Tom Edgington
BBC Reality Check

Image source, Getty Images

Thousands of patients in England are potentially unable access to urgent dental services in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The British Dental Association says dentists in England are being bombarded by calls from patients in pain, but with nowhere to send them.

Since 25 March all routine dental care has been suspended.

For patients requiring emergency treatment, NHS England is in the process of creating Urgent Dental Care hubs across the country. These are meant to provide treatment for conditions such as fractured teeth or bleeding.

However, the BDA, which represents dentists across the UK, says only a tiny number of these sites are up and running. It says part of the problem is down to a lack of available protective equipment.

To read more, click here.

Image source, Getty Images

• Italy recorded another drop in daily deaths, down to 542 - the lowest number since Sunday and far below the record rise of 919 on 27 March. The number of people in intensive care in the country also fell. And while its total number of confirmed cases rose slightly day-on-day, the country performed more tests compared with Tuesday
• Despite 16 hours of talks, EU finance ministers still could not agree how to tackle the economic fallout from the outbreak. Frans Timmermans, currently European Commission First Vice President, said “the EU as we know it will not survive this” if a solution can’t be found – read more here
• France’s flagship, the nuclear-power aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, is returning to port after a number of sailors came down with coronavirus symptoms. A medical team is en route to test them and help stop any potential spread on board
• The outbreak is affecting religious ceremonies across Europe with Easter coming up this weekend. While German courts have stepped in to stop some Catholics who tried to attend services, a church in Poland has introduced drive-in confessions

Chancellor Rishi Sunak says Boris Johnson's condition has improved after two nights in intensive care.

Watch Mr Sunak's full update on the prime minister in the video above.

WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has thanked the US for its financial support, and says he is confident that it will continue, despite recent threats from President Trump.

"In the US, supporting world health has been a bipartisan issue," said Dr Ghebreyesus.

"We cannot live in our nation state boundaries," he added. "The world is getting smaller and smaller, the need for solidarity has become more important than ever before."

Speaking with reporters at the World Health Organisation briefing, officials have insisted there is no evidence that pets are contributing to the transmission of coronavirus around the world.

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, head of WHO's emerging diseases unit, said a study in China - before the pandemic began - found that cats could be infected with the virus. But she stressed there was no evidence they could pass it on to humans.

Rishi Sunak ends the press conference saying charities are "a critical part of the social fabric of this country".

He adds: "Our economic plan and plan for charities are built on one simple idea - that we depend on each other."

Image source, Reuters

The chancellor is also asked whether it is a good time for the UK to leave the EU if the economy is going to be so damaged by the pandemic.

Rishi Sunak says: "We have left the European Union, that has happened, we are now working on the final terms of trading arrangements. That work is carrying on."

He says negotiating teams spoke earlier this week and would hold more talks this month and in May.

"We remain committed to the timeline for concluding talks and negotiations, albeit over video conference rather than in person," he adds.

There's a question about the extent to which social distancing measures were followed in Downing Street given Boris Johnson's condition, and whether politicians should have been better protected.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak says the prime minister has been receiving "excellent care and advice".

He says "everyone is doing their best" to follow guidelines, including by holding meetings via videolink, but the risk of infection cannot be "completely eliminated".

No-one is "impervious to getting sick," he adds.

Image source, Downing Street

The chancellor is asked about comments from the head of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, who says the job retention scheme may be open to abuse.

Rishi Sunak says: "We are obviously designing schemes at pace which haven't been done before... and they are designed deliberately to counter fraud.

"We want to make them as simple as possible... while protecting the taxpayer, and that has influenced some of the design choices."

He admits that has led to some people "falling through the cracks" and not being included in schemes, but he says it was "right" to not have a cumbersome process.

Mr Sunak adds: "I am confident the decisions we have made will minimise the risk of fraud, and our teams are hard at work on robust verification and auditing processes."

Image source, Downing Street

Asked whether schools could reopen before the summer holidays, MoD chief scientific adviser Angela McLean says it would be "premature" to say whether this will be possible.

She adds a "longer run" of infections data will be needed to see when schools can reopen, adding "so much depends" on the trends.

NHS England’s medical director Stephen Powis says there are the "first signs of a plateauing" in the infections data.

He notes however this is "not the time to become complacent", noting that without social distancing measures cases would otherwise be "steeply rising" on an "exponential curve".

The chancellor is asked whether UK unemployment will become as as bad as places like Norway, where the jobless rate is above 10% because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Rishi Sunak says: "I will be absolutely honest, this will have a significant impact on the economy and not in an abstract way - on people's jobs and livelihoods."

He says the job retention scheme - that sees people being furloughed from work and paid 80% of their wages by the government - combined with other government measures will "significantly help mitigate some of the impact".

Mr Sunak adds: "If we weren't doing all the things we are doing, it would certainly be worse. We are doing the right things.

"I can't say there won't be hardship ahead, there will be... but everyone has a role to play and I am confident we will get through it."

There's a question about the the lockdown extension in Wales, and whether it is now inevitable this will happen UK-wide.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak says a review will be based on scientific evidence.

He says it would not be helpful to "speculate" on the future, and it is important people continue to stick to social distancing rules.

Angela McLean, chief scientific adviser at the Ministry of Defence, says this week will be "really important" in determining what happens.

Meanwhile at a news conference in Geneva, WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for an end to the "politicising" of coronavirus.

The director general was asked about US President Donald Trump's recent threat to withdraw funding from the WHO.

"The focus of all political parties should be to save their people," said Ghebreyesus. "When there are cracks at national and global level, that is when the virus succeeds.

"For God’s sake, we have lost 60,000 citizens of the world. What are we doing?" he added. "No need to use Covid to score political points."

Asked about comments from the chief medical officer yesterday on the high level of testing in Germany lowering death rates, NHS England's medical director Stephen Powis says it is "one of many factors and there are a range of things".

He says the CMO was "also making clear it is important that all countries learn from each other", adding: "No doubt other countries want to learn from our work on modelling and predicting what the epidemic might do."

Mr Powis continues: "We all agree testing is important, but the point I was making is it is one part of set of different things that will need to be considered in any country's strategy.

"That is the case here and the case in Germany. And it is almost certainly too early in all country's experiences to say which components of strategies have been more effective or most important."

Image source, PA Media

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak is asked whether there is a trade-off between protecting people's jobs and their health.

He replies that protecting health is the "absolute priority", but the government has also taken "unprecedented" measures to protect the economy.

He admits, however, that efforts to stop the virus will have a “significant impact" on growth - and that not every business can be protected.

Image source, Downing Street

The chief scientific adviser at the Ministry of Defence adds that the UK data is getting "towards a flat curve".

Angela McLean says there has been just a 4% increase in patients in critical care over the past 24 hours.

The overall aim is to make sure people who need it have access to critical care, she adds.

NHS England’s medical director, Stephen Powis, joins the chancellor in praising charities, saying he works "very closely" with them.

He says the NHS has "worked every night and day to surge capacity" for coronavirus cases, but reminds people to seek help if they face an emergency, like a heart attack or stroke.

"We are there for you and although we are focusing on coronavirus, it is important we continue to focus on other emergency conditions," he adds.

Image source, Downing Street

Angela McLean, chief scientific adviser at the Ministry of Defence, says new UK cases of the virus are "not accelerating out of control".

She says this "good news" is partly because of a massive reduction in the number of people using major railway stations, shown on the graph above.

She says footfall is down 94% compared with the first week in March.

Image source, PA Media

The chancellor promises to "do whatever it takes", adding: "I am striving every day to keep that promise."

He says a huge part of that is charities.

"There are over 170,000 charities [and] we will not be able to match every pound of funding they would have received this year," says Rishi Sunak.

But, he announces a new £750m pot of cash for frontline charities across the UK - including hospices and charities helping domestic abuse victims.

Mr Sunak says £360m will be directly allocated by government departments, while £370m will go to smaller charities, including through a grant to the National Lottery Community Fund, and £60m of that will go to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The chancellor also promises to match donations to the National Emergencies Trust as part of the BBC’s Big Night In fundraiser later this month "pound for pound", with a minimum pledge of £20m.

He adds: "Charities teach us the lesson that the simplest acts have the potential to change lives.

"At this time, when many are hurting, tired and confined, we need the gentleness of charities in our lives.

"It gives us hope, makes us stronger and reminds us we depend on each other."

Rishi Sunak says news of the PM's hospitalisation "reminds us how indiscriminate this disease is" as "nearly everyone will known someone affected".

He adds: "This is a terrible virus that respects no boundaries... but we are not facing it alone."