Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

I suspect the daily coronavirus briefing led by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson later is going to be an anti-climactic occasion.

We are not going to get the nuts and bolts of a putative exit strategy. There is not going to be a paper and I doubt there will be policy options.

We seem to be heading towards a restatement of what he said on the steps of Downing Street on Monday but the one new area is the science underpinning policy decisions.

This relates to the R factor and seems to be the guiding star of lockdown policy. If it is below one everyone is happy, if it is above we are heading towards crisis and the National Health Service being overwhelmed.

Ministers are looking with mounting trepidation towards Germany where, after an easing of restrictions, it seems to be climbing again, leading to Angela Merkel mooting the possibility of renewed lockdown.

The numbers on testing still look adrift. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has not given up reaching 100,000 tests a day even though we won’t get the final figure for Thursday until Saturday.

If he does not hit the target I think he will argue that by raising the bar so high he has galvanised drug providers into getting their act together. But the numbers are less important than the delivery. There is a complexity in accessing tests and it is that which really needs to be ironed out.

Was a peak in the Alps really lit up with the flag of India to celebrate the country's fight against the virus? What about a video of a Muslim spitting being linked to the spread?

Indian social media has been rife with misleading photos, videos and news around Covid-19. BBC's Reality Check has been looking at some of the more widely shared examples.

You can get the full facts here.

Image source, Getty Images

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has donated a $100,000 (£80,000) prize she won from a Danish foundation to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) for use against the pandemic.

“Like the climate crisis, the coronavirus pandemic is a child rights' crisis,” said Thunberg

“It will affect all children, now and in the long term, but vulnerable groups will be impacted the most. I’m asking everyone to step up and join me in support of Unicef's vital work to save children’s lives, to protect health and continue education.”

Danish anti-poverty organisation Human Act, which awarded Thunberg the original prize, has matched her donation.

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

There is a simple, but crucial number at the heart of understanding the threat posed by the coronavirus.

The basic reproduction number - or simply the R0 (pronounced R-nought) - is guiding governments around the world on actions they need to take to save lives. It also gives us clues on when lockdowns can be lifted.

The reproduction number is a way of rating a disease's ability to spread. Measles has one of the highest - 15 - as it can cause explosive outbreaks. The new coronavirus has this number down at around 3, but estimates vary.

And the goal of governments around the world has been to force the reproduction number down from around 3 to below 1.

If the number is lower than 1, then the disease will eventually peter out as not enough new people are being infected to sustain the outbreak.

Read more here.

Simon Atkinson
BBC News, Sydney

Image source, Getty Images

It’s been more than a week since Virgin Australia went into voluntary administration.

You might remember that Australia’s second-biggest airline was already struggling with billions of dollars of debt before the cancellation of almost all its flights due to Covid-19 meant ticket revenue pretty much dried up.

Now administrators Deloitte have revealed 20 potential buyers are circling – with eight of them signing non-disclosure agreements (which suggests they’re serious contenders).

Interested parties have been given until mid-May to make an indicative bid, and Deloitte says it’s confident of a sale being concluded by the end of June.

It’s a nervous waiting game for the carrier’s 10,000 staff – most of whom have been put on leave. And it is widely expected that whoever does buy Virgin Australia will operate a slimmed down service focused on its more profitable routes - which will of course mean job cuts.

For now, the airline continues to operate during the voluntary administration process - with 64 return domestic services each week, some domestic charter flights and government-supported international flights to Hong Kong and Los Angeles.

It's worth remembering that the epicentre of this pandemic has shifted over time, from its origin in China to southern Europe and now the US.

But which countries have recorded the most deaths from the outbreak?

It's a complicated question, because different countries record their deaths in very different ways.

Take Belgium, where more than half of recorded deaths have been in care homes for the elderly and are based largely on suspected cases. This makes the country's data look much worse when compared to similar countries that don't log suspected cases in their official Covid-19 death tolls.

The UK's death toll on Wednesday surpassed both Spain and France, after official figures began including deaths in the community, such as in care homes, for the first time.

Even with these caveats in mind, the data collated by Johns Hopkins University, external in the US does paint an interesting picture. It lists the top ten countries for recorded deaths as:

1. The US with almost 61,000
2. Italy with 27,682
3. UK with 26,166 (The official UK government figure is 26,097)
4. Spain with 24,275
5. France with 24,121
6. Belgium with 7,501
7. Germany with 6,467
8. Iran with 5,957
9. Netherlands with 4,727
10. China with 4,637

Thermal cameras detect whether people have a temperature. They are being tested at Bournemouth Airport to see if they might be able to detect carriers of the coronavirus before they infect others.

Hospitals and restaurants are also considering whether they could be a useful tool to enable the transition to a more normal world.

In parts of Asia they are already being used at airports, shopping malls and office buildings.

The BBC's transport correspondent Tom Burridge reports.

David Willis
LA correspondent

President Trump’s criticism of China has been consistent - and increasingly sharp - in recent weeks.

He’s questioned the accuracy of the death toll there, and even said he was looking into suggestions that the virus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan. But this is the harshest criticism of its kind so far.

By claiming that China’s delay in alerting the world to the spread of the virus was politically motivated - and designed to boost the election chances of his political rival Joe Biden at the expense of his own - Mr Trump is upping the ante in an increasingly bellicose war of words.

Earlier this week a senior Chinese official - Le Yucheng - questioned the president's handling of the crisis, and accused him of not acting quickly enough in order to prepare the American people for the spread of Covid-19.

For all that the president dismisses claims that the 2020 election will amount to a referendum on his handling of this crisis, its outcome may well rest on the pace of the economic recovery.

Expect the war of words between the world's two largest economies to continue.

Image source, Getty Images

The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has criticised South Africa for accepting more than 200 Cuban medics to help battle the virus.

Mr Pompeo accused Cuba of profiting from the pandemic, the AFP news agency reports.

"We applaud leaders in Brazil and in Ecuador and Bolivia and other countries which have refused to turn a blind eye to these abuses by the Cuban regime," Mr Pompeo said.

"And [we] ask all countries to do the same, including places like South Africa and Qatar."

The team of Cuban medics arrived in the African nation on Sunday night. They include family physicians, epidemiologists, biotechnology experts and health-care technology engineers.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel reacted to Mr Pompeo by tweeting, external: "The United States lie deliberately when they attack Cuba's international medical cooperation with lies and slanders."

• South Africa's ruthlessly efficient fight against coronavirus

Image source, Bedford School

Captain Tom Moore, who raised more than £29m for the NHS in the UK by walking laps of his garden, has been made an honorary colonel on his 100th birthday.

The Second World War veteran has received thousands of birthday cards to mark his special day, including one from the Queen (as is customary for centenarians in the UK).

He said it was "extraordinary" to be turning 100, especially with "this many well-wishers".

Capt Tom is due to spend most of his day self-isolating with his daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and her family at his home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.

He said he would also speak to other family members via the internet.

A number of tributes to Capt Tom include an RAF flypast, and being made an honorary England cricketer by former captain Michael Vaughan.

Read more here.

If you're just joining us in the UK, good morning and welcome. Here are the latest headlines:

• PM Boris Johnson - who has just recovered from Covid-19, and whose son was born yesterday - will chair a cabinet meeting today. He will then lead the daily coronavirus briefing for the first time since he returned to work earlier this week
• But the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg said he was unlikely to give "chapter and verse" on when the country's lockdown restrictions would be lifted
• It comes as the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), which is working on a range of options for easing the restrictions, prepares to meet later. The lockdown is due to be reviewed on 7 May
• Meanwhile, the total number of people who have died in the UK with coronavirus has passed 26,000. Official figures now include deaths in the community, such as in care homes

With cases going up in the region, here's the latest from South Asia:

• Pakistan has said it will bring back more than 7,000 of its citizens stranded in various countries in the first week of May. Cases in the country crossed 15,000 on Wednesday when it recorded 355 deaths
• Meanwhile, Bangladesh has asked those abroad not to return "unless compelled". The foreign minister said citizens abroad will have access to a telemedicine service being set up in the country, which has registered just over 7,000 infections so far
• Nepal, which has 57 cases, extended its lockdown for the third time earlier this week, but violations are rising in Kathmandu Valley, officials say. Police have taken action against more than 4,000 people, external in the past three days for defying stay-at-home orders
• And in Sri Lanka, tourism has taken a major hit with a 70% drop in March, external, according to IANS news agency. On Wednesday, health officials expressed concern as cases exceeded 600

Former England cricket captain Graham Gooch says he has been "humbled" helping to deliver food to hospitals.

Image source, EPA

Germany has recorded 1,478 new cases for the past 24 hours, marking the fourth day that new infections have gone up.

The overall tally is now just under 160,000 - although around 75% of those have already recovered. There are only 34,672 active cases.

The number of deaths linked to Covid-19 has risen by 173 to 6,288.

Germany last week began easing some of its lockdown measures. It's not clear whether officials attribute the rise in cases to that easing - but polls show the majority of Germans are against a rushed lifting of the lockdown.

Some lovely scenes from a park by the Han River in Seoul, as people celebrate a national holiday.

South Korea eased some social distancing restrictions last week, and the country today announced no new local transmissions.

Frances Mao
Sydney

Tensions between Australia and China are high as Australia echoes American calls for a global investigation into the virus’s origins.

It’s sparked a war of words, or "stoush", in Australian slang – which at times has veered into the alarming and absurd.

Let’s recap. Earlier this week, Beijing’s ambassador warned that Chinese consumers - upset by a political attack on their country - might boycott Australian beef, wine and travel products.

Given China is Australia’s biggest trading partner, these comments were viewed in Canberra as “economic coercion”.

Australia’s top diplomat called the ambassador to rebuke him, and then the next day found details of the private call leaked online by the embassy.

Despite China’s criticism, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stood firm, saying that an investigation is an “entirely reasonable” prospect in the national and global interest.

Some analysts have told the BBC the diplomatic stoush will blow over soon, with both nations too invested in their trade relationship to actually shake things up.

However, Australian business groups are concerned, and have questioned why Canberra is mounting this campaign now, when other Western allies - such as the UK and France - say it can wait.

Image source, EPA

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The health ministry in Guinea Bissau says the Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam has tested positive for coronavirus.

Interior Minister Botche Cande and two other ministers also have Covid-19.

The West African country has so far confirmed 205 coronavirus cases and one death.

• How the spread of coronavirus is testing Africa

Image source, AFP

Motorbikes and scooters are essential for many locals in Asian cities. And often it's a lot more than one person on that bike. So how do you practise social distancing in this situation?

No problem for Indian man Partha Saha. He got an old bike, cut it in half and simply made it a lot longer.

He told AFP he will use it to take his daughter to and from school, so she doesn't have to take the crowded bus.

"Necessity is the mother of invention!" said Kumar Deb, chief minister of Tripura state where Saha lives, while praising the pimped ride on Twitter.

"I congratulate Partha Saha... for making a unique motorcycle to create awareness during Covid-19 pandemic."

As you've seen, South Korea has reported zero local infections for the first time in 75 days (though there were four imported cases).

Here's a look back at how South Korea went from being a hotspot to a success story:

• 20 January - the first confirmed case of Covid-19 is reported, a Chinese woman
• 4 February - South Korea begins denying entry to foreigners travelling from Hubei province in China - the epicentre of the outbreak
• 18 February - South Korea confirms its 31st case - a member of the Shincheonji religious organisation who continued to go to large church gatherings. As the country tests large numbers of church members, there are big spikes in case numbers
• 24 February - 15 countries impose travel restrictions to and from South Korea
• 29 February - the daily total peaks at 909 people infected
• 2 March - by this date more than 4,200 cases are confirmed with about 60% of them stemming from the church
• March - despite having one of the highest number of cases globally, the country is lauded for its aggressive approach to testing and contact tracing
• 15 April - amid the pandemic, South Korea holds an election like no other
• 22 April - as cases stabilise to single-digit daily infections, the government says it will start to lift restrictions
• 30 April - South Korea reports no new local infections for the first time since 15 February

Total cases are now at 10,765, and while some restrictions will be eased -officials are warning of a possible second wave.

Image source, European Photopress Agency

India has said millions of people stranded by a nationwide lockdown can now return to their home states.

A notice issued by the home ministry on Wednesday said people will need to be screened for symptoms at both source and destination, and be quarantined.

But the movement of people will be only possible through state government facilitation, which means people cannot attempt to cross borders on their own.

PM Narendra Modi announced the lockdown on 24 March with barely four hours' notice, prompting hundreds of thousands in cities to try to return to their villages.

When industries shut down overnight, many of them feared they would starve.

For days, they walked - sometimes hundreds of kilometres - to reach their villages because bus and train services were shut down. Several died trying to make the journey.

You can read the full story here.

Image source, Getty Images