That’s all from the UK side for today – thank you for following and writing in. Head over to our our global liveblog to keep up with the latest developments from around the world. You can buy one of the Guardian’s “Work From Hope” prints here to support the NHS. Seventy per cent of the Guardian’s profits will be paid to NHS charities. 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 unpredictable the future feels, we will remain with you, delivering high quality news so we can all 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. Clap for carers Clea Skopeliti For the fifth week running, people across the UK will come to their doorsteps, balconies, windows and gardens to clap for frontline workers. The weekly show of support will take place in a few minutes. Evening summary Lucy Campbell The Scottish government published a framework for leaving lockdown and adjusting to a “new normal” of living with Covid-19, increasing pressure on the UK government to a) produce its own plan and b) make clear that it has one. The Scottish document states that easing restrictions won’t mean life returning to normal. Some of the details include: crucial behaviours such physical distancing and hand-washing will remain essential; those most at risk will continue to be shielded; workplaces and education settings would need to be redesigned to enable proper physical distancing; restrictions could be lifted and then re-imposed at short notice; and restrictions are likely to be lifted in stages. The priority, it says, is minimising overall harm. The report earned Nicola Sturgeon praise from the likes of George Osborne, the former Tory chancellor, who said the UK government should “treat the public like adults” by adopting the same approach. Essential workers will be able to book their own free tests online from Friday, Matt Hancock announced. The health secretary said key workers will be able to go on the gov.uk website to book tests for themselves and their relatives, the whole process will be free and the results will be sent out by text. He added that anyone unable to go online can book through their employer. The UK government is introducing a contact tracing app and is also recruiting 18,000 people to work on manual contact tracing. Hancock said this figure would include 3,000 clinicians and the 18,000 workers would be trained over the coming weeks. The former Tory health secretary Jeremy Hunt, who has led calls for the implementation of a mass contact tracing programme, said the announcement signalled “a clear exit route from the lockdown”. 48 mobile laboratories are planned to be up and running to help the testing effort by the end of the month, the lobby briefing heard. The PM’s spokesman said there are four already operating as well as 28 drive-through testing centres. The plan is for this to be extended to 48 by the end of April and for each testing centre to have a mobile lab attached to it. Around a quarter of firms may have halted trading since the lockdown, findings from an ONS survey suggested. But only 0.3% said they had permanently ceased trading. Since the lockdown was announced on 23 March, 82% of firms surveyed in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector said they had temporarily stopped trading. Among businesses still trading, 93% said turnover was lower than normal, and 60% said they had sufficient financial resources available. And that’s it for today. From us on the UK side, thank you so much to everybody who got in touch throughout the day with tips and stories. If you’d like to continue following the Guardian’s coverage of the pandemic, head over to our global live blog. Matt Hancock"s press conference - Summary Here are the main points from Matt Hancock’s press conference. Hancock, the health secretary, said the government was recruiting 18,000 people to work on coronavirus contact tracing - tracing people who have been in contact with those infected by coronavirus, so that they can be told to self-isolate. About 3,000 of those will be clinicians, he said. He said that the recruits would be trained over the coming weeks and that having a system of “test, track and trace” in place would make it easier for physical distancing measures to be relaxed. He said: Test, track and trace, done effectively, can help to suppress the transmission in a way that allows you then to have lesser rules. Jeremy Hunt, the Conservative former health secretary who has been pushing for a mass contract tracing programme, said this meant the UK now had “a clear exit route from the current lockdown”. (See 6pm.) Hancock said that from tomorrow essential workers will be able to book their own free coronavirus tests. He said: From today, employers of essential workers will be able to go on gov.uk to get a test for any of their staff. From tomorrow, any essential workers who need a test will be able to book an appointment on gov.uk themselves, directly. This all applies for people in essential workers’ households too who need a test. It’s all part of getting Britain back on her feet. He claimed the government was on track to meet the “challenging” target of carrying out 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month. Giving more detail, Prof John Newton, the government’s national testing effort coordinator, said: We have also introduced new tests, new types of test, so for example at least two NHS labs are now using a test that has no RNA extraction stage, which means no need for the chemical reagents which are in such high demand around the world. In addition, we have the three new lighthouse labs which are all now on stream - these are the ones in Milton Keynes, in Manchester and in Glasgow. Each of these labs will be able to process tens of thousands of tests per day and we’re introducing automation into those processes which really ramps up the capacity. We are currently on track to reach 100,000 tests a day. In fact, we’re somewhat ahead of where we thought we’d be at this stage. Hancock said anyone invited to take part in the coronavirus antibody survey, a mass exercise to test how many people have had the virus, should participate because the information it yielded would help the fight against the disease. He indicated that a package of support for bereaved relatives of NHS staff who died during the outbreak would be announced soon. He rejected claims the UK government should follow its Scottish counterpart, and publish a guide to how it might exit the lockdown. Doing that would dilute the clarity of the government’s ‘stay at home’ message, he said. Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser, said he did not think there was any evidence that public support for physical distancing measures was tailing off. The increase in confirmed cases of Covid-19 within prisons continues to slow, according to daily figures released by the Ministry of Justice. As of 5pm on Wednesday, 300 prisoners had tested positive for the coronavirus across 69 jails, a 2% rise in 24 hours. Fifteen prisoners are known to have contracted the virus and died. There are around 81,500 prisoners in England and Wales across 117 prisons. The number of prison staff known to have contracted the disease increased 3% to 237 workers across 57 prisons in the same period, while the number of prisoner escort and custody services staff increased by one to 10. The figures reflect the total number of recorded positive cases of Covid-19 and include individuals who have recovered. The Prison Service is to temporarily release up to 4,000 inmates who are within two months of their release date, as well as build 500 cells within the existing prison estate to increase single-cell occupancy. UK now has "clear exit route" after government"s contact tracing announcement, claims Hunt Jeremy Hunt, the Conservative former health secretary, who has been leading calls for the implementation of a mass contact tracing programme, has welcomed what Matt Hancock has announced today. From our colleague Lisa O’Carroll Teaching unions and school leaders have welcomed the announcement that school staff will get priority for testing, with some calling it an essential precondition before reopening schools. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: School staff have been on the frontline in the national response to coronavirus. We have been clear from the start that governments across the UK understand they must honour this effort with the appropriate level of support and safety. If testing can be delivered effectively, then it will be welcomed by the education sector. Kevin Courtney of the National Education Union said the immediate priority was for teachers who were self-isolating to get tested. Our call for testing has been unceasing. The government has been slow to respond, and there will be a fear amongst school staff that this promise will follow the pattern of previous pledges to contain the virus. Our members will not tolerate dither and delay. They need certainty and, from the health secretary, swift action to make this promise a reality. Q: Why has the UK government been unable to produce a plan like the Scottish government’s? Hancock says the UK has set out its own five tests. Having the four nations of the UK work together on this has been important. The country has “essentially moved together”, he says. The UK-wide approach “is the best way to go”, he says. Vallance says the scientists from the four nations all work together. It is a unified approach, he says. And that’s it. The press conference is over.