Evening summary The UK experienced the largest daily increase in deaths from coronavirus. The total now stands at 578, up by 115 on the previous figure. The Department for Health and Social Care also confirmed that 11,658 people across the UK have tested positive for the virus. A new self-employed income support scheme will allow those with average profits of £50,000 or less to benefit from up to £2,500 in support a month. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said the government would pay self-employed people a taxable grant based on their average monthly profits over the last three years, worth up to 80% of earnings. The scheme will come into effect in June, and cover a minimum of three months.
Downing Street announced a U-turn over the EU-wide ventilator procurement scheme. A spokesman for No 10 said the UK did not receive an invitation in time to join in the first effort to procure ventilators and other equipment “owing to an initial communication problem”. UK aid spending on the fight against coronavirus has reached £544m, according to No 10. Much of the new funding, from its international aid budget, was announced today. It includes: £210m to the key international fund to find a coronavirus vaccine, £40m on developing affordable treatments including immunotherapies against the virus and £23m on developing easily manufactured test kits. The Crown Prosecution Service said people “coronavirus coughing” at emergency workers could be imprisoned for up to two years. The statement followed reports that police officers, shop workers and others had been coughed at by people claiming to have the disease. More sites across the country could be converted into makeshift coronavirus hospitals similar to the ExCel exhibition centre. During a Downing Street lobby briefing a government spokesperson did not rule out the report by Sky News that 10 sites had been identified. New police powers to enforce the coronavirus lockdown will allow officers to use force to make people go back home if they are in breach of the emergency laws. According to the Home Office, police can “instruct” people to go home, leave an area or disperse, and may use “reasonable force” to return a person home in some circumstances. Boris Johnson is hoping to get 750,000 people to sign up for the NHS volunteer responders scheme, the prime minister’s spokesman has said. About 560,000 members of the public have already expressed their interest.