Teething problems continue to blight the Government's new online coronavirus test-booking platform, with home kits again running out by 9am.

Officials 'massively ramping up efforts' to meet target as army is deployed to help establish mobile testing facilities

A swathe of US states were set to reopen businesses this week following mandatory lockdowns that have thrown nearly one in six American workers out of jobs.

After self-isolating for two weeks she plans to attend another rally

From the frontline

Questions have been raised over how coronavirus tests were counted after Health Secretary Matt Hancock hailed the "incredible achievement" of the Government in hitting its 100,000-a-day target.

The Government has missed its 100,000 daily coronavirus test target for the second day running.

Antibody tests at 98 per cent accuracy would put up to a quarter of population at risk of infection, government advisers have warned.

It's an agonising choice which no prime minister would ever want to have to make.

EXCLUSIVE

US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have both tested negative for coronavirus, said a White House spokesman.

A top aide to US Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for coronavirus, just one day after another White House staff member was diagnosed.

Regulatory “flexibility” was never meant to allow fraud, agency says.

On Monday, officials in Los Angeles County released preliminary results of a study that suggest roughly 4.1% of the county's adult population has already had the coronavirus, which translates to between 221,000 and 442,000 people, factoring in adjustments for statistical margin of error.That's a much higher number than confirmed case counts indicate. (As of early Tuesday, the county had 13,816 cases.)"We haven't known the true extent of COVID-19 infections in our community because we have only tested people with symptoms and the availability of tests has been limited," Neeraj Sood, a professor of public policy at the University of Southern California and lead investigator on the study, said in a statement.Dr. Barbara Ferrer, LA County's public health director, said in a statement that the early results pointed to the possibility that many people may have been unknowingly infected.The study relies on rapid antibody tests, which have faced concerns about accuracy.And as The Mercury News reported, a Stanford study that also showed higher rates of infection in Santa Clara County drew criticism, although that was largely from statisticians over the study's methodology.Still, experts have emphasized that more studies will help develop a clearer picture of the virus's true prevalence.In any case, officials say it's crucial to continue to adhere to public health orders for many reasons, including that if more people are infected but asymptomatic, they could unknowingly spread the virus.______A change to the USNS Mercy's assignmentOn Monday, my New York Times colleague John Ismay and I spoke with leaders aboard the Navy hospital ship Mercy. Here's our dispatch about how their assignment has changed:In the weeks since the Mercy arrived at the Port of Los Angeles from San Diego, the hospital ship's mission has been clear: Serve as a crucial relief valve for patients who have not been infected with the coronavirus as hospitals fill up with patients sick with COVID-19.In recent days, the work has shifted, but that underlying goal has remained the same, the commanding officer of the ship's medical facility told us."FEMA, after having made an assessment of the situation and the local needs, has changed our assignment," said Capt. John Rotruck, the medical treatment team's commanding officer.The Mercy has sent 40 medical staff members -- two family practice doctors, 16 nurses and 20 corpsmen, including two respiratory technicians -- to help care for patients who do not have COVID-19 at a state-run skilled nursing facility in Orange County."We're essentially augmenting their staff," Rotruck said, as the anticipated surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations has, for now, been held at bay.The capacity onboard will decrease to 250 beds from 1,000, in large part as a result of that staffing shift -- although officials emphasized that leaves more than enough space at the rate the Mercy has been taking in patients.At the same time, leaders aboard the Mercy said that most of the military crew is moving off the ship to stay at nearby hotels to make it possible for crew members to keep their distance from one another as they work, eat and sleep.Sailors will be bused from their hotels to work their shifts aboard the ship.The move, which will decrease the number of crew members staying aboard the ship to roughly 140 from more than 800, came as the number of crew members who may have been exposed inched upward.By Monday, Rotruck said that nine crew members had tested positive for the coronavirus and that about 130 people were in quarantine because they had come into what federal officials define as close contact with at least one of those nine. All of those in quarantine tested negative.All nine who have COVID-19 were outpatients as of Monday -- meaning their cases were not severe enough to warrant being hospitalized -- and their conditions are being closely monitored.Rotruck said that moving crew members off the Mercy was unusual but not unprecedented.During a previous mission, for instance, some medical staff members flew to Vietnam to provide medical care to patients on the Mercy, although they did not sleep on the ship.However, Rotruck added, "We have not done it to this scale," with the vast majority of the ship's crew members living ashore.A spokesman said Friday that the crew aboard the Navy hospital ship Comfort, which is docked in New York City, recently moved most of its crew to hotels ashore as well.Rotruck said that the Mercy was ready to care for coronavirus-negative seniors living in nursing homes, as the governor has previously announced, but none had been transferred yet.Such nursing home patients may be moved to the Mercy for care through the typical intake process, if, for example, a facility needed to free up space to care for COVID-19 patients.As of Monday evening, the ship had taken in 65 patients total since it docked in San Pedro, and its crew had performed 22 surgeries. There were 13 patients still being treated onboard, meaning that 52 had been discharged.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company

Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary has the coronavirus, the White House said Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week. President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide, said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive Friday, had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president.

The Tyson Foods plant in Waterloo, Iowa, reopened Thursday after a coronavirus outbreak there. Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson says he'd support a second shutdown if the changes aren't enough.

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, who was scheduled to fight Uriah Hall at UFC 249 on Saturday, has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The case is the second confirmed by the White House this week. President Trump said Miller hasn't come into contact with him but has "spent some time" with the vice president.

The White House was moving to shore up its protection protocols to protect the nation's political leaders.

"You can select a regional test site drive-through appointment or home test kit.

Read the full interview HERE

Boris Johnson has set out a new target of 200,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of May, as he admitted he "bitterly regrets" the crisis in care homes.

He also said he "bitterly regrets" the crisis in care homes, where staff have hit out at a lack of testing and PPE. The latest figures show that nursing home fatalities are continuing to rise, standing at 2,794 in the week to April 24, despite deaths in all settings beginning to fall.

Breaking with the leader of his own party, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., called for “tens of millions” of diagnostic coronavirus tests to be administered to Americans before the country can begin to return to normal.

An aide to Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for the coronavirus, senior administration officials confirmed Friday.

The veteran of 695 NHL games said: "I guess I'm not invincible, just got diagnosed with Covid, since I'm asthmatic, not the best news, will fight it off!''

Nintendo says it is working with public health authorities after one of their employees tested positive for the coronavirus.

ITV presenter says he has 'mild symptom' and will take time off from show

Morgan had developed 'mild' symptoms

Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan has tested negative for Covid-19.

Welcome to the Evening Standard's LIVE coverage as the coronavirus crisis continues to heavily impact sport across the globe.

Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish has tested positive for Covid-19 but does not currently have any symptoms of the virus.

The family of Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish have thanked football fans around the world for their messages of support after the 69-year-old was diagnosed with coronavirus.

Welcome to the Evening Standard's LIVE coverage as the coronavirus crisis continues to heavily impact sport across the globe.

Three people have tested positive for coronavirus at FC Cologne amid a delay in a decision over a possible resumption date for the 2019-20 Bundesliga season.

Barcelona and Real Madrid players will be back at their club's installations for tests on Wednesday as LaLiga teams prepare for a return to training this week.

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane greeted his players in a mask and gloves as Los Blancos returned to their training ground for coronavirus tests on Wednesday.

Atletico Madrid defender Renan Lodi has tested positive for coronavirus, while nine other Rojiblancos players have shown antibodies of the virus.

The White House confirmed that both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have tested negative for coronavirus.

Tech firms such as Palantir, Amazon, Google and Microsoft hire huge numbers of college graduates every year. Student activists are trying to disrupt that recruiting pipeline.

Another construction worker at SoFi Stadium has tested positive for COVID-19, according to an internal email the lead contractor sent to trade partners Monday.

Another construction worker at SoFi Stadium has tested positive for COVID-19, according to an internal email the lead contractor sent to trade partners Monday.

Expanding coronavirus testing is one of the most important tasks public health officials are tackling right now. But questions over accuracy of the two main types of tests have rightly caused concern.

A member of US Vice-President Mike Pence's team tests positive for COVID-19, but Donald Trump says it shows the whole concept of testing isn't necessarily great.