Image source, Reuters

Questions now and first up is the BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg. She asks whether the approach and response from the government to this crisis has been too slow.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma replies: "Increasing testing capacity is absolutely the government's top priority. We are now at 10,000 tests a day."

"In terms of PPE [personal protective equipment], 390 million products have been distributed."

Prof Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England, says "patients are getting the tests they need" and adds "there is also some spare capacity in that for testing the most urgent healthcare workers".

She says the UK has met its target to make 10,000 tests available. Slightly fewer than that are being tested each day.

"Our commitment is actually to go to 25,000 tests a day," she says, adding that she's "confident" that will be achieved.

Image source, Downing Street

Prof Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England, says this slide shows a "slightly concerning" uptick in car use recently.

That's the blue line on the slide above. It shows, she says, that people do need to stay at home to save lives.

On hospital admissions, she says they have now been increasing for the last three days.

Mr Sharma offers his "heartfelt thanks" to businesses up and down the country helping to keep the economy going.

He says the government will do everything it can to support business and the chancellor will say more in the coming days.

He lists some of the support on offer to business in form of rate relief and direct grants payable via local authorities - adding that there is £12bn available at the moment.

And he has a warning for banks that it would be "completely unacceptable" for them to refuse financial support to firms which need it, referencing the support they got from the taxpayer following the 2008 financial crisis.

Image source, Reuters

Alok Sharma starts by confirming the latest infection figures and number of deaths, which were announced earlier.

He says 2,352 people who tested positive for the virus have died in UK hospitals, a rise of 563 on yesterday’s figure.

He adds that a total of 152,979 people have been tested for the virus, of whom 29,474 returned a positive result.

The number of people currently in hospital with the virus has risen to 10,767, the largest numbers in London and West Midlands.

He says “all our thoughts and prayers” are with those who have lost loved ones, adding that the death of a 13-year-old shows the virus is indiscriminate in who it targets.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma has begun today’s UK press conference in Downing Street.

Stay with us as we bring you all the latest updates.

Some of the symptoms of the virus are quite similar to the common cold or flu - but there is a difference. Watch as the BBC's Laura Foster breaks it down for you, and offers guidance on what to do if you're in the UK and think you might have the virus.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

A further 563 patients with coronavirus have died in the UK, taking the total number of deaths in hospitals to 2,352.

The Department of Health said 29,474 people have tested positive for the virus, up 4,324 since Tuesday.

Just yesterday health officials were talking about "green shoots" amid signs the virus maybe plateauing.

Yet today we have seen a big rise in deaths. Have things got worse?

Not necessarily. We know the number of deaths are going to go up - that is to be expected.

What matters is the trend over a few days - not what happens over the course of 24 hours.

Any signs of progress will be seen in the number of cases first.

For the past five days the new cases has been hovering between 2,500 and 3,000 each day.

Now it has gone up by 4,300. That is a substantial rise, but over the course of the past week the trajectory has still slowed from what it had been.

All eyes will be on what happens in the next few days to see if the hope of a slow down was misplaced.

We’re expecting today’s UK government press conference to begin shortly, hosted by Business Secretary Alok Sharma and Prof Yvonne Doyle from Public Health England (PHE).

It comes after No 10 earlier committed to working with PHE to increase testing capacity with an additional network of labs and testing sites.

The number of tests being carried out has become something of a political issue, as our political editor Laura Kuenssberg explains here.

Image source, Getty Images

Cuba's communist government has suspended the annual Day of the Worker parade to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The event, scheduled for 1 May, is a key date in the island's political calendar.

BBC Cuba correspondent Will Grant said the move was "the last thing Cuba’s government would have wanted to do".

President Miguel Diaz-Canel has suggested that organisers might hold an alternative in keeping with social distancing, such as hanging Cuban flags outside homes or some form of “virtual parade”.

It comes after Cuba suspended all commercial aviation in and out of the island and an entire community was placed into isolation in the province of Pinar del Rio.

There are about 200 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Cuba and six people have died.

The governor of Guam says the island will take in US sailors from the coronavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt, after the ship's captain warned that urgent action was needed to stop the virus from spreading to all 4,000 crew members.

Hundreds of uninfected US Navy sailors will be hosted in unnamed local hotels for 14 days and are strictly prohibited from interacting with local residents.

“We have an interest in protecting our community and stopping the spread of Covid-19 just as much as the military has an obligation to return the USS Roosevelt to the open ocean to protect Guam and the region,” Gov Lou Leon Guerrero said on Wednesday.

It comes after the ship's captain warned military officials: "We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die."

So far, the US territory has suffered the worst outbreak in the Pacific, according to Radio New Zealand.

Today’s Downing Street press conference, expected in around half an hour, comes after the confirmed death toll for people with coronavirus in UK hospitals rose earlier to 2,352.

That’s a rise of 563 since yesterday's total, the biggest daily rise so far.

In the UK 29,474 people have now tested positive for the virus, up 4,324 since Tuesday.

Read our full story on the latest UK developments here.

Image source, Getty Images

Here's a look at the latest news from across the United States for those just joining us:

• White House predictions released on Tuesday estimate that 100,000-240,000 Americans will die in the next few weeks, despite 75% of Americans being ordered under lockdown
• Federal guidelines banning large groups and suggesting other social-distancing measures have been extended to 30 April
• Florida's Republican governor is under fire for resisting issuing a mandatory "stay at home" order, even as the number of new cases soar in the state
• It's rent day, and for 3.3 million newly unemployed Americans that may be a struggle. However, several states have issued a temporary ban on evictions
• Charity food banks are struggling to cope with sky-high demand across the country
• Democratic leading candidate Joe Biden said his party's presidential convention in July may need to be called off

Cancelling this year's Wimbledon was a decision "not taken lightly" and one made "with the highest regard for public health", says All England Lawn Tennis Club chairman Ian Hewitt.

The tournament, due to be played between 29 June and 12 July, has been called off for the first time since World War Two.

"It has weighed heavily on our minds that the staging of The Championships has only been interrupted previously by World Wars," said Hewitt.

"But, following thorough and extensive consideration of all scenarios, we believe that it is a measure of this global crisis that it is ultimately the right decision to cancel this year’s Championships, and instead concentrate on how we can use the breadth of Wimbledon’s resources to help those in our local communities and beyond.

"Our thoughts are with all those who have been and continue to be affected by these unprecedented times.”

Image source, Getty Images

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has drawn criticism for resisting issuing a mandatory statewide stay-at-home order, as 30 US states have already done.

So far only four counties in southern Florida are under "safer-at-home" restrictions, despite there being more than 85 deaths across the state's 69 counties. Of the eight states with the highest number of Covid-19 cases, Florida is the only one without a mandatory lockdown order.

Earlier this month Mr DeSantis was panned for refusing to close beaches, even as spring break tourists flocked to the state.

"I think no matter what you do, you're going to have a class of folks who just do whatever the hell they want to," he said on Tuesday, as he called on Floridians to "just chill out and stay around the house as much as they can".

"In terms of being social right now, this is just not the time to have big social gatherings."

His reaction contrasts sharply with Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine, who has been praised for his early action to prevent the spread of coronavirus in his state.

Read more about Ohio here: The US governor who saw it coming early

Image source, Getty Images

After speaking to state leaders in a conference call, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that the country's anti-virus restrictions will stay in place until at least 19 April.

Ms Merkel advised against people visiting relatives or taking trips over the Easter break. "A pandemic knows no holidays," she said.

So far Germany has reported more than 67,000 confirmed cases and 732 deaths.

We’re expecting today’s UK government press conference to take place in just under an hour’s time, led by Business Secretary Alok Sharma.

He’ll be joined by Prof Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England.

As has been the custom recently, this will be a virtual press conference from Downing Street, with journalists asking questions via videolink.

A very warm welcome if you are just joining us, particularly if you are reading this and are unwell or in self-isolation.

Here are the latest developments from the UK and around the world.

• The UK says that the number of patients who have died has risen by 563 since Tuesday to 2,352. The government said 29,474 people had tested positive for the virus, up 4,324 since Tuesday
• Spain has seen a new record daily death toll of 864, taking the total there to 9,053. The number of confirmed cases has passed 100,000 - more than any other country except the US and Italy
• In Iran, the death toll has passed 3,000 with 138 new deaths in the past 24 hours. Tehran has repeated its criticism of the US for continuing to impose sanctions
• The UK's heir to the throne, Prince Charles, has spoken of the "distressing" effect of isolation, external following his recovery from coronavirus
• The British government says it is ramping up its efforts to test more NHS workers in a bid to get healthy staff who are self-isolating back to work
• The Wimbledon tennis tournament has been cancelled for the first time since World War Two because of the pandemic, the All England Club confirms
• Edinburgh's famous Fringe festival and four other major cultural events in the city have been cancelled because of the pandemic

Wimbledon has been cancelled for the first time since World War Two because of the coronavirus pandemic, the All England Club confirms.

The two-week tournament, one of the highlights of the sporting calendar, was due to start on 29 June.

The entire UK grass court season has also been abandoned, including tournaments at Queen’s, Eastbourne, Nottingham and Birmingham.

There will be no professional tennis anywhere in the UK until at least 13 July.

More from BBC Sport here.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has become the fourth member of the UK cabinet to have self-isolated after showing symptoms of coronavirus.

Mr Wallace said he had now recovered and had continued to work throughout.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock are both in self-isolation after testing positive for the virus.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack is also self-isolation after showing symptoms.

Like a flutter on the Grand National? If you do, bookmakers will offer odds on the televised virtual race, which has replaced the Aintree event - with all profits made going to the NHS.

A maximum bet of £10, either on the winner or each way, will be allowed, says the Betting and Gaming Council.

The National, one of the UK's most iconic sporting events, should have been held at the Liverpool racecourse on Saturday.

Forty of the runners which were set to take part will instead feature in the virtual race which uses CGI technology and special algorithms.

It will be broadcast by ITV at 17:00 BST on Saturday.

Image source, Inspired Entertainment