As It Happened: Queen addresses nation, as Boris Johnson goes to hospital

Wildlife Conservation SocietyCopyright: Wildlife Conservation Society

A tiger in New York City has tested positive for coronavirus, according to a news release from the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo.

The four-year-old female Malayan tiger named Nadia, as well as three other tigers and three African lions, "developed a dry cough and all are expected to recover".

"We tested the cat out of an abundance of caution and will ensure any knowledge we gain about Covid-19 will contribute to the world's continuing understanding of this novel coronavirus," the zoo said in a statement.

"Though they have experienced some decrease in appetite, the cats at the Bronx Zoo are otherwise doing well under veterinary care and are bright, alert, and interactive with their keepers."

The animals are believed to have been infected by a zookeeper. The zoo has been closed since mid-March.

Washington state will send 400 ventilators to New York, the epicentre of the US coronavirus outbreak, to help the state deal with its high rate of Covid-19-related deaths.

The decision was announced by Governor Jay Inslee on Sunday, and follows Oregon's decision on Saturday to send 140 ventilators to New York.

The move was praised by Vice-President Mike Pence, who is currently convening the coronavirus task force at the White House.

A man has been rescued by helicopter from the Pyrenees after trying to walk from France to Spain to buy cheap cigarettes, reports say.

The local mountain rescue service said the man was found "exhausted, shivering, cold and lost" when he was eventually picked up. Despite his ordeal, he was fined 135 euros ($146; £119) for breaking coronavirus lockdown rules.

"We remind you once more. STAY AT HOME," the regional police tweeted.

The mountain rescue service said the man, from Perpignan - about 25km (15 miles) from the Spanish border - had initially set off by car but was turned back at a checkpoint.

• Read the full story here

In the daily briefing on earlier Sunday I asked Health Secretary Matt Hancock about ventilators, because these are very important for critical care and there has been a lot of debate about how many there are.

Earlier in the day he said there were between 9,000 or 10,000 in the system and could see a pathway towards 18,000.

It wasn't clear how many of those will be in place next week and that is when the peak of demand on the NHS is expected to start.

He said the system would get to 18,000 but it wasn’t entirely clear from his answer how many would be available next week.

Nigeria's Medical Association has rejected a decision by the government to invite Chinese doctors to help in its fight against coronavirus.

In a statement, the association said it was an "embarrassment" that it was not involved in the government's decision, adding that it knew of "a large pool of general medical and specialist practitioners who are either unemployed or underemployed" who could help in the crisis.

The statement went on to say the government should instead focus on remedying the lack of testing kits and facilities, as well as a shortage of protective equipment for the country's medical staff.

More than 200 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Nigeria so far.

With 2,500 beds, the emergency hospital that has been set up in New York City's Javits Center is being described as the largest emergency field hospital everywhere in the US.

The hospital has been built by the Army Corp of Engineers and is being manned by camouflaged troops as well as city health workers.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Michigan - the third worst-affected state in the US - has suffered nearly 16,000 cases and 617 deaths, officials said on Sunday.

The new cases rose slightly from the day before, but are down from Friday.

Detroit and its surrounding area continues to be the state's major hotspot, with nearly 5,000 cases and 158 deaths.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to remain in hospital overnight for what has been described by Downing Street as "routine tests".

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is expected to chair the government's next coronavirus meeting.

Mr Johnson has worked from home since it was announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus on 27 March.

He chaired a coronavirus meeting via video-link on Friday morning.

He was last seen in public applauding the NHS and other key workers from his flat in Downing Street on Thursday.

The Downing Street spokeswoman goes on to say: "[Mr Johnson] thanks NHS staff for all of their incredible hard work and urges the public to continue to follow the Government's advice to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.”

The prime minister has had coronavirus for 10 days and continues to have persistent symptoms, including a high temperature.

For purely precautionary reasons, he has gone to hospital for tests.

It was considered sensible for doctors to see Mr Johnson in person given he has ongoing symptoms, the spokeswoman says. He remains in charge of the UK government, and is in contact with ministerial colleagues and officials.

The news comes a day after Mr Johnson's pregnant fiancée Carrie Symonds announced that she had experienced coronavirus symptoms.

We've heard about Britons being stuck overseas during the pandemic, unable to return home.

Well on Sunday, several hundred arrived back on special charter flights.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab sent a "welcome back" message to more than 100 travellers who had been in Ecuador and Bolivia, plus 150 who had been in Ghana.

More British travellers remain stranded in other parts of the world, however.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden says he will be wearing a face mask when he goes out in public.

The former vice-president told ABC News This Week programme that people should "follow the science, listen to the experts".

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently recommended that Americans should wear simple cloth masks "in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain".

President Trump has said he will probably not wear the face covering.

Reaction has been coming in for the Queen's broadcast.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says it was a "striking and important message".

New Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer says the Queen spoke for the nation.

And staff from the new NHS Nightingale Hospital were there listening to her message - and thanked the Queen for recognising their hard work.

And the Archbishop of Canterbury echoed her words, that "we will get through this together".

"Together we are tackling this disease… if we remain united and resolute we will overcome it".

– The aim of this address is to offer reassurance and emphasise the need for unity.

“In the years to come”, she hopes everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to the challenge.

– The Queen has an eye on how history will judge our actions today.

"Those who come after us will say..."

– Another reference to history and a strong parallel with Churchill’s speech after the fall of France in 1940 – that even after 1,000 years "they will still say: 'This was their finest hour'." It’s an implicing war reference.

"Self discipline", "quiet good humoured resolve", "fellow-feeling".

– The national attributes the Queen chooses to highlight are not warlike or aggressive – she is not framing this as a struggle or a conflict.

“The pride of who we are is not in our past, it defines our present and our future.”

– A key line that aims to reassure and inspire.

Clap for carers “an expression of our national spirit” with its symbol “the rainbows drawn by children”.

– Others talk about the Blitz; the Queen celebrates a new national coming-together.

“The very first broadcast I made.”

– The first direct reference to wartime and it is full of the innocence of childhood, and empathy with those who cannot see their parents, grandparents or their children.

“We will succeed – and that success will belong to every one of us.”

– Again, a steely reassurance and a call to collective effort.

“We will be with our friends again; we will be with our families; we will meet again.”

– Take heart, the Queen said, this will be over one day. And she finishes with one more glancing reference to a previous conflict and the song many remember from that time – We’ll Meet Again.

The Palace could have played it safe, stressed unity and given thanks. It would have served.

This was a different and much more ambitious broadcast, designed to reassure and to inspire.

But most of all its aim was to recast the coronavirus crisis as a defining moment for a nation which will forever remember its collective effort to save the lives of its vulnerable.

There was time for some great-grandmotherly wisdom; she, who occupies an often lonely position, offered her thoughts to those who are now alone though self-isolation.

Read more here.

• The Queen's address stressed the value of self-discipline and resolve - saying she hopes that, in the future, everyone will “be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge”
• She said the address reminded her of her very first broadcast, made during World War Two with her sister, Princess Margaret
• She thanked everyone “on the NHS front line” and other key workers
• The Queen said that those following social distancing measures and staying at home were “sparing many families the pain already felt by those who have lost loved ones”
• The weekly applauses for NHS workers, delivery of food parcels to the vulnerable and people checking on neighbours are all examples of how the UK has “come together”, she said
• She stressed that “we will succeed” in tackling coronavirus, and - with a reference to Vera Lynn’s wartime song - assured the nation that “we will meet again”

You can read our story on the Queen's address here. The full transcript is here.