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Coronavirus: The 17 major developments that happened on Tuesday

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 07: A man wearing a protective mask reads a story in the Metro newspaper about Boris Johnson while standing outside St Thomas' Hospital in Westminster, where the British Prime Minister has  been transferred to the ICU after showing persistent symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) for 10 days, on April 7, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. At 7pm last night an announcement was made that the Prime Minister had been moved to intensive care at St Thomas' Hospital after his symptoms worsened. (Photo by Ollie Millington/Getty Images)
A man in a protective mask reads of Boris Johnson's night in hospital. (Getty Images)

Here’s what you need to know on 7 April. This article was updated at 5.30pm.

Deaths: A total of 6,159 patients have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Monday, the Department of Health said, up by 786 from 5,373 the day before. Read more here.

The UK’s actual daily total of coronavirus deaths has on some days been more than double the official figures supplied by the government. New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday have revealed the huge extent to which the government’s figures have been less than the actual death toll. Read more here.

Politics: Michael Gove has become the latest cabinet member to be forced to self-isolate. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said a family member has displayed mild symptoms of COVID-19 so he will isolate for 14 days. Read more here.

Boris Johnson remains in intensive care in St Thomas’s hospital in London, where he was taken when his condition worsened. He has tested positive for COVID-19. Dominic Raab will deputise for some of his prime ministerial roles while he is in hospital. A campaign to Clap for Boris has begun online. Read more here.

Policy: NHS Nightingale North West will be ready to receive new patients within the next week. It’s the second field hospital to be opened to help cope with the number of people being treated for COVID-19. Read more here.

The cabinet is not at the stage of assessing whether lockdown can be lifted, Raab has said in the daily government press conference. He said the worst thing the country could do would be “take its foot off the pedal” but declined to say whether Johnson needed to be out of hospital to make the decision.

Testing: According to Raab, 14,000 tests were carried out in one day as the government works toward a 100,000 daily testing target. He told the daily press conference: “We’ve had 7,500 NHS workers and their families tested and we’ve got nine drive-through sites currently operational in Nottingham, Chessington, Greenwich, Wembley, Sandwell, Manchester, Belfast, Edgbaston and Glasgow, and Cardiff will be the tenth which will be open shortly.”

Crime: A man has been fined after being caught driving from Nottingham to London during the coronavirus lockdown to “buy bread because it was £1 cheaper”. Officers from Leicestershire road policing unit pulled the driver over on the M1 northbound after clocking it at 110mph. Read more here.

Technology: WhatsApp is introducing a new limit on message forwarding to tackle the spread of misinformation, its parent company Facebook has announced. The limitations follow a "significant increase" in forwarding during the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a company statement. Read more here.

Sport: Royal Ascot will go ahead behind closed doors later this year as long as government guidelines allow. Read more here.

The chief executive of the Premier League has defended the furloughing of staff, claiming clubs have been acting with “restraint” as he warned of a “very real threat” of some top-flight sides going bust in the face of the coronavirus crisis. Read more here.

Rest of the world

China has reported no new daily coronavirus deaths for the first time since January. The city of Wuhan, in Hubei province, was the centre of the outbreak. Read more here.

More than 10,000 people have now died after testing positive for COVID-19 in the USA. The total surpasses the number of battle deaths from six US wars combined, according to data from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Read more here.

Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has declared a month-long state of emergency in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and unveiled a record stimulus package aimed at steering the world’s third-largest economy through its biggest crisis since the war. Read more here.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

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Positive news

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern has warmed hearts around the world after declaring the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy to be essential workers. Read more here.

Lady Gaga, the hero of early-10s pop music has announced a concert bringing together an impressive line-up of musicians. It’s called One World: Together At Home, and it’s shaping up to be a Live Aid for the coronavirus generation, with significantly fewer Boomtown Rats. Read more here.

A 90-year-old patient has praised hospital staff after he overcame the coronavirus. William Dobie, from Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, has returned home after beating COVID-19. Read more here.