Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been speaking to BBC Breakfast to talk about Thursday's launch of the test and trace system in England.

The 2,000 who tested positive on Wednesday will be approached by text, email or phone by tracers, and Hancock added he was confident they will co-operate by divulging information about who they had been in contact with.

He said: "The vast majority will say yes because if we all participate then we'll be able to, more safely, lift the lockdown measures.

"Where this works best is where the clinician and person who tested positive work together to work out who that person might have been in contact with. One of the very nasty features of this disease is that it transmits before you have symptoms - the conversation will be about what happened over the past few days before you became symptomatic.

When asked about a report by the Royal Society which stated the success of the system depended on how quickly contacts can be found, Hancock added: "We need to get test results as fast as possible - our goal is to have a turnaround of tests within 24 hours. We now have 84% of tests at drive-thru centres turned around in 24 hours."

Image source, Reuters

British low-cost airline EasyJet says it will cut up to 30% of its staff - 4,500 jobs - and shrink its fleet to adapt to the collapse of air travel due to the global virus crisis.

The announcement follows similar moves by other carriers like British Airways and Ryanair.

Easyjet said it would launch a consultation with its staff over the next days to work out the details. The airline employs more than 15,000 people in eight European countries.

Airlines across the world have been hit by the almost complete stop of air travel during the pandemic.

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier we reported on that spike in cases in South Korea - a bit more detail here.

Health officials say they'll consider tougher social-distancing measures if the current uptick continues.

There have been 79 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, the highest daily rate of new infections in nearly two months.

Most have been traced to two warehouses on the edge of the capital, Seoul. The centres are owned by South Korea’s biggest e-commerce firm, Coupang.

Nearly 4,000 workers from the distribution centres have been tested and are in self-isolation.

More than 560 schools across the country have closed their doors and resumed online classes, just days after they reopened.

Social-distancing rules have been relaxed in South Korea in recent days, with museums and churches reopening.

South Korea has been widely praised for its aggressive track, trace and test approach to this pandemic which is credited with saving lives. Fewer than 270 people have died.

We've been hearing how the number of deaths in the US has passed 100,000.

Our North America editor Jon Sopel has been tracing US policy over the course of the pandemic. His piece includes this timeline of President Donald Trump's quotes from critical weeks in January and February.

Jan 22:"It's one person coming in from China and we have it under control. It's going to be just fine."

Feb 2:"We pretty much shut it down coming in from China."

Feb 10:"Looks like by April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away. I hope that's true. But we're doing great in our country. China, I spoke with President Xi, and they're working very, very hard. And I think it's going to all work out fine."

Feb 11:"In our country, we only have, basically, 12 cases and most of those people are recovering and some cases fully recovered. So it's actually less."

Feb 24:"The coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC and World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock market starting to look very good to me!"

Feb 26:"When you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that's a pretty good job we've done."

• Click here to read Jon's piece on how the US got to where it is now

Image source, Getty Images

A new test and trace system is launching in England. Tracers will text, email or call people who test positive with coronavirus and ask who they have had contact with. Any of those contacts deemed at risk of infection will be told to self-isolate for 14 days, even if they are not sick.

But what about test and trace in the rest of the UK?

• Northern Ireland has already started a contact tracing programme involving all confirmed positive cases of Covid-19. Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride previously said he estimated 300 to 600 staff would be needed as part of the contact-tracing scheme
• Scotland has announced its own system will start on Thursday. The focus is moving to the strategy of "test, trace, isolate, support" which in Scotland will now be known as "test and protect"
• In Wales, contacts of people who receive a positive coronavirus test result will be traced from 1 June.

Soutik Biswas
India Correspondent

On the face of it, things may not look bad.

Since the first case of coronavirus at the end of January, India has reported more than 150,000 Covid-19 infections and more than 4,000 deaths.

To put this in some context, as of 22 May, India's testing positivity rate was around 4%, the death rate from the infection around 3% and the doubling rate of infection - or the amount of time it takes for the number of coronavirus cases to double - was 13 days. The recovery rate of infected patients was around 40%.

All this is markedly lower than in the countries badly hit by the pandemic.

But India is now among the top 10 countries worldwide in terms of total reported infections, and among the top five in the number of new cases, external. And infections are rising sharply, outpacing any growth in testing.

• Click here to read more from Soutik

Image source, Getty Images

Dodgy trims, shaved heads… we’ve seen the DIY results of being without a barber shop during lockdown.

But what impact has it had on men’s mental health?

For many, especially in the black community, it was one of the few spaces where they could open up about their mental health.

Watch more here:

• Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon is expected to confirm its first phase of lockdown easing later on Thursday. We're expecting her to speak at about 12:30 BST
• Dozens of travel firms and hotel owners have said the UK should scrap plans to force visitors to quarantine on arrival
• Charity shops fear they will be deluged by donations when they start to reopen in just over two weeks

Image source, Getty Images

A team of 25,000 contact tracers will make their first phone calls within hours - to track down people who will be told to self-isolate under the new test and trace scheme in England.

Tracers will text, email or call people who test positive with coronavirus and ask who they have had contact with.

Any of those contacts deemed at risk of infection will be told to isolate for 14 days, even if they are not sick.

The prime minister said the system will "change people's lives".

The aim of the NHS Test and Trace system is to lift national lockdown restrictions and move towards more localised, targeted measures.

The contacts of people who tested positive on Wednesday will be the first to be chased by the NHS Test and Trace team on Thursday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.

See more on track and trace here.

Image source, Getty Images

Like much of the world, US gambling haven Las Vegas had to shut because of the pandemic.

But now, things are gearing up to get plugged in again. Several of the big casinos will reopen next week after more than two months' hiatus.

The city insists that precautions - including capacity limits, table limits, and contact tracing if there are infections - will ensure that people's visit to the likes of the Bellagio, Caesars Palace and the Flamingo will be safe

"I don't think you're going to find a safer place to come than Las Vegas," said governor of Nevada Steve Sisolak.

Image source, Getty Images

• English Premier League clubs have unanimously voted to resume full-contact training, with the hope of resuming the competition in June. But it comes as four more individuals from three sides test positive for coronavirus
• Formula 1's cost-cutting measures - formed because of the financial impact of the pandemic - have been approved by the sport's governing body the FIA
• Boxing and mixed martial arts events will return to Las Vegas from this weekend after the Nevada state authorities lifted a combat sports ban
• Surrey hope to stage cricket in front of a reduced-capacity crowd at The Oval at some stage this summer, chief executive Richard Gould has said. The county are looking into whether they could safely welcome up to 6,000 fans to the London ground

Image source, Getty Images

Japan is pumping another $1.1 trillion (£897bn) into its recession-hit economy to help cushion it from further damage.

On Wednesday Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government approved the 117 trillion yen stimulus package for the world's third biggest economy, doubling the amount announced just last month.

The new measures bring the total of Tokyo's stimulus spending to $2.2 trillion, which equates to almost 40% of the country's annual economic output.

It makes Japan's government stimulus measures the biggest in the world to date, beating the $2 trillion stimulus bill passed by the US in March.

Washington is now weighing plans to spend another $3 trillion to support the American economy as it starts to emerge from lockdown.

Sarah Rainsford
BBC Moscow Correspondent

When Alexei Sidnev saw the horror caused by coronavirus in European care homes he knew he had to act fast. Way back in March, before any lockdown in Russia, he began sealing off the six homes he runs near Moscow and buying-up protective clothing for staff.

"I don't sleep much. It's probably the hardest time of my life and I've been through perestroika and all the crises," Mr Sidnev said, recalling the Soviet Union's reform and eventual collapse.

But while the businessman shares his own trials on social media, the struggle in Russia's state care sector plays out old-style, largely behind closed doors.

• Click here to read Sarah's full story on the virus in Russia

US President Donald Trump and his likely presidential challenger, Joe Biden, seem to have different views on wearing masks in public - as this quick video explains...

Simon Zamudio - a 34-year-old sergeant in the US Army Reserve - died of Covid-19 complications on 22 May. Three days later, his 70-year-old mother died - also from complications with the virus.

Sgt Zamudio was born in Arizona but lived in Carpentersville, Illinois. He was married with an 11-month old daughter. His family told local media, external his own father died when he was one.

"He was going to care and love his daughter all his life," his sister Alicia said.

Sgt Zamudio became ill nine days after first taking his mother to hospital. He was previously healthy and expected to be deployed next month.

"From three months ago, not believing Covid really existed, it showed me in the worst way how real it is," said Alicia. "Don't think Covid is a lie because it's very real."

Image source, US Army Reserve

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions against making state-to-state comparisons of cases and deaths, as "data timeliness varies by state" - that is, some report quicker than others., external

But it is possible to take a broad look at which places have been particularly affected. So far, New York state has more than twice as many reported cases and deaths as any other state, despite being only the fourth most populous.

Meanwhile, five states - Vermont, Wyoming, Hawaii, Montana, and Alaska - still have fewer than 1,000 reported cases, according to CDC data., external

A heart-wrenching viral video showing a young child with his mother who has passed away at a railway station in India was widely shared on social media on Wednesday. But officials have denied reports that she died of hunger.

The video, reportedly shot at Muzaffarpur station in Bihar state, shows the woman's body on the platform while a toddler repeatedly tugs at a piece of cloth placed on her body.

The woman and her family were on board a special train organised by the government to take home migrant workers left stranded when India went into lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19. Hundreds of thousands who suddenly lost their livelihood had no way to get back home to their villages as all transportation was halted.

The Indian Railways have said that the woman died of a heart condition, external, adding that she and her family had access to food and water on the train, an official is quoted as saying to PTI news agency.

It come as India battles public backlash over its harsh lockdown and its effect on the poor and migrant workers. Many have pointed towards the video as the latest example of the growing humanitarian toll as a result of the lockdown, which was announced with just a few hours notice in March.

Hundreds of fake or hijacked social media accounts have been pushing pro-Chinese government messages about the coronavirus pandemic on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, a BBC investigation has found.

The network of more than 1,200 accounts has been amplifying negative messages about those critical of China's handling of the outbreak while praising Beijing's response.

Although there is no definitive evidence that this network is linked to the Chinese government, it does display features similar to a state-backed information operation originating in China that Facebook and Twitter removed last year.

Click here to read the full analysis from our misinformation team.

Image source, Getty Images

Cyprus has pledged to cover the holiday costs of anyone who tests positive for the virus after travelling there.

It is part of a package of measures aimed at drawing visitors back to the island, which has reported few cases.

The government said it would pay for accommodation, medicine and food for patients and their families.

Tourists "will only need to bear the cost of their airport transfer and repatriation flight". The country has 939 confirmed infections and 17 deaths.

Image source, Getty Images

In Australia, two dozen students at one of the private colleges of Melbourne University have been kicked out for having a party.

Trinity College officials said the students - some of whom had returned to campus in recent weeks as lockdown eased - had clearly broken social distancing rules and would be banned for the rest of semester.

It said the majority of boarders who had stayed during lockdown - from overseas or remote towns - had abided by the rules. It costs about A$32,000 (£17,000 ; $21,000) a year to live at this college.

Currently only a maximum of five guests are allowed in a single household in Victoria. But from June, 20 people gatherings will be allowed.