People are just stripping the shelves of basic foods. You just need to stop it she sobs. And we talk to one of the thousands of couples whose wedding day has been ruined by the coronavirus outbreak. The government is preparing to announce a new emergency package of measures aimed at protecting millions ofjobs during the coronavirus pandemic. In what would be an unprecedented move, the state would step in to help pay the wages of private Sector Companies to stop thousands of them going bust during the shutdown of much of the economy. Its understood that the workers involved will also be exempted from having to pay income tax. Letters are being sent to 65,000 retired doctors and nurses in england and wales, asking them to return to work to help deal with the Coronavirus Crisis. Today is the last day at school for most children in england, scotland and wales until further notice. The government has now published its list of key workers who can keep sending their children to school they include healthcare workers, police and food delivery staff. The government has been advised that policies to limit the spread of coronavirus would need to be in place for at least most of a year to prevent intensive care units being overwhelmed. Around the world, the death toll from coronavirus now stands at more than 10,000 with 144 deaths in the uk. Well get the latest on the impact on business but first on the Current Situation for the nhs, heres our Health Correspondent lauren moss. A rallying call to return to work. Letters are being sent to thousands of retired doctors and nurses in england and wales to boost the ranks while cases at the coronavirus continue to climb. The letter will explain what they need to do, because they may need a refresher and weve got some online refresher courses and there will be some put in place where they need to physically be there. And then, also, critically, making sure they are trained especially in the areas that we need for dealing with coronavirus, because this is a respiratory illness, disease. Medics who have left the profession in the last three years are also being urged to reregister and final year students could be asked to work during the outbreak. Some people have already contacted me, many people have already contacted me and we got lots of people wanting to support us and wanting to come back. We are writing to them, they will get that this morning. We will then make sure that they are able to complete the necessary forms to get them back on our register and we will invite them back into our hospitals in the next few weeks. A large proportion of those being written to are general practitioners or specialists. Nearly half are aged between 45 and 64 years old. And a third are under the age of 1m. But not everyone is enthusiastic about being asked back to work. After nearly three years out, i feel very out of date. I would not be able to keep up with the it, the science, the general changes in nursing care and i would feel unsafe and i think that would not be a position i would want to put any patient in, having an unsafe nurse caring for them. The way we go about our lives is certainly changing. After today, school gates will close to most pupils. No one knows how long for. And, from monday, Rail Companies will be running much reduced services. Despite limiting the number of items shoppers can buy and dedicating certain hours for older customers, supermarket shelves are still being stripped bare. Hospitals have been asked to free up beds and manufacturers to scale up ventilator production for patients who may become very unwell. The race is also on to get protective equipment out to nhs staff. We are seeing far too Many Health Workers infected in italy and its just heartbreaking. So many of them are dying as well. Do not let this happen in britain. Health workers, they keep on talking about them in military terms like they are the front line, but they are not soldiers. The government is in negotiations to buy a new Antibody Tests to detect if someone has a ready had the virus and become immune. And in a month, its hoped 25,000 patients a day will also be able to be tested. Uk scientists have today said some social distancing measures may need to be in place for most of a year, to avoid overwhelming the nhs, in what theyve described is an incredibly fast moving and developing situation. Lauren moss, bbc news. So that package of measures the chancellor is due to announce to support firms and employees during the crisis is being described as unprecedented. Many companies are warning they could collapse with huge numbers of job losses. Self employed workers and people on zero hour contracts are already struggling. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. This is the normally busy victoria quarter in leeds. This is the centre of cardiff. And this is glasgow. Companies cant cope with a normal recession of their income dropped by maybe 20 but for thousands of Companies Hit by antivirus measures, its up to 100 . This is oxford circus, normally one of the busiest places in the world. But today, just like other shopping areas around the country, theres hardly anyone in the shops. And if you are a business its simple, if you dont have customers you dont have an income, you cant afford to pay wages or service debts, and if that keeps up, you are going to have to let people go and declare bankruptcy. This money, the food chain pressed facing a 75 drop in income, ill started to get 25 pay cut to keep them in work. Business groups say the Health Emergency has now become an economic one. Threatening to push thousands of companies into bankruptcy and hundreds of thousands of people onto benefits. Businesses across the uk need to see action now. We need to see an immediate suspension of vat, National Insurance and business rate payments that are coming up next week. And we also need to see a form of income support as well. For those businesses that are going to be inevitably disrupted or have to close during the coming weeks. Its notjust shops and restaurants who are most obviously hit by emergency measures, this manufacturer makes mechanical and electronic parts for industrial customers, its still busy from orders placed before the crisis struck but will struggle if the shutdown goes on for months. Like every manufacturer we have the same concerns if we start to see significant drops. In relation to people. Thats the simple case for all manufacturers. It really is then seeing what direct Government Intervention we can see to help make sure we protectjobs and livelihoods so we come out the other side, fit, well and strong. Government help for firms wage bills will cost tens of billions but wont help the self employed. This woman is a freelance theatre director, with no performance her income has plummeted. For me personally it has involved quite a sad transition from closing the building that i love to work in at the moment with a core team and all of us are self employed and we have no idea what that means in terms of our income. Any job security. Whether we can pay our rent next month. And we have no idea when any shows or work will start again for any of us. The emergency measures will effectively put the government on a war footing, going into debt to help pay millions of private sector wages. The cost is huge. But the cost of not doing so, both economic and human, could be greater. Andy verity, bbc news. Lets talk to our Political Correspondent, nick eardley, at westminster. 0pposition mps met with ministers today. What are we expecting to emerge later . They met with Boris Johnson in downing street and they say that he did not give away much about the package, mostly they were making demands on him but we are expecting a package of wage subsidies, we are told by the government that it is a very ambitious package that will go beyond wage subsidies and we are also being told that borisjohnson will stick to his words when he said backin will stick to his words when he said back in 2008, the financial crisis, they bailed out the banks and this time the focus is on workers and people will not be penalised for doing the right thing staying off work, for example. But we are already hearing about businesses closing or giving notice to the workforce and the snp at westminster told me that they were pressing the Prime Minister to meet 100 of the wage bill are those in the Hospitality Industry, where there is lots of casual working, and he felt some people there were under great threat. There will be no guarantee from the government that they will go that far and labour have come up with an alternative package, they say that the wage subsidy should be in line with those and other Northern European countries, perhaps between 80 and 90 of wages. And when both the cbi and the tuc met the chancellor yesterday, although they disagreed with the mechanism for getting money into people because my pockets, they were nonetheless united in saying that something had to happen dramatically within the next 48 hours, otherwise hundreds of thousands of workers may be laid off. So there is huge pressure on the chance to deliver and whether his package will be as ambitious as he claims, we will soon find out. We will probably get that later in the afternoon. We are hearing every day that goes by is an extremely difficult decision day for so extremely difficult decision day for so many. How fast can they realistically get people the cash that they need . I think that will be one of the key tests. Certainly there have been some demands, for example, the trade unions are keen to see a mechanism devised to make sure money went straight into pockets of people and it was not left at the discretion of the employer and some others, including the snp and some labour mps, have argued for a universal basic income for everybody but as far as im told or guided, i think the government, because of the need for swift action, are not going to try to new means or mechanisms of trying to get money out there. I think they will try to work within the existing system, whether that is through National Insurance or the existing tax system, to try to get money both to businesses, to deal with their cash flow and wage bill, and then onto the employees themselves. But things are moving very swiftly here at westminster, i havejust things are moving very swiftly here at westminster, i have just come from a business where the workers we re from a business where the workers were only told this morning that they would close at two oclock this afternoon until further notice. I think the premise and the chancellor of the need for swift action and i dont think the mechanism might please everyone but i think the swiftness may please some but the question is how generous will this be . Will it be enough to convince employers employers to keep people on for the next few months . That is for labour, the snp and lib dems have been pressing for the generous system of wage subsidy. Thank you very much. Classrooms in england, scotland and wales will close later this afternoon to everyone except Vulnerable Children and those with a parent identified as a key worker. Pupils in england and wales are waiting to find out how their gcse and a level results will be awarded after this years exams were cancelled. John mcguire reports from bristol. Bell rings. For the last time in what may be a long time, the school bell signals the start of the day at blagdon primary, near bristol. The pupils, staff and families face Uncertain Times ahead, as parents and children prepare to share workspace at home. I will be working from home and so will my husband. We will have to obviously home school the children as well. You know, we set up Whatsapp Group so the children can still interact with each other and the school have set up e mai,l so they can still talk to each other. Often the end of term cant come soon enough. But this feels different. Strange, but also exciting. And maybe schooling from home could just be as fun as schooling from actual school. Well, hopefully its not my last day, because then i might not ever see my friends again. Because im going to a different school. This doesnt mean weeks of being confined indoors. The guidance for children is the same as for adults. Fresh air and exercise is beneficial, but they should keep their distance. The government has now published the list of workers whose children can stay at school. It includes. Now with the list of key workers being published overnight, head teachers and schools for the first time have a clearer idea of exactly how many children will be in school over the next couple of weeks and indeed, through the school holidays. At this school, for example, it is looking at around 25 , so just over 100 pupils, maybe 20, 25 pupils, Something Like that. For primary schools, and when it comes to younger children, staff are thinking notjust about their education, but also their mental and emotional well being. Weve made sure that there is work ready for them, there are things online. Weve got childrens e mail addresses all set up and they are able to use those so they can keep contacting their teachers. Keep those relationships going. And between the children themselves. Good morning class 3. Good morning, miss. How are you feeling . Everyone will need to adapt to a new way of working. So notjust a place of learning but of friendship, safety and sometimes refuge. Schools may be closing and for some time, but theirvitalwork continues and may prove more crucial than ever. John maguire, bbc news, north somerset. Just a reminder that in about 20 minutes on the bbc news channel well be answering your questions about coronavirus across a range of the issues that are concerning everyone at the moment. You can email us yourquestions bbc. Co. Uk or send us a tweet using the hashtag bbcyourquestions. Thats shortly after 2. 30pm. The headlines on bbc news. Protecting millions ofjobs during the coronavirus pandemic will be the focus of the governments emergency measures to be announced later more than 65 thousand retired doctors and nurses are asked to return to work, to fight the coronavirus. It comes as the Health Secretary moves to reassure nhs staff that theyll have the protective gear they need. Schools out the gates close this afternoon on schools across most of the uk but some will stay open for the children of key workers and in sport, stickers World Championship has been postponed. 0rganisers intend to host the final stages at the crucible on rescheduled dates injuly or august. The Rugby Football Union has confirmed the end of the season for all levels below the premiership. It means that choppy trip season will finish with seven rounds still to play. Finish with seven rounds still to play finish with seven rounds still to play. Championship season. And englands doctor has left his role at the fa, his position came under intense scrutiny following revelations in a bbc Panorama Programme about his time as a medic at uk athletics. I will be back with more on the stories at 2 30pm. Lets speak now to sheila jones shes a retired nurse and joins me via webcam. Thank you forjoining us. Have you been asked yet . I havent. And in fa ct, been asked yet . I havent. And in fact, it was after i got the phone call this morning that i realised letters were sent out to staff today but i had heard that it was in the offing. When did you retire and would you consider going back . |j offing. When did you retire and would you consider going back . I am 66, i retired injune last year so i am quite out of practice. I would say. The only way that i can see it working, that i could possibly return to work is if they can make it safe for our age group to go back so the world health organisation, whose advice i am following states that anybody 60 plus who has Underlying Health conditions should avoid crowded places. Where they might interact with people who are sick. There is a massive dilemma for my age group. So i dont think, i am obviously isolating, so i dont think i could go back into a front line post but i would consider doing something may be remotely, and a helpline or maybe even, if i could get the technology quickly enough, to work on a computer help desk and maybe just helping out the gps to release those people to work with more sick patients. So my background is intensive care and also i did do research into respiratory conditions soi research into respiratory conditions so i have an understanding of the tremendous load on nurses who are working in these conditions and it is not easy to train for those positions. I would is not easy to train for those positions. Iwould be is not easy to train for those positions. I would be out of practice now. You do have expertise thatis practice now. You do have expertise that is obviously badly in need and evenif that is obviously badly in need and even if you had to get yourself updated whilst isolating, obviously people will completely understand your personal dilemma but they will say, in some capacity, please can you help . They probably will but i think it is a wrong way to look at it because you are literally risking a whole decade of people who havent been tested so there are main issues. There has not been enough testing done in the uk so i had a chest infection, flu like illness, at christmas, just after christmas, but the chesting was not being done injanuary but the chesting was not being done in january so but the chesting was not being done injanuary so i dont know if i had coronavirus and i dont know if there is any Antibody Test to check ifi there is any Antibody Test to check if i had it and that would give reassurance that maybe there was some immunity, if that was available. They are working on that. We heard about that yesterday. I believe so. And personal protective equipment. At the moment that is not getting out to the areas that are needed. I have a friend who is working in hastings and they are working in hastings and they are working without any personal protective equipment and that is a massive concern. Given i am in a High Risk Group for serious illness, should i contract coronavirus. It is a massive dilemma. What about the question of immunity . We dont know for sure whether if you have had this virus you are definitely a domain orfor how this virus you are definitely a domain or for how long . We dont, which is why i dont think bringing us which is why i dont think bringing us back into the fray is necessarily the right approach. I think that the best approach might be to redeploy staff who can be upscaled within the service right now and release jobs that put the over 60 age group at less risk and that includes those people 60 66 who have had to continue working because they could not retire due to not receiving the pension. I am thinking about the 19505 pension. I am thinking about the 1950s women in that movement, so they are continuing to work at severe risk and ifeel like they are continuing to work at severe risk and i feel like they are not being looked after. It would be better to move them into less risky jobs as well. I think it is not necessarily being looked at in the right way. Sheila jones, really interesting to talk to you. And the alternative things that you and your collea g u es alternative things that you and your colleagues could do to help, i am sure, are possible and im sure many people will help that can be utilised but for now, thank you for your time. The number of scots who have been diagnosed with covid 19 has jumped to 322. First minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed the new total, up by 56 from thursday, as she gave a briefing on coronavirus. It comes as schools across scotland closed down to help deal with the spread of the disease. I think the very fact that the deputy first minister confirmed yesterday that for the first time in our history there will be no exams this year underlines the seriousness of the situation that we are facing. I want to take the opportunity today, because it is so important to remind everyone of the advice we are asking you to follow. Reduce your social contact unless it is absolutely essential to go out. That means working from home where possible, it means staying away from crowded places like pubs, restau ra nts a nd crowded places like pubs, restaurants and cinemas. If you are over 70, eligible for the flu vaccine because of a Health Vaccine or pregnant, you should take that advice particularly strongly and stay at home as much as possible. There will be further advice published later today for pregnant women in particular. If you show symptoms of a new and persistent cough or the mild fever, stay at home for seven days and if someone in your household is showing symptoms, you should all stay at home for 14 days to make sure you dont become infected and pass the infection on to others. And at all times, follow the advice on washing your hands using tissues and avoiding touching your face. Your hands using tissues and avoiding touching yourface. I know that some of the sacrifices we are asking people to make, and they are sacrifices, we are asking people to fundamentally change the way that we live our lives, that these will become more apparent to us and more difficult as we head into the weekend. I know that there will be some of you who might want to head out to the pub for the final night out to the pub for the final night out or are looking forward to a night out with friends but my guidance to you is clear and crystal clear. Please do not do this. You must not consider this vital Health Advice to be merely optional. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordonjoins me now from glasgow. 0ur our people following that advice . What situation . To some degree they are following that advice. It appears in many areas there are following it extensively but it was interesting that the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, repeated that advice on social distancing or isolating if you are showing symptoms again and again and again. In that briefing this morning. She said, lets not look back at these last few weeks and wish we had done more to protect ourselves and each other and while she didnt like School Pupils for all of your hard work, they have put in over the last year, it seemed that it was a message that was repeatedly aimed at the younger generation. He said that they should not take this advice appliesjust to they should not take this advice applies just to other people and not to them, she said that the risk to younger people was that michael there was no guarantee the symptoms with mild and the risk of passing it on to others. At the moment, positive cases here in scotland stands at 322. That is 322 people who have tested positive, an increase of 56 on yesterday. But we we re increase of 56 on yesterday. But we were told that briefing as evidence of sustained Community Transmission in scotland is on the cusp of an escalation of cases of the virus. She was really keen to hammer home that message people should not last, should not friends people really, really have to think carefully picking at the end of the school term, perhaps the school year, with friends. You should get. Lorna gordon,. Were expecting the daily update from the Prime Minister at teatime thats due to come around 5pm this afternoon live from downing street. This morning, borisjohnson met with senior figures from the snp, plaid cymru and the green party to update them on the governments response to coronavirus. Caroline lucas, the mp and co leader of the green party, was at that downing street meeting this morning and shejoins us now. Can you give us any idea of what to expect later today . Do you have faith in the Government Strategy . Be honest the government, the Prime Minister was clear he would not give us minister was clear he would not give us any advance information about what the announcement would be later this afternoon but i think it is true to say that the opposition leaders around the table made it very clear about the kind of things that we want to see, certainly looking from my perspective, representing the city of brighton and hove, the hospitality sector is absolutely vital to our city and so much damage has been done by the announcement that was made a few days ago, which instead of closing those institutions down, it basically said to people, dont go to them. That means that without that clear guidance from the government to close the sector down, that means that they cannot necessarily access the insurance they might otherwise have been able to do. And that has put them in a really difficult position so we are having hotels and restaurants closing and people put out of work literally overnight and it has been absolutely devastating. Certainly one of the messages from me and that was echoed by others around the table was that when it comes to communications from this government, they have to be clearer. When it comes to hospitality, for example, make it clear that those institutions need to close down, make sure the insurers will step up, make sure the insurers will step up, make sure the insurers will step up, make sure that peoples wages will be paid and that is vital, the government has to step in and pay those wages. And also make sure, we re those wages. And also make sure, were possible, that take away provisions can still remain so that some staff can still work. Once your sense that the government and ministers were listening to that message . Presumably there was also the question of how far the insurers can bail out every single business thatis can bail out every single business that is on the cusp and the government has got the finance and planning to back them up . |j government has got the finance and planning to back them up . I think that there was absolute agreement that there was absolute agreement that these are such unprecedented times that the government really has to step up in a way that we have not seen to step up in a way that we have not seenin to step up in a way that we have not seen in peacetime before. And certainly i take the point that if insurers are not going to step up then the government needs to make sure they do and underwrite them or do whatever is necessary to ensure that people are paid. But the bottom line is that money needs to get into peoples pockets now. And that is going to be the case if in the future we see more of a blanket looked on, we cannot expect people to go along with that if they dont know where they are going to get food from, if they are unsure if they have a roof over their heads. I have been calling, as others have, for a universal basic income, that has long been green party policy, we could introduce that right now and give people that income support, guaranteed, not having to be paid back but guaranteed in their pockets right now. Another concern is for people who rent, we have not heard enough about how the government will support people in rented accommodation and i take the point that there are some small landlords for whom rent is important and indeed vital and so the government needs to look at how they can support those but ultimately we need more thanjust support those but ultimately we need more than just fine words about people not being evicted for the next three months and then some kind of settlement having to be fined after. People need to know that for as long as it takes, they are not going to be evicted and there is a great deal of concern about that. Finally, how much of the bailout at an overall level is needed in terms of funds from rishi sunak if we are due to hearfrom him later . And do you have faith that the government is acting fast enough and clearly enough . I dont have faith right now that the government has been acting fast enough or clearly enough. The example i gave about the hospitality sector shows they are not being as clear as they should be and they are certainly not being as fast as they should be and we havent even touched on testing but it is extraordinary to me we have known for weeks and weeks we are going to have to ramp up Testing Capacity and yet we seem to be doing it at the very last minute and it is outrageous we are putting other Health Workers on the front line without giving them the protection they need. Right now i dont have confidence the government is acting fast enough or clearly enough and i am sure they want to and i hope they hurry up and do that but what we have to see this afternoon from rishi sunak is really bored. We need Something Like a universal basic income, money and peoples pockets so they can feel really bold. Secure. For the sunshine continues this afternoon but in the south we have drizzly rain and chilly wind out there. The chilly wind will allow temperatures to hoverjust above freezing here so largely escaping a frost but it pushes that cloud and rain away. Elsewhere under the starry skies it will be a cold night. It does not look as if it will be as hard a frost as last night but nevertheless the risk is there of frost in the countryside, soa there of frost in the countryside, so a chilly start to saturday morning but helped along with the sunshine it will feel quite pleasant, sunshine it will feel quite pleasa nt, pleasa ntly sunshine it will feel quite pleasant, pleasantly warm in the sunshine. That march sunshine getting stronger. We will still have that brisk wind and we will not set for the north sea coast because the High Pressure brings in the east wind although a lot of dry weather remains with us on sunday. Hello, this is bbc news. The headlines protecting millions ofjobs during the coronavirus pandemic will be the focus of the governments emergency measures to be announced later. More than 65,000 retired doctors and nurses are asked to return to work, to fight the coronavirus. It comes as the Health Secretary moves to reassure nhs staff that theyll have the protective gear they need. Schools out the gates close this afternoon on schools across most of the uk but some will stay open for the children of key workers. No end in sight to the panic buying frontline healthworkers make a desperate plea for people to be less selfish. People are just stripping the shelves of basic foods. You just need to stop it she sobs. Sport now. Good afternoon. Another major sporting event has been postponed snookers World Championship wont take place next month now organisers hope to reschedule the tournament in july or august. Judd trump had been due to defend his title at the tournament scheduled to take place from 18th april to 4th may. So, disappointment for him, but a more worrying time for players who arent so high profile. Earlier, i asked World Snooker tour chairman barry hearn if any provisions have been made for the sports lower earners. We are looking at behind closed doors in a sterile environment for a limited number of players, to keep them occupied and playing and learning. These are self employed people they dont get paid when they dont play. And i know also that the governing body is looking at the size of their reserves and how they can help in the intermediate period depending on the situation with the virus. The rugby season is officially over the rfu has confirmed all levels below the premiership has finished. The decision applies to all league, cup and county rugby in england which means the Championship Campaign will finish with at least seven rounds to play. The rfu said a further update would be issued in april as they aim to ensure fair and balanced outcomes. Meanwhile, wasps have confirmed theyre cutting pay by 25 across the majority of the Rugby Department in response to the financial threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic. However, the club say lower paid staff will not be subjected to the cuts. The england football teams doctor Rob Chakraverty has left his role at the football association. Dr chakravertys position had come under intense scrutiny following revelations in a bbc Panorama Programme about his time as a medic at uk athletics when he was involved in a controversial procedure on four time olympic gold medallist mo farah. The olympic flame has arrived injapan on a flight from athens. There was a scaled down ceremony at an airbase in the north of the country. There are growing doubts that the tokyo games can start as scheduled on july 24th because of the coronavirus pandemic. With the latest, heres our tokyo correspondent Rupert Wingfield hayes. Japan seems to be doing quite a good job of controlling the epidemic here and because of that the japanese government is saying we are full steam ahead for the 24th ofjuly. The torch relay will begin as it is supposed to next week and it will go on this 121 day relay around the whole of japan. Still planning for all of this to go ahead but there are many other voices here. Many people i have spoken to experts the former governor of tokyo said to me there is very little chance they think now it can go ahead as scheduled on the 24th ofjuly because even if everything is under control here and even if the epidemic here is under control what about the rest of the world . How can you carry on with the olympics when it is going on elsewhere . There is a huge amount of uncertainty. We are waiting for the ioc and the who and the japanese government to make a decision but they say at the moment it is too early to make that decision and they are going full steam ahead for the opening ceremony. And tom brady arguably the greatest quarterback in nfl history has joined the tampa bay buccaneers. Brady has played his entire 20 year career with the new England Patriots guiding the team to unprecedented success with six super bowl titles. The 42 year old said he was excited, humbled and hungry. Thats all the sport. Now its time for your questions answered. 0n the bbc news channel well be answering your questions on health, self isolation and social distancing for bbc your questions answered. First, breaking news on something thatis first, breaking news on something that is going to be of concern to many children and teenagers, the department for education have more guidance on what is happening with exams which have been cancelled this summer. Exams which have been cancelled this summer. Grades will be based on a range of data including mock exam results and teacher assessment. If people feel is that the great does not reflect their performance there will be an opportunity to sit an exa m will be an opportunity to sit an exam once school is open again and next summer. That is the guidance of the exam regulator and exam boards are agreeing, that they will work with teachers to get grades to stu d e nts with teachers to get grades to students based on previous information they have had. We have heard that could be a way forward. It is very important for a level stu d e nts it is very important for a level students for university and for gcse stu d e nts students for university and for gcse students who have been studying for two years for those qualifications. The government seeing the priority is to make sure students can move onto the next stage of their lives including employment, university or an apprenticeship. Basically they will be asking teachers who know their students fail to submit their judgment about the grade may be the student would have received if the exa m student would have received if the exam had gone ahead, the teachers will take into account a range of data. Clear guidance on how to do this fairly and robust they will be provided to schools and colleges. They will also be looking at prior attainment and produce a calculated grade for each student. There will bea grade for each student. There will be a chance for those who want to possibly challenge that grade if they are not happy with it to set they are not happy with it to set the exam as soon they are not happy with it to set the exam as soon as they are not happy with it to set the exam as soon as schools reopen. Much more on that in the coming hours. Im joined by dr farhat ahmad a cheshire based gp and dr Naomi Forrester soto a reader in vector ecology at keele university. Thank you both forjoining us. Pauline says i have i am over 70 and i have self isolated for a month and a friend has over two self isolated for a month and we have no symptoms, what are the risks if we get together . Good question. I dont know. It depends if you have any Underlying Health conditions, how strictly have been in yourself isolation. You can have the virus can be asymptomatic for the first few days so there is always that risk. No black and white answer there. Naomi . I would risk. No black and white answer there. Naomi . Iwould agree. We risk. No black and white answer there. Naomi . I would agree. We do not know enough about the asymptomatic phase of the virus in the majority of people to have any degree of confidence to know whether that would be safe. It is one of those things where it is probably as important as your physical health so it may be that is something you think about in terms of staying upbeat and able to cope with yourself isolation. Naomi, can you explain what vector ecology means . Yes, i study how viruses infect mosquitoes, how the viruses evolve within their host. I do not actually handle coronavirus but i study how viruses handle within a host. As the schools have closed and the sun is going out my 14 year old daughter wa nts to going out my 14 year old daughter wants to socialise with friends. How can we stop teenagers socialising . Is there a threat from then gathering in our homes . Yes. When young people get than most of them are ok but it is when they bring it back to other people who are vulnerable that is a problem. We have been asked to socially distance for a few days which means not mixing unless you really need to. I have three teenagers myself so i feel your pain, but they are quite adept at using social media so that may have to be one of the concessions i make, ijust let them go and therefore a lot more. Carol says i am a driving instructor and have been in self isolation since last sunday due to a continuous cough. My partner is in the Vulnerable Group as he had a heart attack last september. How safe is it for me to carry on teaching being in close proximity to other adults in the car . We know this virus is airborne. The viruses transmitted by droplets so it has the capacity to be transmitted by air. The major issue with being in a car is a very compliant, confined space and that would be the ideal opportunity for the virus to transnet are not only that we know that the virus lasts longer on plastic and metal unfortunately for those instructors so unfortunately for those instructors so the car might be one of the better transmitting vehicles, so i would proceed with caution and would have to do quite a lot of cleaning in between each student and that was going to keep going. Testing must be very important if you are a driving instructor or taxi driver to know that you are not transmitting infection. Ideally we would test everybody but at the moment that is not possible. That is the reality of it. Everyone has to take sensible precautions until bad testing can happen. Someone says i believe i have the virus and though my symptoms are mild when and where can i get tested . I have to make sure i have recovered so i can see my elderly mum. This is such a common worry. Yes. Unfortunately at the moment we do not have the access to tests that could help us make that decision, notjust for tests that could help us make that decision, not just for people tests that could help us make that decision, notjust for people like jacqueline but for other Health Care Workers who want to know if they are safe to go back to work. The government is rolling out more testing to see if you have got the infection, testing to see if you have had the infection and you are immune, but it is not available at this moment in time. Erica asks if you are asking for retired nhs workers to return back to work appoint a majority have Health Issues or be required to already be in self isolation . We spoke to a nurse earlier he was in the retirement bracket but had this very worry. Given we are still in the very early days of knowing about immunity and so on, retirees are worried. Yes, i mean, i am not in the health care business, i worried. Yes, i mean, i am not in the health care business, lam worried. Yes, i mean, i am not in the health care business, i am a researcher but it seems to me there must be a lot of support roles that train staff can do without being on the front line and if those retired staff could be brought in to do those support roles that would free up those support roles that would free up some of the other staff who are not of retiree age to be on the front line. My suspicion is that is what is going to happen because we know everyone has been told over and overagain know everyone has been told over and over again that the risk factors are over again that the risk factors are over 60 or over 70 over again that the risk factors are over60 or over70 and over again that the risk factors are over 60 or over 70 and with Underlying Health conditions, so i believe that would probably be taken into account but i am not involved in hospital administration, so i am sure someone in hospital administration, so i am sure someone will clarify that. Can you clarify that for us . It is a genuine concern. I think it is a genuine concern. I think it is a genuine concern. I think it is a genuine concern but i think she is right. We are having to deal with coronavirus and also routine stuff that we normally deal worth and emergencies and patients being discharged early from hospital to free up beds for coronavirus, so there is a lot of work going on and if we could have people who would ta ke if we could have people who would take over some of that routine stuff or some of the people who are not coronavirus related illnesses it would help us deal with the coronavirus, so that is where we are hoping to go is the retired people. They could go into wards which are supposed to be separate, but they will be worried about going into hospital with perhaps increasing numbers of coronavirus patients that these things spread. It does not have to be ward based or patient facing. People can do a lot of stuff from computers, organising medication. Theres lots of other stuff that can happen that doesnt necessarily mean they are face to face and at high risk. Necessarily mean they are facetoface and at high risk. That is very important, isnt it . It requires a lot of organisation to do that but it is a very important task that but it is a very important task that would help. Sarah says my dad suffers from the heart condition svt and the information he has found on the website says people without conditions are at risk yet his employer has said he is not. Can we get clarification as to which heart conditions extra risk . Yeah, its hard, because a lot of the guidance is very general, but people needed down into the detail, so i think a good way to do it as if you are eligible for the seasonal flu jab because you have a Health Condition then you are in one of the high risk categories, so if she can look at it from that point of view and then that should help build the case with the employer. Dave says if someone comes into contact with an infected person how long are set before they themselves become contagious bearing in mind they might not show any symptoms . Again, it is still early days and we think it is about three to five days post exposure that she would start being transmissible and symptoms appear anywhere from five to 11 days post infection, but again we generally when we are working with these kind of viruses, human infections happen around 40 years and we know a lot about then and this is new and this is the best understanding we have and it may change over the next six to nine months as we get more information. We have heard that you are perhaps most contagious probably when symptoms show. Certainly at the beginning. Yes, so, ithink people. We know people can pass on the illness before they show symptoms and then when they are symptomatic they can become more infectious. It is a droplet infection so when you cough or sneeze you spread the droplets further, so that fits in with how the disease is. Kemal says my pa rents a re over the disease is. Kemal says my parents are over 70 and have been informed of a family death. Can they attend a family home and pay their respects and what advice is there if they attend . That is something that is going to be very difficult for lots of people. It is, and it is so ha rd lots of people. It is, and it is so hard with a bereavement, one of the ways we manage it is having social contact, but i think i would probably advise them to avoid having more contact than necessary to keep their distance because at higher risk and it is all about keeping people safe. I appreciate you might not have the full answer here. Benita im heavily pregnant with gestational diabetes so classed as vulnerable high risk. My husband has to work or he wont get paid. We have three children. Say one of us has a cough and he self isolates for the 14 days with us, how does it work if the same happens again . Surely you wouldnt get sick pay every time you have to self isolate for two weeks . With no testing, its hard to do whats best. Lots of people talking about this position have been thinking doesnt make sense for the whole family to effectively allow the household to get it so you isolate in one go and not repeatedly . I would be honest and say it is a huge dilemma for a lot of people. I have two small children and have fun of them got it iam not children and have fun of them got it i am not sure what i would do. This virus is so much more transmissible than a lot of things but by the time one person in the family the chances that everyone is going to get it. Whether or not they come down with it depends on their immune response and how much they have been exposed to. Realistically, given how transmissible the spiders is, if one person in the household has it the chances are most people will get it. You think ultimately. 0bviously chances are most people will get it. You think ultimately. Obviously it is quite difficult for people using different bathrooms. We would struggle to do that with two children and two adults. The more you can prevent people from getting it the less likely it is to transmit but if you are self isolating for 14 days and nobody is symptomatic of the end of 14 days then you are fine. Does the viral load matter . How much exposure you get to the virus. So if you add in a household and food have you all get it is it likely the last person might be more ill because they have had more transmitted to them . Ill because they have had more transmitted to them . Not necessarily. How ill you get depends ona necessarily. How ill you get depends on a lot of factors including your e, on a lot of factors including your age, your immune status, your genetic status, and while we think viral load is important which is why we thought there were so many initial Health Care Worker deaths in wuhan, we dont know. Those kind of experiments have not been carried out yet to know what the kind of lethal dose, what we would call a lethal dose, what we would call a lethal dose, what we would call a lethal dose, but is not very pc at the moment. Could you clarify offender weight people are at risk . I have a low bmi and want to know if people with a low bmi are at risk more. I cannot of the top of my head remember if they qualify for a flu vaccination but it would just be sensible if your immune system isnt working orfunctioning sensible if your immune system isnt working or functioning at 100 to just take precautions. Certainly to the social distancing and keep on top of your handwashing and your hygiene. Can i ask your thoughts on one final question . 0n testing, germany seem to be having better results, it is a question of resources , results, it is a question of resources, what are your thoughts on how important it is to do Contact Tracing . Tracking down every Single Person that might be exposed, whether that is through mobile phone apps. There is a lot of privacy worth it to deal with this is the loss of privacy worth it to deal with this crisis . I will probably have an answer for you a few weeks down the line. The world health 0rganization asked us to test, test, test. We a re 0rganization asked us to test, test, test. We are only testing people who are ill enough to be in hospital so we are probably not reflecting their prominence of it in the community. The whole thing about taking. Getting involved in peoples privacy, that raises lots of uncomfortable questions but if it stops the disease progressing and stops the disease progressing and stops people dying i think you could probably argue that it is justified in this case. Can i ask you that as well . From a virology as point of view we never know until after an outbreak how many people have been exposed because you have a huge numberof exposed because you have a huge number of asymptomatic infections. Testing would help with our understanding of that, but we are still in such an early stage of our understanding of this pandemic but it is going to take a while before we have the same degree of knowledge we have the same degree of knowledge we have the same degree of knowledge we have for the flu or anything that has been around for years so while testing would help and it helps with Contact Tracing i think we almost expected to be the same as flu or measles and it cannot be because it is too new. I think we are all may be expecting more than really can be delivered right now. With regards to privacy, i think that is a decision for every country that they have to make for themselves and we have to decide is a country if that is something we are going to be prepared to tolerate in order to tackle this pandemic. Thank you for your time tackle this pandemic. Thank you for yourtime and tackle this pandemic. Thank you for your time and for going through that list of questions. We are getting so many in each day. Thank you both. It is dry for most throughout the rest of the day and it looks dry for most of us for the next four or five days because of this High Pressure. Not altogether dry, we have a slow moving weather front that has been around for a few days which is producing rain and drizzle. This is how it looked earlier. There north, under the centre of that High Pressure we have got plenty of sunshine. A bit more cloud for the Northern Isles as well and here is that cloud in the south. Still some breaks around, but it has been slow to clear, but it looks like it should do through the night. Where there is that High Pressure and a keen wind, keeping temperatures a bit below par. A frosty start elsewhere. That brisk wind should keep the frost at bay for southern parts of england mostly, while elsewhere across the uk it is a cold night again. Not as hard a frost as last night, but still pretty chilly. And, with that High Pressure with us throughout the weekend, that not only keeps our weather fronts at bay, but it will mean some Starry Nights and some cold nights to come as well. So, although it looks dry for most of us, there will be plenty of sunshine i think, but at times some cloud will come and go and, in the south in particular, quite a chilly wind. But even for the north sea coast as well, you have got that breeze coming off a relatively cold sea at this time of year, so it will still feel chilly at this time. Still a bit of cloud left across the far south, but more sunshine. For most of parts of the uk that is. Temperatures will creep up a degree elsewhere because it wont be as cold overnight. As we go to saturday night, we have got more cloud coming into the far north and west, so it wont be as cold, but still a chilly night. Still some frost around. The nights are getting shorter at the moment, but they are still long enough for some frost. Sunday does bring a risk of cloud for the east coast, but it should clear away and temperatures 9 11, so still feeling chilly out of the cold start and with the breeze, but it is basically dry and if you are outside of the breeze in the sunshine it will feel pleasant. There is more on our website. This is bbc news. The headlines. Protecting millions ofjobs during the coronavirus pandemic will be the focus of the governments emergency package of measures to be announced later. More than 65,000 retired doctors and nurses are asked to return to work as the Health Secretary reassures nhs staff that theyll have the protective gear they need. In terms of getting the protective equipment out, the masks and the other protective equipment, that is a massive operation that is ongoing right now. Schools out the gates close this afternoon on schools across most of the uk but some will stay open for the children of key workers. After gcse and a level exams were cancelled, the government say grades in england will be based on mock exam results and teacher assessment. No end in sight to panic buying frontline Health Workers make a desperate plea for people to be less selfish. People are just stripping the shelves of basic foods. You just need to stop it she sobs. And we talk to one of the thousands of couples whose wedding day has been ruined by the coronavirus outbreak. The government is preparing to announce a new emergency package of measures aimed at protecting millions ofjobs during the coronavirus pandemic. In what would be an unprecedented move, the state would step in to help pay the wages of private Sector Companies to stop thousands of them going bust during the shutdown of much of the economy. Its understood that the workers involved will also be exempted from having to pay income tax. In other developments, letters are being sent to 65,000 retired doctors and nurses in england and wales, asking them to return to work to help deal with the Coronavirus Crisis. Today is the last day at school for most children in england, scotland and wales until further notice. The government has now published its list of key workers who can keep sending their children to school they include healthcare workers, police and food delivery staff. In the past hour the government has released its plan for grading in england after exams were cancelled. The grades will be based on mock exam results and teacher assessments. The government say that clear robust guidance will be provided to schools and colleges in due course. The government has been advised that policies to limit the spread of coronavirus would need to be in place for at least most of a year to prevent intensive care units being overwhelmed. Around the world, the death toll from coronavirus now stands at more than 10,000 with 144 deaths in the uk. Well get the latest on the impact on business but first on the Current Situation for the nhs, heres our Health Correspondent, lauren moss. A rallying call to return to work. Letters are being sent to thousands of retired doctors and nurses in england and wales to boost the ranks while cases of the coronavirus continue to climb. The letter will explain what they need to do, because they may need a refresher and weve got some online refresher courses and there will be some put in place where they need to physically be there. And then, also, critically, making sure they are trained especially in the areas that we need for dealing with coronavirus, because this is a respiratory illness, disease. Medics who have left the profession in the last three years are also being urged to reregister and final year students could be asked to work during the outbreak. Some people have already contacted me, many people have already contacted me and weve got lots of people wanting to support us and wanting to come back. We are writing to them, they will get that this morning. We will then make sure that they are able to complete the necessary forms to get them back on our register and we will invite them back into our hospitals in the next few weeks. A large proportion of those being written to are general practitioners or specialists. Nearly half are aged between 45 and 64 years old. And a third are under the age of 44. But not everyone is enthusiastic about being asked back to work. After nearly three years out, i feel very out of date. I would not be able to keep up with the it, the science, the general changes in nursing care and i would feel unsafe and i think that would not be a position i would want to put any patient in, having an unsafe nurse caring for them. The way we go about our lives is certainly changing. After today, school gates will close to most pupils. No one knows how long for. And, from monday, Rail Companies will be running much reduced services. Despite limiting the number of items shoppers can buy and dedicating certain hours for older customers, supermarket shelves are still being stripped bare. Hospitals have been asked to free up beds and manufacturers to scale up ventilator production for patients who may become very unwell. The race is also on to get protective equipment out to nhs staff. We are seeing far too Many Health Workers infected in italy and its just heartbreaking. So many of them are dying as well. Do not let this happen in britain. Health workers, they keep on talking about them in military terms like they are the front line, but they are not soldiers. The government is in negotiations to buy a new Antibody Tests to detect if someone has already had the virus and become immune. And in a month, its hoped 25,000 patients a day will also be able to be tested. Uk scientists have today said some social distancing measures may need to be in place for most of a year, to avoid overwhelming the nhs, in what theyve described as an incredibly fast moving and developing situation. Lauren moss, bbc news. So that package of measures the chancellor is due to announce to support firms and employees during the crisis is being described as unprecedented. Many companies are warning they could collapse with huge numbers of job losses. Self employed workers and people on zero hour contracts are already struggling. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. This is the normally busy victoria quarter in leeds. This is the centre of cardiff. And this is glasgow. Companies can cope with a normal recession if their income dropped by maybe 20 but for thousands of Companies Hit by antivirus measures, its up to 100 . This is oxford circus, normally one of the busiest places in the world. But today, just like other shopping areas around the country, theres hardly anyone in the shops. And if you are a business its simple, if you dont have customers you dont have an income, you cant afford to pay wages or service debts, and if that keeps up, you are going to have to let people go and declare bankruptcy. This morning, the food chain pret facing a 75 drop in income asked staff to take a 25 pay cut to keep them in work. Business groups say the Health Emergency has now become an economic one. Threatening to push thousands of companies into bankruptcy and hundreds of thousands of people onto benefits. Businesses across the uk need to see action now. We need to see an immediate suspension of vat, National Insurance and business rate payments that are coming up next week. And we also need to see a form of income support as well. For those businesses that are going to be inevitably disrupted or have to close during the coming weeks. Its notjust shops and restaurants who are most obviously hit by emergency measures, this manufacturer makes mechanical and electronic parts for industrial customers, its still busy from orders placed before the crisis struck but will struggle if the shutdown goes on for months. Like every manufacturer we have the same concerns if we start to see significant drops. In relation to people. Thats the simple case for all manufacturers. It really is then seeing what direct Government Intervention we can see to help make sure we protectjobs and livelihoods so we come out the other side, fit, well and strong. Government help for firms wage bills will cost tens of billions but wont help the self employed. This woman is a freelance theatre director, with no performance her income has plummeted. For me personally it has involved quite a sad transition from closing the building that i love to work in at the moment with a core team and all of us are self employed and we have no idea what that means in terms of our income. Any job security. Whether we can pay our rent next month. And we have no idea when any shows or work will start again for any of us. The emergency measures will effectively put the government on a war footing, going into debt to help pay millions of private sector wages. The cost is huge. But the cost of not doing so, both economic and human, could be greater. Andy verity, bbc news. Lets talk to our Political Correspondent nick eardley at westminster 0pposition mps met with the Prime Minister this morning . How much and how fast for the government going to do . We are calling dale hearing deli calls for cash into pockets . We are going to see another significant intervention from the chancellor in two or three hours time and there has been huge pressure to figure out the impact this is going to have on the impact this is going to have on the lives of hundreds of thousands, millions of employees around the country and we all have heard stories of people whose jobs are being cut or hours are being cut and we dont exactly know what the government is going to do but it is bound to involve topping up wages in some way, offering some support to businesses and individuals to make sure that some sort of income continues and i have to say there has been political consensus so far with what is going on. 0pposition parties are pushing the government to be bold on this, labour have called for the huge package of state intervention which would see some employees getting up to 90 of their salary from the state over the next few months as this crisis unfolds. The snp also calling for the idea of universal basic income which would mean everyone would have a guaranteed amount of money in their pocket every month. To get them through some of the harder times that could be coming. The exact figures from the government will be closely scrutinised, both by businesses and politicians, to see if they go far enough and provide that assurance that so many are looking for. It is notjust people at the bottom who need it, it is people at every level because people are supporting families, self employed people, people with limited companies, it is notjust big employers. How endless is the governments funds . How much can they do . The phrase we hearfrom government at every opportunity at the moment is they will do whatever it takes. Of course there are financial limits eventually to how much can be borrowed and what is sustainable but i think the government frankly knows that it is ina government frankly knows that it is in a position where it has to do unprecedented things, it is going to have to borrow a lot of money to make sure that the economy is in a sustainable position when the country eventually comes out of this crisis. Quite what the figures are going to be, as i say, that is exactly what we are going to be looking out for when we hear from the government later this afternoon. But i think you can expect it is going to be unprecedented amounts of money because this is an unprecedented crisis and the government knows that it needs to act soon to protectjobs and to protect livelihoods. Just quickly, we have heard a lot about potentially trying to clamp down on behaviour and social distancing the way home from work i saw people still in the pubs, quite extraordinary given the advice. Are they going to go further today . I have to say i could see the same thing, i walked down westminster from north london, cafe said restau ra nts from north london, cafe said restaurants were open and clearly there is still lots of activity going on in london and elsewhere in the country. The government has said it is not ruling out anything in terms of taking further measures and opposition parties, the labour party in particular, said this morning that the guidance when it comes to things like dining out and going to the pub for a drink has not been com pletely the pub for a drink has not been completely clear, the government is asking people not to go but so many of those establishments remain open. Labour says you just have to close them, you have to get to the point where you just say, at this stage people are not heeding the advice so you need to take more drastic measures and we dont know if the government will do that at the moment, nobody is saying anything officially at number 10 but that press co nfe re nce officially at number 10 but that press conference this afternoon, like the ones all week, will be crucial in seeing what happens next. In the financial back up is crucial for people in the Hospitality Industry so people can afford to stop working. Thanks for that. The speed of events in dealing with coronavirus has taken lots of people by surprise covid 19 first appeared in the uk at the end of january and since then the numbers have risen sharply. Joining me now is the bbcs statistics expert, robert cuffe. What is a rate of expansion in both numbers and the death rate as far as we know . At the moment it seems to be doubling every three to four days, we can bring up the numbers because it is hard with the numbers flying past us to keep a grasp of what is going on. There is a chart that shows, as you can see, it shows where we were one week ago. And as you can see, last friday we had 600 confirmed cases in the uk and that has doubled and doubled again and more since then and we are running at over 3000 and if we switch to look at the deaths, we can see a similar pattern, where the deaths have been doubling roughly every two or three days. It is often hard to keepin or three days. It is often hard to keep in your head what that constant doubling means and one way is to think all of the cases we have seen so think all of the cases we have seen so far, if this keeps going, we will see that all again in the next three to four days, or if you work in intensive care, running at 50 capacity, just about managing, everything is fine, and three to four days you can go from half full too completely full and then youre in trouble. That is where the government is pressing so hard because you cant go very quickly from managing to being swamped u nless from managing to being swamped unless these measures like social distancing star to take effect and we change that pattern and slow it down. What is the time delay between people perhaps behaving or being forced to behave and restrict lockdown position to then seeing the increase in the numbers . The estimates i hear are around two weeks before you start to see the numbers change and the reason is if all the affection stopped today, yesterdays infections, they would have to incubate and start showing symptoms and turn up to get tested and the results would have to come back so it does take a while before it starts to filter through into the numbers. We should expect to see those numbers continuing to go up for a little while. We heard from sage, the scientific group, that we expect these social distancing measures to last at least one year and the Imperial College of Research Says it will be 18 months at least before there is any vaccine. We expect to see these numbers rising. Will it be as bad as italy . What is driving the government Decision Making is avoiding the scenes in italy. It is managing that intensive ca re italy. It is managing that intensive care unit capacity so the hospitals dont get swamped. And that is what is driving the strategy to really clamp down and slow the spread of the virus and also to keep that clamp down in place for a long period of time because the worry is as soon as you period of time because the worry is as soon as you take off the pressure and let people go back out, we could see the virus rebound and that is why people are watching china carefully to see what happens if the virus comes back after they started to see that a slowdown. London has been particularly badly hit because of the population being denser, again, is that inevitable and is it further up the road than the government predicted . It is pushing ahead of the rest of the country and we can see that clearly when we look ata map we can see that clearly when we look at a map of the outbreak across the uk. What you can see is these dots are roughly the size of the epidemic, 270 in scotland, 180 in Northern Ireland and what stands out is that large bump in london. London gets in most cases, 16 of the population, but that is 40 of the cases so population, but that is 40 of the cases so this is a disproportionate amount of cases and that is becoming more disproportionate over time so last week london accounted for the quarter of cases, this week it accou nts quarter of cases, this week it accounts for well over a third so not only is london taking a disproportionate amount, it is pulling further away from the rest of the country. Does that imply that if you can leave london, you should . If you can social distance in london, if you can do all of the things to stop the spread of the virus then you should. It is still worth remembering, these are confirmed cases, not the total cases, the total is a good bit higher. Professor sir patrick valla nce higher. Professor sir Patrick Vallance said it is about 55000 and thatis vallance said it is about 55000 and that is still less than one in every 1000. Confirmed or estimated . Estimated, total cases. It will have gone up in the last three or four days but that is one in every 1000 so days but that is one in every 1000 so the issue is not we are in the middle of that terrible stage right now, it is if we keep doubling and doubling and doubling, we suddenly get to a very bad stage very quickly so get to a very bad stage very quickly so it is about taking measures right now to slow the spread. Very quickly, when would you expect the peak to come and how long will it last . Government modelling says the peak will arrive probably in may or june and the duration all depends on the measures people take. June and the duration all depends on the measures people takem june and the duration all depends on the measures people take. It is up to us in part. We keep hearing that message. Lets hope it gets through. Good to see you, thank you. The headlines on bbc news. The government will announce new measures later designed to protect millions ofjobs during the coronavirus pandemic. More than 65,000 retired doctors and nurses are asked to return to work, to help fight the spread of the virus. The gates close this afternoon on schools across most of the uk, but some will stay open for the children of key workers and for the children of key workers in sport, the snook| championship and in sport, the snooker World Championship has been postponed, organisers intend to host the final stages at the crucible on rescheduled dates injuly or august. The Rugby Football Union has confirmed the end of the season for all levels below the premiership. That means the championship season will finish with seven rounds still to play. In the england football teams doctor has left his role at the fa. His position had come under intense scrutiny following revelations in a bbc Panorama Programme about his time as a medic at uk athletics. I will be back with more on all of those stories at 3 30pm. Classrooms in england, scotland and wales will close later this afternoon to everyone except Vulnerable Children and those with a parent identified as a key worker. Pupils in england and wales are waiting to find out how their gcse and a level results will be awarded after this years exams were cancelled. John mcguire reports from bristol. The government says they will be based on mock exams and teacher advice. And those who are not happy can also have the choice to set their exams if they choose to do so. As soon as schools reopen, they are hoping to get the great side by july. More on that as soon as we can bring it to you. The number of scots who have been diagnosed with covid 19 has jumped to 322. First minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed the new total, up by 56 from thursday, as she gave a briefing on coronavirus. It comes as schools across scotland closed down to help deal with the spread of the disease. I think the very fact that the deputy first minister confirmed yesterday that for the first time in our history there will be no exams this year underlines the seriousness of the situation that we are facing. I want to take the opportunity today, because it is so important to remind everyone of the advice we are asking you to follow. Reduce your social contact unless it is absolutely essential to go out. That means working from home where possible, it means staying away from crowded places like pubs, restaurants and cinemas. If you are over 70, eligible for the flu vaccine because of a Health Condition or pregnant, you should take that advice particularly strongly and stay at home as much as possible. There will be further advice published later today for pregnant women in particular. If you show symptoms of a new and persistent cough or a mild fever, stay at home for seven days and if someone in your household is showing symptoms, you should all stay at home for 14 days to make sure you dont become infected and pass the infection on to others. And at all times, follow the advice on washing your hands, using tissues and avoiding touching your face. I know that some of the sacrifices we are asking people to make, and they are sacrifices, we are asking people to fundamentally change the way that we live our lives, that these will become more apparent to us and more difficult as we head into the weekend. I know that there will be some of you who might want to head out to the pub for a final night out or are looking forward to a meal out with friends but my guidance to you is clear and crystal clear. Please do not do this. You must not consider this vital Health Advice to be merely optional. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon told me earlier, people are only partially following Nicola Sturgeons advice. To some degree they are following that advice. It appears in many areas they are following it extensively but it was interesting that scotlands first minister Nicola Sturgeon repeated that advice on social distancing or isolating if you are showing symptoms again and again and again in that briefing this morning. She said, lets not look back at these last few weeks and wish we had done more to protect ourselves and each other and while she did thank School Pupils for all of their hard work they have put in over the last year, it did seem that it was a message that was repeatedly aimed at the younger generation. She said, they shouldnt think this advice appliesjust said, they shouldnt think this advice applies just two other people and not to them. She said that while the risk to younger people was lower, there was no guarantee that the symptoms in young people would be mild and of course that they risk passing it on to others. At the moment, of course, the number of positive cases here in scotland stands at 322. That is 322 people who have tested positive, an increase of 56 on yesterday, but we we re increase of 56 on yesterday, but we were told in that briefing earlier that there is evidence of sustained Community Transmission in scotland and that the country is on the cusp ofan and that the country is on the cusp of an escalation of cases of the virus. She was really keen to hammer home that message that people shouldnt go out for a last drink at the pub, shouldnt go out for a meal with their friends and that young people really, really have to think carefully if they were thinking at the end of this school term, perhaps now the end of the school year, if they are thinking of going out and gathering with their friends, they really should think again. We have had this announcement from the department of education on how grades will be allocated to students. They are hoping to award a grade which they say fairly reflects the work they have put in, ideally by the end ofjuly. The exams regulator says it will set a process that provides a calculator great to each student which reflects the performance as fairly as possible. Teachers will be asked to submit theirjudgment teachers will be asked to submit their judgment about expected teachers will be asked to submit theirjudgment about expected rates, taking into account mock exams and other assessments and exam boards will produce a calculated grade. They have also said that students who want to challenge that grade will have the chance to sit an exam once schools reopen but obviously the date of reopening is uncertain at the moment. And that is presumably of course to allow eve ryo ne presumably of course to allow everyone who has done a levels in particular to move on to university. In due course. Much more on that coming in. John maguire has this report from bristol on some of the stu d e nts report from bristol on some of the students who have been waiting to find out how their work will be assessed. For the last time in what may be a long time, the school bell signals the start of the day at blagdon primary, near bristol. The pupils, staff and families face Uncertain Times ahead, as parents and children prepare to share workspace at home. I will be working from home and so will my husband. We will have to obviously home school the children as well. You know, we set up Whatsapp Group so the children can still interact with each other and the school have set up e mai,l so they can still talk to each other. Often the end of term cant come soon enough. But this feels different. Strange, but also exciting. And maybe schooling from home could just be as fun as schooling from actual school. Well, hopefully its not my last day, because then i might not ever see my friends again. Because im going to a different school. This doesnt mean weeks of being confined indoors. The guidance for children is the same as for adults. Fresh air and exercise is beneficial, but they should keep their distance. The government has now published the list of workers whose children can stay at school. It includes. Nhs workers, nursery and teaching staff, the police, armed forces, transport workers, those involved in food production, distribution and sale, people who work in essential Financial Services such as banks, and journalists, providing Public Service broadcasting. With the list of key workers being published overnight, head teachers and schools for the first time have a clearer idea of exactly how many children will be in school, over the next couple of weeks and, indeed, through the school holidays. At this school, for example, it is looking at around 25 , so just over 100 pupils, maybe 20, 25 pupils, Something Like that. For primary schools, and when it comes to younger children, staff are thinking notjust about their education, but also their mental and emotional well being. Weve made sure that there is work ready for them, there are things online. Weve got childrens e mail addresses all set up and they are able to use those, so they can keep contacting their teachers. Keep those relationships going. And between the children themselves. Good morning class 3. Good morning. How are you feeling . Everyone will need to adapt to a new way of working. So notjust a place of learning, but of friendship, safety and sometimes refuge. Schools may be closing, and for some time, but their vital work continues and may prove more crucial than ever. John maguire, bbc news, north somerset. Now its time for a look at the weather with stav. Now its time for a look we have a good deal of settled and sunny weather for the weekend and into next week because of higher pressure but it is going to be on the cool side for the time of year, a chilly night and a cool breeze through the weekend because our area of High Pressure will be setting over scandinavia, bringing that easterly breeze mainly to central and southern areas. We have had a weather front bringing cloud across the south recently and that will plague the far south west of the Channel Islands overnight, more the breeze here so a frost free night for the south and further north it is chilly again with frost. A chilly start to saturday but dry and bright with lots of sunshine around and we should start to see sunshine appearing across the south west but it will remain breezy, certainly for eastern coastal areas and this is where it will feature earliest but further west we could see 11 or 12 degrees. Sunday is a similar story, perhaps low cloud affecting the north sea coast on that make clear through the day in then most places will be sunny again. Chilly along the southern and eastern coasts and better for eastern coastal areas and this is where it will hello, this is bbc news. The headlines. Protecting millions ofjobs during the coronavirus pandemic will be the focus of the governments emergency measures to be announced later more than 65,000 retired doctors and nurses are asked to return to work to fight the coronavirus. It comes as the Health Secretary moves to reassure nhs staff that theyll have the protective gear they need. Schools out the gates close this afternoon on schools across most of the uk, but some will stay open for the children of key workers. After gcse and a level exams were cancelled, the government say grades in england will be based on mock exam results and teacher assessment. No end in sight to the panic buying frontline healthworkers make a desperate plea for people to be less selfish. Yourejust stripping the shelves of basic foods. You just need to stop it gps are on the frontline of the Coronavirus Crisis and many of them are finding themselves under unprecedented pressure. They have had to change their working practises and procedures to deal with the outbreak. 0ur reporterjim reed has been to a gp practice in watford to see how they are getting on. Hi. Hi, do you want to come over to the window . I will hand you the mask and if you put the mask on i will come round the side. Ill come and get you. Across the whole country gps have had to change the way they work. Here a patient with possible virus symptoms is passed a mask through the window. If you put that on i will come round the front. Without a testing which they cant do yet in gp surgeries, we cannot know if she has the virus. Each surgery has a different way of working. Here, patients are told to self isolate and go to the nhs website. If they need an appointment its limited to five minutes. The last thing i want to do. Patient coughs. Test your blood pressure. Your heart rate is quite fast as well, actually. Have you felt like your hearts racing . Yeah. Trying not to cough is whats causing. Sure. 0k. I think im going to get you seen by the medical team at the hospital. This may or may not be coronavirus. We cant say for certain. Because youve got underlying asthma, its quite difficult but in your chest, you dont sound that wheezy at the moment but youre quite short of breath so i do want to you seen, just observations, im slightly worried, that theyre not normal so i want the medical team to see you. The patient is sent to hospital. She was later given a blood test and an x ray but no test for the virus. She was sent home to recover. While some other gps have stopped face to face work, this large practice has split itself into three floors. 0n the ground floor, in the so called hot zone, a small team see patients only with coughs, with fever, or a shortage of breath. We are working downstairs here, and treat this almost like an a e department, seeing all the sick patients with fever, cough, flu like illnesses. Weve got a second team of doctors, we are calling them the cold doctors, trying to keep them clean, theyre on a separate floor of the building and theyre seeing all the normal kind of bread and butter gp stuff we see day in day out, which is. Kind of, lumps, bumps, back pain. The staff in this section do expect to get the virus at some point. The idea is to replace them with clean doctors from the cold zone upstairs, or those working from home. The message they want to get across to the public is to stay calm. For most, this virus, if you catch it is mild, and recovery should be straightforward. People need to look outside themselves, think about their sick neighbour next door, go and see if your local neighbour needs looking after thats got dementia, or is on their own. If there is ever a time for the big society, surely its now that we can actually do something together . Defeating this outbreak then will take effort from all sides to deal with whats been called the biggest challenge to the Health Service in its 70 year history. Jim reid, bbc news. Nhs workers are at the frontline of the efforts to tackle the virus, the peak of the outbreak could be weeks or months away, but staff are already under huge strain. This report from Charlotte Rose begins with one exhausted nurse who broke down after being unable to buy food at the end of her shift, and asked people to remember those who are caring for the sick. Im a Critical Care nurse, i have just finished 48 hours of work and wa nted just finished 48 hours of work and wanted to get stuff and for the next 48 hours. There is no fruit, there are no vegetables. I dont know how iam are no vegetables. I dont know how i am supposed to stay healthy. And there are those people who are just stripping the shelves of basic with many nhs workers dealing with an unprecedented workload, the strain is beginning to show. The Health Secretary matt hancock this morning urged people to stop panic buying. Just stop it, please i hope the video itself shows people the consequences of being irresponsible with what you buy. There is a perfectly adequate food supply. It is not a problem and it will not be a problem. That is not the only concern. Many front line staff say they are not getting the protective equipment they need to stay safe. We havent had anything that will protect us from aerosol transmission of the covid19 protect us from aerosol transmission of the covid 19 virus. That would be masks and hoods, which are in short supply. Mr hancock says lorries took new supplies to 150 hospitals last night and deliveries to gps and social care providers would follow this weekend. But there are those showing their appreciation for nhs staff, offering places to stay and delivering food. Shops may shut earlier, people may work longer hours. A lot of shops have got schemes for nhs staff as well as elderly people, which is brilliant, and we are being looked after, but people need to stop panic buying. The Health Secretary today is asking 65,000 doctors and nurses to come out of retirement to help deal with the crisis, saying your nhs needs you. But many already working feel they need help as well. Charlotte rose, bbc news. We havejust had they need help as well. Charlotte rose, bbc news. We have just had the numbers from nhs england for the fatalities in england. They say a further 39 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died. That brings the total number of confirmed or reported deaths in england to 67. 167. That is the total. This virus is of course spreading globally. 40 Million People in california have been ordered to stay at home to help fight the spread of the coronavirus. David willis reports from los angeles. California is americas most populous state. Its also been identified as one of the main centres of the coronavirus here in the us. Now the states governor Gavin Newsome is ordering people here to stay at home. We can make decisions to meet moments. And this is a moment we need to make tough decisions. This is a moment where we need some Straight Talk and we need to tell people the truth. And theres a recognition of our interdependence that requires, of this moment, that we direct a state wide order for people to stay at home. That directive goes into force and effect this evening and we are confident that the people in the state of california will abide by it. The governor calling for 1 billion in federal funding to help cope with that and for the deployment of a Us Navy Hospital ship in the port of los angeles to provide additional hospital beds. California, its thought, has 20,000 fewer beds than it may need in order to cope with the effects of this crisis. The announcement came less than an hour after officials in Los Angeles County ordered the closure of all indoor shopping malls and nonessential retail outlets. Gavin newsom has estimated that more than half of the residents of california could contract the coronavirus over the course of the next eight weeks. David willis, bbc news, los angeles. Still in the United States nasa says it is suspending work at two rocket centres after an engineer was diagnosed with covid 19. The announcement is a major setback to the space agencys goal of returning americans to the moon by 2024. The bases in new orleans and mississippi were testing hardware for the vehicles set to carry the astronauts on the mission. We will bring you special coverage in the next couple of hours of the usual downing street press conference. It is expected see the Prime Minister and the chancellor announcing a set of measures to help further boost the economy under these enormously pressurised times, having come under a lot of pressure from businesses and employers everywhere who say they need cash in their pockets. We will bring you that in just over an hour. Jane their pockets. We will bring you that injust over an hour. Jane hill will be here with the news special on that. Sport now and for a short round up from the bbc sport centre, heres holly. Good afternoon. Another major sporting event has been postponed snookers World Championship wont take place next month now. 0rganisers hope to reschedule the tournament injuly or august. Judd trump had been due to defend his title at the tournament scheduled to take place from 18 april to 4 may. So disappointment for him, but a more worrying time for players who arent so high profile. Earlier i asked World Snooker tour chairman barry hearn if any provisions have been made for the sports lower earners we are looking at behind closed doors in a sterile environment for a limited number of players to keep them occupied and playing and owning. Playing and earning. These are self employed people. They dont get paid when they dont play. I know also that the governing body is looking at the size of their reserves and how they can help in the intermediate period, depending on the situation with the virus. The rugby season is officially over the rfu has confirmed all levels below the premiership has finished. The decision applies to all league, cup and county rugby in england, which means the Championship Campaign will finish with at least seven rounds to play. The rfu said a further update would be issued in april as they aim to ensure fair and balanced outcomes. Meanwhile, wasps have confirmed theyre cutting pay by 25 across the majority of the Rugby Department in response to the financial threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Worcester warriors have also announced similar cuts to all staff pay. However, both clubs say this wont apply to the lowest paid workers. While question marks remain over the olympics this summer, preparations are continuing as normal. British delegates are currently in tokyo finding out more about the facilities. One of the representatives on the trip, organised by the british olympic committee, told us people there are nervous but they will undoubtedly be ready to host the event this summer. The japanese are going to be ready and they are setting up what looks like it will be a fantastic games. They are obviously very nervous of the circumstances that are going on at this stage. My gut says the chances are 50 50. I expected it to bea chances are 50 50. I expected it to be a bit more frenetic, but they are ina calm be a bit more frenetic, but they are in a calm space and they are well progressed with their plans and the village is outstanding and the venues are looking great. They are getting ready. Earlier there was a small, symbolic victory for the ioc and local organisers as the olympic flame arrived in tokyo ahead of the start of the torch relay next week. 0ur correspondent, Rupert Wingfield hayes, is there. Japan seems to be doing quite a good job of controlling the epidemic here and because of that the japanese government is saying we are full steam ahead for the 24th ofjuly. The torch relay will begin as it is supposed to next week and it will go on this 121 day relay around the whole of japan. Still planning for all of this to go ahead but there are many other voices here. Many people i have spoken to experts the former governor of tokyo said to me there is very little chance they think now it can go ahead as scheduled on the 24th ofjuly because even if everything is under control here and even if the epidemic here is under control what about the rest of the world . How can you carry on with the olympics when it is going on elsewhere . There is a huge amount of uncertainty. We are waiting for the ioc and the who and the japanese government to make a decision but they say at the moment it is too early to make that decision and they are going full steam ahead for the opening ceremony. Thats all the sport for now. Good afternoon, welcome to this bbc news special about the coronavirus. We will be bringing you the Prime Ministers briefing when it gets under way a little later that afternoon. Here are the latest headlines. Protecting millions ofjobs during the coronavirus epidemic is expected to be announced shortly. More than 65,000 retired doctors and nurses are asked to return to work as a Health Secretary reassures nhs staff they will have the protective equipment they need. In terms of getting the protective equipment out, the masks, and the other protective equipment, that is a massive operation that is ongoing right now. School is out, the gates close