Summary

  • Boris Johnson says the UK is "past the peak" of the coronavirus outbreak

  • In his first briefing since returning to work he promises to set out a lockdown exit strategy next week

  • People across the UK stop to clap for carers, in a nationwide, weekly outpouring of support

  • The total number of deaths in the UK has now reached 26,771

  • In the United States, the coronavirus outbreak has now led to 30 million Americans losing their jobs since mid-March

  • More than 3.8 million people submitted new claims for US unemployment benefits last week

  • Lockdowns in response to the pandemic will see global emissions fall by a record 8%, the International Energy Agency says

Live Reporting

Edited by Paulin Kola

  1. What to make of the new drug?

    James Gallagher
    Health and science correspondent, BBC News

    While remdesivir cut the duration of symptoms from 15 days down to 11 in clinical trials, the impact on deaths is not as clear cut.

    The mortality rate was 8% in people given remdesivir, and 11.6% in those given a placebo. But this result was not statistically significant, meaning scientists cannot tell if the difference is real.

    It is also not clear who is benefiting. Is it allowing people who would have recovered anyway to do so more quickly? Or is it preventing people from needing treatment in intensive care? Did the drug work better in younger or older people? Or those with or without other diseases?

    These will be important questions when the full details are eventually published, as a drug could have the twin benefit of saving lives and helping to lift lockdown.

  2. US drug shows potential to ease Covid-19

    Remdesivir bottleGetty Images

    Some good news from the scientific world: a drug has a "clear cut" effect on Covid-19, US health officials say.

    Remdesivir is not a vaccine and it can't cure patients outright. But it did cut the duration of symptoms from 15 days down to 11 in clinical trials at hospitals around the world.

    If the effects were confirmed, the drug could ease pressure on hospitals and potentially save lives. It could also allow lockdowns to be lifted earlier.

    Click here to read our full story on the drug trial.

    But there are conflicting opinions. The good news from the US comes just days after a trial of the same drug in China, reported in the Lancet medical journal, showed it was ineffective.

  3. Welcome back

    Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of the coronavirus outbreak. We're writing to you from Singapore this morning and will be joined by our colleagues in London later today.

    Some positive news first - US officials say there is "clear-cut" evidence that a drug can help people recover quicker from the virus. Remdesivir, which was originally developed as an Eloba treatment, is said to have cut the duration of symptoms from 15 days to 11 in trials across the world.

    • In the US, the economy suffered its most severe contraction in more than a decade - sinking at an annual rate of 4.8%
    • In the UK, deadline day is drawing near. The government had pledged to test 100,000 people per day by the end of April - it's currently on 52,000 a day
    • And some 3,190,743 people around the world have now been infected by the virus, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University - with the global death toll standing at 227,368