week's time, ten days maximum, we will see a drop. i think we will see a drop in positive cases. another 838 people die from coronavirus in spain — marking the country's highest daily number of deaths. president trump decides not to impose quarantine on new york and two adjoining states, despite saying yesterday that he was considering the move. and the kitchen rave to the bbc news theme tune that's gone viral. we bring together its creator and the original composer, at a safe distance. hello, and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. we're covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. the death toll worldwide has reached nearly 31,000 and there are now more than 665,000 confirmed cases. the uk's prime minister boris johnson has sent a letter to every household warning that the crisis will get worse before it gets better. more than 1,000 people have now died in the uk. senior uk government minister michael gove has said people should prepare for a "significant period" when social distancing measures are still in place. across europe, the number of people killed by the virus has risen to more than 20,000. italy has seen the most deaths from coronavirus and the country's deputy health minister says he believes italy is currently experiencing the peak of the outbreak. elsewhere, australia is reporting a decline in the rate of infections. in south korea, everyone arriving from overseas will have to undergo two weeks of quarantine. the country has nearly 10,000 confirmed cases. the senior british minister, michael gove, told the bbc there wasn't, "a date in the calendar" for when the measures would be lifted, but the peak of cases would depend on how people behaved. 0ur correspondent angus crawford reports. empty streets, empty parks. what a difference seven days can make. last sunday, social distancing meant little to some. then came the lockdown. an urgent attempt to stop the spread and protect the nhs. despite that, more than 17,000 people have tested positive, including borisjohnson. now chairing cabinet meetings from self—isolation. he is also writing a letter to 13 million homes across the uk, in which he says, "it is important for me "to level with you. "we know things will get worse before they get "better, but we are making "the right preparations and the more we all follow the rules, the fewer "lives will be lost and the sooner life can return to normal." i can't make an accurate prediction, but everyone i think does have to prepare for a significant period when these measures are still in place. and the response so far from the british people has been fantastic, as i say. i wish i could predict when this will end, but it is vitally important that at the moment and for weeks ahead, that people maintain the strict social distancing guidelines that have been laid out. the new nhs nightingale taking shape in east london. a makeshift command centre, created in less than 2a hours. this could soon become the biggest hospital in the uk, with 500 beds initially, but scaling up to 4,000 if necessary, to cope with the wave of cases that may come in the weeks ahead. a message of hope and solidarity, posted online. thousands have watched it already. paying tribute to all those professionals on the front line of the crisis and those volunteers backing them up, like the men and women of stjohn ambulance. all of our people are existing, experienced first aiders, so we normally do event work and some ambulance work. they are having an additional several days' training, specific for this, and then they are going to be very carefully mentored and managed by the nhs nurses in this hospital. warned he may be at the nightingale for at least four weeks, but some medical experts fear the crisis may last three times longer than that. months more of lockdown a real possibility for all of us. angus crawford, bbc news. i want to bring in some breaking news. these are the latest figures on fatalities caused by a coronavirus. this is coming from the uk government. the total number of people in the uk who have died as a result of the virus has now risen to 1228. i'm just trying to read the figure of the screen, forgive me for that. we have got 1228. that figure was up to 5pm yesterday afternoon and the department of health has issued that figure on the half of all the administrations in the uk. public health wales says that ten more people died in wales after testing positive for coronavirus and a total number of deaths there is 48 cents that outbreak began. we are going to be hearing from downing street in next couple of hours. before that, at two 30p in uk time, 110w before that, at two 30p in uk time, now british summer time, we will be hearing from the scottish first minister, nicola sturgeon. that is at 2:30pm. they will be giving us an update on the situation in scotland, but the overall figure includes that figure that i have just given you, that includes the scottish gas as well as wales and northern ireland and england. we will bring you more once we get it, in terms of the breakdown of the figures, but let's move on now. more on that story about boris johnson's letter to the public. let's speak to our political correspondent, helen catt, who is in westminster. the letter itself shouldn't come as any surprise, the contents at least. why the decision to send it? it is not unprecedented for the government to send out advice leaflets in this way. if you think back to 2016, when there was the eu whether here in the uk, every household were sent a booklet then stop this time round, it is going to cost the government about £58 million to send these leaflets a nd about £58 million to send these leaflets and this letter, that what it will do is make sure that that key advice lines on every single household doorstep. they will be advice on things like guidance on hand washing, advice on the symptoms of coronavirus and crucially, advice on those rules when people can and can't leave their homes. there has been confusion in the last weeks since they were announced about exactly how to apply some of those rules. we saw earlier in the week, for example, the government having to clarify that when they say people can leave their homes for some daily exercise, that should be taken locally and people shouldn't be driving to a beauty spot and then going for a walk. so there has been confusion and opposition parties have suggested that the government could be clear on its communication. the labour party today said that they still think the government needs to be clear and have absolute clarity, they say, for workers on who should and should not be going to work. thank you very much. italy's the italian deputy health minister, pierpaolo sileri, says he believes italy is currently experiencing the peak of the coronavirus outbreak. more than 10,000 people have died there — the highest death toll anywhere in the world. he told the bbc that the country might see a drop in the death rate in a week or ten days' time. mr sileri was speaking to the bbc‘s andrew marr. i believe lockdown starts to work, we started lockdown in the middle of march, we started the first lockdown between the 8th and the 9th of march, so obviously we need to wait at least 14, 17, 18 days after that to see the reduction of numbers of infected people. over the last few days, we had an increase of infection and this was due to the increase of swabs, so we are searching more, and obviously we have more results of positive people, mainly with low or without symptoms. could i ask you to explain exactly what has changed, do you think? over the last two or three days, we have started to do more swabs, especially to trace... you are testing more? we are testing more, exactly. 0bviously, when you test more, you find more positive people and this will explain the increased number of positive that we found over the last two days, but i believe that we are living in the peak of this epidemic. i believe in one week's time, maximum ten days, we will see a drop, a significant drop of positive cases. pierpaolo sileri talking to the bbc a little early on sunday. us president donald trump has backed away from imposing a quarantine on new york and two adjoining states, despite saying yesterday that he was considering the move. instead, residents are being "strongly advised" against non—essential travel. freya cole has more. new york city. home to more than 8.5 million people, now a dangerous hotspot for the spread of disease. there are more than 33,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the city alone. across the entire state, more than 700 people have died. president trump told reporters he was considering a two week pointing to stop the spread in new york and two other states, the just hours later he backed away from the idea, saying on the recommendation of the white house on the recommendation of the white house coronavirus on the recommendation of the white house coronavirus task force and upon consultation with the governors of new york, newjersey and connecticut, i have asked the cdc to issue a strong travel advisory. effective immediately, the centers for disease control and prevention urged residents in the three states to stop all nonessential domestic travel for 14 days. it says the advice does not apply to employees of critical infrastructure industries, including tracking, public health, financial services and food supply. the idea of an enforced quarantine had outraged some city leaders, who said it would pa ralyse some city leaders, who said it would paralyse the economy and cause mass confusion. didn't speak to him about any quarantine. i haven't had this conversation. i don't even know what that means. the united states now has the highest number of cases in the world. some medical workers say they no longer feel safe. they are pleading with residents to do the right thing and stay at home. the number of coronavirus fatalities in spain rose by 838 overnight, marking the country's highest daily rise in deaths. 6,500 people have now died from the virus in spain, and there are just under 80,000 confirmed infections. it's one of europe's hardest hit countries, but spanish health officials say the virus there could be near its peak. journalist graham keeley has the latest developments from madrid. the government are going to approve these new restrictions. they will come into force from tomorrow. they will mean that essentially, nonessential workers, who are for insta nce nonessential workers, who are for instance construction workers, postal workers, people working on production lines that don't relate to the academic, for instance, workers... some opticians and even people running the shops that are not related to food. they will not be allowed to go to work for the next two weeks. they will have to stay at home. in terms of a number of fatalities there, stain, like italy, suffering particularly badly. is there any sense in spain as to whether that country is approaching the peak of the virus in terms of how much damage it is doing? well, the government is saying that they are tiered to some extent by the fa ct are tiered to some extent by the fact that the number of cases is beginning to level out. however, when you speak to doctors in hospitals they say, well, that may be what the government is saying, but it seems that actually the problem is that not enough people are being tested because there is a shortage of testing kits, so the real picture may not be quite so optimistic. the headlines on bbc news: 1,228 people have now died from coronavirus in the uk — a rise of 209. the prime minister sends a letter to every household warning the crisis will get worse before it gets better. ten thousand people in italy have died from the virus — the biggest death toll in the world — but ministers hope infections have now reached their peak. another 838 people die from coronavirus in spain — marking the country's highest daily number of deaths. a cruise ship — which was stranded off the panamanian coast when several latin american countries refused to let it dock — is now being allowed to continue its journey through the panama canal. four passengers have died on board the ms zaandam, while more than 130 other people have reported flu—like symptoms. let's speak now to marian and patha basu from manchester, who were stuck on the ms zaandam. they still are at the moment. thank you very much for speaking to us on bbc news this afternoon. can you tell us exactly what happened? well, we have been moved now from the ms zaandam to the we just heard the news from the captain at two minutes past eight, that the panama authorities had given permission for both ships to go through the canal, that he doesn't know when that will happen. so the good news is you are off the ms zaandam now and as you say that has happened in the last few hours. what was the situation like on—board the ship? well, the captain was very good with getting information. to get us in the nation two or three times a day, so that was good. —— he gave us information. we went for brunch on the sunday, and then after brunch on the sunday, and then after brunch we were confined to our rooms. so that lasted six days? that lasted six days. the crew got very used to delivering our food and we... 0bviously, you're not speaking to anybody else, other than if you have got social media and you are speaking to your family and friends, which is absolutely essential. none of the other crew or anything speak, they just put your tray of the other crew or anything speak, theyjust put your tray outside the door and tap the door. so you wait for the knock. and it is a bit scary. so we have also had some trouble because my husband has got diabetes and they seem to love high—carbohydrate and high sugar foods, so we haven't been getting much for diabetics. did he have supplies of insulin and things like that? he has got type two and it is very well controlled with diet, but thatis very well controlled with diet, but that is the kind of diet we had at home, which is low carbohydrate and low sugar, very low sugar. if you can't choose, you can't get it. yes, and of course you have got to keep your blood sugar low. he had to find ways of processing, presumably had to use up and energy. is it up for running on the spot or... what were you doing? he is not very good at running on the spot. i said if they asked me how you are dealing, what shall i say? he said, tell them i am bored out of my brain is! he is a terrible newshound, so you can imagine at the moment that is the thing that has been keeping him going, the bbc world news. he has hardly been distracting you though, just reinforcing your situation? yes, reinforcing our situation, just reinforcing your situation? yes, reinforcing oursituation, but there have been people on who have said, do this, do that and this will help. so yes, it is good to get the information. and you must be very relieved to have now made the transition, because that at least opens at the prospect of getting home, even though you don't know what awaits you want to eventually doc somewhere? well, if we might be heading for fort lauderdale, if they will have us, there are lots of americans on this cruise, it is a holland — america cruise, so obviously... that there are people from malaysia, france, spain. that was one thing that was really good about it in the beginning, that people were all very friendly and chatty and it is very multinational and we are all in it together. well said. it is very good to speak to you and i am delighted that you have had good news. do send our best wishes to your husband and i sure yourfamily will wishes to your husband and i sure your family will be pleased to see you. looking so well and so cheerful, keep your spirits up and hopefully you will be home sooner rather than later. thank you very much. that was a woman from manchester cooking is about her experience and her husband's experience and her husband's experience on the ms zaandam ship. of course lots of people are still on the ship will remain on the ship, but she and her husband have been transferred to rotterdam ship, which has been told it can go for the panama canal. sweden has seen more than 100 deaths from coronavirus. but its cafes and restaurants are still open and children are still going to school. maddy savage reports. it has just become warm enough to sit outside in the swedish capital capital and people are making the most of it. p it feels warm enough to sit outside and it feels important to support the bars and restau ra nts a nd important to support the bars and restaurants and the outside for now. i think it is nice that it is open. i tried to isolate myself, but you know, it is kind of hard when you see here in sweden people are still running around outside. gatherings of more than 50 people are banned here, but there are few strict rules. the focus is still on guidelines like limiting travel and working from home. voluntary responsibility is the key to the swedish strategy. trusting the public to make enough changes to slow down the spread the virus. but the approach is controversial. slow down the spread the virus. but the approach is controversiallj think the approach is controversial.” think we have high trust in the authorities in sweden, so i think people are prone to listen to their recommendations, but at this kind of very critical situation, i'm not sure that it is enough. but i am hoping that it is. swedes love the outdoors and keeping people physically and mentally healthy is one reason officials here are so keen to avoid a lockdown. and there are hopes it will limit the economic impact as well. in general, in the business community they think that the swedish government has implemented more rational, sensible policies than in other countries. how much riskier do think it is for other countries, then, that have closed a lot more businesses and a lot more society? this will cause great harm. they will see mass unemployment and i am dead scared for the societal effects due to that. but even without a lockdown, business is already taking a cut. this barbershop is usually packed. soon, they will have trouble paying the bills. and staff here fear they may yet be forced to stay home, if sweden follows other countries and changes at style. there have been lots of videos circulating on the internet this week, with people performing their own routines to the bbc news theme tune. the bbc‘s sophia smith galer spoke to david lowe, who composed the tune, as well as rachel leary, one of those who's been raving to it. i am massively fangirling right now because here we have rachel, who is responsible for one of the best videos on the internet right now. how funny is that to say? oh, my goodness. and we have david, who is responsible for composing that bbc news theme tune. that's the one. david, are you aware that the internet right now is full of people raving to your theme tune? it's a very pleasant shock, to see people doing that. especially rachel's film. i think it sounded brilliant, i don't know how you put it together but it sounded absolutely fantastic. tiktok is a crazy place at the moment. there's been a video going around for a while now of people doing fake dj sets, but it's to a completely different song. my mum would tell you, i always, whenever the bbc news theme comes on, i'll be sat on the sofa, like throwing my fists up in the air and she found it so funny so i thought i'm going to combine these two together. oh, my god, it's got the beat, you know, it's got the, um... what would you call it in musical terms? it is not, like, the key change, but it's, like, the beat change that really is like... oh, the drop. crescendo, i think that is what you are talking about. 0k. the idea was for the pips on the radio, when you hear the beeps, you instantly know you are listening to the radio, you know, and it is time for the news and i thought maybe, how about doing... i was thinking to myself, we could do the pips with a dance beat because it is all about timing and accuracy and stuff. it gets you hyped up for the news. yeah, you could use the pips, like this... regular beeps. which is a sound in itself, which works and then start adding drums to it, like... percussion starts. bit more drums. and thenjust build up the idea, so the pips through the dance beat and then adding the baseline. i can hear this in ibiza now. so the bassline has got a little bit of a reggaeton feel to it, that... that sort of feel. and then building up with big drums to add a bit of drama and tension. so many people have messaged me from the bbc saying thank you so much for sharing that, it's really boosted my morale today. and some of those people that have messaged me, they are broadcast critical. we rely on them to keep the bbc news on the air. so i just wanted to say thank you. thank you very much. i mean, i can't believe any of this has happened. my dream when i was a kid was wanting to work for the bbc, or do something for the bbc. the ambition was to come up with a theme tune that everybody would want to go out and buy, or like, or love, because, in the end, when you write music, you want everybody to love it and it just goes to prove that if you've got a dream and you follow it, it will actually happen. so it's been great. what a remarkable combination of knowledge and experience there! and if you have some moves that you want to show off, let's see them. we will be interested to see them. i have to say, it does make my heart beat fast, but for a different reason! if you want to have a look on our website right now, you can see more about that cruise ship story. log into our bbc news website. you are watching bbc news. here in the uk, the duke and duchess of cambridge have lent their support to a campaign to help maintain mental health during the coronavirus pandemic. the british government is also giving mental health charities £5 million to expand their support services. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell has the details. the cambridges have both taken a close interest in mental health issues. they have also been playing their part in supporting the health services dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. just over a week ago, before the lockdown began, they visited an nhs centre in south london to thank staff for that tireless efforts. they have now endorsed the latest initiative by public health england to help people to look after their mental health. in a statement william and catherine said... the simple steps recommended by public health england include maintaining contact with friends and family via telephone and video calls, and social media, keeping a regular routine and sleeping pattern, and focusing on a hobby or learning something new. an extra £5 million has been given to leading mental health charities so that they can expand their ability to support people who are struggling with their mental well—being during the coronavirus emergency. nicholas witchell, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. hello this is bbc news with shaun ley. the headlines... 1,228 people have now died from coronavirus in the uk — a rise of 209. the prime minister sends a letter to every household warning the crisis will get worse before it gets better. 10,000 people in italy have died from the virus — the biggest death toll in the world — but ministers hope infections have now reached their peak. another 838 people die from coronavirus in spain, marking the country's highest daily number of deaths. president trump decides not to impose quarantine on new york and two adjoining states, despite saying yesterday that he was considering the move. south korea says it will quarantine all new arrivals from overseas for a fortnight. officials say half of all new confirmed cases in recent days have been diagnosed in people who have come into the country. our correspondent laura bicker was at incheon airport as a flight arrived from london. this setup is all about protecting south korea from a fresh outbreak of coronavirus. all arrivals from europe will be tested at one of the stations. there are eight of them, all standing by. over the last few days, around half of all south korea's new coronavirus cases have come from overseas. many of them from europe. and that is one of the reasons why everyone is being tested. to wait for the results, you are taken on a bus to a residential centre and get your results in about 12 hours. these testing centres are outside, but others within the country,

Related Keywords

New York , United States , Malaysia , Australia , United Kingdom , Madrid , Spain , Whitehouse , District Of Columbia , Togo , Manchester , London , City Of , Italy , Incheon , Inch On Gwangyoksi , South Korea , Sweden , Panama , Panama Canal , Panama General , France , Italian , Britain , Swedes , America , Swedish , Spanish , British , Panamanian , Scotland , Matt Taylor , Graham Keeley , Helen Catt , Freya Cole , Michael Gove , Rachel Leary , Sophia Smith , David Lowe , Angus Crawford , Boris Johnson ,