The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced that the government will continue their job retention scheme until October. The scheme, which allows workers to be paid 80% of their wages up to £2,500 a month, will allow require employers to make contributions from August but also allow them to move workers onto part-time hours. This change comes after the government faced pressure from unions to ensure that that the percentage of worker’s wages paid to them through the scheme would not be cut.

The total death toll as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 32,692, an increase of 627 in the last 24 hours. 

Today the government published a 50-page document, “Our Plan to Rebuild”, which set out a three-phased plan for easing the nationwide lockdown. 

The first phase of the strategy will be begin this week and allow citizens of England to leave their homes as many times as they’d like for exercise and leisure. Scotland, Wales and Northern Island have not altered their lockdown restrictions. The report advises that people use face coverings in places where social distancing cannot be observed, such as on public transport.

The report goes on to state that the only long-term solution to Coronavirus is a vaccine or a drug-based treatment, which may be more than a year away. 

Phase two of the government’s plan, which will not take place before June 1, will involve the reopening of primary schools and non-essential shops. There is a possibility that households may be allowed to mix with one another at this stage. 

Phase three, which will take place no sooner than June 4, will involve the opening of restaurants, pubs, hotels, and hairdressers. Business which cannot meet social distancing guidelines will not be re-opened, according to the report. 

Research by the ONS has shown that men in blue-collar jobs were more than twice as likely than the rest of the working age population to contract Coronavirus. These findings come after government’s decisions to allow workers from the construction industry and other similar trades to return to work. 

The total deaths as a result of Coronavirus now stand at 30,615, an increase of 539 as of today. 86,583 test were carried out yesterday, an increase on yesterday’s figure but bellow the target of 100,000 a day set last month.

The reproduction number, R, which measures the rate at which the virus is transmitted from person to person is now between 0.5 and 0.  

In the daily briefing Dominic Raab confirmed that the Prime Minister will put forward a plan on how lockdown measures will be eased on Sunday. Although the content of these changes have not been made explicit, Boris Johnson has said that they would be “very limited”. 

The Bank of England has warned that the UK is set to enter the worst recession for 300 years with a drop in output of almost 30% in the first half of 2020. 

The total Coronavirus death toll has now passed that of Italy’s, standing at 29,427, an increase of 693 as of today. 

In the daily briefing Dominic Raab, the Secretary of State, rejected attempts to draw comparisons between the UK and Italy. 

Doctors in Birmingham have launched an urgent report into BAME deaths as a result of Coronavirus. This report comes after several media reports have drawn attention to the disproportionate number of Black Asian and Minority people that have died as a result of Coronavirus.

The number of key workers and members of their family who have tested positive for Coronavirus has overtaken the number of sick people in hospitals. 

The total death toll as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 28,734, an increase of 288. 

In his daily briefing Matt Hancock announced the start of the government’s track and trace app will be trialled this week in the Isle of White. He has asked anyone living on the Island to download the app. 

In the UK the department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy have issued guidelines on a possible return to work. Guidelines include curtailment of hot-desking, closing of staff canteens and the staggering of shifts to minimise contact that could potential transmit the virus. The report, put together after consultation with executives, trade bodies and unions, has been met with criticism. The TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady has criticised the report for leaving it up to employers to decide what constitutes a safe distance between workers, cleaning practices and PPE provision. 

Within the Labour Party, Jennie Formby, a key supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, has resigned from her position as Party Secretary. The move has been widely seen as signally a major sea change within the Party. 

lockdown measures have been eased in Spain and Italy, allowing millions to return to work and participate in public life. 

The total death toll as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 27,510, an increase of 739. 

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, announced that the government had met their target, set in the beginning of April, of reaching 100,000 tests per day by the end of April. According to the Health Secretary 122,347 were administered on 30^th April. 

The total deaths as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 26,711, an increase of 674 as of today. 

The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, gave the daily briefing for the first time since being admitted to hospital for Coronavirus earlier this month. Johnson announced that we have now passed the peak of the spread of the virus and that the rate of infection is below one across the country, meaning that one person with the virus on average infects less than one person.

The total Coronavirus death toll, including deaths in care homes, hospitals and the wider community, now stands at 26,097. The increase of 3,811 from yesterday’s figure is a result of the government’s decision to add deaths outside of hospitals to the total. The figure of 3,811 includes deaths spread over the period between 2 March to 28 April. The total deaths increased today by 769.

The government has stood by their commitment, made early this month, to have 100,000 tests a day. In the daily briefing Raab stated that the government was still working on increasing capacity for tests. 

The total death toll as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 18,738, an increase of 616. 

In his daily briefing Matt Hancock, the Health secretary, stood by the government’s commitment to keep the lockdown restrictions in place. He also stated that it was the government’s aim to continue to increase testing up to the 100,000 per day figure given early this month. As of today, capacity for test, as opposed to actual tests administered, has increased to 50,000 a day. 

Employers of essential workers will be able to get a Coronavirus test for their workers and essential workers will be also be able to get a test through the new Coronavirus website set up by the government. These tests will not only be available to key workers from tomorrow but to their families as well.  

UK Universities have reported losses of more than £2bn and have asked the government for a bailout. The government has yet to respond with a proposal. 

The daily recorded death toll increased to 18,100, an increase of 763. 

The government continues to receive criticism for the inadequate supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Today the European Commission stated that the government had been given an opportunity to bulk buy PPE with EU countries but refused to do. The call for joint European wide procurement of PPE was, according to the Commission, announced on 31 January. 

Prime Minister’s Questions resumed today with Dominic Raab, standing in for Boris Johnson, facing up against the newly elected head of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer. 

Alongside the first Secretary Dominc Raab, General Sir Nick Carter, Chief of the Defence Staff, gave the daily briefing. Both Raab and Carter drew attention to the role that the armed forces have played in supporting the NHS during the pandemic.