Reality Check

Image source, Getty Images

At his daily coronavirus briefing on Monday, President Trump said he had the “total” authority to lift lockdown measures.

But state governors have hit back saying it is their own responsibility, and many experts say any such action by the president would be unconstitutional.Trump didn’t shut down the country - he provided guidelines, but state governors imposed specific restrictions which vary from state to state.Trump said he would produce a legal briefing to back up his claims, but American legal analyst Elie Honig says: “There is nothing in the constitution or federal law that gives him the legal ability to essentially un-quarantine a state.”Under the 10th Amendment to the US Constitution, the states have the power to police their territory and not the federal government. The authority to require businesses to close during a public health crisis is a police power, as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, external, and therefore lies with the states.

It is hard to say for certain what the courts would decide if Trump wanted to challenge state restrictions as there is no clear precedent, but experts agree that there is no formal legal authority to override the state orders currently in place.

The daily UK briefing is due in about half an hour. We'll have all the updates here so stay with us.

While we wait, here's the latest news from the UK:

• One in five deaths is now linked to coronavirus
• A special report by the OBR says the economy could shrink by 35% before bouncing back
• A 99-year-old veteran has raised £2m for the NHS by walking around his garden
• Charities have accused the government of "airbrushing" elderly coronavirus victims out of its statistics as official figures do not include deaths in care homes or the community
• A nurse who died of coronavirus "paid the ultimate price" due to a lack of PPE, one of his friends has said, adding to a growing row about protection for frontline workers

A field hospital built to help the UK cope with coronavirus currently has no patients or staff, the BBC has learned.

Work on the NHS Birmingham Nightingale Hospital was completed last week, but the facility - which has 500 beds and capacity for 1,000 more - stands empty.

A spokesperson for NHS England said that they were not staffing the temporary facility because the 23 local hospitals that feed into it haven’t needed to use it.

They added that the Nightingale can be opened and staffed with 24-48 hours notice, should the situation change.

A medic in the West Midlands told the BBC: “Birmingham Nightingale has stood down for the moment. Medics have been told not to come to Nightingale as of yesterday and will be called upon when needed.”

The Midlands is the second worst hit NHS Trust area in the UK.

More than 2,000 deaths have been reported in the region - more than anywhere except London.

Several temporary field hospitals have been created around the UK in response to coronavirus. This map plots some of their locations

Image source, AFP

Coin-makers in the UK have switched gears to making supplies to help with the fight against Covid-19.

It took just 48 hours for engineers at the Royal Mint to come up with a face-shield design and get it approved for mass manufacturing.

“My sister works for the NHS and it really focuses your mind on the challenges they are facing and the opportunity we have to support them," director of operations Leighton John told Wales Online. , external

Across the pond in Ottawa, Ontario, the Royal Canadian Mint was pivoting to hand sanitiser and face shields.

But manufacturing hit a snag when a shipment of hydrogen peroxide was waylaid at the US border.

So employees went out and bought it themselves, spokeswoman Alison Crawford told the National Post. , external

"The woman [at the pharmacy] said I could take as much as I want and that I could come back for more,” she said.

We're expecting the UK's daily press briefing to start in about an hour.

With Boris Johnson still recovering from coronavirus, it's being led by the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak.

He'll be joined by Prof Stephen Powis, NHS England's medical director, and Prof Yvonne Doyle, from Public Health England.

With today's headlines dominated by concerns for the economy, we can expect Mr Sunak to be questioned about whether the government is doing enough to protect people's jobs and livelihoods.

Despite the shutdown of much of the music and film industry, many stars are still finding ways to perform - and some are even holding reunions.

Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale are among the cast of 2010's High School Musical who are coming back together to perform in Disney's Family Singalong on Thursday.

Ariane Grande and Christina Aguilera - also both former Disney stars - will also both reportedly join them to sing classic Disney hits.

And they're not the only ones to hold a reunion.

Take That singer Gary Barlow has been performing with celebrity pals including Cliff Richard and JLS during lockdown.

Now, he's teamed up with former group member Robbie Williams in a duet of their 2010 hit Shame, which they recorded in a video call from their homes.

Image source, Birgitta Zoutman Photography

A photographer whose work has stopped during the coronavirus crisis has been documenting her community in a series of doorstep pictures.

Birgitta Zoutman, from Shrewsbury, Shropshire in England, started photographing neighbours while on her daily cycle ride and sharing them on her Facebook page.

The pandemic forced her to close her studio and she said it felt "so good to be doing what I love again".

Pictures are free but Miss Zoutman asks for a donation to a local food bank.

More photos of lockdown life here.

Image source, Birgitta Zoutman Photography

Image source, BBC Marathi

Police have used force to disperse a large crowd of migrant workers who defied the lockdown in place in the western city of Mumbai.

They thought that the lockdown would end today and gathered at a railway station to return home, state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh told BBC Marathi.

The lockdown was due to end on 15 April, but on Tuesday Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that it would be extended until 3 May.

However, opposition leaders claimed the protests were about a lack of food and job security. Many of these workers are paid daily and have been left without any income due to the lockdown.

Thousands are said to have begun walking to their villages from cities such as Mumbai and the capital Delhi. But those left behind are stuck in the city as all district and state borders in the country have been sealed.

This is the second violent incident involving migrant and daily-wage workers.

A few days ago a large number of migrant workers protested on the streets of Surat, in the western state of Gujarat. A number of shops were set on fire.

Image source, Getty Images

The UK’s mobile networks have reported 20 cases of phone masts being targeted in suspected arson attacks over the weekend.

Conspiracy theories falsely claiming the 5G network has caused or helped accelerate the spread of Covid-19 have been circulating.

News of the attacks came as media regulator Ofcom announced earlier today it was assessing comments made by ITV presenter Eamonn Holmes about 5G technology and coronavirus.

Trade group Mobile UK said the reported cases had been in England, Wales and Scotland. The figure represents a lower incidence rate than had been the case the previous weekend.

There were also cases reported in the Netherlands over the weekend and a suspected case in Ireland.

Read more here.

Szu Ping Chan
Business Reporter, BBC News

Image source, Reuters

The global economy will contract by 3% this year as countries around the world shrink at the fastest pace in decades, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.

It described the global decline as the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

It said the pandemic had plunged the world into a "crisis like no other".

The IMF added that a prolonged outbreak would test the ability of governments and central banks to control the crisis.

Gita Gopinath, the IMF's chief economist, said the crisis could knock $9 trillion (£7.2tn) off global GDP over the next two years.

Read more here.

Gambling addicts could be at greater risk during the coronavirus pandemic despite a lack of top-level sport, the leading UK charity for problem gamblers says.

GamCare has noted more people seeking to end self-exclusion schemes that stop them accessing online betting.

In the UK, football is suspended indefinitely and there will be no horse racing until the end of April at least.

"Contributing factors to the addiction, such as financial distress, isolation and boredom, are increasing with Covid-19 and the Government measures," said GamCare chief executive Anna Hemmings.

Read more on this story here.

Image source, Getty Images

As the UK enters it fourth week of lockdown, conservationists say they have seen some hidden benefits of the restrictions in the natural world.

With fewer people in urban environments and much less traffic on the roads, scientists say there could be gains particularly for our native mammals.

David Wembridge, of the People's Trust For Endangered Species, said: "In the places that are normally noisy, busy and dominated by human activity, there will be a lot more space for animals and wildlife so a lot of species will respond to that."

Prof Dawn Scott, from Keele University, added: "If you go out exercising and you're on your own, it's quite quiet and you're likely to come across things you've not seen before - animals such as foxes, badgers, hedgehogs, deer - animals that usually are quite sensitive to disturbance."

Coronavirus-related deaths in UK hospitals have risen to 12,107, an increase of 778 on yesterday's total.

The UK Department of Health said as of 09.00 BST on Tuesday, 302,599 people have been tested of whom 93,873 were positive.

Overall, 382,650 tests have been concluded, with 14,982 tests carried out on Sunday, excluding Northern Ireland.

Care homes in the UK have been "left behind" when it comes to personal protective equipment and testing for coronavirus, Baroness Ros Altmann has told the BBC.

"There are a lot more people apparently dying in care homes without having seen a doctor, without the normal care and treatment that you would hope they were able to receive," added the former pensions minister.

She said that the health system was "stacked against" people in care homes, after new figures were released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

The figures, which cover every community death linked to Covid-19 in England and Wales, showed that a total of 406 such deaths registered up to 3 April had occurred outside of hospitals.

Of those extra deaths, 217 took place in care homes, 33 in hospices, 136 in private homes, three in other communal establishments and 17 elsewhere.

About 410,000 people live in 11,300 care homes for older people in the UK, supplied by 5,500 different providers.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has responded to an OBR report that says the UK economy could shrink by 35%.

He said the figure represented "just one potential scenario" but added the government had to be honest that there was "hardship ahead".

The opposition Labour party have also responded to the OBR. New shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said: “Behind these very concerning figures lie many businesses which have gone bust and many people who have lost their jobs.

“Labour has been working constructively with Government on its economic support package. It is clear that additional action needs to be taken to increase the take-up of the different measures. We have called for urgent action in relation to the loans scheme in particular, as take-up is worryingly low."

Image source, Lucia Buricelli

BBC World online journalist Kelly-Leigh Cooper has written about living alone in lockdown, speaking to women around the world in similar positions.

Professor Stephanie Cacioppo, an expert in behavioural neuroscience and psychiatry at the University of Chicago, advises people to plan life only in the short-term, even one or two days ahead.

Trying to set three manageable goals per day, she suggests, can help instil a feeling of accomplishment.

"Then you can go to bed more peaceful because you know you have a structure and something to do - a purpose - for tomorrow," added Dr Cacioppo.

Click here to read more tips and advice.

Image source, PA Media

The president of Ireland's Sinn Fein party, Mary Lou McDonald, says she is "responding well" to medication after health complications caused by coronavirus.

Ms McDonald said she was "very unwell" for weeks before testing positive for the virus over the weekend and also developing post-viral pleurisy in her right lung.

In a statement she said the infection had been "a setback" in her recovery but said she is no longer infectious and hopes to return to work next week.

There are nearly two million confirmed cases of coronavirus in 185 countries, according to research by Johns Hopkins University.

About 120,000 people have died and the death toll is still climbing.

But - as the chart above shows - more people have been recovering from the infection than dying with it.

See more charts and maps plotting the pandemic here.

Britain's independent tax and spending watchdog has warned the coronavirus pandemic could trigger a record 35% drop in UK growth by June.

The Office for Budget Responsibility said that this was based on an assumption that the current lockdown would last for three months.

Under this scenario, unemployment would hit 10%, up from its current 3.9% rate.

However, once restrictions are lifted, the OBR said it expected growth to recover quickly with no lasting damage.

The OBR outlined the potential hit to the economy and public finances in a special report on Tuesday., external

The BBC's economics editor, Faisal Islam, said: "These sorts of numbers are anticipated across the developed world, as most nations pursue forms of shutdown to control the spread of the virus and protect health systems from being overwhelmed.

"The forecast declines illustrate the difficult balancing act for the government in deciding when and how to lift lockdowns, now not expected until May at the earliest."

Read Faisal's analysis in full.

Image source, Getty Images

South Africa says it is succeeding in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, with a nationwide lockdown showing signs of containing the disease, for now. More than 2,000 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed there.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has announced a 14-day extension of the lockdown in the capital Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states.

Ugandan opposition politician Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, says he has partnered with an American businessman to airlift Africans out of China, where they have been facing harrassment after racist rumours suggested they were spreading the virus.

Sudan's capital Khartoum will go on a three-week lockdown from Saturday.

In Kenya, dozens of people were arrested over Easter after they were found drinking in bars and flouting strict measures to curtail the spread of the virus.

The International Monetary Fund has approved immediate debt service relief for 19 African countries for an initial period of six months to enable them to channel financial resources towards dealing with the pandemic.

The government of Eswatini, the southern African country formerly known as Swaziland, has denied media reports that its leader King Mswati III has contracted Covid-19.

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