From discussions about whether the public should wear face masks to concerns about the impact of the lockdown on businesses - here are the latest coronavirus updates from the UK:

• 20,000 households in England are being contacted to take part in a study to track coronavirus in the general population
• The government’s scientific advisers are expected to present their findings to ministers later on whether the public should wear face masks
• A New Zealand nurse credited with helping to save Boris Johnson’s life has spoken about her experience of treating the prime minister for coronavirus
• The government is facing pressure to give businesses “hope” after a warning social distancing could last for the rest of the year
• It comes as the UK’s budget deficit is set to see “an absolutely colossal increase to a level not seen in peacetime”, according to the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies
• Prince Louis has been photographed making a colourful rainbow poster - a symbol of hope during the lockdown - to mark his second birthday

The death toll in the Netherlands has risen by 123 in the past 24 hours, reaching 4,177, officials say.

The country's Institute for Public Health (RIVM) says the number of infections increased by 887 to 35,729.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says changes to social measures aimed at containing the virus "will need to be careful, gradual, incremental and probably quite small to start with".

"We'll need to assess them in advance and monitor them in action - sometimes, as I said a moment ago, we may even have to reverse things," she says.

"I can't stand here and promise you that it's going to get a whole lot easier soon."

"But as I hope we have started to set out today, if we keep doing the right things and if we consider all of the options carefully and with the right objectives in mind, I do believe there will be a way through and we will find that way through."

Image source, Getty Images

The women's football European Championship, which was due to take place next summer, has been moved to 6-31 July 2022.

The tournament - which will be held in England - would have clashed with the men's event which was delayed from this summer because of coronavirus.

The move also means it won't be played in the same summer as the Tokyo Olympics, which also has a women's football tournament.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says "a return to normal as we knew it is not on the cards in the near future".

"What we will be seeking to do, is find a new normal. A way of living alongside this virus, but in a form that keeps it under control and stops it taking the toll that we know it can do." she says.

"Social distancing and limiting of contacts with others will be a fact of life for a long time to come, certainly until treatments and ultimately a vaccine offer different solutions.

"So that means possibly for the rest of this year, and maybe even beyond."

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says the lockdown measures to contain the virus are doing damage to the economy, living standards, children's education and aspects of our physical and mental health.

Speaking at her daily briefing in Edinburgh, she says: "We cannot and we must not take our eye off the need to suppress the virus and minimise the damage that it does.

But she adds: "We must try to find a better balance than the one we have right now."

Sturgeon says the proposals she's publishing today, external are not a detailed plan of action but look in general at how to shift the balance between keeping necessary restrictions in place and re-establishing some sort of normality.

In the United States, Attorney General William Barr has compared coronavirus shutdowns to "house arrest" and said the Justice Department could take legal action against states.

Speaking on radio programme The Hugh Hewitt Show, Barr said: "These are unprecedented burdens on civil liberties. The idea you have to stay in your house is disturbingly close to house arrest.

"We're looking carefully at a number of these rules and if we think one goes too far, we initially try to jawbone the governors into rolling them back or adjusting them. If they're not and people bring lawsuits, we [will] file statement of interest and side with the plaintiffs."

Barr's comments come after President Trump on Friday published a series of tweets calling for Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia to be "liberated". Protests have been held in those and other states with people pushing to end lockdown rules.

The United States has the highest number of coronavirus deaths of any country in the world, with more than 46,700 fatalities.

Image source, Getty Images

A rainbow tribute to the NHS, made up of 5,000 flowers, has been organised by a team at University College London Hospital.

The original idea came from oncoplastic breast surgeon Cheryl Lobo, pictured below with the finished rainbow.

Image source, Twitter

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirms that a further 58 people who have tested positive for coronavirus have died, taking the total number of deaths in Scotland to 1,120.

She extends her "deepest condolences" to those who have lost a loved one.

China's ambassador to the UK says coronavirus "does not discriminate between races" and "blaming and scapegoating is futile" in the face of the current crisis.

Last month, US President Donald Trump was criticised for describing Covid-19 as the "Chinese virus".

Speaking at a news conference in London, Liu Xiaoming says: "Arrogance and insolence will only poison the cooperation between countries.

"It is against the human conscience to deliberately put various labels on a specific regime, and stigmatise a specific country.

"Such a move will only drive a wedge between countries, undermine international cooperation and harm the interests of all mankind."

Image source, Norway Ministry of Transport

It's the question we've all been asking ourselves during the lockdown: how can you hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony?

Norway has the answer. Transport minister Knut Arild Hareide decided to officially open a new subsea tunnel to the peninsular city of Stavanger by video link from his office in Oslo.

The minister called it the "first digital road opening in Norway", and praised the way people had come up with "creative solutions" to the challenges posed by the global pandemic.

Some more quotes from Dr Hans Kluge, the World Health Organisation's regional director for Europe, who has said that almost half of the coronavirus deaths in Europe were residents in care facilities (see 11:14 entry).

Speaking at a news conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, Dr Kluge called for greater efforts to protect residents and said carers needed help and supplies.

He said: "Those dying in homes from Covid-19 have the right to be attended to and to receive end of life care including symptom relief with adequate medication surrounded by their loved ones.

"The dedicated, compassionate people working in long-term care facilities who are so often overstretched, underpaid and unprotected are the unsung heroes of this pandemic.

"We must do all we can to ensure those workers have personal protective equipment and other essential supplies to protect themselves and those they care for."

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

By the time children under 14 are allowed out of their homes again on Sunday, Spain's lockdown will have been in place for six weeks.

The government has now given details of how it'll work under a so-called 1-1-1 rule. Up to three children will be allowed out with one responsible adult for one hour and for up to 1km (0.6 miles) from their home.

Most families live in flats so for the 6.8 million children involved this is a big moment. They will be allowed to run or scoot, and play with a ball or other toys, between 09:00 and 21:00. But parks and playgrounds will stay out of bounds and social distancing will have to continue.

The government initially said children could only go to the shops with their parents but they relented when faced with a chorus of criticism and now say running, jumping and exercising will be allowed too.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

The UK government is looking at setting up a tracking system to see how much of the population has had the virus, and what sort of immunity they have.

Around 300,000 people will be sent swab kits, and some may even be asked to do their own blood tests.

But this, like the hunt for a vaccine, is unlikely to bear fruit until next year. So the government is emphasising people need to continue with social distancing.

And piecing together the disparate advice on face masks, the general public are not being told to wear them. This might change for vulnerable groups and people who can't distance at work, but experts are currently more concerned that wearing a face mask could make people more relaxed about other, more important measures.

Image source, Getty Images

The boss of Ryanair says the budget airline will not resume flights if it has to keep middle seats empty to fight Covid-19, calling the idea "idiotic".

Michael O'Leary said empty seats didn't ensure safe social distancing and were financially unviable.

You might remember that easyJet, Emirates and Delta in the US have all said they plan to keep middle seats empty.

But Mr O'Leary said that if the Irish government imposed it as a rule, it would have to pay for the middle seat "or we won't fly".

Read his comments in full here.

Image source, Reuters

Mexico's economy in the doldrums and some children return to school in Uruguay - here's the latest on the coronavirus pandemic in Latin America.

• Peru is going to release about 3,000 prisoners who are most at risk of contracting coronavirus. The justice minister said pregnant inmates, those with children and those 70 and older would be among those given an amnesty
• Confirmed cases of coronavirus in Mexico have passed the 10,000 mark. Mexico's president says he will increase spending on social programmes and infrastructure projects by more than $25.6bn (£20.7bn) with the economy expected to contract by as much as 10% this year
• In Uruguay, hundreds of primary schools have reopened after staying closed for five weeks. But it is up to parents to decide whether they want to send their children back to school.

The UK government is arranging a special charter flight to Australia, external for around 40 British travellers stranded in Fiji.

The flight will depart from Nadi for Melbourne on 29 April, where passengers will be able to access a commercial flight to London. Spare seats on the flight will be offered to EU nationals who wish to return to their countries of residence.

There are currently no commercial flight options from Fiji - which has also been hit by Cyclone Harold this month - and the government is urging all British travellers who want to return home to book on the flight at the Fiji Travel Advice page, external.

The government has helped more than 1.3 million Britons fly back to the UK so far but tens of thousands are still stranded, the head of the Foreign Office said on Tuesday.

Managing your own hair during the lockdown has become a real headache for many.

Have a look at our simple tutorials by professional hair stylists: they have tips on cutting long, short or curly hair - as well as a grown-out fringe, or managing afro hair.

Joshua Cheetham
BBC World Online

Image source, Rajnish Shah

An estimated 150,000 merchant sailors are currently stranded at sea - unable to leave because of travel restrictions, even though their contracts may have expired.

Rajnish Shah captains a bulk carrier docked in Chittagong, Bangladesh. He had planned to return to India after finishing a four-month contract. He's been aboard for eight months now - some crew have been there a whole year.

“As a Master I need to be in control of this situation, but as a father and husband I’m worried and sad,” he told the BBC.

Shipping firms insist they are taking steps to support sailors, but some groups say they're not doing enough.

“This is not the time to throw away hard-won and hard-fought-for civil, human rights, labour rights,” says David Hammond, the head of charity Human Rights at Sea. “We need to protect [seafarers] because they are ultimately keeping the world fed and supported.”

Angie Brown
BBC Scotland news reporter

Garden centres across the UK say they still have plants waiting to be sold, despite the impact of the coronavirus lockdown.

The industry warned last month that millions of plants may have to be thrown away after centres were forced to close.

But Matthew Bailey, general manager of Mortonhall Garden Centre in Edinburgh, said it was "ready to go" if the rules were relaxed.

And he stressed they had not been forced to destroy all their stock.

"We did give hundreds of flowering house plants away when the lockdown was announced to hospitals because we wanted them to be seen while they were flowering - but we still have thousands more high quality plants left," he said. Staff had continued to water, feed and tend to their plants.

Mortonhall is part of the Klondyke chain of family-run garden centres across Britain.

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