Coronavirus news you might have missed overnight: Lockdown review delayed, as thousands more vulnerable Britons to be told to shield themselves for 12 weeks

Lockdown to continue after Easter amid signs measures could be slowing spread of virus

The coronavirus pandemic continues to grip both the UK and the world at large.

Here’s your morning briefing of everything you may have missed overnight.

Government delays scheduled coronavirus lockdown review

The government postponed a scheduled review of whether to continue with its coronavirus lockdown, amid signs the measures could be slowing the spread of the virus.

Boris Johnson had originally said he would review the lockdown after it was in place for three weeks, but the exercise has now been pushed back until an unknown date after Easter.

Dominic Raab, who is deputising for the prime minister while he is in hospital, told a news conference on Tuesday: “In terms of the review, we’re not at that stage yet.

“We’ll take any decision when the time is right based on the facts and the scientific and medical advice.”

Government says rate of coronavirus spread slower than predicted

The government’s top scientific adviser said the UK could be seeing the “beginning of change” in the number of new cases of coronavirus.

Sir Patrick Vallance struck a cautiously optimistic note as he outlined new figures, saying there had not been the “acceleration” in the number of cases that ministers had feared.

New UK cases of coronavirus fell slightly to 3,634 on Tuesday, from 3,802 the previous day and 5,903 on Sunday.

The peak of the outbreak is expected to come within days.

Thousands more vulnerable Britons to be told to shield themselves for 12 weeks

It emerged thousands of vulnerable Britons at high risk from coronavirus have not yet been told they should be staying indoors for 12 weeks.

With the peak of the virus thought to be several days away, officials have admitted there have been “mixed messages” about which people should be “shielding”.

Last month the government announced it would contact 1.5 million people to tell them they should be shielding. GPs were then asked to find out more information on other patients they were aware of who needed to follow similar advice.

But in some cases, GPs have been unable to add people to the existing list of those who are entitled to receive food deliveries and urgent supplies during their 12-week isolation.

Mental health support line set up for NHS workers after PTSD warnings from Covid-19 crisis

The NHS launched a mental health hotline to offer support to health workers after experts warned doctors and nurses on the frontline of the UK’s coronavirus epidemic could develop post-traumatic stress disorder.

Hundreds of thousands of workers who may need help will be able to call or text a free number staffed by more than 1,500 trained volunteers.

The volunteers, from organisations such as Hospice UK, the Samaritans and Shout, will listen to NHS staff and give psychological support to those in need, as well as offering advice.

Trump says US may withhold funding from World Health Organisation

President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold US funding from the World Health Organisation (WHO) because he claims the group did not react well to some of his regulations against China during the coronavirus pandemic.

"We're going to put a hold on money spent for WHO," he said during the briefing before rolling back the statement to say the pulling of funding was up for consideration. Reasoning behind pulling the funding was over claims the WHO "missed the call" for the novel virus.

"They seem to be very China-centric. And we have to look into that so we'll look into it we pay for a majority of the money that they get," the president added.

While Mr Trump said he thought certain programmes created by the WHO were worthwhile, he also said the organisation made mistakes, specifically opposing his decision to put a travel ban on China.