Evening summary The Cabinet Office minister, Michael Gove, did not rule out lockdown rules getting even tighter after three weeks. He told Sky News this morning: “In three weeks’ time we will be able to say whether or not the path that we’ve followed needs any further intensification, or whether there are one or two of the existing restrictions that may be capable of being lifted.” Ministers came under pressure to clarify what guidelines mean following some confusion over guidance including as to whether major construction work should go ahead and whether construction workers are considered essential workers and should continue to go to work on building sites. The government continued to face pressure over the lack of routine testing for Covid-19, the plight of Britons stranded abroad and delays to urgent help for the self-employed. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said the delay in announcing help for the self-employed was down to it being “incredibly complicated” finding a way of designing a scheme that would help those in need, while not giving money to people who did not need it. The death toll in the UK rose by 87 to 422 – the largest day-on-day increase in the number of deaths since the outbreak began. Broken down: a further 83 people died in England, bringing the total to 386; a further two people died in Scotland, bringing the total to 16; a further patient died in Wales, bringing the total to 17; and a fourth patient died in Northern Ireland. The figure for England includes the first patient to die after contracting coronavirus in hospital. The UK is heading for deep recession as the economy is contracting at its fastest rate in at least two decades, as the service sector is hit extremely hard by the Covid-19 outbreak. Almost 12,000 recently retired NHS staff had responded to the call to return to the service. They included 2,660 doctors, more than 2,500 pharmacists and other staff and 6,147 nurses, he said. And some 5,500 final-year medics and 18,700 final-year student nurses will “move to the frontline” next week. A temporary 4,000-bed hospital – the “NHS Nightingale Hospital” – will be opening at London’s ExCel centre next week. People face fines starting at £30 for breaking the rule about holding gatherings in public. Supermarkets introduced tougher measures to police in-store physical distancing between shoppers. Prisons in England and Wales were put in immediate lockdown. To continue following our worldwide coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, head over to our global live blog. Khan says TfL cannot run full service on tube because too many staff are absent In response to what Matt Hancock was saying (see 5.46pm), Sadiq Khan’s office is saying Transport for London cannot run a full service on the tube because so many staff are absent. A spokesman for the mayor of London said: This is simply not true. The mayor has told ministers countless times over recent days that TfL simply cannot safely run a full service because of the levels of staff sickness and self-isolation. Nearly a third of staff are already absent - there aren’t enough drivers and control staff to do it. The government must act urgently to get more people staying at home rather than going to work unnecessarily - that means taking the difficult decisions they are refusing to take to ban non-essential construction work and provide proper financial support to freelancers, the self employed and those on zero hours contracts to stay at home. In these extraordinary times, the Guardian’s editorial independence has never been more important. Because no one sets our agenda, or edits our editor, we can keep delivering quality, trustworthy, fact-checked journalism each and every day. Free from commercial or political bias, we can report fearlessly on world events and challenge those in power. Your support protects the Guardian’s independence. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to accurate news and calm explanation. No matter how unsettled the future feels, we will remain with you. We hope to help all of us make critical decisions about our lives, health and security – based on fact, not fiction. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. Make a contribution - The Guardian Matt Hancock implicitly blames Sadiq Khan for overcrowding on London tube Here are the main points from Matt Hancock’s press conference. Rather, it was the daily government coronavirus press conference, being chaired for the first time by Hanock. Boris Johnson has fronted most of them since they started eight days ago. Hancock said that the government had brought 3.5m antibody testing kits, to show whether people had had coronavirus, and that a new testing facility in Milton Keynes had opened today. He said: I understand why NHS staff, in particular, and others across public service are so keen to get the testing ramped up, that we need to see and that we are undertaking. Of course it really matters for getting people getting back to work, so we have now bought 3.5m antibody tests. That will allow people to see whether they have had the virus and are immune to it and then can get back to work. He also said 7.5m pieces of protective equipment including facemasks had been shipped out in the last 24 hours. Hancock implicitly blamed Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, for overcrowding on some London tube trains today. (See 10.52am for some video footage.) Asked about the problem, Hancock said: When it comes to the tube, the first and the best answer is that Transport for London [which is run by Khan] should have the tube running in full so that people travelling on the tube are spaced out and can be further apart - obeying the two-metre rule wherever possible. And there is no good reason in the information that I’ve seen that the current levels of tube provision should be as low as they are. We should have more tube trains running. Generally the political figures from the UK government, the opposition, the devolved administrations and the major mayoralties who have been engaged in the coronavirus crisis have so far kept recriminations to a minimum. Perhaps Hancock’s comment is a sign that this is changing, because it was a clear dig at Khan. Earlier Khan himself openly criticised the government, saying that he had wanted to close construction sites but that he had been overruled by Boris Johnson. (See 3.21pm.) Jenny Harries, the chief medical officer for England, said that couples who live apart should ideally stay apart - or else use coronavirus to “test the strength of their relationship” and move in together. She was responding to an invitation to clarify whether the government advice meant that couples who did not live in the same house should stop seeing each other. After Hancock ducked the question and passed it over to her, Harries replied: If you are two individuals, two halves of the couple, living in separate households then ideally they should stay in those households. The alternative might be that, for quite a significant period going forward, they should just test the strength of their relationship and decide whether they should be permanently be resident in another household. What we do not want is people switching in and out of households. It defeats the purpose of reductions in social interactions and will allow the transmission of disease. Hancock said he was launching a scheme inviting up to 250,000 people to volunteer to contribute to the fight against coronavirus. He explained: Today we launch NHS volunteers. We are seeking a quarter of a million volunteers, people in good health to help the NHS, for shopping, for the delivery of medicines and to support those who are shielding to protect their own health. He said that 11,788 recently retired NHS staff had responded to the call to return to the service. They included 2,660 doctors, more than 2,500 pharmacists and other staff and 6,147 nurses, he said. And some 5,500 final-year medics and 18,700 final-year student nurses would “move to the frontline” next week. He said a temporary, 4,000-bed hospital, the “NHS Nightingale Hospital”, would be opening at the ExCel centre. He said: We will, next week, open a new hospital - a temporary hospital - the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the Excel centre in London. The NHS Nightingale Hospital will comprise two wards, each of 2,000 people. With the help of the military and with NHS clinicians we will make sure that we have the capacity that we need so that everyone can get the support that they need. The Department for Education has issued an alert for parents on its official Twitter account about a scam email doing the rounds to do with free school meals. It says: We have been informed some parents have received an email stating: ‘As schools will be closing, if you’re entitled to free school meals, please send your bank details and we’ll make sure you’re supported’. This is a scam email - do not respond, and delete immediately. The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has raised concern over some construction sites remaining open. He said work was being done to establish which sites had to be kept going, such as building work on hospitals and on properties damaged by this year’s floods. But Drakeford said: “I believe there is a strong case for closing some construction sites. There are sites open today that do not need to be open and will not be open before many days are over.” At a press conference in Cardiff, he said it was “not acceptable” that self-employed people were not currently being treated the same way as employees. Calling for the UK government to do more, he said: “It is not acceptable that people should have different forms of help dependent on their employment status.” Drakeford said letters were about to go out to 100,000 of the most vulnerable people in Wales asking them to stay at home – not going out at all – for 12-16 weeks. He said there seemed to be no reason why there has been a cluster of cases in the area covered by the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, which includes parts of south-east Wales. “It’s one of those random things,” he said. Drakeford said there had been an “astonishing groundswell” of volunteers keen to help in the response to the virus from hoteliers to council staff. He also suggested a leisure centre could be turned into a makeshift hospital. The first minister said 800 people a day in Wales were being tested for the virus – but within a week or so this would increase tenfold to 8,000 a day. Key workers in the health sector would be tested first, then people in social care and after that it could be rolled out to others. The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in prisons in England and Wales has more than trebled overnight, MPs have been told, as all jails have been placed under a restricted regime that will further limit inmates’ time out of cells. Visits to prisons in England and Wales have been suspended following the prime minister’s “lockdown” announcement last night and the estate is operating on an “exceptional delivery model”, the head of the prison service told the justice committee. Jo Farrar, chief executive of HM Prison & Probation Service, told the committee 13 inmates in nine prisons had confirmed Covid-19 infections, compared to four confirmed yesterday. An additional 12 prison staff are confirmed to have the disease. Farrar said the exceptional delivery model meant that inmates will have to spend more time in their cells, although prisoners will be able to come out for meals, phone-calls and showers. Gyms are closed and exercise will only take place outside, Farrar said. Due to the restrictions placed on visits, the Prison Service was increasing access to phones for inmates who did not have them. Farrar said 60% already have phones in their cells, mobile phones will be provided to some of those who do not have in-cell access. As of yesterday, there had been confirmed cases in Birmingham, High Down, in Surrey, Manchester (Strangeways) and Oakwood, in Wolverhampton. In a sparsely populated Grimond Room in Portcullis House, Robert Buckland told a skeleton justice committee: Strategically there are two things: one, the need to save lives and to protect the vulnerable but two to maintain order and public protection and there in our prison service and our prison system those two issues come together in a very challenging way. I have to get that balance right in order to make sure the public are protected and that risk is managed and minimising the effects of this virus within the estate. All campsites, caravan and holiday parks in Scotland are to close, in line with the latest guidance on coronavirus. This comes after the Scottish government urged people to stop travelling to the Highlands and Islands in a bid to avoid coronavirus, following reports of an influx of self-isolators and people in camper vans travelling to the area in recent days. The rural economy secretary, Fergus Ewing, said: As the Scottish Government has made abundantly clear, this is not the time for holidays, travel, or for being away from home. Additional visitors, particularly to rural areas and our islands, will put a severe strain on local resources and the NHS, which is not set up to cover the need of non-residents long term. The announcement was made as the Holyrood parliament discussed the latest advice and gave its legislative consent to the UK Covid-19 bill. The parliament will also be severely limiting access to its building, with the media gallery as well as the public gallery to the chamber now closed, and the parliament sitting for only one more day before the Easter recess and closing on other days. During the busy Holyrood session the Lord Advocate, James Wolfe, confirmed that almost all criminal trials have been put on hold in response to the coronavirus outbreak, with accused people to be taken into custody when it is needed to ensure public safety. Scotland’s Tenants’ union, Living Rent, has welcomed the Scottish Government’s confirmation that it will ban evictions from both the private and social sector for the next six months. Harries says the antibody testing will give the government a real insight into the way that the disease has spread. She says the other testing, the “here and now testing” (testing whether people have coronavirus now, as opposed to antibody testing which shows whether people have had coronavirus) is also being ramped up. Hancock says government has brought 3.5m antibody tests Hancock says he understands why people want more testing. The government has brought 3.5m antibody tests, he says. He says these will come online soon. A new testing facility is opening in Milton Keynes today. On protective equipment, he says 7.5m pieces of protective equipment have been moved in recent days. Q: What do you say to NHS workers who have had to go into work in full carriages? Hancock says Transport for London should be running proper services. He implies that Transport for London is not running enough carriages. Q: Why are you letting construction sites carry on? Is it connected to the large sums donated to the Conservative party by developers? In Scotland they are taking a different approach. Hancock says the government has at all times been following the expert advice. He says construction should only go ahead if workers can follow the two-metre rule. Q: Why are you so keen for non-essential workers to go to work? Are you, like Donald Trump, worried about the impact on the economy? Hancock says the two-metre rule can be applied. In the House of Commons it is very visible, he says. (He is referring to the white lines of the floor of the chamber.) Q: Should boyfriends and girlfriends living in different homes see each other? Harries says the government is asking people to stay in their household because the infection risk within a household is much the same. She says ideally the two partners should stay in their own households. Alternatively, they might want to test the strength of their relationship and try living together, she says. But it is switching from one household to another that creates the problem, she says. Q: Is it right that people who do not want to go into work are made to do so? Hancock says if people are being asked to work in a workplace that should be closed, then the government will enforce that close. Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer for England, says most employers are being responsible. If workers are not comfortable coming into work, they should speak to their employer. Q: What happens if both parents fall ill and have a young child to look after? Harries says the government cannot draw up guidelines for every scenario. She says what is important is to apply the principles. She says you also have to consider the other risks. A small child is vulnerable. If adults cannot look after the child, that is an exceptional circumstance. If no one is able to look after the child, the local authority should be able to help. Matt Hancock holds government"s daily coronavirus press conference Matt Hancock, the health secretary, is holding the daily government press conference now. He starts by quoting the latest figures for coronavirus deaths. (See 3.54pm.) He says today he is launching a scheme for NHS volunteers. He says he can announce that 11,788 former health staff have agreed to return to help out. They include 2,660 doctors, more than 2,000 other clinical staff and 6,147 nurses. And he says 5,500 final year medical students and 1,800 final year student nurses will be going into work early. He adds that he can announce a new emergency hospital, NHS Nightingale, is opening at the ExCel centre in London. (See 3.07pm.) He says it will have two wards which each have space for 2,000 patients. Sunak rules out specific support package for entire aviation sector Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, has decided against creating a specific support package for the aviation industry, which is suffering from a collapse in demand due to coronavirus, PA Media reports. In a letter to airports and airlines, he said the government is prepared to enter into negotiations with individual companies once they have “exhausted other options” such as raising cash from existing investors. Karen Dee, chief executive of trade body the Airport Operators Association (AOA), said the aviation industry was “surprised” by Sunak’s decision and will have to “fight on its own to protect its workforce and its future”. She went on: While countries across Europe have recognised the vital role airports play and are stepping into the breach, the UK government’s decision to take a case-by-case approach with dozens of UK airports is simply not feasible to provide the support necessary in the coming days. Not only does the decision today leave airports struggling to provide critical services, it will hamper the UK recovery.