Some bad news now from Italy.

The country has seen the daily death toll fall in recent days but on Monday went back up again, with 636 deaths reported - a jump of more than 100 from the previous day.

The infection rate is still slowing, though, with 3,599 new cases, a growth of 2.8%.

Jonathan Blake
BBC political correspondent

Never has Boris Johnson been more notable by his absence.

The man nominated to take charge should the prime minister be too ill to carry on, Dominic Raab, led today's news conference from Downing Street.

His slow, deliberate and at times stilted delivery couldn't be more different to the prime minister's off-the cuff, chummy style.

Question after question came about Johnson's condition, but very little in the way of detail came in Raab's answers.

He repeated the now-familiar line that his boss had gone to hospital as a precaution, was in good spirits and "continues to lead the government".

That last phrase falls into the category of being significant purely because it has to be said.

It was also revealing to hear Raab had last spoken to the prime minister on Saturday, despite reassurances that ministers were working "full throttle" to carry out his instructions.

These are undoubtedly uneasy times for the government and the longer Boris Johnson stays in hospital, the more difficult things will get.

Today's UK press conference was chaired by Dominic Raab, de facto deputy prime minister, as Boris Johnson remains in hospital with coronavirus.

He was joined by the government's chief medical adviser, Chris Whitty, and his deputy Dame Angela McLean. Here's what they told us:

• The government has repatriated thousands of Britons who were travelling or working abroad
• The medical experts believe the restrictions imposed by the government are working, but it is too early to tell when they might end. We do not yet know when the peak of cases will be
• The prime minister is working from hospital but will continue to follow medical advice. Mr Raab last spoke to him on Saturday
• Dr Whitty expressed confidence in the development of antibody tests to tell who has had the disease, but we are not there yet and "it will take a while" to reach the optimal design

Asked what the government can do to make sure banks continue to lend to businesses.

Dominic Raab says the chancellor will set out further details on the government's support for businesses "as soon as practical".

He adds that the government is in "regular contact" with the banks and is keen to ensure otherwise viable firms are supported.

Ministers are keen to ensure small businesses in particular "see their way though this crisis".

Image source, Reuters

The reporters are not letting up on questions on the PM's health.

But all Dominic Raab reveals is the last time he spoke to the PM was on Saturday.

Prof Whitty says some patients are able to work from their hospital beds, and others aren't, but again says it is up to the PM's doctors - and he isn't one of them.

Pushed about businesses wanting to know about exit strategy, Mr Raab says he understand the challenges being faced by firms and their workforces.

But, he adds: "The risk is if we start to take our eye off the ball tackling coronavirus and getting through the peak... we risk delaying the point [when we can start] easing measures.

"It would undermine business confidence if we took our foot off the pedal, eased up and found we were not stopping spread of disease as fast as we could."

He appeals again to the public to adhere to social distancing guidelines and to stay at home.

There's a question about when the government is planning to roll out the antibody tests it has ordered to tell people if they have had the virus.

Prof Chris Whitty says the tests are more effectively used in the "later stage of the epidemic".

It is "not particularly surprising" that the initial results have not provided a viable test given that the virus is new, he says.

He adds it will "take a while" before the tests reach their "optimal performance".

Prof Whitty again says it was not him who told the PM to go to hospital.

Asked if the PM could have pneumonia, he adds: "This is a question for him and his medical advisers, who are outstanding.

"I am absolutely not going to discuss any individual patient and I do not have the full details, nor should I."

There's a question about whether the number of intensive care beds that will be required in London could be lower than had been expected.

Prof Chris Whitty says it is important to always "have some room to spare" and having extra beds "would be a success".

He says having "headroom" for intensive care is part of the strategy.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says the government is "not at all complacent".

Asked again about Boris Johnson's health and whether he should rest rather than work, Professor Chris Whitty says his advice to the PM was "to take the medical advice of the excellent NHS doctors treating him".

He adds: "I did advise him to get tested in the first place, but after that I didn't wish to muddy my role with him."

The experts are also asked again about an exit strategy from the lockdown measures.

Dominic Raab says the planning is taking place, but adds: "The risk right now is if we take our focus off the strategy, which is beginning to work, we won't get through this peak as soon as we want to."

Prof Whitty says there are a "large number of technical elements" to look at for that strategy, such as vaccines, drugs and testing.

But there are also the other ill-health effects of the virus, such as making sure emergency care is still accessible, and the socioeconomic impacts.

"We have have to balance all of these different elements and it is a complicated set," he says.

There's another question about whether Boris Johnson should be doing more to rest whilst he is in hospital.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, again, says the prime minister is "in charge" and will take advice from his doctors.

Asked how long the current restrictions will have to continue, Prof Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, says a "serious discussion" about this will only be possible once the peak of the virus has been reached.

He adds it is "too early" to say what should happen until this is known.

The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg asks how the PM can be well enough to run the country if he is unwell enough to be in hospital.

Dominic Raab says the PM was admitted to hospital for tests "as a precaution" because of persistent symptoms.

But he repeats Mr Johnson had a "comfortable night" and is "still in charge".

Asked about the lockdown measures in place, Professor Dame Angela McLean says they need a "good long time series of data on all stages of infection to tell the impact of the measures".

She adds: "It is too early to tell yet. We need people to carry on following those instructions so we can work out three weeks later what happens in hospital."

Mr Raab adds that this is the "overriding focus of the government right now".

Image source, Downing Street

Prof Angela McLean, chief scientific adviser for the Ministry of Defence, says national rail usage has fallen to less than 20% of the levels in February.

The efforts people are making to stay at home "are working", she says.

Hospital admittance is "not as bad as it would have been" if the measures had not been introduced, she adds.

She also says it will take some time for lower hospital admissions to filter through into lower numbers of deaths, however.

Dominic Raab says the prime minister is still in hospital, but in "good spirits".

And he says the government is also still "united" in its leading of the crisis.

Moving on to his own department - the Foreign Office - he says the government has brought home 20,000 people from Spain, 13,000 from Egypt and 8,000 from Indonesia - along with another 2,000 people from seven other countries.

Mr Raab adds: "For those travellers still stuck abroad, we are doing everything we can to keep airports open, commercial flights [running] and to charter flights."

He continues: "Every arm of government is doing everything it possibly can to defeat the virus... both at home and abroad."

Mr Raab concludes his remarks by thanking the NHS for its "heroic work".

Dominic Raab says the government’s “step-by-step action plan” is aimed at slowing the spread of virus so fewer people need hospital treatment.

The foreign secretary says, at each point, the government has been following scientific and medical advice and has been “very deliberate” in its actions.

He confirms the number of deaths across the UK - which has now reached 5,373.

He pays tribute to those who have died and to all the front-line workers helping them.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has emerged, and today’s UK government briefing is under way.

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

We should be hearing from the UK government in the next few minutes.

In the meantime, read - and feel free to share - our Reality Check piece, debunking the myth that 5G technology spreads coronavirus.

Image source, Getty Images

Helier Cheung
BBC News, Washington DC

For those of you just joining us from the US and Canada, here are some of the latest developments:

• The US has reported more than 337,000 cases of coronavirus - more than the next two countries, Italy and Spain, combined. Meanwhile, Canada has seen more than 15,900 cases
• The US surgeon general warned that the coming week could be "the hardest and saddest of most Americans' lives", as the national death toll nears 10,000

• A new US government report, external says hospitals are experiencing "severe shortages of testing supplies" and "widespread shortages" of personal protective equipment (PPE), which is putting staff and patients at risk
• In Canada, the premier of Ontario province - which has about 42% of the country's population - said hospitals there would run out of PPE in a week
• In Texas, state troopers have begun stopping and screening drivers coming in from neighbouring Louisiana, requiring them to provide their personal details and observe a mandatory two-week quarantine
• The number of deaths in New York state dipped slightly on Sunday, to 594, compared to 630 on Saturday. However, Governor Andrew Cuomo said it was too early to tell if this was a pattern

It is two weeks since Boris Johnson announced stricter measures in the UK.

While we wait to hear the latest from Downing Street, read the BBC’s analysis exploring how we will know if the lockdown is working.

Image source, Jeff Overs/BBC

Paul Rincon
Science editor, BBC News website

Image source, Getty Images

Further insights into that female tiger that tested positive for the coronavirus at the Bronx Zoo in New York ...

The news follows on the heels of a laboratory study published last week that shows domestic cats can become infected with Sars-CoV-2 (as this coronavirus is officially known) when given high doses.

Furthermore, the team of researchers from institutes in Harbin, China, were able to show that cats were able to transmit the virus to other cats.

And a cat in Belgium has reportedly been infected with the virus by its owner.

Dr Sarah Caddy, a veterinarian from the University of Cambridge, said the news about the tiger was not wholly unexpected, given the Chinese study.

But, she said: "It is surprising that the tiger has become infected with what must have been a fairly low dose of virus – we can assume the tiger did not have continual close contact with the asymptomatic zoo keeper."

She said one possibility was that tigers in captivity could be more susceptible - in part, perhaps, because of their genes. There is a 5% difference between the genomes of tigers and domestic cats. The genome is the DNA contained in the nuclei of cells

Interestingly, the Harbin study found that ferrets were also susceptible to the virus, but dogs, pigs, chickens and ducks were less so.

So what does this all mean for the vast majority of us who are in lockdown? There is no evidence that pets of any kind can be a source of the virus. The current pandemic is undoubtedly driven by human-to-human transmission.

But some scientists have advised that pet owners should take the usual precautions of hand washing, and might choose to avoid overly close contact with their animals - especially if they think they might be infected with the coronavirus.

Image source, Reuters

We'll be hearing from the UK government in the next half an hour, but while we wait, here is the latest:

• The total number of deaths in the UK has now reached 5,373
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to hospital, 10 days after being diagnosed with coronavirus
• Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick says the PM is "still very much in charge of the government"
• Scotland's chief medical officer has resigned after making two trips to her second home, despite government guidance urging people to avoid unnecessary travel
• Key workers in Wales will be given free childcare for pre-school children during the outbreak
• The National Domestic Abuse helpline has seen a 25% increase in calls and online requests for help since the lockdown