New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has just updated the death toll in the state, which is still the hardest hit location in the US.

On Monday, 731 people died from coronavirus complications, the largest single-day rise.

There are now a total of 38,836 cases and 5,489 deaths in New York.

Neighbouring New Jersey has just surpassed 1,000 deaths, says Cuomo.

"We are projecting we are reaching a plateau," in the level of new patients requiring hospital, says the governor.

He adds that the city and federal government have created around 3,000 new emergency hospital beds to help relieve overcrowded hospitals, where medical workers are beginning to be sickened by the virus in large numbers.

The UK government’s press briefing is due shortly.

But while we wait, read our guide from the BBC’s online health editor, Michelle Roberts, on what intensive care is and which patients need it.

Image source, Science Photo Library

Another former UK prime minister, Theresa May, has wished Boris Johnson a "speedy and good recovery".

"This must be a terribly difficult time for him and those around him," she told the BBC.

She also said the cabinet was doing the "right thing" in his absence, saying: "I know from everything I've seen and heard that that cabinet, which is supported by excellent scientific advice, by a first class civil service, they are absolutely committed to dealing with this crisis."

Image source, PA Media

We should be hearing from the UK government in the next 30 minutes, but let’s take a look at the latest from the country first:

• The total number of people in UK hospitals who have died with coronavirus has now reached 6,159
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in intensive care at a London hospital, but his condition has been described as “stable”
• Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is deputising for the PM
• Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has become the latest member of government to go into isolation after a family member showed symptoms
• A volunteer army of 750,000 people who signed up to support the NHS received its first tasks
• Experts have warned against over-interpreting daily figures of people dying with coronavirus amid reporting delays

Image source, Getty Images

Tenor Andrea Bocelli will have a performance broadcast live on Easter Sunday from the empty Duomo cathedral in Milan.

The cathedral - which is over 600 years old - is closed to the public because of coronavirus.

The show will be broadcast live on Bocelli's YouTube channel.

“Thanks to music, streamed live, bringing together millions of clasped hands everywhere in the world, we will hug this wounded Earth’s pulsing heart, this wonderful international forge that is reason for Italian pride," said Bocelli.

“The generous, courageous, proactive Milan and the whole of Italy will be again, and very soon, a winning model, engine of a renaissance that we all hope for."

Image source, Getty Images

Voting in the Democratic presidential primary election and is under way in Wisconsin, despite the state issuing an emergency declaration last month designed to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Democratic Governor Tony Evers had attempted to push back the elections to June, but his order was overturned on Monday by the state supreme court, which upheld a move opposing this by the Republican legislature.

The decision then went to the US Supreme Court, which allowed voting to go forward.

Republicans argue that voting must go on, and that this is not the first time that people have gone to the polls in challenging times.

The National Guard has been called to help take ballots. Many polling places in the city have been shut down because of a lack of volunteers, who tend to be elderly.

With only a few polling places open around the state, voters have been forced to form queues at the remaining sites.

Kerbside voting is also available to any who feel they are too sick to enter the building, election officials say.

So far the state has more than 2,500 infections and 85 deaths from coronavirus.

We're expecting today's UK government press conference to take place in about an hour, led by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

Mr Raab is currently deputising for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who spent the night in intensive care being treated for coronavirus.

He'll be joined by Prof Chris Whitty, the UK government's chief medical adviser, and Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK's chief scientific adviser.

Image source, Getty Images

French President Emmanuel Macron will reportedly address the nation on Thursday evening. It comes the day after the country reported 833 deaths - its highly daily toll since the outbreak began - and more than three weeks after the president declared his nation "at war" with the virus.

France is in its fourth week of lockdown, and there are no signs that the authorities plan to loosen the tight restrictions anytime soon. And today the mayor of Paris banned all outdoor exercise during the daytime. You can read more about the new rules here.

The UK government has advised the public to stay at home and only go out for food or medicine, to exercise, or to go to work if it's essential.

Even then, the advice is that everyone should remain two metres apart at all times.

But it can be hard to know exactly what that looks like.

The BBC's health correspondent Laura Foster helps explain the best ways to keep safe and keep the correct distance away from other people.

Image source, PA Media

Former UK Prime Minister David Cameron has described Boris Johnson as a "tough and resilient guy".

"He is pretty fit. I have faced him on the tennis court and am sure he will be fine," he said.

Speaking about who would be in control while the PM was in hospital, Mr Cameron said there was a "very clear plan and the government machine will be able to carry it out". He praised the civil service as "a Rolls Royce machine".

He also paid tribute to the Queen's broadcast on Sunday evening, describing it as "extraordinarily powerful and extremely moving".

Finding babies' nappies, or diapers, on supermarket shelves is a challenge for many families across the UK at the moment.

But in Hartlepool, hundreds of parents who rely on donations of nappies are finding it even more difficult because their local baby bank has closed its doors.

Now one of its volunteers - herself a mother - is going from house to house delivering items to women in need. We went to meet her.

Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Johannesburg

Image source, Getty Images

A man has appeared in Cape Town Magistrates' Court in South Africa after being charged with spreading fake news.

South Africa, which is under a three-week lockdown, recently made sharing or reporting misinformation about Covid-19 illegal and punishable by up to six months in prison, a fine, or both.

Steven Birch, 55, allegedly posted a video claiming that South Africa’s coronavirus testing kits were contaminated and could infect people.

In a widely circulated video, people are advised to refrain from co-operating with door-to-door testers and told their swabs will "spread the virus".

South Africa began widespread testing this week and aims to be testing 30,000 people a day by the end of April. Officials have expressed concern that the video may hamper that objective.

Washing your hands is still one of the most effective ways to prevent yourself catching the virus. In case you need a refresher on how to do it right, here’s our 20-second explainer on the correct technique.

The Queen has sent a message of support to Boris Johnson's pregnant fiancee Carrie Symonds and the UK prime minister's family, saying her thoughts are with them and that she wishes him a full and speedy recovery, Buckingham Palace has said.

The Queen is being kept informed of his condition in intensive care - where he continues to be treated for coronavirus.

The Prince of Wales has sent a message to the PM wishing him a "speedy recovery" on behalf of him and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, Clarence House has said.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Cambridge has tweeted a personal message of support to Johnson and his family, signing it off with his initial "W".

Posting from the Kensington Palace twitter account, he wrote: "Our thoughts are with the Prime Minister and his family, who like so many in the UK and around the world are affected by coronavirus.

"We wish him a speedy recovery at this difficult time. W."

From drinking cow urine to avoiding ice cream, there's been a lot of talk online about the different ways you can beat or avoid the coronavirus - and not a lot of it is true.

We’re debunking several myths in an ongoing Reality Check series (here’s part 1 and part 2) – and now here’s our latest video on why lemon juice can’t protect you from getting infected, and mosquitoes are not passing on the coronavirus.

Yolande Knell
BBC Middle East correspondent, Jerusalem

Image source, AFP

A general closure is being imposed across Israel ahead of the Jewish Passover holiday. No travel will be allowed between cities between Tuesday evening and Friday morning, and in Jewish-majority areas nobody should leave their home from Wednesday afternoon - a few hours before Jewish families will have their ritual Seder meal - until Thursday morning.

The government fears the custom of holding big Seders could spread the coronavirus, which has infected more than 9,000 Israelis and claimed 60 lives. Some rabbis have approved the use of video-conferencing apps like Zoom to connect relatives during the dinner. But Israel’s chief rabbinate has forbidden it, saying such use of technology breaks Jewish religious law. “Loneliness is painful,” it stated, but the solution was not “desecrating the festival”.

And while other countries have seen toilet roll shortages during the pandemic, Israelis have been scrambling for eggs - a staple of many favourite Passover recipes. The state subsidised an emergency airlift and brought in millions of eggs by sea. However, long queues at supermarkets, quotas imposed by grocers and a proliferation of black-market deals suggest that for many, the egg-hunt continues.

Watch: Israel’s ultra-Orthodox lockdown challenge

More than 600 people have died of alcohol poisoning in Iran since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, a judicial spokesman has said.

Another 3,000 people were still ill, he said, adding that people had been drinking unsafe alcohol in the mistaken hope it would protect them from the virus.

A number of people responsible for illegally producing alcohol have been arrested, according to the spokesman.

There have been more than 62,500 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Iran, although the daily number of confirmed cases has decreased over the past week.

Image source, James Tye / UCL

Mercedes-AMG HPP has begun production of the breathing aid its F1 team developed with engineers at University College London and clinicians at UCLH.

The Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device is used to deliver oxygen to a patient's lungs without using a ventilator.

They are already used in UK hospitals but are in short supply.

The company produced nearly 600 CPAP devices on Monday and is hoping to increase that to 1,000 a day.

The government has ordered 10,000 of the breathing aids, which are being made on machines that would normally produce Formula 1 pistons and turbochargers.

A further three patients are reported to have died with Covid-19 in Northern Ireland since yesterday, according to the Public Health Agency.

It brings the total number of deaths there to 73.

Another 97 people have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Northern Ireland to 1,255.

David Shukman
Science editor, BBC News

According to a leading specialist in respiratory medicine, it’s “heartening” that the UK prime minister is receiving what the government describes as “standard oxygen treatment”.

Dr Jon Bennett, president of the British Thoracic Society, has told me this means that Boris Johnson is getting extra oxygen either through his nose or via a face mask.

In more serious cases, oxygen is delivered with mechanical support such as "continuous positive airway pressure", "high flow nasal oxygen", or more invasive ventilators.

Dr Bennett, who is based at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester, was working on a ward with Covid-19 patients until he himself had to self-isolate after developing suspected symptoms.

“For many people, having some oxygen helps to tide them over till the lungs sort themselves out,” he says.

He warns that “you get sick quicker than you get better,” suggesting that the hospital staff “will need to keep a close eye on him for another 2-3 days”.

“But I’m heartened that he’s on a normal oxygen delivery system, and let’s hope that it’s the peak of his illness."