Coronavirus: Raab leads government's daily virus briefing - BBC News

Dominic Raab says the government's “step-by-step action plan” is aimed at slowing the spread of virus so fewer people need hospital treatment.

The foreign secretary says, at each point, the government has been following scientific and medical advice and has been “very deliberate” in its actions.

He confirms the number of deaths across the UK - which has now reached 5,373.

He pays tribute to those who have died and to all the front-line workers helping them.

Dominic Raab says the prime minister is still in hospital, but in "good spirits".

And he says the government is also still "united" in its leading of the crisis.

Moving on to his own department - the Foreign Office - he says the government has brought home 20,000 people from Spain, 13,000 from Egypt and 8,000 from Indonesia - along with another 2,000 people from seven other countries.

Mr Raab adds: "For those travellers still stuck abroad, we are doing everything we can to keep airports open, commercial flights [running] and to charter flights."

He continues: "Every arm of government is doing everything it possibly can to defeat the virus... both at home and abroad."

Mr Raab concludes his remarks by thanking the NHS for its "heroic work".

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