UK coronavirus live: number of people to die rises by 621 to more than 28,000

• The UK’s death toll surpassed 28,000 as another 621 deaths across all settings took the total to 28, 131.
• NHS staff are “breaking down” on the front line tackling coronavirus and their mental health must be made a priority now rather than when the crisis is over, Labour warned. The shadow mental minister, Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, wrote to the health secretary to seek assurances medical staff will get the support they need.
• Concerns were raised over home testing kits sent out by the government amid reports of kits arriving without return postage labels, without reference codes for registering online, and warnings from medical workers that members of the public will find self-swabbing too difficult. With several people contacting the Guardian to say they had had to order a second testing kit after the above issues left them with void samples, it raises further questions about whether those voided tests would still count towards the government’s daily testing figures.
• More than 70% of critical care patients with Covid-19 in the UK are men, a new report from the ICNARC found. It also found that men were more likely to die in critical care, with 51% dying in care compared with around 43% of women.
• The government pledged a support package of over £76m to support victims of domestic abuse, vulnerable children and victims of modern slavery through the pandemic. A task force led by Dame Louise Casey will also look at what long-term support can be offered for rough sleepers who have been accommodated during the lockdown.
• Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds name their baby boy Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, in a tribute to their grandfathers and the two doctors who treated the prime minister during his brush with Covid-19.

That’s it from me today on the UK side. Thank you to everybody who got in touch with tips and suggestions, and to all of you for reading along.

If you would like to continue to follow the Guardian’s coronavirus coverage, head over to the global live blog for the worldwide picture.

Q. Can you give some hope to parents of children whose futures have been put on hold?

Jenrick says they’re not able to give a date yet for the return of schools, but reiterates it will likely be “in a phased manner” when it’s the right time.

Harries adds that it’s still unclear how transmission of the disease impacts children.

Q. How are you going to ensure enough people download the app?

Jenrick says he’s sure people will get behind the app and download it, particularly through “great affection for the NHS”.

And that’s it, the briefing is over.

Q. How seriously is the government investigating concerns that China might have been less transparent than thought at the beginning of the outbreak?

Jenrick says “there will come a time when we will want to analyse the origins of the virus in detail and consider the actions of other countries”. But that’s not now, he says.

Q. How will you reassure people who are uneasy about going back to normal life after lockdown?

Jenrick says it’s a huge success that people have listened and adhered to the restrictions.

Any decisions the government takes will be guided by medical opinion, he adds.

Harries says people need clear public health messaging in order to be reassured.

Q. Are we likely to see permission for mass gatherings resume before pubs can reopen, if not then why not?

Jenrick says now we’re past the peak, the PM will set out how to bring the country forward in terms of schools, public transport, work etc next week.

The rate of transmission is significantly less outdoors than indoors, so that will be a factor to take into consideration, he says.

But any decisions will be based on the scientific evidence, he adds.

Harries says generally outdoor environments are safer, but it depends how you go there and what you do.

If you’re meeting up with people outside your household and spend time face-to-face, for instance, that’s not good, she adds.

Q. Can we assume that among the numbers of new infections, there is a higher proportion among frontline workers,and what does this say about failures to deliver PPE to those workers?

Harries says she recognises that healthcare staff have a higher risk of infection, as they are treating sick patients.

We’re starting to see strong evidence around transmission in care homes, she adds.

As well as PPE, systematic processes of managing infections are also important, she says.

Q. How will you manage to do contact-tracing successfully if not enough people download the NHS contact-tracing app?

Jenrick says he’s sure people will get behind the app and play their part.

Q. Do you know where people are now catching the virus?

Harries says when there is sustained community transmission, it’s important to identify pockets of transmission.

There is a focus on hospitals and care environments like care homes, she says.

With more testing, we will get a better understanding of the virus’s prevalence and have the opportunity to interrupt transmission, she adds.

Q. What more is the government prepared to do to help the aviation sector through the pandemic?

Jenrick says the government wants to support the industry though the challenges it faces, but doesn’t provide further details on this.

Q. Could you define what is meant by “contact” that would require someone to self-isolate?

Harries says a close contact with Covid-19 comes primarily from a respiratory risk.

People living in the same household is one, she says, hence household isolation rules.

Close, face-to-face proximity is also close contact, she says.

The length of time you spend with someone and how physically near to them you were are also risk factors, she says.

The NHS contact-tracing app will determine proximity, she says.

They are taking questions from the media now.

Q. What are your long-term plans to help people who will have to continue to shield even after lockdown is eased?

Jenrick says he appreciates the huge emotional impact shielding is having on people.

Tailored support such as priority delivery for food is available, he says.

Harries adds that as time goes on and more evidence comes in, they aim to review these measures and identify how services can be adapted for clinical needs, including mental health support.

Q. How many daily tests will you need and how many staff will need to be trained for tracking and tracing to be fully operational?

Harries says tests need to be quick so that contacts don’t have to isolate for long periods of time when their contact actually doesn’t have Covid-19.

Around 3,000 clinical staff and 15,000 tracing staff are being recruited by Public Health England, a significant task, she says.

Paul in the East Midlands asks about what the government will do to help those in dire need whose situation has been made worse by the pandemic.

Jenrick says the government has taken steps to protect those in need, through food parcels for those shielding, for example.

He also outlines some of the economic measures the government has introduced to help people get by.

They are taking questions from members of the public now.

Ashley from Yorkshire asks about the possibility of catching Covid-19 twice and how a vaccine might change this.

Harries says the World Health Organization position is that there isn’t yet enough information on the immune status.

The elderly tend to show a weaker antibody response, but we still don’t know enough, she says.

Dr Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer for England, is speaking now.

We are past the peak but still have a lot of work to do, she says.

We must keep in mind the five tests for easing the lockdown, she adds.

Transport use has been a concern when motor vehicle usage flipped up, she says, but the number of social interactions has stayed very low.

The R rate is down, suggesting the significant drop in transport use and adherence to social distancing is working.

The “massive increase in daily testing” will continue, she says.

That is panning out between NHS testing and the growth in wider testing capacity, she says.

As the number of cases requiring clinical care in hospitals falls, all patients coming in are now being tested, so there is likely to be a drop-off in the number of cases as we consistently test through hospitals, she says.

The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 has decreased by about 13% since last week, she says.

This signifies that pressure on the NHS is coming down and other services can be ramped up, she says.

Critical care bed use is starting to come down, and the death rate is starting to come down very slowly and very gradually, she says.

Jenrick says 1.8 million people in England have been instructed to shield.

For those without family and friends to support them, he expects the one millionth package of food and essential supplies to be delivered in the next few days.

Turning to the subject of rough sleepers, Jenrick says they are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19.

So far more than 5,400 rough sleepers known to councils have been offered safe accommodation in just under a month, he says.

This is over 90%, he says.

This was the right thing to do.

He says Dame Louise Casey has been appointed by the prime minister and himself to lead a new task force so oversee the national effort to ensure those rough sleepers now in accommodation receive the support they need and move into long-term safe, sustainable accommodation once the pandemic is over.