Coronavirus news you might have missed overnight: Johnson tells Britons to avoid parents on Mother's Day as Italy death toll surges

The coronavirus pandemic continues to cause chaos across the UK and around the world. Here’s your morning briefing of everything you may have missed overnight.

Boris Johnson tells Britons not to visit parents on Mother’s Day

Boris Johnson has urged the British public not to visit their parents on Mother’s Day as he warned the NHS was in danger of being “overwhelmed” by the coronavirus outbreak.

The prime minister suggested families “avoid any unnecessary physical contact” and try to protect their loved ones by speaking over the phone or online instead.

It comes as Mr Johnson warns the nation is ”only a matter of weeks – two or three – behind Italy”, where officials reported 793 deaths across a 24 hour period on Saturday to bring the total to more than 4,800.

Food banks in crisis as £1bn panic-buying spree leaves families facing ‘real hunger’

“Real hunger” is affecting Britons on a scale not seen in decades as food banks are hit by the dual impact of soaring demand and dwindling supplies due to panic buying sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, charities have warned.

Staple components of emergency food packages are “just not on the shelves”, one charity boss told The Independent, while another spoke of his fear that worse was to come given that the UK would be on lockdown for months.

Senior DWP staff to be sent to front line to prepare for rise in benefit applications

Senior staff at the Department for Work and Pensions are being sent into benefit centres to help them cope with a deluge of claims from people who “rely on us to survive”.

Thousands of people in London, Leeds, Sheffield – including managers in policy, finance, communications and analytical posts – have been told they will be sent to “frontline roles”.

They will be “matched” with job centres as they prepare for a flood of benefit applications from people who lose jobs or hours as the coronavirus epidemic spreads.

New symptom of coronavirus could be loss of taste and smell, top UK doctor says

Ear, nose and throat specialists in the UK have identified the sudden loss of sense of smell or taste as a new symptom of coronavirus.

The British Association of Otorhinolaryngology said the new symptom was found in the “absence of other symptoms” of coronavirus, and patients experiencing it could be “hidden carriers” of the highly contagious disease.

The organisation, which represents ear, nose and throat surgeons, said in a statement there was “good evidence” from coronavirus patients in South Korea, China and Italy who developed the symptom, called anosmia.

NHS to gain thousands of additional staff and beds in historic deal with private hospitals

Private sector hospitals will partner with NHS England in a first-of-its-kind deal to provide thousands more beds, extra ventilators and additional staff as the health service attempts to fight against the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in this country.

Announced by the NHS, the plan is expected to help the nationalised service deliver urgent operations and cancer treatments while also treating those infected with the virus, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 170 people and infected over 4,000.

The deal includes the provision of 8,000 hospital beds across England, nearly 1,200 more ventilators, more than 10,000 nurses, over 700 doctors and over 8,000 other clinical staff.

Boris Johnson faces Commons revolt over emergency coronavirus laws

Cross-party MPs will mount a Commons revolt over emergency coronavirus legislation that would hand sweeping powers to the government for two years.

Former Tory cabinet ministers David Davis and Andrew Mitchell have signed a cross-party amendment to curb the emergency powers for the government after 12 months.

The move presents a headache for Mr Johnson, who is hoping to fast-track the legislation through parliament within days without a vote.

Italy death toll rockets by 793 in a day, with more than 6,500 new cases recorded

Italy’s death toll from coronavirus has risen by 793 in 24 hours to 4,825. The daily increase is the largest since the contagion began and comes two days after the nation overtook China as the worst-hit country for fatalities.

Confirmed cases also surged by 14 per cent from 47,021 to 53,578, according to the civil protection agency. The northern region of Lombardy is the most badly affected, with 3,095 deaths and 25,515 cases.

Of those originally infected nationwide, 6,072 had fully recovered on Saturday compared to 5,129 the day before. There were 2,857 people in intensive care against a previous 2,655.