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The Papers.
Most of Saturday's papers lead on the prime minister and the health secretary testing positive for Covid-19 - and the news that England's Chief Medical Officer is in self-isolation with symptoms.
"Coronavirus strikes at heart of government", "Number 10 Virus Bombshell" and "Crisis as big three hit by virus" are among the headlines.
The Daily Mail asks why Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock did not practise what they preached when it comes to social distancing, saying they were pictured at close quarters in the House of Commons in recent days.
The Sun's take is that Covid-19 is starting to "rip through" the top of government, leaving aides wondering "who's next?" - or "flu's next?" - as the headline reads.
The prime minister's diagnosis also makes the headlines on the other side of the world. In Australia, the Sydney Daily Telegraph says "Boris Gets The Bug", describing the prime minister as the UK's "second highest-profile" victim of the virus, after Prince Charles tested positive just days earlier.
The Financial Times claims the government has missed opportunities to acquire more medical ventilators to help people with respiratory difficulties caused by the coronavirus. The paper has spoken to companies which say their offers to provide additional machines have not been taken up.
The Italian novelist Francesca Melandri has written what's billed as a letter "from your future" in the Guardian, as she describes the storm of emotions being experienced by people in her home country that the UK can expect in the coming days and weeks.
Her predictions include plenty of eating - because it is one of the few things you can still do, discovering the true nature of those around you and, at points, being afraid.
The front page of the Times includes a study which suggests that Britain is currently on course for 5,700 deaths from coronavirus - far fewer than originally predicted.
The scientists behind the research, at Imperial College London, say they have based their calculations on the assumption that the country will follow the same path as China.
They have emphasised that this does not mean previous estimates were alarmist - but that the government's social distancing strategy is working.
The Daily Telegraph reports on the testing of frontline NHS staff, which is expected to begin this weekend. It says a source close to the Government has said antibody tests will soon be available to confirm whether someone has had coronavirus and is now immune.
It also says public health officials are looking at whether people could be given a certificate which allows them to leave lockdown and get back to work.
The Daily Express reports on the University of Oxford scientists who are recruiting volunteers to try out a coronavirus vaccine.
They will need up to 510 healthy adults from the Thames Valley area who will either be given the inoculation or a control injection for comparison. The paper explains that the vaccine won't be ready for a number of weeks.
And the Daily Star is concerned about the safety of postal workers who are delivering what it describes as a "mountain of stuff" being ordered to "ease the coronavirus lockdown boredom".
The paper is urging people to keep their front doors clean, with the headline "Scrub Yer Knobs and Knockers".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-52072288
Comments
Many of the front pages highlight the letter written by Boris Johnson - to be sent to every household in the country this week - warning that the coronavirus crisis will get worse before it gets better.
The Observer describes the message as "stark", while the Sunday Express says the "bleak" letter emphasises that the UK is facing a national emergency.
According to the Sun on Sunday it is the first time in decades that a prime minister has written to every household to seek their help in defeating a common enemy.
The Sunday Times focuses on comments by a leading government adviser who has warned that Britain must remain in full lockdown until June to avoid the worst effects of the pandemic.
Prof Neil Ferguson says he believes "May is optimistic" for the current restrictions to be lifted - and suggests that when they are, "people would probably still be asked to enforce some social distancing for months more".
The paper says cabinet sources have indicated that two criteria would have to be met before the government ends the lockdown - "the number of new cases must be stable or falling and the critical care capacity of NHS hospitals must not be exceeded".
The front page of the Mail on Sunday claims allies of Boris Johnson have "turned on China" over the crisis, arguing Beijing's behaviour during the pandemic will eventually result in a "reckoning" in relations.
Ministers and senior Downing Street officials are said to be "furious" over what the Mail describes as "China's campaign of misinformation, attempts to exploit the situation for economic gain, and atrocious animal rights record".
Writing in the paper, the former Conservative leader, Iain Duncan-Smith, says nations have "lamely kow-towed" to China for too long and once we get clear of the pandemic, "it is imperative that we all rethink that relationship".
Many of the papers feature personal stories of some of those in the frontline of the fight against the virus. Saleyha Ahsan - who is an A&E doctor in Bangor, north Wales - has told the Sunday Mirror it is the scariest place she has ever worked.
She previously saw conflict in Syria as an army captain but says "right now is when I've felt the most afraid".
"It's because this is home. There's no plane out of here," she tells the paper.
An anonymous doctor working at a hospital in London has kept a diary of their week for the Mail on Sunday. They describe the "never-ending flood" of patients and say they are "forced to play God" due to the "frightening shortage" of equipment.
Finally, the Sunday Times suggests the enforcement of social distancing "sank to new depths" when police poured black dye into the water at a beauty spot to make it look less appealing.
The paper says Derbyshire Police acted after receiving reports of people breaking the virus restrictions by gathering in bright sunshine at the Blue Lagoon in Buxton - prompting officers to decide it should become the murky, black lagoon for the duration of the lockdown.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-52079939
Most papers highlight the warning - made at Downing Street's daily briefing on Sunday by the deputy chief medical officer for England - that life in Britain will not return to normal for six months.
The Times says Dr Jenny Harries' remark makes it "almost inevitable" that the government will extend the restrictions beyond the three weeks initially announced.
The Daily Telegraph agrees, noting in its leader column that the rising death toll "will convince the country that more time is needed".
But, it says, people "need to be told something more than things are going to get worse if we are to get through this".
The Daily Mail says Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick "faced a rough ride" over No 10's handling of the pandemic when he appeared alongside Dr Harries, following complaints about the slow increase in testing and the lack of personal protective equipment for medical staff.
A number of papers feature an image of Amged El-Hawrani - one of the first British doctors to die with the virus.
According to the Guardian, his death - and that of another doctor, Adil El Tayar - has "intensified pressure" on ministers to accelerate the supply of protective equipment to frontline staff.
The Daily Mirror says doctors are "pleading" for more kit following the deaths of what the paper calls "NHS Heroes".
The Independent website says a new national supply line is due to begin operations "within days", after NHS officials admitted the existing system had been "overwhelmed" by demand.
The Daily Telegraph reports that a major NHS Trust in London has conceded that intensive care for infected patients is now being limited to those "reasonably certain" to survive.
It says Imperial College Healthcare is selecting fewer and fewer marginal patients for ventilator treatment because so many serious cases require a fortnight on the machines.
The Daily Mail says the trust has confirmed that the measure has "not being taken due to a lack of capacity". The Telegraph thinks it is the first admission that NHS doctors have "significantly tightened" their intensive care treatment criteria since the start of the outbreak.
The Financial Times says thousands of airline cabin crew grounded by the pandemic are being asked to work at the new temporary field hospitals being built around the UK. It is thought those who volunteer will be "changing beds and doing other non-clinical tasks".
As some airlines prepare to ask the government for financial support to help them weather the crisis, the FT's leader column argues that one of the consequences of the pandemic "must be a redrawing of the relationship between business and society".
It says the virus is putting responsible capitalism to the test - and state support demands that business plays its part as a corporate citizen.
The Daily Mirror is one of several papers to print a photograph of the former Labour leader, Lord Kinnock, sitting on his doorstep talking to his son in a chair a few feet away.
Writing on Twitter, Stephen Kinnock says he and his wife visited his parents for a "socially distanced" celebration of his father's 78th birthday.
The Sun says South Wales Police responded to the Labour MP's message by advising him the trip was not classed as essential travel. Mr Kinnock said he had to deliver some necessary supplies and "was off" after staying long enough to sing Happy Birthday
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-52087083
'Not fit for purpose': UK medics condemn Covid-19 protection
Doctors and nurses warn shortages of appropriate equipment may put lives of NHS staff lives at risk
Frontline NHS staff are at risk of dying from Covid-19 after the protective gear requirements for health workers treating those infected were downgraded last week, doctors and nurses have warned.
Hospital staff caring for the growing number of those seriously ill with the disease also fear that they could pass the infection on to other patients after catching it at work because of poor protection.
Doctors who are dealing most closely with Covid-19 patients – A&E medics, anaesthetists and specialists in acute medicine and intensive care – are most worried.
A doctor in an infectious diseases ward of a major UK hospital, who is treating patients with Covid-19, said: “I am terrified. I am seriously considering whether I can keep working as a doctor.”
Shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) appear to be widespread across the health service and include GP practices as well as hospitals. Doctors are angry about Public Health England’s new advice issued last week which reduces the level of the PPE that staff need to wear. Medics believe the change in advice was driven by the lack of equipment rather than a change in the clinical evidence about the risks from the virus.
Previously, staff were told to wear full PPE, comprising an FFP3 masks (which offer high levels of respiratory protection), visors, surgical gowns and two pairs of gloves each. But the new advice recommends only a standard surgical face mask, short gloves and a plastic apron. Staff have dismissed this as “totally inadequate” protection. FFP3 masks and visors appear to be in particularly short supply.
Dr Nick Fletcher, a consultant anaesthetist and intensive care specialist at St George’s hospital in London, said: “There is a high death rate for medical first responders. If they don’t have the protective kit, this increases their risk of death.
“What we are going to have to use is likely not fit for purpose. There really needs to be a big effort to ensure PPE for medics and nurses is made an absolute priority.”
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/16/not-fit-for-purpose-uk-medics-condemn-covid-19-protection
The Guardian takes police forces to task for the way some officers have deployed new powers aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus.
Citing the case of the dog walkers videoed during a stroll in the Peak District, the paper says "preventive measures should stop short of public shaming of individuals - particularly on social media platforms".
Neither should officers be deciding what constitutes exercise or which goods can be sold, the paper believes.
The Sun says "a few idiots deserve fines for blatantly flouting the restrictions, but a few officious cops need reining in, too".
The paper thinks police "have no business feeling anyone's collar for buying "non-essential' items" and urges officers to use their common sense.
The Daily Mail's Richard Littlejohn complains that after another couple of weeks of lockdown, eating Easter eggs will be one of the "few innocent pleasures left to us".
"Are we going to see balaclavad armed response teams abseiling down the sides of buildings, bursting through windows and snatching chocolate bunnies from the trembling hands of terrified children and OAPs?" he asks.
The Daily Telegraph calls the powers "draconian". But it says there have also been examples of the public behaving in a thoughtless and even reckless way, such as the driver stopped in a park in Stevenage in Hertfordshire who told officers he was playing Pokemon Go.
The Financial Times reports that energy companies have asked the UK government to back a loan scheme worth up to £1m a month so they can offer payment holidays to households and businesses struggling to settle bills because of the pandemic.
The request comes from Energy UK, the trade body for electricity and gas suppliers.
Utility companies say some customers have cancelled direct debit payments and it's feared that if there's a surge in bad debts, many energy firms could be forced out of business.
Several back pages report on the embarrassment of the Premier League player, Jack Grealish.
The Aston Villa star was reported to have crashed his Range Rover in Solihull on the way back from a party on Sunday morning, hours after putting out a video message on social media urging fans to stay at home and observe social distancing.
The Times says he'll be fined around £150,000 by his club.
He's now made a new video message apologising, saying he was stupid to go to a friend's and that he'll be staying at home and following the rules in future.
'Give them all a medal'
As if their jobs weren't difficult enough, nurses and paramedics are now reported to be targets for abuse.
The Metro says there's been a surge in such cases. The Daily Express calls for tougher sentences, under the headline "get tough on cowards abusing NHS heroes".
"Give them all a medal" is the front-page headline in the Daily Mirror.
The paper says support is growing for its campaign for the heroism of NHS staff to be recognised with a form of campaign medal, and that the prime minister himself has said we own them a debt of gratitude.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-52101024
As the number of coronavirus deaths mounts up, the papers tell us about some of the individuals, old and young, behind the statistics.
Several front pages highlight the case of the boy believed to have been the youngest patient to die in the UK after catching Covid-19, Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, who was 13 and had no known health problems.
The Guardian quotes a family friend who says the boy's mother and his six siblings are now waiting for the results of a post-mortem. They couldn't be with him when he died because of the danger of infection.
The Times carries news of the death of Harold Pearsall from Tamworth in Staffordshire, who was 97 and a D-Day veteran.
He'd been awarded France's highest military honour, the Légion d'Honneur, for taking part in the Allied assault on the beaches of Normandy.
Also reported in The Times is the death of Thomas Harvey, an NHS worker who was 57 and had seven children. He apparently picked up the virus while treating a patient at a hospital in Ilford in Essex.
The Daily Mirror highlights one happy outcome. Helen Gents, a grandmother aged 92, has recovered from Covid-19 after being taken to hospital last week.
Her granddaughter says the former shop worker is "made of strong stuff".
The need for tests to show whether NHS staff have coronavirus is the main front-page story in the Financial Times and the Daily Mail, whose headline demands "Fix testing fiasco now".
The Mail says the lack of testing kits is "shocking" and it calls for the government to appoint a dedicated minister for testing to try to crack the problem.
The Times says Boris Johnson himself has taken charge of efforts to source chemicals needed for the tests. The Sun says mass community testing is vital to return Britain to normality.
The Times reveals that just five weeks ago the coronavirus was judged by the government's scientific advisers to pose only a "moderate risk" to Britain.
Scientists on a Public Health England committee, including the pandemic modeller, Neil Ferguson, discussed Covid-19 when they met on 21 February.
Recently released minutes show that members of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group - or Nervtag - were given the latest global data on the outbreak,. showing more than 75,000 confirmed cases of the virus in China and more than 2,200 fatalities.
The Times says the disclosure raises questions about the speed of the response.
The Guardian carries a warning that the coronavirus is pushing Britain's care homes towards breaking point. One charity says there are cases - or suspected cases - at half its 220 homes and that one in 10 staff is off sick or self-isolating.
The Sun pays tribute to those it calls the "Army heroes on the NHS front line", with a front-page picture of soldiers helping to set up the new Nightingale Hospital in east London.
The Mirror says the military's response to the crisis has been "magnificent" and we should be proud.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, the columnist, Allison Pearson, says the armed forces have reminded us why they're one of our greatest national assets. She says "soldiers, we salute you!"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-52114706
"Outrage", "chaos", "shambles", "fiasco" - just some of the words used to describe the government's efforts to test NHS workers in England for coronavirus.
Alongside photos of another doctor and a hospital worker who've died of the disease, the Daily Mirror says the number of official checks so far covers just 0.16% of NHS staff. Despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson's pledge to boost numbers, the paper says Downing Street is "failing the test".
The Daily Telegraph is among the most critical.
Under the headline "Questions without answers", the paper says the government is unable to say why the UK is lagging behind other nations on testing, why so few NHS workers have been tested, or when new antibody tests will be ready.
Ministers are now under increasing pressure, the paper says, to explain why Britain - one of the world's leading scientific nations - is "struggling to match its European neighbour, Germany".
For the Daily Mail, the fact that just 2,000 frontline workers have been formally checked so far is the "latest shocking example" of what it calls the UK's "testing scandal". It is a statistic, the paper says, which "humbles ministers".
The Times agrees that the government's plans are "in chaos", reporting that Mr Johnson has now been forced to "shift strategy" amid mounting criticism.
Photos on the front of several papers show an empty drive-through testing site for NHS workers in Surrey, where some frontline staff were turned away on Wednesday because they didn't have appointments.
The Times says some hospitals have resorted to brewing their own chemicals and asking vets for supplies so they can check their own staff.
A government source tells the paper the goal is to expand testing through an appeal to private companies, similar to an earlier call for manufacturers to make more ventilators.
The Guardian leads on new guidance for doctors issued in a document from the British Medical Association.
The paper says medics may have to ration care as the outbreak progresses, meaning older patients with a poor prognosis could be taken off ventilators, even if they're stable and their condition is improving.
The proposals - which will give doctors ethical advice in the event of the NHS becoming overwhelmed - say life-saving care may have to be limited to younger, healthier people.
The headline in the Daily Express speaks directly to the banks: "We bailed you out, now do your duty."
The paper urges them to "repay the favour" of the 2008 bailout by coming to the aid of taxpayers as the crisis deepens. Some lenders, the paper says, have been charging interest of as much as 30% on government-backed loans.
The Financial Times says pressure from the Bank of England for HSBC to cancel its dividend to shareholders for the first time since records began has "reignited a debate" at the top of the bank over whether it should move its legal base to Hong Kong.
With four fifths of HSBC's profits generated in Asia, one director tells the paper it was wrong for regulators at the Bank of England to "put a gun to its head".
And "Clap of honour" is the headline in the Sun.
The paper is urging people to carry on clapping their support for NHS workers at 20:00 BST this evening - and every Thursday from now on in a "show of solidarity".
The Daily Mirror says this week's applause will honour teachers, cleaners, supermarket workers and delivery drivers - as well as NHS staff.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-52130211
"Everyone will hope Mr Hancock delivers on his promise".
That's the view of the Daily Mirror, which, like many papers, gives a broad welcome to the government's re-vamped strategy to increase testing for coronavirus.
Only through testing can NHS staff know if they are safe to return to work, the paper argues, and only through testing can we judge when it will be safe to lift the lockdown restrictions.
Should Mr Hancock fail, it concludes, the cost will not be his job but lives lost.
The Sun takes aim at Public Health England, saying the crisis has laid bare its complacency and ineptitude.
For years this monument to "bloated, sluggish bureaucracy" has banged on obsessively about obesity but facing the gravest crisis in a century, its failings have been hideously exposed.
The Times believes that the government's call on Britain's extensive network of university and private-sector laboratories to join the national testing effort is the right strategy, but it should have been adopted weeks ago.
It says blame for what it calls "this shambles" lies not with Public Health England but squarely with the government. It has been, the paper argues, consistently behind the curve in its response to the pandemic. Mr Hancock has made a big promise, it says. If he can't deliver, public confidence in the government will evaporate.
According to the Daily Telegraph, public health officials in charge of defending the country from a major pandemic never drew up plans for mass community testing, despite warnings from the World Health Organization.
It's been told emergency planners "did not discuss" the need for community testing because they wrongly believed a new strain of influenza would be the next outbreak to strike the UK.
The Guardian highlights new data which suggests the coronavirus outbreak took hold earlier in the UK than previously thought.
It says according to NHS England the earliest death occurred on 28 February, almost a week earlier than previously acknowledged.
The Financial Times leads on the economic shockwaves the virus is continuing to make around the world.
It says about four million French workers have applied for temporary unemployment benefits during the past two weeks, while Spain has recorded the biggest jump in unemployment in its history, with more than 800,000 people losing their jobs last month.
The New York Times says the reported loss of 10 million jobs in the US shows the scope of the unfolding economic disaster.
It says hopes for a dramatic but brief downturn followed by a quick recovery have faded, and in their place are fears that the world may be on the cusp of an economic shock unseen since the Great Depression.
It says the speed and scale of the job losses is without precedent.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-52144805
There's continued scrutiny of the government's coronavirus testing regime.
"Britain's testing shambles" is the headline on the front of the Guardian, which warns the government's pledge to carry out 100,000 checks a day is "unravelling".
It says NHS laboratory staff and scientists are warning they don't have the chemicals and components they need to meet the target.
The paper details what it calls a "timeline of mixed messages" from the government, which it says stands accused of "over-promising and under-delivering on a variety of claims".
The Daily Telegraph casts similar doubt on the likely availability of the antibody tests - which it's hoped will be able to determine whether people have had the virus.
Industry leaders commissioned by the government to produce the home-testing kits have told the paper they are "mystified" by suggestions that the technology will be available to the public imminently.
They say June is a more likely date - a delay which could mean the UK's lockdown is extended.
Concern that there's a lack of an exit strategy from the lockdown makes the lead for the Times. It reports that one of the government's senior advisors is warning the UK has "painted itself into a corner" with no clear way out of the crisis.
Prof Graham Medley, the government's chief pandemic modeller, tells the paper a prolonged lockdown risks causing more suffering - in terms of unemployment, domestic violence and mental ill health - than the virus itself.
He says no way has so far been found of easing the lockdown while controlling the virus and that the notion of herd immunity may need to be reconsidered. The country, he tells the paper, is facing a "trade-off between harming the young, versus the old".
'Stay strong'
The faces of the two NHS nurses who died from Covid-19 this week can be found on many of the front pages.
The Daily Express details the emotional tributes paid on social media to one of the women, mother-of-three Aimee O'Rourke from Kent.
Her daughter describes her as an "angel" and promises that when she has her own children, she'll tell them about their granny every single day.
In its editorial, the Sun says the deaths of the nurses underline the importance of not socialising outside this weekend, however tempting the sunny weather may be. "We must resist," it says, urging readers to "stay strong and stick with it".
The Daily Mail says the Queen will urge a similar unity when she addresses the nation tomorrow. It says her message will be a "rallying cry" to boost morale - highlighting the country's cohesion in the face of adversity.
"We are in this together and we will get through it together too," she is expected to say.
As Labour prepares to announce its new leader, many papers speculate about the likely shape of the new shadow cabinet.
The Times says the frontrunner, Sir Keir Starmer, is hoping to appoint several senior women to the front bench if he wins - including Rachel Reeves, Yvette Cooper, Lisa Nandy and Jess Phillips.
The Daily Mirror says the new leader faces a "daunting challenge" to rebuild a party "shamed by its failure to tackle anti-Semitism, factionally divided and in the electoral doldrums".
The task ahead, it says, will be to unite the party behind a "forward-thinking policy agenda", which "reaches out to voters".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-52161777
The Observer leads with the pledge by the new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to work with Boris Johnson "in the national interest", in order to fight the coronavirus outbreak.
It says he's agreed to meet the prime minister this week to talk.
The Sunday Telegraph says the promise to work together with the government is a change of tone for Labour, and signals a break from what it calls the "overtly hostile" approach of Jeremy Corbyn's regime.
But the Sunday Times says that, in also setting out tough criticism of the government's actions, Sir Keir has thrown down the gauntlet to the prime minister.
It says the government deserves to be chastised for some of its missteps, and urges Mr Johnson to reach out, not only to the Labour leader, but also to Conservatives with more experience than the current Cabinet.
It says figures such as Jeremy Hunt and the former leaders Lord Hague and Theresa May all have something to offer a government that needs it.
The Sunday Express calls the Queen's broadcast tonight a "historic address" that will rally the nation in its desperate fight against the pandemic.
The Sun on Sunday uses the headline "Greatest Britons", saying her words will pay tribute to the country's strength.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, Downing Street hopes that the Queen's intervention can lift the nation's spirits, at a time when people are being urged to abide by tough rules limiting their movements.
The Mail on Sunday reports that two of the most senior government ministers leading the response to the pandemic are locked in battle about when to lift the current restrictions.
It says the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has made "robust" arguments to Health Secretary Matt Hancock that the country could suffer lasting damage unless there is a plan for a swift return to normal activity.
Mr Hancock's backers insist he is protecting the NHS.
The Observer says there is open debate in both Whitehall and the scientific community about the best route out of the lockdown measures.
The online Independent says the social care system is at risk of collapse within weeks due to pressure from the coronavirus.
It says care providers are complaining that some local councils are failing to release emergency funding they've been given, and says firms have been pushed to the brink of closure.
The website says concern is growing in Whitehall about the resilience of the system, but many in the sector say they have raised questions and had no response.
The Sunday People also warns of what it calls a "care home time bomb", saying a lack of kit, testing and staff is putting elderly residents at risk.
The Sunday Mirror says the Conservative government still doesn't know the value of Britain's true heroes.
Meanwhile, the Sun on Sunday reports that protection officers for Princess Anne and Princes Andrew and Edward no longer carry guns, but Tasers.
It says the move is part of a widespread review of security for junior royals, politicians and diplomats. One former protection officer calls it "nonsensical".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-52169725
News of Boris Johnson's admission to hospital prompted a number of papers to update their front pages overnight, knocking the Queen's address to the nation out of the top headlines.
The Daily Telegraph says the statement from Downing Street was "unexpected", coming just hours after ministers insisted there'd been no change in his condition.
According to the paper, some members of the cabinet have privately "expressed concern" over whether Mr Johnson can still run the government, despite official assurances that he remains in charge.
One minister is said to have told a fellow MP that the Prime Minister is "having to sleep and rest a lot" because of his high temperature.
The Guardian reports that the update came after "days of rumours" about the prime minister's health.
The paper claims it was told last week that Mr Johnson was "more seriously ill than either he or his senior officials were prepared to admit".
A number of papers carry a photograph of staff at the Princess Alexandra hospital in Essex paying tribute to 54-year-old Lynsay Coventry - the first NHS midwife confirmed to have died from coronavirus in England.
Lining the sides of a hospital corridor, still wearing their surgical masks, staff fell silent to remember a dedicated colleague, who'd helped hundreds of women bring their babies into the world, the Daily Mail says.
The Guardian reports on a warning from scientists that antibody testing kits, hailed by Boris Johnson as a "game changer" in the fight against coronavirus, could in fact be "unreliable".
It was hoped the kits, resembling pregnancy tests, would allow people who have had the virus to return to the workplace - but the paper says experts now think they may fail to detect up to half of coronavirus cases. One of the scientists involved has told the paper that the sensitivity of all the tests on the market was "relatively low" for people with mild symptoms - the exact group the tests were intended for.
In the US, both the Washington Post and the New York Times express concern at President Trump's promotion of the anti-malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine, as a treatment for coronavirus.
During his daily briefing at the White House, the Times says Mr Trump appeared to admit that he was speaking only on gut instinct - acknowledging he had no expertise and appearing to stop medical experts answering questions about the use of the unproven drug.
Yet again, says the Post, the President is "projecting a level of confidence" not matched by his scientific advisors.
Back in the UK, almost all of the front pages carry a photograph of the Queen, delivering her address to the nation from Windsor Castle.
The Daily Mirror and the Sun pick out the same message for their headlines: "We will meet again".
For the Daily Mail, the historic address evoked memories of Vera Lynn and "Britain's Blitz spirit".
The Guardian's sketch writer John Crace says the monarch's address delivered the "clear moral leadership" that many political leaders have failed to provide in the current crisis.
There's only a certain amount a head of state can say in times like these, he writes, but any reference to the government's efforts to tackle the outbreak were notably absent.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-52177104
The main story across all of the papers is Boris Johnson's move to intensive care late on Monday evening.
In the words of the Daily Mail, the drastic step was taken because the stricken prime minister was struggling to breathe.
According to the Daily Mirror, there are concerns that he could have pneumonia.
The Times says the deterioration in Mr Johnson's condition was rapid. It quotes sources at St Thomas's Hospital near Westminster who say he needed four litres of oxygen - below the normal threshold in intensive care of 15 litres.
The prime minister, it adds, has not been intubated, where a tube is inserted into the windpipe before ventilation.
'Frustration'
The Times adds Mr Johnson is thought to be fairly fit and well - he is a regular tennis player and, at No 10, he follows online video workouts that mix yoga, Pilates and aerobics.
But the paper says he has had to give up jogging because of problems with his knees and he has struggled with his weight, reaching 16-and-a-half stone in December 2018 which would have put him in the obese category.
The Daily Telegraph says Carrie Symonds, Mr Johnson's partner, who is pregnant, is thought to have been unable to visit him since he was admitted to hospital. The Times says she is thought to be staying in Camberwell, south London with their dog, Dilyn.
The Guardian says a bed was being prepared for Mr Johnson at St Thomas's hospital as early as last Thursday, suggesting concerns have been mounting for some days. Quoting a source, the paper says he spent Sunday night in an empty wing normally used for elective procedures.
The Guardian has also been told of "frustration" among ministers over the prime minister remaining in charge for so long, rather than resting, even after he had received oxygen treatment.
The i paper agrees that his colleagues had urged him to hand over the reins and try to rest.
The Spectator's Isabel Hardman understands why Mr Johnson wanted to continue to lead the government, even from his bed. This is a national crisis, she writes, where the country needs a recognisable and confident figure leading.
'Uncompromising' karate black belt
HuffPost UK offers a guide to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is deputising for the PM "where necessary". Describing the 46-year-old karate black belt as an uncompromising figure who has rarely strayed from his dedication to leaving the EU.
The son of a Czech-born Jewish refugee who fled the ****, Mr Raab has spent much of the past month trying to get Britons repatriated from far-flung corners of the globe.
Elsewhere, the Financial Times says big decisions loom for the government, as the outbreak reaches its peak and ministers start to grapple with how and when to start relaxing the lockdown. The paper's leader column argues that governments which have rightly decided to close down their economies have only "a very few months" before the costs and social unrest become "unbearable".
Make these lockdowns work, it says, "all the blundering of recent months has to end".
According to the Daily Telegraph, ministers are scrambling to formulate a new exit strategy for the lockdown, following warnings from experts that mass testing cannot be introduced for at least a month.
More than three million antibody tests - which show if someone has already had Covid-19 - were ordered two weeks ago and hailed as "game-changing" by the prime minister. But the government's scientific adviser says they have so far failed.
Matt's cartoon has a park bench with a plaque dedicated to "Mark and Anne who were fined for sitting here during lockdown, April 2020".
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Fears of a power vacuum at the top of government - as Boris Johnson continues his stay in intensive care - feature prominently on Wednesday's newspaper front pages.
The Daily Telegraph says the prime minister's de facto deputy Dominic Raab is facing a situation "without recent historical precedent" - and urgent questions about his authority to dictate any changes in the government's response to the coronavirus crisis.
Cabinet sources tell the paper that Mr Johnson will still take major decisions as long as he remains able to express his wishes, but that in his absence, senior ministers have "differing views" on whether to extend the current lockdown next week.
The HuffPost UK website says there are particular tensions between the Treasury and the Department of Health and Social Care on the way forward.
The Sun quotes another unnamed government figure who suggests Mr Raab is "heavily constrained" as the prime minister's stand-in and needs "collective responsibility on anything substantial", such as the approval of military action.
The New Statesman website also points out that the foreign secretary cannot hire or dismiss other ministers - and will not hold a weekly audience with the Queen.
For the Guardian, the UK is facing a "crisis of authority" at a time when public approval for extending social distancing measures will need to be won and maintained.
"The weeks to come", it goes on in an editorial, "will require some of the most fraught political calls any peacetime government has had to make".
Several papers carry Dominic Raab's comments that the prime minister is a "fighter" who will "pull through".
Meanwhile, 16 NHS staff at the George Eliot Hospital in Warwickshire - dressed in plastic aprons and surgical masks - are pictured on the front of the Daily Express, holding a homemade "get well soon" sign for Mr Johnson.
And the Sun pictures the prime minister on the steps of Downing Street last Thursday applauding health workers, telling readers: "he stayed at work for you, now pray at home for him".
The Daily Mirror also wishes the PM a rapid recovery, but insists his stay in hospital must not be allowed to blunt accountability and scrutiny of the government.
Elsewhere, according to the Times, British biotech companies could soon be asked to work together to produce a finger-**** antibody test that detects whether someone has had coronavirus, providing a possible route out of the lockdown.
The paper suggests that ministers are turning away from the idea of sourcing such a test abroad, after other products ordered and evaluated by the government proved unreliable.
The ultimate goal, the Times says, is to have a kit accurate enough to allow millions of people to test themselves at home, generating a result within a few minutes.
The Financial Times says people in parts of Europe are reporting shortages of an anti-malaria drug used to ease the symptoms of lupus and rheumatoid arthritis - after US President Donald Trump claimed it could combat Covid-19.
A survey of lupus sufferers across Europe found that up to 60% of patients were not able to buy hydroxychloroquine in chemists in recent weeks, even though there is no robust evidence it can treat coronavirus. India has already restricted exports of the drug.
Finally, the Daily Mail provides some light relief - with the upcoming auction of a highly unusual bathroom suite.
The French sculptor, Francois-Xavier Lalanne, crafted the bath, toilet and bidet set in the shape of a mother hippopotamus and two babies - even building a vanity unit into the mother's mouth.
Sotheby's - which is selling the lot in Paris this summer - expects it to fetch up to £2.2m. The Mail says the suite is also in full working order, providing the perfect opportunity for a wealthy, art-loving bidder to wallow in luxury.
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Almost all of Thursday's papers convey the same message - there is "no end in sight" to the UK's coronavirus lockdown.
The Sun believes it will last until May, saying the 938 deaths recorded in the UK on Wednesday surpassed Italy's worst daily figure - and it adds the outbreak's peak could still be 10 days away.
The weather is also a serious cause for concern in Downing Street, according to the paper - with fears that people could defy official advice and head out to enjoy the bank holiday sunshine.
The Guardian reports that some police chiefs are also concerned and are calling on the government to consider tightening the restrictions. The options are said to include more stringent curbs on driving long distances and legislation to ensure that people do not exercise more than once a day.
The Daily Mail says there are growing concerns about the economic damage caused by the lockdown - highlighting the World Trade Organization's warning that it could result in the "deepest recession in our lifetime".
It is no wonder, according to the Times, that the Chancellor Rishi Sunak is leading calls within government for it to start preparing an exit strategy.
The Financial Times reports that officials have begun exploring the idea of initially removing restrictions for younger workers first. It says the proposals are in a paper drawn up by economists at Warwick University. They suggest that if the measures are eased for people aged 20 to 30 who do not live with their parents, it could release 4.2 million people who would be unlikely to become seriously ill.
The Times has news of an initiative to use NHS laboratories to carry out tens of thousands antibody tests to try to establish whether people have already recovered from the virus - and are likely to be immune. It says it is being coordinated by the President of the Royal College of Pathologists Jo Martin.
But the Daily Telegraph says this kind of testing is facing a setback because a team from a Chinese university found that some patients who recovered had low levels of antibodies in their system.
Elsewhere, the the Daily Mirror's pages are graced by a photo of a majestic white-tailed eagle, its wings out-stretched, soaring through the air. The birds, which have a 2.5m wing span, are being re-introduced in England after they were wiped out by illegal killing 240 years ago.
The Mirror says researchers have been tracking the four young birds making their first big trips - and they have already been spotted on the North York Moors after travelling 300 miles.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson's move from intensive care dominates many of Good Friday's front pages.
The Daily Express believes the nation will breathe a "giant sigh of relief" that the prime minister is no longer in intensive care.
Under the headline "Boris Is Out", The Sun agrees that it "really IS a Good Friday".
The Daily Telegraph says "politicians across the Commons have sent their good wishes". Boris Johnson's father, Stanley, tells the Daily Mail he's "deeply relieved" - while acknowledging that his son faces a "long journey to full recovery".
On that, the Times says "some in Downing Street believe that he may need as long as a month to return to work and even then may have to make a gradual return to full duties".
The Guardian reports that Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick is "facing questions" about his decision to take food and medicines to his parents.
The paper says the local community had previously been supporting the couple by delivering groceries. It says Mr Jenrick's situation "will be familiar to many facing the dilemma of whether to help elderly parents or stay away".
The Daily Mail claims Mr Jenrick travelled from London to a second home in Herefordshire to be with his family - though the minister says the journey happened before the lockdown restrictions happened.
Fraser Nelson, writing in the Daily Telegraph, suggests the government advice has been more successful than ministers anticipated at persuading people to avoid unnecessary travel - and has had a more detrimental impact on the economy.
But, he says, the message can only be changed by the prime minister, because the government, after all, was "designed as the Boris show".
'Seen from space'
Stark images of mass graves being dug in New York feature in several papers and news websites; trenches which Vice says "can be seen from space".
The Telegraph reports research has found that coronavirus was most likely brought into the city by travellers from the UK and Europe rather than Asia.
It points out that the Trump administration acted in January to bar people from entering the US if they had travelled to China - but did not impose similar rules for Europe until last month.
"Clappy Easter" is the Daily Mirror headline alongside images of last night's Clap for Carers - and of the celebrities sending messages of thanks to the NHS.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer uses an article in the paper to press for better pay and greater recognition for what he calls the "health and care heroes". He says they "deserve so much more" than simple thanks.
And BuzzFeed features another team of heroes who are helping people survive the outbreak. Two martial arts instructors from Stockport, who dress as Spider-man on their daily runs to entertain local children, say they have roped in more than 30 other fancy dress fans to spread joy in their community.
The group, which also fundraises for the NHS, is said to include "more than a handful of Disney princesses, four or five Batmen, about five Spider-men and a Captain Jack Sparrow". But the organisers say they had to part ways with one volunteer who failed to follow proper social distancing.
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She posted a picture online of herself at the end of her shift, her face a mass of marks, sores and red patches because of the tight-fitting mask she'd been wearing for 13 hours. "Bruised, battered and exhausted," the Express says, "Aimee Goold begged people to 'remember this face' and stay at home."
The Daily Mirror leads on complaints by some NHS staff of the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) - which it illustrates with a picture on its front page of three nurses wearing improvised gowns made out of binbags.
Others are resorting to cutting up hospital curtains or using bits of plastic as makeshift masks, the Mirror says, or even reusing old scrubs.
The Guardian focuses on the first 10 doctors in the UK named as having died from Covid-19, all of whom were from ethnic minorities.
It reports that the British Medical Association has asked the government to "urgently investigate" what it calls an extremely disturbing and worrying trend. The chairman of the BMA, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, tells the paper: "At face value, it seems hard to see how this can be random."
The Daily Telegraph says ministers now believe the cost of the crisis here could be the economy "slumping by more than 14% in the next three months."
That is sparking concerns - it says - that tens of thousands of Britons may die prematurely from the "worst recession in history", with the lockdown ultimately proving "more lethal to the health of the country" than the coronavirus itself.
The Daily Mail reports that officials believe normal life will have stay on hold until a vaccine becomes available, in about 18 months.
Ministers want to lift some restrictions within weeks it says - but nonetheless the country will have to get used to a "new normal" until effective medication is available.
The Daily Telegraph's take is even more gloomy - "Social distancing 'could be indefinite'" is its headline.
It reports people will be asked to consider whether social interactions - such as returning to an office or visiting relations - are necessary, as part of a plan to live with the virus for "months or even years."
The Times however, has spoken to the British scientist leading what it calls one of the world's most advanced efforts to find a vaccine - who says it could be ready as soon as September. Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at Oxford University, tells the paper she is "80% confident" the vaccine being developed by her team will work.
Several papers focus on the health of the prime minister. The Sun says Boris Johnson's fiancee Carrie Symonds sent him daily letters and scans of their unborn child while he was in intensive care to "lift his spirits."
As Mr Johnson gets better, the Times says, he's needed things to do as he rests. The paper reports his activities have included doing puzzles - like Sudoku - and watching films, such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Withnail and I.
Of course - because of the lockdown - it's not just the prime minister who suddenly has more time on his hands.
The Daily Mail says it's meant huge numbers of people turning to gardening and DIY projects - and massively overloading B&Q's website in the process.
At one point yesterday, it reports, would-be purchasers of home improvements were told they would have to wait more than a hour to get online, as more than 300,000 people were simultaneously trying to buy products.
The environment is at least benefiting though, the Times reports. It says cities including London, Leeds, Oxford and Glasgow have seen big falls in nitrogen dioxide levels. One expert tells the paper the change is so profound it's the equivalent of everyone switching to electric cars.
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The Mail on Sunday and the Sunday Telegraph offer readers an insight into Boris Johnson's time in hospital.
The Mail says the prime minister came "close to death". Doctors at St Thomas' had been expecting him there three days before he was finally admitted. Having arrived through a "secret entrance", the paper says, Mr Johnson was put on oxygen through a tube within 10 minutes.
The Telegraph says his admission to intensive care left several Downing Street staff in tears. It quotes one senior official as saying: "you can't get the fear out of your head that he could take a turn for the worst." The paper goes on to say that, as well as Sudoku puzzles and films, the prime minister's recovery has been aided by Tintin books sent to him by his family.
"Failing the test", is the headline in the Sun on Sunday as it has an investigation into the speed at which drive-through sites are conducting Covid-19 examinations. The paper says that testing at sites including Boston and Wembley is being carried out at a "snail's pace". NHS staff and carers are being turned away because they do not have an appointment.
One nurse has told the paper she expected the centre at Chessington, south-west London, to be working at "full tilt" - only to find that it was closing for lunch. The Nottingham site is the only one to buck the trend, with around 100 tests per hour being carried out. The Department for Health said some centres were still in the "pilot phase" and that 27,000 NHS staff and their families have been tested.
The Sunday Times says that a new mobile app is a "central plank" of the government's attempts to lift the lockdown. Senior sources have told the paper the NHS is working with Google and Apple at breakneck speed.
The technology would let people know if they have come into contact with someone who has tested positive. Ministers are considering whether the app could allow for a return to a normal work and home life.
Extended lie-ins
The Sunday Times reports that with no alarm clocks on, no trains to catch and no school to attend, the crisis has improved the nation's sleep.
A study by Kings College London has found two-thirds are now sleeping better - but a third are having restless nights caused by issues such as financial concerns. "To no-one's great surprise," the paper adds, teenagers appear to be enjoying extra time in bed - with one in three 11 to 16-year-olds enjoying extended lie-ins.
"Call for schools to open in the summer after lockdown," is a headline in the Observer. The paper has an interview with the children's commissioner, Anne Longfield, who suggests that a change in the traditional calendar could be vital to help children "learn and catch up" once the restrictions after lifted.
The proposal has been met with a lukewarm response from teachers, with the National Education Union saying it had "practical and contractual concerns". It adds that staff who have been left to supervise children of key workers may be left without a break.
Assange's children
"Mayday or we'll be at Whit's end" is the Sun on Sunday's headline about what it says is a row in cabinet over when to ease the lockdown.
The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and Home Secretary Priti Patel reportedly think the action to halt the spread of coronavirus is worse than the disease.
They are believed to want to see an easing of restrictions in early May. But Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove want the next re-assessment of the measures to come after the late Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May.
The Sunday Express website believes it has found out when the coronavirus lockdown may be lifted.
According to an unnamed source at the Ministry of Defence, senior civil servants have been told the measures will be in place until at least the 25th of May, after which they will be lifted "piecemeal".
The report adds that easing of the restrictions will be based "largely on geographical location" and how badly infected they are.
The Mail on Sunday carries what it calls a world exclusive about the Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange. having two children. The paper says his sons - aged three and one - were both conceived during his time in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
The paper has spoken to the children's mother, who reveals that Assange watched both boys being born via video link and met one after he was smuggled into the embassy.
Details about the children were seen by the Mail in court documents as part of his US extradition case; he is also trying to secure bail from Belmarsh Prison following an outbreak of Covid-19 there.
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