E3: Coronavirus UK live: Matt Hancock to hold daily Downing Street briefing

Boris Johnson ‘in good spirits’ after discharge from intensive care; No 10 defends Robert Jenrick’s lockdown journeys; public urged to stay home over Easter

The government’s daily coronavirus press briefing is due to begin shortly and will be fronted by the health secretary Matt Hancock.

He will be joined by the deputy chief medical officer for England, Jonathan Van-Tam and the chief nursing officer for England, Ruth May.

Boris Johnson has “been able to do short walks” as part of his recovery and has spoken to his doctors and medical team to thank them for “the incredible care” he has received, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister is back on a ward at St Thomas’ Hospital after being discharged from the intensive care unit where he was being treated for Covid-19.

The Prime Minister has been able to do short walks, between periods of rest, as part of the care he is receiving to aid his recovery.

He has spoken to his doctors and thanks the whole clinical team for the incredible care he has received.

United Private Hire Drivers, the representative body for UK private hire drivers, has initiated a legal challenge against what it has deemed central and local government failure to protect licensed private hire drivers and their passengers from Covid-19 infection.

Launching an emergency Crowdjustice campaign to raise the funds necessary to apply for a judicial review at the high court, the organisation has called on the health secretary, Matt Hancock, and the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to urge the government to introduce safety standards for private operators.

BREAKING: UPHD launches emergency legal action to force government to introduce Covid-19 safety standards for Uber and other private hire operators https://t.co/7xS815pxhV

Please support our emergency appeal for legal action to force @MattHancock @TfLTPH & @SadiqKhan to take action to protect Uber drivers & their NHS passengers from Covid-19 risk. Not one more Uber driver should die because of regulatory failure. https://t.co/rWCKNWCwy4

In an industry rife with worker rights abuse, the government must act quickly to put appropriate controls in place and if they do not, we will take legal action. We are prepared to do whatever it takes to make sure no driver dies because of corporate greed and regulatory inaction.

Key workers and members of the public making necessary journeys need private hire drivers. The health secretary has made draconian regulations against shops and members of the public, to protect the right to life.

But no regulations have been made against private hire operators like Uber. They operate without any laws requiring them to protect their passengers and drivers from Covid-19. The government must urgently use its powers to regulate private hire operators.

Experts in the US have warned of a potential rise in suicides as a result of public health measures to tackle the spread of Covid-19.

Writing in the journal JAMA psychiatry, the team said their warning does not mean such measures should not be used, but it is important suicide prevention is enhanced.

Economic downturns are usually associated with higher suicide rates compared with periods of relative prosperity.

The NHS is pulling out all the stops to respond to the biggest global health threat in a century, while also ensuring people can still access the mental health services they need.

There is capacity across the country to treat all those needing mental health support and 24/7 NHS crisis lines are ramping up across the country so we urge everyone to continue to come forward for essential and urgent care.

Those who are already vulnerable, including those who are socially disadvantaged and those with pre-existing mental health conditions are most at risk of suicide. We need to prioritise and shield the most vulnerable.

Rises in suicide and self-harm are not inevitable, especially if we act urgently. I urge the government to ensure that protecting the mental health of the nation is central to the Covid-19 response.

Following a degree of backlash after The Times reported (paywall) that our elected representatives are being offered £10,000 for additional office costs incurred as a result of the pandemic by parliament’s expenses authority, several MPs have taken to social media to clarify that this money is not “extra pay” for politicians.

Rather than being to help MPs work from home – as it has been framed in some reports – the money is available to be claimed in order to buy additional equipment such as laptops and printers for staff who are now having to work from home during the lockdown. This is on top of the £26,000 MPs can claim to cover office costs.

£10k emergency contingency budget available to MPs’ staff:

- MPs do not receive any £

- It is for staff working from home who do not have their own IT equipment

- It is only available for this purpose *IF* necessary

- It has to be accounted for and claims are published

The story about MPs getting extra pay is not true. No MP will see an extra penny of this in their bank accounts.

IPSA increased the office budget to provide staff who primarily work from the office the ability to work from home, and to produce & distribute COVID19 information.

Just to reassure people:

- MPs aren't being 'given £10,000 extra each'
- There is a contingency budget for office equipment because not all of our *staff* working from home have their own IT equipment
- It is there if - and only if - it is *needed*
- It has to be accounted for

In case you’re hearing rumours of “MPs given an extra £10,000 to work from home”. Its bollocks.

(ℹ️: The Parliamentary Watchdog IPSA has decided that it is increasing the IT + telephone allowance for staff working from home. Most are already set up.) https://t.co/dhiqTlIVCe

No, MPs haven't given themselves £10,000. The full myth-busting blog on the latest false claim doing the rounds about how parliament works https://t.co/l5VRpkWoQI

Another 29 people are reported to have died after testing positive for Covid-19 in Wales, taking the total there to 315.

There have been 502 new cases of the virus, bringing the total number of confirmed positive tests to 4,591, Public Health Wales said.

In other very British news, South Yorkshire police have apologised after a video circulating on social media appeared to show an officer reprimanding a man for using his own front lawn.

@syptweet @Alex_Stafford @UBJennings @rotherhamtiser Can we have some clarification on being allowed on your own Garden during the Governments lockdown and Social distancing.
One of your officers was recorded in Rotherham Eastwood village telling a...https://t.co/nJaLPt0iUq pic.twitter.com/aodWVf2xfw

This encounter was well-intentioned but ill-informed and we'd like to apologise for the way it was handled. We've spoken to the officer concerned and made our approach absolutely clear. Again, we apologise for any inconvenience caused & will continue our work to support the NHS.

Afternoon! This is Lucy Campbell again, bringing you up to speed with all the latest UK coronavirus developments for the rest of the day.

I’m extremely grateful to everyone who has already been in touch with tips and suggestions. If you’d like to contact me please feel free to email me at lucy.campbell@guadian.co.uk or via Twitter @lucy_campbell_.

Police Scotland has issued more than 500 fines to people ignoring the lockdown since the emergency powers came into force two weeks ago, and arrested others who refused to follow instructions, the chief constable, Iain Livingstone has said.

Taking part for the first time in Nicola Sturgeon’s daily coronavirus press conference, Livingstone said the fines and arrests came after police had to break up house parties or large groups of people gathering outside.

NHS England has announced 866 new deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 8,114.

Of the 866 new deaths announced today, 117 occurred on 9 April while 720 took place between 1 April and 8 April.

A further 10 people with coronavirus have died in Northern Ireland, taking the total number of deaths to 92.

There are 112 newly confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland - now a total of 1,589.

The first minister of Wales said the coronavirus lockdown could be “tightened” in Wales, including people not being allowed outside to exercise, if there was “large-scale flouting” of the guidelines.

Speaking at a press briefing in Cardiff, Mark Drakeford added fines could be increased but said he did not want to toughen measures because the rules are “an enormous burden” already.

We check every weekend with the police whether they think they have the powers they need and it’s important they are satisfied because they have to administer them.

The position last weekend was that their powers are sufficient, but if they come to me to say they need more powers, they will get more powers.

We will do the right thing for Wales at the time that it is right for Wales and we won’t be doing that by looking over our shoulders at what others are doing.

This is Jessica Murray, taking over the blog while my colleague Lucy has a short break.

A 30-year-old man has been charged with fraud after allegedly spending six free nights at a hotel by claiming to be an NHS worker.

Nicola Sturgeon has pledged her government will pass on the full Scottish share of any Treasury bailout for universities but said they had to have further discussions on changing the way the Scottish Funding Council, which finances the sector, funds teaching costs for students and research.

The first minister was asked about the Guardian’s report that Prof Sally Mapstone, the principal of the University of St Andrews, had warned her university was facing its worst financial crisis in recent history and had already lost £25m.

Related: UK universities plead for billions of pounds in support

The scale of the financial crisis facing universities is well understood by ministers.

We clearly want our universities to remain where they are right now, which is at the very forefront of global education in the quality of the education and research that they’re renowned for.

There are some very complex discussions we need to have. We know exactly what the universities have been asking for and will continue to have those discussions.

Here are all the main points from this afternoon’s lobby briefing from my colleague Frances Perraudin, including an update on the prime minister’s health and the wider government response to the pandemic.

The prime minister is back on a ward and continuing his recovery, which is at an early stage. He continues to be in very good spirits.

The PM is just beginning his recovery and he will be taking advice from his medical team.

The PM is enormously grateful for the care he is receiving from NHS staff. I am told that he was waving his thanks at all of the nurses and doctors that he saw as he was being moved from the intensive care unit to the ward.

The secretary of state has set out in two different statements the reasons for the journeys that he made. We are confident that he complied with the social distancing rules.

Like everybody else ministers have been told to work from home wherever possible and not make unnecessary journeys. As part of the coronavirus response there will be occasions where ministers have no option but to work from Whitehall. In the event this is required and the rest of the household is living elsewhere, it’s not an ‘unnecessary journey’ for them to travel to rejoin their family.

We set out a list of shops which could remain open and if the shops are on that list then they are free to sell whatever they have in stock, obviously providing its legal to do so.

We are facing an unprecedented situation. The FCO has been working hard to bring British nationals back from countries around the world.

Firefighters are to fit face masks for frontline NHS and clinical care staff and deliver medical supplies to hospitals and care facilities during the coronavirus outbreak.

Firefighters have been wearing respiratory masks for decades and the specialist trainers are certified to undertake the face-fit testing.

This public health crisis will require all of us to do our bit to get through it, and firefighters rightly want to play as much of a part as they can.

We all have to pull together to get through this crisis

That's why firefighters will now be able to use their expertise to fit face masks for NHS and care staff treating coronavirus patients and deliver vital PPE and medical supplies

We stand togetherhttps://t.co/VwK8ZggeX4

Downing Street said shops that are allowed to remain open during the lockdown are free to sell whatever items they have in stock.

Asked about the idea of police patrolling particular supermarket aisles to see what people are buying, the prime minister’s spokesman said:

We set out a list of shops which could remain open and if the shops are on that list then they are free to sell whatever they have in stock. Obviously provided it’s legal to do so.

Commenting on the news that the housing secretary Robert Jenrick visited his elderly parents, the prime minister’s official spokesman said they were “confident” he had complied with physical distancing rules:

The secretary of state has set out in two different statements the reasons for the journeys which he made.

We’re confident that he complied with the social distancing rules.

Like everybody else, ministers have been told to work from home wherever possible, and not make unnecessary journeys.

As part of the coronavirus response there will be occasions when ministers have no option but to work from Whitehall.

Boris Johnson is in “very good spirits” after being discharged from intensive care, Downing Street said at the daily lobby briefing.

The prime minister’s spokesman said he was “enormously grateful” for the care he had received from NHS staff at St Thomas’ Hospital. He said:

I am told he was waving his thanks towards the nurses and doctors that he saw as he was being moved from the intensive care unit back to the ward.

Hopefully it was clear to the staff that he was waving his gratitude.

The prime minister is back on a ward and continuing his recovery which is at an early stage. He continues to be in very good spirits.

Decisions such as this will be on the advice of his medical team. They have given him brilliant care.

A man has been arrested in Greater Manchester after biting a female police constable and punching two other officers as they enforced lockdown.

Police were called on Thursday evening to reports a man was causing a disturbance on Drake Street in Rochdale.

Attending officers had attempted to explain to the man that in line with government guidelines around Covid-19, people shouldn’t be going around to other people’s homes, Greater Manchester police (GMP) said. While trying to engage with the man, two officers were both punched. One of those officers - a 21-year-old female police constable - was then seriously bitten and had to attend hospital, before being discharged to recover at home.

A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, domestic violence assault, section 18 assault with intent to resist arrest and regulation 8 of the Health Protection Regulation 2020 (Coronavirus). He remains in police custody for questioning by officers.

Superintendent Richard Hunt, of GMP’s Rochdale district, said:

No police officer should have to come to work – doing a job to serve and protect our communities – and be assaulted. It is absolutely disgusting that my officer was faced with this last night and all of our thoughts are with her as she rests at home.

This is a particularly challenging time for everybody at the moment, made worse by something so mindless like this. Having spoken to the officer earlier this morning, she said that last night’s incident was a stark contrast to the support she has felt over the past few days, whilst she has been delivering Easter eggs to local children whilst out on patrol. This just goes to show that thankfully, incidents like this are not a reflection of the vast majority of the public, who are showing great support to us.

A further 48 people have died in Scotland after testing positive for Covid-19, bringing the total there to 495, the first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced.

Sturgeon said there are now 5,275 confirmed positive cases in Scotland, up by 318 from 4,957 the day before.

@NicolaSturgeon says another 48 people in Scotland have died from #covid19, total up to 495 fatalities. 5275 positive cases now, with 1832 people in hospital #coronavirusuk

Two-thirds (67%) of nurses do not feel they have access to sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE), a survey has found.

Almost 3,500 nurses responded to the survey by the Nursing Standard, with just under a third (31%) saying they have used their own money to buy PPE, and one in 10 (11%) saying they resorted to making their own.

I feel I am risking my life to care for these patients. And I feel I will be the next victim of Covid-19 if it carries on.

Two thirds of nurses say they don't have sufficient access to PPE, a Nursing Standard survey suggests. 1 in 3 of the almost 3,500 UK nurses who took part said they have bought their own PPE, while 1 in 10 have resorted to making their own https://t.co/RD4f27y6Xp

The leaders of the UK’s headteachers’ unions have told the Department for Education they hope schools in England can reopen even for as little as two weeks before the summer holidays, if scientific advice allows.

The leaders of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) told Schools Week that the DfE had shown interest in the idea of pupils having a limited return before the end of July, rather than waiting until the new school year starts in September.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of ASCL, said it would be “incredibly cathartic” if schools could reopen, and helpful for pupils preparing to move from primary to secondary school. But he cautioned:

What we don’t want to do is spook people into thinking schools will be opening in a week’s time, but we do need to start thinking about what it would look like if we get children back for a few weeks in the summer term.

Of course, it won’t happen if the public health experts say the timing isn’t right, but it’s something to start thinking about.

Once the scientific advice is that schools can return safely, they should do so, even if it’s for a very limited period before the summer break, as this will allow young people to reacquaint themselves with the educational environment.

A boutique hotel in Edinburgh run by one of the world’s oldest medical bodies says it has now donated more than 1,000 nights of free accommodation to health workers involved in combating the coronavirus.

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd), which traces its origins to 1505 and now trains and accredits surgeons from across the world, opened its hotel Ten Hill Place next to its headquarters, Surgeons’ Hall, in 2005 to raise funds.

We’ve heard and seen directly from our colleagues how severe the impact Covid-19 is on our health service. Having accommodation near hospitals to rest and recover allows our colleagues to be looked after, at a time when they need the most support.

Fewer than one in five healthcare workers who suspected they had coronavirus actually tested positive for the disease, according to one of the first published UK studies of mass testing on NHS workers.

Scientists from Sheffield, which started testing all symptomatic healthcare workers a fortnight before much of the rest of the UK, have published research showing that 81% of staff reporting symptoms tested negative.

In a time where healthcare systems are particularly stretched, it is important to be able to maximise the available workforce. Facilitating testing may substantially decrease absence in staff when [coronavirus] can be excluded.

While it is important that the provision of testing is carefully balanced with consideration of laboratory capacity, increasing laboratory capacity to allow widespread testing of NHS staff could be a vital tool in achieving adequate staffing during the Covid-19 outbreak, and reducing the risk of transmission to vulnerable patients.

The public have been warned they are more likely to see police officers in masks and gloves in certain situations during the pandemic where there is considered to be a risk of transmission.

Police chiefs said officers can wear fluid-resistant masks and gloves when sat in cars or vans with colleagues or when they can not keep 2 metres away from members of the public. The guidance said:

It is recommended that PPE (minimum of a fluid resistant surgical mask and gloves (non-latex)) should be readily available for officers where it is necessary to deploy double-crewed patrols or in personnel carriers.

They have also be told at all times they should have PPE ‘readily available’ capable of being donned quickly.

This is not only about protecting colleagues, it’s also about protecting the public. Policing is dangerous and unpredictable but every measure must be taken to keep officers as safe as possible. Face masks, gloves and hand sanitisers are the absolute basic we would expect our colleagues to be provided with in this current crisis.

We have sufficient stocks of personal protective equipment for all forces and have established a reliable supply chain to ensure it is available to forces in the quantities needed.

There are “heartbreaking” cases of employees being made redundant after being denied help from the government’s job retention scheme, Citizens Advice has said, fearing the government’s “bold” action to protect workers during the pandemic could be undermined by confusion and “patchy use” of the scheme by some employers.

The charity said advisers are seeing daily cases of people who are at risk of slipping through the safety net despite potentially being entitled to support.

I spoke to my manager and explained that if someone in my home caught coronavirus and passed it on to my daughter the chances are she would die.

They said that as a driver I would not be in contact with many people and could I not just self-isolate in my cabin. I said that wouldn’t be possible.

The government has unveiled a remarkable package of support to help people keep their heads above water during this crisis.

It must now ensure employers are using this to protect their workers, as well as opening it up to cover even more people.

Costume staff from the English National Opera have turned their skills to making scrubs for medics on the frontline of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On their GoFundMe page, organiser Sarah Bowern explains:

We are a team of costume staff from the English National Opera raising money to make scrubs for our amazing NHS.

The original costume team from Downton Abbey are putting their talents to about the most important use imaginable right now.

The original costume team from #DowntonAbbey are putting their talents to about the most important use imaginable right now… #HelpingDressMedics.

Please read and support if you can: https://t.co/wNj64P0WLO#fundraiser #covid19 #coronavirus @scott_dulcie @NHSMillion

The legendary Manchester nightclub, the Hacienda, which closed down in 1997, is hosting a stay at home rave tomorrow to help keep people entertained and encourage them not to venture out over the Easter weekend.

The line-up includes former Hacienda resident DJs Graeme Park, Jon DaSilva and Tom Wainwright, as well as US house music legends Todd Terry, David Morales and Roger Sanchez. The event, which begins at noon and finishes at midnight, can be watched online here.

Morrisons Foundation, the charitable arm of Morrisons supermarket, has set aside a fund of £500,000 over the next three months to help charities offer additional protection, services and support to the homeless as a result of Covid-19.

Rough sleepers have been identified as one of the most at-risk groups, as they are more likely to have underlying health conditions and are less able to access basic sanitation.

Morrisons is committed to helping the most vulnerable in our society. We know that the coronavirus outbreak presents a particular risk to the homeless and we want to do our bit to help. This new fund will help charities doing vital work to care for the homeless at this critical time.

Our member charities need cash to pay for staff, personal protective equipment, food and other essentials to a level they could not possibly have envisaged a few months ago. We are so pleased this is being recognised.

Further to our earlier post, Cambridgeshire police have posted another statement on Twitter to clarify that officers “are not monitoring what people are buying from supermarkets”.

It said an earlier tweet (now deleted) had been made by an “over exuberant officer”. It caused a stir online after it seemed to suggest officers had checked “the non essential aisles were empty” in a local Tesco.

For clarification, the force position, in line with national guidance, is that we are not monitoring what people are buying from supermarkets. This message was sent with good intentions by an over exuberant officer who has been spoken to since this tweet was published.

Whilst the majority of people in our communities are abiding by the social distancing measures we have had to issue a small number of fines to those who are flouting the rules. None of these have been in relation to shopping or supermarket visits.

The shadow home secretary has urged the cabinet minister Robert Jenrick to fully explain himself after the Guardian revealed he had travelled more than an hour away to visit his parents at the weekend – despite warning others to stay at home during the coronavirus lockdown.

The communities secretary – who has made media appearances urging people to save lives by remaining in their properties even if tempted to see loved ones – went to see his parents at their Shropshire home, 40 miles by road from his own.

Related: Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick visited his parents during Covid-19 lockdown

I think that’s for him to explain. As you know, the delivery of essential supplies like food and medicine to vulnerable people, vulnerable family members, would be permissible in the exceptions that there are for people to go outside.

But I think it’s very important now for public confidence that Robert Jenrick fully explains himself and why exactly that journey was necessary.

Related: Robert Jenrick urged to explain visit to parents during lockdown

A doctors’ leader has insisted that GPs will visit elderly residents of care homes during the coronavirus outbreak after complaints that doctors were refusing to attend sick patients in residential care.

Dozens of elderly residents, many of whom have underlying health problems and dementia, have died in Scottish care homes or fallen ill with Corvid-19, including several large clusters. Care England, the industry body, estimates up to 1,000 people have died in English care homes but have not been officially counted.

Related: Covid-19: Hundreds of UK care home deaths not added to official toll

GPs will continue to deliver the same high level of care and support that they have always provided to their patients in care homes. GPs have had to rapidly adapt the way that they deliver clinical care in the last few weeks, with much more advice and assessment being done over the telephone or by video consulting, where it is safe and appropriate to do so.

The safety of care home residents is very important to GPs, and for that reason, they would only visit in person where there is a clinical need to do so, to reduce the potential risk of bringing any infection into the home. If a face to face visit is needed, they will wear the appropriate PPE to protect staff and residents.

It seems Cambridgeshire police have raised some eyebrows on social media with the news that officers attended Tesco in the village of Bar Hill this morning and checked “non-essential aisles”. Judging by comments on the post on Twitter, this has left many confused over what constitutes (and who determines what constitutes) a “non-essential” aisle or item.

Officers have been patrolling supermarkets this morning, just a day after a chief constable was criticised for suggesting officers could search shopping trolleys if people kept flouting social distancing rules.

Officers visited Tesco Barhill this morning as part of their patrols around supermarkets and green spaces this weekend.

Good to see everyone was abiding by social distancing measures and the non essential aisles were empty.

Huge thanks to everyone at Bellina Chocolate House in #Cambridge for the generous donation of chocolate goodies to officers at Parkside Police Station today! pic.twitter.com/tZq2RTuK3O

A 460-bed Nightingale hospital for the north-east is to be built in Washington, Tyne and Wear, the Conservative MP Richard Holden has said.

It is being built with the help of the army at the International Advanced Manufacturing Park in a unit that is bigger than a football pitch, and will be divided into 16 wards, which will take coronavirus patients if units in the region cannot cope with demand.

Great to see the North East and Cumbria get the go-ahead in #Washington for the new Nightingale Hospital.

It'll provide 460 beds, if necessary, for those with #coronavirus in addition to existing NHS hospital capacity.

In a separate interview this morning as he did the early broadcast round, Dr Paul Cosford said it was “not unreasonable” to expect the lockdown to continue for several weeks.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

I think several weeks isn’t unreasonable. Let’s hope its sooner than that.

All my experience dealing with any sort of infectious disease suggests once you start getting things under control, that is the time you absolutely need to continue with all your measures so you can bring the disease right down, essentially to crack it across the country.

I could conceive of circumstances in which some of the restrictions are lifted sooner and some are lifted later.

Just for now, we are getting on top of this but we have got an awfully long way to go and it is absolutely critical that we continue with all the actions that are required of us.

The O2 arena in Greenwich is being turned into a training facility for NHS staff, in a bid to support the rapidly constructed NHS Nightingale hospital at ExCel London.

At present, the centre is expected to operate from 12 April until 29 June – with the facility available without a hire fee.

Dr Paul Cosford, the medical director for Public Health England, has called for people to stay at home over the Easter weekend because physical distancing measures are working.

Reiterating the “good news” issued by Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, at the daily news briefing on Thursday, Cosford said the number of new cases looked to be starting to flatten and the number of deaths was not accelerating as fast as it would if there was “uncontrolled transmission” across communities.

People are complying [with the measures] in a very large majority and the impact that is having is that transmission is much, much less than it would otherwise be.

The most important thing now is we continue [to stay at home] so we can get through the peak and come down the other side.

'The good news is that social distancing really has been working... The most important thing now is that we continue with it so we get through the peak and that's going to take some time yet.'

Medical Director for Public Health England Paul Cosford. pic.twitter.com/zINJAWFISx

Good morning! This is Lucy Campbell, I’ll be taking over the blog for the rest of the day. We’ll be bringing you all the latest UK developments on coronavirus. As always, any tips, comments, advice or suggestions are most welcome. Please feel free to email me at lucy.campbell@guardian.co.uk or get in touch via Twitter, I’m on @lucy_campbell_.

The TV presenter Kate Garraway says her husband, who is being treated in hospital for Covid-19, is still in intensive care and “very ill”.

In a message read out on air by her Good Morning Britain co-presenter Ben Shephard, Garraway said it “remains an excruciatingly worrying time”.

It is hard to find the right words because thank you alone just doesn’t seem enough but I do thank them with all my heart as I know Derek would also want to if he could.

I also want to say thank you so much to everyone who has sent messages of support. I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to respond to them but I hope you understand I’m focusing on Derek and my family right now.

Boris Johnson’s father, Stanley, has spoken of his relief after the prime minister was moved from intensive care where he was being treated for Covid-19.

Stanley Johnson said he was “amazingly thankful” for the efforts of the NHS and appreciative for the outpouring of support.

My colleague, Robert Booth, also brings readers an exclusive story on today’s Guardian front page detailing how hundreds of people are dying in care homes from confirmed or suspected coronavirus without yet being officially counted.

He reports that more than 120 residents of the UK’s largest charitable provider of care homes are thought to have died from the virus in the last three weeks, while another network of care homes is reported to have recorded 88 deaths.

Now relatives of the dying must say goodbye by phone or through bedroom windows, the solace of touch made impossible by fear of contagion.”

Morning folks, Simon Murphy here to steer you through this morning’s UK coronavirus news. To recap, the nation was given a dose of good news when it emerged last night that prime minister Boris Johnson had been moved from intensive care where he was being treated for coronavirus. He remains at St Thomas’ hospital in London.

Separately, the Guardian revealed that the cabinet minister Robert Jenrick travelled to visit his parents at the weekend, despite repeatedly urging the public to stay at home during the lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus. The Guardian established that the housing, communities and local government secretary – who has made media appearances urging people to save lives by remaining in their properties even if tempted to see loved ones – went to see his parents at their Shropshire home, 40 miles by road from his own.

THE GUARDIAN: Hundreds dying of virus in care homes not counted in official data #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/DqOd2Gzl4x

TELEGRAPH: ⁦@BorisJohnson⁩ out of ICU #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/hbucArpjL9

MAIL: So much for lockdown minister! #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/KH5uicHBv3

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