The Transport Secretary will lead Saturday's briefing

A research team has discovered a molecular mechanism that helps Herpes simplex virus (HSV1) evade the innate immune system and infect the brain causing a rare disease with high mortality. The study from Aarhus University, University of Oxford, and University of Gothenburg, led by first author Chiranjeevi Bodda in Søren Paludan's lab, will be published May 8 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM).

Pangolins lack two genes that function to sound the alarm when a virus enters the body, triggering an immune response in most other mammals. The findings from the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, are significant because, while the exotic animals can be carriers of coronavirus, they appear able to tolerate it through some other unknown mechanism. Understanding how pangolins are able to survive coronavirus may point to possible treatment options for humans.

MERS, which struck South Korea in a 2015 outbreak, was caused by a coronavirus--the same family of viruses that is responsible for COVID-19. Recently, a Korean research team announced that it had developed a new vaccine platform using RNA-based adjuvants for the MERS coronavirus. The research team successfully conducted an experiment on nonhuman primates. It is expected that the new vaccine platform will soon be applicable to the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, an urgent global health priority.

In recent years, giant viruses have been unearthed in several of the world's most mysterious locations, from the thawing permafrost of Siberia to locations unknown beneath the Antarctic ice. But don't worry, 'The Thing' is still a work of science fiction. For now.

Although the clinical symptoms of SARS, H1N1, MERS, EVALI, and COVID-19 may be nonspecific, some characteristic imaging findings are emerging, says the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR). Careful evaluation of the distribution, lung zone preference, and symmetry of the abnormalities with an eye for a few unique differentiating imaging features can allow radiologists to offer a narrower differential diagnosis in pediatric patients, leading to optimal patient care.

A North East based care provider, Wellburn Care Homes, has launched their own We Care badge aiming to show support for care workers.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for "more than 200,000" coronavirus tests to be carried out.

Data which identified a massive in Covid-19 was sent to ministers a month before the government's Care Home Action Plan was published.

Hospitals in London and Birmingham have been supplied with fourteen units of convalescent plasma to see if it helps people who are battling

The Duchess of Cambridge has teamed up with the National Portrait Gallery to launch the Hold Still project.

The likelihood of death from Covid-19 is significantly higher among England’s BAME communities than the general population, researchers say.

There have been no deaths reported from the virus in China for more than three weeks.

ITV Tonight is out with Merseyside Police to investigate the extraordinary impact the pandemic is having on their ability to combat crime.

The Bank of England said the economy could contract by as much as 3% in the first quarter.

People from black backgrounds are four times more likely to die from coronavirus than people from white backgrounds, new statistics suggest.

From a rapid recovery to prolonged depression and everything in between, the range of possible outcomes from the coronavirus crisis is vast.

The big question is whether you want to focus on the 2020 bit of the Bank of England's illustrative scenario, which shows a 14% fall in GDP.

The government will move with "maximum caution" when lifting coronavirus lockdown restrictions in England, Number 10 has said.

Dominic Raab announced the latest figures during the daily briefing.

Newly released figures show that certain ethnicities were at greater risk of Covid-19 related deaths.

For a seventh week in a row, millions of people across the United Kingdom have shown their appreciation for NHS and key workers.

In the community, the rate of transmission is probably as low as 0.5/0.6, which means its progress through the population has been arrested.

As part of the study, samples of blood, saliva and nasal swabs from healthcare workers in a bid to answer key questions about the virus.

Number 10 said the government will move with "maximum caution" when lifting restrictions in England, but some are worried.

Douglas Moore, who also has a lung condition, received a round of applause as he was discharged from Kettering General Hospital.

Officials will scrutinise the latest data on the spread of the disease, and ministers are expected to convene over the weekend.

It is hoped the development will accelerate the search for promising new drug targets and treatments.

Nightingale pioneered many of the practices carried out today, such as maintaining good hygiene and regularly washing hands

Some 20.5 million jobs have vanished in the worst monthly loss on record.

It comes as a six-week-old baby was among the 332 deaths announced by NHS England.

Magician Roy Horn, best known as part of the Las Vegas performing duo of Siegfried & Roy, has died at the age of 75.

Officials have urged Britons to follow lockdown rules during the sunny weekend.

The United States has become the world leader in COVID-19 cases while posting its biggest spike in unemployment claims in history.

State governors like New York's Andrew Cuomo are making the big decisions on the coronavirus outbreak, and are providing a vivid contrast to Donald Trump.

In the days before the virus, strolling down Broadway felt like swimming through a sea of people. Now it feels like wandering around a forsaken movie set.

Coronavirus cases are rising rapidly in cities across the United States, with major hot spots emerging in Detroit, Miami, Chicago and New Orleans.

The US Vice-President said the White House's models for the coronavirus pandemic show the country on a trajectory akin to hard-hit Italy.

France reported 56,989 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, and the country's death toll is the fourth highest in the world at 4032.