Steven Rosenberg
Moscow correspondent

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Ramzan Kadyrov, the authoritarian leader of Chechnya, has emerged as the most hardline enforcer of social-distancing measures in Russia.

Following an incident in the Chechen town of Argun, where a policeman hit a man violating local quarantine rules, Kadyrov has praised the police officer and promised to reward him. "I’d rather beat one person, than bury a thousand," he said via Instagram.

So far Chechnya is the only region of Russia to introduce a curfew to stop the spread of coronavirus: from 8:00 to 20:00.

Last week, Kadyrov announced that Chechnya would ban entry into and exit from the region by land or air.

On Monday, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said regional leaders had no right to shut administrative borders.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the EU is facing its biggest challenge since its founding as it tackles the coronavirus outbreak.

She said it was essential that the bloc as a whole recovered, calling for the union to boost its ability to make vital protective gear for medical workers.

"Germany will only do well in the long run if Europe does well," she said, speaking after a cabinet meeting.

Germany has seen more than 100,000 infections - the fourth highest number in the world - and 1,590 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

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NHS England has confirmed that a further 403 people have died after contracting coronavirus, bringing the English death toll to 4,897.

The patients were aged between 35 and 106 years old. Of these 403 people, 15 had no known underlying health condition. The latest figures cover the period up until 17:00 on Sunday.

Elsewhere around the UK, 27 more people have died in Wales after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the overall death toll there to 193. Public Health Wales said another 302 cases have also been confirmed. As of 07:00 today, the total number of cases across Wales stands at 3,499.

In Scotland, two people have died in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 222. A further 255 patients have also tested positive there, taking the total numer of Scottish cases to 3,961, as of 14:00 today.

The UK's Department of Public Health is expected to release an update on coronavirus testing later this afternoon.

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We've just had confirmation that today’s daily briefing from the UK government will take place at 17:00 BST (16:00 GMT).

As we reported earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in hospital, so the press conference will be led by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab - who is in line to step in if the PM cannot carry on with his job.

He will be joined by the chief medical officer, Chris Whitty - who has just come out of self-isolation due to coronavirus - and the chief scientific adviser to the Ministry of Defence, Professor Dame Angela McLean.

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Isolation has forced many of us to find novel ways to occupy our time - with, let's face it, mixed results.

But here on the live page, we are truly impressed with the efforts of one Russian Facebook group, external called Isolation. Its members are re-creating the art world's masterpieces using people, animals and even food.

John Everett Millais' famous painting of Ophelia in a river has become a woman in a bath surrounded by onions and packets of food.

And a noblewoman, by El Greco, has been transformed for the modern age with a face mask.

Meanwhile, four quarantined housemates in the US are throwing down a similar challenge on their Instagram account Covid Classics, external, where they have recreated paintings including Rene Magritte's The Son of Man.

It's truly a tough call to decide which account wins - we'll let you decide.

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Austria has set out plans to ease restrictions in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus. It is one of the first countries outside of Asia to do so.

Under the scheme, some shops will be able to reopen as early as next week but restaurants and bars will have to wait until May and it won't be until the end of June that large-scale public events, such as football matches, can take place.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz also stressed loosening the restrictions depended on the public continuing to follow guidelines on social distancing.

Denmark is also likely to firm up a timetable for how it will end its lockdown, but, in an interview on Sunday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned it would be some time before normal life resumes.

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The mother of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has died after contracting coronavirus.

Dolors Sala Carrió, 82, died in Barcelona, City said.

"Everyone associated with the club sends their most heartfelt sympathy at this most distressing time to Pep, his family and all their friends," the Premier League club added.

Spain has recorded one of the largest death tolls in the world: more than 13,000 people have died from the virus.

Last week Guardiola, who has been at home in Barcelona, donated 1m euros (£880,000) to fight the coronavirus outbreak in Spain.

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Golf's Open Championship has become the latest event sporting event to be cancelled because of coronavirus.

The tournament, one of golf's four Majors, was due to take place in July at Royal St George's in Kent but has been cancelled for the first time since World War Two.

Chief executive Martin Slumbers said organisers, the R&A, had "explored every option for playing the Open this year", but cancelling the tournament was the "right thing to do".

The sporting calendar has been decimated by the virus, with Euro 2020, which was scheduled to start in June, and the Tokyo Olympics, originally due to begin in July, among the events postponed.

David Shukman
Science editor, BBC News

The scientists modelling the outbreak keep emphasising that there can be no certainty about the timing of what will happen next in the UK.

The current hope is the peak may be reached in seven to 10 days but that’s based on computer simulations, which rely on a host of assumptions.

In an email on Monday morning, one of the scientists told me that everything depended “on social distancing having the expected effect and remaining in place”.

Another big question is about the "shape" of the peak – whether it will be like a steep mountain or more of a plateau.

In one scenario, known as "most likely", there would be "a reasonably rapid decline following the peak but still not dropping to low levels for one to two months".

And in another, described as "reasonable worst case", the decline would be much slower and stretch out over several months.

In both scenarios, I’m told, social distancing would need to be kept in place – another reminder of the long haul ahead.

The chair of the UK's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Julian Knight MP, has called on communications watchdog Ofcom to investigate concerns foreign state-backed news organisations are “disseminating false narratives” about Covid-19 through social media.

Earlier, the UK government criticised Russian state media use of “disinformation” after RIA Novosti reported that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was on a ventilator.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “That is disinformation. Our specialist government units have seen a rise in false and misleading narratives since the coronavirus pandemic started.

"It’s vital that any disinformation is knocked down quickly.”

Some of the BBC's best-known voices are reading their favourite poems on Radio 4's Today programme in its new #comfortandhope, external segment.

On Monday, BBC Europe editor Katya Adler and her daughter Sofia read The Stolen Orange, by Brian Patten.

It is a poem that reminds Katya of her late father and of the simple things we can find around us to give us comfort.

Britain's largest telecoms company, BT, has pledged not to fire or furlough any of its staff for the next three months.

Chief executive Philip Jansen, who tested positive for coronavirus in March, will also donate half his annual salary to charity and said the company will do “everything we can” to support its 84,000 UK employees.

“For the foreseeable future – at least the next three months – no BT, Openreach, EE or Plusnet colleague will lose their job as a result of the changing trading conditions. That’s a promise,” Mr Jansen wrote in a letter to staff.

While recruitment is on hold and managers’ salaries have been frozen, BT has reaffirmed its commitment to provide shares worth £500 to employees and frontline staff will also be given a 1.5% salary increase.

Mr Jansen’s donation to NHS charities and affected small businesses in his local community is reportedly, external worth over £500,000.

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• Kenya has banned travel in and out of capital Nairobi from Monday for three weeks
• Protesters in Abidjan, Ivory Coast have destroyed a coronavirus testing centre, saying it was built too close to their homes
• Video of a bride (with wedding dress and train) and groom in the back of a police car has emerged in South Africa - the couple were arrested alongside a priest and 40 wedding guests in KwaZulu-Natal - police confirmed that weddings were banned

• Ethiopia announced the deaths of a 60-year-old woman and 56-year-old man - the country's first since the virus was identified there on 12 March

• Rwanda's cabinet ministers and top officials will donate their April salaries to the fight against the epidemic
• Libya's former Prime Minister Mahmoud Jebril, has died from the virus - he was head of the National Transitional Council in 2011 which ousted dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi
• And in another case of leaders not following their own advice - Nigerian actress Funke Akindele, who appeared in a public health video about the virus, has been arrested after holding a party during lockdown

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England manager Gareth Southgate is to take a 30% pay cut as one of the Football Association's highest earning employees.

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said the total financial impact of the pandemic on English football's governing body is predicted to be around £100m but could rise to more than £150m.

The FA said it had proposed all staff earning over £50,000 take a temporary 7.5% pay cut, with senior management agreeing to cut their pay by 15% and the highest earners agreeing to reduce their pay by up to 30%.

Southgate signed a new contract in 2018, reportedly worth £3m per year.

Chief executive Mark Bullingham said these were "challenging times" and the FA did not "take these decisions lightly."

The government's furlough scheme is being looked at as a contingency plan.

London Underground drivers should be given face masks and gloves to help protect them from contracting Covid-19, union leaders say.

The number of Tube journeys has fallen by more than 90% since the UK government advised people to only travel into work if absolutely necessary.

But amid reports that rush hour carriages remain busy, external, train drivers' union Aslef said the government should step in to help protect Tube drivers and TfL staff.

“By refusing to close non-essential workplaces, the government is endangering their safety and that of other key workers who rely on public transport," union official Finn Brennan said.

The demand follows news over the weekend that five bus workers in London have died with the virus.

Earlier, London Mayor Sadiq Khan pleaded with Londoners on Twitter, external to stay home and said the government's call for extra services was not possible due to the number of staff off sick or self-isolating.

Image source, Getty Images

England’s chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty has returned to work after recovering from his coronavirus symptoms.

The 53-year-old announced on 27 March that he was self-isolating, shortly after Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock both confirmed they had tested positive.

Prof Whitty has appeared regularly at the government's daily news briefings.

Could a tiny hilltop village in Italy help us solve some of the mysteries around coronavirus?

Last week, the village of Nerola was suddenly declared a red zone, after dozens of coronavirus cases were discovered.

It’s been sealed off by the army, and everyone who lives there put into quarantine. Now, medical researchers are testing the entire population, in the hope of learning more about the virus. Watch our video here:

Jonathan Blake
BBC political correspondent

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in "good spirits" and had “a comfortable night” at St Thomas' Hospital in London, Downing Street has said.

Mr Johnson "remains in hospital under observation", the PM’s official spokesman told reporters.

"The PM spoke with a doctor and was able to set out that his symptoms remained persistent," he added. The spokesman described the symptoms as "a temperature and a cough".

On reports the prime minister has received oxygen treatment, the spokesman said he did not know the origin of those reports and urged caution.

The prime minister remains in charge of the government but the daily COVID-19 response meeting was taken this morning by Dominic Raab as First Secretary of State.

"He is receiving updates in hospital and continuing to receive a box," the spokesman said, referring to the ministerial red box with briefings and papers for sign-off.

In case you're just joining us, here is some of the latest news:

• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in hospital after being admitted on Sunday evening suffering from persistent symptoms of the virus.
• The daily number of deaths in Spain has fallen for a fourth consecutive day. Monday’s figure of 637 is the lowest recorded since 24 March.

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reportedly considering a request by Donald Trump to release stocks of hydroxychloroquine, a drug the US president has called a "game-changer", though experts are far more cautious.
• President Trump says he can see "light at the end of the tunnel", however, adviser Dr Anthony Fauci said the short-term outlook in the US is "really bad".
• Sweden is opening a field hospital in Stockholm, with capacity for 600 patients. The country, which is not in lockdown, has 6,830 current cases with 401 people dying.
• Barbados and Haiti have reported their first deaths. The Barbadian health ministry say an 81-year-old man has died after returning from a trip to the UK on 22 March. The man who died in Haiti was 55 years old and had an underlying health condition.
• Premier League footballers are set to begin negotiations over proposed wage cuts on a club-by-club basis.

Image source, Getty Images

If you've ever wondered what coronavirus might sound like, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have transposed the virus' structure into musical form.

The tune, external was generated by artificial intelligence, and the university says it will help researchers to spot details that they might miss under the microscope.

Professor Markus Buehler said he and his team have already used it to analyse the "vibrational structure" of coronavirus' spike proteins - the appendage that makes it especially contagious.

"Understanding these vibrational patterns is critical for drug design and much more," said Professor Buehler.