Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Some Conservative MPs have been raising concerns about the impact of the UK lockdown on businesses.

One of them, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, treasurer of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the UK needed to start a discussion "about how we get back to normality" or some businesses would have to cease trading.

In response, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said while some businesses were able to reopen with social distancing measures in place, the best way to protect the public and the NHS was to stay at home as much as possible.

“One of the most damaging things for our economy would be if we came out of lockdown too early," he said, adding that this would risk a second peak.

Image source, AFP

Germany on Thursday agreed on a further aid package to help its economy weather the coronavirus crisis. The extra 10.8bn euros (£9.4bn, $11.7bn) are to go to tax cuts for businesses and additional employment benefits for workers. Families will also get help to buy computers for children studying from home.

Workers staying at home due to the lockdown will now receive 70-77% of their net salary from the fourth month of unemployment, a 10% increase over what they got for the first three months. From the seventh month, they will receive 80-87%.

The additional package comes as Germany takes its first steps to reopen the economy after the government said the pandemic was being brought under control.

Amid lockdowns and economic slowdowns during this global pandemic, one industry has seem a grim surge in business - the funeral industry.

For funeral directors W Uden & Sons in south-east London, their workload has doubled in recent months.

The pandemic has also changed the way they operate: Undertakers have to wear full protective equipment when collecting Covid-19 victims from hospital mortuaries.

Watch how they work:

While most have been told to stay at home to fight coronavirus, some low-paid key workers in hospitals, supermarkets and other workplaces must risk their health to keep the UK running.

We speak to some of them:

Image source, The Duchess of Cambridge

New photographs have been released by Kensington Palace of Prince Louis, who celebrates his second birthday today.

The images, taken by his mother the Duchess of Cambridge, show the young royal making a rainbow poster - which has become a symbol of hope during the coronavirus lockdown.

Similar pictures by children have appeared in windows across the country.

See and read more about the photographs here.

Image source, The Duchess of Cambridge

Image source, Reuters

Members of the Fort Myers Police Department in Florida came up with this novel way of thanking the health workers battling coronavirus in the US.

They made a heart out of police cars in a local hospital car park to show their appreciation.

Image source, AFP

Chancellor Merkel said controlling the virus was a huge challenge for the cohesion of Europe.

"It's the biggest challenge since World War Two, for the life and health of our people," she told the Bundestag - the lower house of parliament.

Later on Thursday she will join other EU leaders in a video conference on the crisis.

She said that by continuing "with maximum discipline, we can get back to living in security faster". She warned that such discipline was needed to avoid stop-start lockdowns.

"We must not waste what has been achieved already," she said, praising the efficiency of Germany's healthcare system and the armed forces' assistance in the national effort.

Her government's decisions in this crisis "have no historical model", she said.

"The question of how we can prevent the virus from overwhelming our health system and subsequently costing the lives of countless people, this question will for a long time be the central question for politics in Germany and Europe."

She said Europe must strengthen its capacity to produce specialised medical kit, instead of depending on global supplies, which are now very stretched.

Coronavirus spreads easily and the majority of the world's population is still vulnerable to it.

A vaccine would provide some protection by training people's immune systems to fight the virus.

But how easy is it to create a vaccine? And when could we expect one to be ready? Our health correspondent Laura Foster takes a look:

BBC News readers have been getting in touch to ask questions about the coronavirus and how it is affecting people.

Here's one of them: Is it legal for a company to ask people to return to work during the lockdown period?

Or: Can personal protection equipment (PPE) be put in the wash or left for a few days to let the virus die?

Read the answers and ask your own questions here.

Image source, AFP

Germany's confirmed virus cases have increased by 2,352 to 148,046, officials said on Thursday. The number of deaths linked to Covid-19 has risen by 215 to now 5,094.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged the nation to remain "clever and cautious" in handling the next phase of the coronavirus epidemic.

Speaking in parliament, she said "it's not the end phase but still just the beginning. We will be with it for a long time".

She said "I know how difficult the restrictions are, it’s a challenge to democracy, it limits our democratic rights". But she said democratic transparency, such as a free press, helped to make the situation tolerable.

"It's amazing how much understanding people have shown for each other," she said. MPs frequently applauded her.

Virus-hit cruise the Ruby Princess has now left Australian waters, five weeks after it first docked in Sydney.

It was given a "water salute" as it left Pork Kembla, south of Sydney. A spokesman from the cruise operator Carnival Australia, told the Guardian newspaper that the ship was headed to the Philippines.

The ship has been Australia's largest source of infections after thousands of passengers were allowed to disembark with no health checks, despite the fact that around a dozen passengers reported feeling sick and had swabs taken for Covid-19.

The other passengers on board weren't told of this.

The ship has been linked to more than 600 confirmed cases in Australia and 21 deaths.

Read more about the cruise ship debacle here.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, PA Media

Northern Ireland may emerge from coronavirus restrictions at a different pace than other parts of the UK, First Minister Arlene Foster says.

She said measures would be eased when scientific and public health criteria were met, regardless of timetables or dates.

Read more here.

Katya Adler
Europe Editor

Image source, Getty Images

As we said earlier, EU leaders are due to meet by video conference for a summit on Thursday afternoon.

They're expected to sign off on a new €540bn (£470bn; $575bn) emergency fund to protect European workers, businesses and countries worst affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

The fund was difficult to agree between member states, but they got there in the end. After considerable push and pull, plus a dramatic intervention by French President Emmanuel Macron, who threatened the end of the EU if agreement wasn't found.

Brussels boasts that, in addition to the fund, EU members have been sharing protective medical equipment and specialist medical teams with one another. In some cases, they've also been treating each other's patients.

The leaders are also expected to approve common measures for gradually lifting coronavirus restrictions. This does not mean co-ordinating an EU-wide end of the lockdown. Each country has its own health service, with different infection patterns and different curbs in place.

Read more here.

The debate about whether ordinary people should wear masks continues here in the UK - and worldwide, too.

The UK government is not currently advising most people to do so.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says only those who are ill for caring for those who potentially have coronavirus should wear masks.

Read more about face masks here.

Image source, Getty Images

• US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to temporarily suspend the approval of some immigration green cards - a measure he says will protect American workers' jobs during the outbreak
• European Union leaders will meet today for a video summit, where they are expected to sign off on a new emergency fund to help the most affected sectors and regions

• Vietnam started to ease coronavirus social distancing measures on Thursday. With only 284 recorded virus cases, the country has been seen as a model for how low-income nations can contain the disease
• The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against complacency in the fight against coronavirus, saying the disease "will be with us for a long time"

The earliest "realistic" point by which schools in England could re-open is 1 June, head teachers' leader Geoff Barton has said.

"We cannot see any realistic way that schools could be reopened to more pupils before the second half of the summer term," he said.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has said no date has been set.

He said if and when five thresholds in the fight against coronavirus were reached, a date could be agreed for schools to reopen. These are:

• The NHS's ability to cope is fully protected
• Daily death rate dropping
• Infection rates falling to manageable levels
• There are sufficient supplies of testing and protective equipment
• There is no risk of a "second peak" of infections

Read more about what it would take for schools to re-open here.

Image source, Getty Images

European Union leaders are expected to sign off on a huge rescue package for countries hardest-hit by the coronavirus crisis when they hold a video conference later on Thursday.

The 500bn euro (£438bn) package was agreed after bitter debate between richer countries in the north of the EU, and weaker economies in the south which have suffered most from the pandemic.

Five things you need to know about the coronavirus outbreak this morning.

The health of children could be put at risk as parents avoid hospitals during the virus outbreak, doctors have warned.

The number admitted to Wales' biggest children's hospital has fallen by about 75%, compared to last year.

Doctors say potentially life-threatening conditions like meningitis may be missed if parents do not seek help.

"We are anxious other conditions that need urgent treatment including meningitis and sepsis are not being missed and want to reassure parents that children's departments are open and are safe," said Dr Jennifer Evans, a paediatric consultant at the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital.

Here's what one parent had to say.