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this is bbc news with the latest headlines... the government says it's confident it's target of 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of april has been met. setting a challenging target was the right thing to do because it galvanised government and got thejob done but there's a lot more to be done. the prime minister promises to set out a plan next week for gradually easing the lockdown, rya nair announces it plans to cut 3000 jobs, as part of restructuring because of the virus. president trump says he's seen evidence coronavirus orginated in a chinese laboratory and south africa starts easing its coronavirus restrictions after five weeks of lockdown good morning to you all. welcome to bbc news. the government has said it is confident that they have hit their own target for the number of daily coronavirus tests to be carried out by yesterday's deadline — as the prime minister told the nation that the uk was now "past the peak" of the outbreak. the target of 100,000 daily coronavirus tests — to be met by the end of april — had been set by the health secretary, matt hancock. over 81,000 tests were carried out on wednesday — according to figures from the department of health and social care. in other developments this morning budget airline ryanair announced they are cutting up to 3,000 jobs across pilots and cabin crew as they deal with the fall out from coronavirus. meanwhile in the us last night — president trump appeared to undercut his own intelligence agencies by suggesting he has seen evidence coronavirus originated in a chinese laboratory. but the us national intelligence director's office say covid—19 "was not manmade or genetically modified" and china reject the theory. we'll have more on the global response to the pandemic shortly — but first this report from our news correspondent — danjohnson. for a nation cut off, closed down, hurting... applause. ..this is notjust about gratitude. it has become a regular act of communion, in the name of the carer, the medic, and the vital key worker, kind, helping hands that have kept the country on its feet and saved lives. cheering and applause. and here's a reminder that, in the crossfire of coronavirus, heroes can be patients too. you saved my life. west midlands police chief superintendent, phil dolby, spent more than two weeks on a ventilator. see ya, bye! now, the next generation training for the front line are being named after the miracle workers of our nhs. also bouncing back, the prime minister, with his own reasons to be thankful and a message of hope... i can confirm today that, for the first time, we are past the peak of this disease. we are past the peak and we are on the downward slope. that may be but hundreds are still dying every day. 674 in the last 2a hours. across the uk, the virus has taken someone special from 26,771 families. more than 15,000 people are in hospital, trying to shake it off. so it is still too early to lift the lockdown. the infection rate and the number of people each of us passes the virus to must stay below one. more detail on that next week, but here is a hint of what our future may hold... face coverings will be useful both for epidemiological reasons but also for giving confidence to people that they can go back to work. testing numbers have dogged the government's response. and we'll find out later today whether the 100,000 target was met. wednesday's latest figures were still 18,000 short. at the beginning of the week, we only had 5000 home tests available, this is now 20,000 available and it is the reason why we are quite likely to get very close to or meet the 100,000 target. 0ur worries and our strife are shared in this new expression of community. thursday, eight o'clock, is about togetherness, through torrid times. humanity‘s challenge means more pain, more suffering and more fear but as nature inflicts its worst, it can reflect our very best, and there are signs of better days ahead. dan johnson, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent leila nathoo joins us from westminster. good morning to you. we have figures for the testing done on wednesday, we don't yet, i understand, have the figures for yesterday, the end of april but the government sounding increasingly confident that if they haven't quite met that target, they haven't quite met that target, they have got really quite close to it? yes, bit of a turnaround to the story at the beginning of the week when we were clearly some way off and you know, the number yesterday going up to 80,000, there had always been talk of there being big jumps in the finalfew been talk of there being big jumps in the final few days. but i think there is reasonable confidence now that the 100,000 target by the end of the month could be reached. cast your mind back to the beginning of the month. when this was said. the situation was about getting enough tests to patients, to nhs staff who needed and who had symptoms, so they could get back to work safely if they tested negative, there was a big effort involving private testing labs, getting nhs labs scaled up and then, widening out the criteria for people who were eligible for testing now, all key workers, people needing to go into work and all over 65 s, to go into work and all over 65 s, to get up to the 80,000 odd tests, that's the figure we currently have. but the message is they are reasonably confident that 100,000 target is going to be met, here is for the community secondary robert jenrick had to say earlier. for the community secondary robert jenrick had to say earlier. it looks like we will either meet the target or come close, so like we will either meet the target 01' come close, so we like we will either meet the target or come close, so we will have very significantly increased the amount of testing in this country, i think from 2000 tests a day at the end of february, to 10,000 tests a day at the end of march. either 100,000 at the end of march. either 100,000 at the end of april or quite close to it. and that's an important stepping stone, i don't want to overstate this, because it'sjust a stepping stone to more. stepping stone to more and yes, very quickly the government going to have to focus on its strategy for further testing, contact tracing, as it tries to get the uk out of this lockdown. but robertjenrick this morning was following up on borisjohnson yesterday, talking about the public using masks, saying the evidence is modest on how useful those masks are but they might give the public confidence. does that suggest to you that the government is concerned that the government is concerned that when it says people can start to go back to certain activities, actually, a lot of individuals will be quite nervous, quite reticent about doing that? i think that's absolutely going to be forefront of ministers minds, remember they are waiting at the moment, still for the data on the transmission of the virus, this so—called r number, how many people does one person with coronavirus go on to infect? that has to be kept below one at the moment, they estimate its between 0.6 and 0.9 at the moment, that's the data they are relying on at the moment to understand when it is appropriate and how to release some of the locked out measures and what other measures should be put in place but yes, there is certainly going to be a kind of psychological barrierfor going to be a kind of psychological barrier for people to get over. remember before the lockdown there we re remember before the lockdown there were many business organisations taking matters into their own hands, advising people to work from home before restrictions came in, events being cancelled, before the government cancelled events and i think you will see that now before we start talking about the next phase, even if ministers decide the data indicates it's safe for people to relax some of the restrictions, they've got to go our way in persuading people it's safe to do so. persuading people it's safe to do so. i think we are going to hear lots of talk about face coverings in the coming weeks, certainly this idea perhaps the evidence about transmission, how they can affect the transmission of the virus, is modest, as robertjenrick said. but the idea is borisjohnson said, it might give people more confidence, allow people to be more comfortable, for example, going on public transport, that's certainly in scotland, there is not mandatory advice to wear face masks in areas for social distancing cannot be practised, for example public transport so i think that's one of the things we could be hearing about when the government announces more detail of the second phase that we are expected to get next thursday. thank you very much. in the last few moments the health secretary matt hancock has just gone into number moments the health secretary matt hancock hasjust gone into number 10 downing street, he was asked about testing. secretary of state, will you meet a testing target? good morning. how are you all? are you confident you will meet testing target? we will see. we will see. so, slightly quizzical look and we will see from matt hancock, we hope to get those figures very soon. to find out if indeed that target has been met but you will know that many organisations, nhs providers among them, and we will be talking to them in the next few minutes, arguing that that 100,000 testing figure is in fact that that 100,000 testing figure is infacta that that 100,000 testing figure is in fact a red herring and is distracting from the need for the development of a longer—term strategy on testing, we will find out about that in the next few minutes. but first. us president donald trump says he's seen evidence that suggests coronavirus originated in a chinese laboratory. his claim — made in a press briefing overnight — contradicts a statement by his country's own intelligence agencies, which said that covid—19 was not man—made. david willis reports. the p1; pathogen lab at wuhan‘s institute of virology. did the deadly coronavirus emanate from here? china strenuously denies such suggestions. the president of the united states believes otherwise. mr trump says he seen evidence linking the virus to the lab, although he wouldn't be drawn on what that evidence consisted of. he told reporters either china couldn't stop the virus from spreading, or it didn't try to. this is something that could have been contained at the original location, and i think it could have been contained relatively easily. china is a very sophisticated country and they could have contained it. they were either unable to or they chose not to and the world is suffering greatly. whilst laying to rest one of the more extreme conspiracy theories surrounding the virus, that it was man—made and unleashed as a biological weapon, the us intelligence community didn't contradict the president's theory, saying: this country has already seen more cases of the coronavirus than anywhere else in the world, overa million, and more than 60,000 deaths. the virus has also devastated what was once a booming economy, leading to long lines in cities such as houston, as people queue for free food. although he's avoided direct criticism of china's president xi, with whom he's maintained cordial relations, president trump has talked of making china pay for the harm the virus has caused to the american economy and, by extension, to his chances of re—election. relations between the world's two largest economies could get very frosty indeed. david willis, bbc news. let's find out what reaction there has been in china, if any. 0ur correspondent steve mcdonell is in beijing good morning to you, well it's not morning there, but it is here. have there been any reactions to those comments from donald trump? it's a public holiday here for the may day long again, the normal foreign ministry press briefing that we have isn't on today, we've asked the foreign ministry for a comment, even a written comment and if we get that we will bring it to you. nothing at the moment from the chinese government but funnily enough, even in the communist party controlled press, they haven't even referred to donald trump as remarks so it could be that we are going to see this one sort of go under the radar, it'll be interesting to see if we come through five days without them even speaking about it. enough, some chinese nationalists, kind of excited about the fact that american central intelligence agency and other intelligence agencies have said this wasn't a man—made virus, it hasn't been altered by human beings, implying it wouldn't have been likely a weapon produced by china. funnily enough, that also kind of to to is their favourite conspiracy theory which is that the americans actually created the coronavirus as a bio weapon, you cannot have it both ways! but i guess itjust shows that cannot have it both ways! but i guess it just shows that the cannot have it both ways! but i guess itjust shows that the war of words between washington and beijing is going to continue on this one. for some time to come, i guess. yes, as you say, lots of conspiracy theories floating around. you mention it as a public holiday in china. are we now seeing a more rapid opening up of the country? that, we absolutely are. this weekend, long weekend, china plasma transport ministry is expecting 117 million trips. now, that sounds like a lot, it's only actually a third of the number of trips you would normally have bought the mayday break, showing that people are still worried about potentially catching the coronavirus but after more than three months of virus living here, ifi three months of virus living here, if i could put it to you that way, the change is coming so quickly now, you know, it does feel strange. for example, anybody travelling within china intubation, as long as you're not coming from a hotspot like ube, you don't have to do the quarantine any more. those who are doing quarantine, they've been able to leave straight away. you don't have to wear a mask in the outdoors, you still have to do that in cafe is and the like. the forbidden city is open for the first time today but there isa cap for the first time today but there is a cap on visitors, you still have to keep your distance. you can see though that the movement is heading very much in that direction and it does feel it's quite rapid now. of course, but everybody is worried about in the back of their mind, is the possibility that we could see another wave of the coronavirus and it would squash all of this freedom that we are starting to enjoy it right now. 0k, stephen, thank you very much for that. the headlines on bbc news... the government says it's confident that its target of 100,000 daily coronavirus test by the end of april has been met. the prime minister promises to set out a plant next week for gradually easing the lockdown. and rya nair announces week for gradually easing the lockdown. and ryanair announces its plans to cut 3000 jobs as part of restructuring because of the virus. the transport secretary, grant shapps, has said the government is "quite likely" to have either reached — or come close to meeting — the target of 100,000 daily coronavirus tests. 0fficialfigures are expected this afternoon. ministers had said they wanted to achieve the aim by yesterday. let's talk to saffron cordery — deputy chief executive of nhs providers — it represents trusts providing care across england. thank you very much forjoining us. i know, as i've already mentioned this morning, nhs providers has already been saying in the last few days, this figure is a bit of a distraction from thejob days, this figure is a bit of a distraction from the job of developing a more effective targeting and testing strategy, i should say. but the government is arguing getting to that figure of 100,000 was a call to arms, if you like, getting the engines of government fired up, getting the testing system fired up. do they have a point in that? obviously, the 100,000 target, if it is made today, clearly shows it has galvanised activity around testing. but i think the important point is that we don't need testing for testing ‘s site, we need testing for testing ‘s site, we need testing for testing ‘s site, we need testing with a purpose and i think that's the point of what we've been saying over the past couple of days, which is we need to see a really fully formed strategy around testing, particularly at this critical point because we had boris johnson set yesterday we are coming out of the first wave, or we've come through the first peak of coronavirus. we are at a critical point now, how can we actually ease lockdown and come out of lockdown and testing has to play a critical pa rt and testing has to play a critical part in that so what we want to see isa part in that so what we want to see is a strategy that is really firmly based in the evidence and will take us based in the evidence and will take us out of lockdown. so, what will that look like, the sort of testing strategy that you are referring to? what sort of numbers are we talking about? and i guess a lot of people will want to know how effective will that be as part of an overall strategy if you know, someone is tested one week but potentially has picked up the virus by the following week? that's exactly what the strategy is to take into account. i think it's very hard to say in terms of numbers which is why we said 100,000, yes, lets everyone focus on that and it's a galvanising element but it's not the point. what we need to know is there are a number of questions that should be answered, when will every patient, health and ca re when will every patient, health and care a staff member actually get a test with the right turnaround time, in the right time frame? how can we really speed up the testing process? because we absolutely need to know, people who are symptomatic, have symptoms of coronavirus, we need to know whether they have it or not. how are we going to make sure every key worker, beyond health and care staff, actually has access to the testing when they need because that's fundamental to getting the economy going, getting people back to work. how can we make sure that we are able to really support the expansion of testing with all of the kit that we need so how can we make testing sustainable, fundamentally? how are we going to put in place quite complex arrangements for track and trace? we had that at the beginning of the outbreak, then that was abandoned. how effective we testing on its own be, just interrupt you on that point? if there isn't also alongside it, contact tracing? i don't think testing alone will help us keep patients safe and keep health and ca re patients safe and keep health and care staff safe so it will show us who has the virus and he doesn't and thatis who has the virus and he doesn't and that is important in a health and ca re context but that is important in a health and care context but without track and trace alongside it, we cannot really work out how we're going to get out of lockdown because track and trace helps us ring fence areas and understand where the next outbreak is coming from. and what we need to do is make sure we got local government, public health engaged in that because it's about spreading out across local communities as well. so i think that's absolutely critical. so you want to see a lot of detailed response from the government in a very short time, if it is boris johnson government in a very short time, if it is borisjohnson said yesterday, he is going to next week set out what he called a menu of options for getting out of the lockdown? absolutely, we need to see this detail. and what we need to see, i think you made a point earlier, which is really, really important which is really, really important which as you might not have coronavirus one week but you could then develop it or contracted the following week. so we need to have in place a sustainable programme of testing. 0n in place a sustainable programme of testing. on an ongoing, regular basis health and care staff so we know whether or not you have coronavirus. it's one thing to have a negative test one month but you'd need to know if you've got at the next month or the next fortnight and that's absolutely critical, so do we have supplies in place for that? do we have the infrastructure and regime? that needs a lot of focus and investment and i think that's where we need to look because think about it, we had the largest hospital trusts, around 17,000 staff employed. that's a big undertaking to think about how we test those staff on a regular basis. there's a of thinking to do here and it's absolutely critical that the government thinks really carefully and really quickly about the next steps of the strategy because that's fundamental to both keeping people safe and getting us out of lockdown. all really interesting points, saffron, and keep very much for that. aviation is a big talking point today. ryanair has said it may shed up to 3,000 jobs as it restru ctu res to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. it said the posts under threat were mainly pilot and cabin crew jobs, and that remaining staff would all take a 20% pay cut. boss michael 0'leary, whose pay was cut by 50% for april and may, has now agreed to extend this 50% pay cut for the remainder of the financial year to march 2021. he spoke to breakfast earlier. the situation we face now is we've carried almost no passengers for the last three months. we carried less than 140,000 passengers in april, may and june against originally, the budget of 42 million passengers. for the full year we will carry less than 100 million passengers, the budget was originally 155 million, we will carry only about a third less passengers than we planned for this year and while we expect to be back flying some services injuly and august, we think the buildup will be slow, passengers will be wearing face masks, temperature checks at airports, there will be those kind of controls. we are cutting, we announced this morning we are cutting 15% of our staff, we think that's the minimum we need just to survive the next 12 months. if a vaccine is found clearly the recovery will be stronger, if a vaccine isn't found we may have to announce more cuts and deeper cuts into the future. we feel we have no choice this morning but to announce 3000 job cuts, that's about 15% of our workforce. we will be closing some bases in the uk and spain and other places across europe. because by the time we get out of this, we will be into the winter schedule anyway. and it's going to be very difficult. meanwhile, london's heathrow airport, normally the busiest in europe, has said it expects passenger numbers to have fallen 97% in april as demand slumped amid the coronavirus pandemic. with me is aviation consultant doug maclean and also i'm joined by freelance traveljournalist — alison rice lovely to see you both and lots to talk about. the industry in some difficulty, how are airlines going to get flying again and help many will be able to get through this pandemic? that's the $64 million question. i suppose nobody really knows this at the moment. the airlines, as you've just heard michael 0'leary saying, three months to digest what's happening and they are moving into action to cut costs. they've been haemorrhaging cash for months now. as have lots of aviation businesses. it's notjust airlines commits every business associated with airlines. so there is a long road to go. and it does very much depend on what the long—term outcome is, do we have a way of coping with this or do we have to live with the virus? i think what we are seeing just now is just the beginning, there will be many more cuts on airlines, routes, and bases. which brings me, alison, to what the boss of heathrow was saying in an interview with the bbc this morning. as people speculate about how airline travel might actually look for passengers. he said that social distancing on public transport including aeroplanes, just isn't practical. and that there needs to be in dull coat him, at reciprocal consistency right across the globe, a common international standard so that people can travel with confidence. this is in terms of health screening at airports and so forth. do you see that as a way forward ? forth. do you see that as a way forward? i think it's the only way forward? i think it's the only way forward because if you social distance on planes as michael 0'leary is very quick to point out, you cannot make a profit if you don't fill the planes. and the world travel and tourism council recently came out with a report asking for common international standards and pointing out that most countries will want health checks before you get on the plane, health checks when you get off the plane which will probably make your check—in time about four hours. i mean, optimists are talking about revenge travel. mainly young people having been locked down for how long, wanting to travel, i think that's very optimistic but certainly, if they try and get a broad, they will find that the holiday industry is nothing like the halcyon pre—pandemic days that we so much to for granted. do you think for travellers, it is going to end up being more expensive, whatever happens? obviously michael 0'leary said if there were empty seats on planes to allow social distancing then the passengers who are there will still have to pay for all of those seats? will it be more expensive? yes, definitely. i think some of the less popular routes will be axed. i mean, overall, globally, there is talk of overall, globally, there is talk of over 75 millionjobs overall, globally, there is talk of over 75 million jobs going overall, globally, there is talk of over 75 millionjobs going in tourism because it's notjust, as we heard earlier, it's notjust the airlines, it's the airports, the accommodation providers, the attractions. how are they going to manage self distancing? how are they going to manage self cleaning? portugal is going to bring in a stand for accommodation providers, are clean and safe stand, guaranteeing that they have deep cleansed the place. the balearics, majorca, menorca, a visa, the places we all like to go on holiday, they are talking about a gradual return to terrorism, only a quarter of the numbers late august, and they say they will probably ban the british from growing this year. —— gradual return to tourism. let's go back to doug if we can. lufthansa pilots yesterday saying they were prepared to ta ke yesterday saying they were prepared to take a pay cut of up to 45% for two years to safeguard the future of the group. the ceo saying it's losing 1 million euros an hour. here, we have british airways, ryanair, virgin, richard branson, that's still not sorted out whether he will get some help from the taxpayer, effectively here. what do you think is going to happen to all of these big named carriers?” you think is going to happen to all of these big named carriers? i think when you see british airways and luftha nsa a nd when you see british airways and lufthansa and rya nair, when you see british airways and lufthansa and ryanair, you have the full spectrum of aviation in europe and probably across the world, the models that airlines operate across the world and lufthansa are talking about voluntary administration. this is not a small problem that's going to away very soon. and behind that, the aviation, the aeroplane manufacturers, they are already cutting production by anything up to a quarter at the moment. and as michael 0'leary says, depending on what happens, there may well be further cuts next year. will state help ultimately be needed for some of these airlines, do you think that is ultimately what might happen? i'm sure it like any industry, the industry will be absolutely looking for the state to help but it will be like any industry. so the choices are going to have to be made, do we invest in health? do we invest in transport? in people having small businesses around the world? this is a huge, huge problem and one of the big issues that the uk has, as has just been said, we have a very poor record in this pandemic and the way that we've acted, we are about to cut ourselves off from europe, 27 other countries in europe, which will have a standard and we must have a standard when we start to fly again. we must have an agreement that says, if you want to fly from this airline, this country to this country, then these are the standards that you apply for your passengers because otherwise, the countries will simply refuse to have us. which is something that alison was talking about a second ago and alison, ultimately, i'm sure both of you would agree, this future relationship between travellers and those they would choose to travel with has to be about confidence and it's going to take a while, isn't it, for travellers potentially, u nless it, for travellers potentially, unless you are one of those revenge travel as you are talking about who's going to get out there and no matter what, that they've got to be confident that the airlines they fly with, however they choose to get around, that they will be able to transport them safely from point a to point b and that might take time, mightn't it? i think it will take a lot of time. i don't think we'll get back to the travel industry that we recognise for two or three years, at that. it should be good news for holidays in this country, but places like cornwall and wales have spent the last few weeks telling us not to go there, so they too are going to have to worry about deep cleaning accommodation, how they self distance attractions, so the whole of the travel industry, not just our holidays abroad, our holidays in this country are going to be, i think, quite deeply affected. ok, thank you both for your thoughts on this today. time for the weather with sarah keith—lucas. another changeable day today, sunglasses and umbrellas, sunny spells and heavy showers on the cards today, some of those showers will bring the odd rumble of thunder, hail and squally winds mixed in across parts of the north midlands, northern england, central and southern scotland. here we expect the bulk of the heavy, thundery showers. further south, showers fading away, more sunshine for the south of england, some dry weather for scotland for a time, temperatures in the mid teens today. into this evening and tonight, showers and slowly start to ease, some continue for eastern england and scotland, the odd rumble of thunder overnight, most of us frost free, temperatures of the cool side, 5-6d. free, temperatures of the cool side, 5—6d. through the day, showers across northern and eastern scotland at the north—east of england, but for the rest of the uk spells of sunshine, similar day on sunday, temperatures creeping up through the weekend. goodbye for now. hello, good morning, this is bbc news with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines for you: the government says it's confident its target of 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of april has been met. setting a challenging target was the right thing to do, because it galvanised government and got thejob done, but there's a lot more to be done. the prime minister promises to set out a plan next week for gradually easing the lockdown, rya nair announces it plans to cut 3000 jobs as part of restructuring because of the virus. president trump says he's seen evidence coronavirus orginated in a chinese laboratory. and south africa starts easing its coronavirus restrictions after five weeks of lockdown. now on bbc news, it's time for your questions answered, where today we'll be focusing on how much testing can be done, what medicines can be developed, and in what timeframe, to reduce the impact of the virus and allow us to return to some kind of normality. to answer your questions on the topic, we're joined by gary mclean, professor of molecular immunology at the london metropolitan university. he joins me from west acton. and i'm alsojoined by drjennifer rohn, who's a cell biologist at ucl, she's in gravesend in kent. are very good morning to both of you, lots of very interesting questions coming in from viewers on this. jennifer, let's begin with you, this is from jane stanton, who asks, what arrangements do we have in hand to be able to manufacture a covid vaccine in sufficient quantities for use within the uk if and when it is available? good question. thanks for your question, good morning. ithink everybody agrees this is going to be a logistical nightmare. it is a very, very big job to upscale a vaccine to immunise a country, let alone the world. so what we are seeing is a lot of different vaccine candidates are in the race right now, we don't know which one is going to win, and that is u nfortu nate, going to win, and that is unfortunate, because every different vaccine type is a different type of production, so you can't prepare a factory if you don't know what method is going to win. having said that, the world health organization is really rallying and trying to get countries to work together, even billionaires like bill gates are throwing money at the problem, so i hope that this global effort will result in a relatively quick upscale for this vaccine if it comes. polite asa for this vaccine if it comes. polite as a supplementary to that, very quickly, if a countries manufacturing a vaccine candidate which turns out to be successful, for example, let's talk about the one being developed at oxford, does that mean that the uk gets hold of that mean that the uk gets hold of that vaccine first before any other countries? this has happened in the past for pandemic flu, the vaccines we re past for pandemic flu, the vaccines were being hoarded by the countries that produced it, so it depends who gets it first hand how generous they are feeling. gary, a question from steve, he is asking, covid—19 has been described as being akin to the flu, so is it right that no flu can be found best an annual vaccination jab will be the norm given the virus can mutate? good morning, everyone, it isa can mutate? good morning, everyone, it is a great question, and i think in terms of virology, influenza and its new coronavirus, they are quite different, and flu tends to change quite a lot, it can obtain different segments of its genome frequently, it is really different to this one. so that it is an advantage for coronavirus, less mutations, the chances of a vaccine having to be changed each year, or in a seasonal manner, is lower, so i think we have got a more stable virus. the difficulty with antivirals and a cure is that there are not many examples of good antivirals that work for viruses. they are tricky targets. we have some examples for hiv and also for herpes viruses, but these have ta ken hiv and also for herpes viruses, but these have taken a long time to develop, and we're starting to purpose other medications that might work against coronavirus, so i don't see that we are going to need a seasonal vaccine at this stage similarto seasonal vaccine at this stage similar to influenza. ok, that is very interesting, a lot of people are curious about that particular point, so interesting answer. jean chambers asks, and i will put this to you, jennifer, i was vaccinated against pneumonia, will this give me any degree of protection against this new coronavirus? so good news and bad news. the bad news is that, obviously, the pneumonia jab you received was against an entirely different organism, so it will not be effective at all against coronavirus at self. having said that, if you have covid—19, a severe infection, your lungs are weakened, and in this situation bug sometimes ta ke and in this situation bug sometimes take advantage of weaknesses, this is go take advantage of weaknesses, this isgoa take advantage of weaknesses, this is go a secondary infection. if you have had a pneumonia jab, you do not at least have to worry about a secondary infection from that organism. you could say the same thing about the flu jab. alan asks, gary, tying back to the question you a nswered gary, tying back to the question you answered about annual vaccination, he is asking, when will there be an antibody test to verify that you have the virus and that your immune system has some antibodies to fight the virus in the future? yes, we are hearing a lot about this at the moment. the antibody test will be a really nice want to have to prove, have you had it? have you seen this virus? have you been exposed? there isa virus? have you been exposed? there is a lot of research going into it, we have some good tests currently, but they are still in development. i think they are being rolled out extensively in the uk population in the next months, and they are going to be comparing different types of tests, there was that are lab based which those that are more simple to do, rapid tests, kind of like a pregnancy test that can be done very simply. the question still remains, though, how accurate they are, how reliable, how sensitive they are, and at first glance it looks like they are developing these to be quite effective and quite good, so i am expecting this in the next few months. if you were to discover, just a little one from me, if you we re just a little one from me, if you were to discover that you had had the virus and you didn't know you had the virus as you did not find out until you had an antibody test, that obviously means your body handled it really well, fought it off really well, does that mean that you would be pretty safe in the future, or can we say that at this point? yes, we are still learning exactly about the immune response to this particular virus, and in a normal situation, yes, having been exposed to a virus and developing antibodies is a good marker of being immune or protected in the future. but like any new virus, we still can't say for sure at this point that those antibodies are going to be protective or not. so no certainties at this point. this question from ray bradbury, plenty of questions about face masks following comments by borisjohnson yesterday, so he is asking, is the british public are going to be issued with facemasks? all right, well i don't know the answer to that, i don't know what the court will decide, versus mandating mass cues, and! will decide, versus mandating mass cues, and i would imagine that the proper masks will be rationed for the national health service. they will perhaps ask the public to wear scarves or cloth masks, which will help you if you are on crowded public transport and somebody is neededin public transport and somebody is needed in yourface, better than nothing, but i wouldn't imagine we would all be issued with proper ppe. soa would all be issued with proper ppe. so a face covering of some kind, if not a proper mask in the sense that we would think of one. if someone sneezes in your face, we would think of one. if someone sneezes in yourface, cloth we would think of one. if someone sneezes in your face, cloth will provide a barrier, it is not perfect, but you would feel better if you had that on your face. catherine ask about testing, why isn't everyone being tested, is it a lack of lab resources? yes, i think it is, in the initial phases of this pandemic, i think the government wanted to focus on testing the people most at need, so those in hospital with symptoms. it was a bit ofa hospital with symptoms. it was a bit of a resource issue. now they have ramped up the testing, we are hearing about 100,000 tests per day, and other less vulnerable people, and other less vulnerable people, and then there was that might be at risk, and eventually that is going to roll out to the general population. there is an extensive testing programme under way and most are being offered at these tests, and hopefully this will extend to the entire population, like we have seenin the entire population, like we have seen in other countries, such as germany, south korea, where they test extensively, contact trays, and thatis test extensively, contact trays, and that is one way of controlling it. yes, a combination of testing and tracing that seems to be most effective. an interesting question from danielle who asks, what about the vulnerable after the lockdown finishes, they are expected to stay inside until there is a vaccine?m isa inside until there is a vaccine?m is a really difficult question, i don't know the answer to this. clearly these people will still be at risk, so they do need to be careful. they may be issued with special ppe, but it is a difficult question. gary, any thoughts on that? yeah, i would agree with jennifer, a difficult one to answer, lam not jennifer, a difficult one to answer, i am not sure i can add too much to that point. it is one that i guess we do not know a lot about yet, and we do not know a lot about yet, and we are waiting to find out what the suggestions will be on that. a question from ian, when chris whitty was asked about a vaccine, he said that even though there were 40 development programmes under way, andi development programmes under way, and i think we have been told by the who they are more than 40, the chances of anyone working was low. this would suggest there is a high chance that there will never be a vaccine against covid—19, so what is the strategy then? i think the chances, yes, no, ofa the strategy then? i think the chances, yes, no, of a successful vaccine, but there is still hope. if no vaccine were available, we have to look for another form of protection, and we heard about the herd immunity process early on, enough people getting infected and developing protective immunity that will protect the entire population. there is also the development of antivirals, a lot of research going into this. the distance in measures, we may have to live with them for quite some time, and that is probably the best proven way of controlling a virus such as this. we hope that the outbreak will weaken and disappear with rising summer temperatures, people will be more aware. there is still hope for a vaccine, but it is low, i agree. these are some of the reality is, u nfortu nately, these are some of the reality is, unfortunately, that we are having to confront as we hope for a vaccine to come good. on the point of a vaccine, jackie asks, jennifer, if they managed to create a vaccine, will we be forced to have it? well, vaccination is not compulsory in the united kingdom, it hasn't been, although they are discussing it. i think you have free choice, but having said that, i would say that we will never get back to normal life and is a significant part of the population has immunity, and the only way would be for most people to get that vaccine, people who don't get that vaccine, people who don't get theirjabs get that vaccine, people who don't get their jabs will get that vaccine, people who don't get theirjabs will be in endangering those who are not able to. if it is safe, i hope that there will be wide uptake. can't wait to try to put people's minds at rest, are people are concerned that are quickly developed a quickly developed vaccine would be safe, i suppose, that is the simple word, is one that has been developed over a lot of years, what would you say to anyone concerned about that?” lot of years, what would you say to anyone concerned about that? i would say that it is a valid concern, this isa say that it is a valid concern, this is a rushjob. having said that, they will not vaccinate healthy person unless it is clinically proven, and that is what it takes 18 months to two years to get to the end of the line. safety will not be compromised. are very important point to make. gary, another question on mask from ian, who says the nhs is throwing away tens of thousands of used facemask at the moment. could these not be sanitised and then given to the public for face coverings, or i guess reused by the nhs? after they have been used ina the nhs? after they have been used in a coronavirus ward, is the feeling, gary, that it is just not good practice to reuse? agreed, i think the short answer is no, you can't reuse, these are designed for single use, they are used by people on the front that are exposed to potentially high levels of virus repeatedly, it would be too risky to sanitise them. people can use other ways of wearing face masks, they can buy their own cheap ones or use cloth ones, and that will offer some protection. some really interesting questions from our viewers today, thank you so much for sending those in, and thank you both for your expertise. no doubt we will be answering any questions for quite a long time to come, professor gary mclean from london metropolitan and drjennifer rohn from ucl, thank you again. we may find out more today about whether the football season can restart. the government are hosting a video call with the fa and premier league, along with medical experts from rugby union, cricket and racing to discuss the aspects of a return to sporting action. it's the biggest dilemna facing the premier league in its history, as austin halewood reports. it has been seven weeks since a premier league ground looked like this. now organisers are keen to get the season back up and running behind closed doors on the 8th ofjune, but are the players on board? the manchester city striker sergio aguero told argentinian media that the majority of players are scared to return because they have children and families. and he is not the only one who is worried. it would be hindering ourselves with certain things, like face masks and things, it's going to be off—putting. it's not going to be natural. it's quite farcical. i understand why people are desperate to get football on, i am one of those people, i'm desperate, but i think it's got to be done in a sensible way. there is also concern about the availability of testing and whether a return will place u nnecessa ry extra pressure on public services. with liverpool on the brink of a first title in 30 years, even the city's own mayor is not keen on a restart. i would guess that a lot people would turn up outside anfield to celebrate, and i can understand the police's concerns around that, even if it was at a neutral venue. it would be really difficult for the police to keep people apart and maintain social distancing, so i think it is a nonstarter. the club, though, have distanced themselves from that point of view, and the government thinks a restart would give the country a much—needed boost, while the league's organisers know the huge financial implications of not restarting. they'd have to pay three £750 million back to rights holders. with other competitions around europe already cancelled, the government and the premier league know whatever move they make next, they will have to get it right. most people in the uk would not want to go out, even if the government officially ends the lockdown in a month's time, according to a new survey. 60% of those asked said they would be uncomfortable about going to bars and restaurants or using public transport. and more than 40% would still be reluctant to go shopping or send their children to school, according to the poll by ipsos mori. south africa is easing aspects of its lockdown today. some businesses can now reopen, while families will be allowed to leave home to exercise. but there'll be more troops on the streets and an overnight curfew. speaking to me from johannesburg, nomsa maseko described the control strategy that south africa has been using. the south african lockdown is one of the strictest the world has ever seen. people are not even allowed to jog, and there was a ban on the sale of cigarettes and alcohol, and also the fact that so many people were forced to stay home. but now there is a little bit of an easing. just driving into work this morning there were so many people jogging, walking their dogs. there was a sprinkle of optimism in the air. you know, just walking into the office today. there is going to be a heavy military presence and police presence all over the country. just driving in, there were two checkpoints i had to go through myself, where the police officers were asking to see that i am allowed to be on the streets and that i have a permit to be out on the roads. this is the eighth week since south africa reported its first covid—19 case. to date, there are 5000 south africans that have tested positive for coronavirus and just over 100 deaths. and the government says that the lockdown has definitely helped. even though they have eased it now to level four of the lockdown, it still means that there are going to be very strict measures that people need to adhere to. but, generally, the lockdown has been respected by many south africans, even though the tobacco industry now has threatened to take the government to court for refusing to lift the ban on the sale of cigarettes. of challenges. one officer from devon and cornwall police has been keeping a video diary for us. take a look. police siren. sit down! oh, my god! you're not going that way, mate. we're going to disperse you out of the city. stop banging your head! i'm carlo towl. i'm a police sergeant with devon and cornwall police. so here we are, week five of lockdown britain. i'm in exeter. i just wanted to talk about the police's experience of what's been happening the last few weeks. i've just arrived at exeter custody. i've come up here cos a male's been arrested for spitting in a paramedic‘s face. the gentleman's in the cell here with four officers in ppe, after he'd kicked off. he's been restrained for a period of time. he's assaulted a couple of officers, causing injury to them. he's attempted to spit at officers as well as paramedics at the scene. we've had an absolute flood of reports from the public, who are saying there are street—attached people, people who are street drinkers, drug takers. we have struggled a little bit, because in the law it allows for someone to be homeless and to be out, because obviously they've got nowhere to get back to. but there are, as i've said, lots of people who are housed, who are currently going out every day, congregating in groups, drinking, taking drugs, causing anti—social behaviour, who are really causing a sort of problem. so we've had a report of a group of six people drinking and congregating in an area just down here. so where are you guys off to, then? are you going to tase me? i don't want to taser you. are you guys housed somewhere? yes. yes? 0k. so you need to be back there, don't you? i need to be at probation. all you guys are doing being out and about is causing more issues for people. it's a problem that increasing the longer the lockdown goes on, because they feel more emboldened to go out and act in a way which intimidates a lot of people, frankly. i wasn't resisting arrest, she had hold of me! how can i be resisting arrest when she had hold of me?! we're taking proactive action as best we can without trying to stigmatise those people or become overzealous, as i know the police have been accused of being recently. so yeah, it's a difficult one, really, because the law is quite grey, unfortunately. this shift started with someone spitting in the face of a paramedic. and now it's ended with another emergency service worker being spat out again. now, ijust don't understand people, i really don't. yeah, it's been a trying shift. hi, guys. how have you coped with the lockdown so far? it's nice here, to be fair. most people have been absolutely fine. like yourselves. the whole point of it, and ouronly realaim, is to keep people safe. it sounds cliched but it's true. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. hello. it's another day of sunshine and showers out there today, the recipe for lots of rainbows. some of the showers through the day are going to be heavy and thundery. some hail and gusty winds mixed in with some of the downpours as well. but we won't all see them, a bit of dry weather with some sunshine around, too. but low pressure is still driving the weather at the moment. it's gradually going to be easing away towards the east over the next 24 hours or so. so the showers will slowly start to fade away as we head on into the weekend. but for the here and now, the most frequent heavy showers today will be across parts of the midlands, northern england, central and southern scotland as well. it's here that we're likely to see some of those thunderstorms, hail and squally winds. showers fewer and further between elsewhere, and temperatures for most of us in the mid—teens, a little bit warmer than it was yesterday. now, through into this evening and overnight, the showers will start to ease and fade, but some heavy ones will continue overnight across parts of eastern england and northern and eastern scotland as well. clear skies and lighter winds further south. so although it will be a largely frost—free start to saturday, it'll be quite chilly first thing with temperatures around five to eight degrees. now, the weekend is going to be shaping up to be gradually turning drier and more settled with some spells of sunshine on offer, less windy than recent days. still one or two showers on the cards for the weekend, but we won't all see them. the areas most likely to see the showers on saturday are across northern and eastern scotland and the far north east of england as well. elsewhere, a lot of dry weather with some blue sky and spells of sunshine. but the cloud will increase from the southwest, perhaps the old spot of light rain down towards the channel, for instance. but most of us in the sunshine and lighter winds, it'll feel quite pleasant out there with temperatures around 14 to 18 degrees through the day on saturday and sunday set to be a pretty similar day. once again, a lot of dry weather with light winds and some sunshine cloud amounts increasing, i think, through the course of the day on sunday and a few showers typically for eastern scotland, northeast england, perhaps one or two for the far southwest as well. but temperatures between about ten to 18 degrees or so on sunday. and then things continue to turn a little bit warmer and drier as we look towards the new week as well. so high pressure starts to build its way in across the united kingdom through the course of sunday night and into monday as well. so a largely dry outlook into next week and things will be turning brighter and warmer than they have been in recent days. bye for now. this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the british government says it's confident it's target of 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of april has been met. setting a challenging target was the right thing to do because it galvanised government and got thejob done but there's a lot more to be done. rya nair announces it plans to cut 3,000 jobs, as part of restructuring because of the virus. president trump says he's seen evidence coronavirus originated in a chinese laboratory — but gives no details. south africa starts easing its coronavirus restrictions after five weeks of lockdown.

Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20200514

for much needed haircuts — as new zealand reopens thousands of businesses at the end of lockdown. # when tiers are in your eyes #. and the hospital choir whose bridge over troubled water got a shout out from paul simon. scientists say a new blood test, which detects whether someone has had coronavirus, is a major step forward. the test looks for antibodies which could indicate some immunity to covid—19 in the future. it was approved last night by public health england, and ministers say they want to roll it out as soon as possible — first to health and care workers. but experts have cautioned that it's not yet clear whether someone who has recovered from the illness develops long—term immunity. here's our health correspondent dominic hughes. a reliable, accurate antibody test that can tell if a person has had covid—19 is one of the keys to escaping the coronavirus crisis. now a test developed by scientists at the swiss pharmaceutical giant roche offers serious potential. having been officially approved for use in england, the nhs is now negotiating to buy hundreds of thousands of them. officials in scotland, wales and northern ireland will make their own decisions but are likely to follow suit. we are keen to get as many as we can and get them out, primarily to the front line first, the nhs and social care, and then more widely because this has the potential to be a game changer. the test can detect the presence of antibodies in the blood, produced if you have had the illness, even if you have never had any symptoms. that is vital because antibodies could offer protection against reinfection, at least for a while. knowing which people have had the virus and therefore should be protected from it, and we will need to know more about that, is again good news and should enable us to understand how the virus has spread and where it has spread to across the population. that knowledge is really important. developing a test that is good enough has proved difficult. this laboratory in south wales was one of hundreds around the world involved in the effort, and there have been false dawns. the uk government bought more than 3 million tests that proved to be ineffective. questions remain over the level of immunity you might gain through having had the illness. you can say for certain you have had the infection, so you will have had covid—19. that is useful for a variety of reasons, but what you cannot absolutely for sure say is that you will be protected in the future because those antibodies are capable of neutralising the virus. nhs officials in england still need to negotiate an acceptable price, with roche, and other tests are also being assessed, but this is being hailed as the best prospect so far. dominic hughes, bbc news. gary mclean is a professor in molecular immunology for the school of human sciences at london metropolitan university. how interested a re how interested are you in this test? how interested are you in this test? how important is this?” how interested are you in this test? how important is this? i think this isa how important is this? i think this is a great move, we have been hearing about the antibody test for some time now and now one is finally approved that looks to be 100% sensitive and effective, it is really good, measuring prior and current infections as well. it is great. 10096 current infections as well. it is great. 100% in terms of telling the individual whether they have at some point had covid—i9, but the next stage of that is what we still don't know as i understand it, whether someone know as i understand it, whether someone who has had it is therefore immune. that is exactly right. it is telling us if you have been exposed to the virus in the past. it seems to the virus in the past. it seems to be 100% effective, particularly if later on after the initial diagnosis, it takes about 14 days for antibodies to develop. we don't know if these antibodies are neutralising the virus yet. we still don't know the protection for this new virus. one would be expected to have some level of immunity if positive. some level of immunity is the point that you could have immunity for a short period but crucially what we don't know is whether you could in theory be immune for life. is that a possibility? it is a possibility. we have to look at other coronavirus for the best guess. the story is that antibodies are not long—lived, they do not protect you for ever. thejury is they do not protect you for ever. the jury is still out on exact how long that is. the other thing is, which part of the virus these antibodies are binding too. if it is to the spike, that might be more protective than to other proteins of the virus. we do not know what they are measuring in this particular antibody test yet. you lost me it's likely there with the spike you are more knowledgeable in the field. what is the point you are making there? there is different parts of there? there is different parts of the virus that will enable the virus to enter cells and other parts that are purely structural for its basis of infection. measuring antibodies to the spike, they have potential to block interaction with the virus in the cell. that would mean the antibody could potentially neutralise but there is lots of different areas of the spike that an antibody might stick to. we don't know exactly which antibodies are being measured in this particular test. in terms of all of us watching this in our day—to—day lives, where does this go next? people will be watching this thinking, this is really interesting, i would love to ta ke really interesting, i would love to take it, there could be lots of us who would get a positive result and go oh, my goodness, i didn't know i had it. that is interesting because it speaks to how variable the viruses. but if we still don't know about immunity, how is that in terms of our day—to—day lives, getting back to work, children going back to school, although sorts of issues? back to work, children going back to school, although sorts of issues7m a big questions. the best one that can come out of this is, if you are antibody positive, it is evidence you have been exposed. it is unlikely he would be reinfected again orable to unlikely he would be reinfected again or able to pass the virus on to other people. so you would shield other members of the population that haven't been exposed in that situation. so if we assume antibody positive means potentially immune and not spreading virus or not, that isa and not spreading virus or not, that is a good thing, that will keep the r rates below one. and the more people we can test, the greater knowledge we will have about the population as a whole in terms of geographical variation, sheer numbers of people who might have had it. exactly, a study came out of the university of manchester this morning, estimating 25% of the population might have been exposed. that cannot be proven until we have the antibody results as well, so they will go together, those kinds of studies. professor gary mclean from london metropolitan university. the number of people going to a&e in england has hit a record low — visits more than halved in april compared with the same month last year. the latest nhs figures also show cancer referrals in england have fallen. health charities have warned it could be many months before nhs services return to normal. lauren moss reports. as cases of coronavirus climbed this spring, visits to a&e departments across england plummeted. this is the first time official figures have shown how other areas of the nhs have been affected by the pandemic. as non—urgent procedures were postponed, patients had to wait. roxanne has had stomach pain for several months. her colonoscopy at southmead hospital in bristol was cancelled in april. i feel very abandoned, in a way, because it's kind of like before the covid—i9 situation it was like, right, ok, go to your doctor, you see your doctor, get an appointment, and now the appointments are not happening. i'm sure there are many people in the same boat as me, all thinking the same question and all wondering what's going on. what happens if it's something sinister? more than 181,000 people were referred for an urgent cancer check in march, down by more than 7% on the same time last year. 97,000 fewer patients were admitted for routine treatment and operations, down by a third. the a&e figures for april are the most stark — at its lowest level since records began in 2010 with almost 2 million fewer visits compared to april last year. although it has meant that a&e departments have been a lot quieter than they would otherwise have been, and that has helped in terms of tackling covid, it does mean there are lots of people who should have been turning up to a&e who have not been turning up. as the nhs looks to restart more routine care, leading health think tanks say it could be many months before returning to normality and there will be a backlog. that means we have people with needs before covid struck, so there might have been a waiting list for surgeries. we then have needs that have developed during the covid period, both from people having covid and the support they need but also from the wider health implications of the lockdown. for example, mental health needs. could this be part of the new normal? since the outbreak began the royal berkshire hospital has been using artificial intelligence to read brain scans and diagnose stroke patients faster. it is one of the ways the nhs is adapting and reminding people it's very much open for business. if you are concerned about having a stroke, a heart attack, perhaps cancer, do come forward. and, at the same time, the nhs will be redesigning the way in which services are offered to keep them safe. but there are no easy answers. think tanks warn covid—19 is still a major threat, and there will be painful choices for many months to come. lauren moss, bbc news. new unemployment figures from the united states coming through. the staggering unemployment rate as a result of the pandemic. latest figures show a further 2.98 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in the last week in the us. the best part of 3 million people in the last week. it's means in total over the last eight weeks, more than 36 million people in the us have lost theirjob 36 million people in the us have lost their job and 36 million people in the us have lost theirjob and filed claims for unemployment benefits, essentially. the figure is actually diminishing. it's a huge figure, but it's getting a bit slower each week. but it is still very large overall, of course. the weekly number coming down significantly since its peak, which was in late march, but still a very, very high figure. we will have more from our correspondence in new york in the next little while. another very nearly 3 million people in the us wanting unemployment benefits. the government has promised more details later today of its plan to help care homes in england reduce the number of residents dying with the virus. about a quarter of all known coronavirus deaths in britain have happened in care homes. our social affairs correspondent alison holt explained that the details were still waiting to be approved by government departments. we have scant information about what the infection control plan will be. we are told it will support measures to reduce staff moving between care homes, provide training and protect wages as well as providing a clinical lead for each care home. what that will mean in practise will be closely scrutinised when we finally get the details. because of the high number of deaths in care homes and we are in this for the long run so there could be a second wave of the virus and people will need protected then. but also because of what i would describe as the growing sense of anger amongst people within the care sector who feel that they have been neglected for a long time. it took a long time for people to listen to them. care staff who have spent last week struggling against covid—19, seeing the residents they care for die, will feel this is very late in the day even though it is welcome. and there were certainly plenty of warnings early on about issues about ppe and testing and care homes say they are still finding the support they get patchy. i think what this is done is shine a light on a system that was already under huge pressure, already in crisis. and in the most upsetting way, coronavirus has made the case, displayed at the need for reform which has been talked about for such a long time. in spain, the pandemic is being brought under control, but there is anger about the number of medical workers who've been exposed to the virus. almost 50,000 health staff are known to have been infected — and they now account for half of new cases being detected in the country. our europe correspondent damian grammaticas has been speaking to some of those affected. in madrid's puerta de hierro hospital, applause — not to thank the medics, but from them. to console the family ofjavier ruiz, a porter, one of two workers here who've lost their lives to covid—19. in this hospital, 200 out of 5,000 staff have caught the virus. across spain, more than 50 medics have died. two months into this crisis, what's becoming evident in spain is notjust the toll covid—19 has taken on patients, but on medical workers too. spain has started testing them all and is revealing just how many have been infected. when there was such a pressure coming from the people that got infected in the community, they did not test us, but now the whole country is testing, every single one. even if we haven't had any symptoms at all. so now that's why there's a lot of cases being reported. covid patients require close contact. it's why the risks are so high. the line on the floor is how the doctors try to stay safe. no doctor can cross it without full protection. while they tend to patients, staff in the clean zone pass over what they need. and leaving every room, they disinfect hands. these are procedures that have had to be learned since the outbreak began, and they're followed scrupulously every single time someone comes out of one of the rooms so there's no contagions spread from the dirty areas over there to the clean ones here. it's helped ensure no intensive care staff are among those who've caught the virus. elsewhere, where it's harder to control things, the risks are even greater. oscar rodriguez, an emergency doctor, had covid—19. he's one of around 50,000 medical workers in spain to catch it. now back on call—outs to old people's homes, he takes the same precautions as the intensive care doctors. translation: i feel bad. we don't want to be the european champions when it comes to infected medical workers. it's because we have been exposed so much. at another hospital, a protest. medics who believe they've been failed. the black bin bags they had to wear to try to stay protected. this is you? hector castineira says more than 1000 staff at the hospital caught the virus. his photos include masks issued to medical workers, then withdrawn as unsuitable. we are afraid to go to work because we don't know if the mask is good or is fake, or if we are appropriately protected against the virus. back at the puerta de hierro hospital, ordinary wards now take the extraordinary precautions too. full safety gear for every covid patient. translation: they make miracles, the staff. we're here on our own without family. these hands consoled us. we don't have the words to thank them. thanks shared by a grateful nation as spain's medics continue to risk their health to save others. damian grammaticas, bbc news, madrid. the latest figures from the department of health about the overall title here in the united kingdom. you will no perhaps these figures tend to be released around about the same time every day. and we arejust about the same time every day. and we are just hearing that the number has risen in the last 2a hours by 428, so sadly another four to eight people losing their life with covid—i9. the figures go up to 5pm yesterday evening and the total figure now for the uk is 33,640, thatis figure now for the uk is 33,640, that is a total figure —— scientists say a new test to show whether people have been infected with covid19 is a major step forward — the government says it could be available in a few weeks the number of people going to a&e hits a record low in england, because of the coronavirus pandemic. the government promises more details about help for the care sector. doctors say up to 100 children in the uk have now been treated in hospital for an extremely rare and new inflammatory disease which is linked to coronavirus. last month, the nhs warned medical staff to look out for the condition, after a number of children became seriously ill — including a 14—year—old boy who died. sophie hutchinson reports. i'm feeling better than i was before. 13—year—old luca, one of around 100 children in the uk who have been seriously ill after being infected with covid—i9. luca was rushed to great ormond street hospital around two weeks ago and spent four days in intensive care. his father has been with him the whole time. well, he's been very unwell. he used to have a high temperature, over 40 degrees. we could not drop it down for more than two hours and it was very scary, he was melting, very floppy, no energy. he used to sweat a lot, and very, very scary. this is an exceptionally new illness. it was only officially identified in the uk around two weeks ago after a number of children with unusual symptoms were taken into hospitals, mainly in london, and at least one of them has died they are a group of children who are coming in, some of whom are positive for the virus. and some of whom are positive on antibody testing presenting with very, very high fevers. they are presenting with abdominal pain, diarrhoea, some of them have rashes, and some of them are in shock, with very, very high blood markers of inflammation. it's thought to be the result of a massive overreaction by the body's immune system weeks after the children have been infected with the virus. we've had about 20 or 30 since the 4th of april. at peak we had about six patients a day and now it's one or two a day. similar cases have been seen around the world but despite a number of children becoming critically unwell with this emerging illness it's important to remember that for the vast majority of children covid—i9 is a mild, even an unnoticeable infection. luca spoke to me from his hospital bed. he is hoping to go home today. i was feeling dizzy, i was feeling weak before. i don't really remember because i was intensive care. the main thing i've missed is being home with my mum and my little sister. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. let's talk about the broader picture here in this country. in the last few minutes we have had some fresh data through from the ons, office for national statistics. it has just published the first results of its coronavirus infection survey. just to give you some of the headlines on this, this new data just released, it is estimated that an average of 148,000 people in england had covid—i9, and this is in a very specific period from april 27 of may ten, figures for the general population. which means outside hospitals or care home settings. that is the figure, 148,000 within those dates. let's speak now to pete benton, who's the director of data collection at the office for national statistics. so that is the headline figure, 148,000, this is the general population not health care specific settings. explain how you come about this information in the first place, where does this figure come from? this is a brand—new... ten days from start to finish in the middle of april. we asked people in 10,000 households, about 20,000 people to ta ke households, about 20,000 people to take a swab test, do that every week. we are going to re-establish that line and try and make that rather clearer. i tried very hard to make that as clear as i could at the beginning, but it needs to be really clear because they are fresh ons statistics and we need to be really certain about all of that. we will find out more later, head back to pete benson when we have a clear outline to him. japan's prime minister shinzo abe has partially lifted a state of emergency which was imposed in response to a surge in coronavirus cases. the measures were due to expire at the end of the month — but will now be removed early in 39 of japan's 47 prefectures. however, they will remain in place in some of the biggest cities, including tokyo and osaka, where new cases are still emerging. thousands of businesses have reopened in new zealand, as the country ends its coronavirus lockdown. shops and restaurants have welcomed customers for the first time since march and some barbers began work at the stroke of midnight, to cater for people desperate for a haircut. 0h, oh, yes! the authorities say the risk of transmission in new zealand is now very small — but have urged people to follow social distancing guidelines. shaimaa khalil sent this report. hey! we're back! taking the plunge into new—found freedom. this new zealand mayor went the extra mile, heralding the country's new phase of eased restrictions. new zealanders can once again enjoy going to cinemas, shops and gyms. let's go, let's go — we'll start cutting at 12.01, so come on in. but top of the list for many was getting a haircut. so badly did some people want a trim that they queued through the night to get into salons. she got the boys organised in three hours to open at one minute past 12, so we're going to be looking as sharp as elvis when we turn up at work tomorrow! new zealand is seen as a success story in fighting the virus, with 21 deaths in a population of five million. they've been gradually easing restrictions over the last few weeks. now people can get together in cafes again. it's magic and great to just reconnect and actually be in a different environment. that's been the biggest bonus, i think. good view, lovely day, so yeah, and having someone else make coffee for a change, it's fantastic. businesses will still be required to maintain physical distancing and strict hygiene measures. the other thing that's really bizarre, we are quite proudly displaying our cleaning products and wiping down tables, whereas normally we'd stuff it out of the way. now, it's like, no, no, look at us, we're clean! in christchurch, this college is one of the first educational facilities opening their doors. absolutely delightful. this is what schools are about, the chatter and energy of the girls, smiles all around from teachers and from students and, not surprisingly, from parents as well! like most countries around the world, the economy in new zealand has been hit hard. in its budget announcement the government has unveiled a record $30 billion recovery package. there will be extra spending on wage subsidy schemes, health care and infrastructure. for a nation where the outdoors is a part of everyday life, new zealanders are relieved the lockdown is over. as the country eases into normality, many are still getting to grips with the economic impact covid—i9 will have on their lives. you may now kiss your beautiful bride. for now, some are enjoying the first day of happier times and truly being together again. shaimaa khalil, bbc news. my my hairdresser is probably watching the news like this. most of us a try, may be an isolated shower. cloudy, orshower particularly across the north and west of scotland. northern ireland, may catch one or two. temperatures creeping up a little bit, 11—16 celsius. rather cool tonight. cloud around tonight, pushing down on the north—west wind, showers across scotland. clea rest skies north—west wind, showers across scotland. clearest skies the further south you are, forced against parts of wales, central and southern england in the morning. maybe the odd pocket of ross for some. nowhere near as cold as this morning. friday, dry day for the vast majority, showers in the north and west of scotland, longer spells of rain in shetland. more cold than today, and ii — i7 celsius, similar temperatures. hello, this is bbc news, with jane hill. the headlines: scientists say a new test to show whether people have been infected with covid—i9 is a major step forward — the government says it could be available in a few weeks. the number of people going to a&e hits a record low in england, because of the coronavirus pandemic. the government promises more details about help for the care sector. people queue at midnight for much needed haircuts — as new zealand reopens thousands of businesses at the end of lockdown. much more on all of those stories and in the next half hour or so. right now, we'll catch up with sports news with gavin. a review into the salary cap scandal that saw saracens relegated says that similar offences in the future could see teams stripped of their titles, and even suspended from competition. the review was commissioned after reigning premiership champions, saracens, were found to have breached salary cap regulations in each of the past three seasons. other recommendations include "stronger investigatory powers," and greater accountability for club officials, players and agents, as well as premiership rugby itself. england's bowlers will return to training next week, as the men's team tries to get ready should international cricket begin again injuly. they willjust be training as individuals rather than with teammates. it willjust be centrally contracted players at venues across the country. batsmen are not expected to start their training for another two weeks. the women's team could follow injune. any return to cricket has to be safe. this first phase, step one, it is very clear that this is individual based training. in many ways, we should be able to get the control of the environment right, it is safer to go back to practice nine to go down the supermarket. england and tottenham midfielder, dele alli, has been in training this morning after being held at knifepoint during a burglary at his home, in north london, early yesterday morning. two men broke into his house, threatening and punching alli — who suffered minor facial injuries. the intruders stole items ofjewellery, including watches. alli has been thanking fans for their support on social media — he said... spurs have offered their support to alli and all those isolating with him. they want anyone with information to come forward and help police with their investigation. the men's tour of britain cycling race, which had been due to be held in september, has been cancelled for this year. organisers have admitted it was "impractical" to stage the race amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. the women's race had already been called off. the eight—day event was due to start in penzance and finish in aberdeen. that route will be followed next yea r. mclaren have announced daniel ricciardo willjoin them from the 2021 season as a replacement for carlos sainz, who is moving to ferrari to replace sebastian vettel. ricciardo has signed a long term contract with mclaren and will leave renault at the end of the year. that move paved the way for sainz tojoin ferrari after it was announced on tuesday that vettel would depart at the end of the season. with the return of recreational tennis this week, the chief executive of the lta says there's an "appetite" from elite players for the professional game to return. the top level men's and women's tours have been suspended since march due to covid—i9. there is a strong desire from on these athletes to get back into work hard, obviously. that brings some risks are worth it too. i don't expect necessarily every player to return today or tomorrow, but what we are trying to do is make sure there is a really clear frame work, really clear set of guidance that will allow players the option to return to training, and ways to do so return to training, and ways to do so should they wish to. and professional golf has returned — with the south korean lpga tour resuming today. the klpga championship is taking place at the lakewood country club, in yangju. three of the world's top ten, including major champions park sung hyun and jeong—eun lee, are involved. this is the first golf event to be played worldwide since march 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic. that's all the sport for now. thank you, governor. let's try to resume our conversation about those new ons statistics. the office for national statistics has just proved you some fresh data which talks about essentially the number of people who have had carew not buy this at any one time. this goes from the 27th of april to the 10th of may, the figures suggest that 148,000 people on average had covid—i9 within those dates. these are figures for the general population, meaning more in hospitals or care home settings. those are the new statistics. we are trying to talk to pete benton, the director for data collection for the ons. we will try again. good afternoon, pete, again. fingers crossed we can hear you at this time. explain how you reach these figures and what this data tells you. so this is a brand-new survey. we got it up in about seven days flat, and absolute record for us. we invited people in 10,000 households in england to take a swab test once a week for five weeks, i'd like to carry on a 21 for a year. 10% of those we have also invited to do a blood test to check whether they have antibodies. we publish results today based on swabs from just about 10,000 people. it tells us that about 0.72% of the population, but 140,000 of us, how a coronavirus. it isa 140,000 of us, how a coronavirus. it is a survey and we have the gross let up to be representative of the whole population. there is a bit of uncertainty when you do that. pretty confident, lead to a number somewhere between 140 9000—200,000. that is interesting in itself. how much detail is that beyond that? one of the things we might be interested in is of the things we might be interested inisa of the things we might be interested in is a geographical variation. we might think that more people are going to get this in an urban area than a rural area for example, can you extrapolate at all? lupine is, once we have done at the pilot and learn everything we need to do, we will scale it up to about 300,000 people over the next few months. that will let others know about regional analysis in large cities so we will understand how the level of infection are changing through time, how men who have got it now, next week, last week? further, understanding new incidents, whether it is increasing or decreasing through the population. so it is a very powerful monitoring tool to give information about the next steps on the lockdown and how that might be either. that is crucial information i assume for government and policymakers because that helps that planning? absolutely, it will be one of the key bits of information alongside information on deaths and hospital admissions. what is unique about this survey is that we ta ke is unique about this survey is that we take a random sample of households, that is people who may be completely well, in fact, most of them are, then we work out the percentage of everybody who has coronavirus even if they have only got very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. that is a small questionnaire goes along are asking about the group, the jobs they do, their age, whether or not they are shielding, without they are working at home. we have the very first bits of information coming today. it shows that there is not much difference by age according to whether people have the infection or not, but we have seen the difference in thejobs that not, but we have seen the difference in the jobs that people do. if you have a look at health care workers and people with patient facing health care roles, or in social care we re health care roles, or in social care were resident facing roles, for them, the level of infection is about 1.3%. there is a range of uncertainty up there again, but that is higher than in people not working and those kind of drills. the rest of us not working in those kind of roles we are in about 0.2%, in much lower number so that is a significant difference depending on the bow is that people do. over time, we will get more detail as the survey grows. again, that tells policymakers who need the most protection, the most help, although sorts of issues. i assuming from everything described so far that someone everything described so far that someone could be part of this survey, the good thing, i will take part, iam survey, the good thing, i will take part, i am completely well and healthy, at then transpires that they do in fact have covid—19. i guess that can happen? that can happen, yes. a huge thank you to everybody who has agreed to take pa rt everybody who has agreed to take part in this. after the swab test, they are sent to one of the best la bs they are sent to one of the best labs in the country in milton keynes, they check to see if the virus a dna is present in the genetic material. if that is positive, then we get that information back at ons, but we were also write to their gp to let them know the outcome so they will know that you have a positive test. interesting. perhaps we will talk to you again as this develops because it is clearly a very big project. thank you very much for now, pete benton. the other big topic talking about today is less antibody test. it was given the go—ahead by public health england, it assesses whether someone health england, it assesses whether someone has been infected with covid—19 in the past, it could apply to people who have had it and don't even know. so this is quite an exciting new blood test. we have had a lot of questions about that today. my colleague, martine croxall, put those questions to our science correspondent, pallab ghosh, earlier today. the first question, what is the difference between an antibody test and an immunity test? the simple answer is that an immunity test will tell you whether you are immune to a certain disease, in this case, coronavirus, and the antibody test which we have will tell you whether you have got antibodies against it. normally, if you get a disease the body has an immune response and it has antibodies which fight the virus and defeat it. should you get reinfected, it will defeat it again. in this instance, coronavirus is unusual in that there are cases of reinfection. just because you have had it or have antibodies, it does not guarantee that you are immune. that is crucial, because boris johnson described the arrival, the potential arrival of this test back in march, as a game changer. now that it is about to arrive, public health england described it as a positive step forward. the reason of the change in superlatives is the fact that because having antibodies to coronavirus doesn't necessarily guarantee immunity, it is much less useful to individuals because you do not know if it is safer for you to become reinfected. who gets to be immune and who doesn't? does it depend on the severity of the infection that you suffer? with this particular one, with a lot of diseases, if you are vaccinated against it, you are immune and you will not become ill in most cases. with this, there is no guarantee that you won't become infected. we do not know whether there are some groups that are more susceptible to infection or not. what we do know is that the older you are, the more likely you are to get severe symptoms, and also the fact that young children develop very mild symptoms. as to immunity, we haven't got a clue what is going on. will the tests pick up the presence of antibodies for all strains of coronavirus? coronavirus is a family of viruses, and there are all sorts of diseases. it refers to the shape of the spikes of the virus that you see in the graphics that we use. anything with spikes is a coronavirus. the particular coronavirus that is keeping us all indoors, covid—19, is a particular type. that has mutated a little bit, but not much. this particular antibody test will test for a slightly different versions of covid—19. what this test is reliable for is to tell you whether you have had covid—19 or not. how much work is being done on the various aspects on this particular form of coronavirus, because you said that there is so much that we don't know about it and whether it mutates. there was also talk of a super covid—19 that had formed in europe and north america? as you might imagine, that is a real game changer. once we understand more about the virus, why it seems to affect certain groups of people more than others and, in particular, immunity, then we can make more informed decisions about how it is locked and measures. at the moment, all we can really do is to look at any increase of hospital admissions, by which time it is probably a bit too late. and then undo some of the easing if it looks like the virus is getting out of control. if we know that certain groups of people are really immune to covid—19, then we can make more informed decisions as to who can safely go back to work. if people had the virus but were asymptomatic, would the test still work? that is one of the really useful things about the antibody tests because another unknown is how many people in the population have had the virus without knowing about it. that, in turn, is important because those people may well, and probably do, be able to transmit the virus. that can be in the mathematical models to give a more informed indication of the r number as to what is likely to happen in relation to the spread of the disease. this particular test, as it is rolled out, will not be that useful to individuals, it will be an enormous benefit to scientists because it will begin to answer some of the unanswered questions and make some of the mathematical models more reliable. we can monitor which of the lockdown measures are working, which are not and ministers can take a more informed decision as to whether children can go back to school or not. or whether certain shops or restaurants, whether it is safe to open them or not, rather than trying it out and seeing what happens. the world health organization has warned against the idea of using antibody tests to issue what has called an immunity passport to say that you have had it, you have got some antibodies in your system, because they said it isn't a guarantee that you won't get it again? it might give you a false sense of security. there was talk of having immunity passports. that was if the antibody tests does show that you have it. you could safely go about your work. you might have had it, not suffered severe symptoms, but we do not know whether a repeat infection would mean that you will develop severe sentence. that's why this immunity test, this antibody test, at the moment, is of limited use, and she certainly cannot be given an immunity passport if you are found to have antibodies against the virus. even if you have got the antibodies against the virus, can you still carry it, transmit it and infect other people? very much so. there is a kind of limited period during which you can transmit the virus. the chances are that if you have had symptoms, that is the time that you are most infectious. if you are nowadays stage you are testing positive for the antibodies, you probably are not at risk of transmitting. when will the tests likely be rolled out? they say it will be rolled out to help staff and other workers first, and then to the wider community. at the moment, the government is trying to negotiate with the company that has made the test to see how many it can buy. once that deal has been done and they know how many they can afford and how quickly they can get it, i am sure they will give some indication of what, how it will be rolled out. how is the test likely to be administered? it is a blood test, not a home blood test which was a possibility some months ago when the government was enthusiastic about the availability of those tears. home tests were found not to be reliable, what it involves is sending blood away to a lab or a testing facility and having the results sent back to you. one way of doing it simply and quickly is to have it available at gp surgeries. as to whether gp surgeries have got the capacity to cope with that, that is not known. there are a lot of details yet to be worked out. this might also be for that category. apart from nhs care and key workers, will the tests be readily available for all the general public, orjust a selective proportion? when the government was talking about it back in march, wthe idea was to have it available for the general population. one wonders how useful it will be for the general population if you are not going to get an awful lot of information out of it. i think what is more likely is that once we do know where we stand with immunity, that is the point at which it might become more useful for the general population to have. at the moment, we can tell very little about it on a personal basis, but it is of huge use to scientists who are trying to track the spread of the virus and give advice to ministers as to what they can and cannot do in relation to ending lockdown. some antibody tests are being advertised, you can buy them privately and they cost £99 and upwards. are companies allowed to sell at this price? how reliable are they? they are not reliable enough to guarantee that you have had the antibody. as we have been discussing, even this test, which is 100% reliable to show whether you have developed antibodies to the disease or not, if you have had it or not, it is of limited use. countries are allowed to sell them, but as to whether you want to spend £99 on something which doesn't give you very much useful information, that is a decision for yourself. could identifying antibodies play a part in creating a vaccine to combat the virus? not directly, but it will help in looking at whether certain groups of people, certain ages, are more immune to the disease or not, who the people are that have had the virus but not shown any symptoms. so that could be another lead for vaccine developers to try and find a way of finding out why they are immune and other people are not. there is a suggestion that oestrogen might be one of the reasons that women tend to get it less frequently or less severely than men? that is one of the many strands that researchers are looking at, and there was a whole gene survey of people that was announced yesterday to get to the bottom of why different people seem to have different reactions to being infected by this virus, which does seem to be one of the most puzzling viruses that scientists have come across. our signs correspondence beating aldeburgh earlier today to martine croxall. very much one of our main stories here, that a new antibody test. let's turn to a different element of the coronavirus pandemic. the un today has said it is causing widespread psychological distress. ed said it is exacerbated by a long—term lack of investment in mental health care in many countries. let's discuss that with a gp and campaigner for mental and emotional well—being. it is an enormous topic and one understands why we talk increasingly about the issues around mental health in relation to a lockdown in particular. it is so difficult, because i aren't tempted to ask you what can and should we all be doomed to try and deal with less, but that is such a huge question. you are the doctors so i will start and that area if ate me? i think every single one of us across the planet has been experiencing anxiety, fear, anger, worry so experiencing anxiety, fear, anger, worry so i want mental health is really under the at the moment. i am keen on promoting the practical strategies and at the kind of those who can be used in day—to—day to help ourselves. i have come up with my five cs. one of those is control. there are things we cannot control at the moment there are things that we can control. for example, keeping ourselves safe as possible, following medical advice and also choosing the right coping strategy to help ourselves. also, things we cannot control. when those things come into our head and mind, try to visualise and let those things go or use a distraction. the other c is care, getting up, getting showered, getting dressed every day. the third cis getting dressed every day. the third c is continuity. in a world that is not normal, how can we create structure and routine and our days? the fourth one is creativity, using a rts the fourth one is creativity, using arts and crafts and music and all the things we know are good, like nature, to help us with our mental health. the last one is compassion, not only been kind to other people but also been kind to ourselves when we are having a difficult day. i'm interested in the number of people we have spoken to whether you're sort of expertise, they all mention structure and routine, it comes up every time, that is so interesting. is that a key element, even if you perhaps are not going to work, that heart do not stay at your pj's all day and watch a boxer it's however tempting that may be? absolutely, i don't have my pyjama bottoms on and at the moment so you're ok. so structure and timetable. as humans, we like habit, our brain is one thing is called habit looks, we get into the structure and routine of doing those habits every day. they give us a sense of safety because there is a famous hierarchy of human needs, one of those things is safety at the bottom of that triangle. routine, habit, structure — those kind of touchstones of normality. maybe your favourite programme or favourite podcast, they all help us feel safe in times of anxiety and co nsta nt feel safe in times of anxiety and constant change, that is what we really need. i am sorry you cannot speak longer about interesting to hear your perspective. let's have a look at the weather with nick millard. hello, gardeners can relax soon, daytime temperatures will be heading up daytime temperatures will be heading up in all parts. you have to go back nearly 40 years for a cold may night down at last night in northern ireland. not the only place last night i saw a frost. it is about to change gradually over the next few days, the aircoming change gradually over the next few days, the air coming up from the south—west eventually. all parts will be turning warmer next week. temperatures have rebounded a.d. a bit after that telly star, helped by plenty of sunshine. more clothes around scotland. dry temperatures for the most part, 11 to 15 celsius climber. into tonight, what we will find is that the cloud will tend to increase from the north, still some showers in northern and western scotland, one or two in northern ireland and may be north—west england. clearness over wales, some in parts of england, where tempers will be lowest. again, that freight ofa will be lowest. again, that freight of a touch of frost in places. enter tomorrow, a cloudy day compared to today, a chance of a shower towards wales, north—west england, northern ireland. most temperatures on par with today, a little bit higher across particularly central and eastern parts of england, up to around 17 celsius or so. high pressure slipping away southwards going into the weekend, eventually these with the fans will come into play by sunday. for sunday, pretty much as you wear, so our play by sunday. for sunday, pretty much as you wear, so our cloud in scotla nd much as you wear, so our cloud in scotland and northern ireland, china for one or two showers here, still largely dry for england and wales, areas of hazy sunshine. saturday into sunday, weather france will bring thicker cloudy and more widespread rain towards parts of northern ireland and scotland. so something to play for in that detail, still some hazy brightness. this is bbc news i'mjane hill. the headlinesat three... as the death toll in the uk of coronavirus—related deaths rises by 428 — scientists say a new test to show whether people have been infected with covid19 is a major step forward — the government says it could be available in weeks. we are keen to get as many as we can and get them out, primarily to the front line first, nhs, social care, and then more widely. this really will be as the prime minister said a game changer. the number of people going to a&e hits a record low in england, because of the coronavirus pandemic. the government promises more details about help for the care sector. people queue at midnight for much needed haircuts — as new zealand reopens thousands of businesses at the end of lockdown. # when tears are in your eyes #. and the hospital choir whose bridge over troubled water got a shout out from paul simon. the government has announced that a further 428 people have died with coronavirus in the uk — bringing the total number of deaths in hospitals and the wider community to 33,614 people. the news comes as scientists say a new blood test, which detects whether someone has had coronavirus, is a major step forward. the test looks for antibodies which could indicate some immunity to covid—19 in the future. it was approved last night by public health england, and ministers say they want to roll it out as soon as possible — first to health and care workers. but experts have cautioned that it's not yet clear whether someone who has recovered from the illness develops long—term immunity. here's our health correspondent dominic hughes. a reliable, accurate antibody test that can tell if a person has had covid—19 is one of the keys to escaping the coronavirus crisis. now a test developed by scientists at the swiss pharmaceutical giant roche offers serious potential. having been officially approved for use in england, the nhs is now negotiating to buy hundreds of thousands of them. officials in scotland, wales and northern ireland will make their own decisions but are likely to follow suit. are likely to follow suit. we are keen to get as many as we can and get them out, primarily to the front line first, the nhs and social care, and then more widely because this has the potential to be a game changer. the test can detect the presence of antibodies in the blood, produced if you have had the illness, even if you have never had any symptoms. that is vital because antibodies could offer protection against reinfection, at least for a while. knowing which people have had the virus and therefore should be protected from it, and we will need to know more about that, is again good news and should enable us to understand how the virus has spread and where it has spread to across the population. that knowledge is really important. developing a test that is good enough has proved difficult. this laboratory in south wales was one of hundreds around the world involved in the effort, and there have been false dawns. the uk government bought more than three million tests that proved to be ineffective. questions remain over the level of immunity you might gain from having had the illness. you can say for certain you have had the infection, so you will have had covid—19. that is useful for a variety of reasons, but what you cannot absolutely for sure say is that you will be protected in the future because those antibodies are capable of neutralising the virus. nhs officials in england still need to negotiate an acceptable price, with roche, and other tests are also being assessed, but this is being hailed as the best prospect so far. dominic hughes, bbc news. our health correspondent, nick triggle is here. we nick triggle is here. are also interested in this but we we are also interested in this but we still don't know what it offers in terms of immunity. why is it important? we talk about testing a lot, we identify who is infected now with the daily tests. these tests look at if a person has been infected previously, that is very important. these have been developed by swiss company roche, who have found it is very accurate in identifying if you have had the virus in the past and if you haven't had the virus. a lot of antibody tests can throw up false positives so can tests can throw up false positives so can be misleading. this seems to be accurate for both measures. public health england have approved it for use here, they say it is a very positive development. that is because it will identify how widespread. .. because it will identify how widespread... also it will help individuals find out if they have had it and perhaps have developed immunity. what we don't know is how strong that immunity may be. and how long it will last. there is still a big? about these tests. and who would be getting these tests? the government said health and social ca re government said health and social care workers, it would help them go back to work. absolutely. when we say we don't know how strong any immunity would be in someone who turns out to have had covid—19, is it accurate to say there is a strong likelihood you would say have some short—term immunity, but the thing we don't know is whether you are protected for life. we wish that we re protected for life. we wish that were the case but we really don't know, do we? know, we don't, this virus has only been around four or five months. there is no way of knowing. quite! we know the immunity is quite strong for at least one month. one of the consequences, other coronavirus train circulate and immunity tends not to last very long for those so we have to give this time and find out more about the virus and how long the immunity lasts. the other thing with this test, it has to be taken as a blood sample by a health worker. previous antibody tests which didn't work could have been done on a fingerprint test so would in theory bea fingerprint test so would in theory be a lot easier to administer and provide to the whole population, this is a slightly more competitive process. are all very interesting, thank you very much. the number of people going to a&e in england has hit a record low — visits more than halved in april compared with the same month last year. the latest nhs figures also show cancer referrals in england have fallen. health charities have warned it could be many months before nhs services return to normal. lauren moss reports. as cases of coronavirus climbed this spring, visits to a&e departments across england plummeted. this is the first time official figures have shown how other areas of the nhs have been affected by the pandemic. as non—urgent procedures were postponed, patients had to wait. roxanne has had stomach pain for several months. her colonoscopy at southmead hospital in bristol was cancelled in april. i feel very abandoned, in a way, because it's kind of like before the covid—19 situation it was like, right, ok, go to your doctor, you see your doctor, get referred for an appointment, and now the appointments are not happening. i'm sure there are many people in the same boat as me, all thinking the same question and all wondering what's going on. what happens if it's something sinister? more than 181,000 people were referred for an urgent cancer check in march, down by more than 7% on the same time last year. 97,000 fewer patients were admitted for routine treatment and operations, down by a third. the a&e figures for april are the most stark — at their lowest level since records began in 2010 with almost two million fewer visits compared to april last year. although it has meant that a&e departments have been a lot quieter than they would otherwise have been, and that has helped in terms of tackling covid, it does mean there are lots of people who should have been turning up to a&e who have not been turning up. as the nhs looks to restart more routine care, leading health think tanks say it could be many months before returning to normality and there will be a backlog. that means we have people with needs before covid struck, so they might have been a waiting list for surgeries. we then have needs that have developed during the covid period, both from people having covid and the support they need but also from the wider health implications of the lockdown. for example, mental health needs. could this be part of the new normal? since the outbreak began, the royal berkshire hospital has been using artificial intelligence to read brain scans and diagnose stroke patients faster. it is one of the ways the nhs is adapting and reminding people it's very much open for business. if you are concerned about having a stroke, a heart attack, perhaps cancer, do come forward. and, at the same time, the nhs will be redesigning the way in which services are offered to keep them safe. but there are no easy answers. think tanks warn covid—19 is still a major threat, and there will be painful choices for many months to come. lauren moss, bbc news. the world health organization has warned that covid—19 might never be eradicated. its emergencies expert, michael ryan, said the virus may become endemic, and compared it to hiv, which he said the world had learned to manage. japan's prime minister shinzo abe has partially lifted a state of emergency which was imposed in response to a surge in coronavirus cases. the measures were due to expire at the end of the month — but will now be removed early in 39 of japan's 47 prefectures. however, they will remain in place in some of the biggest cities, including tokyo and osaka, where new cases are still emerging. lockdown has been lifted in the chinese city of wuhan — and things are getting back to normal with rush hour traffic almost at a standstill this morning. wuhan was the original epicentre of the outbreak — and had its strick lockdown lifted in early april — but local authorities reported new cases on monday, the first since the lockdown was lifted in the area. thousands of businesses have reopened in new zealand, as the country ends its coronavirus lockdown. shops and restaurants have welcomed customers for the first time since march and some barbers began work at the stroke of midnight, to cater for people desperate for a haircut. taking the plunge into new—found freedom. this new zealand mayor went the extra mile, heralding the country's new phase of eased restrictions. new zealanders can once again enjoy going to cinemas, shops and gyms. let's go, let's go — we'll start cutting at 12.01, so come on in. but top of the list for many was getting a haircut. so badly did some people want a trim that they queued through the night to get into salons. she got the boys organised in three hours to open at one minute past 12, so we're going to be looking as sharp as elvis when we turn up at work tomorrow! new zealand is seen as a success story in fighting the virus, with 21 deaths in a population of five million. they've been gradually easing restrictions over the last few weeks. now people can get together in cafes again. it's magic and great to just reconnect and actually be in a different environment. that's been the biggest bonus, i think. good view, lovely day, so yeah, and having someone else make coffee for a change, it's fantastic. businesses will still be required to maintain physical distancing and strict hygiene measures. the other thing that's really bizarre, we are quite proudly displaying our cleaning products and wiping down tables, whereas normally we'd stuff it out of the way. now, it's like, no, no, look at us, we're clean! in christchurch, this college is one of the first educational facilities opening their doors. absolutely delightful. this is what schools are about, the chatter and energy of the girls, smiles all around from teachers and from students and, not surprisingly, from parents as well! like most countries around the world, the economy in new zealand has been hit hard. in its budget announcement the government has unveiled a record $30 billion recovery package. there will be extra spending on wage subsidy schemes, health care and infrastructure. for a nation where the outdoors is a part of everyday life, new zealanders are relieved the lockdown is over. as the country eases into normality, many are still getting to grips with the economic impact covid—19 will have on their lives. you may now kiss your beautiful bride. for now, some are enjoying the first day of happier times and truly being together again. shaimaa khalil, bbc news. in the last while the office for national statistics has published the first results from its coronavirus infection survey. based on the findings, it's estimatedthat an average of 148,000 people in england had covid 19 between april 27th and may 10th, in the general population — that's outside hospitals and care home settings. and it is estimated that an average of 0.27% of the community population had covid—19 at any given time between 27 april and 10 may 2020. our statistics expert, the bbc head of statistics, robert cuffe is here. the bbc‘s head of statistics. so many figures going around my brain. we look at these figures, within these dates, and if your looks at that thinking, ok, what does that mean for me? do these figures tell mean for me? do these figures tell me how any more at risk i am of getting this virus? i think what they tell you is the risk is quite low. if we strip away from some of the fine detail of the numbers, what we are hearing is roughly about one in 400 people in england, roughly, have come of it —— matt calvert micro at the moment. my risk of catching it at the moment —— of catching it at the moment —— of catching covid—19 at the moment is low. it was increasing rapidly but at the moment the risk of catching it from strangers is low. whether you are young or old, the risk of catching it is the same. the risk of dying is higher if you are older but for most people a lower risk of catching covid—19 at the moment. these figures are useful for government. what is done with these figures in public policy terms? they need more data than this, but how is this useful? if you say the risk of getting it is low it is time to hug strangers in parks, but that is very much not the case. the other round number we heard earlier, 150,000 people in england have covid—19 at the moment if these figures are right. controlling it, lockdown and keeping people from contact and the track and trace. you find out who has had it, who they have been in touch with, i salute as individuals, keep the virus down. if you are trying to do it with 150,000 people in england, that is logistically too much to be taking on at the moment. the total number of people who we think of it gives us a good estimate of how hard it is if we came out of lockdown suddenly. track and trace probably wouldn't be able to keep that kind of an epidemic under control. you probably still would wa nt to control. you probably still would want to see the numbers coming down a bit before you can relinquish to lock down even further. my risk is in very high, but that does not mean the story is over. absolutely, and ultimately this is a big project which is growing, but we want to know about the whole uk. it is a shame this is england only because we wa nt shame this is england only because we want to know, we are one nation, about the big picture. this is very much the pilots. they are aiming for 20,000 houses, they have information from 10,000 people in this tranche of data. 300,000 people within the year. you get the study up and running, it will inform the picture across the uk as a whole. thank you, robert calf. doctors say up to 100 children in the uk have now been treated in hospital for an extremely rare and new inflammatory disease which is linked to coronavirus. last month, the nhs warned medical staff to look out for the condition, after a number of children became seriously ill — including a 14—year—old boy who died. sophie hutchinson reports. i'm feeling better than i was before. 13—year—old luca, one of around 100 children in the uk who have been seriously ill after being infected with covid—19. luca was rushed to great ormond street hospital around two weeks ago and spent four days in intensive care. his father has been with him the whole time. well, he's been very unwell. he used to have high temperature, over 40 degrees. we could not drop it down for more than two hours because it was very scary, he was melting, very floppy, no energy. he used to sweat a lot and very, very scary. this is an exceptionally new illness. it was only officially identified in the uk around two weeks ago after a number of children with unusual symptoms were taken into hospitals, mainly in london, and at least one of them has died. they are a group of children who are coming in, some of whom are positive for the virus. and some of whom are positive on antibody testing presenting with very, very high fevers. they are presenting with abdominal pain, diarrhoea, some of them have rashes, and some of them are in shock, with very, very high blood markers of inflammation. it's thought to be the result of a massive overreaction by the body's immune system weeks after the children have been infected with the virus. we've had about 20 or 30 since the 4th of april. at peak we had about six patients a day and now it's one or two a day. similar cases have been seen around the world but despite a number of children becoming critically unwell with this emerging illness it's important to remember that for the vast majority of children covid—19 is a mild, even an unnoticeable infection. luca spoke to me from his hospital bed. he is hoping to go home today. i was feeling dizzy, i was feeling weak before. i don't really remember because i was intensive care. the main thing i've missed is being home with my mum and my little sister. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. i'm joined now byjeremy rossman, honorary senior lecturer in virology at the university of kent — he's in chicago right now and he joins us from there. actually, from chicago. can we put this in context first of all? it is important to say this is still a tiny percentage of cases, isn't it? yes, for the vast majority of children, covid—19 is an extraordinarily mild illness and children fare the best out of almost any age group for covid—19, even with this new syndrome accounted for. but this is a new and emerging syndrome and it is quite scary. and because so few children have had it, mercifully on one level, but i am assuming for people such as yourself, that makes it hard to study, to understand what is going on here because you have very few case histories to examine. this is a very new and emerging collection of symptoms and we have very few cases and this is something we are just starting to understand. we need a lot more data and a lot more understanding of exactly what is occurring in these children. it is just very new right now. and we do not have a lot of data. because when we talk about covid—19 in relation to the adult population, we talk a lot about people with underlying health conditions and how that does make someone, an adult, more vulnerable. is there a parallel bear? does that apply in children? again, we unfortunately do not know. -- is again, we unfortunately do not know. —— is there a parallel there? is there an issue underlying predisposing these children? we do not know why certain children, again a very small number, but certain children are having this runaway immune reaction and presumably to the virus, but again we don't know exactly the intersection between the virus and this information response. we u nfortu nately virus and this information response. we unfortunately just don't virus and this information response. we unfortunatelyjust don't know yet. given that, what would you say to pa re nts ? yet. given that, what would you say to parents? to be alert. now, anybody should be alert for symptoms of covid—19, especially fever and respiratory distress, but with children there is also a new importance to really be paying attention to any sort of gastrointestinal distress, severe stomach pain or rash, especially combined with a fever. because these can be, orat combined with a fever. because these can be, or at least symptoms, of the new hyper information disease. it is very important to be alert. there is no need to be panicking, these are still very low numbers, but be alert to the slightly different symptoms that we would see with this new hyper inflammation compared to the covid—19 disease with results. —— with adults. the online media firm, buzzfeed, is to close its uk news operation. the website said it had taken the decision for ‘economic and strategic reasons'. buzzfeed has won widespread acclaim for its investigative journalism and reaching young audiences. let's talk to our media and arts correspondent, david sillito. what is behind this, david? people think of this is successful. if anyone was the poster child for trying to make news work online, it was passed fit. started off with funny, viral videos and moved very successfully into news, even nominated for a pulitzer prize in 2017. -- nominated for a pulitzer prize in 2017. —— buzzfeed. page views do not make money in the internet world, they have struggled for advertising. this is part of a longer shift, they have been struggling to make money especially through facebook as it changed its news feed and a lot of the journalist, i was there only a few years ago, there were more than 100. now they have closed down the new side of it in the uk industry. this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to howjournalism and news is being affected by virus. because of the huge downturn that is taking place in advertising. there was one survey at the end of april but said the amount of money that organisations were taking in had gone down by around one third. the reason for this, the first budget to a lwa ys reason for this, the first budget to always be cut in a downturn is advertising and the second is, so many people with advertising campaigns, they say it's does not fit the world as it is at the moment and have just stopped fit the world as it is at the moment and havejust stopped it. fit the world as it is at the moment and have just stopped it] fit the world as it is at the moment and havejust stopped it. , thank you, david. a group of nhs workers in wales have become an internet hit, after their rendition of simon and garfunkel‘s bridge over troubled water was shared around the world. the video made by staff at a coronavirus field hospital in llandudno came to the attention of paul simon, who described it as "extraordinary". tomos morgan reports. # when you're weary. # feeling small... the harmonies of nhs workers in north wales. collaborating in a bilingual rendition in both welsh and english of simon and garfunkel‘s famous bridge over troubled water. sings in welsh. these medical professionals have been working out of venue cymru, a theatre hall in llandudno, which has been converted into field hospital ysbyty enfys, translated as " rainbow hospital". if it helps bring any awareness, i'm just glad of the opportunity to do a little something to help. their rendition has been an internet hit, with the song's composer, paul simon, sharing it on social media. and one of venue cymru's usual stars was all applause for this welsh performance. ijust thought it was such a positive response to such an awful situation, because we normally go there and play when everybody is enjoying themselves. now nobody can go and play anywhere, so to turn this into something like this is really wonderful, i think it's really great, what they've done. from paramedics to doctors, porters and nurses, those working on the front line tackling coronavirus are still staying strong and able to bring a smile to our faces in these most testing times. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. after the chilly start temperatures have crept up helped by sunshine. thick is in scotland, especially the north and west, showers there and in northern ireland. breezy with the showers in north—west scotland that continued overnight, still the odd one for northern ireland. maybe in north—west england overnight. much of the uk will be dry. whereas skies wales, southern half of england, temperatures close to freezing. we are most likely to see frost here in places. tomorrow expecting a cloudy day, still some sunny spells are run. the chance for showers in wales, north—west england, northern ireland, still in north—west scotland, still quite breezy there. temperatures on par with delay, or salvos, central and eastern parts. is hello, this is bbc news — with me, jane hill. the headlines: scientists say a new test to show whether people have been infected with coronavirus is a major step forward — it comes as the death toll in the uk rose by 428. the number of people going to a&e hits a record low in england because of the coronavirus pandemic. the government promises more details about help for the care sector. businesses across new zealand reopen with the easing of restrictions introduced nearly two months ago to prevent the spread of the coronavirus — no new infections have been recorded there for several consecutive days. sport — and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, here's gavin. good afternoon. a review into the salary cap scandal that saw saracens relegated, says that similar offences in the future could see teams stripped of their titles — and even suspended from competition. the review was commissioned after reigning premiership champions, saracens, were found to have breached salary cap regulations in each of the past three seasons. other recommendations include "stronger investigatory powers" and greater accountability for club officials, players and agents, as well as premiership rugby itself. england's bowlers will return to training next week — as the men's team tries to get ready should international cricket begin again injuly. they will be training as individuals rather than with teammates. it willjust be centrally contracted players at venues across the country. batsmen are not expected to start their training for another two weeks. the women's team could follow injune. any return to cricket has to be safe. this first phase, step one, it is very clear that this is individual based training. in many ways, we should be able to get the control of the environments right, that it's safer to go back to practice nine to go down the supermarket. the chief executive of west indies cricket, says he believes this summer's tour of england will go ahead, but says players will be "very nervous" about travelling. the three—test series was due to start on 4thjune, but has been postponed until at leastjuly. our players will be very nervous in terms of going to the uk. their most paramount importance to all of us is the health and safety of all our players. yes, the ecb has a lot of money riding on it in terms of tv but there is going to be no sort of coercing players into less cord. we have to be absolutely clear that aired his safe first and foremost, and if it is, surely information we have and try to make life as comfortable as we possibly could for those players. england and tottenham midfielder dele alli, has been in training today — after being held at knife—point, during a burglary at his home in north london, early yesterday morning. two men broke into his house, threatening and punching alli, who suffered minor facial injuries. the intruders stole items ofjewellery including watches. alli has been thanking fans for their support on social media — he said: the men's tour of britain cycling race, which had been due to be held in september, has been cancelled for this year. organisers have admitted it was "impractical" to stage the race amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. the women's race had already been called off. the eight—day event was due to start in penzance and finish in aberdeen. that route will be followed next yea r. mclaren have announced daniel ricciardo willjoin them from the 2021 season as a replacement for carlos sainz, who is moving to ferrari to replace sebastian vettel. ricciardo has signed a long term contract with mclaren and will leave renault at the end of the year. that move paved the way for sainz tojoin ferrari after it was announced on tuesday that vettel would depart at the end of the season. and professional golf has returned — with the south korean lpga tour resuming today. the klpga championship is taking place at the lakewood country club, in yangju. three of the world's top ten, including major champions park sung hyun and jeong—eun lee, are involved. this is the first golf event to be played worldwide since march 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic. that's all the sport for now. the long—term economic damage caused by the pandemic is likely to be felt acutely by young people. many companies have paused recruitment, cancelled internships and reduced staff numbers. the lockdown has also prompted some people in their 20s to reassess their working lives, and to try something new. here's our business correspondent, sarah corker. three, two, one, off you go. fitness... emma, go for it. ..farming... most of our workers tend to be students. ..and something far more relaxing. i'm spending pretty much all my days nowjust painting. for these young people the pandemic is taking their careers on a different path. i've gone from a large office in the middle of soho to being at home, painting in my bedroom. last week, sisi, from london left herjob at one of the world's largest advertising firms to follow her artistic dreams. i definitely don't think i would have made this decision or made thejump if it hadn't been for lockdown, actually. i've always loved art, i've always loved painting and drawing, and it was really actually working from home, being in lockdown, and having that time to really think about what it is i want and what it is i enjoy the most. history shows that young people may face years of reduced pay and limited job prospects, long after this economic crisis has passed. some millennials have had no other choice but to press the pause button on their careers. others, though, have adapted, innovated in some unexpected ways. farming is one of the few industries still recruiting. in north yorkshire, 22—year—old tom has diversified his online recruitment platform. he's now connecting farmers with fruit and vegetable pickers. at the moment we're getting such high demand from students, from people who have been furloughed, also from self—employed who are just sat at home now. they've had this realisation that they need to make some money and they'd love to help the country as well. and down, all the way down. and even the way we exercise has changed. boot camp instructors becky and katie are now running virtual classes on zoom. the first week, a bit nervous, not great with technology, i'm not going to lie, so there were a few little teething problems, but i've got it sussed. from their homes in reading, they're working out with people from as far afield as ireland and canada. and, rest. well done, everyone. do you think this is the fitness industry changed forever? a lot of our members are really happy that they can do five boot camps a week as opposed to only being able to make it up to the field once or twice. so it's actually suiting people's lifestyles. the under—25s may be the most financially vulnerable in this crisis, but they're using technology to open up new opportunities and now have more time to try out new strokes. sarah corker, bbc news. the government has published new guidance this week on how we should be travelling around the uk and abroad. at the moment, the foreign office still says british nationals should only be travelling abroad for essential reasons. and in the uk, it's warning pople not to car share or hitchhike. simon calder is the travel editor for the independent. he has been going through the government guidance and joins me now. i'm wondering if it is that with overseas travel, which i'm hoping is that a bit more simple and these current times, basically, do not go — that is what we are being told. yes, there is a whole sequence of things which result means that you andi things which result means that you and i and the viewers cannot get anywhere abroad unless it is for a very good reason. there are five test going on. the first one, can you get to the airport? no, you cannot anywhere in england, wales, scotla nd cannot anywhere in england, wales, scotland and northern ireland. secondly, can you go abroad? the foreign office says no, again, it is urging against all but essential travel. thirdly, is going to be an airline that is prepared to take you? yes, airline that is prepared to take you ? yes, there airline that is prepared to take you? yes, there is. ryanair are stepping up their flights from july. british airways and easyjet are not so british airways and easyjet are not so certain. fourth and very critical, is the destination going to let you in? well, that is a good question. spain has got a two week quarantine for everybody, to weeks of lockdown if you are flying in to spain, that as from tomorrow but only for a limited duration. crucially, what happens with the quarantine rules that we have been told about here? leave the thing is, will you be able to tolerate the bills that are brought in by the government which will require almost eve ryo ne government which will require almost everyone into the uk to go and isolate at home for two weeks? much tougher than the current lockdown to stop you would be expected not to go out, and to the police can a p pa re ntly out, and to the police can apparently come round at any time during those two weeks and if you're not there, then you are in trouble. people are still commenting on the fa ct people are still commenting on the fact that the british quarantine rules still does not apply if you are coming in from france or ireland, is that still the case? that is apparently the case, it is going to make it almost unenforceable. anybody who thinks that quarantine is not for them, this is only going from the elites we have had from government, but anybody who thinks i don't really fa ncy anybody who thinks i don't really fancy quarantine, i have work to do, i have to look at their family or whatever. all they have to do is come in via france. so if you are having a lovely holiday in spain for instance, you can get a train across the border to france and fly back from there. the whole travel industry is desperate to know why these measures are being introduced, furthermore, when they will be introduced and how long for? of course, nobody rationally is going to be by any trouble at the moment when there is so much uncertainty about the future. —— going to be applying any travel. in terms of travelling around the uk, we have heard from so many heads of tourism bodies in at the last few days worried that they beautiful area is going to be a new dated. is there much clarity do you think having read that government guidance? let's say there is a cottage book somewhere beautiful in august, should people be going, she people think about cancelling it? at the moment, anybody with any kind of travel booking plan for billy any time, you have to assume it's going ahead until something happens to stop it. my sense very strongly is that we are going to see england opening up for what could be loosely called domestic tourism, certainly by the beginning ofjune. at the moment, in england, you can go on a day trip as far as you like as long as you are going to an outdoor space. it might be slower in wales, scotla nd space. it might be slower in wales, scotland and northern ireland. for instance, center parcs which has villages across england say they are opening again on the 12th ofjune. further head into the summer, yes, it will probably something like a normal summerfor it will probably something like a normal summer for domestic tourism, although, anywhere you are going you will suddenly have to cope with the lockdown rules. in the meantime, accommodation providers, people who run attractions, they are desperate to know when they will be able to start up and what rules will apply when they do. at the moment, everything is in a state of suspension and that is just increasing anxiety about the future. as somebody who is a well travelled, do have sympathy for those parts of the country that we have heard representatives from all ready to say, that is all very well, we understand the desire to get away, of course there is an economic factor as well, the parts of the country that rely hugely on tourism, but the infrastructure is not there. and there are pubs and restaurants shot, the national trust and big organisations are still having to make big decisions, the infrastructure is not what we're used to, is it? no. frankly, part of the appeal of going to a lovely british seaside resort is because there is going on. if that is not what's going on, that will cause all sorts of problems. once you get to more remote, sparsely populated areas, the offshore islands, they also have the concerns of the health facilities in those places not being able to cope with the large influx of outsiders. there is an awful lot of outsiders. there is an awful lot of concern about how tourism is going to work. it will, i imagine, sad or pretty local. i live in london, i would sad or pretty local. i live in london, iwould be sad or pretty local. i live in london, i would be delighted to get as far as brighton, which i cannot actually do because i do not have a ca rd actually do because i do not have a card so i cannot drive dead. but people want to get away, but i think they will be entirely understanding. however, while we are still trying to find out what happens with lockdown, how rapidly it gets lifted, the differences between the different nations of the uk, well, it's very difficult for anybody to plan anything and that is heightens the sense of uncertainty and worry for anybody who is dependent on tourism for a living. furthermore, for people who have got the kings, perhaps their financial state is not what it was and they are thinking of they can get their money back. generally, the answer is, not yet. goodness, it is fraught, isn't it? thank you very much, simon calder. with so many of us being forced to live under one roof for weeks — even average—sized families are bound to find things difficult. well, the shaw family, from nottingham, are managing, with 14 in the house. quentin rayner reports. they are the 14 who live at number 14. tom and stacey shaw had planned for six and say it was just one of those things — more came along. now under one roof there are three girls, nine boys, and two long—suffering parents. oh, it's fine. it's easier than normality. yeah. how come? less running around to do. it's kind ofjust like the start of the school holidays where you just kind of change from mayhem to calm, but we're stuck in this kind of groundhog day circle of the first few days of summer holidays. the family live in an eight—bedroom house and are self isolating. lockdown has unlocked some revelations. with this staying at home malarkey we're having to, i think, get to know each other more. so, i've said before, more of them are quite more intelligent than i assumed, because i'm having to talk to them more — for a start. i was like, "oh, 0k, you're like that." the focus is on hobbies, especially gaming. well, collectively we all play games on the computer. we actually built a new computer out of an old one just so the kids could use it and we all play together like that. the family's fleet of vehicles hasn't moved in weeks. normally, they'd be driven for up to three hours a day on school runs to three different schools. there's one big food shop a week coming in at about £150. two trolleys at the moment. you do get stared at a lot. like we're bulk buying. now, there are bound to be full out and bust ups, how do you sort those out? there has been. but they get dealt with and moved on. soon resolved. so nothing different from normal? no, just like any other family. there's a few arguments but for the most part we stick to our clicks and there's not that much drama, really. and it could have been even more crowded for the 14 at 14. there are two other girls living elsewhere at the moment. quentin rayner, bbc news, nottingham. a recent survey carried out by the mental health foundation found that many of us are still feeling lonely under lockdown. but despite what we might think, it's under—25s who are most likely to be feeling isolated during the coronavirus pandemic. yesterday, the government started taking applications from charities and national organisations for a £5 million loneliness fund. but how much of that will reach those young people? the bbc‘s the next episode podcast has been investigating, and presenter linda adeyjoins us now. hello, linda, afternoon to you. let's start by discussing why it is particularly according to a survey people under the age of 25 who are feeling particularly isolated, what does the survey tell us? the big pa rt does the survey tell us? the big part of it is a social isolation. people not being able to speak to friends and family, unable to go to support groups. actually, the other pa rt support groups. actually, the other part of that is that people who deliver their friends and family but are finding it tough, not feeling that they can open up to what they live with. for example, a young kid at looking after her mum and baby sister at home, she feels like she is not able to get the breaks that she needs. another person, in mg pa rt she needs. another person, in mg part of the lgbt community, he feels he cannot speak to his family about the biggest part of his identity. those people living with people but still the feeling lonely. that is at the new government funds opened up as of yesterday, they are taking applications for that. tell us more about that, who the money might get to, how the government thinks it might help? one of the questions we really wa nt might help? one of the questions we really want to know was how much of a£5 really want to know was how much of a £5 million fund will go to 25—year—olds and under are? the short answer is, they can't tell us how much money is going to on the 25 is. i spoke to baroness barran and she said that she did not know how much of the money would go. in 2018, the government wants a strategy to tackle loneliness. during million pounds of that was specifically for younger people. —— £2 million of that. the baroness told me yesterday that. the baroness told me yesterday that young people are more likely to be more likely. despite the government knowing this, theyjust cannot be sure how much of that £5 million will go to young people. you mentioned some of the young people you have been talking to, are there other coping strategies, what else have people saying to you? we spoke toa number of have people saying to you? we spoke to a number of people. the young carer that i mentioned to me like she has been tackling loneliness by reaching out to other people that she thinks might be experiencing it. heard block of flats, she is writing little notes and asking people to if they want to have a chat. there is also a young student who has made that come to be with her appearance. she mentioned that gaming has been helping her. i have been playing a lot more multiplayer and online games to spend time with my friends. there is more pressure to talk about what you're doing. you have an activity, you're doing. you have an activity, you are doing stuff together and you do not have to talk as you do not have to. especially for a lot of people, catlike animal crossing has beena people, catlike animal crossing has been a huge source of feeling good and a huge source of routine because you have your island that you take ca re you have your island that you take care of. people can visit your island, so you could have a few friends over, you can give them a tour. i got a little cafe near a waterfall recently and i was like, come see the secret cafe that i made. we just ran around, we don't do anything important, no task or any achievements. we just ran around this cartoon island. that isjust one way of coping. before we let you 90. one way of coping. before we let you go, tell usjust a little bit more about the podcast and what else we can hear. we are a weekly podcast, we break down elite news and a less complicated way. you can hear so much about the couldn of why it is on bbc sounds, it is called the next episode. check it out. more on that antibody test now, which scientists say could be a major step forward in the fight against coronavirus. these are different to the tests currently rolled out by the government across the nhs and vulnerable groups, which look for signs of existing disease. our reality check correspondent chris morris explains. to beat the coronavirus, we have to know how many people are becoming infected. where, when and how? that is why testing for the virus is one of the most important things we can do. it can tell us who might be infected with the virus, who might have been infected in the past and who might need to be in stricter isolation to stop the virus spreading. there are two types of tests. the first type, usually a nasal swab, tests for the presence of the virus, to find out if you are infected right now, even if you're not displaying any symptoms and are feeling perfectly well. if you are infected, you can be isolated and treated, if necessary, and people you have been in contact with can be traced and tested as well. that way, we can stop covid—19 from spreading so fast. countries like south korea and germany tested lots of people early on in the pandemic and they seem to have been the most successful at keeping their death rates relatively low. other countries, including the uk, are scrambling to catch up. but you need to be able to get hold of the right chemicals, have the right expertise and make sure you have enough laboratories to be able to process tens of thousands of tests per day. the second type of test looks at whether you have been infected in the past and whether you might now have some immunity. it does this by searching for antibodies in the blood, which your immune system uses to fight off bacteria and viruses. it will be a huge help if a reliable antibody test that can be mass produced can be developed soon. if we know someone has some immunity, it should be easier for them to get back to work. if we know that lots of people have some immunity, it should be easier for us to start lifting lockdowns in safer and more sustainable ways. but there is a problem. the presence of antibodies may provide some immunity, but not necessarily complete immunity. and it is still unclear how long any immunity might last. so testing can help us put other data, like the number of confirmed cases or the number of deaths, into context. but we are going to have to wait some time before a vaccine for covid—19 provides immunity. until scientists crack that, testing is key to help us deal with this pandemic. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello, gardeners will be able to relax a little bit soon as the frost threat recedes overnight. daytime temperatures are going to be heading up across all parts but what a night it was last night. in northern ireland, katesbridge in county down with a temperature of —6.1 celsius. you have to go back nearly 40 years for a colder may night than that in northern ireland. it wasn't the only place last night that saw a frost, but has this map shows you, we are in the blue and the air coming down from the north—west, that is about to change gradually over the next few days, the air coming up from the south—west eventually. in all parts, especially next week will be turning warmer. temperatures have rebounded a bit today after that chilly start, helped by plenty of sunshine. more cloud around for northern and western scotland with some showers, one or two this afternoon into northern ireland. much of england and wales dry, temperatures for the most part 11—15 celsius. quite breezy with those showers in north—west scotland. into tonight, we will find the cloud will tend to increase from the north. still a feed of showers towards northern and western scotland, one or two in northern ireland, some in north—west england maybe. where it is clearest, wales, southern parts of england, this is where temperatures will be lower than this in the countryside. again that the threat of a touch of frost in places. into tomorrow, we are expecting a cloudy day compared with today, chance of showers towards wales, north—west england, northern ireland, especially in northern and western scotland. the strongest breeze coming here as well. for the most part, temperatures on a par with today, a bit higher across particularly central and eastern parts of england, around 17 or so. high pressure slipping away southwards going into the weekend, eventually weather fronts will come into play by sunday. for saturday, pretty much as you were, still lots of cold in scotland —— more cloud in scotland and northern ireland, still largely dry in england and wales with some areas of hazy sunshine around. around 17 celsius in the warmest spots. overnight saturday into sunday, the weather fronts i showed you will bring thicker cloud and more widespread rain towards parts of northern ireland, scotland, maybe just brushing north—west england on sunday. still something to play for in that detail. still some hazy brightness across parts of england and wales this is bbc news. the headlines... as the death toll in the uk of coronavirus—related deaths rises by 428, scientists say a new test to show whether people have been infected with covid—19 is a major step forward. the government says it could be available in weeks. we are keen to get as many as we can and get them out, primarily to the front line first, the nhs, social care, and then more widely, because this really will be, as the prime minister said, a game changer. the number of people going to a&e hits a record low in england, because of the coronavirus pandemic. the first official estimate has been published of how many people might be getting infected with coronavirus in england, it's believed one in 400 outside of hospitals and care homes have caught covid—19. come on in. people queue at midnight for much needed haircuts, as new zealand reopens thousands of businesses at the end of lockdown. and the hospital choir whose "bridge over troubled water" got a shout out from paul simon. the government has announced that a further 428 people have died with coronavirus in the uk, bringing the total number of deaths in hospitals and the wider community to 33,614 people. the news comes as scientists say a new blood test, which detects whether someone has had coronavirus, is a major step forward. the test looks for antibodies which could indicate some immunity to covid—19 in the future. it was approved last night by public health england and ministers say they want to roll it out as soon as possible, first to health and care workers. but experts have cautioned that it's not yet clear whether someone who has recovered from the illness develops long—term immunity. here's our health correspondent dominic hughes. a reliable, accurate antibody test that can tell if a person has had covid—19 is one of the keys to escaping the coronavirus crisis. now a test developed by scientists at the swiss pharmaceutical giant roche offers serious potential. having been officially approved for use in england, the nhs is now negotiating to buy hundreds of thousands of them. officials in scotland, wales and northern ireland will make their own decisions but are likely to follow suit. we are keen to get as many as we can and get them out, primarily to the front line first, the nhs and social care, and then more widely because this has the potential to be a game changer. the test can detect the presence of antibodies in the blood, produced if you have had the illness, even if you have never had any symptoms. that is vital because antibodies could offer protection against reinfection, at least for a while. knowing which people have had the virus and therefore should be protected from it, and we will need to know more about that, is again good news and should enable us to understand how the virus has spread and where it has spread to across the population. that knowledge is really important. developing a test that is good enough has proved difficult. this laboratory in south wales was one of hundreds around the world involved in the effort, and there have been false dawns. the uk government bought more than 3 million tests that proved to be ineffective. questions remain over the level of immunity you might gain through having had the illness. you can say for certain you have had the infection, so you will have had covid—19. that is useful for a variety of reasons, but what you cannot absolutely for sure say is that you will be protected in the future because those antibodies are capable of neutralising the virus. nhs officials in england still need to negotiate an acceptable price, with roche, and other tests are also being assessed, but this is being hailed as the best prospect so far. dominic hughes, bbc news. our health correspondent nick triggle explained a little earlier how significant this test is. these antibody tests look at a person been infected previously? and thatis person been infected previously? and that is very important. this has developed by the swiss company roche and they found was very accurate in terms of identifying, have you had the virus in the past and also, this is important, identifying if you haven't had it, because a lot of antibody tests can throw up false positives and can be misleading but there seems to be accurate on both measures. public health england have approved it for use here. they say it isa approved it for use here. they say it is a very positive development. that is because it will help us identify how widespread the has been. we have seen the pandemic here. but also, it will help individuals find out if they have had it and then perhaps have developed immunity. but what we don't know is how strong that immunity may be and how long it will last, so there is still a big question mark about these tests. it is also who will be getting the test, ligament has led first and i will be health and social care workers. just make the government. obviously, it would help them go back to work. the number of people going to a&e in england has hit a record low — visits more than halved in april compared with the same month last year. the latest nhs figures also show cancer referrals in england have fallen. health charities have warned it could be many months before nhs services return to normal. lauren moss reports. as cases of coronavirus climbed this spring, visits to a&e departments across england plummeted. this is the first time official figures have shown how other areas of the nhs have been affected by the pandemic. as non—urgent procedures were postponed, patients had to wait. roxanne has had stomach pain for several months. her colonoscopy at southmead hospital in bristol was cancelled in april. i feel very abandoned, in a way, because it's kind of like before the covid—19 situation it was like, right, ok, go to your doctor, you see your doctor, get an appointment, and now the appointments are not happening. i'm sure there are many people in the same boat as me, all thinking the same question and all wondering what's going on. what happens if it's something sinister? more than 181,000 people were referred for an urgent cancer check in march, down by more than 7% on the same time last year. 97,000 fewer patients were admitted for routine treatment and operations, down by a third. the a&e figures for april are the most stark — at its lowest level since records began in 2010 with almost 2 million fewer visits compared to april last year. although it has meant that a&e departments have been a lot quieter than they would otherwise have been, and that has helped in terms of tackling covid, it does mean there are lots of people who should have been turning up to a&e who have not been turning up. as the nhs looks to restart more routine care, leading health think tanks say it could be many months before returning to normality and there will be a backlog. that means we have people with needs before covid struck, so there might have been a waiting list for surgeries. we then have needs that have developed during the covid period, both from people having covid and the support they need but also from the wider health implications of the lockdown. for example, mental health needs. could this be part of the new normal? since the outbreak began the royal berkshire hospital has been using artificial intelligence to read brain scans and diagnose stroke patients faster. it is one of the ways the nhs is adapting and reminding people it's very much open for business. if you are concerned about having a stroke, a heart attack, perhaps cancer, do come forward. and, at the same time, the nhs will be redesigning the way in which services are offered to keep them safe. but there are no easy answers. think tanks warn covid—19 is still a major threat, and there will be painful choices for many months to come. lauren moss, bbc news. the office for national statistics has published the first results from its coronavirus infection survey. based on the findings, it's estimated that on average one in 400 people in england has covid—19. the survey was carried out using 11,000 people who were asked to carry out swab tests over the two weeks up to 10 may. those tested were in the community — not in hospitals or care homes where rates are likely to be much higher. pete benton, directorfor population and public policy operations from the office for national statistics, explained a little earlier what the survey showed. what we have done is we have invited people in 10,000 households in england, about 20,000 people, to ta ke england, about 20,000 people, to take a swab test and to do that once a week for five weeks and then to carry on at once a month for a year. 10% of those that we have also invited to do a blood test to check if they have antibodies, so we published its results today based on swa bs published its results today based on swabs from about 10,000 people, in just over 5000 homes, and what that tells us is about no point to 7% of the population, is about and 48,000 of hearse have coronavirus at the moment all over the last two weeks. it isa moment all over the last two weeks. it is a survey and we have to grace that up to be representative of the population. when you do that there isa population. when you do that there is a bit of uncertainty. but pretty confidently true number is somewhere between 94,000 to 222,000. the world health organization has warned that covid—19 might never be eradicated. its emergencies expert, michael ryan, said the virus may become endemic, and compared it to hiv, which he said the world had learned to manage. japan's prime minister shinzo abe has partially lifted a state of emergency which was imposed in response to a surge in coronavirus cases. the measures were due to expire at the end of the month, but will now be removed early in 39 of japan's 47 prefectures. however, they will remain in place in some of the biggest cities, including tokyo and osaka, where new cases are still emerging. lockdown has been lifted in the chinese city of wuhan and things are getting back to normal, with rush hour traffic almost at a standstill this morning. wuhan was the original epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak and had its strict lockdown lifted in early april, but local authorities reported new cases on monday, the first since the lockdown was lifted in the area. thousands of businesses have reopened in new zealand, as the country ends its coronavirus lockdown. shops and restaurants have welcomed customers for the first time since march and some barbers began work at the stroke of midnight, to cater for people desperate for a haircut. the authorities say the risk of transmission in new zealand is now very small, but have urged people to follow social distancing guidelines. shaimaa khalil sent this report. hey! this side... we're back! taking the plunge into new—found freedom. this new zealand mayor went the extra mile, heralding the country's new phase of eased restrictions. new zealanders can once again enjoy going to cinemas, shops and gyms. let's go, let's go — we'll start cutting at 12.01, so come on in. but top of the list for many was getting a haircut. so badly did some people want a trim that they queued through the night to get into salons. she got the boys organised in three hours to open at one minute past 12, so we're going to be looking as sharp as elvis when we turn up at work tomorrow! new zealand is seen as a success story in fighting the virus, with 21 deaths in a population of 5 million. they've been gradually easing restrictions over the last few weeks. now people can get together in cafes again. it's magic and great to just reconnect and actually be in a different environment. that's been the biggest bonus, i think. good view, lovely day, so yeah, and having someone else make coffee for a change, it's fantastic. businesses will still be required to maintain physical distancing and strict hygiene measures. the other thing that's really bizarre, we are quite proudly displaying our cleaning products and wiping down tables, whereas normally we'd stuff it out of the way. now, it's like, no, no, look at us, we're clean! in christchurch, this college is one of the first educational facilities opening their doors. absolutely delightful. this is what schools are about, the chatter and energy of the girls, smiles all around from teachers and from students and, not surprisingly, from parents as well! like most countries around the world, the economy in new zealand has been hit hard. in its budget announcement the government has unveiled a record $30 billion recovery package. there will be extra spending on wage subsidy schemes, health care and infrastructure. for a nation where the outdoors is a part of everyday life, new zealanders are relieved the lockdown is over. as the country eases into normality, many are still getting to grips with the economic impact covid—19 will have on their lives. you may now kiss your beautiful bride. for now, some are enjoying the first day of happier times and truly being together again. shaimaa khalil, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... scientists say a new test to show whether people have been infected with coronavirus is a major step forward — it comes as the death toll in the uk rose by 428. the first official estimate has been published of how many people might be getting infected with coronavirus in england — it's believed one in 400 outside of hospitals and care homes have caught covid—19. the number of people going to a&e hits a record low in england, because of the coronavirus pandemic. a further three million americans applied for unemployment benefits this week. the number of new weeklyjobless claims reached a peak of almost seven million in late march, though it has been slowly falling since. but it is still extraordinarily high. it brings the total unemployment claims in america in the last two months to more than 36 million, representing ten percent of the entire population, an unthinkable figure a year ago. all this just a day after the chair of the us federal reserve said that long term joblessness could become a reality if lawmakers don't take drastic action soon. let's get more from our north america business correspondent, michelle fleury, who joins us now from new york. these are just staggering figures, aren't they? yes, and you have to remember, behind each of these numbers is an individual who is worrying about paying the rent, buying food, paying bills, perhaps affording medication. iwas buying food, paying bills, perhaps affording medication. i was hearing one story about a restaurant in a state where there are still sheltering place orders and they opened their business back up, not to make a point but simply that with the only way they could afford to raise the money for their medication and that is the thing to remember when you hear these figures is that it isa when you hear these figures is that it is a huge amount of pain that is being caused and it reflects the economic fallout from this pandemic. it also underscores this idea that those hoping for a rapid recovery, a v shaped recovery, that looks increasingly unlikely when you have figures that were worst than many economists were forecasting for this week. so the chair of the federal reserve is saying that drastic action has to be taken by congress. what sort of action? this was interesting, because the federal reserve is meant to be an independent body, in other words they don't wade into political debates about what government policy should look like. and yet here you happy head of america's central saying, look, there needs to be more spending by congress to try and aid the economy, to support workers, whether that is in the shape of gra nts whether that is in the shape of grants or some sort of stimulus. this is obviously going to be something that those like mitch mcconnell, the head of the senate on the republican side, and on the democrat side, there is a package that it will be voted on in the house but is unlikely to get through the senate. there is a debate on what congress should be doing acts because that there are fears on america's debt in all of this and it is election year in america. what the federal reserve is trying to say, hang on a second, there is a limit to what we as a central bank can do, you need to do more we face lasting damage to the american economy. ok, many thanks for that. that is our north american business correspondent from new york. doctors say up to a hundred children in the uk have now been treated in hospital for an extremely rare and new inflammatory disease which is linked to coronavirus. last month, the nhs warned medical staff to look out for the condition, after a number of children became seriously ill, including a 14—year—old boy who died. sophie hutchinson reports. i'm feeling better than i was before. 13—year—old luca, one of around 100 children in the uk who have been seriously ill after being infected with covid—19. luca was rushed to great ormond street hospital around two weeks ago and spent four days in intensive care. his father has been with him the whole time. well, he's been very unwell. he used to have a high temperature, over 40 degrees. we could not drop it down for more than two hours and it was very scary, he was melting, very floppy, no energy. he used to sweat a lot and very, very scary. this is an exceptionally new illness. it was only officially identified in the uk around two weeks ago after a number of children with unusual symptoms were taken into hospitals, mainly in london, and at least one of them has died. they are a group of children who are coming in, some of whom are positive for the virus. and some of whom are positive on antibody testing presenting with very, very high fevers. they are presenting with abdominal pain, diarrhoea, some of them have rashes, and some of them are in shock, with very, very high blood markers of inflammation. it's thought to be the result of a massive overreaction by the body's immune system weeks after the children have been infected with the virus. we have had about 20 or 30 since the 4th of april. at peak we had about six patients a day and now it's one or two a day. similar cases have been seen around the world but despite a number of children becoming critically unwell with this emerging illness, it's important to remember that for the vast majority of children covid—19 is a mild, even an unnoticeable infection. luca spoke to me from his hospital bed. he is hoping to go home today. i was feeling dizzy, i was feeling weak before. i don't really remember because i was intensive care. the main thing i've missed is being home with my mum and my little sister. sophie hutchinson, bbc news. the long—term economic damage caused by the pandemic is likely to be felt acutely by young people. many companies have paused recruitment, cancelled internships and reduced staff numbers. the lockdown has also prompted some people in their 20s to reassess their working lives, and to try something new. here's our business correspondent, sarah corker. three, two, one, off you go. fitness... emma, go for it. ..farming... most of our workers tend to be students. ..and something far more relaxing. i'm spending pretty much all my days nowjust painting. for these young people, the pandemic is taking their careers on a different path. i've gone from a large office in the middle of soho to being at home, painting in my bedroom. last week, sisi, from london left herjob at one of the world's largest advertising firms to follow her artistic dreams. i definitely don't think i would have made this decision or made thejump if it hadn't been for lockdown, actually. i've always loved art, i've always loved painting and drawing, and it was really actually working from home, being in lockdown, and having that time to really think about what it is i want and what it is i enjoy the most. history shows that young people may face years of reduced pay and limited job prospects, long after this economic crisis has passed. some millennials have had no other choice but to press the pause button on their careers. others, though, have adapted, innovated in some unexpected ways. farming is one of the few industries still recruiting. in north yorkshire, 22—year—old tom has diversified his online recruitment platform. he's now connecting farmers with fruit and vegetable pickers. at the moment we're getting such high demand from students, from people who have been furloughed, also from self—employed who are just sat at home now. they've had this realisation that they need to make some money and they'd love to help the country as well. and down, all the way down. and even the way we exercise has changed. boot camp instructors becky and katie are now running virtual classes on zoom. the first week, a bit nervous, not great with technology, i'm not going to lie, so there were a few little teething problems, but i've got it sussed. from their homes in reading, they're working out with people from as far afield as ireland and canada. and, rest. well done, everyone. do you think this is the fitness industry changed forever? a lot of our members are really happy that they can do five boot camps a week as opposed to only being able to make it up to the field once or twice. so it's actually suiting people's lifestyles. the under—25s may be the most financially vulnerable in this crisis, but they're using technology to open up new opportunities and now have more time to try out new strokes. sarah corker, bbc news. people in clacton have been paying tribute to one of their local gps. for 40 years, dr karamat mirza ran a gp surgery in essex, until he contracted coronavirus two weeks ago. he died in hospital on sunday. the 84—year—old was believed to be the oldest working gp. his wife, estelle mirza, said her husband loved hisjob, his staff and his patients, and that he "wouldn't have wanted to live while not working". the online media firm, buzzfeed, is to close its uk news operation. the website said it had taken the decision for "economic and strategic reasons. " buzzfeed has won widespread acclaim for its investigative journalism. david sillito has been following the story. if anyone was the poster child for trying to make news work online it was buzzfeed. started off, of course, with the funny videos, the viral videos, then moved very successfully into news, even nominated from a pulitzer prize in 2017, but being successful — page views — does not make you money in the internet world. it's all about advertising and they've really struggled. and this is part of a much longer shift that's been taking place. they've been struggling to make money, especially through facebook as they changed its news feed, and a lot of those journalists — and i was there in their office only a few years ago and it was filled with journalists, more than a hundred looking at me, and now they've closed down the news side of it in the uk and australia. but this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to howjournalism and news is being affected by the virus, because of the huge downturn that's taking place in advertising. there was one survey at the end of april that said the amount of money that organisations were taking in had gone down by around a third. and the reason for this is the first budget to always be cut in a downturn is advertising, and the second one is, so many people have got advertising campaigns, they look at the campaign, and they go "this just does not fit the world as it is at the moment," and so they've just stopped it. a group of nhs workers in wales have become an internet hit, after their rendition of simon and garfunkel‘s "bridge over troubled water" was shared around the world. the video made by staff at a coronavirus field hospital in llandudno came to the attention of paul simon, who described it as "extraordinary." tomos morgan reports. # when you're weary. # feeling small... the harmonies of nhs workers in north wales. collaborating in a bilingual rendition in both welsh and english of simon and garfunkel‘s famous bridge over troubled water. sings in welsh. these medical professionals have been working out of venue cymru, a theatre hall in llandudno, which has been converted into field hospital ysbyty enfys, translated as " rainbow hospital". if it helps bring any awareness, i'm just glad of the opportunity to do a little something to help. their rendition has been an internet hit, with the song's composer, paul simon, sharing it on social media. and one of venue cymru's usual stars was all applause for this welsh performance. ijust thought it was such a positive response to such an awful situation, because we normally go there and play when everybody is enjoying themselves. now nobody can go and play anywhere, so to turn this into something like this is really wonderful, i think it's really great, what they've done. from paramedics to doctors, porters and nurses, those working on the front line tackling coronavirus are still staying strong and able to bring a smile to our faces in these most testing times. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello, after that chilly start this morning, temperatures have crept up, helped by plenty of sunshine today, but a bit of patchy cloud out there for most of us. the thickest cloud though is in scotland, especially the north and west, where there are a few showers around and one or two in northern ireland as well. temperatures around 11 to 15 celsius. it is quite breezy with those showers in north—west scotland. they continue overnight, still the odd one for northern ireland and maybe a rogue one pushing into north—west england overnight. much of the uk though will be dry. clearer skies in wales, the southern half of england and temperatures will fall close to freezing in the coldest spots here. so this overnight into the morning is where we are most likely to see a touch of frost in places. tomorrow we are expecting a cloudier day compared with today. still some sunny spells around. a chance of a shower in wales, north—west england, northern ireland. still more especially towards north—west scotland but still quite breezy here. temperatures pretty much on a par with today. a bit warmer across south wales central and eastern parts of england. they had at 430. as the death toll rises, sign to say a new test to show whether people have been infected with covid—19 is a major step forward. the government says it could be available in weeks. we are keen to get as many as we can and get them out, primarily to the front line first of the nhs, social care and then more widely, because this really will be, as the prime minister said, a game changer. the number of people going to accident and emergency is a record low. might be getting infected with coronavirus in england.

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