Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

The number of tests done or sent out via the home-testing service yesterday was around 85,000. That is of course below the 100,000 target set by Matt Hancock.

But the government argues we should not expect 100,000 tests a day to be achieved. The important thing is that there is capacity for more so tests are available if people need them.

There is some logic to that - Germany is currently using just over half its capacity. But in Germany, the number of new infections is lower than it is here.

The government has certainly succeeded in rapidly increasing the number of tests, but there are still questions about whether the system is as efficient and easy-to-access as ministers would like it to be. We should pay close attention to what NHS staff and the care sector is saying about testing in the coming days.

Another question from the public - Conrad from Ashford asks whether the primary aim of test, track and trace is to squash occurrence or to simply to flatten the curve?

Matt Hancock says the test, track and trace app will "help us to keep the R number down" - the rate of infection - but "the goal is to keep the number of new infections down".

"Our goal is not simply to flatten the curve - it is to get the occurrence of infections very low," Hancock says.

There's a question from a member of the public to the briefing about support for people from ethnic minorities, after some studies have suggested they have been more affected by the virus.

Matt Hancock says the number of deaths in this group has been "disproportionately high," particularly among NHS workers.

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam says the matter is being taken "incredibly seriously," pledging: "we will get to the bottom of this".

But it is a "complicated picture", he argues, as the effect of other factors such as age, deprivation and underlying conditions on the data will need to be understood.

Van-Tam goes through the government's five tests for easing restrictions.

He says NHS capacity is "in a good position". It is "clear we are past the peak" but have to "keep a close eye" on the rate of infection, he says.

He says there are "continuing challenges" on protective equipment but we are in a "good position" on testing.

"Deep scientific discussion" over the risk of a second peak of infections is ongoing, he says.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

Lots of positive signs in the latest figures released by the government. Another 288 deaths have been announced - the lowest 24-hour toll reported in a month.

Reporting numbers do fall at the weekend - these figures relate to Sunday - but England's deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van Tam says it is “now very clear we are past the peak”.

When you look at hospital deaths by date, that peak seems to have happened in the second week of April. The numbers are now around a third of what they were then.

Numbers in hospital are down as well - to below 14,000, down from over 20,000 at the peak.

England's deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam says there are “steady but absolutely consistent declines” in hospital admissions in England.

The chart above shows admissions across England from the middle of March through to Sunday.

Image source, UK government

Hancock says the NHS track and trace app will take “full consideration" of privacy concerns, which have been raised in relation to the approach in the UK and elsewhere.

He says "proximity information" will be logged securely on people's mobile phones, and adds that the Bluetooth signal used to register people's interactions is designed to conserve battery life.

Tweaking the now-familiar slogan, Hancock urges Isle of Wight residents to "stay at home, install the app, protect the NHS and save lives".

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says the UK is now in a position to carry out a "test, track and trace" programme to identify and track those with symptoms, adding that a trial of the scheme will start on the Isle of Wight on Tuesday.

An NHS app used in the scheme is already being trialled on the island. Hancock says all residents will be asked to download it.

He says the programme will allow the government to take a "more targeted" approach to the lockdown while containing the virus.

Read more about how the app works here.

The number of people who have died with confirmed coronavirus across all settings in the UK has risen by 288 to 28,734, Hancock says. He says that the reported figure could be lower than the actual number because of delays in reporting weekend deaths.

The health secretary says that 85,186 coronavirus tests were provided in some form on Sunday, below the government's 100,000 tests-a-day target.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock is making his opening remarks at the start of Monday's daily UK government briefing.

Follow the briefing live here.

We should be hearing from the UK government in the next few minutes.

While we wait for Health Secretary Matt Hancock to take to the lectern, we've compiled some questions that you have been asking - including whether students will be able to go to university in September.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Italy may be relaxing its lockdown but the death toll from coronavirus could be far higher than has currently been reported, a new report says.

The Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) says thousands of fatalities not officially attributed to Covid-19 could have been caused by the virus.

The official death toll in Italy stands at 28,884, the second highest total in the world after the US. But from 21 February, when the first Covid-19 deaths occurred in Italy, until March 31, nationwide deaths were up 39% compared to the average of the past five years.

Of the 25,354 excess deaths during the period, coronavirus was registered as the official cause for 13,710, leaving around 11,600 unaccounted for.

ISTAT said these people may either have died of coronavirus without being tested or that the extra pressure on the health system meant they died of other causes they were not treated for.

Image source, AFP

While we wait for the UK government briefing, in about 15 minutes, take a look at these inventive ways out of lockdown.

The BBC spoke to experts about the different ways countries around the world might adapt in order to move out of the lockdown restrictions they have imposed.

Image source, Getty Images

The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has urged more countries to donate funds to a global initiative to research and distribute vaccines and drugs against the coronavirus.

The pledging effort, spearheaded by world leaders, is expected to raise an initial $8.2bn (£6.5bn) at a virtual summit on Monday.

In a video message to the conference, Mr Guterres welcomed the “generous” contributions, but stressed “five times that amount” was needed to ensure vaccines, drugs and tools could be shared equitably worldwide.

“I call on all partners to join in this effort,” the UN chief said. The UK, Norway, Japan, Canada and Saudi Arabia are among the countries to donate so far. The US, however, is not involved.

Mr Guterres has been critical of world leaders, telling the BBC he was "shocked but not surprised" by the lack of global coordination to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

We've just been been told that Professor John Newton, the government's testing co-ordinator, has joined Monday's briefing line-up.

We will hear from Newton, Health Secretary Matt Hancock and England's deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van Tam in the next 30 minutes - but first let’s take a look at the latest from the country.

• The Nightingale hospital in London is expected to stop admitting new patients in the next few days, because of limited demand
• The head of the TUC has warned that draft guidance for getting people back to work during the coronavirus pandemic could compromise worker safety
• The Office for National Statistics says nearly half of people in Britain have said they experienced "high anxiety" as the country went into lockdown

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, AFP

There's increasing interest in some sub-Saharan African nations in "Covid Organics" - a herbal "remedy" being promoted by Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina as a cure despite no scientific evidence it has any effect on the virus.

Among those placing orders is Tanzania's President John Magufuli, who is sending a plane to the island to pick up supplies.

Authorities in Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon and Comoros have said that they intend to import the tea to use as a remedy. Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau have also chartered planes to collect some.

Last week, President Rajoelina held a ceremony in which he donated bottles of the tea to all 15 members of the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) trading bloc.

The World Health Organization has warned against self-medication for coronavirus, saying that there is no proven cure for Covid-19.

In 2017 this troupe of Ghanaian pallbearers went viral following BBC Africa's coverage of their flamboyant coffin-carrying dances, garnering millions of views.

Now the group has experienced a second round of internet fame, with social media users adopting them as a dark-humoured symbol of death in the time of coronavirus.

BBC Africa's Sulley Lansah met up with the troupe's leader to get his reaction, and see how he's coping during the pandemic.

US firm Cargill is attempting to reopen a meat plant that was the site of Canada's largest coronavirus outbreak, despite union protests.

Nearly half of the 2,000 staff at the Cargill plant in High River, Alberta, have tested positive.

The plant, which processes about 36% of Canada's beef, closed on 20 April after a worker died.

Now Cargill wants the plant reopened, but employee unions are seeking a stop-work order to force the plant to remain closed. A survey the union conducted of 600 staff found that 85% were afraid to return to work.

The debate mirrors similar concerns in the US. Donald Trump invoked war-time powers to force meat plants to stay open, despite the Smithfield pork plant in South Dakota becoming the site of the largest outbreak in the US.

The UK government will give its Monday daily briefing at 17:00 BST (16:00 GMT).

The briefing will be led by Health Secretary Matt Hancock and England's deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van Tam.

Image source, Getty Images

Nearly half of Britain's over-16s said they experienced "high anxiety" as the country went into lockdown, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) statistics.

Anxiety levels were highest among an estimated 8.6 million people whose income fell, according to the weekly survey on the impact of coronavirus, with an estimated 2.6 million people saying they were struggling to pay bills.

Renters and the self-employed were also particularly affected.

Measures of well-being were at their lowest levels since records began in 2011, the ONS said.

The survey suggested that more than 25 million people - 49.6% of over-16s in Britain - rated their anxiety as "high", more than double the amount who did so at the end of 2019.