Robert Cuffe
BBC head of statistics

The number of 708 deaths is a new high, but a fall in new cases indicates the UK is slightly below trend. The drop in new confirmed cases from 4,450 on Friday to 3,735 cases shows a continued slowdown.

New cases were growing by about 20% a day up to last weekend. In the last week, that slowed to about 10% a day.

That's even after allowing for the expansion of testing to include NHS workers. Even if Saturday's fall is followed by rises, it is evidence that case growth is slowing.

The figure of 708 new deaths is a record high, but it is also below scientific expectations. Deaths have been growing by just under 25% each day. That means doubling every 3.5 days. A continuation of that would have taken us from 684 deaths on Friday to more than 800.

The first day of a below trend growth is too soon to call a turn, but there is hope that the slowdown we're seeing in case numbers will eventually feed through into the numbers of new deaths.

It is "inevitable" that more UK nurses and healthcare workers will die as the country struggles to contain the coronavirus, the UK's largest nursing union has said.

Nurses Aimee O'Rourke and Areema Nasreen, who had both tested positive for the virus, died this week.

Theresa Fyffe, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland, told BBC Radio there were still concerns about whether staff had the personal protective equipment (PPE) they needed, adding that nurses are unable to keep a safe distance from patients.

Dame Donna Kinnair, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said nurses are treating patients with Covid-19 without any protection at all, putting themselves and others at risk.

Read more here.

The latest UK coronavirus figures have been released by the government.

Officials says that as of 17:00 BST on Friday, 3 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 4,313 have died - an increase of 708 from the previous day.

As of 09:00 BST on Saturday a total of 183,190 people have been tested of whom 41,903 have tested positive.

Music has become a big part of keeping our spirits high during the pandemic - from Italians singing on balconies to BBC stars leading a radio singalong.

But the Lebanese National Orchestra has thrown down a challenge by quite beautifully performing to the nation through a video call.

We counted 43 musicians in the video below playing instruments and singing the region's most-loved singer Fairouz's song "I love Lebanon" - expertly kept in sync by conductor Andre Hajj.

"This is a gift to all doctors and nurses in Lebanon," Mr Hajj told Sky News Arabia.

He said when the idea first came to him, it was clear he should pick a song by Fairouz.

The elusive 84-year-old singer released a video of her reciting a psalm on Friday - a sign of the gravity of the times for her global fan base.

For those of us accustomed to interacting with numerous people throughout the day, being self-isolated can take some getting used to.

But for Nathan Wilkie and Sylwia Zbijewska it's business as usual.

Nathan and Sylwia are wardens on the remote Welsh island of Skomer, which they share with just three other people - and about 13,000 puffins.

They've spoken to BBC Wales's Will Fyfe to offer their advice on making the most of isolation.

Image source, Getty Images

A week after Belarus’s Premier League threw caution to the wind by declaring it would continue despite the Europe-wide football lockdown, the Tajikistan football federation (FFT) says its season will begin as scheduled this weekend.

The campaign starts with the Super Cup clash between champions Istiklol and league runners-up Khujand on Saturday before the 10-team league kicks off on Sunday with three games - all matches will be played behind closed doors.

That is in stark contrast to the Belarusian league, where more than 3,000 spectators - few wearing protective masks - were inside the stadium to watch the derby between FC Minsk and Dinamo Minsk last weekend. Online viewing figures grew as keen fans got their only European football fix.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko labelled coronavirus a "psychosis" that can be fought with vodka, saunas and driving tractors. However, some cinemas, cafes, restaurants and other public institutions have closed voluntarily.

An FFT spokesperson told Reuters news agency that the federation hopes the popularity of its league grows as well and that broadcasting deals will follow.

Image source, Getty Images

Spain has now overtaken Italy as the country with the highest number of cases in Europe - but it appears to be turning a corner.

Here's the latest news from Spain:

• Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is extending the country's lockdown until 26 April, Spanish newspaper El País reports. Spaniards have been in lockdown for three weeks, with a ban on all but essential outings and most businesses shut
• Another 809 people have died over the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 11,744
• A further 7,026 have also been diagnosed, bringing the total number of cases to 124,736 - higher than Italy
• This is, however, the first time in three days that the daily toll has been under 900, and is the lowest daily toll in a week
• The figures have raised hopes that the country is nearing the peak of its outbreak

Stephen McDonell
BBC News China correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Just before the allocated time for a three-minute pause to remember those who’ve died from the coronavirus in China, it seemed as though the idea could be a non-starter.

We went out to a random crossroads in Beijing to see how many people would participate and, at a few minutes to 10:00 (03:00 BST), there was no sign that anything would happen.

Then, bang on 10:00, we heard what sounded like an air-raid siren go off nearby.

Suddenly cars stopped. People stopped. A car horn, then another and another. Soon a cacophony of noise filled the street as more and more drivers joined in.

Pedestrians bowed their heads, as did bike riders sitting still next to the frozen traffic.

Nearly everyone is still wearing a face mask in Beijing and compulsory social distancing measures remain in place: Only residents are allowed into an apartment building, and restaurants must cap the number of diners.

There are considerable doubts that the country’s official death toll gives a comprehensive idea of the true number of cases but the trend in the numbers does seem to be real, so the overwhelming feeling is that the emergency is, for now, coming under control.

What’s more – when you look at the carnage this highly-infectious disease is causing in other countries, China can also be thankful today that, so far, this virus hasn’t been much more deadly here.

Robert Cuffe
BBC head of statistics

If you're in the UK, you might be looking out of your window at sunshine and wondering if you really have to follow the government's instruction to stay home.

Well, this is what lies behind the government's thinking:

• Scientists currently believe that each person infected with Covid-19 infects a further 2.5 people over the course of around five days
• That means that 30 days after the first infection, 406 people will have the virus
• If we reduce our exposure by half, that first infection would only have led to 15 other infections in 30 days - less than 5% of 406

Of course, it's not guaranteed that we can reduce our exposures by half, and it takes a few weeks for the effect of any intervention to show up.

But if we reduce exposure by, say, a third, the reduction is just over 85% (or 53 infections).

Look at the graphic below, which may make the maths a little clearer.

Also, here is our guide on self-distancing, and how to do it. You're probably going to need it.

Image source, Getty Images

The UK government is not alone in its concerns about warmer weather bringing people out of their homes. Crowds gathered at Sydney's popular beaches on Saturday, breaking Australia's social distancing measures.

Pictures in Australian media show large groups of people sunbathing, walking along beachfronts and surfing. Manly beach in northern Sydney is a particular hotspot.

Gatherings of more than two people are banned in public places, unless they are members of the same household - police there can issue fines of up to A$1000 (£488).

The country has more than 5,500 cases, with almost half of those in the region where Sydney is located, New South Wales.

It comes as five cruise ships in Sydney harbour prepare to follow instructions to leave Australian waters, in the country's largest maritime operation in peacetime.

The ships have no passengers on board, but more than 1,300 crew members and goods are being moved between the vessels. Many of those involved are hoping to return to their home countries.

Here are the latest headlines regarding the outbreak in the UK:

• The epidemic is set to plateau in the next week to 10 days, but people's behaviour is critical to determining what happens next, Prof Neil Ferguson, from Imperial College London, has told BBC Radio 4's Today programme
• So far 3,605 people have died in the UK, according to figures released on Friday. Prof Ferguson said: "We want to move to a situation where at least by the end of May that we're able to substitute some less intensive measures, more based on technology and testing, for the complete lockdown we have now"
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson has invited opposition leaders to discuss the response to the virus - including Keir Starmer, who has been elected as leader of the Labour party
• Thirteen residents at a Glasgow care home have died in one week following a suspected outbreak of coronavirus
• Up to 4,000 prisoners could be released from jails in England and Wales early, says the prison service. But those convicted of violent crimes and sex offences will be excluded from the scheme

• Police and health officials are concerned the warmer temperatures forecast for much of the country this weekend will bring people out to parks and beauty spots

• And mobile phone masts have been set on fire over “baseless” theories linking 5G to coronavirus. Masts were set alight near Birmingham on Thursday and in the Merseyside area on Friday.

Image source, Google

A disability sports complex known as the birthplace of the Paralympic Games is to become a care centre during the coronavirus pandemic.

Parts of Stoke Mandeville stadium in the UK will be used to look after up to 240 vulnerable adults.

They will include hospital patients no longer needing acute care and people who can no longer be cared for at home.

Buckinghamshire council said the centre would free up hospital beds for critically ill patients. Read more here.

Leo Kelion
Technology desk editor

Image source, Getty Images

Conspiracy theories linking 5G signals to the coronavirus pandemic continue to spread, although there is no evidence the mobile phone signals pose a health risk.

In recent days there have been reports of people setting base stations on fire, external and internet equipment engineers facing abuse in the street.

Fact-checking charity Full Fact has linked the claims to two flawed theories, external.

One suggests that 5G suppresses the immune system, and the other that the virus is somehow using the network's radio waves to communicate and pick victims, accelerating its spread.

Regarding the first of these - while 5G uses different radio frequencies to its predecessors, it's important to recognise that the waveband involved is still "non-ionising".

That means it lacks enough energy to break apart the DNA in our cells to cause damage, external.

And you don't have to take the mobile industry's word for this.

In March, scientists at the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection completed a major study of all the related research into the topic to date, external.

While it recommended slightly tighter limits on the transmitting capabilities of handsets themselves, its key finding was that there was no evidence that either 5G networks or earlier systems could cause cancer or any other illness.

The second theory appears to be based on the work of a Nobel Prize-winning biologist who suggested bacteria could generate radio waves.

But this remains a controversial idea and well outside mainstream scientific thought, external.

And in any case, Covid-19 is a virus rather than a bacteria.

There's another major flaw with both these theories. Coronavirus is spreading in UK cities where 5G has yet to be deployed, and countries like Japan and Iran that have yet to adopt the technology.

Image source, SWA

A number of whisky bottling plants that suspended work due to the coronavirus outbreak are set to reopen, and unions are worried.

They believe all production should be halted due to Covid-19.

GMB Scotland says facilities owned by Edrington, Inver House and North British have approached staff about coming back to work.

Other firms in the whisky and spirits industry, such as Diageo and Grant's, have kept open plants with scaled-back operations.

Find out more here.

Image source, Live camera Tonttula

Billions of people worldwide are in lockdown - and if you're someone who loves to get out and see the world, exploring the inside of your home is probably losing its appeal.

But people in South Africa's Tembe Elephant Park, the snowy village of Lapland's Köngäs, and Venice's glorious canals are helping by bringing their wonders to your living room.

We've made a list of 10 of the best livestreams that show nature and cities carrying on, even when no-one is allowed to visit.

You can find them here.

Now excuse us while we watch the Northern Lights on loop.

The first case of coronavirus has been reported in the Falkland Islands, a remote British territory.

A soldier who tested positive is in a stable condition in hospital, says the Commander of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands, Brigadier Nick Sawyer.

Six army medics had already been deployed there with additional supplies of medicine, oxygen and personal protective equipment.

Residents in the Falkland Islands have been following the same social distancing measures as the rest of the UK.

Mary Harper
Africa editor, BBC World Service

Image source, Getty Images

The mantra of the World Health Organization (WHO) is "test, test, test". But Africa can ill afford expensive, time-consuming testing.

That all may be set to change. Senegal is working with a British company to develop a quick, simple, one-dollar test.

More controversially, Senegal has been pioneering the use of an anti-malarial, chloroquine, to treat coronavirus patients.

The WHO says its effectiveness has not been established, and other medical institutions have warned against the hype surrounding the drug. But Senegalese government spokesman Abdou Latif Coulibaly told the BBC that doctors in the country had seen a “rapid improvement” in patients treated with chloroquine.

“The WHO is not going to tell us what to do,” he insisted. “Our doctors can do what they want.”

With nearly 8,000 confirmed cases across the continent, Africa has not been hit as hard as other places so far. But there are fears that if and when Covid-19 takes hold, it will be a catastrophe.

Initiatives such as the cheap test Senegal is developing will be essential in saving lives on a continent with weak healthcare and sanitation systems, and where people are often vulnerable because of underlying conditions such as malnutrition, tuberculosis and HIV/Aids.

Image source, Getty Images

Welcome to our live coverage - and a particularly warm welcome if you're reading this from self-isolation, quarantine, or a state-mandated lockdown.

Here are some of the latest headlines to catch you up.

• China observed a three-minute silence in remembrance of the more than 3,000 people who died of coronavirus in the country. In Wuhan, where the virus was first detected, traffic lights turned red temporarily
• The death toll in Spain has rise by 809 in 24 hours, the first time in three days that the daily toll has been under 900. This has raised hopes that the outbreak in the country is reaching its peak. However, Spain has a total of 124,736 cases - more than Italy
• In the Netherlands the number of deaths has risen by 164 to 1,651. Germany's Robert Koch health institute has designated it an international risk area, along with other neighbours Austria and Switzerland and several other countries including the UK
• Belgium has seen a rise of 140 deaths in the past 24 hours and the number of fatalities there since the outbreak began is 1,283
• In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has invited opposition leaders to discuss the response to the virus - including Keir Starmer, who has been elected at the head of the Labour party
• UK nationals stuck in the Philippines will be flown back on four flights on 7 April, the British embassy in the country has said. The Philippines has seen 144 people die in the outbreak
• Kuwait has recorded its first death, and a 79-year-old woman has become the first person to die of coronavirus in Georgia

Image source, Getty Images

Mobile phone masts in the UK have been set on fire over “baseless” theories linking 5G to coronavirus.

Masts were set alight near Birmingham on Thursday and in the Merseyside area on Friday.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said it was aware of inaccurate information being shared online, adding that there was “no credible evidence” of a link between 5G and coronavirus.

Trade body Mobile UK, which represents network providers, said the false rumours and theories were "concerning".

Read more here.

Image source, Reuters

British Airways cabin crew members fear they may have contracted Covid-19 over the past two weeks after working on long-haul flights.

Unions representing cabin crew and pilots are demanding greater action to prevent staff becoming infected. BA staff told the BBC that the airline had been slow to take action.

BA is still running some flights to US destinations including New York. The company will also run many of the government’s repatriation flights for British nationals abroad.

The airline has insisted that personal protective kit is available for staff and that it has taken steps to reduce contact between customers and crews.