Getty Images

Two-time British Paralympian Kim Daybell has swapped table tennis for working on the frontline of the NHS during the coronavirus crisis.

The 27-year-old completed his medical degree in 2018 and since then has been combining sport with working part-time as a junior doctor.

But now that the Paralympics have been postponed, instead of training for Tokyo, he is working full-time at the Whittington Hospital in north London.

You can read more about his story here.

There are now 578 people in the UK who have died with coronavirus.

Of those, 184 have died in London - just under a third.

BBC Question Time

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick says most people are now realising there is "a moral obligation" to follow social distancing rules.

But he says that the advice from medics and scientists means people can still go to work in some cases.

They must follow advice, he adds, such as going directly to work, being considerate about public transport and when are in workplace, follow public health guidance.

But Mr Jenrick concedes: "If you can't do that it is difficult to see how those businesses remain open."

He says, however, that a "balance to be struck", adding: "If you go too far, it isn't sustainable and you cant keep society with you.

"You also need some part of the economy to continue to operate."

But Labour's Emily Thornberry says: "The protection of life trumps everything and ought to trump everything.

"Ideally we want to keep the economy going, but we should not compromise [on health]."

Image source, Reuters

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has announced that places of worship count as “essential services” making them exempt from confinement orders.

Under the decree, “religious activities of any kind” are classed alongside supermarkets and pharmacies.

Most places of worship in the country have already closed.

The governor of Sao Paulo recommended places of worship shut for 60 days.

Some evangelical leaders have welcomed Mr Bolsonaro’s decision.

Silas Malafaia, head of one of the country’s largest pentecostal churches, the Assembly of God, said: “In this pandemic of panic, no hospital can calm people down, but religion can.”

Just 10 days ago, Mr Bolsonaro was criticised for holding a rally during the outbreak. He was pictured shaking hands and taking selfies with supporters.

Cases of coronavirus have risen in Brazil with the figure currently standing at 2,433 confirmed cases and 57 deaths.

BBC Question Time

The next question is about who should be going into work, after questions over whether places like construction sites should be staying open.

Humphrey Cobbold, chief executive of the Pure Gym group, says the government has offered "no clarity at all" on who should go in.

He adds, however, it is important people follow social distancing rules.

Richard Horton, of medical journal The Lancet, backs a total shutdown of construction sites, adding the UK should have to "shut down as much as possible".

He warns that without this, the other measures brought in by the government will have to go on for longer.

BBC Question Time

Labour's Emily Thornberry continues on the issue of testing, calling it "ironic" that the UK invented the test, but isn't using it.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick says her conclusion isn't fair, claiming the UK's approach is "broadly similar to others".

But presenter Fiona Bruce says Germany has increased its number of tests to 500,000 a week while the UK has only conducted 90,000 overall.

Mr Jenrick says the UK is "ramping up" testing, and the industry is "working as hard as it possibly can and round the clock to get as many tests as possible".

He adds that the government will be able to step up the numbers "quite significantly in the next week or so", and says when antibody tests come into play - which will show who has already had the virus - it could be "a game changer".

BBC Question Time

There's another audience question on protective equipment, this time for NHS workers on mental health wards.

"We don't seem to seem to provide the most basic protection," says Labour's Emily Thornberry.

She also criticises the government's testing regime, saying not enough is being done, and this is making the outbreak "difficult to manage".

A similar point is made by Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of medical journal the Lancet, who also says more testing needs to be done.

He says the government "forgot the most fundamental principles of outbreak control".

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick defends the government's approach, saying contact did go on in the early stages of the outbreak and ministers have been following scientific advice.

Image source, Getty Images

The British public has shown its support for National Health Service (NHS) workers and carers on the frontline of the coronavirus crisis.

Thousands across the country clapped, cheered and even set off fireworks to show appreciation for healthcare workers at 20:00 GMT.

London landmarks were cast in the NHS' signature blue - while a P&O cruise ship lit a special message in support of the institution.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Scroll down for a video of the round of applause.

BBC Question Time

The chief executive of gym chain PureGym, Humphrey Cobbold, says he finds it "hard to understand why we got caught as short as we did in this crisis".

He says the signs were there in China and Italy earlier in the year and the government "really have got to take away the lessons from that".

But, he adds, looking back doesn't help now and it is time to "focus on the supplies" and "get the kit to the front line".

Mr Cobbold says, as a businessman, transferring the protective gear to staff is "a solvable problem", but he hopes the government "has got the best help it can".

BBC Question Time

The next question is from a local GP who is having to self isolate, asking about the lack of testing and equipment in the health service.

The Lancet's Richard Horton it is "a national scandal", adding: "We shouldn't be in this position."

Mr Horton says the UK "knew this was coming" at the end of January, but the government "wasted February".

He adds: "We are putting health workers in the front line without the armour to protect themselves."

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick says it is a "big challenge", but the government is "ramping up supply rapidly".

However, he cannot answer when hospitals will have all the equipment they need.

Earlier, people across the UK took part in a national round of applause to thank health workers helping in the fight against coronavirus.

The public has been asked to follow strict regulations and stay at home.

BBC Question Time

There's another question about support for the self-employed, and the speed of the help available.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick acknowledges there will be a delay in receiving payment, but says HMRC say this is how long it will have to take. He adds it is important people have certainty on when they are paid.

He says the government also says people can claim Employment Support Allowance earlier than usual, and income thresholds for receiving benefits under universal credit have been lowered.

Labour's Emily Thornberry urges more to be done for people on zero-hours contracts, adding "nothing" is being done for them.

BBC Question Time

The editor of medical journal The Lancet, Richard Horton, hopes that something positive will come out of the outbreak.

He says: "One of the lessons of this epidemic is how connected we all feel to one another.

"My health depends on your health, your health depends on my health."

Mr Horton adds: "Maybe that's one of the lessons that will come out of this.

"We are all going to have to invest more in our society, in the NHS, in an education system to give us security - human security."

BBC Question Time

Before Question Time starts, BBC presenter Fiona Bruce and her guests give their own round of applause for the NHS.

But now, questions from Shrewsbury.

A self-employed person with less than 12 months on his books asks why he isn't being helped by the new measures announced for the self-employed by the chancellor today.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick says the government has already put forward an "unprecedented package" of measures, and the new ones will help the "vast majority" of people who are self-employed.

But he promises HMRC will "look at whatever you have got".

He adds: "If you don't have the three years [or accounts] I really urge people in that situation to give us what they've got and we will work through it and see if we can help you.

"We can't promise... but will do everything we can."

Labour's Emily Thornberry says she is "not pretending this isn't really difficult" but says "more needs to be done".

A 16-year-old girl is among 365 people who have been confirmed dead in France as the country faces its highest daily death toll.

Top French health official Jerome Salomon said that the girl had died in the Ile-de-France region of Paris but said no further details would be given.

"Severe forms (of coronavirus) with the young are very rare," he noted.​​

A total of 1,696 people have died in hospital in France from the virus, although the toll does not include those who have passed away at home or at retirement homes, he said.

A total of 29,155 people had tested positive for the virus so far, he added.

France has been on lockdown since March 17.

"It is very difficult to estimate when the peak will come... people who are ill now were infected before the confinement began," explained Salomon.

BBC Question Time

After the applause, we now move to Question Time, which has begun on BBC One.