Could it be the system to "change people's lives" after nine weeks of lockdown, as the prime minister suggests? The NHS Test and Trace system is aimed at allowing nationwide lockdown restrictions to be lifted, in favour of more localised, targeted measures. And a 25,000-strong team will shortly begin texting, emailing or calling people who test positive with the virus in England to determine who they have recently been in contact with. Any of those contacts deemed at risk of infection will then be told to isolate for 14 days, even if they are not sick. Here's how it all works.

Scotland's contact tracing system also launches today, while Northern Ireland's programme is already up and running. Wales' scheme is due to start in early June. Science body the Royal Society says success will depend on how quickly contacts can be found and whether members of the public follow instructions, with one academic warning it's "no magic bullet".

Later, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is expected to confirm a slight easing of Scotland's lockdown restrictions. A formal review will almost certainly give the green light to the first of four phases in the "route map" announced last week, allowing people to meet outside with one other household at a time, provided they maintain 2m (6ft 6in) distancing. Sitting or sunbathing in parks could also be permitted, as well as some outdoor non-contact sports. Guidance in England has just been updated - remind yourself what's allowed and how restrictions differ in other parts of the UK.

More than 100,000 people have now died with coronavirus in the US, where the number of confirmed cases accounts for more than 30% of the 5.6 million global total. Despite that, its mortality rate is behind that of countries including the UK, Belgium, France and Ireland. We crunch the numbers and assess what the coming months might have in store for the US.

Meanwhile, North America editor Jon Sopel notes "an uncanny and almost tragically perfect piece of symmetry" with the accumulated number of US service personnel killed in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan across 44 years of fighting. He charts President Donald Trump's handling of the crisis, from telling Americans  "we pretty much shut it down" on 2 February to overwhelmed intensive care nurses wearing bin liners in lieu of protective kit.

After English Premier League clubs agreed to resume contact training - the latest step towards the resumption of the paused season - we look at how safety is being handled in Australia as rugby league starts up again.  And, with most athletes around the world still unable to compete, our picture gallery looks at how they've been keeping in shape.

The row over the prime minister's top aide taking a lockdown journey from London to County Durham continues to play out on the front pages. Minister Penny Mordaunt admitted disclosures about Dominic Cummings had “undermined key  public health messages”, reports the i. The paymaster general's email to constituents has "deepened the turmoil" within government, suggests the Guardian. Other papers focus on the launch of what the Daily Mail calls a "test and trace revolution". It  could "effectively replace lockdown", suggests the Daily Telegraph. However, the Times points out it means a "tighter lockdown" for hundreds of thousands of people given "personal responsibility" to self-isolate for 14 days even if they test negative.

From elsewhere

The Coronavirus Newscast assesses the grilling Boris Johnson was given by MPs on the Commons Liaison Committee. Meanwhile, The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed podcast finds Simon Armitage self-isolating in his West Yorkshire writing space, hoping to catch an owl in the garden as he approaches the end of his translation of medieval poem The Owl and the Nightingale.

Britain's Got Talent returns to our screens this weekend. Meet the blind 15-year-old singer who's the bookies' pre-season favourite to win. Or read about the remarkable transformation of an Indonesian militant, able to produce a bomb in just five minutes, who made it his mission both to prevent others following in his footsteps and to help former jihadis leave violence behind .