Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20200402

Shares with us some of the drawings that have kept him busy. This is bbc news, the headlines as the number of people who died from covid 19 in the us has exceeded 5,000, Vice President pence warned americans to expect a coronavirus scenario comparable to italy. Britain has also recorded new figuresjust published in the United States its worst one day figure show that more than 5,000 for coronavirus related deaths 563, people have now died from the coronavirus. A rise of nearly a third. They seem to confirm fears the government is facing increasing expressed by Vice President pressure amid criticism over mike pence that the country is heading towards a scenario shortages of protective equipment comparable to that of italy. For Frontline Health workers and delays in ramping up testing. Italy has extended analysts atjohns hopkins its stringent lockdown measures, University Say there have now but families are now allowed been well over 200,000 to take their children for a walk. Infections across the us. For the third day in a row, italy has registered a relatively in the worst affected city, low figure of new coronavirus cases. New york, more than 1300 people have died from the virus. People in florida and texas are now being told to stay at home. All this after President Trump warned of a rough few weeks ahead. 0ur north america editor jon sopel reports. At this time of year, central park in new york would normally be getting ready for concerts and festivals. Instead, a massive Field Hospital is being built there, to help alleviate an overburdened health system. In this state alone, there have been 2000 deaths. America is shifting onto a war footing, and it brought a dramatic change in tone from the president , now urgent and sombre. I want every american to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead. We are going to go through a very tough two weeks. And then hopefully, as the experts are predicting, as i think a lot of us are predicting, after having studied it so hard, were going to start seeing some real light at the end of the tunnel. But that is going to be a very painful, very, very painful two weeks. And if that didnt frighten the american people, this message today from the Vice President , visiting essential workers, surely would have done. He said that the us was on a path to follow the worst hit country in europe. We think italy may be the most comparable area to the United States at this point. For the first time in this crisis, donald trump and his senior medical advisers seem to be marching in lockstep. But one area where washington seems at odds with the rest of the country is on testing, on vital equipment. Here, the president says that everything is under control. Thats not what youre hearing on the front line. Cheering chant what do we need . Ppe today, exhausted Health Workers across the us have been protesting outside hospitals at the lack of protective equipment, and those working inside say supplies are running low. Were running out of medications, were running out of equipment, and were even running out of oxygen, which is something that patients that have covid i9 need. And were running out of equipment in the hospital, nearly everybody coming to the Emergency Department has this, and we are getting completely overwhelmed. If new york is the foretaste of whats coming to america, this is whats ahead. In the Money Capital of the richest country in the world, a forklift truck outside a hospital lifting corpses into the back of a refrigerated lorry. Jon sopel, bbc news, washington. President trump says the country has a decent amount of ventilators with more on their way into the country. We are shipping things right in. We have, as you know, almost 10,000 ventilators which we need for flexibility. Its a lot, it sounds like a lot but its not, because as you see on the board from yesterday, as this scourge, as this plague, as this virus moves, it moves very fast and we dont know yet whether we are going to need it in louisiana, new york, wherever it may be. So were ready for it. We are totally ready for it. We have already agreed to ship out over 1000 today to different locations, but we have to have the flexibility of moving the ventilators to where the virus is going, and well be able to see that from charts a couple of days in advance, so right now we have a nice pile of ventilators, we have a lot more coming in. I think we have 11 Companies Making ventilators right now. 0ur north america correspondent, peter bowes, has more on the white house briefing. With every new day, every new white house briefing, the president s language, the tone, becomes ever more ominous. He described the next two weeks as potentially being horrific, in terms of the number of cases and the number of deaths in the United States, likely to peak during that time and this echoed, of course, what he was saying 2a hours ago, when he said the next few weeks would be painful. And we have the projection that mike pence, the Vice President , was talking about, that the United States is on the same trajectory as italy, of course, where there have been more deaths than anywhere else in the world. Which is really very difficult for americans to hear, as they are struggling day to day just to deal with the situation that they are faced with. Social isolation is causing a lot of hardship and, at the same time, we are getting some officials here on the west coast, in los angeles, saying that people some people are still not taking social isolation seriously enough. They are very concerned about the spread of this virus by people who are infected but are otherwise healthy in other words, they are not showing any symptoms. And they are still trying to get the message out that, no matter how you feel physically at the moment, you need to stay at home. Supply and shortages of personal protective equipment or ppe has been a cause for concern in many countries as doctor and nurses put themselves at risk treating patients with covid 19. Many have spoken out, but in Washington State, one doctor has been fired after expressing his concerns to a newspaper. The Washington State Nurses Association has criticised the decision at a time when retired Health Care Professionals are being asked to return to the profession to help in the fight. The Nurses Association said in a statement ive been speaking to sally watkins, executive director of the Washington State Nurses Association. I asked her how medical staff are feeling about this firing. Everyone is very traumatised by it actually, just shocked that this is something that could happen, that a physician during this period of time, especially an emergency room physician, could be terminated for speaking out. We are hearing all across the country that there is retaliation and other nurses and healthcare workers are experiencing a similar threat that if they speak out they may be terminated. The mantra in american hospitals is supposed to be, if you see something, say something, that that is the way to ensure Patient Safety is copy absolutely, and we have worked hard as you have in your country around creating a culture of safety, and the essence of that is to have the freedom to speak out when you see something that needs to be addressed, and this is no different than that whole experience around creating the culture of safety. Do you think this will have a Chilling Effect on stopping medical professionals like yourself from speaking out or will people continue putting their head above the parapet we will have both sides of that coin. We will have people who continue to be vocal and being advocate for getting what they need and we will have others who will be quiet because they feel silenced, they may feel unsafe and they may actually leave theirjobs. I think it is more common than we would like to admit. I know we have seen from some organisations, copies of letters that have been sent by their administrative staff to their frontline workers to let them know that they are not to be speaking to the media, they are not to be speaking publicly, not to be posting anything on their social media, et cetera. So i dont know how prevalent it is but we are hearing stories from all over the place. And what are you hearing from your colleagues about the ppe situation in your state . Are they getting what they need . Still hearing a lot of stories where people feel they dont have everything they everything they feel they need. We are getting shipments from the National Stockpile but nevertheless just based on the acuity of patients, the number of patients, this particular disease which we dont still know a whole lot about, people are feeling like they are still having to work unprotected gear, not having the n95s that they should or even the facemask that they need to have. There has been another significant rise in the number of people in the uk dying with coronavirus. The government has described it as an invisible killer and the biggest threat the country has faced in decades. 563 patients have died in hospitals in the uk in the past 2a hours, bringing the National Total to more than 2,300. Most of the cases are in london but the Health Authorities say the threat is everywhere. Heres our political editor, laura kuenssberg. Hilda churchill, who lived through a pandemic a century ago the oldest victim at 108. Dr adil el taya, the first medic to pass away. Doreen hunt, a grandmother, who died on mothering sunday. As coronavirus has taken hold, just some of the faces of its hourly victims, but as the numbers grow, more families lose mothers, daughters, fathers and sons. And one of the latest, the fourth medic to lose his life, dr alfa saadu, who had returned to work to help. This is his son. We said our goodbyes, and we just told him to fight for us. And then, the next 2a hours, 48 hours, his bodyjust deteriorated, from what they told us his body shut down, he had organ failure. He just couldnt fight any more. I massively admire the people in the nhs and the job that theyre doing because its no joke. This is a serious virus and people are risking their lives to save people out there. A message repeated by the government today. All our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives. This is more tragic evidence that this virus does not discriminate. Look at how the numbers have grown. From the first counted on the sixth of march, eight days later the daily toll reaching double figures. 20 days from the start it reached over 100, and now less than a week later more than 500 people recorded to have passed away in 2a hours. The overall count 2352. The peak of the disease seems to be coming earlier than the government expected, but youre missing testing targets, there is a lot of evidence of staff not having the equipment they need and not enough ventilators. Do you now accept that the approach and response from government has been too slow . Increasing Testing Capacity is absolutely the top priority for the government and we are now at 10,000 tests per day, were rolling out Additional Networks at labs and testing sites and in terms of phe, 390 million products have been distributed in the last two weeks and, of course, we will continue to do more. There is evidence, too, that people are taking to the roads again, flouting the stay at home advice. There are frantic efforts under way to make space for those falling ill. The army moving in to help in cumbria tonight. In belfast, in glasgow, in cardiff and around the country, hospitals are being created out of conference centres in just a matter of weeks. But the broad political consensus thats backed the governments approach is starting to fray. What were calling for now is a National Testing strategy, to ramp up Community Testing and contact tracing, like were seeing in other countries. Thats how other countries have been able to beat this virus or get it under control. Were not doing it yet so we need that national plan. A former minister and practising gp says the governmentjust hasnt moved fast enough. Wed anticipated this is a risk, a tier one National Security risk, thats in the public domain. It beggars belief that we didnt act quicker because we knew, wed done an exercise and we knew we had these challenges. No ordinary recovering patient Prince Charles urges us all to stick together. As a nation we are faced by a profoundly challenging situation which we are only too aware threatens the livelihoods, businesses and welfare of millions of our fellow citizens. None of us can say when this will end, but end it will. But a time of anxiety for our health and the countrys wealth is a growing time of political pressure, too. Laura kuenssberg, bbc news. British airways is expected to announce that it will suspend around 36,000 staff. The airline, which grounded much of its fleet when travel restrictions took effect because of the coronavirus pandemic, has been negotiating with trade unions for more than a week. The two sides have reached a broad deal but have not yet signed on some of the details. The agreement means that up to 80 of ba cabin crew, ground staff, engineers and those working at head office will have theirjobs suspended, however its thought that no staff will be made redundant. Stay with us on bbc news, still to come italy extends its lockdown but there are first signs that the outbreak may be stabilising. The accident that happened here was of the sort that can, at worst, produce a meltdown. In this case, the precautions worked, but they didnt work quite well enough to prevent some old fears about the safety features of these stations from resurfacing. The republic of ireland has become the first country in the world to ban smoking in the workplace. From today, anyone lighting up in offices, businesses, pubs and restaurants will face a heavy fine. The president was on his way out of the washington hilton hotel, where he had been addressing a trade union conference. The small crowd outside included his assailant. It has become a symbol of paris. 100 years ago, many parisians wished it had never been built. The eiffel towers birthday is being marked by a re enactment of the first ascent by gustave eiffel. This is bbc world news, the latest headlines the number of people who died from covid 19 in the us has exceeded 5,000. The Trump Administration has issued a stark warning about the spread of the virus, saying it could get as bad as italy. Italys stringent lockdown measures have been extended, although families are now allowed to take their children for a walk outside if needed. The officially recorded death toll in the country climbed by a further 727 on wednesday a huge number but slightly lower than the previous day. It takes the countrys total number of deaths to more than 13,000. Of those, at least 66 are front line medical staff. From rome, mark lowen reports. A glimpse of freedom in italys new normal. Parents are now allowed to take their children out for a brief walk if urgent. After three weeks of lockdown, its a breath of liberty, but no more. Welcomed, albeit with apprehension. Translation were scared to be outside and a bit spaced out, because this lockdown has been our salvation. The measures are working, im happy they are in place, and we want them to go on. Translation this eases the tension. Were not used to staying inside the whole day. We need some Natural Light and children need some space. The infection rate is slowing, and there is perhaps a little bit more movement on the streets. But the fear is that if the restrictions are lifted too soon, people could get a false sense of security, and then the numbers could start jumping again, because italy is still far from defeating this virus. Deaths are still soaring, and among them, doctors. Gynaecologist Roberto Mileti died this week, one of 67 doctors lost to the outbreak here. His friend said the deaths were preventable if medics had proper masks and supplies. Translation were very shocked, he was much loved. And were very angry because were lacking Protection Equipment for doctors. We feel vulnerable. Wars must be organised during peacetime, not battle. Were being sent in empty handed, in italy and around europe. We developed a valve. So young, inventive italians have stepped in to help, using 3d printing to develop a valve that turns a sports shop snorkelling mask into a ventilator. The blueprint has been downloaded for free a million times by hospitals in need across the world. Two days ago, it was my birthday, and i received a message from brazil in which a doctor said to me that 130 people were breathing thanks to my idea, and i was very, very happy. I cannot receive a better present for my birthday. Shouting italians are generally following the rules, but some frustration is starting to show. In the south, anger over a loss of money and closed shops. Its isolated, but patience has its limits. Today, the lockdown was extended to mid april, so the emptiness goes on. Perhaps never again in our lifetime will we see rome like this. The virus is sucking the life out of italy. As the coronavirus continues to spread, concern is growing for the millions of people around the world currently living in refugee camps and migrant detention centres. Aid workers in places such as syria, bangladesh and greece say the often cramped and unsanitary conditions could lead to a humanitarian disaster, should the virus find its way in. For more on what can be done to help stop the spread of the coronavirus within refugee camps, ive been speaking to dr barri phatarfod from the sydney based organisation doctors for refugees. The first thing we need to do is for governments around the world, the host countrys governments, to take a very proactive approach because waiting until we actually see an epidemic going through these camps is going to be way too late. Weve seen how quickly it has progressed in the uk and in other parts of europe we cant let that take hold in the camps, so we need to, first of all, have a look and see what sort of emergency measures we can put in place when the disease runs through the various camps, the various refugee centres that are dotted on the southern border of european countries. Now, we can make use of facilities, like a lot of places have schools closed, so at least we know that we can potentially use those places as isolation facilities. Hand washing and basic sanitation, delivery of soap, Hand Sanitisers to these centres and to these camps are going to be the mainstay. Some things like social distancing is clearly impossible in detention camps and in refugee camps, as are things like testing. Now, testing is really important in countries in europe, north america and australia. Testing, at least at this stage, is of limited practicality. People are moving around a lot. There are 65 million displaced people, the overwhelming majority who wont want to be displaced, so while many of them are going to be there for several years, an awful lot of them are going to be on the move. Many do not have identity papers and all these things are quite inherent to testing. So rather than adopt the same measures that were adopting in the developed world, were going to have to adapt it. So aid workers need to have personal ppe personal protective equipment, things like that need to be ramped up very, very quickly. Remember they cant cancel spring. Those are the words of david hockney, one of the most influential british artists still alive today. Hes been creating art on his ipad for over ten years, and his latest digital paintings show the spring awakening in france where hes in lockdown. Hes shared ten images with the bbc as Will Gompertz reports. Dear will. In 2018, jp, my assistant, and i came to normandy after the window was put up in westminster abbey. We loved it here, and i suggested tojp this would be a great place to draw and paint the arrival of spring. There are apple, pear, cherry and plum blossom, with hawthorn and blackthorn. East yorkshire only had blackthorn and hawthorn. We found this house with a large garden that was cheaper than anything in sussex. We bought it. I began straight away, drawing on a japanese fold out book. I drew all around the house, and then i drew the house itself. These were exhibited in new york in september, 2019. Being a smoker, i do not care for new york, so i never went. We came back here to normandy on march 2, and i began drawing the winter trees on my new ipad. Im here with jonathan and jp, my assistants. Then the virus started. We are locked in here, but i dont mind. Itsjonathan now cut off from his family in harrogate, and jp who feel it more. I went on drawing the winter trees that eventually burst into blossom. This is the stage were at right now. Meanwhile, the virus is going mad, and many people said my drawings were a great respite from what was going on. Why are my ipad drawings seen as a respite from the news . Well, theyre obviously made by their hand, depicting the renewal that is the spring. I intend to carry on with my work, which i now see as very important. Weve lost touch with nature rather foolishly, as we are part of it, not outside it. This will, in time, be over, and then what . What have we learned . Im 83 years old i will die. The cause of death is birth. The only real things in life are food and love in that order just like our little dog, ruby. I really believe this, and the source of art is love. I love life. All my love, david h. That was David Hockneys letter to Will Gompertz. That is the way it is looking the seller. Plenty more on the bbc website. And you can also get in contact with me. You can reach me on twitter im duncangolestani. Hello. 0ur weather is about to do a 180 degree turn in the next few days. For the end of this week, its going to feel chilly and there will be some frosty starts. Come the weekend, it starts to warm up quite dramatically, but it will get quite windy on sunday as well. Heres why at the moment, were on the tail end of one area of low pressure, moving into northerly or north westerly winds for thursday or friday, and then come the weekend, we switch around to southerly or south westerlies as an area of low pressure squeezes in from the west. In the midst of all this, theres high pressure, which is essentially keeping things relatively calm and largely dry. Some weak weather fronts sliding down across the uk on thursday, but coming in behind this weak cold front, you guessed it, colder air. Quite gusty winds across the board, but particularly for shetland up to 70mph at times today. And the temperature profile behind me gives you some indicator ofjust how far south the colder air will have worked its way through thursday afternoon. Through the remainder of thursday into friday, that cold air floods right the way across the uk. The isobars open up a little bit. Lighter winds, especially across the northern half of the uk, will mean a frosty start to friday, particularly across scotland, but also for parts of Northern England and northern ireland. But heres some good sunshine from the get go. Look out for some wintry showers, though, perhaps even down to lower levels at times thats just how cold the air will be, could even get the odd thundery shower as well. To the south, a bit more cloud around. The biggest difference, though, is the way things will feel temperatures just 6 or 7 degrees across northern scotland. Theres that high still hanging around there. 0n we go into saturday. The clear skies overnight friday into saturday could make for a chilly start in southern parts of the uk, but there should be some good sunshine on saturday and with the low starting to approach, albeit quite a way away towards the west, we flip that wind direction round to a southerly. Relatively light on saturday, butjust starting to lift our temperatures back up into double figures across scotland. 00 28 13,776 2147483051 50 51,604 heres the really big change, 2147483051 50 51,604 4294966103 13 29,430 though,