In less than three months, an 87-year-old grandfather has amassed a huge following on the video-sharing app TikTok, despite the fact that most of the app's users are teenagers.

Many of Joe Allington's videos have made light of the coronavirus-enforced quarantine, on the way to picking up 1.5 million followers on the platform.

One video, seen 457,000 times, sees him don washing-up gloves, multiple bin bags and a mask covering only his nose for his government-mandated daily walk.

A petrol tanker driver for decades, after leaving school at the age of 14 in the late 1940s, Allington from Lichfield went on to work in transport management. He retired at the age of 65, and became the family comedian to his daughter, Wendy Paintain, 54, and his granddaughters.

When they suggested he join TikTok, it was a natural fit. "I've found my second childhood, you know," he said.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Criticism of the UK government's response to coronavirus is growing after one of its top scientific advisers said the country was likely to be among the worst affected in Europe.

The warning from Sir Jeremy Farrar came as UK hospital deaths passed 10,000 on Sunday.

Sue Hill, vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said she believed UK deaths could rise to 30,000., external

"Cabinet ministers are standing up every day, addressing us as if we’re on a war footing and giving Churchillian quotes when they could be doing a few simple things like getting more bits of plastic and paper [personal protective equipment for medical staff] on to wards,” Hill said.

Professor John Ashton, a former public health director, called on the government to be "completely honest", as the recorded number of deaths being put out is only those who have died in hospital, and does not include deaths in care homes and in the community.

"There's a lot of worry now on social media that we're not being given the full picture. People need to be treated like adults," he said.

Dozens of NHS workers are known to have died so far, with doctors who came out of retirement, as well as a disproportionate number of workers from black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds among those who have lost their lives.

The government faced serious criticism early on in the spread of the pandemic in the UK, after messages from officials led to confusion over the strategy being pursued, and the country was relatively slow to shut down non-essential businesses and public gatherings.

Dr Anthony Fauci, one of the nation's top health experts and the face of the nation's fight against coronavirus, appeared to confirm a New York Times report that the Trump administration ignored public health warnings for almost a month.

According to the Times article, external, Fauci and other health officials called for social distancing measures in February but were rebuffed by the president.

When asked about why the administration did not act, Dr Fauci told CNN, external: “You know … as I have said many times, we look at it from a pure health standpoint. We make a recommendation. Often, the recommendation is taken. Sometimes, it’s not."

Fauci said that if the US had moved sooner to shut down, lives would have been saved.

The US has recorded more than 555,000 virus cases and 22,000 deaths.

Robin Brant
BBC News, Shanghai

Imported cases have been China’s focus for several weeks now. It believes the main threat now to be people bringing the virus back to the country.

Most of these people are Chinese returning home. The arc of China’s efforts to tackle, contain and end the outbreak went like this: local officials knew about an emerging outbreak but didn’t act; the national government imposed a draconian lockdown of Wuhan; China imposed domestic travel restrictions but insisted that international travel to and from China should not be cut; the virus spread abroad; China believed it had successfully contained the outbreak then switched its focus to people bringing it back here from abroad.

Something like a cat and mouse chase has emerged - despite drastically reducing international flights into China, barring any direct arrivals into Beijing and insisting that passengers now undergo strict quarantine, people found a weak point.

The usually obscure land crossing between Russia and China in the northern province of Heilongjiang has seen a persistent cluster of travellers bringing the virus with them. New ‘imported’ cases there are almost all Chinese coming home. And they appear to be spreading it. The latest official figures reveal 10 new domestic cases, seven of which are in Heilongjiang, home to that land crossing.

Self-isolation and social distancing have become essential measures to stem the spread of the virus.

Here are our guides on how to do both of them properly, and UK guidelines for both practices.

More than 700 Bolivian nationals are being transferred to temporary accommodation, after being left stranded by lockdown measures in neighbouring Chile.

Last week, Chile's National Institute of Human Rights warned about the situation of the migrants, who were forced to sleep rough and were struggling to find food as coronavirus measures left them unable to return home.

Around 450 people were transferred to the port city of Iquique on Sunday, according to local media, with the rest due to follow on Monday.

The incident was criticised by a Bolivian government minister, who accused Chile of allowing people to travel into the country despite the border closures.

Image source, Getty Images

A coronavirus vaccine could be available for the general public by September, according to a professor of vaccinology at Oxford University.

Professor Sarah Gilbert told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that clinical trials of the vaccine would "be starting quite soon" and that production processes need to be set in motion quickly.

"We need to start manufacturing large amounts of the vaccine," she said.

"It is not uncommon for companies to start manufacturing a new vaccine before they really know for certain it works. No-one wants to be in a position where you have a vaccine which you have shown does work and then not have any of the vaccine to use.

"The sooner we start the quicker we're going to get to the billion dose scale.

"That probably won't be this year but if we don't start we're not going to get there next year either."

Image source, Getty Images

India, like most parts of the world, is in a race against time to deliver personal protective equipment (PPE) to its medical teams fighting the coronavirus.

With more than 8,500 cases nationwide so far, state governments are struggling to cope with the demand.

In some cases, doctors were forced to use raincoats and motorbike helmets, external.

One doctor working in a hospital in the northern city of Lucknow said: "We are not getting PPE kits as fast as we should. This is really a war and we are being compared to soldiers. But you don't send soldiers to fight a war without ammunition."

Many countries have seen shortages. In the UK, paramedics and other frontline staff have raised concerns about their protective equipment..

Read more on the situation in India here.

About a third of the world's population is now under some form of lockdown. Here we explain why staying at home is so important, and what the rules are in the UK.

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Internet cafes are a common destination for homeless people in many Japanese cities - many cafes are open 24 hours and have private booths, showers, and entertainment.

Japan has a lower level of homelessness than many developed countries, but more than 4,000 people live in internet cafes in the capital Tokyo alone.

Now the cafes have been ordered to close to curb the spread of coronavirus, and authorities are rushing to find temporary housing for thousands of homeless.

Hotel rooms and sports halls are among the options being assessed.

You can read more here.

Some non-essential workers in Spain will be allowed to go back to work on Monday as the country partially relaxes its lockdown measures.

Manufacturing and construction are among the businesses that will be allowed to reopen, as long as they adhere to strict safety guidelines.

Non-essential shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues will remain closed.

Ten million face masks will also be given to those travelling on public transport this week as people start to return to work.

Spain is one of the countries worst hit by the coronavirus outbreak - with more than 166,000 confirmed cases and nearly 17,000 deaths as of Sunday. But the number of new infections has been falling.

Image source, Reuters

Around the world, couples - and single people hoping to find a match - are finding creative ways to date under lockdown.

They share their tips on keeping the spark alive while staying safe.

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The UK has begun its fourth week of lockdown in response to the coronavirus. Last week saw a daily death toll of 980 recorded on Thursday - higher than both Spain and Italy at the apparent peak of the pandemic in those nations.

More latest developments from the UK:

• the government is set to review by Thursday whether social distancing measures can be changed
• the UK recorded 737 new coronavirus-related hospital deaths in the past 24 hours on Sunday, taking the total number to 10,612
• one of the government's senior scientific advisers said the UK was likely to be among the worst-affected European countries

• prime minister Boris Johnson has praised the NHS staff who treated him for coronavirus in hospital
• nearly 200 members of the armed forces are being deployed to help ambulance staff battle the coronavirus pandemic
• mortuary suppliers told BBC News they have no stocks of standard body bags left for sale, blaming stockpiling due to the coronavirus pandemic for the shortage

Image source, AFP

The UN's biodiversity chief has called for a global ban on wildlife markets to prevent the outbreak of future pandemics.

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema told the BBC that the practice of buying and selling wild animals in markets can pose a threat to human health as well as to endangered species.

“We know over the last 60 years the majority of the new zoonotic diseases have emerged as the result of human activities ... pushing wild animals into closer contact with humans and increasing the risk of transmission," Mrema said.

"Therefore we need to ensure that wet markets are well regulated, clean and not linked to the illegal trade of wild animals.”

She acknowledged that many rural communities around the world depend on wildlife trade for “for economic and food security reasons”.

China has placed a temporary ban on the consumption of wild animals, following reports that the current global coronavirus pandemic originated in a market in Wuhan where live animals were bought and sold - though there is still no definitive proof the market was the source of the outbreak.

It's easy enough to wash your hands and stay away from people - when you have running water and your own living space.

Across the world, thousands of refugees and migrants are living in camps that are often unsanitary and crowded, and it's not easy to try to avoid catching the virus.

In Moria in Lesbos, 18,000 people are staying in a facility built for 3,000.

The BBC's population correspondent Stephanie Hegarty was sent footage by a group of young filmmakers living in the settlement, who recorded scenes of migrants doing their best to keep people safe.

Sri Lanka has made cremations compulsory for victims of Covid-19 - a move which has angered its minority Muslim population who say this goes against their own religious customs.

Out of the seven confirmed deaths so far, three were Muslim, external, reports The Hindu newspaper.

Here's the latest from the rest of the South Asia region:

• Pakistan's prime minister has appealed for urgent debt relief for developing countries to help counter the vast economic fallout being felt due to the pandemic. The country has more than 5,000 cases so far and 88 deaths
• farmers in Bangladesh are about to receive some extra help from the government, which announced a $1.7bn (£1.4bn) relief fund to help those struggling due to restrictions in place because of the virus
• Three Indians who travelled to Nepal for a religious event have tested positive, taking the total number of cases to 12 in the Himalayan nation

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Li Yan

A food delivery driver in China is repaying the medical staff who helped him survive cancer, by keeping them fed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Li Yan works for one of China's biggest food delivery firms and has been busy supplying the hospitals and clinics on his beat in Beijing with much-needed meals.

Mr Li survived lymph cancer and has lots of gratitude for the medical professionals who nursed him back to health.

“Many might have concerns delivering for the hospital, but I've chosen to deliver for them more often. I just think of the local residents and medical workers who need us. I can't leave them being hungry. It's not for money," he said.

Read the full story

It's not just the spread of the virus we should be concerned about - there's lots of misleading coronavirus advice being shared on social media and in private messages too.

The BBC's Zeinab Badawi explains how to check whether what you're about to forward is real or fake, and how to slow the online spread of falsehoods which could put lives at risk.

Transport movements in Australia over the long Easter weekend were below 13%, Health Minister Greg Hunt has revealed.

In a press conference on Monday, he praised Australians for staying at home, saying they had "responded magnificently" and they had "significantly flattened the curve".

"Australians are making a difference, saving lives and protecting lives [and] staying at home. I couldn't be more impressed and heartened," he said. "Thank you to all Australians for their actions."

He said the latest numbers showed 6,335 people in Australia had been diagnosed with Covid-19. From this number 3,338 have officially recovered.

Image source, Getty Images

A week after images of bodies on the streets of Ecuador hit the headlines, many families are still waiting to bury their loved ones. Authorities in the biggest city, Guayaquil, are struggling to deal with the backlog of coronavirus deaths. Watch as residents speak out amid the crisis (warning: some images in the video may be disturbing):