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By Andrew McFarlane

 
 

PM to update country as test deadline nears

 
 
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A new father he may be, but it's straight back to work for Boris Johnson after the birth of his new son. The prime minister will chair a cabinet meeting later, before updating the public on the steps being taken to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. And he will face an immediate deadline in the form of the government's pledge to carry out 100,000 virus tests a day by the end of the month. Our political editor Laura Kuenssberg says Mr Johnson will "seek to explain to the public how and why, if not exactly when, they will make the decisions that are vital, not just to our health, but the country's suffering economy too". She says he will emphasise the importance of the rate of infection, explained below, in any decision to ease lockdown conditions.

With an app tracking the movements of millions of people likely to be key to limiting the spread of the virus, our explainer looks at how contact tracing works, whether you have to take part and what happens to your data. Also with an eye to post-lockdown life, transport correspondent Tom Burridge reports on how thermal cameras are being tested at Bournemouth Airport to see if they can detect virus carriers before others are infected. Meanwhile, BBC News has seen a briefing to emergency planners suggesting London's transport system may be unable to cope with a surge in demand when lockdown measures are lifted.  

 
 

 

Positive news from South Korea

 
 

South Korea says it recorded no new domestically transmitted cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, as our live page notes. Meanwhile, US officials say there is "clear-cut" evidence that new drug remdesivir can help people recover after worldwide trials saw it cut the duration of symptoms. They warn, however, it is no "magic bullet".  


We have snapshots of how the virus is affecting life around the world, from the big screens installed to enable people stuck in Madrid apartments to watch films from their balconies, to remarkable photographs showing a "socially distanced" boxing match in Nicaragua. We also report how a single funeral caused a massive and deadly outbreak in the American state of Georgia.

 

Meanwhile, population correspondent Stephanie Hegarty talks to people in Mexico, Bangladesh and Nigeria who face going hungry for the first time after losing their jobs.

 
 

 

'Captain Tom' made colonel on 100th birthday

 
 

His efforts to walk 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday captured the imagination of a British public eager for a positive story amid the grim daily news. And as "Captain Tom" celebrates his centenary, having raised more than £29.5m for NHS charities, his nickname is in need of an update. Tom Moore has been made an honorary colonel to mark his efforts, with  Head of the Army General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith calling him "an inspirational role model".

That's not the extent of his presents. As well as a personalised card from the Queen - and another 140,000 or so from well-wishers - 
he will be made an honorary England cricketer by former captain Michael Vaughan. And Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has promised an RAF flypast.

 

 
 

The most important number

 

The reproduction number is a way of rating a disease's ability to spread. It's the number of people that one infected person will pass the virus onto, on average, assuming that nobody is immune and people don't change their behaviour to avoid getting ill.


If the reproduction number is higher than 1, then the number of cases increases exponentially - it snowballs like debt on an unpaid credit card. But if the number is lower than 1, then the disease will eventually peter out as not enough new people are being infected to sustain the outbreak.

 
 
 
 
 
  Read full analysis >   
 
 
 
 

James Gallagher

Science correspondent, BBC News

 
 
 
 

One thing not to miss today

The lives lost in a single day
 
 
 
 

Listen up

 
 

While the Coronavirus Newscast "shamelessly jumps on the new TV bandwagon" by hearing from Riyadh Khalaf, host of the Obsessed with... Normal People podcast, medical correspondent Fergus Walsh visits a hospital taking part in a large scale clinical trial that hopes to find a treatment. Meanwhile,  The Food Chain podcast examines how chefs have been fighting back against coronavirus, whether by supporting local farmers, providing Instagram inspiration to those stuck at home or serving meals to newly jobless migrant workers.

 
 
 

What the papers say

 
 
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More than one front page combines an image of Prime Minister Boris Johnson celebrating the birth of a son with one of NHS fundraiser Captain Tom Moore, who turns 100 today. The Daily Express has an exclusive birthday "battle cry" from the former Army officer, with the headline "together we will beat this enemy". However, Mr Johnson will "dash hopes" of those hoping the lockdown will end soon by saying it is too early, reports the Daily Telegraph. The Guardian reports hospital leaders' criticism of ministers and description of their target of 100,000 daily tests as "a 'red herring' that distracted from their failures". And, as the Daily Mirror declares the latest death toll "a national tragedy", the i says care homes represent the "new front line". The Daily Star, though, finds reason to cheer in pub chain JD Wetherspoon's plans to reopen "in or around June". Read the full review.

 
 
 

From elsewhere

 
 
 

Revealed: the inside story of the UK's Covid-19 crisis (Guardian)

 
 
 
 

We are doctors who study trauma. Here's how to cope with the Covid-19 crisis (Huffington Post)

 
 
 
 
 
 

Commuting in a pandemic: These health workers are trekking and canoeing (NPR)

 
 
 

When will holidays restart? A country-by-country guide, including France, Spain and Italy (Telegraph)

 
 
 
 

Need something different?

 
 

Following the birth of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's son to partner Carrie Symonds, Marie Jackson examines how the newborn will join a very exclusive club. And after the death of Irrfan Khan, who shot to prominence in Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, his biographer Aseem Chhabra charts the rise of an actor who couldn't afford a ticket to watch Jurassic Park - then ended up appearing in one of its sequels.

 

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