Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20200513

And with some children returning to school in the next few weeks, can the uk learn lessons from denmark about how to socially distance pupils . Hello, and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. Were covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. The uk chancellor, rishi sunak, says the country is facing what he calls a significant recession. It follows new official figures on the performance of the economy since the coronavirus pandemic. According to the office for national statistics, the uk the economy shrank by 2 in the first three months of this year. And remember that only includes the beginning of the lockdown. The bank of england has already forecast an even worse performance once figures that cover the whole lockdown are published later this year. Heres our economics editor, faisal islam. At Denroy Plastics in bangor, northern ireland, theyre happy to help the National Effort on personal protective equipment, but what they really want to be making is aeroplanes. With empty industry order books, they now face further pressure from the threat of a travel quarantine. I think the Aerospace Supply Chain in general are all looking at their strategies, theyre reviewing how thats going to be in the future, theyre trying to estimate what that might mean in terms of the capacity they have to provide. I think it would be naive to suggest that everyone will get through this. Unfortunately, there will be casualties. Its the extreme situation in Industries Like this that have led to this economy wide number. The british economy shrinking by 2 in the first three months of this year. The last time that the economy performed that badly was the financial crash at the end of 2008. In fact, since modern records began, thereve only been four other occasions where weve seen a worse economic decline over three months. And economists forecasts of the Current Quarter will see a hit much, much worse, off the historical scale, and that all but confirmed by the chancellor. As you know, recession is defined technically as two quarters of decline in gdp. Weve seen one here with only a few days of impact from the virus, so it is now, yes, very likely that the uk economy will face a very significant recession this year and we are in the middle of that as we speak. The figures only reflect a week or so of shutdown in late march. The Company Planning how to reopen the uks two biggest Shopping Centres next month has never seen anything like it. Lockdown wasnt complete lockdown because we do have essential Services Within our sectors, so while footfall has diminished, they are still open. Its not a surprise. Weve all been effectively locked in our homes for the best part of two months. So, of course the economys going to take a hit. I think the bigger question will be, how do we recover . When you get across the country empty streets, empty offices, empty skies and empty Shopping Centres, you get a shrinking economy, the start of a recession that is down to the pandemic and the shutdowns. But the economy was already stagnant when the virus hit. And the idea that coming out of this, all the lights that were switched off in the economy to protect our health will suddenly be turned back on, that is looking rather hopeful now. Its not just mountains of unsold stock in shops. Here, a former raf base in oxfordshire now full of expensive unsold cars as sales in the industry fell 97 last month. The opposition says even more must be done. We would say that of course there is going to be change, but it needs to be change that is planned, that isnt destructive like this and that wherever possible is preserving maybe not peoples exactjobs as theyre worked now, but which is keeping particularly that engineering and skill based capacity in the uk economy. We want to reopen all the other parts of our economy as well. For now, the chancellor, too, focused on spending to support the economy out of recession rather than the eye watering sums implied for government borrowing. Deficits of hundreds of billions, half a trillion . Well, i think its completely too early to speculate on those things. That is a result of the coronavirus impacting us and every other economy as well, but also because of the measures that weve put in place. And what is clear is that if we hadnt put those unprecedented measures in place, the outcome would be far worse. So, i think that is the right thing to do to protect jobs and incomes at this time, support businesses to get through this. Even in recovery, some Business Models will struggle. When you can be trained from home, will people want to pay for physical gyms . Richards studio spinning classes have become a subscription online exercise business. Initially, i was extremely upset, of course, devastated. My initial thought was what can i do . I think theres a new normal here now, and the new normal, were sort of adjusting to it as a society and certainly from a business perspective. The challenge now not just to beat the virus, but to turn around an extraordinary recession and leave the nation fighting fit for a different type of economy. Faisal islam, bbc news. Borisjohnson and the leader of the opposition, sir keir starmer, have clashed at Prime Ministers questions, as the government was accused today of mishandling the crisis in care homes. Mr starmer said care homes were told infection was unlikely. Downing street has dismissed the accusation. The Prime Minister also announced a further £600 million for care homes in england. The latest official figures show that in the last 2a hours, 494 people have died in hospitals, care homes, and in the community in the uk. That brings the overall total to 33,186 people whose deaths were linked to coronavirus. Heres our Political Editor laura kuenssberg. Are you all right to help. Were the places that provide homes for the vulnerable and elderly ready for this crisis . Are they coping now . Some managers fear theyre being asked to take too much risk, some hospitals requesting they take in elderly people whove tested positive for the virus. Weve refused them, and i know a lot of other homes have refused them. Its very hard to control, so why on earth would they ask us to take people who are positive with the virus in a care home . The government says there isnt evidence thats happening on a widespread scale. But the Prime Minister facing a simple accusation, the risk to care homes was seen too late. Until the 12th of march, the governments own official advice was, and im quoting from it, it remains very unlikely that people receiving care in a care home will become infected. Does the Prime Minister accept that the government was too slow . It wasnt true the advice said that, and actually we brought the lockdown in care homes ahead of the general lockdown. The advice till mid march did say it was very unlikely, but number ten accused keir starmer of quoting it out of context, but is the true agony of care homes known, with so many lives lost . 10,000 additional and unexplained and care home deaths this april. So, can the Prime Minister give us the governments views on these unexplained deaths . We are seeing an appreciable and substantial reduction notjust in the number of outbreaks, but also in the number of deaths. Solving the problem in care homes is going to be absolutely critical. We must fix it, and we will. Theres a promise of another £600 million to help in england. Why is it that the government cant seem to get a grip on the crisis in care homes . Well, i dont underestimate the challenge being faced by residents and staff of care homes. The package of support that were giving today builds on the work that weve been doing for many weeks now. There is more that we can do, and our whole focus now needs to be on ensuring that care homes are guided through. As each day passes, though, the disease claims more lives. Betty was 95 when she passed away in care in kidderminster. Very, very hard. As i say, shed had dementia for 15 years, shed lived with it. We saw each other every day, and then suddenly for that to be, to disappear, and the guilt for us, really, guilt for me in not being able to see and support her. Her daughter will lay betty to rest tomorrow, just one of so many families changed by this disease, the virus that is altering our country, too. Laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. The European Commission has set out guidelines for Member States to gradually reopen borders and co ordinate lifting restrictions to revive the Tourism Industry brought to a halt by coronavirus. According to the commission, tourism accounts for almost 10 of the eus gdp, with some 267 million europeans, or two thirds of the population, taking at least one private trip per year. But the world tourism 0rganisation is predicting a 60 80 reduction in international arrivals. In its guidelines today, the Commission Recommends limiting the number of passengers on planes, buses, trains and ferries, introducing allocated slots or a booking system for meal times and visits to facilities like pools or gyms, and physical distancing in communal areas as well as outdoor spaces such as beaches, pools, cafes, bars and restaurants. Lets now speak to European Commission spokesperson sonya gospodinova. Thank you for being with us this evening. I know you are very busy but let me find out from you how this is going to work. Happily do you think fema movement is going to return to the area . Good evening. The commission has adopted today a package of guidelines and accommodations to help Member States safely lift the restrictive measures and border controls while also respecting health precautions. And of course for this we need certain preconditions. 0ne of course for this we need certain preconditions. One of those preconditions. One of those preconditions is the spread of the virus containment measures, also the capacity of Health Care Systems and Health Security requirements. Of course the commission has proposed a very coordinated and structured approach based on phases. Now currently we are in phase zero. In phase one, a gradual lifting of travel restrictions and border controls should start and ideally covering the whole European Union depending on the epidemiological situation. But if this cannot be for the whole European Union, then they should be based on region by region or member state by member state or area by area basis. Depending of course on the positive developments of the Health Situation. And then it is extremely important that this principle is applied or these measures of lifting are applied without discrimination of eu citizens or eu residents. Then moving towards the second phase, this should be done in a general lifting manner, meaning that the lifting manner, meaning that the lifting measures should cover all areas in the European Union. But of course depending on the Health Situation. And for this purpose, Member States should work very closely in a coordinated manner. That is the question i was coming to because the big question is who is calling the shots . The evidence so far is that when the risk goes up it is National Governments that close their own borders. The competence for border issues are with Member States with the commission of course is providing assistance and helping hand and especially in this situation where the virus does not know any border, the commission has played and is playing a very Important Role in coordinating. This is why we have come up with the package today especially to provide guidance and recommendations for Member States to ensure that all Member States to ensure that all Member States to ensure that all Member States are working on the basis of the same criteria and the same approach. And it is about giving people the confidence to travel and to go to these countries but the point i am making is that if it is National Governments who might unilaterally decide to close their borders, there will be a fear among travellers that they might get locked behind borders and away from their home countries. Member states of course need to co ordinate and Member States have the competence to decide how they implement exactly depending on the penological situation as i mentioned. But in the European Union, we have a number of coordinated mechanisms where Member States talk to each other. For example we have the political level where ministers of health are meeting every week. Of course not Via Video Conference and discussing exactly this matter. How those measures will be implement it and how the situation of the epidemiology is developing in their countries. Also we have the Health Security committee where experts, Health Experts Member States are sitting and discussing those measures exactly. So we are talking a lot with each other and in order to ensure that travellers but not also travellers but also workers are protected and their health is safe. He said that you welcome neighbouring countries working together. Do you welcome france, the uk and the republic of ireland working together to establish their own core doors where they would not be necessarily quarantine . Core doors. We need to coordinate a course as Member States and determine the basis on which they are going to lift their National Restrictions based on the positive developments of health criteria. But of course the concern may be for some here in the uk that if you have a court or with france and france is opening up to germany and austria and to neighbouring countries in the area, then effectively you have a border with all those countries because you cannot really police it was coming through france to the uk . Member states when they are applying us measures, Member States when they are applying us measures, they cannot discriminate between eu citizens so they should apply those measures in a non discriminatory way. They should apply those measures in a nondiscriminatory way. Thats very interesting. Thank you very much for that. And we can speak to rosana morillo, the director general of tourism for the balearic islands. Of course that is mallorca, i beat the and a big destination for people coming in around the eu. A warm welcome to the programme. Ibiza. People have to book appointments at summing pools and socially distance in bars. Is it feasible to have a normal Summer Season . Nothing is normal Summer Season . Nothing is normal here any more, right . To tell you british tourism is essential for our islands. We received more than 3. 5 million visitors last year and we are looking for it was welcome to back as soon as the Health Situation allows and obviously we have with safety and precautionary measures in place. Im sure they are desperate to come. But of course we were all reading in our british newspapers here that the Spanish Government is saying if you land in spain, you are subject to unenforced 1a day quarantine which would be our fortnight on holiday. On enforced. This will hopefully not apply in our state which we hope will be the case very soon. We will not mix that with the holidays for this is a measure of safety we have to take in these extraordinary times. Tommy threw how it will work in practice people arriving at the airport. If people arrive, what will they see . Looking at the moment as protocols and standards and putting in place Infection Prevention and control measures to be at the destination. Obviously we will have controls and want to have controls and to end because our main priority obviously is the health of our citizens, of our visitors and including the workers. We will ensure we will have sufficient Health Capacity and that we will have capacity in hospitals and intensive care services. If they are needed. And for that we will establish various strict controls during the process from the moment the visitor arrives to the airport until the moment he or she has to leave our wonderful island. So you are not requiring a test before they get on the plane . They will not have to test before they come . Not the moment. At the moment, itell you to test before they come . Not the moment. At the moment, i tell you we have to see what happens in the next few weeks and need to see the progression of the pandemic to see what measures we will put in place. What about the operators because one of your biggest customers announced this week they will have to cut costs by 30 , 8000 jobs potentially going to go with my does it have a knock on effect on the resorts, on the islands . That is a big company andl the islands . That is a big company and i think like other Big Companies the moment they are going through contingency measures so the moment they are going through contingency measures so i believe this is normal and the airlines and cruises are suffering a lot. For all the companies in this business. Sol think it is normal for them to put in place these measures and i think as soon as they can they will try to re cover as soon as they can they will try to recover as much business as possible. And we are a preferred destination for them. So we believe our resource will continue working asa our resource will continue working as a preferred partner like before. We wish you all the best this summer. Thank you so much. Take care. Thank you. Seven weeks after restrictions were imposed to stop the spread of coronavirus, some people in england are being encouraged to return to work today. The government guidelines say they should do so if it is safe. This change highlights the difference between england and the rest of the united kingdom, where the message remains to stay at home. Heres our Business Correspondent emma simpson. We are so excited to be open. Two days ago, this was an empty shell where wed had to give everything away. But this Garden Centre is now back in bloom and back in business. Very different to the start of lockdown. It was probably early march when we ran the numbers one day, and i think the next morning i actually woke up and cried into my breakfast because, you know, we were going to lose staff and plants galore and you just thought it was going off a cliff. But here we are. And here are his customers, lots of them. Theyre excited, too. Were after hanging baskets, compost and some begonias. Yes, well, im here to carry it. Some new rules, and the signs are everywhere, staff with headsets to monitor and control the shoppers. Shelley had been furloughed, but didnt hesitate to come back. Its really good to just be normal, actually. It feels like its normal again even though its not. Its all hands on deck here to salvage whats left of the season, but for other businesses, getting back to work is going to be far slower and more gradual. They make concrete blocks at this factory in telford. Like a lot of manufacturers, theyve already been working with a skeleton staff. Seven more came back today. Theres plenty of this now in the fight against covid 19. Its all about being careful and keeping your distance. You cant see it, so i think youve got to be scared, havent you . Ive personally got slight concerns, but not that im going to get anything through the lads here. And for all employers now, some grey areas ahead. Liabilitys the great thing, now, isnt it . We dont know cos were in uncharted territory. So, how do we know where theyre going to contract it . We dont. Were trying our best to keep them as far apart as possible and to look after them with respect to covid 19, but how they do that themselves when theyre not here, who they come into contact with, we dont know. He supplies to house builders. This estate agent sells them. People in england can now move home. This office is open by appointment only. We are able to conduct viewings face to face. Were going to have to speak to every one of our vendors and every one of our clients and advise them of what the procedure will be and check that theyre satisfied with that. Employers are having to adapt, and theyre keen not to rush it in what will be a slow unwinding of lockdown. Emma simpson, bbc news. Making sure people are safe at work is one challenge but theres also the business of getting there. The government guidelines say people should avoid public transport if possible. But for some english commuters, that simply isnt an option. Our transport correspondent tom burridge reports. Uncomfortable scenes early this morning. In places, keeping your distance wasnt easy. Some people are really conscious about keeping their distance, you know, the two metres, and other people just arent really. Passenger numbers suggest relatively few people have gone back to work. But managing the flow of people in parts of london is already hard. The unions say if overcrowding gets worse, theyll halt services. But there wasnt much of a rush hour in leeds. More people are travelling through large stations this week, but its still way down on last year. The new advice is cover your face on public transport, but not everyone is. Im covering my face now when i get on the train. I do what i think is best. If people dont want to follow the rules, i cant force them. Police havent been enforcing it. A reduced Train Service for essentialjourneys has continued through the pandemic. Managing the return of larger volumes of passengers will be hard. We are going to need everybodys help to make this work. Were going to start scaling up our services, so in some places have longer trains so theres more space for people to maintain that social distance. A normally busy road in birmingham still relatively quiet. Governments usually encourage us to ditch our cars. The message now anything is preferable to public transport. The absolute key here is for anybody who can to make alternative arrangements for travel, so, cycling, walking, if necessary even cars as well. The empty seats here in hull replicated today across the country. But transport companies believe more people will soon be travelling again. Tom burridge, bbc news. So we are all looking forward to football at some point. In germany, it will come quicker. The bundesliga is to start on may the 23rd. Of course frankfurt and berisha mulching limelight will be playing in front of a empty stadium. One of the super fans had the in front of a empty stadium. One of the superfans had the idea of sending a picture of himself to the club. It went viral. And now 6000 fa ns club. It went viral. And now 6000 fans have sent pictures of themselves and so look at this. The stadium is practically full. I dont wa nt stadium is practically full. I dont want any smart comments this on premier league teams have cut out fans. We have an Arsenal Supporter in the gallery here. This is what it will look like at the first game in germany. Well done to the fans of berisha. Hello there. Its quite chilly again today, and it will turn cold overnight tonight. But gradually over the next couple of days, we will see temperatures rising both day and night, and it should be dry again for much of the country, as its been today. Still got a few showers across some northeastern areas, but High Pressure is essentially in charge. That weather front thickening the cloud in northern scotland. Elsewhere, the cloud that was seen bubbling up will melt away this evening, well have clearer skies overnight and the winds will drop a bit as well, allowing temperatures to fall sharply. Northern areas of scotland, though, seeing more cloud, seeing some showery rain moving in. Thatll keep temperatures up here. But elsewhere, with those clearer skies and light winds, were looking at a touch of frost, actually, particularly across rural parts of the country. So, tomorrow will start off cold, but it should be generally bright and sunny. Cloud amounts will increase through the day, and this cloud will move southwards across scotland into northern ireland, bringing with it some showers. Elsewhere, probably staying dry, the best of the sunshine in the afternoon towards the south west of england, parts of wales. Here, temperatures of 16 celsius. And on the whole, temperatures should be a degree or two higher tomorrow compared with today, but still a bit of a breeze blowing in southern england and through the english channel. Thats around the edge of that area of High Pressure that continues to build down across the country overnight into friday. But around it, were drawing down much more cloud, so for many areas, it wont be as cold to start with on friday. A cold start for southern parts of england and wales where the cloud is more tenuous. Here, well see the best of the sunshine, perhaps. On the whole, therell be more cloud around on friday, some showers mainly for the north and west of scotland. Further south, those temperatures continuing to rise in the lighter winds, 17 celsius. Over the weekend, the wind direction starts to change. We pick up some warmer air coming in from the southwest. Theres still a tuck of colder air in the far north of scotland, and where those two air masses collide, you see these weather fronts setting up and bringing the increasing chance of catching some rain as well. Thats mainly for the northern half of the uk. Still even here, temperatures will be higher over the weekend. Therell be more cloud around. The wettest weather, i think, will be for northern parts of scotland, but more areas at risk of some rain, i think, during sunday. Head further south across the uk, higher pressure, the wind still in from the west or southwest, therell be some sunshine around, temperatures continuing to rise up to 20 celsius in the south east. This is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. The chancellor says its very likely the uk is in a significant recession, as a result of the coronavirus lockdown. It is now, yes, very likely that the uk economy will face a significant recession this year, and we are in the middle of that as we speak. Labour questions the Guidance Care homes were given at beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. The eu discusses moves to open up borders and gradually revive its halted tourism sector. Getting back to work in england Garden Centres reopen. As the lockdown eases, well look at the dos and donts. The education secretary defends plans to reopen some Primary Schools in england next month, insisting theyre based on scientific advice. Hello, and welcome back to audiences in the uk and around the world. Were covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. Lets return to our top story the uk chancellor, rishi sunak, says the country is facing what he calls a significant recession. It follows new official figures on the performance of the economy since the coronavirus pandemic. According to the office for national statistics, the uk the economy shrank by 2 in the first three months of this year. And remember that only includes the beginning of the lockdown. The bank of england has already forecast an even worse performance once figures that cover the whole lockdown are published later this year. Lets get more on this now with megan greene, whos a senior fellow at the center for business and government at the Harvard Kennedy school. Shes also a senior fellow at chatham house. Shejoins me from boston. Good to have you with us. Should we think of this as a recession in light of the way it arrived . M think of this as a recession in light of the way it arrived . It is a recession and affects people the same way any other recession would affect people with tonnes of unemployment. Lots of businesses shattering and the difference here is that we chose this policy tool to slow the spread of the virus and so it is sort of intentional recession. That being sick and with the shape of the recovery is really uncertain and soi of the recovery is really uncertain and so i do think we need to think of it as a recession. If not a depression. He will be much bigger than the First Quarter numbers really reflect. If not a depression. At what point does it turn into a depression . An academic debate. Im not sure it really matters but it just reflects how deep and how long this will last and so the terminology is not really important is people are losing theirjobs and businesses that were healthy before and are now closing. And we are not sure how long this will last or how we will actually make our way out of this and of them that the government and the central bank are creating bridge loans for businesses and individuals a month or two in the hopes we can get to the other side of this and activity can return to some two months of normal though i think that will probably take longer than most people are expecting. We do know how long or how big this will be but there is speculation in the uk here as im sure there is in the uk here as im sure there is in the us about how this will paid for. Can it be paid for by higher taxes and spending cuts or is there another way . It probably cannot be entirely paid for by higher taxes that we will see them everywhere i think think this is a completely inappropriate conversation though to be having of how we pay for this war. We should not ask that question at this point in countries where there is no physical space for investors not to pull their money out of it, like the uk in the us. Our Central Banks have said we will keep rates as low as possible for the foreseeable future and the way to pay for this war right now its just deficit financing. Borrow the money. I think later on we can think about how we can raise taxes and come up with spending freezes, wage freezes but it is really premature for that. Right now the answer for paying for this is just deficit financing. I get that and i understand on this particular day we are focusing on the economy and some of these appalling numbers and of course here in the uk and indeed many other European Countries there isa many other European Countries there is a fear that at the end of all of this, having suffered so much, that we go into a sustained period of austerity. And that might be likely. You might get some inflation on the other side of this that could help as well. But i think the conversations about raising taxes and freezing wages undermine certainly even more and of course certainty is not and not policy will get us back to some kind of symbols of normal. The government so you can go out and behave like you use to come if you will feel a lot they can do that without some kind ofa they can do that without some kind of a special threat. So if we are trying to suck up recovery at some point, talking about how much people are going to have to pay in taxes and how they will never see wage rises again and their pensions are frozen, that certainly does not help but i think undermines the recovery. In order to give that certainty and to speed up the reopening, what do you think the political response should be right now . |j you think the political response should be right now . I think the focus needs to be on the Health Policy side and not on the Economic Policy side and not on the Economic Policy side and not on the Economic Policy side until we contend this virus realistically people are not going to feel like they can go out and behave. As normal. So we need to fund the health side so we can come up fund the health side so we can come up with either a treatment or a vaccine in in the meantime i think we should probably be testing eve ryo ne we should probably be testing everyone regularly so people feel like they have been tested and if you test negative, you can go out and go back to work more confidently or if those who test positive are stuck inside for a couple of weeks until that has passed i think that is the only way really we will have confidence. Otherwise if we all shut down and illjust go out gradually, we arejust down and illjust go out gradually, we are just delaying the spread of the virus and that is part of the point. But people, they are going to back out so people can get sick and i think people look at that and say no thanks and i dont really want to get sick and i dont want to be on the first to get this virus, i want to be on the mass last what they people will stop spending and will stay inside even if they are allowed to go out. And i do think there will be some considerable amount of scarring off the back of this much like there was after 2008 09 and i think fundamentally Savings Rates will be higher and spending will be lower and that will make it more difficult to spark up recovery as well. You talk about getting the virus under control because i think one of the biggest concerns in this country in the chancellor spoke about in the last two days is that second spike. They are keen to avoid that at all costs. Is it true the second spike in these countries would be totally disastrous . There isa would be totally disastrous . There is a lot we dont know about this virus with the spanish flu it was on the first round that was the most deadly it was subsequent rounds. So we dont know if another spike would be worse but i do think in terms of confidence, if you let people down and let them back out and they go out and behave normally, yet a lot of back down again that will certainly make them reticent to go back out again. So i think it will just prolong any kind of return to something sinless of normalcy. Whether it is more deadly or not, thatis whether it is more deadly or not, that is a question for epidemiologist and i dont think they quite know that yet. Thankful for your thoughts tonight. Thank you very much indeed forjoining us. England saw a slight easing of lockdown measures today people can go out to exercise as much as they want even if it means driving. Seeing family and friends is also now allowed though its got to be one at a time, outdoors and maintaining a two metre distance. Judith moritz reports. I cant wait to see her. I cant wait tojust be in, you know, the same sort of vicinity as her. Sarah hasnt seen her daughter olivia since lockdown started. Today theyre meeting face to face for the first time in seven weeks. Im on my way. Yay. 0k, how long will you be . Probably just about five minutes. Olivia has had a lot to cope with without her mum. Shes had to postpone her wedding and she has a young baby too. Im not really fussed about anything else to be honest. Just seeing her. This is a big moment . Yeah, really big. At last theyre reunited. But in line with social distancing guidelines, so olivia cant hug her mum and her baby has had to stay at home. The first thing i wanted to do wasjust run over and give her a hug because thats the sort of thing wed normally do and to stop yourself is really hard. I was kind of having to hold my hands back from going, i just want to give you a hug, ijust want to hold your hand, or Something Like that. I would have loved to have brought the baby but its about keeping everyone safe at the end of the day, at home is the best place for her. The new guidance allows people to spend longer outdoors, as long as those meeting up stick to the two metre rule. Though in england the police dont have the power to enforce that. The government says the reason why its ok for two members of different households to meet at a park like this is because its a public place, so easier to maintain social distancing. For that reason, they still dont want people to meet privately in the garden at home. The rules mean there is no longer a limit on the length of time you can spend exercising. Cappuccino its also now ok to meet someone outside without exercising, so shelley and fiona were reunited for a picnic. Its just to get out of the house really. We are best friends and ive not seen her for ages, so we thought wed just get together and have a natter. Itsjust nice to see a friend. You can tell them more than what you can tell them, cant you . That your husbands getting on your nerves. Yeah there are no longer any restrictions on how far people can travel for recreation. And the beach at exmouth in devon was already attracting visitors. Say, hi, grandma our new freedoms only go so far. For now, despite being able to visit her mum, olivia will have to carry on using online video to bring the whole family together. Judith moritz, bbc news, cheshire. Some Primary School children in england could be back in their classrooms in less than three weeks. Many of us have been wondering how little children and social distancing go together well, we can look to denmark. Schools there re opened a month ago, and our europe correspondent Jean Mackenzie has been talking to staff and pupils at one of them. It has been hard to not hug each other. She says you cant hug each other, so you have to hug yourself. Keeping kids apart requires some imagination. Theyre not worried about the virus at all. When they came back, we had lots of activities to try to make them not worry, but they didnt worry, so we had to give up on that. It wasnt needed . Not at all. The schools been cleverly redrawn so each child only comes into contact with a very small number of children. Normally they sit two and two. You have the class of 20 thats been cut down to two groups of ten. Thats why you have the plastic. Because those two groups arent allowed to mix . No, exactly. When they are going outside in the breaks, we have to divide those groups into even smaller groups. So the kids just have four other children that they are allowed to play with and they are only given one part of the playground that theyre are allowed to be in. My names sky, im seven years old. We keep our distance when we play. You cant play catch. What do you play instead . Hula hoop. And there is a lot of this. How many times do you wash your hands a day now . Five to six. Denmark reopened Primary Schools very early on. It was feared the infection rate would rise and, initially, it did, but its back down again and, with so many parents in work here, this was a targeted risk. If we have to get the economy moving again, then we need to get the kids back into not only schools, but also daycare, to try to enhance productivity for those forced still to work at home. It was a challenge to do yourjob while having him home. It is much more easy for me to concentrate. I have a row of hours where i canjust work. A lot of parents wrote to me that they had some kind of concerns, a few parents that are so concerned that they wouldnt let their child come in the first week. After two weeks, they rejoined and its been no problem. Actually, it was the kids at home who said, why cant i go . This, they said, was impossible children social distancing. Now it might not be school as they know it, but they are making it work. A very beautiful danish song, actually. The direct translation is, when the light returns, its back. The light is back. Jean mackenzie, bbc news, denmark. Some people in the uk have been returning to theirjobs today following the governments advice on sunday. The Prime Minister said those who could not work from home should be actively encouraged to go to work. Some of those have been sending the bbc video diaries of how their day has been going. Here i am at the hospital. I cant do everything from home. I run a cancer charity, you see, and cancer hasnt stopped just because of this pandemic. Im getting a lot done and its really nice just to have, even though its not normal, just to feel a little bit of normality again back in the office. It really is quite nice. 0h, phone rings, hello. Good morning, the chestnut appeal. Its my first day back, ive just carried out a live tour. I shortly got another view are coming, which is certainly different. The property is empty, but i will still wipe down all of the handles, weve got a social two metre distancing, and we have to wear our facemasks and our gloves. Its great to be back to work today to see the guys coming to get back doing what we love. The workshops plenty big enough, we can all spread out, theres no issues at all with maintaining social distance. So its good to be back. It is great for all of us window cleaners to be back out working again, as we can work and keep a safe distance from our customers as we are outdoors. We all have separate vans, so that our staff are safe as well. Ive actually got some work next week. Im a bit worried because ijust wonder what reaction ill get from the for instance. My industry standards came through, my recommendations for what a personal trainer can and cant do. Come on, you guys. Three. Really scary, but still straightforward enough, im going to try and give it a go. My namesjo, ive come back to brighton today, i work in a school, and i really missed working outside, getting physical, doing some pt. This is paul hunter campbell, by day, he is a consultant urologist and by night he is a trustee of the charities. Like everyone else, we are having to socially distance, so our offices are all changing, so weve got less people sitting at desks all stop secretaries are working from home. Junior doctors have been moved into a different office, just to create a bit more space, really. Thats my day done in the hospital. Im going to go home now and do a bit more work there. I felt perfectly fine, perfectly safe. It was in a small village of in northwest italy that the first european died from covid 19. Vo with a population ofjust over 3000 has since become a sort of laboratory for scientists studying the virus. Thanks to a strict quarantine, combined with testing, the outbreak there has been completely suppressed. And now, the inhabitants continue to be subject to more experiments, that could provide valuable insights into the nature and behaviour of this coronavirus. Andrea crisanti, an italian born professor of microbiology and virology at Imperial College london, who is leading the studies, spoke to me earlier. So we have a kind of unique snapshots of the situation at the beginning of the epidemic nine days after which allow us to understand the effects of the lockdown on the reproductive rate of the virus, allow us to understand the number of asymptomatic individuals and allow us to ascertain without any doubt that asymptomatic individuals are able to transmit the disease. This has been very valuable and has informed our surveillance has been extremely successful. You have to think of as today is just a handful of cases and probably has the lowest incidence of all of italy, so this was a big accomplishment. Can i talk to you about some of your testing. So you have done you are starting to begin the blood test, lets talk about the swabbing, i read that 71 of the population took part. When you get a large majority of people to impart like that, what can you tell from the swabbing that you can . Asi tell from the swabbing that you can . As i have told you, we were able to assess that 40 of the infected individual where asymptomatic, and we re individual where asymptomatic, and were able to transmit the disease. Just to be clear, does that mean then that there could be disease involved before the first person died in the village. Absolutely, yes. And at the time of the first person dying, already 3 of the population had been affected, and we were then able to model the spread of infection and going backwards, and we assume that the first infected individual arriving in the middle ofjanuary. 0k, first infected individual arriving in the middle ofjanuary. Ok, so let me, sorry to rush you come up because i want to get in lots of questions, the third phase of your trial was the blood test, and you are looking better at antibodies. What are you looking for . What do you hope to find from the Antibody Testing . Yarmulke well, we are not only looking for antibody, we are looking also for genetic variance is. Lets talk about the antibodies. We know exactly who had been infected. We know exactly what kind of infection they had, weve had a variety of people who are different ages that never got sick. Some will develop a minor disease, some will develop a minor disease, some will develop a minor disease, some will develop a very severe disease. So we wa nt to develop a very severe disease. So we want to see what kind of antibody is individuals have, whether these antibodies are able to neutralise the virus in culture, and then we wa nt to the virus in culture, and then we want to be able to see if the antibody response eventually correlates with some genetic traits. Its crucial then to understand, is it, that there are antibodies produced by those who have had the virus, and people who have the virus dont produce any antibody. That is correct. Now, we have tested now in ourlab, more than correct. Now, we have tested now in our lab, more than 150,000 people we have 8000 positive individuals in research to observe the individuals who are asymptomatic, they do not develop an antibody these people do not develop her. So can they catch it again . This is very interesting, we do know why some individuals develop a mild disease or not, and this is why we want to do it, we are doing the genetic testing of the entire population, because we want to see if some genetic variances are associated with the natural resista nce associated with the natural resistance to the virus. So, this is really interesting, so are you saying that some people who have an adverse reaction from who suffer the greatest, they produce antibodies, whereas those who are asymptomatic, who have no symptoms outwardly appearing, they dont have antibodies. Yes, this is correct. This is correct. I can confirm this. Is that unique. Well, its not surprising, because if you dont make tissue damage, so if you dont make tissue damage, so if you do not have symptoms, of course you dont stimulate the symptom and dont develop the antibody. Now, the question is why these people what is the region for these people what is the region for the natural resistance to the disease is not only a fascinating topic, but it may also have a great impact in understanding the biology and epidemiology of the disease. Impact in understanding the biology and epidemiology of the diseasem let me bring that all the way back to the beginning of our discussion, these comments from michael rayman, these comments from michael rayman, the epidemiologist at the who, he sang it could be with us forever, that it may never go away, and is that it may never go away, and is that because of some of your findings that we dont all have the antibodies, even if we have had the virus. Well, that is correct. I think there are mark thinks we dont know about those diseases, and those that we do know. Of course, i do believe that every effort to develop a vaccine is welljustified, but we need to understand that some people never develop an antibody, but nevertheless, they get infected, and develop a very mild disease. We dont know why at the moment. Those asymptomatic people are those that can spread the virus far and wide. Of course, so many questions still to answer, so Much Research still to be done. Yesterday, we had a treat for eurovision fans when our moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg played the piano while three members of bucks fizz sang making yourmind up. Today, we can bring you another legend of the song contest, bjorn ulvaeus. The abba singer and songwriter has been telling Richard Collings about how hes been coping with life under lockdown. Waterloo, i was defeated, you won the war. Its this performance nearly 50 years ago that first put abba on the map. But all that is an age away for bjorn ulvaeus. Singers and performers across the world are mostly in lockdown. Bjorn is not going out much. Hello, bjorn, how are you . Hello, richard, im. Im fine. You know, its constantly being reminded about the tragic things that are happening around the world is, is really sad and difficult. But my family, so far, hasnt been. You know, nobody has been infected. But its very, very difficult not to be able to hug your grandchildren. Abbas success spawned the musical mamma mia. But now, the music has gone silent. The musical has been shut down, the actors are on furlough. And we dont know anything about when we can open again. How easy is that going to be, do you think . The west end theatres are just not made for social distancing. It will take a long, long time before people even dare to go out to sit beside other people. The Eurovision Song Contest is cancelled this year, but bjorn says memories are still fresh. Eurovision is something very special, because what happened there was, you see success overnight. Winning made all the difference. For all the challenges brought about by the covid 19 pandemic, he hopes there could be a positive change in the way we all live. The bigger problem, which is overshadowing everything, climate change, will come up again as the number one problem. I think it was Winston Churchill who said, never waste a crisis. Were entering a new era, and we should take the opportunity to make that era greener. As in many countries, coronavirus means there are restrictions to life in sweden, but hes still trying to be creative. So, if you go out in stockholm, its like a choreographed ballet, people are moving as though they have repellents between them. You know, someone moves, and then the other one moves, and then everyone moves. So theres always a distance between them. Do you think you could write a musical about that . Actually, its a good idea for a musical number, at least, you know someone moves and the rest moves, like a flock of birds or something. Lets just show you shome pictures from italy where the lockdown is easing lightly. You will see that there are surfers out there taking to the waves again in let us believe. Thats on the coast of rome. Not all the beaches are open in italy, but some of them are open in italy, but some of them are back. Some of them taking full advantage. Hello there. Its quite chilly again today, and it will turn cold overnight tonight. But gradually over the next couple of days, well see temperatures rising both day and night, and it should be dry again for much of the country, as its been today. Still got a few showers across some northeastern areas, but High Pressure is essentially in charge. That weather front thickening the cloud in northern scotland. Elsewhere, the cloud that was seen bubbling up will melt away this evening, well have clearer skies overnight and the winds will drop a bit as well, allowing temperatures to fall sharply. Northern areas of scotland, though, seeing more cloud, seeing some showery rain moving in. Thatll keep temperatures up here. But elsewhere, with those clearer skies and light winds, were looking at a touch of frost actually, particularly across rural parts of the country. So, tomorrow will start off cold, but it should be generally bright and sunny. Cloud amounts will increase through the day, and this cloud will move southwards across scotland into northern ireland, bringing with it some showers. Elsewhere, probably staying dry, the best of the sunshine in the afternoon towards the south west of england, parts of wales. Here, temperatures of 16 degrees. And on the whole, temperatures should be a degree or two higher tomorrow compared with today, but still a bit of a breeze blowing in southern england and through the english channel. Thats around the edge of that area of High Pressure that continues to build down across the country overnight into friday. But around it, were drawing down much more cloud, so for many areas, it wont be as cold to start with on friday. A cold start for southern parts of england and wales where the cloud is more tenuous. Here, well see the best of the sunshine, perhaps. On the whole, therell be more cloud around on friday, some showers mainly for the north and west of scotland. Further south, those temperatures continuing to rise, though, in the lighter winds this time, 17 celsius. Over the weekend, the wind direction starts to change. We pick up some warmer air coming in from the southwest. Theres still a tuck of colder air in the far north of scotland, and where these two air masses collide, you see these weather fronts setting up and bringing the increasing chance of catching some rain as well. Thats mainly for the northern half of the uk. Still even here, temperatures will be higher over the weekend. Therell be more cloud around. The wettest weather, i think, will be for northern parts of scotland, but more areas at risk of some rain, i think, during sunday. Head further south across the uk, higher pressure, the wind still in from the west or southwest, therell be some sunshine around, temperatures continuing to rise, up to 20 degrees in the south east. This is outside source on bbc news, for viewers in the uk and around the world. Im kasia madera. Were covering all the latest coronavirus developments here in britain and globally. The eu sets out plans for a phased return of travel across europe, as it tries to kick start a Tourism Industry that has been decimated by the pandemic. Hotels, restaurants, beaches, other tourist sites they need to be run in a way that minimizes the risk of passing on the coronavirus. After seven weeks of lockdown, many people in england have