People have lined the streets to pay their respects to a "fantastic" paramedic and "great family man" who died after contracting coronavirus.

More than 40 children have been treated in a specialist London hospital for a "hyper inflammatory" new disease after apparently contracting coronavirus, the Standard has been told.

Obese people with coronavirus are more at risk of dying, one of the UK's leading scientists has said.

The rate of transmission of coronavirus is "much reduced" and the death toll is steadily falling, the Downing Street press conference has heard.

British people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities are two to three times more likely to die from coronavirus, new research has found.

Heartless thieves have stolen 80,000 face masks from a Manchester warehouse which were meant to be used by NHS and frontline workers fighting coronavirus.

The UK is past the peak of the coronavirus outbreak but the country is still at a "dangerous" stage of the pandemic, Dominic Raab has said.

The first changes to the UK's coronavirus lockdown will be "small" and "very carefully monitored" when the Prime Minister reveals his "roadmap" on Sunday.

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

A number of McDonald's employees in America were shot on Wednesday after telling a customer to leave due to coronavirus restrictions, police said.

Celebrations kick off tomorrow morning!

A number of police officers have been injured after responding to reports that men were "acting suspiciously" in Finsbury Park.

Boris Johnson has said the Government will proceed with "maximum caution" when it comes to easing the coronavirus lockdown, with his spokesman adding that any changes next week will be "very limited".

Felix Project volunteer Carrie Hogan shares her story You can donate here virginmoneygiving.com/fund/FoodforLondonNOW

Second World War veteran and NHS fundraising champion Captain Tom Moore has recalled the day the "fearsome war in Europe" ended 75 years ago.

Boris Johnson's father has told how he broke Covid-19 lockdown rules to buy a newspaper after the Prime Minister's son was born.

Tensions are growing between the UK's regions over "mixed messaging" on when to lift restrictions, with speculation that rail services are set to be expanded from mid-May but strict lockdown measures could remain in place until June.

Boris Johnson has issued a stirring statement as the UK comes together to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day, calling for Brits to show the "same spirit of national endeavor" during the coronavirus pandemic.

Cabinet Secretary Oliver Dowden admitted on Friday morning that the lockdown is facing a major test from the sunny weekend ahead.

Legal proceedings have reportedly been launched against the Duke of York over an unpaid bill relating to a Swiss chalet.

Police have released CCTV footage of a man they want to trace after an NHS doctor was attacked on her way home from work.

British people should not expect major new freedoms on Monday, with "limited changes" expected to the coronavirus lockdown, a minister has said.

The Queen's memories of her VE Day celebrations have been shared by Buckingham Palace to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has called for an "all-out effort to end hate speech globally" amid what he called a "tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering" unleashed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Plans to ramp up rail services have been brought forward by a week and will start from next Monday, a union is claiming.

Deputy Irish Premier Simon Coveney has said the Covid-19 pandemic has made the timeline for a UK-EU trade deal "virtually impossible".

Drive-thru restaurants such as McDonald's are "made for social distancing", Environment Secretary George Eustice has said.

Prince William and Kate heard stories about Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill's "secret" birthday message his son when they chatted veterans about their VE Day memories.

The UK is "not out of the woods" and will live with coronavirus for some time as the death toll passes 31,000, Environment Secretary George Eustice has said.

UK arrivals could be told to self-isolate for 14-days PM will reportedly recommend face masks while at work or on public transport More money will be set aside for cycle lanes to limit rush hour travel

Downing Street has said JustGiving will want to "reflect" on fees taken for processing Captain Tom Moore's £32 million fundraiser for NHS charities.

British YouTube star KSI joined the Evening Standard's campaign to feed London during the coronavirus crisis, hailing it as "amazing".

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.

One trade body said the quarantine period would have a devastating impact on the UK aviation industry and wider economy

A group of VE Day revellers have sparked fury by performing a conga dance in an apparent breach of social distancing rules.

Boris Johnson will reveal on Sunday the Government's "road map" on how it will lift restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, in what is expected to be a "modest" easing of lockdown.

A "dedicated and loving" nurse with coronavirus has tragically died five weeks after first being placed on a ventilator.

Some 140 people were found making their way to Britain by the Border Force and brought ashore at Dover, according to Sky News.

Police say they are "fighting a losing battle" over enforcing the lockdown after "hundreds" turned out in parks across east London to enjoy picnics in the sunshine.

Brenda Francis settled into the Kingdom Hall in Calhoun, Georgia, in mid-March, surrounded by dozens of familiar faces. Signs cautioning against shaking hands and hugging were posted around the room. It felt weird to her but was certainly understandable with the threat of an outbreak looming. She herself already had stocked up on some masks and gloves.When it came time for members to comment on the Bible readings, Francis noticed the microphones typically passed around the room were now attached to the end of long poles.That was the moment Francis, a 69-year-old widow living in a small, semirural community in the South, realized just how dramatically the coronavirus pandemic was about to reshape her spiritual life, more than anything ever had in the 47 years since she was baptized as a Jehovah's Witness.A few days after the boom mics came out in the Kingdom Hall, word came down from the group's headquarters that, in the interest of safety, Jehovah's Witnesses should stop witnessing, its practice of in-person attempts at converting people to the group."People would be so receptive right now," she said of her ministry, "and we can't knock on doors."Across the country, most religious groups have stopped coming together in large numbers to pray and hold services, in keeping with stay-at-home orders. They have improvised with online preaching and even drive-in services as the faithful sit in cars. Mormons have stopped going door to door in the United States and called home many missionaries working abroad.Jehovah's Witnesses -- with 1.3 million U.S. members who hand out brochures on sidewalks and subway platforms and ring doorbells -- are one of the most visible religious groups in the nation. Members are called on to share Scriptures in person with nonmembers, warning of an imminent Armageddon and hoping to baptize them with the prospect of living forever.The decision to stop their ministries was the first of its kind in the nearly 150 years of the group's existence. It followed anguished discussions at Watchtower headquarters, with leaders deciding March 20 that knocking on doors would leave the impression that members were disregarding the safety of those they hoped to convert."This was not an easy decision for anybody," said Robert Hendriks, the group's U.S. spokesman. "As you know, our ministry is our life."It was for Francis, who became a Jehovah's Witness when she was in her 20s with a newborn and a member knocked on her door in Tennessee and persuaded her to attend a Kingdom Hall meeting. She converted. Her family was angry that she no longer came to holiday gatherings; the group doesn't believe in celebrating holidays or birthdays. Jehovah's Witnesses became her new family.The more she studied the Bible, the more she came to believe it led to eternal life. She needed to spread the word.Showing up cold on someone's doorstep didn't come naturally. She was so shy that once, she recalled, her high school principal -- "this huge Goliath guy" -- stood on her foot in a crowded hallway; she didn't say a word but waited in pain for him to move. She had considered a career going door to door as a Mason Shoes saleswoman, but after receiving a catalog, she never mustered the courage to even try to make a sale.To her, witnessing was different. Her faith had helped her stop smoking. It gave her meaning. She had seen people clean up their lives after attending meetings at Kingdom Hall."By the time I did go to doors, I was so convinced this was the right thing to do that I had no nervousness," Francis said.Through the years, she learned to build her pitch around a theme -- a Bible verse or a current event -- and tried not to sound rehearsed."You don't want to sound like a robot," she said. "You work from the heart. You want enthusiasm."Early this year, Francis had been seeing reports on Facebook about the virus sweeping through Wuhan, China. The host of a show she watched on YouTube, Peak Prosperity, had been warning that the outbreak could spread internationally.She bought masks and face shields, just in case. She started using plastic grocery bags to cover the gas pump handle when she filled up her tank.By early March, the virus still hadn't hit Gordon County, where Francis lives. But the possibility was weighing on her mind. The message on her favorite YouTube show was getting more dire as the host, Chris Martenson, a financial guru-turned-pandemic early warner, ratcheted up his pleadings for viewers to prepare themselves.Francis' 27-year-old granddaughter has a compromised immune system. As a senior citizen, she herself was vulnerable. She did what she always has done and channeled her own feelings into her door-knocking ministry. Do you think, she would ask people as she carpooled with other members to canvass the county, that the virus is a sign of the end of the world?"No one was paying much attention," she said.Elsewhere, in places like New York where infections were starting to climb, Jehovah's Witnesses members were feeling the pinch on their ministries.One of them, Joe Babsky, had been easing into conversations with members of his Planet Fitness gym in the Bronx for weeks. He knew them by first name only: Jerry, who had lost more than 100 pounds; Jason, who seemed to spend an hour on each body part; Bernie, a 78-year-old who was more fit than men half his age. Babsky had shown a few of them Bible verses and had made progress recently with Bernie discussing the logic behind the existence of an intelligent creator.Then the gym closed."All those conversations and others were cut short," Babsky said.Life continued as normal in Francis' town of Calhoun. She was convinced things were about to change, but she was too embarrassed to wear a mask -- until an encounter in Costco when a passing shopper coughed without covering her mouth.In mid-March, her Kingdom Hall meetings went virtual. Members logged into Zoom to share Bible Scriptures. Francis settled on one that she thought would resonate as she knocked on doors in her neighborhood across the county, which had by then registered a handful of COVID-19 cases.At the doorstep, Francis would start her pitch by asking people if they could make one thing in the world go away, what would it be? If the answer had to do with the pandemic, she would recite a couple of verses from the book of Luke:"There will be great earthquakes, and in one place after another food shortages and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and from heaven great signs."All the signs were clear, she would announce. Armageddon was near. Her message finally seemed to be resonating with people.And then she got word to stop knocking on doors."This has been so much a part of our lives, so it was like, wow," she said. "I have often envisioned in paradise where going door to door would not be a thing because everyone knows God."This was not paradise.But Francis was convinced that the end of the world was not far away. There were just too many signs, she said. And so she and many other Jehovah's Witnesses members were more compelled than ever to witness any way they could. Many began writing letters or making phone calls to anyone whose numbers they had managed to collect before the pandemic hit.Masked and gloved, Francis hands out pamphlets and cards with her phone number on them to fellow shoppers at the grocery store.Last week, she sent a text to a woman in Hawkinsville, Georgia, a few miles away, whom she had been contacting from time to time. The woman said her restaurant had to close because of the pandemic and her brother-in-law was sick with the virus. A couple of days later he died.Francis texted Scriptures to the woman and told her that soon all the sickness on Earth would be over; all sins would be forgiven; paradise was near.The next day she received a written response: "Thank you so much for the information. It was such a comfort."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company