Sam Lister of the Express asks if over-70s who are fit and healthy will be treated the same as the rest of the population when the lockdown is eased.

Matt Hancock says there is a very specific group including those with underlying conditions "who we have been in contact with, who we are asking to shield to ensure they have as little contact as possible for their own health reasons".

NHS England Medical Director Stephen Powis says it is a reasonable question and will be a consideration when the measures are eased.

Reality Check

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says that coronavirus “affects us all indiscriminately”.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics, external this morning suggested that is not the case.

The rate of deaths involving Covid-19 in the most deprived areas of England was 55.1 deaths per 100,000 people, more than double the rate of 25.3 deaths per 100,000 in the least deprived areas.

Helen Barnard from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said it was because people in deprived areas were less likely to have jobs they could do from home, putting them more at risk, and were also more likely to live in overcrowded conditions.

Prof Dave Gordon from University of Bristol added that people in deprived areas are more likely to have the underlying health conditions that make people more likely to die with coronavirus. Also, there is higher population density in poorer areas, and people in those areas are also more likely to have to use public transport, making them more at risk of infection.

There have been questions around how the tests have been counted, but the national testing co-coordinator Prof John Newton says there has been "no change".

He says as new ways of testing have come on stream, such as delivering them to homes, the government has "taken advice from officials" on how to count them.

The panel is also asked about a report from the Office for National Statistics, which showed people were twice as likely to die from Covid-19 in deprived parts of the country.

Matt Hancock says: "This is something we are worried about and looking at, and we are looking at it in the context of all of the different ways in which this disease seems to have different impact on different groups."

The health secretary says the government has "known right from start" about the effect on older people, and that it appears to have a bigger impact on men, people from a black and minority ethnic background, and obese people.

The next question comes from Sam Coates of Sky who asks how many of the 122,347 are home testing kits that have been sent out but haven't been returned.

Prof John Newton replies that 27,497 home kits had been delivered and 12,872 tests delivered through the satellite process.

Matt Hancock says that in total "over the entire testing programme we have done over a million tests - 1,023,824".

Sam Coates also asks about a study showing that people do gain immunity after getting the virus.

Prof John Newton replies that "the science on immunity is still emerging.

"We would want to see other studies before we decide that is the case.

"It is obviously promising - it would be very surprising if there was no immunity."

Image source, Reuters

The BBC's Hugh Pym asks how the government will continue to grow testing now it has hit the target.

Matt Hancock says the purpose of growing the tests was to "help treat people better", "help people get back to work", and help with surveys of how many people have the virus "right across the country" - revealing we should see data from such surveys "very soon".

The health secretary says the plan is to continue to expand capacity, pointing to a new lab opening in Cambridge next week, "and we will keep going from there".

He also says the new capacity "must be used in the best way possible" and there will be a "real focus" on care homes, while health and care workers will still "go to the front of the queue" for getting tests.

Prof John Newton, the national testing co-ordinator, says reaching the 100,000 goal was "an extraordinary achievement".

But after the ramping up, he says there now has to be an "element of consolidation to move to a sustainable footing".

He adds: "It is only a start and we have to apply what we have now to the challenges of the future."

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

Testing and rigorous contact tracing is a route out of lockdown.

It allows you to replace the restrictions imposed on everyone with a more targeted approach.

This virus is highly infectious - before lockdown, each infected person was passing the virus onto around three others.

That figure (the famous R number) needs to be cut down to less than one to prevent cases soaring.

The more infections that can be prevented by testing and quarantining contacts, the more lockdown measures can be lifted.

Reality Check

The UK is planning to roll out its contact tracing app and phone team by the middle of May.

Contact tracing is a way to try to slow down the spread of infectious outbreaks.

It involves tracking down anyone with whom sufferers have been in prolonged contact, to potentially ask them to self-isolate.

The method is already being used extensively by various countries hit by coronavirus, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Germany.

Hiring is under way in the UK for a team of 18,000 to trace the contacts of coronavirus patients, Health Secretary Matt Hancock says.

"Tracking and tracing will allow us to get ‘R’ down and hold ‘R’ down and so it will allow us to lift lockdown measures," he told the daily briefing.

Read more here about what the public will be asked to do.

Image source, Getty Images

Stuart from Redditch asks the health secretary if the Nightingale Hospitals will be used going forward to help reduce NHS waiting lists as we come through the pandemic.

"We will do what we need to to reduce NHS waiting lists," replies Matt Hancock.

"But the Nightingales were designed very specifically for patients who were intubated," he adds.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced that the government has reached its target of having 100,000 tests a day by the end of April - with more than 122,000 tests deployed on the last day of the month.

Mr Hancock said the "unprecedented" expansion in British testing capability was an "incredible achievement".

"Testing is crucial to suppress the virus," he added.

The government has counted home testing kits which have been sent out among its daily test figures - even though they may not have been used yet.

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

Decisions around schools are difficult because the science is often contradictory.

Some studies say primary school children are less likely to catch the disease, other research disagrees.

Closing schools means we just don’t know how the virus spreads within the school gates. And we have little evidence on the impact of sending children back to the classroom.

We know that children are far less likely to become severely sick, but their role in transmission is a massive unanswered question.

Image source, Reuters

We have now moved on to questions and the first is from a member of the public.

Andrew from Leeds asks if there will be fines for people who keep their children off school when they re-open.

Matt Hancock does not address the issue of fines but says the government will only open schools "when it is safe to do so".

He adds: "Thankfully, it doesn't appear to give children symptoms nearly as bad as adults, so it is much, much, much safer for children.

"As and when we reopen schools, our goal is to get back to the norm and the position as it was before, and I am confident that because we will only do it when it's safe, it will be entirely reasonable."

NHS England's medical director says it is "perfectly correct this virus affects children much less than it does the elderly and older adults".

Prof Stephen Powis adds says there has been "some very rare reports of complications in children" so scientists are continuing to look at that.

"But the overall message is for children it is a mild disease," he says.

Reality Check

Having set a target of 100,000 tests per day by the end of April, the government now says it reached 122,347 tests yesterday (the last day of the month).

The government had been averaging around 20,000 tests a day but this increased significantly over the last week.

When home testing kits became a significant part of the testing strategy last week, the Department of Health began counting those sent out as part of its daily test figures.

So, it doesn’t mean the test was actually used by someone on that day - or even received.

Previously, only instances in which the swab had been processed through a lab were counted as a test.

But the new definition - added on 27 April - included tests "posted to an individual at home".

On 29 April, the definition was extended yet further to also encompass "tests sent to... satellite testing locations".

According to figures released on 30 April, home testing kits accounted for over 18,000 of the daily tests, or a quarter of the total.

Image source, COBR

NHS England's medical director now shows a slide showing the number of deaths.

"The numbers vary from day to day but overall the number of deaths is beginning to trend downwards," Prof Stephen Powis says.

On global deaths he reiterates that it will be "a number of months before we can see the true comparison of countries".

He concludes by saying that "the compliance with social distancing is the key thing".

Image source, COBR

Prof Stephen Powis, Medical Director, NHS England says they have "begun to get on top of this virus".

He praises the UK's efforts adding that 84% of adults say they have not left their homes in the past seven days except for the permitted reasons.

He points to a slide which shows that new cases have increased but says "this should be seen in context that we have increased the number of tests".

"Overall the number is relatively stable," he says.

Image source, PA

Prof John Newton, coordinator of the UK coronavirus testing programme, says the process of increasing testing has been a "truly extraordinary collaboration".

He says "limitless testing" at the beginning of the outbreak would have "made no difference, the decision to enter lockdown would have been the same".

He also says reaching the testing target will not mean social distancing measures can be relaxed. That will happen when the government's five tests are met, he says.

"All this progress with testing and the designing of the next phase of contact tracing frees ministers and their scientific advisers to deliver strategies to keep the country safe.

"It gives us the flexibility we need."

The health secretary says testing is only the first part of the government's approach, and it will now move towards track and tracing steps.

Matt Hancock says tracking who has the virus and who they have been in contact with will drive the infection rate down, and "the lower it is the more effective it will be".

"Our goal must be freedom," says the health secretary.

"We will not lift measures until it is safe to do so, but we care about the restoration of social freedom and economic freedom."

He says testing, tracking and tracing will help target lockdown measures to where they are needed "with much more precision".

"But for now, we must retain spirit and resolve that has had such impact so far," he says.

The health secretary moves on the all important testing target of carrying out 100,000 a day by the end of April, Matt Hancock says the government has passed the goal and it was an "incredible achievement".

He confirms there were 122,347 tests across the UK in the 24 hours up to 09:00 BST (08:00 GMT) on 1 May. However, this figure includes tests which have been posted to recipients, but not yet carried out.

Hancock says there needed to be an "audacious target" and thanking the teams involved, he says the government is "now making real progress".

He thanks everyone for their help, including Yodel who "got us out of a real hole this week" by delivering tests.

Hancock says: "Everybody worked together with grit and determination to reach a shared goal.

"When things went wrong, which they did every single day, believe me, we didn't ask who we could blame but how we could fix it."

The UK has deployed more than 122,000 coronavirus tests on the last day of April, passing the government's target of 100,000.

Image source, PA Media

Matt Hancock begins the briefing by saying every day the government is "working through its plan to protect life and protect the NHS".

England's health secretary says he wants to share some "really good news".

He says now the UK is past the peak, fertility services will be restored.

"Few families have been untouched by progress in the science... and I know how time sensitive and how important it is for families affected," he adds.

"When I say thank you to all those staying at home, of course I'm saying thank you on behalf of the lives you are saving - but also on behalf of the lives the NHS can now create."

The UK death toll from coronavirus has now hit 27,510 - a rise of 739.

This includes deaths in all settings, such as hospitals and care homes.