Image source, Getty Images

We have just been hearing from Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick and England's deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries.

Here are some of the key points from today's Downing Street briefing:

• Dr Harries set out a likely timeline on the impact on normal life in the UK

• She suggested it could be six months or longer before life returns to normal. But Dr Harries clarified: "This is not to say we would be in complete lockdown" that long
• She suggested there will be regular review throughout the next six months to see whether the UK can "gradually start lifting various interventions"

• She said it would be "quite dangerous" to revert completely to normal life after the UK's first three week review of current measures
• And in a sombre warning, she said experts were expecting the daily number of UK deaths to rise over the next week or two
• Mr Jenrick said that the first 50,000 food parcels to those who are most vulnerable would be sent out this week
• He said that protecting citizens overseas was a "top priority" and that ministers "haven't ruled out" chartering fllghts to get people back
• And he said the government "will not stop" in trying to get personal protective equipment to frontline NHS and social workers

As we just reported, Italy recorded a further 756 new deaths over the past day. It brought the total there to almost 11,000, which is the most anywhere in the world.

But it also marked the second successive fall in the daily number of recorded deaths.

For context, there were 889 on Saturday and more than 900 on Friday.

More widely, the number of people who have tested positive for the virus in Italy rose on Sunday to 97,689 from a previous 92,472.

That is the lowest daily rise in new cases since Wednesday.

At least 13,030 people have recovered from the virus, officials said.

Italy recorded 756 new deaths in the past 24 hours - bringing the total to 10,779.

Helen Catt
Political correspondent

"Don’t expect to go to back normal life any time soon," was the message from today's UK government press conference.

And it’s not one any government would want to deliver.

At least another two weeks must pass before it will even know if its more stringent social distancing measures are having an effect.

The process of lifting them could take much longer, with some restrictions being in place, on-and-off, for six months.

But, the government tried to offer some reassurance on one of the biggest concerns raised in the outbreak so far.

Robert Jenrick reeled off a long list of protective equipment, running to the hundreds of millions, that he says has been delivered to the NHS frontline.

The coming weeks will certainly test if it is enough.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a formal advisory on Saturday, asking residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to "refrain from nonessential domestic travel for 14 days effective immediately".

There are at least 124,686 confirmed cases across the country, with 2,191 deaths. The United States overtook both China and Italy last week for number of reported cases.

On Sunday, top health official Dr Anthony Fauci estimated that 100,000 to 200,000 Americans would die due to the novel coronavirus, with "millions" of infections.

In Canada, there are 5,655 confirmed cases and 61 deaths.

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, says she has received the "all clear" from her physician after testing positive for Covid-19 on 12 March.

A final question comes from Kate Proctor of the Guardian.

She asks how much the UK will spend to help get British citizens back home from overseas - and whether the RAF will be used to help.

The communities secretary says protecting citizens overseas is a "top priority" and that the prime minister has been speaking to world leaders to help arrange their return.

Mr Jenrick says the UK "haven't ruled out" chartering repatriation fllghts to get people back.

He adds that the government is focused "100% on trying to save lives here".

Mr Jenrick brings today's briefing to a close.

Dr Jenny Harries is asked whether the large number of deaths in recent days was expected.

She says: "Sadly the answer is yes, it is as expected.

"It is not an easy position to stand on a platform and say we expect large numbers of people to die... but it is a pandemic and an unprecedented event."

Dr Harries warns she is "expecting that number will increase for the next week or two".

But, "if we keep doing what we are doing" with social distancing measures, she says she "anticipates... it will start to drop".

She adds: "We just need to watch it carefully, hold tight for a week or two, keep doing what we are doing, and then come back and ask me the question again."

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick again avoids divulging what specific stronger measures could be put in place if the current tactics don't work.

He says: "If we all follow the measures, there is every reason to believe we can turn the tide of the virus.

"Of course, if those measures prove insufficient or the public are not complying, then we will have to consider further options but that is not our intention."

Dr Harries is asked to elaborate on her comments about the length of the UK's "lockdown".

She says she did not say the measures would last six months. "This is a moving target," she explains.

She says scientists are expecting the daily number of deaths to "get worse" in the next week or two.

She adds that timing is "really important" and called on people to follow the government's advice. And says that the measures will be in place until "we're sure we can start lifting various interventions".

Mr Jenrick is asked whether people should report people for about flouting current measures.

He says there a "moral obligation" on people to protect each other and urged people to stay at home.

Paul Brand from ITV News asks Dr Harries if current measures in place will continue beyond three weeks.

She points out the UK has only had one week of the measure and that the prime minister said the situation would be "reviewed" after the three weeks.

But she adds it would be "quite dangerous" to then revert to normal life.

"If we stop then all of our efforts will be wasted," she adds.

She says that measures may be reduced gradually over time.

Dr Harries says it might be three to six months before we see the longer-term impact when it can be assessed if we can start to "get back to normal".

"And it is plausible it could go further than that", she adds.

Robert Jenrick is asked what he thinks the coming week will look like after a warning letter from the PM that things could get worse.

The housing secretary says everyone in the UK has "the power to influence the course of events".

He says if people "want to protect lives and protect the NHS" then they "must take heed of the medical advice".

He adds: "This is on all of us. We all have a responsibility to protect each other. We just need to follow the advice in the days and weeks ahead."

Both pay tribute to Dr Amged El-Hawrani, who became the first frontline worker to die from the virus.

Dr Jenny Harries also says there will be more guidance published shortly for NHS workers and social care workers.

Last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the "tide would turn" against the virus in 12 weeks, and a reporter asks if this is still the same.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick says: "Nobody is pretending this will be over in a few weeks.

"But what the prime minister said in the past, and what I will reiterate today, is if we all play our part, if we all follow the very clear medical advice... then we can turn the tide of this virus."

Dr Jenny Harries says the virus is like a "moving feast" and when we see it tackled is "dependent on the actions we take as individuals and collectively as a population".

She says she hopes the "proof of that will come in two to three weeks" when experts can see if the measures put in place have worked.

The minister thanks key workers and the 750,000 people to have signed up to help the NHS.

He says "there's going to be work to be done" across the country during the crisis, and he asks people to "play your part".

"When this is done - and it will be done - we all want to proud of the part we played together".

Mr Jenrick and England's deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries will now take questions from the media - via video calls.

The communities secretary addresses those 1.2 million people who have been asked to stay at home for 12 weeks.

He calls on those without local support to register for help on the government's website. He says the NHS can deliver medicine, and distribution teams can deliver food - to those who request it.

He says 50,000 food parcels are being sent out this week.

He says: "I want you to know, that you are not alone - we are here to support you as long as you need us".

Mr Jenrick says the government "will not stop" to get personal protective equipment to frontline workers.

"We simply cannot and should not ask people to be on the frontline without the right protective equipment," he adds.

He says distrubution teams are getting PPE around the UK.

And that 42.8 million gloves, 142,000 gowns and 2.3 million pairs of eye protectors have been delivered to 58,000 "health care settings", including hospitals and GP surgeries.

He says every further deliveries will soon have been sent to all social workers.

Mr Jenrick says the virus is "indiscriminate".

"We each have a part to play by staying at home, protecting the NHS and saving lives".

He says he will announce two new measures, the first to ensure "every corner in the country" can protect against the virus.

The latest daily press conference from the UK government has just begun.

It is being led by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick, who is joined - 2m apart, of course - by deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries.

Whilst we wait for the UK government briefing, let's pause to take in the fact that cities around the world are deserted with lockdown measures to tackle the virus continuing.

Video footage from some of the world's bustling cities from Bangalore to Paris and New Orleans show streets completely empty.

More than 30,000 people have died worldwide and more than 680,000 cases have been confirmed across the globe, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Earlier, we brought you the latest figures surrounding the outbreak in the UK.

The total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK now stands at 19,522, as of 09:00 BST on 29 March.

One week ago, the total stood at 5,683.

The jump in coronavirus-related deaths in the UK from 1,019 to 1,228 is an increase of 209 – the second biggest day-on-day rise in the number of deaths since the outbreak began.

It took 16 days for the number of deaths to go from one to just over 200. It has taken a further eight days for the total to go from just over 200 to just over 1,200.

Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

The total now stands at 1,228 - 209 more than yesterday, but not the biggest daily rise yet. On Saturday, there were 260 new deaths recorded.

Could this mean we are turning a corner and new deaths are now on the decline? Experts think not - at least yet.

Although we are almost a week into the tougher lockdown measures to help save more lives, it will take another week or so to see its impact on the mortality figures.

The prime minister, who is self-isolating after testing positive for the virus, has warned that “things will get worse before they get better”.

The numbers do not tell us how the NHS is coping with soaring demand.

NHS England medical Director Steven Powis said yesterday that the health service was “not yet at capacity”. Frontline staff are preparing for the worst.

Robert Cuffe
BBC head of statistics

As we wait for the latest UK government press conference, the BBC's head of statistics, Robert Cuffe, takes a look at the figures of UK deaths so far.

The number of people who have tested positive for coronavirus and died has now reached 1,228.

If you look at the number of deaths this week - which started at 281 - the number has been growing by an average of 23% a day.

However, it is slower a growth than the previous week, when the daily average of the number deaths went up by 35% - from 35 to 281 over the week.

Back to this week, we have seen the total number of deaths doubling every 3.3 days on average.

If that trend continues, we would expect to see just over 1,000 deaths in the official figures across the next three days.