The prime minister’s spokesman said: “Boris Johnson has a good night and continues to improve in intensive care at St Thomas’ hospital. He is in good spirits.” He continues to receive standard oxygen treatment.

 He is able to be in contact with No 10 if required but is not doing any work.

No 10 thanks everyone for their messages of support for the prime minister and said the clap for careers provided a “wonderful unifying moments for the whole country”.

Dominic Raab will chair Cobra this afternoon at 3.30pm, which will look at the process for reviewing social distancing measures, looking at evidence from Sage and others.

Dominic Cummings is not back working although he is in “contact with No 10“ and Sir Edward Lister is still working from home.

No 10 signals the lockdown will continue as it is important to keep “bearing down on the rate of transmission which means continuing with social distancing measures”.

Johnson is not working and so will not be part of the lockdown review decision-making at the moment.

The focus is on keeping to existing measures rather than extending them and people “really do need to stick with them at this critical juncture”, says No 10.

No 10 rejects view of Tory MP Jack Lopresti that churches should be open for Easter Sunday. “Work is under way on an exit strategy but the public wants us to be focused on stopping the spread of the disease while building up the NHS and saving lives,” Johnson’s spokesman says. “Whitehall is working extensively on this but peak is not reached and the government needs to focus in its public messaging on staying at home to save lives.”

On the Home Office deputy chief scientific adviser who said 80% of the population would get coronavirus and you can’t hide away from it forever, No 10 suggested it disagreed but did not say what its assumption was for what proportion of the population will get the virus. “The government’s view is on stopping the spread of the disease to save lives. I think you’ve heard on a daily basis from (the chief scientific and medical advisers) - they have been very very clear on the need for people to stay at home and save lives.”