The second question comes from Katie in Preston - she says she is a parent of a child with significant additional needs and the lockdown has had an impact on her. She asks about the easing of lockdown and "social bubbles".

Hancock says they "do not underestimate the impact" on people in her situation.

The announcement of "social bubbles" yesterday will "give some relief" to those in difficult circumstances including lone parents, he says.

He says she is "at top of mind" when they think about what further measures they can take.

"I hope we can bring relief to you as soon as possible," he adds.

Here's more on social bubbles.

The panel is asked about support for firms if employees are asked to self-isolate if identified as part of the test and trace scheme.

Matt Hancock says businesses can "mitigate" the risk of this by making sure they have a "Covid-secure workplace" by following government guidance.

He says this will make it less likely that a whole team will be asked to self-isolate, because workers will be less likely to have been in close contact with someone who tests positive.

Dido Harding says however she appreciates this will "not be possible 100% of the time".

Reality Check

Image source, Getty Images

The government has announced that in the 24 hours up to 09:00 BST today, 197,007 tests were carried out or posted out and 1,266 tests were positive.

The government hasn’t given a figure for how many people have been tested, as opposed to tests carried out, since 22 May. (More than one test may be carried out on each person and some sorts of tests do not count as people being tested).

But it turns out that we also don’t know exactly how many people have tested positive because people who have been tested twice may well come out as positive twice and the system does not always notice the duplication.

Prof John Newton, who heads the testing programme, said today they could not always prevent this happening because “positive cases come from a number of different sources and we don’t always have enough information”.

In addition, we do not know how many of those positive cases have been in England (which is important for assessing the Track and Trace system) because some tests taken in one of the four nations may then be processed in a lab in another.

Baroness Harding reiterates that those with Covid-19 symptoms should book a test.

Then, if NHS test and trace gets in touch, you should go online or call us, she says, and provide the service with accurate information about close contacts.

"The system is working well at scale," she says.

"You are trusting in us... we will keep learning and refining but I am confident we are building a high quality service."

Baroness Dido Harding, who runs the government’s coronavirus test and trace scheme in England, begins by going through the system's first statistics.

In the first week of the programme, 8,117 people testing positive for coronavirus had their case transferred to the contact tracing system, she says.

Of those, 5,407 people (67%) provided their recent contacts - she says it is "very encouraging" most offered the information within 24 hours.

A total of 31,794 recent contacts were identified through the Test and Trace Service.

Of these, 26,985 (85%) were reached and agreed to self-isolate, she says.

"This was done speedily and timely," Baroness Harding adds.

"Given it is still early days this is really encouraging, the vast majority of people are responding positively."

Read our story on the test and trace figures here

Find out more about the system here: How does contact tracing work in England?

Hancock says today's figures on the test and trace system "paint a positive picture" of the scheme in operation so far.

The system "is working well", he says, and it will "keep getting better".

He adds that ministers are confident it "will be world class".

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says the "downward trend" of hospital admissions and hospitalisations shows the virus "is in retreat".

He says the figures show "good progress", but he adds: "Clearly there is more to do".

Turning to the test and trace system, he says that monitoring the spread of the virus will be "critical" to easing lockdown.

"Test and trace is our radar, if you like," he says - repeating that he considers complying with the new system a "civic duty".

Matt Hancock begins today's Downing Street briefing by running through the latest stats.

He says 197,007 tests were carried out yesterday – this official figure includes testing kits posted out during the 24-hour period.

He adds that despite a "vast increase" in testing, cases "continue to fall" - with 1,266 cases confirmed yesterday.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock is making his opening remarks at today's UK government daily briefing.

You can watch live by pressing the play button in the picture above and we'll bring you the latest here.

Image source, Getty Images

America's Yosemite National Park is reopening to the public on Thursday following months of closure due to the pandemic.

Two campgrounds are open and visitors will have access to some of the park's popular sites and miles of trails, but they'll need to make reservations first.

During this first opening phase, the park is allowing a limited number of guests: 1,700 vehicle passes each day. That's about 50% of what's typical for this time of year, according to park officials.

The park is planning to operate this system until October and will re-evaluate the need for it based on public health guidance, the park's website states, external.

More on US national parks:

• Coronavirus: Is it safe to visit US national parks?
• Appalachian Trail: Covid postpones the great American adventure

Natalie Sherman
New York business reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The number of Americans filing for unemployment fell again last week, staying below 2 million for the second week in a row.

That might sound like good news - and no doubt, optimists will view the figures published by the Labor Department on Thursday as a sign that the worst of the economic damage may be over.

But take a closer look: 1.5 million people made new claims. Before the pandemic shut down the economy in March, that would have set a record.

Meanwhile, more than 30 million people continue to collect benefits.

In March, Congress enhanced the unemployment programme, increasing payments and expanding the kinds of workers eligible to participate.

Those changes are due to expire at the end of July and if Congress does approve further emergency aid it is likely to be less generous.

Millions of people's livelihoods depend on what they do.

Image source, Reuters

US stocks have fallen sharply as concerns grow about a second wave of the coronavirus and the Federal Reserve issued a grim forecast for US economic prospects.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve indicated that it was expecting to provide years of support for the economy. Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned that there would be an "extended period" where it would be "difficult for many people to find work".

Latest unemployment figures for the US show a further 1.5 million people lost their jobs in the past week. The total number of unemployment benefit claims made since mid-March stands at 44.2 million.

Also worrying investors is news that the daily number of new coronavirus cases is increasing in 20 states.

Image source, Getty Images

England's schools will not remain open over the summer for the children of key workers, Downing Street has confirmed.

Many schools had stayed open over the Easter break to provide care for children whose parents were working on the coronavirus front line.

But no such provision will be made over the traditional six-week summer holiday, the prime minister's official spokesman confirmed.

How likely children are to catch and spread coronavirus is a frequent topic when it comes to discussing reopening schools.

The problem is that Covid-19 is a new disease and not something scientists have had long to study - meaning the available data on the subject that's currently available is sparse.

Our health correspondent Laura Foster explains what we do know currently about how children are affected by the virus.

As we'll be hearing from the UK government in the next 30 minutes, let’s take a look at today's coronavirus headlines.

• A total of 41,279 people have died after testing positive for the virus, a rise of 151 from yesterday's figure
• Ministers are facing calls from Tory backbenchers to drop the 2m (6ft) social distancing rule in England
• New figures from NHS England reveal the major disruption to cancer care during the pandemic
• More than 17,000 fines for alleged breaches of lockdown laws have been issued in England and Wales

Daniel Sandford
Home Affairs Correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Fines issued for breaching Covid-19 regulations in England and Wales have fallen dramatically since the initial easing of lockdown measures, almost a month ago, on 13 May.

Of the 15,715 Fixed Penalty Notices issued in England since lockdown began - up to Monday 8 June - only 1,526 have been issued since mid-May.

National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) chairman Martin Hewitt said the police approach of "engaging, explaining and encouraging" continued to be successful: " Since measures eased in England, the number of fines issued has seen a sustained fall," he said.

Fines have been more often given to young men, aged between 18 and 24, and were more likely to be issued at weekends and during warmer weather.

In the past two weeks the most fines were handed out on Saturday 30 May, when 96 were issued in England.

London’s Metropolitan Police has only issued three fines since 25 May, having issued 1,060 before that date.

Fines issued in recent weeks have been for things such as driving with non-household members, house parties and camping.

"Behind each fine is a case where someone has failed to listen and do the right thing," said Hewitt.

But he added: “I would like to thank the vast majority of people who are continuing, as they have always done, to abide by the lockdown measures and the government’s advice."

Image source, PA Media

Filming on the famous cobbles of Coronation Street has resumed, 11 weeks after lockdown measures called a halt to shooting on set.

A scaled-down cast and crew have returned to film new episodes of Britain's most iconic soap - but the Rovers and Roy's Rolls remain closed, with filming focused on "brilliant dialogue being played brilliantly by an extremely talented set of cast".

"What we've done is pushed the writing and pushed the performance to the fore," says Iain MacLeod, series producer.

Actors must do their own make-up and hair, while "Dave the security guard" wields a two-metre pole to ensure the cast respects the social-distancing guidelines while on set.

The soap opera, which has been screened three days a week throughout the lockdown, will continue to focus on key storylines with only passing references to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic

The new episodes will be on screen in July. You can see them in action here..

Image source, PA Media

Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli has been suspended for one match by the Football Association over a social media post about coronavirus.

The England international, 24, put a video on Snapchat in February in which he joked about the outbreak and appeared to mock an Asian man.

Alli has been fined £50,000, ordered to undertake an education course, and will miss Spurs' match at home to Manchester United on 19 June.

"In response to the FA decision, I would like to apologise again for any offence caused by my behaviour," he said. "It was an extremely poorly judged joke about a virus that has now affected us more than we could ever have imagined.

"I'm grateful that The FA has confirmed that my actions were not racist because I despise racism of any kind. We all need to be mindful of the words and actions we use and how they can be perceived by others."

Image source, EPA

Health Secretary Matt Hancock will lead the UK government’s daily briefing at 17:00 BST (16:00 GMT).

He’ll be joined by Baroness Dido Harding, who runs the government’s coronavirus test and trace scheme in England.

It comes after official figures showed more than 31,000 close contacts were identified during the first week of the system being in place.

Image source, Getty Images

Premier League clubs have agreed to a range of medical and operational protocols for the restart of the 2019-20 season on 17 June.

There will be strict limits on those allowed into stadiums on matchdays, and grounds will be split up into zones including the tunnel and pitchside.

There will be deep cleaning of corner flags, goalposts and match balls before and after each fixture.

Some extra disinfection, such as of the substitution board after it is used, is likely to take place during matches and at half-time, while other work will be carried out during drinks breaks if they are permitted by the league.