Alex Murray
BBC News

Analysis by BBC News suggests 103 healthcare workers are now believed to have died from coronavirus. 53 were men, 49 women.

Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people represent 65 of those deaths, where we have been able to establish ethnicity. Thirteen have been reported as Filipino.

• Are ethnic minorities being hit hardest by coronavirus?

We've been unable to verify whether these people tested positive for the virus. Instead, our information comes from public reports where the family or workplace have said their death was related to Covid-19.

Of the doctors who we believe were working in a hospital environment, all 16 were BAME and male, with a significant majority over 50.

Medical staff account for 22 deaths; nursing and midwifery 34 deaths; allied occupations 47 deaths.

It is unclear how many contracted the virus in the course of their work in the health sector.

Separate analysis by Health Service Journal, external suggest that the rate of death is "largely consistent with the number of healthcare workers in the population".

We will be hearing from the UK government shortly with its daily briefing on coronavirus. But while we wait, why not watch this handy debunking of common virus myths?

A 100-year-old man in the US has died of Covid-19 - more than a century after losing his twin brother to the 1918 flu pandemic, his grandson told CNN.

Philip and Samuel Kahn were born on 5 December 1919. Samuel died of the flu just weeks later. The Spanish Flu is thought to have killed between 50-100 million people worldwide, and about 675,000 in the US.

Philip, a World War Two veteran, feared another pandemic would happen in his lifetime, his grandson Warren Zysman told CNN.

"I would have conversations with him and he would say to me, 'I told you history repeats itself, 100 years is not that long of a period of time.'"

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:

• Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon set out a plan for a phased lifting of Scotland's lockdown, but she stressed it could change as evidence shifted
• The government is to ask 20,000 households in England to take part in a trial to track the spread of the virus and immunity levels
• The nurse who treated Boris Johnson said the prime minister was "just another patient"
• Tory MPs are pressuring the government to give "hope" to businesses on the end of the lockdown

Artist Anna Chojnicka has created a new form of art while in quarantine having been sick with suspected coronavirus - banana art.

Using "the end of a comb" she pricks the bananas, puts pressure on them and makes pictures by bruising them.

Her subjects of inspiration have included a nurse, the Beatles, Disney characters, animals and Amy Winehouse.

Take a look at Anna's unique art skills in the video below.

Jonathan Beale
BBC defence correspondent

Image source, EPA

The Royal Navy has postponed the sailing of its aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in order to carry out coronavirus testing of its 800 crew.

HMS Queen Elizabeth had been due to sail from Portsmouth on Tuesday without any of the crew being tested, but the Navy says extra capacity means all crew will now be screened for Covid-19.

The plan is to then "self isolate" at sea for two weeks to ensure there is no virus outbreak.

We're expecting the UK government's daily press conference in about 45 minutes.

Today we'll be hearing from Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Sir Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser, and Prof John Newton, coordinator of the UK coronavirus testing programme.

Expect questions about testing, protective equipment and whether the devolved administrations are beginning to diverge from the Westminster government.

We'll have all the updates right here.

Helier Cheung
BBC News, Washington DC

Small businesses in the US have been hurting badly because of the outbreak - a $349bn loan programme for small businesses ran out of money within two weeks.

Daniel Victory owns Victory Bar in New Orleans, and says "the outbreak totally shut me down".

"I have two kids, so it's difficult - I haven't had a pay cheque in a month-and-a-half.

"I just don't see how we'll be able to recover - in downtown New Orleans we depend on tourists. I'm scared I'm going to become another mom-and-pop shop that's closed down."

Image source, Crista Rock

Lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have gathered to debate a new $484bn (£390bn) relief package meant to revive loan funding for small businesses and provide additional funds to hospitals and coronavirus testing.

The vote is expected at 13:30 EST (17:30 GMT).

It comes as the number of jobless claims filed by Americans since mid-March reach 26.4 million.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has revealed her older brother has died after contracting Covid-19.

In a series of tweets on Thursday, the former presidential hopeful paid tribute to the 86-year-old, as well as the staff who looked after him before his death.

Dan Roan
BBC Sports editor

The mayor of Liverpool City Region has called for an investigation into whether a Champions League fixture should have taken place in the city in March amid concerns it could have led to a high number of local coronavirus cases.

Liverpool's match against Atletico Madrid at Anfield on 11 March was attended by 52,000 supporters, including 3,000 from the Spanish capital, where a partial lockdown was already in force.

The UK government has defended its decision to allow such events to go ahead before restrictions on mass gatherings were enforced 10 days later.

Mayor Steve Rotheram said: "If people have contracted coronavirus as a direct result of a sporting event that we believe shouldn't have taken place, well that is scandalous."

Read more here.

Helier Cheung
BBC News, Washington DC

The latest job loss figures in the US mean that 15% of the workforce have filed for unemployment.

It's a staggering statistic - and there's a human story behind each of the numbers too. Many Americans were in jobs that are normally considered secure - or lost jobs they had had for more than a decade.

Stanley Chen, for example, has worked as an automotive technician for more than 30 years. He was furloughed from his job in Texas this month, and his wife has been forced to shut her hair salon too.

He says: "This is the first time in my life in America that I've had no job. We don't really have enough right now - previously, we had another salon, and then Hurricane Harvey destroyed the area, so we lost a lot of money."

Read more: Stories of unemployment, fear and hope in the US

Image source, Stanley Chen

Uefa, European football's governing body, has decided to stick with the Euro 2020 branding of its flagship national competition which has been postponed until next summer.

It said: "A lot of branded material had already been produced by the time of the tournament’s postponement. A change to the name of the event would have meant the destruction and reproduction of such items."

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, EPA

US air fares have fallen by nearly 40% and are continuing to decline, according to the Airbus risk-management subsidiary Skytra., external

It says airlines in the North America region have been offering big discounts on the services they are still running.

Average fares in the US-dominated region are now down 37.8% since 1 January, Skytra says.

Meanwhile, ticket pricing in Europe and Asia is bottoming out, with 20.7% and 13% year-to-date declines respectively. This is a slight improvement from a week earlier.

The 1960s hit song Pata Pata by the South Africa anti-apartheid artist Miriam Makeba has been re-released with new lyrics aimed at beating the spread of coronavirus.

Beninoise singer Angelique Kidjo, who was mentored by Makeba, sings the new version with words that encourage hand-washing and keeping a safe distance.

“Pata” means “light touch” in Xhosa. Some of the new lines include:

• It's a time to ‘sit it out’. This is ‘no pata-pata’... Stay at home and wait it out.
• We need to keep our hands clean.
• So ‘no pata pata’... Don’t touch your face, keep distance please.

The UN children's agency, which organised the release, says it will be played across Africa.

The original version was once called the world's most defiantly joyful song.

"Pata Pata has always been there for people at a time of struggle. I hope it helps once more," Unicef quoted artist Kidjo as saying.

We heard from Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon earlier who said Scotland was likely to face a phased relaxing of restrictions, adding that a "grown-up conversation" was needed around the situation.

When asked whether the UK government was treating people as grown-ups by not discussing more detail on possible lockdown exit strategies, the prime minister's official spokesman replied: "It is."

The spokesman insisted that the public was involved in discussions, saying "that is exactly what is happening" and he rejected suggestions that the five tests for easing restrictions were vague.

Here's more from our health correspondent Nick Triggle on the "five tests" the UK must meet before restrictions are eased, as set out by the government.

Robert Cuffe
BBC head of statistics

Tuesday’s jump to 823 deaths reported in a day didn’t mean that the epidemic was growing again.

Today’s fall to 616 doesn’t mean that it’s disappearing rapidly.

The pattern in these data is still a gradual, bumpy decline from a peak of 980 on 10 April.

The peaks and troughs are exacerbated by reporting lags, especially at weekends.

The picture of decline is further supported by NHS England’s analysis of deaths on the day they actually occur – this shows a smooth rise to a peak in the week before Easter and a smoother, gradual decline since then.

Image source, Getty Images

Readers just joining us from the US - here's what's been happening.

• Lawmakers in the House of Representatives will vote today on a fresh relief package worth $484bn (£390bn) - expanding loan funding for struggling small businesses

• Yesterday President Donald Trump signed an executive order to temporarily suspend the approval of some immigration green cards. He insists the move aims to protect American jobs, after more than 20 million filed for unemployment during the outbreak

• Dr Rick Bright, a senior health official who had been leading the US effort to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, has said he believes he was removed from his post after pushing back against recommending the use of a drug, hydroxychloroquine, to treat coronavirus because of the lack of scientific evidence. There has been no response from the administration of President Trump, who has often touted the drug as a "game changer"

• The total number of cases in the country is now above 840,000 with more than 46,700 deaths

A total of 18,738 patients have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 17:00 BST on Wednesday, the Department of Health says, up by 616 from the previous day.

The figures do not include those who died in care homes or in the community.

The World Health Organization has also been briefing about the "deeply concerning" coronavirus toll among care home residents across Europe.

"There is no fast track to the new normal" said Dr Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, who warned the world would remain in "very turbulent water" for some time to come.

Watch what else he had to say.