Number of people known to have died from the coronavirus passes 200,000 - Johns Hopkins University
More than 20,000 deaths in hospitals in the UK - the fifth country to pass that milestone
World Health Organization says people who have recovered may not be protected against reinfection
Italy marks anniversary of liberation after WWII with socially distanced flag-waving from balconies
Belgium unveils plans to reopen shops from 11 May and schools a week later
Online scams have cost the UK public £2.4m - criminals also trying to sell fake protective equipment and testing kits
The coronavirus death toll in Italy has risen by 415 - the smallest daily tally since 17 March - to 26,384 people.
There has been a total of 195,351 cases, a rise of 2,357.
Italy has the second highest number of fatalities in the world after the United States.
Image source, AFPPeople in Italy have marked Liberation Day by not going out and joining mass gatherings as they normally would. Instead, they've been waving flags from their windows and singing a resistance song.
Today marks the 75th anniversary of Italy's liberation from Nazi German occupation.
Usually veterans march through towns across the country, but these events were cancelled due to the lockdown. The entire country has been in lockdown since 9 March. Nearly 26,000 people have died.
At 15:00 (13:00 GMT) people sang Bella Ciao, the anthem of the resistance. In Rome, the Italian Air Force's aerobatics team conducted a flypast.
Italian Defence Minister Lorenzo Guerin called on people to overcome the crisis by drawing on the values of unity and solidarity shown in the resistance during World War Two.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Image source, Reuters
Image source, AFP
Image source, ReutersImmunity passports ‘could increase virus spread’
Governments should not issue so-called "immunity passports" or "risk-free certificates" as a way of easing lockdowns, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.
It said there was "no evidence" that people who had developed antibodies after recovering from the virus were protected against a second infection.
Immunity passports could actually increase virus transmission, it warned.
People who assumed they were immune might stop taking precautions, the WHO said.
Some governments have considered permitting people who have recovered to travel or return to work.
With a final plea from Priti Patel to the public to "stay strong" and to continue to back the "extraordinary national effort" against the virus outbreak, the briefing is brought to a close.
Prof Powis is pressed on what part in the meetings of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) Boris Johnson's chief adviser Dominic Cummings played.
Prof Powis says he himself has been attending the meetings - which advise the government - since February.
He does not specifically say what, if anything, Cummings said at the meetings. But he says that the advice and contributions to the government were made by scientists.
Downing Street earlier confirmed that Cummings had attended Sage meetings but denied a Guardian report that he was a member of the body.
Will Ross
Africa editor, BBC World Service
About a quarter of the entire workforce at the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) factory in Cape Town has tested positive for the coronavirus.
A spokeswoman said the 99 members of staff were all now in isolation.
On Tuesday, South Africa’s labour department suspended operations at the pharmaceutical company after an inspection found that there was a lack of personal protection equipment for staff.
The facility has since been given permission to reopen.
The spread of the coronavirus has been slowed by a month-long lockdown in South Africa.
But some have broken the rules and there are concerns that about 200 positive cases have been traced to three funerals that took place in the Eastern Cape.
With data showing journeys by motor vehicles starting to rise again, Priti Patel is asked if the government has undermined its strategy with mixed messages by allowing non-essential work to continue.
She says the government has been "clear and consistent from day one". She says she understands people's frustrations but "enforcement measures are being applied" and "they are working".
Asked if allowing DIY shops to open is not a mixed message, she says shops are open but they are maintaining social distancing rules "incredibly well".
Prof Powis is asked when he expects a peak in cases in care homes.
He says they have tried to avoid predicting when peaks occur. But he adds that Public Health England is assisting when outbreaks occur and that the government is increasing testing.
He also pays tribute to those who work in care homes.
Prof Stephen Powis is asked about previous comments by the chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance that a death toll below 20,000 would be a "good result" for the UK. Does the fact that the UK has passed that mean the strategy was wrong?
"It’s a very sad day for the nation – 20,000 deaths is clearly 20,000 too many," Prof Powis says.
He says earlier comments by Sir Patrick were emphasising that this is "a once-in-a-century global health crisis" that would be a "huge challenge" for the whole world.
Some countries which appeared to have the outbreak under control are now seeing rising numbers of cases, Prof Powis says.
"It's not a sprint, this will be a marathon."
Home Secretary Priti Patel says this is a "deeply tragic and moving moment" but it underlines the need to continue social distancing measures.
Prof Stephen Powis, Medical Director of NHS England, says it is critical that people adhere to social distancing.
He says it would be "foolish" if the UK lost the benefits it has gained in recent weeks.
Prof Powis reminds the public that the NHS is still open to people who need medical attention for other conditions.
Lynne Owens, Director General of the National Crime Agency, says criminals have adapted to the coronavirus crisis but UK law enforcement has adapted just as quickly.
She outlines police operations in which drugs and firearms have been seized and more than 2,000 online scams related to the pandemic taken down.
Among the suspected criminals trying to exploit the pandemic, Priti Patel says, were two people arrested allegedly trying to sell unregistered coronavirus testing kits.
She also says losses to coronavirus-related fraud stand at £2.4m.
The home secretary also criticised the "extraordinary dangerous driving" of a minority of motorists who use quiet roads as their "own personal race track".
She said drivers had been clocked at 150mph on the M1 and 134mph in a 40mph zone in London.
Image source, Getty ImagesThere has been an increase in demand for cleaning products across the United States
You may have seen several headlines about poison control centres across the US reporting an increase in calls from people who have ingested household cleaning products.
This has been touted as coming in the wake of President Trump’s call for research into whether coronavirus might be treated by injecting disinfectant into the body.
For example, New York City’s Poison Control Center said it received 30 calls about exposure to such chemicals, an increase from 13 in the same period last year.
And response units from several states have commented on an increase in calls regarding “questions” about whether disinfectant can help with coronavirus, such as this tweet from the Emergency Management Agency in Maryland.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
But these calls may not be a result of Trump's comments.
A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that calls to poison centers across the US about exposure to disinfectant products had increased by 20% on average in the period between January and March 2020.
Examples given in the report include a child who consumed a bottle of hand sanitiser and a woman who cleaned her produce with bleach before consuming it.
The only thing that can be said with certainty is there has been a spike in the sales of cleaning products and calls to poison control across the US since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The home secretary says that while crime overall is down, "the most sophisticated" criminals are seeking to "exploit and capitalise" on the pandemic.
She says: "Our world class law enforcement is also adapting and they are on to you."
Ms Patel cites a Border Force raid which seized £1m of cocaine concealed in a shipment of face masks and multiple websites carrying out phishing scams and selling bogus PPE.
She also says police have received 1,300 reports of child sexual exploitation.
Priti Patel says that as the death toll from this "terrible virus" reaches a tragic milestone, the "entire nation is grieving".
She also pays tribute to the "selfless" sacrifice of frontline workers who have died, which "will not be forgotten".
Home Secretary Priti Patel has begun the daily briefing from Downing Street, on the day that the UK became the fifth country to record more than 20,000 confirmed deaths from Covid-19.
In a few minutes, we'll bring you the latest from the UK government's daily briefing - on the day that the total number of hospital deaths passed 20,000.
Home Secretary Priti Patel will lead the government's update. She'll be joined by Prof Stephen Powis, medical director for NHS England, and Lynne Owens, director general of the National Crime Agency.
Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent
Image source, PA MediaThe first death linked to coronavirus in the UK was announced in early March. It was a woman in her 70s.
There have now been more than 20,000 fatalities since, according to the government's daily figures.
The tragic milestone is significant - at the outbreak's start, chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said keeping the death toll to that figure would be "horrible" but a "good outcome" given the country's challenge.
The government had been warned that up to 500,000 people could die if the virus's spread was not stopped.
Does reaching this landmark mean the UK has failed to achieve its goals, and what happens from here?
Image source, Olivia RowlandsEllie Hutchinson (centre) is carrying her cousin Olivia Rowlands' baby
A mother-to-be from Scotland fears she could be prevented from being at the birth of her first child because of the current UK lockdown.
Olivia Rowlands and her husband Sam are expecting a baby girl in July - the baby is being carried by her cousin, Ellie Hutchinson, after treatment for bowel cancer left Olivia unable to go through pregnancy.
Olivia, 31, a primary school teacher, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2017. After 29 sessions of radiotherapy, she went into early menopause.
Having frozen four embryos prior to her treatment, the couple embarked on a surrogacy through Ellie, 34, who is now self-isolating.
"We have Facetime and photos but it has meant we have missed appointments - like the one where where we would hear the heartbeat for the first time," Ms Rowlands told BBC Scotland.
"But Ellie was amazing and recorded it and sent it straight to us after the appointment finished.
"I wouldn't want to put anybody at risk. We are going to have this baby for the rest of our lives so we can cope."