Transcripts For BBCNEWS Coronavirus 20200406

Now. Just a few days ago, the rma said they were considering postponing and now they have said it is definitely cancelled. And you talk us through what changed . Yes, i think they have said they considered absolutely every option to try to get the open championship to be played. Ultimately, they found a com plete played. Ultimately, they found a complete and utter roadblock. They couldnt see a way forward. I think it is worth bearing in mind that the build of the infrastructure, the temporary stands that would have been erected at royal st georges, that would have started this month. That was the schedule and obviously that would have proving extremely difficult. And then as you multiply through and go into the demands of the rest of the golfing calendar, particularly in a ryder cup year, where there is an awful lot of anxiety to get that played in september. Ultimately they couldnt wine find a way through. I think they would have been all sorts of further implications at play, and if perhaps at the decision had been taken last week that they wouldnt be able to play, stakeholders need to be informed, but that is pure speculation on my part. That is how these things tend to pay out though, there would have been insurance implications as well and frankly it is quite early at this stage on a monday afternoon that the rna had felt comfortable to be able to reveal what they are going to do. It is worth making the point that it will be played at royal st georges, but not this year, next year. Thank you very much. That is all the sport for now, i will have more for you at 6 30pm. Good afternoon, this is bbc news. Well be bringing you todays downing street News Conference in a short while with the latest on the battle against coronavirus, but first our top stories. Cabinet colleagues say the Prime Minister, whos now in hospital for tests after being ill with coronavirus for ten days, is in good spirits and will be back as soon as possible. Its very frustrating for him. Somebody like boris who wants to be hands on running the government from the front, but nonetheless, hes still very much in charge of the government. Nhs england says the death toll from coronavirus has risen by more than 400. The Royal Pharmaceutical society says high street pharmacists are being put at risk due to a lack of personal protective equipment. Senior Police Officers have been giving evidence to mps via videolink about the public response to restrictions, the role of policing through the crisis and concerns over personal protective equipment. I have spoken to colleagues in some force areas and every single one of them has ppe available either in person or in the vehicle. In other parts of the country they are telling me they are having to share ppe. A sharp spike in calls to a National Helpline for victims of Domestic Violence, which experts link to the coronavirus restrictions. Scotlands chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood resigns after making two trips to her second home during the lockdown. Nicola sturgeon says the decison was made by mutual agreement. She made a mistake, she made a serious mistake, and people are right to be angry about it. She was right to apologise. It was clear yesterday she couldnt continue to be the face of the Public Health advice campaign. And the labour leader, sir keir starmer, has appointed a new gender balanced shadow cabinet which he says showcases the breadth, depth and talents of the labour party. Boris johnson says hes in good spirits after spending the night in hospital with coronavirus. The Prime Minister was taken to St Thomas Hospital in london on sunday evening, with persistent symptoms, including a temperature and a cough. Hes having routine tests. Today, the death toll in england has risen by 403. 27 more people have died in wales and two more in scotland. Well a short while ago, borisjohnson wrote on twitter, im in good spirits and keeping in touch with my team, as we Work Together to fight this virus and keep everyone safe. He also thanked the nhs staff taking care of him, saying they were the best of britain. Scotlands first minister, nicola sturgeon, says she came to a firm view that the countrys chief medical officer should resign after they had a long conversation last night. Dr Catherine Calderwood quit after it emerged shed made two trips to her second home during the coronavirus lockdown, ignoring her own advice about avoiding unnecessary travel. The Charity Refuge says theres been a 25 increase in calls to the National Domestic abuse helpline since the coronavirus lockdown was introduced. Theres also been a sharp rise in traffic to its website. The head of the un has urged governments to make the prevention of violence against women a key part of their response to the pandemic. And pharmacists say theyre being put at risk because of a lack of personal protective equipment. Theyve reported a surge in demand as patients with concerns about symptoms visit pharmacies for advice. Our first report this afternoon is from our Political Correspondent, helen catt. This was the Prime Minister ten days ago. Hi, folks, i want to bring you up to speed with something that is happening today which is that ive developed mild symptoms of the coronavirus, that is to say a temperature and a persistent cough. On the advice of the chief medical officer, i have taken a test which has come out positive. His symptoms have not gone away, and after more than a week of self isolating in downing street, with a brief appearance at the door of number 11 on thursday, he is now in a London Hospital undergoing tests, a precautionary step, says downing street. Ina in a tweet he said he went in for routine tests and is in good spirits. He has been working extremely hard leading the government and being constantly updated. Thatll continue. Today he is in hospital having tests, but he will be continue to be kept informed as to what is happening and to be in charge of the government. I hope, and we all do, he has a speedy recovery and he gets back to number 10 and can take charge in the way he would want to. While the pm stays in charge. It was the foreign secretary dominic raab who chaired the governments Coronavirus Response meeting this morning. He will continue to do so while borisjohnson remains in hospital. So keir starmer who became new labour leader on saturday, has wished mrjohnson a speedy recovery. As has the new shadow chancellor although she, too, says work goes on. Obviously, i am concerned that we really need to make sure the british parliament, the whole political system responds correctly to this unprecedented challenge, certainly, from the economic side, i am aware of how much so many businesses are struggling and individuals as well. Downing street has been keen to reassure people borisjohnsons condition has not worsened it just hasnt improved. Despite the reassurances, its clear borisjohnson has found it harder to shake off this virus than some others. And the Prime Minister being admitted to hospital at this time, whatever the circumstances, is likely to prove unsettling. And there is an immediate impact. Tomorrows Cabinet Meeting has been postponed although the daily covid i9 meeting will still take place. Helen catt, bbc news. Our chief Political Correspondent vicki young is at westminster. It is clear that the Prime Minister has found it harder to shake this thing off than other people have, and there is no Cabinet Meeting of such tomorrow. Is there a sense that perhaps the Prime Minister should frankly be putting his feet up, recovering properly and then getting back to work rather than trying to work through this at the same time . I think that is a problem, if you have the position of Prime Minister then its slightly different to other people in the sense that you need to be at work, that might be greater as you lead the country through a National Crisis with lots of decisions needing to be made. On the other hand, everyone who has had the other hand, everyone who has had the virus says it makes you incredibly tired and the one thing you really need is rest. Downing street are saying he will go by the medical advice. We are told he is in hospital at saint thomass across the bridge in westminster, that he had a comfortable night but he is working, he is in touch with collea g u es working, he is in touch with colleagues at number ten and his red box, the briefcase that is given to all cabinet ministers, that is being sent in, so he is working on papers from his bed. Whether that is the right thing to do or not, its up to him and his medical team. But there will be people who think, yes, he needs to be in control of this, he is still there to make decisions, but maybe he needs to make sure he gets some rest. We know dominic raab is the number two, as it were, he will step in. How much influence and how much of a sense of him getting involved are we seeing at the moment . In the sense he chaired the morning 9 15am meeting. Every morning 9 15am meeting. Every morning there is what some people call a war cabinet, a Smaller Group of ministers who every morning go through everything to do with the coronavirus, so he is chairing that particular meeting. I think when it comes to long term decisions, that would still be the Prime Minister. Although downing street have confirmed dominic raab would be the person to step in, its not at that stage yet. Thats the point they are making, the Prime Minister has gone in as making, the Prime Minister has gone inasa making, the Prime Minister has gone in as a precaution, it was not an emergency admittance to hospital, he did not go in an ambulance. He has gonein did not go in an ambulance. He has gone in for what they call routine tests, but they have not said what they are and they have not talked about any treatment to the Prime Minister may or may not have had. Downing street say they will be transparent about all of this and if there is any more news they will give us that. But we are not entirely sure what the tests are that are being done on the Prime Minister or how long he will be in hospital. Although it looks likely he will be there at least another night. Vicki young at westminster, thank you. Health correspondent Anna Collinson is here with us. Do you have an update on the Prime Ministers condition . We are hearing he is still in hospital and receiving care. Thats the latest we have so far. Thats very much it. Latest figures suggest from Public Health england that more than 400 people have died today. We are still waiting for the uk figures from the department of health but we have been receiving the figures for england and wales and scotland. A further 403 hospital patients have now died after contracting coronavirus in england, taking the total in england to 4897. There have been an extra 27 deaths in wales, taking the overall number there to 193. To make further deaths in scotla nd 193. To make further deaths in scotland where the total now stands at 222. We have seen a weekend dip, we have seen that in the last two weekends with these figures, but what we are expecting to see is a clearer picture tomorrow. That has been the trend we have seen in the figures in the last few weeks. Some other interesting elements to these figures, patients who died in england were aged between 35 and 106. 15 of england were aged between 35 and 106. 15 of them had no england were aged between 35 and 106. 15 of them had no Underlying Health conditions. London still remains a hot spot, accounting for more than a quarter of the deaths, followed by the midlands. Over the weekend we heard from michael gove who warned the midlands is actually a real concern, they are accelerating attempts to transform the Nightingale Hospital in birmingham. We are also seeing work done on other Nightingale Hospitals in glasgow, manchester, belfast, harrogate and cardiff, across the uk. We are still seeing a doubling of the daily numbers of people who are dying every two or three days. What is important to stress with these kinds of figures is we shouldnt take one batch to necessarily mean anything. Its about the overall trend we are seeing. So tomorrow we expect to see potentially a higher increase because of the weekend dip but we have to take each step as it comes. Still no flattening of the curve. Anna collinson, health correspondent, thank pharmacists say theyre being put at risk because of a lack of personal protective gear. Theyve reported a surge in demand as patients visit pharmacies for advice. Nhs england says millions of pieces of protective kit has been delivered. Meanwhile theres continued concern that the sunny weather is encouraging people to Linger Longer in parks and out of their homes, than is absolutely necessary for the purpose of exercise. Richard galpin reports. Pharmacists are Key Health Care professionals. And are playing a crucial role in this emergency. Often the first port of call for people with coronavirus symptoms, and demand is increasing. But they say they are needlessly at risk as they dont have the right protective equipment to keep them safe. We are in my pharmacy at the moment in sutton in surrey. The owner of this south london pharmacy describes the makeshift measures theyve had to put in place to reduce the risk of infection. Initially we were just allowing three people in at a time, and we had created these clear areas which wed marked on the floor for patients to stand, so then they could have a social distance between each other. Weve now moved to a one in, one out policy, to keep safe for everybody. What they really need is the proper masks, gloves and aprons. Im very concerned that our staff are not getting access to the ppe promised to them a week ago. And i believe most of our staff now are seeing regular people coming into the pharmacy, they are getting up close and personal. We have some perspex screens in some of our pharmacies. But that recognises the fact that our pharmacies need protection and our staff need protection. Nhs england says any issues with the supply of equipment should be raised via the dedicated hotline. Meanwhile, the spell of warm weather in many parts of the country at the weekend looks set to continue for much of this week. There will be more concerns about people ignoring the governments instructions on social distancing. Already more parks have closed and there are threats of tougher measures. The vast majority of people are adhering to the guidelines. Compliance is very high. But, please, the small minority of people not doing so, dont spoil things for everybody else. The lockdown measures which have emptied our streets and shut down our economy, are due to be reviewed next week. There have been hints some measures could be lifted by the end of may if infections decrease sufficiently. But as for fully getting out of the lockdown, experts say that exit strategy is still a work in progress. The precise strategy has not yet been formulated. It will be in the next week or so. It is the highest priority of i would say the whole scientific and medical community in this country and many countries, and of course of the policy community. Other countries are also planning to ease the lockdown. Today austria has announced that due to a big drop in the rate of infections, some small shops could reopen in a weeks time. Richard galpin, bbc news. The Police Federation of england and wales has warned that frontline officers are not getting the personal protective equipment they need to deal with suspects thought to have coronavirus. Its operational policing lead, simon kempton, told the Commons Home Affairs committee that something had gone wrong in the supply chain, which was often forcing officers to share their kit. He explained how the police need to adapt to protect the public in what he described as a very different world, when the coronavirus pandemic comes to an end. Because at the minute, were in the middle of this pandemic and its scary and its unprecedented, but its going to end. And when it ends, the public are going to emerge and its going to be a different world. Theyll have lost theirjobs, their businesses, and theyre going to need protecting by the police at that point. And we can best protect them not just by having the right equipment, but maintaining that relationship. Im really proud of the relationship we have with the public. The more we need to do is get that balance of protecting the nhs, was protecting that relationship with the public. Thats where this guidance is so key. Well be bringing you todays downing street News Conference in a short while, with the latest on the battle against coronavirus. Todays briefing will be with the foreign secretary dominic raab, the chief medical officer professor chris whitty, and professor dame angela mclean, the deputy chief scientific adviser. Stay with us for that. Scotlands first minister, nicola sturgeon, has told the bbc it was her view that the governments chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, had to resign after breaching the terms of the coronavirus lockdown. Dr calderwood admitted twice making non essential journeys to visit her second home. Heres our correspondent james shaw. Caught on camera, visiting her holiday home in fife. Scotlands chief medical officer the public face on the campaign to slow the spread of the virus. This is a vital update about the coronavirus. To help save lives, stay at home. It could hardly have been more embarrassing for miss calderwood and the first minister, nicola sturgeon. At first, it looked as though the chief medical officer might hang on to herjob, but then came the realisation of the huge damage that could be done to Public Confidence in the official advice to stay at home and save lives. I did think i could continue to call on her expertise because, to be frank, in a situation like this at this particular moment in time, it is farfrom idealfor me as first minister not to have that continuity of advice but, last night, it became clear the bigger risk was the damage it could be doing to the very Important Message the government is putting forward. Even before her resignation, Catherine Calderwood said she was sorry and did not try to excuse her behaviour, even admitting to an earlier visit to fife. Ive already issued a statement this morning apologising unreservedly for travelling away from my home while restrictions were in place. As well as this weekend, its important to be clear that i also was there last weekend with my husband. I did not follow the advice i am giving to others. Im truly sorry for that. Opposition politicians have acknowledged the difficulty of the situation. Politicians and senior Civil Servants need to lead by example. And its only with that example being set very clearly that people will observe the guidelines in place. The streets of scotlands cities remain quiet, but this is a challenging moment for the scottish government. The central question whether itll make a difference to compliance with the lockdown. James shaw, bbc news. Glasgow. Lets talk more about what its like working on the frontline at the moment. We can speak now to emeka okorocha, whos an accident and emergency doctor in east london, who has worked with covid 19 patients. You are in your scrubs and it is a busy day, we appreciate you giving your time. When you see pictures of people crowded in parks and so on when the weather is nice as we had this weekend, what goes through your mind and how does that make you feel . Well, for me, speaking on behalf of myself and my colleagues, we do understand that in nice british weather, everybody wants to be outside, people do want to socialise because that is really how it has been. However, i dont think people grasp the kind of situation we are going to end what people and theirfamilies are we are going to end what people and their families are going through. And if it hasnt affected people directly, sometimes it is hard to understand what it means to adhere to the rules, a lot of people think they can get away with going out and just socialising and that is harmless but, honestly, it can be so harmful and we are seeing it with the number of people coming in the door everyday. So what has the last few been like for you on the front line . Take us through it. So, fortu nately for line . Take us through it. So, fortunately for me, the last few days, i was off, on leave. But now i am back onto it and we are seeing just what the impact was over the weekend which has been. And currently where i had been, and in a number of places across the nation, we are still creating more ward space for people with coronavirus and suspected coronavirus patients, so and suspected coronavirus patients, so number still are coming through the door. And we still have a number of doctors, unfortunately, who do go home to self isolate because they have been getting symptoms of coronavirus, which increases the pressure myself and my colleagues are under. So it is kind of a battle we continuously face every day. Yes, have you got all the kit you need . For now, we do have a lot of kit coming in today considering last week, i think we were in a situation where we found ourselves looking for kit and asking which ward has this and that . Then we had to move a number of patients to different places based on who had the available kit on the world. But now currently, i have been in enhanced ppe to see a number of my patients which was a breath of fresh air, and we know our voices are being heard and stuff is being done. We understand there is more kit and pp to be sent and distributed in distributors and manufacturers are working hard to help us which we do appreciate. That is great, good to hear things are improving, but what has it been liked up to this point where you didnt have all the kit you needed and the ppe to do the job . Talk is through that. To be com pletely job . Talk is through that. To be completely honest, it has been difficult. You have to make decisions where you think, ok, what we do now . Is greatness to people at the top. Because we just felt in some situations, this could be quite u nsafe. Some situations, this could be quite unsafe. As i mentioned before, we have a lot of colleagues here who full into the at risk groups of people the government would suggest self isolate and stay at home, but they are key workers and clinicians who have a job to do, so they have to show up and do theirjob. We just wa nt to to show up and do theirjob. We just want to be in a position where we can come into work and do ourjob safely for the best for us and our patients. So it is clear you guys we re patients. So it is clear you guys were putting, your colleagues, you are all putting yourself in harms way because she didnt have the kit that was needed to mark it is more such a situation that we were avoiding anyone are being put into harms way because of not having enough kit. If we felt there wasnt enough kit. If we felt there wasnt enough kit. If we felt there wasnt enough kit to adequately see this patient because they were undergoing an aerosol generated procedure and we didnt have enhanced ppe, wejust couldnt see that patient which means we have to find where we can get that in the hospital and has anybody got that or does this patient need to go to another unit where they are fully stocked . We are stocking the most intensive units with the patients most in need of being seen first and working our way across a e. How worried are you could take this thing back home to your loved ones . That is actually quite a big worry i have. For quite a while during the beginning of the pandemic, i was staying with my pa rents pandemic, i was staying with my parents who are obviously quite close and i have a partner who works asa close and i have a partner who works as a clinician in medicine. It was a decision i had to make to say, i cant afford to put these people at risk. I was in a fortunate position where i had a place to go to stay by myself, but i understand so many of myself, but i understand so many of my colleagues nationwide do not have that sort of position and so many of them are making decisions where they feel very unsafe about going home and giving this to their kids and loved ones and parents. Fortunately, what i am hearing nationwide and where i have been working, they are installing shower units and we have disposable scrubs and shower units which we feel now reduces some of the anxiety and we feel we can change and shower appropriately and change and shower appropriately and change into a different set of clothes completely. Make sure our hands and bodies are washed and we can go home feeling fresh, which ta kes can go home feeling fresh, which takes the pressure off a bit from that aspect. Yes, psychologically, how much of a toll is this for you and your colleagues . Psychologically, it is quite tasking because it is some of us something some of us have not been used to. I can speak for myself, when i was in medicine school, i never expected things to be like this and that is the situation for so many of my colleagues, so psychologically, it is something we had to deal with as it goes on. At the beginning stages, a lot of people thought this might be something that comes and passes quite quickly. However, as we have seen you was created and as many others were working and having to cover our colleagues who have gone off, we are understanding the gravity of the situation and thinking we are going to have to be mentally tough for ourselves, our families and patients because this doesnt seem to be getting that much better very soon. I suppose no amount of training to prepare you for this . Unfortunately not, i wish there was and i wish i had done that module the reality is there just isnt. You just have to go as you can and you put your faith in yourself and your colleagues and whatever faith you believe yourself and your colleagues and whateverfaith you believe in yourself and your colleagues and whatever faith you believe in and you just show up for work every day and pray for the best. All right, we will leave it there, it is very good of you to talk to us and we know you are doing a great and all your collea g u es are doing a great and all your colleagues as well, thank you very much forjoining us, dr emeka okorocha. I appreciate that, thanks. Weve heard today that borisjohnson says he is in good spirits after spending the night in hospital with coronavirus. He remains in charge of government, although foreign secretary dominic raab chaired todays coronavirus meeting. Lets speak to the former cabinet minister, and former conservative leader, iain duncan smith. What is the latest you are hearing on the Prime Ministers position . Well, very much what you have just announced, which is that as i understand it from other cabinet ministers, he is reasonably relaxed. He has had a restful evening i gather, a restful night. Still fears feels very clear in his mind and able to take decisions. The day to day workings of things like cabinet subcommittees etc, they will fall into the hands of dominic raab, who is the foreign secretary. When it comes to the big policy decisions, the Prime Minister is determined quite rightly at this stage that he is very much consulted and makes the final decision on anything of major importance that changes the direction of travel they are on. Other than that, most ministers know what they have to do and have to get on with it. Interesting you say you believe he should still keep his hands on the wheel as it were, but given that this is clearly, we all know this is a serious condition. It has clearly not got any better for the Prime Minister over more than a week. Is there perhaps, is it not perhaps better for there perhaps, is it not perhaps betterfor him to there perhaps, is it not perhaps better for him to try to relax, to try to sort of step away from the day to day, just to get this thing out of his system, then he can get back all guns blazing and run the country properly . Well, yes, if of course it where the point that he was finding it very difficult to focus and concentrate, but i understand that is not the case. A lot of this discussion needs to recognise that the way that this virus pans out isnt always exactly the same. For example, i have a colleague and a friend who spent nearly ten days, 12 days i think, made up because he felt pretty much the same symptoms the whole way through, temperature and the rest of it. In the end, he discovered he had contracted a secondary infection which often happens after viruses, which often happens after viruses, which is now no longer the virus because the virus has gone, he has beaten that, but he had a secondary infection, a chest infection, which meant he felt almost exactly the same. That may be the case with the Prime Minister and in which case, if it isa Prime Minister and in which case, if it is a bacterial infection, which is what a lot of these infections are, they can treat that with antibiotics. And that may be the case in hospital. In which case, he will probably keep a very clear mind while that is happening and that should take effect pretty quickly. Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope that is the case. But i do understand government will go on, the government knows where it is and each minister, when i was in government you should know what the hell you are supposed to be doing. Any Big Decisions, they are between departments and if they cant settle that at the cabinet level, the Prime Minister gets involved. I think while hes in hospital, he will probably have more rest time because people will recognise they should not be calling him unless they have something which only the Prime Minister can deal with and at that stage, that is when they need to speak to stage, that is when they need to speakto him. Stage, that is when they need to speak to him. Other than that, they should leave him to have the rest he deserves and get on with getting the thing is done they are meant to. You had known him a long time, he is a friend of yours, he is a new Prime Minister and this is a massive crisis, no suggestion he is saying, yes, i want to be in control, he is saying that when he shouldnt be saying that when he shouldnt be saying that . No, i dont think so. I think borisjohnson saying that . No, i dont think so. I think Boris Johnson is saying that . No, i dont think so. I think borisjohnson is the kind of person, he is someone that will admit he has made a mistake. Which is unusual, sometimes refreshing. At the same time, if he felt genuinely he was getting confused and couldnt really think straight, he would say so. And by the way, his ministers would say so to him, too. People like dominic raab and others, they will be quite straight with him and if that were the case, they would say, look, Prime Minister, ijust dont think this is really as clear as it could be. But they dont, and they know, dominic raab is chairing these meetings right now and the day to day stuff, they can deal with, they know where they have got to be and they will keep consulting him and letting him know what they will say at a News Conferences, etc, but he doesnt need to be in every minute of the Decision Making which is perhaps where he has been over the last week. So he can take a bit ofa the last week. So he can take a bit of a break, but still have overall charge where that is necessary, and i think that is the best way to run it. How important is it the government does get across this message that borisjohnson still is in control and taking the Big Decisions . In terms of the morale of the british public. It is important. To make things come out of this. The public now know why the government has been endlessly saying to stay home, support the nhs and save lives. If the Prime Minister can contract this clearly before the shutdown, it shows nobody is immune. The idea you are ok because you are young 0 is immune. The idea you are ok because you are young or whatever. Get rid of that thought. The Prime Minister has had to go into hospital to get further treatment and that means anybody can be in that situation and we dont want them to be because they will clog up the hospitals and therefore force others who really need treatment to be unable to receive it. Therefore we need to make sure we get this and knock it on the head this week and the beginning of next week, when the peak is. The Prime Minister shows them that. The second thing is, the public should not be concerned. There is a cabinet form of government. Everything is by collective responsibility, even the Prime Ministers Decision Making. The involvement of the Prime Minister can be as much or little as necessary but cabinet business goes on. I know that from my time in government. There is no need to panic about this. The Prime Minister will know how much he can take and right now he is clear headed enough to make key decisions but i hope others are taking some of the process work from him to give him a break. We were speaking to an a e doctor in east london and what goes through his mind when he sees lots of people gathering in parks because the weather is nice. When you see that kind of thing, what goes through your mind . It is hard because i understand people who dont have a lot of space, who have children or whatever, they need to feel like they need a break, but honestly, apart from taking that exercise that is necessary, we really have to recognise that this is not for a long period. If we do it now and clamp down out then we will be through this much quicker. But if we dont, this will drag on and on and be a lot worse. So lets ta ke and on and be a lot worse. So lets take this as a short and relatively sharp shock as it were, get it done, get out, get the economy working, which we desperately need, all of those are important, but if we dont cooperate with the instructions, all that will happen is we end up making this then go on and on and on and more people will die. And according to matt hancock there is a real likelihood of tightening restrictions and not allowing people out even for one bit of exercise. That may happen, but we have it in our hands to ensure that doesnt by complying with the rules. Honestly, please. I went round constituencies with the police and Council Workers the other day to check on people and they are all saying to me that most people, the vast majority, are obeying rules. Some are not, possibly because they simply dont get it, and others because they have lost the plot and decided they had to go out. But i say to all of you, we have to do it now, if we do it now then we will be out of it. If we dont, then it will go on for weeks and weeks and just get worse. Iain duncan smith, thank you forjoining us. Pleasure. In spain, deaths from coronavirus have fallen for the fourth day running. The Spanish Health Ministry Says 637 deaths have been recorded in the past 24 hours, the lowest number for nearly two weeks. Spain is now planning to widen its coronavirus testing, to include people without symptoms. Its seen as a first step to easing a lockdown in the country, which has had the second highest number of deaths after italy. For the latest on the situation, heres guy hedgecoe, in madrid. 637 deaths over the last 24 hours. Obviously, still a high number, but so much better than what we were seeing just a few days ago. In the middle of last week, there were 950 people at one point dying over the course of 24 hours. So, the fact that that figure has come down and it seems to be on a downward trend, is very encouraging. And as we saw there, the government believes that thats a direct result of the measures its been taking. Also, the government has been saying for some days that if you look closely at the number of new infections, those have been increasing at a much slower rate for quite some time now. So, it seems that in terms of the death rate and new infections, the figures are going in the right direction. The lockdown is due to expire next weekend, so in a weeks time, more or less. That would be four weeks of lockdown. But the government of Pedro Sanchez does want to extend it a further two weeks, at the very least, because it believes that it needs at least another two weeks in order to ensure that the virus is brought under control. Pedro sanchez will take that proposal to Parliament Later this week. We believe he will get that approval from parliament. Although there is a possibility that after the easter holiday, some of the toughest restrictions might start to be lifted, because there are concerns about their impact on the economy. Austria has announced it will ease some of its lockdown measures from next week. The chancellor, sebastian kurz, says small shops will re open on april 14th, if austrians keep to the restrictions over easter week. According to offical figures the country has now managed to flatten the curve in its fight against coronavirus. Donald trump says he hopes Boris Johnson will make a swift return to health, while predicting the us is nearing the peak of the coronavirus outbreak. But while he says he can see light at the end of the tunnel, his Health Officials are much more cautious. Our north america correspondent, peter bowes, reports. New york city, still the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in america. As the death toll rises and officials warn they are running out of equipment, the country braces for a major escalation of the pandemic. More than 3,000 military medical personnel have been deployed to hospitals around the country to ease the burden on doctors and nurses, stretched to the limit. Americans have been warned to expect some of the nations darkest days. The next week is going to be our pearl harbor moment, our 9 11 moment. It is going to be the hardest moment for Many Americans in their entire lives. We really need to understand if we want to flatten that curve and get to the other side, Everyone Needs to do their part. Latest figures suggest the rate of new infections in new york is slowing down, although Officials Say it is too early to say whether the fall in cases is significant. At the Daily White House briefing, President Trump said he was encouraged by the better news. Things are happening. We are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel and hopefully in the not too distant future, we will be very proud of the job we all did. You can never be happy when so many people are dying, but we will be proud of the job we did to keep the death down to an absolute minimum, the least it could have happened, with this terrible, terrible virus. Mr trump praised officials in california, where the virus is spreading more slowly than the countrys other hotspots. The state was one of the first to introduce social distancing and stay at home orders. One of the president s senior advisors said data from italy and spain, where fewer people are dying, could be a sign of how the outbreak is going to progress in the us. We are very hopeful over the next week, although well see a rising number of cases of people who lose their lives to this illness, we also hope to see a stablisation of cases across the large metro areas where the outbreak began several weeks ago. Despite the glimmers of hope, americans remain hunkered down as the nation holds its breath for what is to come. The coronavirus pandemic is a huge blow to economies across the world, and new Research Says low earners and younger employees in the uk are likely to be hardest hit. The economic think tank the institute for fiscal studies says those on low incomes are seven times more likely to work in sectors which have effectively shut down, compared to those on higher incomes. Joining me now from the ifs is its director, pauljohnson. Thank you for being with us. What kind ofjobs are we talking about . We are talking aboutjobs in childcare, hospitality, restaurants, some aspects of the transport network. Things that are often done in hospitality, social care, childcare, that sort of thing, often done by women and younger people and lower earners. And these are sectors that have been covered to a degree by potential bail outs from the government or not . Yes, the government or not . Yes, the government bailouts have been very widespread, both in terms of things like Business Rates and holidays and the furlough scheme, so we are not seeing all these people will lose their jobs, seeing all these people will lose theirjobs, although seeing all these people will lose their jobs, although clearly large numbers are as we saw almost a million claims for universal credit within a fortnight recently. But they are likely to be affected one way or the other. That might be some time out of work. They might lose theirjobs time out of work. They might lose their jobs because the time out of work. They might lose theirjobs because the Company Goes Bust or does not put them on furlough. But whatever the impact, it is clearly these younger, particularly younger, lower paid, and also female workers who are more affected than those who are older and better paid. Is it potentially the case then that at some point when we get out of this crisis, they could still be in the kind of difficulty is that they have already beenin difficulty is that they have already been in for the last few weeks . |j think been in for the last few weeks . think thats the real risk. You would hope that you have a crisis with the disease, the disease goes away and everything returns to normal, but everything wont return to normal from an normal, but everything wont return to normalfrom an economic normal, but everything wont return to normal from an economic point of view. When you have large numbers of people becoming unemployed, as is clearly happening at the moment. When you have large numbers of businesses closing down, which is also happening, it can often take a long time to get back to where we we re long time to get back to where we were before as new businesses have to form, people have to find new jobs, which might not be there in the short run. I think the worry here is that its the same group who have done very badly in the last decade, in particular younger people, those young people coming out of school and university, who have struggled to get on the job market in the first instance, and who are going to be affected by this. And its not necessarily for many of them going to suddenly become ok in july many of them going to suddenly become ok injuly or september or whenever things go back to normal. It could be quite a long term effect on their welfare and living standards. How many people are we talking about roughly who would be in this category . We are talking about many millions in this category of being affected in these industries. They are a large fraction of the population. Hopefully most of them will go back to work as normal come the end of lockdown, but even if a relatively small fraction of them, and it might be more than a small fraction, are affected for the long run, we are talking about a large number of people. You have a million universal credit claimants in a fortnight, ten times the normal numbers, weigh in excess of anything we saw during the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. So these are big and sharp impacts very quickly. Just because they happen quickly doesnt mean they will resolve themselves quickly. And potentially their situation can be a drag on the economy for some while. The economy will be. There will be a drag on the economy for some while asa a drag on the economy for some while as a result of what is happening at the moment. We often take a long time to recover from sharp downturns. Our best hope is because the government has put in so much in the government has put in so much in the way of support over the last couple of weeks, that most businesses will be able to return to normal operation and mostjobs will be able to return in the way that they wouldnt have done if the government had not put those measures in place so i think we are looking at a much better recovery than we would have done if the government had done nothing, but we are still looking at a drag on the economy and in particular a drag on earnings and employment and jobs for certainly some significant period after most of us go back to work. there anything more the government can do for this sector of the population . As you say, they have done a lot and one hopes that will kick in. But are there any omissions or gaps you sing that could be filled . There is a limited amount the government can do in the short run, having essentially allowed firms furlough, basically take close to full salary of workers even if they are doing nothing, to encourage firms to keep them on and to get rid of most of the short term costs the government imposes on business through Business Rates and vat payments and so on. It has done an awful lot. I am struggling, if im honest, to think of other things it can do in the short run. What it will have to get right, when we do get back to people returning to work, how will it support some of those who have lost theirjobs . Will it provide training, provide Public Sector jobs of it provide training, provide Public Sectorjobs of one or another . Will they make a return to education for young people easier thanit education for young people easier than it might otherwise have been . I think theres a lot of work to do to work out what might be effective for those who have been badly impacted by the current situation. Paul johnson from the institute for fiscal studies, thank you for joining us. A National Helpline for victims of Domestic Violence says its seen a 25 increase in calls and online requests for help since the uk lockdown. The Charity Refuge says its had hundreds more calls in the last week, to the end of march. Campaigners have warned the coronavirus restrictions could heighten domestic tensions, and cut off escape routes for victims. Tomos morgan has that story. Oh, its been bad. I didnt care if i didnt wake up from like the night before. You know, ijust knew, ijust knew what was going to happen the next day, the next day. Ijust wanted the days to go past. Yeah, its just got worse. Tara told me she has been mentally and physically abused by her partner for six months. He deleted her social media accounts, stopped her from seeing family and controlled all aspects of her life. Since having to isolate with him, things escalated. You must stay at home. Recently its obviously been getting worse, since the lockdown as well. Mentally abusive, verbally. Hes been, like, hitting me. Just causes an argument over nothing. And obviously if i fire back, Say Something wrong, helljust hit me. New figures seen by the bbc give a picture of the potential consequence of lockdown for victims. The National Domestic abuse helpline has seen a 25 increase in calls and online requests over the past week. Refuge, the countrys largest Domestic Abuse charity, who run the line, say there has also been a daily rise of 150 in people visiting the website. Tara has now fled her abuser and is being supported by the Llamau Charity in wales. But charities and campaigners have expressed concern that those in violent relationships could be at serious risk as the lockdown continues. The homicide rate is going to go through the roof. You cant stop the perpetrator unless hes visible. Rachel williams suffered violence from her husband for 18 years. When she decided to leave, he shot her with a sawn off shotgun. Shes now one of the countrys main campaigners battling on behalf of those still suffering. Well never do enough until we actually eradicate Domestic Abuse and violence, end of. You know, weve got an epidemic at the moment in the uk, with a pandemic on top. The police are there for you and you must feel that you can contact us in an emergency, but also, that you can seek advice from us. So please, if youre in danger, if your family are in danger, contact us on 999. We will prioritise your call and we will support you and we will deal with this. Speaking to me online from the safety of the refuge, tara told me although things got worse for her during isolation, it made her realise and pushed her to escape the relationship forever. Id been thinking for a long time. Really, it has been escalating to an everyday thing, you know, with him getting more abusive. Tomos morgan, bbc news. If you are affected by any of the issues weve been hearing about, you can call the freephone 24 hour number, 0808 2000 247. Thats for the National Domestic abuse helpline. Or go online to www. National dahelpline. Org. Uk. Back now to the news that borisjohnson has sent a message from his hospital bed to insist hes in good spirits and keeping in touch with his team. Downing street says mrjohnson is undergoing tests because hes still experiencing the symptoms of coronavirus, ten days after he tested positive. Lets talk to somebody who knows borisjohnson well. Guto harri worked as director of external affairs for mrjohnson when he was mayor of london. Thank you forjoining us. Do you have any sort of update on how well the Prime Minister is doing . Well, he says himself he is in good spirits, he is pretty irrepressible asa spirits, he is pretty irrepressible as a character, but somebody close to him said, this is a bit of a nightmare. A week ago, he seemed very confident he could shake this off pretty swiftly so it has obviously hit him quite hard, but i am also told by people he works with very closely that his hand is still very closely that his hand is still very firmly on the tiller even if he is not capable of getting up and doing all the detailed work you would probably be involved in. A lot of the advice is that if you are feeling the symptoms, self isolate and rest. It is quite clear he is not entirely resting and as a result, potentially, this thing might not be getting particularly worse inside him, but it is not getting any better, is that the right advice do you think that he should still be working as hard as potentially he may be . It is a tough one, isnt it . Everything stops with him as Prime Minister and it is very ha rd to him as Prime Minister and it is very hard to switch off and to sleep at night. When he was mayor of london a decade ago, he used to wake up at night worrying about knife crime, so ican night worrying about knife crime, so i can only imagine the stress of the level of decisions and the nature of the decisions, life and death decisions with huge economic consequences that he has to weigh up every day at the moment. Not exactly conducive switching off and focusing on your own health and well being. Guto, you have known him a long time and worked with him over a number of yea rs, and worked with him over a number of years, is he the kind of character who is going to say yes, i am in control and on top of that, when he isnt . It is a good question. To be honest, he is irrepressible. He finds it very hard to let go. He ca res finds it very hard to let go. He cares passionately about the job, even when he sometimes in the past has thought if he takes himself seriously, he has always taken a job seriously. Hes painfully aware of her series of abysses, so he will find it extremely difficult let go. A little bit of resting and eating better perhaps and trying to get some sort of exercise, yes, but let him go letting go completely not in his nature. Iain duncan smith said perhaps now he is in hospital, some ministers beneath him might be less inclined to pick up the phone and get his opinion on this, that or the other, might that be a good idea . Well, they might try and leave him with a bit of peace, but i think he still has his phone. He is very prone to using that as much as he wa nts. Prone to using that as much as he wants. And people also know he catches up. He is a journalist by training, he is a complete news junkie. There is very little that will happen that we that he will not be aware of at some point. Most ministers will feel he is pretty omnipresent even from his hospital bed. Guto, it is good to have you, thank you forjoining us, guto harry. Breaking news, the latest two figures for the uk. And as of 5pm on the fifth of april, of those hospitalised in the United Kingdom he tested positive for the coronavirus, 5373 people died. And thatis coronavirus, 5373 people died. And that is up from 4938 the previous day. So the latest figures from the department of health and social care. As of 5pm on the fifth of april, of those hospitalised in the uk who were tested positive for the coronavirus, 5373 people have died. But of course does not take into account people who may have passed away in the community. Now on bbc news, its time for your questions answered. Today, weve been receiving many questions about the possibility of transmission of the coronavirus to our pets, following the news that a tiger at a zoo in the United States has tested positive. And also many questions about social distancing and staying safe. With me is our health correspondent, lauren moss. And also joining us today is virologist dr chris smith, from the naked scientist podcast. Thank you, both. Starting with chris first, this is from emma in lincoln, previous advice has been that dogs cant catch the coronavirus from us, but given a tiger has now caught the virus, is it possible . Well, the advice was not that dogs couldnt catch the coronavirus, in fact, there was a case report from hong kong, someones pomeranian caught the virus and tested positive for it over a number of days so scientists we re over a number of days so scientists were comfortable it was catching and it was infected with the agent. It is thought it caught it from its owner. We are pretty comfortable that animals might catch this, but what we dont know if this is a two way street and if it goes into the dog, can the dog or the cattle or whatever else give it back to its owner or another owner or Family Member . We dont know how infectious these animals are yet, we just know they could potentially become infected. It is an important question because when it comes to infection control, we may keep our social distance, but we know that cats go roaming from one house to another and dogs sniff everything they possibly can, so they could be factors for this, some important questions we have to answer soon. This could be another world of pain. This could be another world of pain. This is from Ronnie Kennedy and he alludes to what you just said, he is in glasgow, if a tiger in new york has contracted the disease, are we at risk from infection from our own cats and dogs . Potentially, yes, and thatis cats and dogs . Potentially, yes, and that is where the issue lies. People are doing these tests and they can prove these animals potentially getting infected, but we dont know if they are sufficiently infectious to secrete the virus back into the environment and back into the air or in lakes and kisses they give to their owners and potentially transmit it back in the other direction . Those are important questions people ask, especially now we know it is notjust this dog in hong kong, there was a cat in belgium where the cat was infected from its owner and now we have evidence of a transmission train in this tiger called nadia and there are other at the bronx zoo which show symptoms. We dont know if those symptoms are because of the coronavirus, we just know the coronavirus, we just know the coronavirus has been detected in at least one of those cats and if that is transmissible, it will be a very important question to ask. Indeed, lauren in the studio, this is from david in chillingham, is there a possibility of our cattle being infected . At the minute, wejust dont know. Further to chris was saying and i about a study showing that felines might be more susceptible to catching a coronavirus, but that same study showed dogs, chickens and pigs and ducks were unlikely to catch it. As farasi ducks were unlikely to catch it. As faras i am ducks were unlikely to catch it. As far as i am aware, this has not been tested on cattle and there are no cases we know of. Lycra said importantly, sane say there is no actual evidence yet to prove animals can pass it back to humans like chris said. Still uncertain at this stage. We dont know of any cases of animals who have died of the coronavirus, but the advice is the same, keep washing your hands if you are with your pets or not with your pets, keep washing your hands and social distance even from our animals if we need to. 0k, chris, this is from lyon in barnet. He says, how best to wash groceries and should i quarantine outside items, shoes, coats and so on is . And so on . The outside items, the amount of virus resident on those is going to be really low and there is no merit whatsoever in worrying about those too much. In terms of things you bring into your house like parcels and post and groceries and tins and cans, packets of cereal, the only source of virus on those will be virus that has come from an infected person, that they could have coughed onto the surface or they could have had it on their hands and touched on the surface and left virus behind. Virus can persist in an infectious form on some surfaces for up to three days, it depends on the surface. Paper and cardboard, three days, it depends on the surface. Paperand cardboard, much shorter, plastic and steel, much longer, maybe 72 hours. So to be safe and to be sure, yes, you could swa p safe and to be sure, yes, you could swap them down with something that has alcohol in them like an alcohol wipe which has more than 60 or 70 alcohol, orjust detergent breaks apart these particles and that means you have confidence it will be fine. You could also take some of the things in packets out of their packets and through the packaging away, wash your hands and the contents, you store that safely and you know when you go back to those contents, they havent got any virus on them and you have no further infection risk. Good advice, lauren in the studio, this is from jennifer in stoke on trent. Can i help my daughter who lives 100 miles away with her husband and young son . Shes due to give birth at home in the next two weeks. This is a really difficult situation and i had a chat with a difficult situation and i had a chat witha gp difficult situation and i had a chat with a gp again about this this morning and the answer is, no, you really shouldnt come in the advice is to stay home unless it is for essential travel and buying food or medicine or going to work if you cant work from home and one form of exercise a day. It is not a good idea to mix households and the more you do that, the more increase in possibly spreading the virus, the advice is to stay in your own home and do not mix hazards together even if the circumstances steam seen extenuating. The advice from the gp today was, please dont. Another one, lauren, from matthew in maidstone. Usual dog walk from home is too busy now, can i drive for ten minutes to take a walk where it is much quieter . Advice says avoid crowds. This is a really good question and lots of people will wonder this especially from some of the pictures we saw this weekend in parts of the country. Really, we just need to be sensible. The home office told Police Bosses last week not to criminalise those who were behaving sensibly and people should not be hounded if they drive what is called reasonable distance to go for a walk, and that was the same advice issued by the National Police chiefs council. Ten minutes sounds like a reasonable difference council. Ten minutes sounds like a reasonable difference distance rather than an hour to the coast or a big outdoor space, especially if you are doing that to avoid others. But it should only be done once a day and only if you really need to. 0k, day and only if you really need to. Ok, those are the rules. Chris, this is from jean baxter in knaresborough. I am 75, my husband is 79, can we go in our car three miles to take a walk . We live in an area where there are steep hills to walk locally. Thinking about the previous answer, you should not be hounded for going for a dog walk, should you . Hounded for going for a dog walk, should you . Talking hounded for going for a dog walk, should you . Talking sensibly, if you need to surmount a hill and the hill is not something you can manage easily because of your age or infirmity, but exercise is critical and it is, then i think it is perfectly reasonable to take a short drive to somewhere that is safer and easierfor you to walk. Drive to somewhere that is safer and easier for you to walk. So drive to somewhere that is safer and easierfor you to walk. So i think no one would criticise that, you are not putting yourself at increased risk by doing that, you are doing something perfectly sensible and thatis something perfectly sensible and that is perfectly reasonable. And sorry about the bad joke peter says he is 49 with asthma and high blood pressure. It is hard for him to socially distance in his job alongside eight other people so should he be going to work . No, he shouldnt really. He should be speaking to his manager to at working from home options. If you are in the most Vulnerable Group he should have been contacted by his gp or nhs in the last couple of weeks to stay home for three months. If he hasnt, it doesnt suggest he is in the most at risk, but these are still Health Conditions that need to be taken into account. Having a pre existing Health Condition doesnt mean you are necessarily more likely to get coronavirus but it means it could have more ill effects on you, so peter does need to speak to his manager to see if there is any possibility of him working from home and the government has announced measures to support companies where employees work from home, so thats a conversation he should be having. This is from jenny cook. My nearly 80 year old mother in law is cared for by my sister in law during the week but at the weekend the rest of the family do their part to give her a break. My do their part to give her a break. My husband and i see her on saturday afternoon but since the lockdown we have not been to see her. Its causing arguments. Are we doing the right thing by keeping our distance . This is very similar to the point lauren wisely made regarding the person having a baby. They seem like exceptional circumstances or perfectly reasonable behaviour but the current guidance is we are trying to break the chain of transmission of the virus and we do that by not mixing up households. This would constitute a mixing up of households, if somebody who is a regular carer who goes into help that person, if you introduce a second group of contacts later in the week, its an opportunity for a virus to spread to that Vulnerable Person so most would say its better to minimise the contact and number of co nta cts to minimise the contact and number of contacts with that Vulnerable Person to the greatest extent you can while the lockdown is in place. Diane asks, can you please point out to people that over 75 is with no underlying medical conditions are allowed to go out for a daily walk while observing the distancing rule. Yes, unless you have been contacted by yourgp orthe yes, unless you have been contacted by your gp or the nhs to shield for the next three months, then you can go out for essential activities, to go out for essential activities, to go out for exercise once a day. Going for a walk or a run or a jog or on going for a walk or a run or a jog orona going for a walk or a run or a jog or ona bike, going for a walk or a run or a jog or on a bike, that is safe. As long as you follow the two metre social distance rules and it is not crowded where you go, then you should be able to do that even over the age of 70. There is no name from this viewer. I am a 60 year old carer in a Residential Home for frail and elderly. I have asthma so have decided to stay at home. My employer wa nts decided to stay at home. My employer wants me to present a fit to work certificate. What do i do . It depends. Asthma is a broad definition. Some people have very mild asthma and some have it very severe. If you are at the severe end of the scale, and by severe that means you have probably been admitted to hospital with an asthma attack in the past, and you may need large amounts of medication to control the disease and you easily develop symptoms and you have a bad time in winter. If thats you and have severe asthma then perhaps you are ata have severe asthma then perhaps you are at a greater risk and should retreat into your house and not place yourself at risk of catching the infection. If your asthma is really mild then the risk to your health if you catch coronavirus if your health is otherwise very good is very low so it is on a case by case basis and the best person to make thatjudgment is your gp. A final question, why are some diseases classed as airborne in the breeze and covid 19 is only two metres or on your hands or face . Viruses do not have tape measures. They dont know what two metres is. This is a statistical estimate of how far it is likely to spread and therefore what distance you need to keep to reduce by an appreciable amount to your chance of picking something up, but thats not to say you will never pick up the virus if you will never pick up the virus if you are further away than two metres and if you go beyond that distance you will be absolutely fine. These viruses are airborne, they replicate or grow viruses are airborne, they replicate orgrow in your viruses are airborne, they replicate or grow in your knows, throat and lungs and that means when a person talks, coughs or sneezes, they will blow out a volley of particles, there could be thousands or millions of them, and they form this infectious aura around the person and in the air space around the person. If someone else then walks into that space you dont need many virus particles, perhaps just into that space you dont need many virus particles, perhapsjust 20, to set upa virus particles, perhapsjust 20, to set up a new infection in a person who hasnt previously caught this and isnt immune. Thats where the guidelines come from. But if you are out in the fresh air, the amount of air movement and the breeze will die look to the particle so fast that the risk is vanishingly small. It is indoors where you are in close proximity to people that you should Pay Attention to keeping your distance. We will end this there. Chris smith, a viral adjust, thank you forjoining us and lauren moss, in the studio. Thank you. Virologist. A bit more breaking news, some sad news. Honour blackman, the bond girl best known for playing pudsey galore has died aged 94. She died peacefully of Natural Causes at home in sussex around by her family. Natural causes at home in sussex around by herfamily. She will be greatly missed by her two adopted children and four grandchildren. As well as being a much loved and adored mother and grandmother, she was an actor of prolific talent, and an extra ordinary combination of beauty, brains and physical prowess. Along with her unique voice and work ethic she achieved an unparalleled iconic status in the world of film and entertainment and with absolute commitment to her craft and total professionalism in all her endeavours. The news coming to us in the last couple of minutes, the actress honour blackman has died aged 94, she has passed away at the aged 94, she has passed away at the age of 94 surrounded by her family in sussex. The daily number of deaths due to coronavirus in the uk roughly doubles every 48 to 72 hours, but the figures for confirmed cases of infections and for those admitted to hospital are slowing down. Scientists say the daily death toll will eventually also come down, but we havent yet reached the peak. Our head of statistics, robert cuffe, has been looking at the figures. The number of people dying in hospital with coronavirus is still doubling every few days. But confirmed cases tell a happier story. Lets look at the deaths. These are the new deaths announced every day, plotted on a scale where this Straight Line means doubling every three and a half days. Not every day is exactly on trend. There tend to be dips on the sundays and mondays, but overall the numbers are following that pattern pretty closely. In one sense you dont need the stats to tell you if the lockdown is working. Just look out the window. Fewer people out there means fewer chances for the virus to spread. So why does it take so long to show up . Well, even if all infections had stopped on lockdown, wed still be seeing new deaths reported a month later. It takes time before an infection becomes symptoms, or before they get worse. Treatment in the hospital or intensive care takes time too. And if someone dies, the death still has to be recorded and reported, which takes days, sometimes weeks. But there is better news elsewhere. The growth in new cases has started to fall behind that long term trend in the past week. Its still growing, but slower. And thats after allowing for the fact that nhs workers are now being tested as well as hospitalised patients. Scientists are calling on the government to report these figures separately. They argue its like reporting figures for wales only, and then adding in scotland. Of course, your total spikes. To understand the trends in both populations you need to report them separately, not lump them. So, be careful about reading too much into new cases before they are reported consistently. And for the death figures, they will lag, and watch out for those weekend dips. There are hopeful signs in here, but we still may see record highs in the coming days. Were expecting the latest News Conference from downing street shortly. Lets speak again to our health correspondent, lauren moss. Those figures of the daily death toll, still doubling every two to three days, but some good news, it seems the growth in the number of cases admitted to hospital and the numbers of positive cases is beginning to stabilise a little bit. 3802 new positive cases in the last 24 hours, and 208,000 people have been tested now. Looking at the number of people of deaths recorded up number of people of deaths recorded up to 5pm yesterday, an increase of 439, down somewhat in the last few days, but this also happened last week. There seems to be a dip over the weekend, so as robert was saying in his piece, we shouldnt read too much into the day by day numbers of cases and the numbers of people who have sadly passed away. We need to look at the overall trend and curve that we hear so much about. Hospital admissions are starting to climb again, we saw those figures yesterday at the press conference. We might get an update this afternoon, we are not sure, but 439 new reported and recorded deaths up to 5pm yesterday, and 51,708 positive coronavirus cases, an increase of 3802. We are going into the third week of the real lockdown we have had in the uk and i think it be another week or so until you see the full impact of the social distance and into effect. Any suggestion we may be getting to the crest of this, that we may be getting to the peak. There was suggestion that the peak could be happening in the next week or so, but looking at the figures, these are people we are talking about, but looking at what the cases are doing at the scientific predictions, then we could be heading towards that quite soon. We may get an update on that this afternoon and then attention will turn to exit strategies as well, but we are certainly not anywhere near that. And when i say exit strategy, i dont mean from coronavirus but any possible relaxing of we are not expecting to hear about that yet, an update possibly next week, but as for the peak of the virus, we will possibly get an update on that in the coming days. Our chief Political Correspondent, vicki young, is at westminster. One suspects questions over the Prime Minister must make helpful figure at the News Conference. They will. We know foreign secretary dominic raab will be in charge at the press conference and alongside him will be chris whitty, who as we know has been self isolating with coronavirus symptoms, and also dame angela mclean, the chief scientific adviser to the ministry of defence. But the Prime Ministers health i think will be something lots of people have questions about. The official spokesman of the Prime Minister was asked earlier today lots of things about what has happened. Downing street is keen to stress the Prime Minister was not admitted as an emergency to hospital. It is precautionary