Matt McGrath
Environment correspondent, BBC News

Daily global emissions of carbon dioxide fell by 17% at the peak of the shutdown because of measures taken by governments in response to Covid-19, say scientists.

The most comprehensive account yet published says that almost half the record decrease was due to fewer car journeys.

But the authors are worried car use will soar again when people return to work - and say CO2 emissions could soon be higher than before the crisis.

They are urging politicians to grasp the moment and make real, durable changes on transport and personal mobility.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

As discussions are being held to restart American Football in the US, conversation has turned towards safety.

With social distancing clearly not an option for many team sports, NFL Players Association medical director Thom Mayer told The Adam Schefter Podcast that the league is working on an alternative.

He suggested that the face masks being designed may contain surgical or even N95 material, adding "they've got some prototypes".

"There will probably be a recommendation" for the league to use a type of face mask, he said.

Medical officials across the world have warned people to avoid touching their own face as a key way to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

But why do we touch our faces in the first place? And is it that easy to just stop doing it?

Image source, Getty

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the risk of the nation's economy sustaining "permanent damage" increases the longer the lockdown to contain the virus drags on.

Speaking to a Senate committee, Mnuchin said American families and businesses were suffering amid nationwide shutdowns, but that reopening the economy would need to be done with caution.

"We're conscious of the health issues and we want to do this in a safe way," he said.

Joshua Nevett
BBC News

Image source, Jim Walker

More than 100,000 cruise ship workers are believed to be stranded at sea, after the coronavirus suspended voyages. Many crew stayed put on ships when cruises were initially cancelled for 30 days, but the suspensions have been extended again and again.

"We are here against our will. My fiancée and I are hostages. We need to be rescued," Caio Saldanha told BBC News.

He and his fiancée Jessica Furlan joined Royal Caribbean's Celebrity Infinity in early March to start a new life working on the lavish ship. But after just one day, the company cancelled all voyages worldwide.

Companies including Royal Caribbean say that repatriation efforts are under way to fly workers back to their home countries, but progress is slow.

Reports of suicides on board several ships have caused anxiety among workers - last week protests erupted on board Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas.

Read the full story of cruise ship workers trapped at sea.

Image source, Getty Images

The UK opposition Labour party's annual conference has been cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis and will be replaced with online events.

The conference usually sees members and politicians gather to socialise, debate and vote on policy.

A party spokeswoman said: "Our priority is the safety of members, staff and visitors to our events and the need to protect the public's health.

"In light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we have therefore decided to postpone this year's annual and women's conferences."

The conference was due to be held in Liverpool from 19 to 23 September.

Reality Check

Image source, Getty Images

There were 89,784 tests in the 24 hours up to 9am today, which is below the government’s current target of 100,000 per day.

And we’re still not sure about the target of 200,000 a day by the end of this month.

It’s more than a week since statistical regulator the UK Statistics Authority wrote to Health Secretary Matt Hancock , externalto ask for clarification of whether that target is for testing capacity, the number of tests administered, the number of tests completed or the number of people tested.

He hasn’t yet replied.

His department has told BBC News that the target is for testing capacity (the number of tests that could be done each day) but when the prime minister talks about it in Parliament it sounds very much like he’s talking about the number of tests conducted.

On 11 May he said: “We have done 100,000 tests again yesterday, I am pleased to say, but clearly pace of turnaround is absolutely critical for getting up to where we need to be – 200,000... by the end of the month.”

Today's government press conference was held by Environment Secretary George Eustice and Prof Angela McLean, chief scientific adviser to the Ministry of Defence.

Here's what they told us:

• Only a third of the fruit and vegetable pickers who usually come to the UK from Europe have come this year. The government wants Brits, especially those on furlough from their usual jobs, to take these jobs and has launched a new 'Pick for Britain' website for vacancies
• There is now a steady decline in the number of daily deaths, as well as the numbers of people being admitted to hospitals and the numbers in intensive care
• Scaling back contact tracing in March was the "right thing" to do with the level of testing available at the time, McLean said.
• The UK will try to emulate South Korea's successful contact tracing system and has been learning from the testing regime in Germany.

Ben Fishwick from the Portsmouth News asks why some residents have had to wait two weeks for their test results.

Eustice says there have been cases where people have had to wait longer than was ideal.

McLean says a "rapid and reliable" testing system must be the bedrock of the UK's attempt to bring the virus under control.

Asked whether the UK's system meets that description, she says "it is getting better", adding that it should be the aim to turn around tests within 48 hours.

In response to a separate question on the hardship facing local councils, Eustice says local authorities are facing extra burdens but the government has made £3.2bn in extra funding available and that it is the "most appropriate intervention".

With that, the briefing comes to an end. We'll have a round-up shortly.

Reality Check

Environment Secretary George Eustice has given the latest figure of 35,341 deaths linked to coronavirus in the UK.

You may have heard a bigger figure reported earlier, of 41,166.

The difference is that the one announced at the daily briefings gives deaths up to 9am that day of people who have tested positive for Covid-19.

The higher figure comes from weekly data released by the Office for National Statistics in England and Wales, National Records Scotland and Nisra in Northern Ireland, which covers all registered deaths for which coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate.

There needn’t have been a test – it is enough for the registering doctor to suspect the virus was present.

Those figures take a bit longer to collate - the latest England and Wales figures up to 8 May were released this morning., external

There's a question about whether the lockdown could be lifted in remote islands where no cases have been seen.

Angela McLean says she can't answer questions about policy.

But she says the effect of location on infections has been a "huge focus" of scientific advice, noting islands are a "special case".

Reality Check

The UK government measures the threat from Covid-19 in England with a five-level, colour-coded alert system.

Environment Secretary George Eustice has said the country is now "in a position" to begin moving down to level three "in careful steps".

But what does each level mean?

Read our guide here.

The i's Jane Merrick presses the panel on the decision to scale back community testing and tracing in the middle of March, asking who should be held responsible for the decision and whether it was based on "sound" scientific advice.

Angela McLean said the advice at the time "took account" of the testing capacity available at the time and how it could best be deployed.

Explaining why testing in hospitals was prioritised at that time, she said the UK could not have a situation where patients were being admitted with virus symptoms but this could not be confirmed.

Eustice backs this up, confirming there was limited capacity at that time and hospitals had to be given precedence.

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

Angela McLean cited two countries - South Korea and Germany - as examples the UK could learn lessons from in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

She said the development of testing in the UK has been modelled on Germany’s approach. We are now testing similar numbers to Germany.

But we are a long way from South Korea’s contact tracing regime.

South Korea has faced major outbreaks before - it was affected by Mers and Sars - which meant it already had teams in place and an app ready to go when coronavirus hit.

More than three months after the first case, the UK is still trying to catch up.

There's a question about the decision to discharge untested patients from hospital into care homes earlier in the pandemic.

George Eustice says some asymptomatic people "may have been discharged" in the early weeks, alongside a "small number" with symptoms who would have been isolated.

He says discharge guidance to care homes has since been "strengthened" and been made more "stringent".

He says he does not accept that ministers "took an approach that was wrong".

The panel are asked if they regret the decision to stop contact tracing of symptomatic individuals in mid-March.

The UK has since attempted to ramp up its search for symptomatic people through the use of an NHS contact-tracing app.

George Eustice says testing of NHS workers was an early "priority" but adds that testing levels have since been increased.

Angela McLean says scaling back contact tracing in March was the "right thing" to do "with the testing we had" at the time.

ITV's John Reay says teachers have "profound, sincere and very deep concerns" about the plan to reopen primary schools on 1 June.

He suggests when the government has made so many mistakes in its handling of the pandemic, teachers can "hardly be blamed" for not believing ministers assurances that they will be safe.

Eustice says he does not agree with the journalist's "caricature" of the government's record, while acknowledging there have been challenges.

He says ministers are working closely with teachers and unions on the plans to send three school years back at the start of next month.

Eustice says countries such as Denmark have shown how children can return to school in a socially distanced way, suggesting they have been "following the science" and the UK will do so as it proceeds.

"As other walks of life are getting back to levels of normality, we have to look at ways of doing that," he said.

McLean adds that she will want to see the updated scientific advice later this month before commenting further.

The second public question is from Nick at Gatwick.

He asks what help is on offer to people working in aviation and hospitality who cannot return to work in the form of payment holidays for mortgages and loans to help ride out the storm.

Eustice says there is a comprehensive package of support available to businesses to help their staff, including the job retention scheme which is paying the wages of eight million people.

He says Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering "very carefully" how the furlough scheme - which has been extended to October but with firms taking on more of the burden - will evolve.

He also says it is hoped the hospitality industry can start reopening in July.

There's a question from a member of the public on what lessons the UK is learning from countries that have eased their lockdown.

George Eustice says ministers have known the UK is "roughly two to three weeks" behind Italy and France.

Angela McLean says contact tracing of those with symptoms in South Korea has been "inspiring", adding: "That has been an experience we are aiming to emulate."

She also says the UK is keen to learn lessons about the importance of testing capacity from Germany.

Read more about contact tracing here.

Angela McLean, the UK Ministry of Defence's chief scientific adviser, discusses the number of new hospital admissions - which she says is the "most sensitive" way of tracking what is going on.

The figures for England have been falling steadily, she says, dropping to 639 on 17 May from 751 a week earlier.

However, she says the number has not fallen as much in recent days than earlier in the outbreak, which she suggests is a "matter for debate" and scientists don't have an immediate answer to.

Moving on to the daily fatality figures, she says they confirm that there has been a "steady decline" in deaths over the past month.

She says the number of deaths are falling consistently across all sectors and that is a "cause for relief" despite the heartbreak for those who have lost loved ones.