Marianna Spring
Specialist disinformation reporter

Image source, .BBC

Social media companies are struggling to contain a wave of coronavirus misinformation.

Into the breach have stepped volunteers who are fighting to stop rumours, bad advice and conspiracy theories from going viral.

Read some of their stories here.

Have you seen concerning or misleading information about coronavirus online? Is there a story we should be investigating? Email me - marianna.spring@bbc.co.uk

The elderly may have to remain in isolation until next year to protect themselves from coronavirus, the EU Commission president has told a German newspaper.

Ursula von der Leyen told Bild “we have to limit as much as possible contact with the elderly” until a vaccine against Covid-19 was developed.

Most experts say a vaccine that provides immunity to coronavirus will not be ready for mass production for at least a year.

Von der Leyen said she recognised the difficultly of isolation, but stressed when “it is a question of life or death, we have to remain disciplined and patient”.

"Children and young people will enjoy more freedom of movement earlier than elderly people and those with pre-existing medical conditions," she told Bild.

She said she hoped that a European laboratory would develop a vaccine towards the end of the year.

The EU has been criticised for its approach to tackling the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, the president of the EU’s scientific research council resigned after three months in the job with an attack on the EU’s scientific governance and political operations.

Read the full story: EU top scientist forced out in political row

Image source, Getty Images

Jessica Parker
BBC political correspondent

Even before we heard that Boris Johnson had been discharged from hospital, it was clear that the prime minister would not be rushing back to work. And his fiancée Carrie Symonds' tweet – which refers to "dark" times last week – is a further sign of how unwell he’s been. So, for now, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will continue to deputise.

The extent to which Boris Johnson may want to feed into any forthcoming decisions - whilst not being fully back at work - isn't yet known. Much may depend on the advice of his doctors. But the fact that the man who was elected to run the country is out of hospital will be a relief to many.

Like or loathe his politics, agree or disagree with the way the coronavirus outbreak has been handled so far, Boris Johnson is the prime minister and political authority ultimately rests with that office. And authority will likely be what’s needed when big decisions lie ahead.

Image source, Getty Images

With many across the world having extended weekends at Easter, it is traditionally one of the busiest travel periods as people head elsewhere for a change of scenery. Not this year.

A total of 200,906 flights were airborne on Maundy Thursday (before the Easter weekend) last year, according to tracking service Flightradar24. This Maundy Thursday it tracked 68,621 flights.

The stark difference is shown by these maps of the UK's airspace at 15:00 BST on both days.

Image source, Flightradar24

The number of scheduled flights in the UK has dropped by 90.7% from the same week 12 months ago, according to the latest figures from global travel data provider OAG., external

The global drop over that period is 59.2%.

Only Germany, Spain (both 92.6%) and Hong Kong (92.3%) have seen bigger reductions in capacity than the UK.

Italy has said it will quarantine and assess the health of 156 migrants aboard a rescue ship off its southern coast, citing concerns over the spread of coronavirus.

The migrants were on board the Alan Kurdi, a German-flagged non-governmental rescue ship that was heading to Sicily to seek humanitarian assistance.

On Sunday, Italy’s transport ministry said the migrants would be transferred to quarantine, external on another ship and checked by the Italian Red Cross and local health authorities.

Earlier this week, the Italian government issued a decree declaring its ports “unsafe” to disembark people rescued at sea “for the duration of the national public health emergency”.

The ban is due to remain in effect until 31 July. Human Rights Watch has called on Italy to scrap the decree, external and immediately assign the Alan Kurdi a safe port.

But in its statement, Italy’s ministry of transport said it could not allow the Alan Kurdi to make port because of the strain Covid-19 was placing on the country’s health system.

Sea-Eye, the non-governmental group running the ship, said the migrants on board were rescued in international waters off the Libyan coast on Monday.

Italy had evacuated some migrants but most were still on board, it said in a tweet on Sunday.

Read our BBC Reality Check piece on who is responsible for helping out migrants at sea.

It has been an Easter like no other with social distancing and lockdowns throughout the world.

In Madagascar, Father Pedro conducted a traditional Easter Mass in a granite quarry.

Image source, Getty Images

Father Marc Labret led Easter Mass in an empty church with no congregation - except for those watching online - in Sainte-Clotilde basilica in Paris.

Image source, Getty Images

Georgian Orthodox observers in Tbilisi could attend church to celebrate Palm Sunday (which is today's celebration in the eastern church) but many wore masks.

Image source, Getty Images

Roman Catholics in Bangkok's Holy Redeemer Church wore masks and socially distanced.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Office of Governor Cuomo

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said there had been many dark moments during this crisis, but also moments of inspiration.

Cuomo described how during the scramble for ventilators in recent weeks, when Covid-19 cases threatened to overwhelm New York's health system, he received a call out of the blue from a nursing home who wanted to offer their ventilators.

"A nursing home is one of the most vulnerable places in this entire situation... and here a nursing home comes forward and says we want to lend you 35 ventilators.

"I tell you, for me, when I heard that news... something inside me said: 'You know what? We’re going to be OK. We’re going to find our way through this because there is an inherent goodness in people that will surprise you.'"

Cuomo said he went to return the ventilators to the Pathways Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Niskayuna on Sunday, but was not able to speak with those inside, and wanted to offer his thanks.

"They brought me inspiration and hope and energy at a time when I personally really needed it, and that call, that generosity and that love buoyed my spirit and my feelings."

Image source, Office of Governor Cuomo

Italy has reported 431 new coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, the lowest number in more than three weeks, as experts express hope that the country's strict lockdown is working.

Sunday's death toll is Italy's the lowest since 19 March, when 427 virus-related fatalities were recorded.

The number of people in intensive care with Covid-19 continues to drop in Italy as well, with 38 fewer than the previous day, bringing the total to 3,343.

"The data show that measures are having an impact," Professor Luca Richeldi, a scientific adviser to the Italian government, said at a news conference on Sunday.

There have now been 19,899 deaths and 156,363 confirmed infections in total since the epidemic began in Italy, Europe's worst-affected country.

On Saturday, the US total of virus-related rose above 20,000, surpassing Italy's total.

The UK death toll from the coronavirus outbreak surpassed 10,000 on Sunday, another grim statistic that brings tragedy to more families.

But what does that figure tell us about the trajectory of the UK’s coronavirus epidemic? There is some important context to consider.

Firstly, the growth in the total number of new deaths appears to have stalled in the last five days, despite hitting a record 980 on 10 April. In other countries, virus-related deaths stopped growing after three weeks of lockdown. But experts have stressed it is too early to know if deaths have peaked yet.

Secondly, it is important to note the death figures being reported daily are hospital cases where a person dies with Covid-19. What those figures do not tell us is the extent the virus is causing the death. Other factors, such as an underlying health condition, may have contributed to that person’s death.

Equally, the figures do not tell us how many virus-related deaths there have been in care homes and the wider community.

Lastly, we come to projections of deaths. Modelling by Imperial College London suggested deaths could be limited to 20,000 if a lockdown was implemented.

In Sunday’s Downing Street briefing, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that outcome was still possible if “people follow the social-distancing guidelines”.

Read more about how to understand the death toll

Image source, Getty Images

Opera legend Andrea Bocelli is just doing the final preparations for his live Easter show at Milan's historic Duomo cathedral.

He will be performing alongside cathedral organist Emanuele Vianelli - with no live audience because of coronavirus.

It is a "concert representing a message of love, healing and hope to Italy and the world", according to the Duomo's website.

The concert - which starts at 18:00 BST (19:00 local time) - will be streamed live on Bocelli's YouTube channel.

Ave Maria and Sancta Maria are among the songs he will sing.

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

• Leading this afternoon's briefing, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said today marked a "sombre day" as the number of coronavirus deaths in UK hospitals exceeded 10,000.
• The number of patients in hospital beds in London is stabilising - but it's increasing in the North West, Yorkshire and North East.
• The NHS will launch a new app to help trace those who potentially have contracted coronavirus.

• We still have spare critical care beds. Hancock said there were 2,295 spare across Great Britain today, up by 150 from yesterday.
• Hancock didn't have an update on the number of NHS staff who died after contracting coronavirus, after we were told yesterday that 19 had sadly died. He said they were looking into "each circumstance".

The number of deaths in UK hospitals from coronavirus has passed the 10,000 mark, leading to Health Secretary Matt Hancock describing it as a "sombre" day for the nation.

Currently Italy has the highest number of deaths of any European country - with more than 19,000 deaths - followed by Spain, France and the UK, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, external.

Today's daily figures show there has been an increase of 737 from the previous day.

That figure continues a trend in the past two weeks of the number of deaths announced on Sunday being fewer than the number announced the day before.

It is possible that some deaths may be unreported until the end of the Bank Holiday weekend.

Read more analysis of the latest coronavirus figures here.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he wants the state to open "as soon as possible" but cautioned: "We need to be smart in the way we reopen."

He called for a co-ordinated approach between neighbouring states, more testing availability and federal funding help.

"Nobody wants to pick between a public health strategy and an economic strategy," he said.

While the governor said the number of hospital admissions and deaths was plateauing, supporting the notion that New York's outbreak curve is flattening, there were still 758 lives lost yesterday.

"Put in the context of 9/11, which was supposed to be the tragedy of my lifetime, at 2,753 lives lost, we're now at 9,385 [total deaths from Covid-19]," Cuomo said.

Cuomo also announced he has issued an executive order to expand the number of people eligible to do the Covid-19 antibody test, which shows whether someone has already had the virus and might be immune.

Police in the Canadian province of Quebec have opened an investigation into a private care facility in Montreal where 31 people have died in the last month.

At least five of the 31 deaths were confirmed to be due to Covid-19.

Quebec Premier François Legault told reporters on Saturday there might have been "gross negligence" by management at the Residence Herron home.

When health officials inspected the facility at the end of March, they found the majority of staff had left and residents living in terrible conditions, without food and water, some lying in soiled beds. Those who were infected with the coronavirus had not been isolated properly.

“It’s not acceptable, the way we treat our elderly in Quebec," Legault said, according to the Globe and Mail, external.

"We’ve known nursing homes are understaffed, that people are underpaid, particularly in private homes... I’m not proud to see what’s happening.”

The US tax service said on Saturday that the first Covid-19 economic relief payments had been deposited into taxpayers' bank accounts.

The payouts are part of the $2.2tn (£1.7tn) stimulus package Congress passed in March to combat the pandemic's effect on the US economy.

Americans making less than $75,000 annually will receive $1,200 from the federal government; families will also receive $500 per child. Anyone earning above $99,000 is not eligible for stimulus money.

People who have filed their tax returns should receive their payments within the next few days, US media say.

Those who have not filed or do not have direct deposits set up could still wait weeks to receive the money. The government has requested people in this situation to fill out payment information on the Internal Revenue Service website to speed up the process.

One last post from Sunday's Downing St briefing: the UK's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance previously said it would be a "good outcome" for the UK if the number of deaths from the virus could be kept below 20,000.

The health secretary is asked whether it's still possible to achieve that "good outcome", given the death toll exceeded 10,000 today.

In response, Matt Hancock says: "The future path of this pandemic in this country is determined by how people act.

"That's why it's so important that people follow the social-distancing guidelines.

"Predictions are not possible, precisely because they depend on the behaviour of the British people."

Prof Yvonne Doyle from NHS England says she agrees with the health secretary, adding that at the moment the most important thing to do is continue social distancing and shielding the most vulnerable - which she says is an "absolutely crucial".

An all-party parliamentary group has written to the government , externalcalling for any coronavirus vaccine that is developed to be made accessible to all.

The letter, written by the chairwoman of the APPG on Vaccinations, Dr Philippa Whitford and signed by dozens of MPs, says any final product must be "affordable, accessible and available for everyone who needs it, within the UK and developing countries".

It says no company should have a monopoly on any product developed using public funding in the UK.

"The government needs to impose public-interest conditions on all UK funding committed to develop Covid-19 vaccines and treatments, to ensure widespread access and transparency," it adds.

The health secretary is asked whether he has an update on the number of NHS staff who have died after contracting coronavirus.

"I don't have an update on the figure of 19 NHS staff who have died that I gave yesterday," he says.

"We are looking into each circumstance to understand - as much as is possible - how they caught the virus. Whether that was at work, outside of work, and the clinical setting that they were working in."

You can read the stories of NHS staff who have died here.

Image source, Velindre University NHS Trust

The health secretary is pressed on whether he is satisfied that care homes have enough support to tackle coronavirus.

"I'm constantly trying to get more support to them is the honest truth," Matt Hancock says.

He adds that there has been a sharp increase in the number of tests available.

Prof Yvonne Doyle, from Public Health England, says: "Testing does occur in the nursing homes, but we have more to do.

"Nursing and care homes, we understand there's much more to do here to get to every last quarter where there is anxiety, where the most vulnerable are."

Image source, Getty Images

Martha Fairlie of ITV says the Royal College of Nursing has issued new guidance to members saying they should refuse to work rather than risk their own safety if they do not have appropriate PPE and have no other way of treating a patient.

She asks Health Secretary Matt Hancock if he will apologise for leaving nurses and other medical workers with that "impossible decision".

"As I said in my previous answer, we’re working night and day to make sure we get the right PPE. The thing I want to do is pay tribute to the unbelievable efforts of people to get to this position," Hancock said.

"It is improving but we won't rest until we get there. I work closely with the Royal College of Nursing on these matters and other things - I was in contact with them today because it’s so important we get this right."