Government bodies, industry and charities including AstraZeneca and Wellcome Trust to collaborate in coordinating effortsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageCoronavirus vaccine – when will we have one?The government has announced a new vaccines taskforce to help the development of a vaccine for Covid-19 and ensure its rapid production and rollout if one arrives.The...

Government says 27 NHS staff have died from Covid-19 but true total thought to be higherCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA GP and a clinical support worker have become the latest NHS staff members to die after contracting coronavirus.Jane Murphy, 73, worked at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for almost 30 years, first as a cleaner before she retrained as a clinical support...

Pharmaceutical company says it can produce tests in the high tens of millions by June Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage The pharmaceutical giant Roche has devised a new coronavirus antibody test, which it is aiming to launch in the UK next month.Antibody testing, which has already been utilised in Germany, South Korea and Finland, is seen as a way for countries to exit...

Governor Andrew Bailey says ‘livelihoods are at stake’ as figures show only £1.1bn lent to small firmsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, has told Britain’s high street lenders that they must “put their backs into” providing loans for companies affected by Covid-19 amid evidence that many will fail without urgent...

Stock index up more than 3% in early trading on the back of hopes for remdesivir treatmentOptimism surrounding a potential new treatment for Covid-19 has boosted the FTSE 100 stock index, amid claims that a drug called remdesivir has spurred rapid recovery in 113 patients.A University of Chicago hospital participating in a study of the antiviral medication, made by US firm Gilead Sciences,...

Three astronauts arrive to world radically transformed by coronavirus outbreakThe three-person crew of the International Space Station returned to Earth on Friday morning, arriving back to a world that has been radically transformed by coronavirus in the time they were away.Space travel is often a journey into the unknown, but for Americans Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan, and Russian Oleg...

Scientists involved in Recovery trial, with over 5,000 test subjects, hope for answers within weeks Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe world’s biggest trial of drugs to treat Covid-19 patients has been set up in the UK at unprecedented speed, and hopes to have some answers within weeks.The Recovery trial has recruited over 5,000 patients in 165 NHS hospitals around...

Medical researchers have been studying everything we know about coronavirus. What have they learned – and is it enough to halt the pandemic?Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageCoronaviruses have been causing problems for humanity for a long time. Several versions are known to trigger common colds and more recently two types have set off outbreaks of deadly illnesses:...

Mayor says city should follow New York in requiring masks where distance is not possibleCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSadiq Khan has called on the government to make wearing face masks while travelling in London compulsory during the coronavirus outbreak.The mayor of London said “the evidence around the world is that this effective” despite UK public health...

Why is the Covid-19 virus worse than normal influenza, and how worried are the experts?Find all our coronavirus coverage hereCoronavirus – latest updatesHow to protect yourself and others from infectionIt is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has transferred to humans from animals. The World Health Organization (WHO)...

Worst GDP fall on record comes after months of paralysis as the country went into lockdown to contain coronavirusCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageChina’s economy shrank 6.8% in the three months of 2020, the country’s first such contraction on record and a stark sign of the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.The news came as Chinese authorities revised the...