Here are the key coronavirus updates from the last 24-hours. 

  • A further 35 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in hospital in England, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 28,794, NHS England said. Patients were aged between 54 and 92 years old. Two patients, aged 54 and 84, had no known underlying health conditions. There have been no further deaths from coronavirus in the North-East and North Yorkshire.
  • Latest figures published on Wednesday afternoon confirmed there had not been any deaths recorded at any of the eleven NHS trusts for the region. The total death recorded stands at 1,730.
  • Boris Johnson wants the public to follow coronavirus guidance and ensure they "don't overdo it" when lockdown restrictions are eased this weekend, Downing Street has said. The Prime Minister's official spokesman told a Westminster briefing: "(Mr Johnson) has said that he does want to see people able to go out and to enjoy themselves, but he is also very clear that everybody needs to be careful, stay alert and to follow the guidance. "The guidance is there to keep everybody safe and to control the spread of the virus, and it is hugely important that everybody follows the advice and makes sure that they don't overdo it."

The Northern Echo:

  • Boris Johnson will appear at a Downing Street press conference on Friday ahead of the lockdown being eased in England at the weekend. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We do want people to be able to enjoy themselves but at the same time, now we have got coronavirus under control we need to keep it under control."
  • Downing Street suggested headteachers would be able to judge whether parents should face being fined for failing to send their children to England's schools in September. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "Returning to school in September will be mandatory. "It's always the case that headteachers do have some discretion. They know their pupils and their family situations. "But, in general, children need to get back in to school and get back learning again."
  • Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries has urged parents to "control their teenagers" outside school to stop the spread of coronavirus. She told the Downing Street press conference: "The original guidance recognised that the transmission risks were potentially more in the social behaviours of the teenagers - the older children out of school - than they potentially were in school. "School is quite a controlled environment and perhaps trying to encourage families as well - I know it is difficult because I've been there - but to try and control their teenagers in their social interactions outside of school as well."

The Northern Echo:

  • Downing Street defended the use of postal coronavirus tests despite the relatively slow process for returning results compared to other forms of testing. "The people who send off for those tests because they have suspected coronavirus will be aware of the advice that they need to self-isolate from the moment they get symptoms," the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.
  • A second wave or peak of coronavirus remains possible, Dr Jenny Harries cautioned. She said: "A second wave is quite a possibility - that is not ruled out at all. A second peak, as in an epidemic peak, is also not ruled out. "In fact, in pandemics you can sometimes see successive ones - so we're talking about a second, but you can get waves and waves."