Donald Trump's Democratic rival Joe Biden has tweeted about the president's Covid-19 diagnosis.

Reality Check

President Trump’s period of self-isolation following a positive Covid-19 test clearly has an impact on his ability to campaign in the general election. So the question has been asked about the chances of it being delayed and how this might happen.

Under US law, the presidential election is held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, every four years - so this year it is on 3 November.

Changing the date would be up to US lawmakers, not the president. It would require a majority in both Houses of Congress to vote in favour of any date change. That is unlikely given it would have to pass through the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.

Even if it were changed, the US constitution rules that a presidential administration only lasts for four years. So, President Trump's term will automatically expire at noon on 20 January 2021.

Changing this date would require an amendment to the US constitution. This would have to be approved by two-thirds of US lawmakers or state-level legislatures, then three-quarters of US states - which is, again, unlikely.

Image source, PA Media

Scotland's First Minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon said she made it "crystal clear" to Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP Margaret Ferrier that she should quit Parliament after making two long-distance train trips while having Covid-19 symptoms.

Speaking at the daily coronavirus press conference in Edinburgh, Sturgeon said the SNP MP was a "friend of mine" but said she had acted "recklessly, dangerously and completely indefensibly".

"Every day I stand here and ask you to make horrendous sacrifices because of Covid and it is really important, whether you love me or loathe me, that you can have confidence in the advice that I give you and that means me being clear that the rules apply to everyone regardless of who you are or where your political allegiance is," she said.

She said the SNP whip had been withdrawn and she had personally spoken to Ferrier to tell her she should resign as an MP. She added that she also wished her a speedy recovery.

The speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, said the reaction in Westminster when he was told on Wednesday had been immediate and "within 20 minutes we were in full swing" ensuring the safety and security of staff and members.

He said he "could not believe that somebody could be so reckless" and said "I am very angry that the House has been put at risk".

Sir Lindsay said he would expect Ferrier to consider her behaviour and "how it looked to the rest of the country". He added there was an ongoing police investigation into the matter.

James Gallagher
Health and science correspondent, BBC News

Donald Trump has clear risk factors - including his age, weight and being male - that all raise the chances of a severe coronavirus infection.He is 74 and has a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 30, which is the clinical definition of obesity.

Age is a clear and strong link to developing a severe infection, leading to hospital treatment and in some cases death.

"But most people who get an infection also get better," Dr Bharat Pankhania, from the University of Exeter medical school, told the BBC.

An early analysis of more than 100 studies, external, taking in data from around the world, showed the risk for children and young adults was tiny. But at age 75, it is estimated that one-in-25 people who catch coronavirus die.

A similar pattern has been seen by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC). It says eight-out-of-10 Covid deaths in the country have been in the over-65s. And people in Trump's age group are five times more likely to need hospital care and 90 times more likely to die than somebody in their 20s.

In a pre-recorded address to a charity event on Thursday evening, President Trump said "the end of the pandemic [was] in sight".

Hours after the message was played at the annual Al Smith Dinner in New York City, the president made what CBS News called an "earth-shattering announcement" - the tweet in which he said he had tested positive.

China has become the latest country to wish the US president and his wife a speedy recovery from coronavirus, the Reuters news agency reported, quoting a foreign ministry spokesperson.

The pandemic has only added further strain to already complicated relations between the two countries. Just last week, Trump used his speech at the UN General Assembly to blame Beijing for the spread of coronavirus.

The president has frequently accused China of covering up the virus, which was first detected in the city of Wuhan, saying they could have stopped the disease spreading. But China has called the comments an unfounded distraction.

US Vice-President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen have tested negative for Covid-19, the vice-president's spokesman says.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed a further 775 positive cases of Covid-19 have been recorded over the past 24 hours. This takes the total number of positive cases in Scotland to 30,687.

Sturgeon said the provisional data indicates the breakdown of new cases is as follows:

• NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde: 324
• NHS Lothian: 164
• NHS Lanarkshire: 102

The remaining cases are spread across a further nine of Scotland's 14 health boards.

Sturgeon added that a further four people who tested positive for the virus have died in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 2,526 deaths in Scotland by that measure.

There are also 175 patients in hospital with a confirmed case of Covid-19 (up 21), with 19 being treated in intensive care (up two) on Thursday.

She also confirmed the national Incident Management Team will meet later to discuss the ongoing situation in Glasgow and Lanarkshire.

Reality Check

For now, President Trump is not reported to be unwell, but if he did become too ill to carry out his duties, this is what the US constitution sets out:

The 25th Amendment allows a president to hand over power to his vice-president, which means Mike Pence would become acting president. Once fit again, Trump could then reclaim his position.

This happened during both the Ronald Reagan and George W Bush administrations, external.

If the president was too unwell to hand over power, the cabinet and vice-president could declare that he was unable to continue, and Pence would assume the role.

If Pence became incapacitated as well, under the Presidential Succession Act Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives - a Democrat - would be next in line, although constitutional experts say such a transfer of power would prompt legal battles.

If she were unwilling or unable to take on the role, it would be handed to a senior Republican Senator, currently the 87-year-old Charles E Grassley. This too would almost certainly face legal challenges.

Image source, Reuters

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he is sure President Trump and First Lady Melania will make a "very strong recovery".

Upasana Bhat
BBC Anti-disinformation unit

President Trump has spread some unproven and false information about Covid-19. But following his positive diagnosis, there are also false rumours circulating about things he did not say.

For instance, he never called the virus a "hoax" - contrary to several viral social media posts this morning. The confusion may have stemmed from rambling remarks way back in February, external, when he accused Democrats of "politicising the coronavirus". He then talked about his impeachment, calling it a "hoax" and criticism of his handling of Covid-19 "their new hoax".

The president has at times ignored social distancing and mask wearing recommendations, and earlier in the year on Twitter promoted hydroxychloroquine, an unproven coronavirus treatment.

And who can forget when he suggested in April that injecting bleach might cure the disease? While confusing - and while he has at times downplayed the severity of the disease - he did not directly call virus a "hoax".

Robert Cuffe
BBC head of statistics

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that 1 in 500 people in private homes in England had coronavirus in the week to 24 September.

This figure is unchanged on last week.

They further estimate there were 8,400 new infections a day, which is slightly down on last week's 9,600. But the ONS say it is too early to say infections have levelled off or are falling.

"There is some limited evidence that the incidence rate may be levelling off following steep increases during August and September, however the wide credible intervals mean it is too early to say," the report states.

A credible interval is a margin of error.

In Wales, the ONS estimates that 1 in 500 people in the community had coronavirus, in Northern Ireland the figure is 1 in 400.

You can read the full ONS report here., external

Image source, Getty Images

As the presidential race enter its final few weeks before the 3 November election, President Trump's positive Covid-19 diagnosis raises many questions. He is now in self-isolation but, according to his doctor, is expected to continue carrying out his duties without disruption.

Trump is known for his love of rallies, and he has attended several in recent weeks. But his scheduled events in Florida on Friday and in Wisconsin this weekend - two key swing states - have now been cancelled.

It is also not yet clear whether he will be able to attend in person the next debate with his Democrat rival Joe Biden on 15 October. That debate, in Miami, is scheduled to have a town hall-style session where voters get to question the candidates.

The third and final presidential debate is due to be held in Nashville on 22 October.

The vice-presidential candidates' debate, between Republican Mike Pence and Democrat Kamala Harris, is due to take place in Salt Lake City next Wednesday, on 7 October.

Here's our very simple guide to the US election.

Let's take a moment to recap what has been a very busy few hours following the news that US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for Covid-19:

• The president's doctor said Trump and Melania were "both well", and that the president would continue to work from the White House, where the couple were both isolating

• Their results came after one of Trump's key aides, Hope Hicks, tested positive
• In a tweet, President Trump, who is 74, said: "We will get through this TOGETHER!"

• World leaders, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin have sent their wishes for the couple's speedy recovery
• President Trump has been criticised for playing down the severity of the virus in the early stages of the pandemic and has attended campaign rallies without social distancing measures or widespread mask wearing
• The news comes just over a month before the presidential election, and raises questions over the next presidential debate, due to be held in two weeks' time

Strictly Come Dancing contestant HRVY has revealed he has tested positive for coronavirus, 10 days before the launch show is due to be filmed for BBC One.

The YouTube star and singer tweeted , externalto say he's "all good, no symptoms, just isolating for the next 10 days".

He added: "Already super bored so prepare yourselves for my TikToks."

A BBC spokesman confirmed HRVY had tested positive. The 21-year-old is still expected to take part in the series.

We reported earlier that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had tweeted he hoped the US president and first lady would have a "speedy recovery" from coronavirus. Other senior British politicians have also been sending their best wishes:

• International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said: "Wishing them both a speedy recovery."
• Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said he was "wishing the president and the first lady a speedy recovery".
• Conservative MP and former Chancellor Sajid Javid said: "I wish Donald and Melania Trump a speedy recovery from this awful virus. Our politics is not relevant."
• Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said that "on a personal level" he hoped Mr Trump and the first lady would "sail through" the virus.

Sarah Smith
Scotland Editor

Image source, PA Media

Five days a week, every week, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon appears on TV taking questions about her coronavirus policies and urging every one of us to abide by the rules.

So for the MP who has committed the most egregious breach of the regulations - possibly of the law - to be from her own Scottish National Party is acutely embarrassing.

The SNP leader has been quick to condemn others for breaking the rules and has made no attempt to defend or excuse Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP Margaret Ferrier.

This is the first minister who fired her chief medical officer for breaking lockdown rules back in April and demanded the sacking of the PM's chief adviser Dominic Cummings after he admitted breaching the regulations.

Sturgeon swiftly condemned Ferrier's behaviour as "utterly indefensible".

While SNP MPs called publicly Ferrier to resign, the first minister has spoken to her this morning and made it clear she should step down as an MP.

But the problem for the SNP is that they cannot force Ferrier to leave her job. They have already removed the party whip and suspended her from the SNP. But that is all they can do.

US President Donald Trump may have confirmed that both he and his wife have contracted coronavirus, but many questions remain.

The first is when and where he contracted the virus.

This is difficult to answer because - as we have reported a bit earlier - the president has maintained a busy schedule in the run-up to the election, and does not usually wear a mask.

According to the Associated Press news agency, however, the president alluded to the fact he had been in close contact with members of the military or law enforcement in an interview with Fox News on Thursday.

"They want to hug you, and they want to kiss you,” he said.

We know that he was tested after his aide, Hope Hicks, contracted the virus. But, as with the president, we do not know where and when she became infected.

We also do not know whether Vice-President Mike Pence, who has been with Trump this week, had been tested.

Image source, Google

A "raucous" event at a bar in north-east England posed a major Covid-19 risk and could result in the venue being shut down, the local council has said.

Newcastle City Council said the event at Perdu in the city was "a serious and imminent threat to public health".

Councillor John-Paul Stephenson said some premises were "spoiling everything for those who are bending over backwards to make this work".

Perdu's owners said the authorities acted on an eight-second Instagram video that did not give the true picture.

It comes after tighter coronavirus restrictions were introduced for around two million people living in the North East.

Here's more reaction from international leaders to our main news this Friday.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin said President Trump's "vitality, good spirits and optimism" would help him cope with the virus, according to the Kremlin.

"I send Donald and Melania Trump all my good wishes," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, according to her spokesman. "I hope that they recover well from their corona infection and are completely healthy again soon."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Like millions of Israelis, Sara [Netanyahu's wife] and I are thinking of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump and wish our friends a full and speedy recovery".