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Britons are being urged to stay home over the Easter weekend as Boris Johnson remains hospitalised after being discharged from intensive care and moved onto a general ward with persisting coronavirus symptoms.

And according to official figures: 

• The number of people who have died in the UK after contracting coronavirus has risen by 980 in 24 hours. The total as of 5pm on Thursday now stands at 8,948.
• On average just under 11,500 new people were tested daily in the seven days up to April 9. In the previous seven days the daily average was just over 8,300.

Here’s the latest on Covid-19:

Thank the NHS by staying at home this weekend, chief nurse pleads

England’s chief nursing officer has pleaded with the British public to stay at home this weekend, as the best way to thank NHS workers on the frontline of the coronavirus crisis.

Speaking at the daily press conference, Ruth May admitted it had been “personally frustrating to see people clearly not social distancing”.

Noting the public outpouring of support for NHS workers over the last few weeks, she added: “The single greatest thing you can do to say thank you to our NHS and social care staff is for people to follow the advice.

“This is a long weekend. We need you to stay at home, and stay safe.”

Global coronavirus death toll passes 100,000

The worldwide death toll linked to coronavirus has hit 100,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Almost 9,000 of those have been recorded in the UK after the number rose by 980 in 24 hours. 

The death toll kept by Johns Hopkins University hit the sad milestone, though the true number of lives lost is believed be much higher because of limited testing, different rules for counting the dead and cover-ups by some governments. The number confirmed to be infected was more than 1.6 million.

Boris Johnson Now Able To Do ‘Short Walks’, Says No.10

Boris Johnson has been able to do “short walks” between periods of rest as part of his care to aid his recovery, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister is back on a ward at St Thomas’ Hospital after being discharged from the intensive care unit where he was being treated for Covid-19.

“The prime minister has been able to do short walks, between periods of rest, as part of the care he is receiving to aid his recovery,” a No.10 spokesperson said.

“He has spoken to his doctors and thanks the whole clinical team for the incredible care he has received.

“His thoughts are with those affected by this terrible disease.” 

Boris Johnson’s father has said the prime minister will need a period of rest while he recovers, adding that the whole family was “amazingly grateful” for the efforts of the NHS and for the huge outpouring of support for his son.

Stanley Johnson also played down suggestions that his son would now quickly return to work at Downing Street.

“This is pretty straightforward now. He must rest up. As I understand it, he has moved from the ICU into a recovery unit but I don’t think you can say this is out of the wood now,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“He has to take time. I cannot believe you can walk away from this and get straight back to Downing Street and pick up the reins without a period of readjustment.”

He said his son’s illness had underlined just how serious the coronavirus outbreak was.

“To use that American expression, he almost took one for the team. We have got to make sure we play the game properly now,” he said.

Foreign Office to return stranded Brits from India

The Foreign Office has chartered 12 more flights to bring more than 3,000 stranded UK nationals back from India.

It follows seven flights that have already been arranged between April 8 and April 12 and will bring the total number of Britons repatriated from India to around 5,000.

The new flights will leave from Goa, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram between April 13 and April 20 with bookings opened on Friday.

The Foreign Office’s minister of state for South Asia and the Commonwealth, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, said: “We are doing all we can to get thousands of British travellers in India home.

“This is a huge and complex operation which also involves working with the Indian Government to enable people to move within India to get on these flights.

“Over 300 people arrived from Goa on Thursday morning, 1,400 more will arrive over the Easter weekend and these 12 flights next week will bring back thousands more.”

Cabinet minister accused of flouting lockdown rules…again

Communities secretary Robert Jenrick has been accused of breaking lockdown rules again.

The cabinet minister had travelled from his residence in London to a “second home” in Herefordshire during the lockdown, the Daily Mail reported.

Jenrick, Conservative MP for Newark in Nottinghamshire, defended his actions and said his family consider the mansion to be their family home and they had moved back there after he was no longer needed in Westminster.

He is among the senior members of Boris Johnson’s government instructing the public to stay at home amid the Covid-19 lockdown. 

This comes after the Guardian reported on Thursday that the MP for Newark left his Hereford home at the weekend to visit his father and mother, aged 79 and 69, in Shropshire. The newspaper cites a “witness” in its reporting.

The 38-year-old minister later explained the move by saying he dropped off “essentials”, including medication.

A source close to the minister had told the newspaper he did not enter the house.

Jenrick wrote on Twitter: “For clarity – my parents asked me to deliver some essentials – including medicines.

“They are both self-isolating due to age and my father’s medical condition and I respected social distancing rules.”