PRIME MINISTER Boris Johnson will chair his first press briefing in a month today as he prepares to layout plans to tweak the lockdown measures.

Mr Johnson – who was at Carrie Symonds' side as she gave birth to their son on Wednesday – is delaying paternity leave to help in the battle against coronavirus after the UK death toll rose to 26,097.

And the PM is expected to tweak the lockdown restrictions – as long as they do not jeopardise the progress already made – but is set to tell Brits that the measures will remain in place until June.

On Wednesday, Dominic Raab warned the risk of a second lockdown is "very real", while hospices may run out of personal protective equipment "in days".

The Foreign Secretary also revealed concerns over relaxing restrictions amid fears of a second wave in Germany and cities being forced to shut down again.

Yesterday's death toll saw a rise of 4,419 as out-of-hospital fatalities were combined with those in hospital for the first time.

Worrying new graphs show that the UK is developing a higher death rate than other countries in Europe – though digging into the data shows it might not be that simple.

In some positive news, Captain Tom Moore turns 100 today, having raised over £30million for the NHS.

The centurion was also given a promotion to Colonel and honoured with a spitfire flypast.

Follow our coronavirus live blog below for all the latest news and updates…

• 1,475 DEATHS IN SCOTLAND

  A total of 1,475 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, up by 60 from 1,415 on Wednesday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.

  She said 11,353 people have now tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up by 319 from 11,034 the day before.

• COLLAPSE IN DEMAND FOR MANUFACTURERS

  Manufacturers in the UK have suffered a “collapse” in demand because of the impact of the global lockdown.

  It comes amid warnings that conditions are unlikely to return to anywhere near normal for some time, a new survey suggests.

  Research among almost 300 firms by manufacturers' organisation Make UK showed that three out of four had seen sales fall.

  One in five said orders had slumped by more than 50% and a similar number had furloughed workers.

• PROBE LAUNCHED AFTER NHS DOCTOR DIED OF VIRUS AFTER BEGGING FOR PPE

  A probe has been launched by an NHS trust after a doctor died after repeatedly asking for better protection against the coronavirus.

  Dr Peter Tun, 62, died at the Royal Berkshire hospital on April 13 after testing positive for the virus a week earlier.

  You can follow the latest developments on that story here.

• CAPTAIN TOM MOORE 1-2 TO BE KNIGHTED THIS YEAR

  Captain Tom Moore is odds-on at 1-2 with bookmaker Coral to be knighted following the Queen's 2021 New Year's Honours List.

  It comes in recognition of his extraordinary fundraising campaign over the last couple of months

  The heroic war veteran turned 100 today, and his birthday was marked by a spitfire flyover this morning.

• JAPAN TO EXTEND STATE OF EMERGENCY

  Japan is preparing to extend its state of emergency due to the coronavirus, originally set to end on May 6.

  It is set to be extended for around a month, government sources told Reuters.

  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament that he would consult infectious disease experts on whether to extend the emergency, which he declared on April 7 for seven regions including Tokyo.

  The state of emergency gives local governors greater power to tell people to stay at home and ask businesses to close.

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