The prime minister will today chair his first daily briefing since recovering from Covid 19 - and is being urged to provide greater clarity over the country’s lockdown exit strategy.

Boris Johnson will lead the daily Downing Street news conference this evening, having returned to work following hospital treatment for coronavirus which saw him spend time in intensive care.

The PM is under mounting pressure to set a clear path for the nation to leave lockdown when it is safe to do so.

But with the nation’s death toll now third highest in the world - after the United States and Italy - Downing Street is playing down any expectations of an easing of the restrictions yet.

Number 10 said a cabinet meeting ahead of the briefing would today look at the “response in general” but not make any decisions on lockdown measures.

Today’s Cabinet and a gathering of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) come as Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned that easing lockdown would not be a “flick of the switch moment”.

Sage is looking at a selection of options for easing restrictions while keeping the reproduction rate of the coronavirus - the number of new cases linked to a single individual - below one to stop it spreading exponentially.

Germany saw a rise in that rate after easing its own lockdown.

With some Tory backbenchers pressing for an easing of measures for the sake of the economy, Business Secretary Alok Sharma is set to put forward plans for an eventual “workplace by workplace” approach.

A Business Department spokesman said: “The Government has already set out five clear tests to consider before making any adjustment to its approach.

“It is only right the we work together with industry and unions to ensure workplaces are safe for both those in work now and for those going back to work as Government measures develop.”

But Ms Sturgeon said on Wednesday night that she was “far from convinced” measures could be eased on the next review date of May 7.

“People talk about lifting the lockdown, that is not going to be a flick of the switch moment - we’re going to have to be very careful, very slow, very gradual.

“I’m far from convinced at this stage that when we get to the next review point on the 7th of May we’ll be in a position to lift any of these measures right now, because the margins of manoeuvre that we’re operating in right now are very, very, very tight and narrow.”

Her comments came after it was announced that a total of 26,097 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community in the UK after contracting Covid-19.

It is the first time data on the number of deaths in care homes and the wider community has been included in the Government’s daily updates.

The total is around 17% higher than previous data showed and includes an additional 3,811 deaths recorded since the start of the outbreak.

Of these, around 70% were outside hospital settings.

The change in measurement means the UK death toll is the third highest in the world, behind the US and Italy, based on data from Johns Hopkins University.

The US had reported 58,355 deaths and Italy 27,359.

The Government pointed out other countries may report figures differently and any lag is unclear, although France and Italy also include deaths in care homes.

The Government’s response over easing the lockdown restrictions was facing further criticism as Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s deadline has arrived for carrying out 100,000 Covid-19 tests a day.

With just over 52,000 tests carried out on Tuesday, the deadline looks set to be missed although that will not become clear until tomorrow.

The target has been condemned by the NHS Providers group as a “red herring” which distracts from shortcomings in the long-term coronavirus strategy.

It released a report on Thursday which highlights how the English health and care system “started from a poor position” as Covid-19 tightened its grip on Europe, and consistently “struggled” to demonstrate a “clear, effective and well communicated strategy”, with a lack of clarity on who would be tested, when, how, and with what frequency.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals and NHS trusts in England, said: “Testing is one area where, despite all the work delivered by trusts and the NHS, the health and care system as a whole has struggled to develop an effective, co-ordinated approach.”