Image source, Downing Street

Prof Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, says the UK is "controlling" the transmission of the epidemic.

On the latest testing numbers, she says simply that they have "increased over time".

Unveiling the slide above, she notes that the number of deaths in the UK offers "less good" news than on hospitalisations.

But she says the "trend is good", and is "slowly coming down".

Robert Jenrick says it is the government's "mission to ensure everything we can do is done to help people go back to work safely and to reunite friends".

"On Friday we will be celebrating VE Day... we know that sadly we now need to mark this important occasion from home instead," he says.

He tells the press conference that he spoke to a 92-year-old war veteran.

"Lesley said that as we rebuilt and recovered then, he is certain we will do so again this year."

Dr Nikki Kanani, director of primary care at NHS England, thanks people for following government advice.

She says NHS workers are working "under significant strain" and people are "looking after them" by staying at home.

She says she wants to "reassure" people that primary care services - such as GP surgeries - are "still there for you".

Reality Check

The government has missed its testing target for the fourth consecutive day.

With 69,463 tests provided in the 24 hours to 0900 on Wednesday, it is the lowest number in a week and far short of the 100,000 target.

This target – which was due to be met by the end of April – has been reached only twice.

It includes tests done in person but also thousands of tests that have been posted, but not necessarily carried out on the day.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick says his department is working on plans on how the lockdown can be eased.

This includes work on "how workplaces can be adapted, how outdoor spaces can be managed and how public transport networks from tube to trams to buses can operate".

He also says he wants infrastructure and construction work to begin again "wherever it is safe to do so".

"In each case we will be guided by scientific and medical advice," he adds.

Robert Jenrick explains that today he will be taking questions from regional media.

"The local press are under significant financial pressure," he says and urges "everyone who can" to buy a newspaper.

Turning to the situation at a local level, he says the government has provided £3.2bn to local councils during this pandemic.

He also says local resilience forums, in partnership with local authorities, have delivered one million boxes of food and essential supplies to people identified by the NHS as extremely, clinically vulnerable.

Image source, Cobra

The daily number of tests dropped to 69,436, as the total remained below the government's 100,000 target.

After reaching the target by 30 April and again on 1 May the number has been below the mark, despite a capacity of 108,000 currently.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced at PMQs earlier that he had an ambition to reach a 200,000 capacity by the end of May.

There have been a further 649 coronavirus deaths recorded, taking the UK's total to 30,076, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said at the Downing Street briefing.

Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick has emerged, and gets today’s UK press conference with regional journalists under way.

Stay with us for the latest updates.

The UK government’s coronavirus briefing is due to begin in about five minutes.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick will be taking questions from regional newspapers and broadcasters, along with Prof Yvonne Doyle from Public Health England and Dr Nikki Kanani from NHS England.

While we wait for that,why not enjoy this video about how the Soundabout Inclusive Choir is using music as a means of overcoming isolation.

Good afternoon and a warm welcome to our live coverage. Here's a round-up of the latest news from around the world:

• Germany is continuing to ease its lockdown restrictions, as the chancellor announces football can resume behind closed doors and small shops can open
• In India, 122 million people have lost their jobs due to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic
• The European Union predicts a 'historic recession", with a decline of 7.7% due to the impact of coronavirus
• US President Donald Trump says the White House coronavirus task force will be re-shaped, after reports suggested he was closing it

• A record daily number of 600 deaths are reported in Brazil, with Manaus in the Amazon particularly affected

We are expecting the daily UK government press conference in around 30 minutes.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick, Prof Yvonne Doyle from Public Health England and Dr Nikki Kanani from NHS England will take questions from regional outlets.

Meanwhile, here is a round-up of the top stories from around the UK:

• At Prime Minister’s Questions Boris Johnson pledged to reach 200,000 tests for coronavirus per day by the end of May
• He also said he "bitterly" regrets the epidemic in care homes
• And he announced some measures to ease the lockdown could start on Monday
• In Scotland the number of people dying with coronavirus has fallen for the first time
• Heathrow Airport is trialling large-scale temperature checks at the departure gates
• A report by the Resolution Foundation think tank says youth unemployment could rise by 640,000 this year due to the virus
• The online retailer Ocado says "more normal" shopping habits are back after a huge jump in demand amid the lockdown

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Is a task force with different people and a different focus still the same task force?

This sounds like a philosophical question, but it is one that has very real implications for the direction of US coronavirus policy.

On Tuesday, Vice-President Mike Pence confirmed the White House was considering winding down its coronavirus task force, perhaps as early as the end of May, shifting public health responsibilities to subsidiary agencies.

Donald Trump walked that back a bit on Wednesday morning with his tweet that the current task force would continue "indefinitely" - but the bottom line is the same.

The group's members may change, and its priorities will shift.

However the president wants to dress it up, it is clear that even while the virus continues to spread throughout the nation, the White House urgently wants to prioritise addressing the economic fallout of the pandemic.

The state of the economy, after all, frequently determines the fate of a president seeking re-election.

And if Trump cannot pull the nation out of its fiscal nosedive soon, his November general election outlook appears grim.

The public health wisdom of the White House's move may be debatable, but the political calculus is clear.

Today’s press conference will be taken by Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick alongside:

• Prof Yvonne Doyle (Director for Health Protection and Medical Director for Public Health England)
• Nikki Kanani (Director of Primary Care for NHS England)

Today’s briefing will have a slightly different flavour with questions coming from regional papers and broadcasters.

We will bring you all the latest when the press conference gets going at 17:00 BST.

Image source, Getty Images

US President Donald Trump says the White House coronavirus task force will "continue on indefinitely" but shift its focus to safety and reopening the country, as well as vaccines and therapeutics.

"We may add or subtract people to it as appropriate," he said in a tweet, without giving further details on who those individuals might be.

On Tuesday, the president had suggested "a different group" would be set up to look at issues going forward, and Vice-President Mike Pence, the chairman of the task force, told reporters it could soon be disbanded.

The US virus task force was set up on 29 January.

Its members include more than 20 experts and officials, tasked with leading "the administration's efforts to monitor, contain and mitigate the spread of the virus" and inform the public.

Image source, Getty Images

Belgium will become the latest country to allow shops to reopen from Monday as lockdown restrictions are eased, Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes has said.

Businesses that do not have contact with the public have already re-started work, however schools, restaurants and bars will remain closed.

The country has one of the highest mortality rates from Covid-19 in the world. Read more about why so many people are dying there.

Image source, Bamburgh Castle

A handyman spending lockdown at a picturesque coastal castle says it is a "surreal" experience.

Bamburgh Castle on the Northumberland coast is normally busy with visitors during the spring and summer months, but it is currently closed amid the coronavirus crisis.

Maintenance man Andrew Heeley is still living at the castle with his family.

He said chores included a weekly winding of the 16 clocks, cutting the extensive lawns and painting cannons.

"It's slightly surreal but I'm sure everyone can say exactly the same."

Read more about what he has to say.

Image source, Getty Images

The German Bundesliga will be the world's first major football league to return following the coronavirus pandemic when it does restart.

The last game was played on 11 March with each club having nine or 10 matches left to play. Games will be behind closed doors.

The English and Spanish top flights are hoping to return next month, while Italian teams have been allowed to start individual training. The top leagues in France and the Netherlands are not finishing after being cut short.

Only a handful of low-profile football leagues - in countries like Belarus and Nicaragua - have continued during the coronavirus pandemic.

Tuesday saw the return of South Korea's baseball division, with their football league set to return on Friday.

Image source, Reuters

More now on the announcements by German Chancellor Angela Merkel after her discussions with the heads of the country's 16 states:

• Large shops will be able to reopen, those in residential care homes will be allowed to have visitors, and two households will be able to meet together in public
• German's Bundesliga football league will also be allowed to return later this month
• The states will decide how to reopen things like cinemas, restaurants and theatres
• Social distancing rules will stay in place until 5 June, such as maintaining a distance of 1.5m (5ft)

The chancellor stressed that if infections begin to rise, restrictions will be brought back swiftly. But she was optimistic, and thanked the German people for listening to the rules - in particular the public health authority.

"The first phase of the pandemic is behind us," she said, but added that Germany is "still very much in the early phases of the pandemic and will be in it for the long haul."

Germany's top football league - the Bundesliga - can return this month behind closed doors after Angela Merkel confirmed it had been given government approval.

The league will decide the exact return date tomorrow, with the weekend of 16-17 May a possibility.