Boris Johnson told the daily press conference the UK can ‘turn the tide’ in the fight against coronavirus within the next 12 weeks. The Prime Minister said the first British patient had been put in a randomised trial for a treatment for coronavirus, and he expected relatively soon the government would be able to do mass testing to see if people had contracted it. Police, public health and immigration officers have been given powers to detain anyone suspected of being infected with coronavirus under new emergency powers rolled out by the government. The emergency legislation also gives the government sweeping powers to close premises and ban gatherings. The UK death toll rose to 144 as a further 29 patients died in England. The patients were aged between 47 and 96 years old and had underlying health conditions. Scottish deaths doubled to six and the first death in Northern Ireland was recorded. The Bank of England slashed interest rates to an all-time low of 0.1%, a week after rates were cut to 0.25% to address the coronavirus crisis. The capital saw dozens of London Underground stations close as part of measures to enforce social distancing and slow the spread of the virus. Figures show that around 4 in 10 coronavirus-related deaths in the UK so far have been in London. London mayor Sadiq Khan said bans may be needed to stop people gathering in bars, restaurants and continuing to mix together in defiance of expert advice. He also said people’s civil liberties may have to be curtailed to stop more lives being lost to the Covid-19 virus. Boris Johnson continued to deny there were plans to shut down the London Underground. The Queen issued a message to the nation that in this period of great concern and uncertainty “we all have a vitally important part to play as individuals” in the days, weeks and months ahead. Weddings and baptisms should be significantly scaled back under new guidance issued by the Church of England. Weddings should be restricted to five people and baptisms should be limited to meet the need for social distancing. Supermarket staff are to be counted as key workers whose children can stay at school, the environment secretary George Eustice said. Guidance on how pupils unable to sit exams are to be graded is to be published tomorrow, the education secretary Gavin Williamson said. Train, coach and bus services across the country have been cut as passengers stay away, including South Western Railway, Great Western Railway and National Express. That’s all from us today on the UK side, but the global coverage of these extraordinary times continues over on our global coronavirus live blog: