The R value, which measures the rate at which one individual passes on Coronavirus to others, has risen to between 0.7 and 1.0. 

The total death toll as result of Coronavirus now stands at 40,261, an increase of 357 as of today. 

In the daily briefing the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, announced that all hospital visitors and outpatients will now be required to wear face masks. Face coverings are already mandatory on public transport. 

Hancock also advised the public to not attend the protests for George Floyd in London this weekend because of the possible of the risk of further spreading the virus. 

The total death toll as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 39,728, an increase of 359 as of today. 

In the daily briefing the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, urged anyone with symptoms to apply for a test at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus, as soon as they develop symptoms. Johnson also announced that anyone arriving in the UK from abroad will be asked to isolate for 14-days.  

The Government’s report into BAME deaths as a result of Coronavirus has led to controversy after third-party submissions were left out of the Government’s commissioned report. Organisations such as the Muslim Council of Britain have expressed dismay at the lack of inclusion of their suggestions to tackle racism and discrimination in the NHS. 

The total death toll as a result of Coronavirus is 39,369, an increase of 324 as of today. 

The Chairman of the UK Statistics Authority has criticised the Government for their presentation of data on testing. The Government has recently claimed that their capacity for testing exceeds 200,000 a day. However, Sir David Norgrove has objected to this presentation of the testing figures because it does not give any indication of how many people are tested.

Death rates from Coronavirus in England have been higher amongst Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people, according to a government enquiry into the effects of Coronavirus on BAME people. People of Bangladeshi background face the greatest danger of dying from the disease, their risk of death is double that of white British people.

1,570 Coronavirus cases have been confirmed as of yesterday, the lowest since 25 March. The total death toll as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 39,045, an increase of 111 as of today. 

In the daily briefing Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, stated that this trend suggests that the UK government is making significant progress with combating the virus. 

According to a new survey, more than half of parents are planning to keep their children at home, despite primary schools being open to more pupils from Today. Schools across the country are trialing new measures, such as reducing class sizes to 15, to deal with Coronavirus. 

Brexit negotiations between the UK and EU are still undergoing. The deadline for the UK to request an extension for up to two years is the end of June.

In the daily briefing the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced plans to wind down the Government’s furlough scheme. The plan set out by the Chancellor aims to gradually end the furlough scheme by November. 

In the June and July the scheme will continue and the tax payer contribution will stay at 80%. 

In August, employers will be asked to pay national insurance and employer pension contributions – around 5% of the total employee cost – whilst the tax payer contribution remains at 80%. 

In September, taxpayers will contribute 70% and employers be asked to pay 10% towards furloughing workers. 

Finally, in October the taxpayer contribution will go down to 60% and the employer contribution will increase to 20%. The scheme will then end in November. 

From July the flexible furlough scheme will be made available to employers.  This will allow employers to retain workers part time, paying them for time worked, whilst the rest of their wage is made up through the furlough scheme. The deadline for applicants to the flexible furlough scheme will be June 10^th.

The Government’s self-employment income scheme will be extended in the same fashion that it was implemented in March. The self-employed will receive a single instalment of three months of average profits, the final grant making up 70% of their average earnings. 

Boris Johnson has announced that the Government’s new test and trace system will be launched in the UK tomorrow. 

In the daily briefing Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, announced that eligibility for testing will be expanded to include the under-fives. This means that everyone with Coronavirus symptom can now request a test. 

The Government’s new test and trace system, will, according to the Health Secretary, require people that have tested for Coronavirus symptoms to voluntary self-isolate. However, if people do not do so then these measures may become mandatory. 

From 9am tomorrow, if you are contacted by an NHS advisor asking you to isolate then you are required to do so. 

The steps for the trace and trace system are as follows: 

1) If you experience one or more of the symptoms of Coronavirus (a cough, a fever, or a loss of taste and smell) you must immediately self-isolate.

2) You should then book a test either by dialling 119 or using the Government’s Coronavirus website.  

3) NHS track and trace will then help you establish who you’ve been in contact with and who you might have been likely to infect. NHS track and trace will then contact those people on your behalf and you and the people you may have infected will then be asked to self-isolate for fourteen days.

The total deaths as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 37,048 as of today, an increase of 134. For the first time since March there were zero deaths recorded in Northern Ireland. Nationwide this week has seen the lowest number of Coronavirus deaths in six weeks. 

Over the weekend it was alleged by several newspapers that Dominic Cummings, a key advisor to the Prime Minister, had broken the rules of the quarantine and travelled do Durham to visit his family between 27 March and 14 April. In a statement on Monday Cummings denied breaking the conditions of the lockdown, claiming that his decision to travel to Durham to care for his four-year-old child was a response to what he perceived to be “exceptional circumstances.” By travelling to Durham, Cummings claimed that, he was exercising his “personal judgement” within the guidelines of the lockdown in response to exceptional circumstances. 

In response to Cumming’s refusal to apologise for his actions several Conservative MPs have resigned from their positions and called for the Prime Minister’s adviser’s resignation. 

The total death toll as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 36,042, an increase of as of today 368. 

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, started the daily briefing by drawing attention to mental health awareness week. Hancock announced that the government have given £4.2 million to mental health charities like Samaritans and Young Minds. 

Hancock also went on to give information about the antibody tests being developed by researchers in the UK. These tests, the Health Secretary warned, do not tell us whether people are immune to the virus but instead only reveal whether people have developed antibodies which may help to fight off the virus in future. 

The total death toll as a result of Coronavirus now stands at 35,704, an increase of 363 as of today. 

In Prime Minister’s Questions Boris Johnson stated that by June the government will have a test, track and trace system in place. 

The government’s plans to reopen schools in June if the rate of infection allows for it has been met with criticism from teachers unions and local authorities. 

Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, has warned that the UK’s economy could suffer permanent “scarring”. “We are”, the Chancellor stated, “likely to face a severe recession, the likes of which we haven’t seen.”