The Channel Island of guernsey has become the first part of the British Isles to remove nearly all its lockdown restrictions, after reporting no new cases of covid 19 for over three weeks. Robert hall has more. In a guernsey garden, eight week old Charlie Flood is meeting his widerfamily. Until now, his grandparents have only had glimpses of him at a distance. Today, the family can hold charlie and hug each other for the First Time Since lockdown began. Were so fortunate because in england, they cant do that. It must be so, so difficult for them. Were just really, really lucky. It feels absolutely amazing. It has been a long time coming. And it feels so nice i cant put him down on the 16th of may, guernsey moved into phase three of the lockdown exit plan. Guernsey families and friends can meet up under what is called a bubble system, gradually widening their contacts. Guernseys success against covid i9 is down to a community effort. Social distancing, combined with testing and tracing, has brought new cases down to zero. In a weaks time, most lockdown measures will disappear completely. At the peak of when we were seeing most of our cases, we were regularly doing over 100, up to 126 some days, up to 180 tests a day. In uk terms, thats over 100,000 tests per day. In jersey too, the curve of new cases has flattened close to zero and life looks almost normal. Shops, businesses and outside eateries have reopened, but social distancing measures remain in place and islanders have been advised to use masks if they can. Beaches, though, remain mostly deserted and that sums up the dilemma now Facing Island governments. Getting covid 19 figures down to or close to zero is a cause for celebration. But the celebration might be short lived. The Channel Islands know that they cant remain within a sealed bubble indefinitely. They must open their borders, if they are to slow the decline in their economies. Latest figures from jersey show the island is losing £120 million a month from its economy. Increases in testing and tracing might replace quarantine, but even a gradual return of sea and air links could reverse the progress made. To keep it in a bubble and to keep cases low, but at the same time, if you dont have immunity then, you do not really know what is going to happen as things open up. I think we should see it out, i think we should see it clear. Then youve got to test people coming in and that is going to be the problem, i think. As politicians and Health Experts debate their next moves, islanders are savouring their freedom. Robert hall, bbc news, in the Channel Islands. Now on bbc news, spain is one of the countries hardest hit by coronavirus. Our world follows the lives of some of those at the heart of the crisis. This is the story ofjust a few of the people making sacrifices to save lives. I follow their efforts through the peak of the epidemic in spain. Until the lockdown begins to be lifted. Spain is under one of strictest lockdowns in the world. People are only allowed to go out on their own to buy food or medicine and walk their dogs. It is forbidden for children to go outside. In just a single week, the number of covid infections has tripled. And hospitals across spain are struggling. The uk has started its own lockdown. Ive travelled the world making documentaries. Now, for the first time, im making a film about my own country from my home in london. La mancha, a region two hours south of madrid has been hard hit by the virus. Ive make contact with a nurse, loli. Lolis husband, jesus, is supporting her. Loli and jesus have two children. When the crisis started, she took them to live at her sisters. She hasnt seen them for two weeks but today shes going to visit them to give them their schoolwork. In madrid, the army has turned a Convention Centre into spains largest medical facility injust ten days. They have even laid medicinal oxygen pipes under the floor. It is now treating hundreds of covid 19 patients. Blancas a gp who has volunteered to work at this new hospital. The level of police to enforce this lockdown is unprecedented. There are checkpoints on major roads, and aerial surveillance. Her cousin has been in the hospital with the virus. First, they need to collect their ppe personal protective equipment. When the crisis started, the Central Government took charge of sourcing ppe, but some local Authorities Say they couldnt do it quick enough. In madrid alone, hospitals need 200,000 masks every day. A couple of hours south of madrid is this small village. A group of people have volunteered to make ppe for lolis hospital. Esperanca is one of them. Clinical fabric is scarce and the red cross is distributing blankets to operating theatres. This town has a population of 8,700. Nearly all of the women in the village have joined the effort. Esperancas 58 year old brother in law is in intensive care with covid 19. This evening, her son, jose luis, is volunteering to disinfect the village. Spraying with disinfectant is happening all across spain. The army has been brought in to disinfect the streets, hospitals, and care homes. At home, esperanca keeps sewing. A few days later, her 89 year old mother gets the virus. Esperanca has been helping care for her mum so she has to destroy the masks in case theyre contaminated. Esperanca and her family have decided that their mother wont be going into hospital. Esperanca and her sister have moved in with their mother. A few days later, esperancas mother dies. Esperanca has contracted the virus too but for now is well enough to stay home. La mancha has had more than 10,000 cases of the virus and loli is working 12 hour shifts at the hospital. Undertakers are preparing for a huge numbers of deaths. There already have been 15,000. Indoor ice rinks have been turned into mortuaries, and families grieve at drive through funerals. Shortly after infections in madrid reach a thousand a day, cases of the virus start to increase in barcelona. Marius is a nurse who volunteers to deliver ppe. Hes on his way to a nursing home outside the city. Marius is met by the manager. More than 18,300 people have died of coronavirus in nursing homes. That is nearly 70 of all the deaths in spain. When the army was disinfecting care homes, they found elderly people who had been abandoned and some were found dead. The Prosecutors Office is investigating more than 140 care homes for alleged criminal actions. Bells tolling its easter. For the first time, the bishop in majorca is blessing an empty cathedral. This is lolis first easter away from her children. The death toll is finally starting to go down, but madrids Field Hospital is still working at full capacity. Blanca and her colleagues work hard to keep morale up. Many of lolis colleagues have caught the virus. Spain has the highest percentage of infected healthcare workers in the world, with at least 15,000 cases. By the end of april, the number of patients admitted to hospital is going down. This icu team is trying to come to terms with what theyve been through. Before the crisis, spain had 11,500 intensive care beds, by the end, icus have treated nearly 11,500 patients. Eduardo fernandez and his association of entrepreneurs have sourced and donated over 110 ventilators to hospitals all over spain. I asked the Spanish Government about what people had told me in this film. They said ppe and other forms of medical supplies were provided in the regions at the beginning of the crisis. Today, children under 14 are allowed out for the first time. Spain is the only country in europe where children were not allowed out during lockdown. Lolis children are going for a walk with her sister. A week later, adults are allowed out at specific times to exercise. Loli has finally been tested, the result is negative. Sues back with her colleagues, nursing non covid patients. Now she can bring her children back home. And lolis parents have come up for the first time to see their grandchildren. Piano and violin plays hello there. We saw Gale Force Winds across the north and the west of the uk today. Lots of showers rattling through across england and wales, though. Much of england and wales did stay dry, with plenty of sunshine. Most of the rain was in western scotland it was extremely wet, with over three inches falling on saturday. Sunday, less windy, a lot of cloud around in the morning thanks to this weather front bringing outbreaks of rain to the north west of the country. But High Pressure will continue to build in across the south, so that will turn things dry as we head through sunday afternoon. We start the day off, though, with temperatures in double figures for most. Thats because well start with quite a bit of cloud cover around, and still a fair old breeze out there. It will be quite wet, western scotland in towards north west england initially, and it looks like the cloud will tend to break up with increasing amounts of sunshine, especially across england and wales, and into the afternoon across northern ireland. These are the mean wind speeds, so you can see quite fresh out there but nothing as strong as what we had on saturday. With slightly lighter winds, more sunshine again in the south, temperatures will creep up to around 22, maybe 23 degrees in the south. High teens further north. On sunday night, the winds turn lighter still. As High Pressure builds in, itll turn drier with lengthy clear skies, a bit of cloud in the far north of scotland. Under those clear skies with very light winds, temperatures could drop into single figures for many northern and western areas. One or two spots in the east seeing 10 11 degrees. 0n into monday, then, a Bank Holiday Monday High Pressure with much of england and wales. Weve got these weather fronts just flirting with the north west corner of the country. That will tend to bring in thicker cloud. There will be a stronger breeze for western parts of northern ireland, western scotland and outbreaks of rain. This is bbc news welcome if youre watching here in the uk or around the globe. Im Lewis Vaughan jones. Our top stories the chief adviser to the british prime minister, comes under pressure, as hes accused of breaching lockdown rules, twice, but cabinet ministers defend his actions. Mr cummings is, you know, in the public eye. But the reality of the matter is that a four year old childs welfare, ithink, is the important thing. After weeks of increasing attacks, taliban and Afghan Government forces agree a three day ceasefire, to mark the eid holiday. Spain continues to ease its lockdown. Tourists can travel to the country again from july, and top flight football will resume next month. And, a huge fire engulfs parts of Fishermans Wharf in san
vimarsana.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.