It was disturbing to hear BBC correspondents describe the coronavirus situation as “turning a corner” on a day that Britain saw its deadliest death toll to date on Saturday.

On the day that 980 people died in hospitals of Covid-19, an editor on the news programme was talking about signs of “green shoots”.

While searching for optimism amid this unprecedented and alarming outbreak is understandable, such claims were not backed up by science.

The graph they were alluding to showed that numbers in intensive care had slightly fallen in London, but was continuing to rise across the rest of the country.

It wasn't helped by the fact that this figure of 980 - and the daily death toll that is reported - is based on the deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19 and who died in hospital alone.

This daily number does not factor in people who died displaying symptoms or obvious signs of Covid-19 or anyone who died of coronavirus outside a hospital. It does not include deaths in care homes, which could add as many as 2,000 to the overall figure.

When you realise this, it is clear that these figures are not an accurate representation of what is happening nationally and while it is understandable that it takes time to collate such figures, journalists should know better than jumping to conclusions about 'turning corners' and 'green shoots' before the experts have the science and statistics to back these claims up.

The choice of wording felt out of step with the facts - not to mention, the public mood. A staggering 93 per cent of Britons polled by YouGov supported lockdown measures.

Yet at the daily press briefings, national reporters consistently push for a line on the 'exit date' for lockdown - turning this national emergency into another Brexit-style circus.

Listening in reporting is just as important as talking.

Katie French, Editor