With UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson away after the birth of his son, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab once again deputised for him at PMQs.

Coronavirus, of course, dominated. Here's what happened:

• Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the effort to source protective kit for healthcare workers is getting worse, not better
• In response Dominic Raab said there was a "global supply shortage" and the UK's strategy was working overall
• The foreign secretary said the government is facing a challenge over coronavirus in care homes, there can be no "sugar coating the issue", he said
• Mr Raab added that a target to carry out 250,000 tests per day remains an "aspiration" but he wouldn't set a deadline for it
• The foreign secretary also insisted ministers were currently not able to reveal more details of their plans to ease the lockdown

Rory Cellan-Jones
Technology correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Building a coronavirus contact-tracing app that might help the UK emerge from lockdown has been a titanic effort - and it has largely taken place in private.

NHS Digital chief executive Matthew Gould told MPs the app would be "technically ready" for deployment in "two to three weeks".

But he made it clear it was only one part of the strategy to emerge from lockdown and would involve a none-too-subtle marketing campaign.

"If you want to protect the NHS and stop it being overwhelmed and, at the same time, want to get the economy moving, then the app is going to be an essential part of a strategy for doing that," he said.

Image source, .

Usually, more than 100,000 Palestinians with permits work in Israel and Israeli settlements, earning far better wages than they could at home.

Of the 326 confirmed cases of coronavirus among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, most have been traced to workers in Israel and its settlements, which have been dealing with a much larger outbreak.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) tells those returning from their jobs to spend two weeks in self-isolation, but some try to go back and forth.

Now Palestinian security officers are trying to stop labourers from crossing illegally to Israel through gaps in its separation barrier. They would not normally do this, but these are unusual times.

Read more from Yolande Knell here.

Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has again called for an independent investigation into the coronavirus outbreak.

He said it was "entirely reasonable" that the world would want to understand how the pandemic had spread.

China's ambassador to Australia has rejected calls for an independent review and suggested that China could boycott Australian products.

Also on Wednesday, China's consul-general for Victoria and Tasmania was accused of gatecrashing a national press conference by Health Minister Greg Hunt.

Image source, EPA

The televised conference was to announce that billionaire Andrew Forrest had secured 10 million testing kits for Australia.

Forrest invited the consul-general Zhou Long to make a few remarks at the podium.

He was not introduced by the foreign minister and was not allowed to take questions.

According to local media, the foreign minister's office and the prime minister's office were not informed about his attendance at the conference.

Zhou then praised China's efforts in tackling covid-19.

Forrest had earlier called for tensions between the two countries to ease.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour's Geraint Davies asks at PMQs why the UK opted out of an EU scheme to obtain ventilators.

"Was it a political or commercial decision," he asks.

"The original issue was failure of communication," replies Dominic Raab.

He adds that it is "clear" the scheme would not have made "any significant difference".

He promises that the UK "will look at any future procurement EU-wide initiatives".

You can read background to this question here.

House of Commons
Parliament

Labour MP Wes Streeting asks for the government to do more to support people at risk of abuse during the coronavirus lockdown.

He says cash already announced to help children's charities is "not enough".

He calls on ministers to support a Labour proposal to ringfence 10% of a £750m bailout fund for charities that support abuse victims.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says the police are continuing to pursue perpetrators and people should continue to call 999 if needed.

He says the government is "constantly looking to reinforce" its response to domestic abuse.

At PMQs UK First Secretary Dominic Raab, standing in for Boris Johnson, is asked if garden centres and nurseries will be allowed to reopen "in short order".

Mr Raab responded: "The current advice, as I've indicated, from Sage was that relaxing any of those measures - including the ones he refers to - would risk damage to the public health, our economy, and frankly the progress we've made, the sacrifices so many have made, the lives that have been lost.

"Can I reassure him that they looked specifically at garden centres and we will continue, as I've indicated earlier, to keep the evidence on each individual measure under very close review."

The World Health Organization (WHO), external says only two groups of people should wear protective masks, those who are:

• sick and showing symptoms
• caring for people suspected to have coronavirus

Dr Shunmay Yeung, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, explains why not everybody is being recommended to wear them.

House of Commons
Parliament

"We want to support the government on an exit strategy," says Keir Starmer.

"Will the government work constructively and openly on the question of what happens on the next stage?"

Dominic Raab says the government "will certainly engage" with opposition leaders.

However, he adds: "If he is suggesting we can set out concrete proposals [about easing the lockdown] despite clear evidence and advice from Sage, if he thinks he knows better than Sage then he needs to explain that."

House of Commons
Parliament

On the topic of testing, UK Labour leader Sir Keir says "demand has gone through the roof" but "sites were unable to cope with number of people booking the test".

He asks if the government is still hoping to be able to carry out 250,000 tests a day - as previously stated by the prime minister.

Dominic Raab says the government is "on track to make huge progress" and adds that the 250,000 figure remains an aspiration.

He adds that the government's target of testing 100,000 by the end of the month is "only the first stepping stone toward the wider testing tracking tracing we will need" to make progress towards the second phase.

House of Commons
Parliament

UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer says at PMQs that his party supports the lockdown measures and is "not asking" for a timeframe on when they will be lifted.

But he says ministers need to be "open" with the public to gain their trust and allow businesses to plan.

He asks when an "exit strategy" will be published.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab replies that ministers "can't" give dates until they receive the latest advice from scientists.

He says it would be difficult to "responsibly" set out more details without further information from them.

A further 656 deaths linked to coronavirus in Scotland have been recorded - taking the total number to 2,272.

The increase takes into account deaths recorded in the week to 26 April, similar to the number the week before.

The data from the National Records of Scotland includes all cases where the virus is mentioned on a death certificate as a potential cause.

This provides a wider picture than the figures announced each day, which cover cases confirmed by laboratory testing.

Reality Check

Image source, Getty Images

The head of Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control issued an urgent plea for supplies to scale up testing.

"We’re desperately looking for more RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) extraction kits as we expand #COVID19 testing," said Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu on Twitter., external

With an estimated population of 200 million, Nigeria has only managed about 11,000 tests since the outbreak began, confirming about 1,500 cases.

In comparison, South Africa, which has close to 60 million people, has conducted over 185,000 tests.

Ethiopia has conducted just over 15,000 - but has a population of around 114 million, which means that its testing rate is considerably higher than Nigeria’s.

Fierce global competition with countries in Europe and Asia, many of which experienced outbreaks earlier, have made it challenging for African countries to get hold of testing equipment.

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

Sir Keir Starmer asks Dominic Raab whether he thinks deaths in care homes are falling or not.

Switching to the topic of personal protective equipment, he says "you'd hope by now things would be getting better not worse".

Quoting a survey, he says doctors are not getting the protection they need, and asks: "what is going on, and how soon can it be fixed?"

Mr Raab says it is "not true overall" to say things are getting worse, and the main elements of the UK strategy are working.

He says it is important to recognise the "global supply shortage" when it comes to sourcing protective gear.

He says there are some "positive signs" on death figures for care homes, but they are "within the margin of error".

House of Commons
Parliament

Sir Keir Starmer welcomes the fact that the number of deaths in hospitals admissions are going down.

"It appears that this isn't the case in care homes," he says.

He says there has been "anxiety" on the frontline of the care sector over a lack of PPE and testing.

Dominic Raab replies: "We have a comprehensive plan to ramp up testing in care homes, to overhaul the way PPE is delivered and also to expand the workforce by 20,000.

He says it is a challenge but adds "this is a challenge that we must grip and can grip"

House of Commons
Parliament

Image source, HoC

For his first question, Sir Keir Starmer says 27,241 people have probably died with coronavirus in all settings, and this number will rise further.

Referencing Mr Johnson's comments this week on the "apparent success" of the UK lockdown, Sir Keir says the UK is "possibly on track to have the worst death rate in Europe".

In reply, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says the pandemic is "unprecedented" - and expresses his "joint horror" at the deaths.

However he says it is "too early" to make international comparisons on the death rates.

In PMQs, UK's Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer added his congratulations and said: "Whatever differences we have in this House, as human beings I think we all recognise the anxiety that the prime minister and Carrie must have gone through in these past few weeks - unimaginable anxiety.

"I really hope that this brings them incredible relief and joy."

The prime minister, who has only recently recovered from coronavirus, is not at PMQs following the birth of his son with fiancee Carrie Symonds.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab begins UK's Prime Minister's Questions by congratulating Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds on the birth of their son.

He also pays tribute to the key workers who have lost their lives fighting coronavirus. He tells MPs that 85 NHS workers and 23 social care workers have sadly died with coronavirus.

And he wishes a happy birthday to Captain Tom Moore who has raised more than £29m for the NHS.

Follow BBC's live page on PMQs here

We're expecting prime minister's questions to start in a few minutes.

There had been speculation that Boris Johnson would be taking part in his first PMQ's since recovering from coronavirus.

But his place will be taken by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who had been deputising for him, after Mr Johnson announced the birth of his son this morning.

Image source, AFP

If you're just joining us, a very warm welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. We're doing our best to keep you up to date with the latest developments around the world.

Prime Minister's Questions is due to get under way shortly in Westminster, and the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic is sure to come under scrutiny from MPs.

Here's a quick look at the latest stories from the UK:

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds have announced the birth of a son. The PM returned to work on Monday after recovering from coronavirus
• Coronavirus testing is being made available to millions more people in England - including care home residents and staff with or without symptoms

• It comes as the government prepares to publish up-to-date figures for all coronavirus deaths - including those in care homes - for the first time
• Thousands of cancer patients will be operated on at new centres designed to be kept clear of the virus
• Retailer Next says it has plans in place to reopen out-of-town stores once restrictions are lifted as it warned sales will suffer
• The pandemic will hasten the decline in the use of cash as people make a long-term switch to digital payments, experts say

• A train has been named after Captain Tom Moore, the war veteran who has raised £29m for the NHS by walking 100 laps around his garden