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reaction from hospitality businesses. president trump is accused of lying to the american people about the threat posed by coronavirus and there are fears that fa ns coronavirus and there are fears that fans could be shut out from sport again. all crowds of 1000 people will be allowed a pilot event this month all this is now under review after the rising infection rates. and it is a cool start to your thursday but for many a dry day in store. the full forecast here on brea kfast. good morning. it is thursday, september ten. 0ur our top story is that borisjohnson has said it breaks is hard to ban gatherings of more than six people in england but he insisted the letter is necessary to avoid a second down. the prime minister also outlined an ambition to increase testing capacity to millions of people per day which could cost tens of billions of pounds according to lea ked of billions of pounds according to leaked documents. back at the downing street podium, to announce new restrictions for england because of real concern in government about the rising number of coronavirus cases. we are introducing the rule of six. you must not meet socially in groups of more than six and, if you do, you will be breaking the law. schools and workplaces are exempt, so ourfunerals, weddings and team sports but this is here's why the government is taking action. this map shows the number of coronavirus cases in england. as areas get darker, they are seeing more people testing positive. in recent days, there has been a significant increase. flanked by the government's two key experts for the first time in weeks, borisjohnson said imposing new restrictions was tough but necessary. the trouble is, that the people who think they can take responsibility for their own health and take their own risk are, i'm afraid, misunderstanding the situation. it is notjust the risk to yourself alas, but you can be at any age, you can be a vehicle, a vector for the disease. the chief medical officer warned new restrictions limiting gatherings could be in place for a while. we have to be honest with ourselves that we are in a much better place than we would go but there are still constraints and they will not magically disappear and the demand on testing has increased, outpacing the increase in testing and that may happen for a little while, i think. the government hopes that in time, mass testing could allow many people to return to normal. leaked documents reveal ministers are hoping 3 million tests every day could be available by december, even up to 10 million a day early next year, costing billions and at the moment capacity is far lower. so, from now, downing street is hoping extra restrictions will help control the virus. nick eardley, bbc news. let talk to our political correspondent who is in westminster for us this morning. good morning. prime minister has outlined some big and expensive ambitions for testing, lots of numbers flying around and how realistic are they? basically we have to start at the beginning, the foothills of all this that which is at the moment there are test going on in southampton to try and find out if you can get faster turnaround result for coronavirus testing. for example, new saliva tests that could give results within 98 minutes. that would be essential for the give results within 98 minutes. that would be essentialfor the kind of thing the prime minister was outlining yesterday where people could be tested on their way into a theatre and if everyone was negative they could go and enjoy a performance as normal. firstly, you need to make sure that the tests work and secondly, how effective mass testing would be, if people are willing to take regular tests every week, every day if necessary. in salford there will be test there are people on a weekly basis. these are a trial stage and to try and roll this out to the whole country is ambitious because the project moonshot and if you want a definition of that, it is believed to be trying to achieve what is regarded as impossible. a little pinch of salt at least but the prime minister clearly wa nts pinch of salt at least but the prime minister clearly wants to give people hope but at the height of the pandemic again he was talking about a game changer or a silver body that makes silver bullet test. but it turns out we don't know if catching this once gives you immunity a second time. there has not yet been a game changer that it is the government's ambition to reach mass testing and tony blair and jeremy hunt have been calling for that for some time. thank you very much. we will be talking to the transport secretary at 7.30. senior ministers will hold emergency talks with eu officials today about the government's plan to override parts of brexit withdrawal agreement. borisjohnson has of brexit withdrawal agreement. boris johnson has urged of brexit withdrawal agreement. borisjohnson has urged mps to support the bill but some senior conservatives have warned that trust in the uk will be damaged if the plans go ahead. we're joined in the uk will be damaged if the plans go ahead. we'rejoined now in the uk will be damaged if the plans go ahead. we're joined now our correspondent in brussels. good morning, nick there. how have eu leaders reacted to this move by borisjohnson? leaders reacted to this move by boris johnson? well, publicly they are saying that they are strongly concerned by this move from boris johnson but privately eu people will tell you that they are flabbergasted that they are stunned i what they have seen in the last 2a hours. the reason for this is that they did not see it coming and they thought they had the divorce deal with the uk signed and sealed last year and they thought that that was that. and this is why they have called for an emergency meeting today. local gove, the senior cabinet minister will be in attendance from the british side and the eu want to hear a bit more detail about what the uk intends to do. the difficulty with all of this is that at the same time you have trade talks going on, looking at a trading relationship between the uk and the eu and talking to people here in brussels less aid is a really good atmosphere now because they are looking the minute details ofa they are looking the minute details of a future trade agreement but at the same time the bigger picture is bleak because we know borisjohnson has said that if there is no deal the uk will walk away and will do very well. so i think it will be really interesting day today. president trump has defended his decision to play down the anger that make play down the danger caused by coronavirus at the beginning of the pandemic. his election rival has accused mr trump have knowingly and willingly lying to the american people. our correspondent has this report. even as the coronavirus began claiming scores of american lives, the us president talked down the affected if it is going away, you know it is going away and it will go away and we will have a great victory. at the same time, donald trump was telling the legendary watergate journalist that he deliberately play down the pandemic, even though he understood the deadliness of the virus. even though he understood the deadliness of the viruslj even though he understood the deadliness of the virus. i think bob, really, to be honest with you, i wanted to always play it down. i still like playing it down because i don't want to create a panic. this was impossible to dismiss as fake news and, instead, the president tried to explain his comments. news and, instead, the president tried to explain his commentslj news and, instead, the president tried to explain his comments. i am a cheerleaderfor this tried to explain his comments. i am a cheerleader for this country and i love this country and i do not want people to be frightened, i do not wa nt to people to be frightened, i do not want to create panic, as you say, and, certainly, i am want to create panic, as you say, and, certainly, iam not going want to create panic, as you say, and, certainly, i am not going to drive this country, all the world, into a frenzy. his democratic rival, joe biden is already leading in the polls and he immediately weaponised what the resident's critics will seize upon as a covid smoking gun. he lied to the american people to the he knowingly and willingly lied about the threat it posed to the country for months. he had the information. he knew how dangerous it was. and while this deadly disease ripped through our nation he failed to do hisjob on purpose. donald trump keeps on trying to change the conversation to law and order but we continue to return to the health crisis that has claimed the health crisis that has claimed the lives of more than 190,000 americans. this feels like a covid campaign. global wildlife populations have fallen by more than two—thirds over the last 50 years according to a major report by the conservation group uws the report warns that nature is being destroyed by humans ata nature is being destroyed by humans at a rate never seen before and that the catastrophic decline shows no sign of slowing. he blames overfishing, burning forest and the destruction of habitat. a founding member of the soul funk band cool and the gang has died at the age of 68. he passed away at his home in the us virgin islands with his wife by the side according to his wife by the side according to his publicist he started with kool and the gang with his brother. wildfires are continuing to burn out of control along parts of the west coast of the united states, destroying hundreds of homes to smoke — have turned the sky orange in the city of san francisco and other parts of california where 13 major fires other parts of california where 13 majorfires are burning. parts of 0regon majorfires are burning. parts of oregon and washington state are also badly affected. it is ten minutes past six now. time for the weather with matthew. did you see those images a second ago of the weather there in california? i know it is smoke induced but it extraordinary. it is incredible and it is thick smoke. initially the satellite imagery from their, that plume of smoke from the fires across the west coast extends 1000 miles out and a thousand mice that make miles down, it is the equivalent of edinburgh to barcelona. more to come the next few days to the big story here is that it is a cooler start for many compared to the past few days but largely dry and for many a sunny day ahead. a bright start for the vast majority but here are some of the temperatures we are experiencing to they are in single figures away from towns and city centres hence actually feel. and there are a few showers around, across the north and west of scotland. 0ne across the north and west of scotland. one or two isolated light ones in the north—west of england and north wales and the showers will start to become a bit more frequent across north—west of scotland later in the day before the rest of us after a bright and sunny start we will a little more cloud build up but, certainly, a lot more sunshine today across the channel islands and southern part of england compared to yesterday. generally around the mid to high teens for many as we had further north and more cloud this afternoon in northern ireland, western scotland compared to this morning where you can seek showers are coming and going. most of eastern scotland should stay dry with temperatures around 11— 1a celsius another call like to come tonight. more details later. and we will chat with you a little later on. pink you very much. 12 minutes past six, let's have a look at the papers. almost all of them leaving on the new restrictions that could be in place for the next few months. the daily mail says there goes christmas, that reaction to the draconian developments they say that festive plans have been thrown into chaos and a new army of slippers or covid secure marshals are being recruited to target lawbreakers. normal life is unlikely to resume before spring according to the times which also fears for family gatherings at christmas. at his press c0 nfe re nce , gatherings at christmas. at his press conference, the prime minister said he broke his heart to impose the new restrictions on individuals with families to and mrjohnson also outlined a moonshot plan to control the virus with mass testing, possibly available by next spring. the guardian features a leaked memo seen the guardian features a leaked memo seen by the british medicaljournal that says the testing plan is a £100 billion gamble to avoid a second national lockdown. and suggestions that christmas may not be like the ones we used to nobody could be the way to save lives. now for many older people, the long months of self isolation during the height of the pandemic were made mile bearable by the thought of spending quality time with grandchildren once lockdown was over. sadly that is about to become a lot more difficult in england, particularly for large families. moffat has been to meet some of them. like so many grandparents, isabel has found 2020 incredibly tough. how important is it to interact with the grandchildren? very. you going to make mum cry now. it is very important. i do not see my grandchildren in suffolk very much because they are in suffolk and it is not always that easy. isabel's daughter lucy and her husband andy live in basingstoke. as lockdown restrictions have eased she has been able to visit more often. but from monday for this family gatherings involving more than one grandparent will not be possible. because they areafamily will not be possible. because they are a family of five so to more people will push it up over the limit. and i think that is a great shame because the children enjoy seeing all the relatives and, for the moment, that will have to stop. i really do feel for all those families where it willjust not be able to happen again. hi, dad. i'm good, thank you. lucy's father is exasperated at the actions of many younger people. do you think you are suffering because of the actions of younger people who are taking the rule seriously? most definitely. i have seen it firsthand. where i live here i see gatherings of youngsters going out on the street on a friday and saturday in the early hours. i see groups coming back from parks and or whatever. and they are all youngsters. so it is probably going to get worse, unfortunately, before it gets better. what impact do you feel these restrictions could have on yourfamily and your feel these restrictions could have on your family and your ability to see each other? it is necessary precautions to overcome the virus. i think everybody understands that and eve ryo ne think everybody understands that and everyone should adhere and listen to the advice that the government has given us but many people are not mentally prepared for this type of situation to you know, christmas, birthdays, family get—togethers, they are what fulfil your year and thatis they are what fulfil your year and that is how you build memories as a family. so without that there is quite a significant impact. family. so without that there is quite a significant impactlj family. so without that there is quite a significant impact. i am happy to crack on with any rules we need to adhere to to get rid of this virus, basically sitting at the end of the day i do not want my kids and my older family members to be at any risk so we are fine to just do it. jenny lives in york and has three young children. i am happy about these changes. after all i am feeling really frustrated, a little bit angry feeling really frustrated, a little bitangry —— feeling really frustrated, a little bit angry —— i am not happy. ifeel that the government has its priorities on the economy and not families and that is a real problem for me. we will be isolated and stuck. grandparents really need to see them so, yeah, day to day it will be massive, just completely change the way we live our lives at the moment. they are worried about the moment. they are worried about the youngest, they are worried she will forget them and skype is not the same when you try to speak to them and she has started getting back to not being scared of them again and not thinking of them as a stranger and now we will not be able to have a family meeting like we have been having so they are worried about that. from monday in england the rule of six will kick in. gatherings of seven or more will not be allowed to people's homes and in many families will once again have to rethink the way they interact. lots of people thinking about how they are going to be seeing their families and how the world will change again. pubs and restaurants we re change again. pubs and restaurants were beginning to get back on their feet. they have had such a difficult time. it will really feel like a blow because they have just built up momentum. good morning. food and drinks businesses particularly hard hit by coronavirus. to businesses we are looking at going bust. many in the industry say these new restrictions will cause fresh damage. peter lloyd, a chef, this is what he told us. just as confidence in the public was growing and get stepped outside to help, and then realised it felt quite a safe environment being covid secure and we ove rca m e environment being covid secure and we overcame that first step of customers coming back into the restau ra nt customers coming back into the restaurant and realising it was not going to be so bad the problem now isi going to be so bad the problem now is i fear these six steps now will put that thought back into their mind. from monday i lost 22 covers and cancellations alone for this evening's service with people thinking now is not the right time to go back out into restaurants. so much is about how we feel about our confidence as well as restaurants, pubs and conference venue is set to struggle. kate nichol is a chief executive of uk hospitality. some argue very little has changed. the guidance has been six people to meet ina guidance has been six people to meet in a venue anyway. absolutely. since july this is what they have been working towards an implementing. no more than six people outside and no more than six people outside and no more than six people outside and no more than two households inside. i think what you just heard encapsulates about consumer confidence which was just returning. 0ur businesses were saying confidence was already fragile and this is a real knock as to what it might mean to consumer behaviour and crucially a lookahead at what we we re crucially a lookahead at what we were anticipating at the end of the year, events, functions, activities all put on hold and an uncertain future for businesses. the expectation for reopening venues would be at the beginning of october but now it becomes a legal requirement to take track and trace details. it has felt quite optional when i have been out and about. how do you enforce that without ruining people's afternoon? at the moment it is guidance and voluntary. we can ask but not always getting it. a strong message from the prime minister that it is mandatory. about 90% of businesses have been fully complying with track and trace. 0bviously, complying with track and trace. obviously, a lot of people complying with track and trace. 0bviously, a lot of people pre— booking on websites and by telephone. what we have seen over the last two months is, businesses working really hard to be compliant and meeting high standards of covid secure measures. we are probably the safest place for people to do it if you need to socialise. we will enforce and make sure you are doing it safely. but we also need to make sure the government keeps up the pressure to get a national trace and track app happening to make it easierfor track app happening to make it easier for customers track app happening to make it easierfor customers and track app happening to make it easier for customers and businesses to comply with the new regulations. the distinction now that takes it from guidance to legal requirement andi from guidance to legal requirement and i worry that people will see this week as a last hurrah and then it falls on hospitality venues to make sure security measures are not broken. while the coronavirus pandemic has shown how hard and dangerous a nurse's job can pandemic has shown how hard and dangerous a nurse'sjob can be, a huge amount of public appreciation for what they do. applications for trainee nurses is up by 60%. we went out to meet some new recruits. these are some of the most uplifting images during lockdown, every week we gathered to thank healthcare workers. up the nhs! cheering and applause. the next generation already getting used to the new normal and if you're working on the frontline, you need to be taught how to deal with unruly patients. this first year paramedics are part of a new wave to sign up with these types of courses and that is larger because of what has happened in the past six months. some have doubled the number of students and doubled the number of students and doubled the intake next year. we have a record year which started with us this september. they are from our local area but they are even more committed than usual because i think so committed than usual because i think so many have been inspired to go into nursing by the effects of the pandemic. has that been a key factor? it has undoubtedly seen a group of people who have been able to see what a valuable role nurses play in society. more men are applying as well. 5% may not sound a lot but ricky baker, who used to be a children's entertainer, is about to graduate as a paediatric nurse. he is up for some national awards as well and has picked up plenty of hands—on experience during the pandemic. i learned a lot about myself, about the resilience about myself, about the resilience about myself and to maintain that passion and remember why i wanted to be a nurse. it is such a varied and wide profession and people have seen what the role of the nurse is and that is the role of the nurse is and that is the big attraction because nurses are being recognised for the amazing work we do do. many people who have lost theirjobs because of work we do do. many people who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic see it as a to see change the career —— see it as a chance to change career. to be forced out of work was quite scary as an independent adult so i wanted a job i knew i could have indefinitely until the end of time. there are two types of people during the pandemic, people who want to help and people who want to stay safe and both are 0k who want to stay safe and both are ok but i am more of a person that sees that people out that can be vulnerable and need help. now he has enrolled on a new course at a university in birmingham and he is farfrom university in birmingham and he is far from the oldest student at 32. the pandemic has raised awareness nationwide as to the extent of the work of nurses and has made people realise that it is a really highly skilled profession and there is security and jobs at the end of a degree programme. the new students hope that when they graduate in three years' time the pandemic is over by the high regard with which they are held is still there. that is the image i'm going to have when you clap and do the floss! it was extreme floss. time to find out about what is happening with the news, travel, and weather where you are today. good morning, i'm sonja jessup. a cyclist who was stopped and searched by the police last year during a ride to promote diversity has had a complaint against the officers upheld. mani arthur, the founder of the black cyclists network, described what happened as "humiliating and degrading". the complaint was upheld by the police watchdog the iopc. figures show, if you are black, you are four times more likely to be stopped and searched in london. it was quite humiliating. it is a degrading experience. you have to wonder whether the police are on my side. another layout now added on. london's ambulance service is the first in the country to employ violence reduction officers to try to protect paramedics. there've been 260 physical assaults on staff since april. the new officers will also push for tougher sentences for those who carry out attacks. bbc london has learned that some boats will be allowed to pass under hammersmith bridge from tomorrow. the bridge was suddenly closed in august after faults were found in its structure. some boat owners, who've found themselves stranded down stream, say it'll be good to get on the move again. the largest ever bronze age haul ever discovered in london is to go on display at the museum of london docklands from tomorrow. the havering hoard includes axe heads, spearheads and other unusual objects. it was discovered on a building site in rainham two years ago. it will be free to go and visit. let's take a look at the travel situation now: there's been a signal failure. minor delays on the piccadilly line— eastbound, between acton town cockfosters. and there's no waterloo & city line. some more works in holloway road at thejunction some more works in holloway road at the junction with horsley lane. time for the weather— here's kate kinsella. feeling a little fresher. we lost the humidity overnight and a bright start. a little more cloud as we head into the afternoon. bright spells with the sunshine. temperatures reaching around 18 or 19 celsius. it is feeling cooler than the last couple of days. 0vernight conditions similar. clear spells but also a bit of cloud with minimum temperatures in the summer is around eight or nine. central london staying around 10 celsius. conditions remain the same tomorrow. and for saturday as well. sunday, we start to pull in warmer air from the continent so the temperature is going to rise. lots of sunshine and perhaps the high 20s on monday. i'll be back in around half an hour— you can check out more stories on our facebook and instagram— now it's back to charlie and naga — bye for now. good morning and welcome to breakfast. all the news and sport coming up in just a moment. also coming up this morning, dogs who died fingers as they push items through the letterbox land their owners with fine ora letterbox land their owners with fine or a prison sentence. we will hear more on that high court ruling in about 20 minutes. we will be at london zoo is a major report reveals the global animal populations have plunged by two—thirds in the last 50 yea rs. plunged by two—thirds in the last 50 years. and we will talk to the footballer who loves to lose weight. he shed seven stone during the lockdown and now he cannot stop scoring. let's get a medical view on all the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis from one of our regular dock. where did you get that mug from? did you steal it?|j regular dock. where did you get that mug from? did you steal it? i got down to posted out to me. they are very rare. good morning to you. we are talking and we heard boris johnson speak yesterday with the chief medical officer about numerals coming in on monday but also much talk about testing. how has the testing been for you? your patients are demanding more. testing been for you? your patients are demanding morelj testing been for you? your patients are demanding more. i work as an nhs gp and a private gp and in my private practice yesterday we had an influx of so many people calling in. where we are in bucks we had to testing centres that were closed and we have not been told why so patients who have symptoms such as a sore throat or a runny nose invariably once children go back to school they now have runny noses and whether that is just part of the weather change or seasonal, we don't know if it could be covid—19. under the rules if you have symptoms such asa high the rules if you have symptoms such as a high fever, aches, pains, loss of smell, a new cough, then you need to be tested for covid—19 otherwise you could be in self isolation. pa rents a re you could be in self isolation. parents are desperate to get back to work so they are opting to do this privately. yesterday we had 20 tests in our surgery because they could not access the system. we need to look at what is going on and i know that this is across the country, that this is across the country, that there are difficulties. but i don't know what is going on. either kind of lost the plot there. there are so many kind of lost the plot there. there are so many different changes happening every day and general pack this is changing and we are preparing forflu this is changing and we are preparing for flu season and it feels like it is just all happening at once and now the rule of how many people you can see has changed so, honestly, i no longer know what is going on to many people will not be reassured hearing a gp saying that this morning. so it will now be, what? up to six people who can meet but at the moment it still can be from different households but six is the limit. that rule of six is what needs to be remembered and we have acknowledged that it has been slightly confusing or difficult to get your head around the different rules so rule of six is the basic thing to remember. you spoke about testing and the turnaround for those testing and the turnaround for those test people were getting was what? 24 test people were getting was what? 2a hours? boris johnson test people were getting was what? 2a hours? borisjohnson is proposing millions of tests being available, thatis millions of tests being available, that is the plan, millions available each day that would have up to a 90 minute turnaround. would that reassure people and if that will come into practice it would help?|j come into practice it would help?” think it would but at the minute where is the plan and where is the testing going to be done? how will it be distributed and where will it come out was to mark and adjust about not knowing what is going on, thatis about not knowing what is going on, that is the reality. if you want someone that is the reality. if you want someone who that is the reality. if you want someone who says that is the reality. if you want someone who says that everything will be absolutely fine then that is not real life either because on the ground, as gps, we have an onslaught. we have to deal with a backlog of up to six months of work and on top of that they want us to distribute flu vaccines and at the moment 30 million people will need vaccines and we need to look at storing that. i am honestly sitting here saying that as gps we are just as much in the dark as i get patients coming to the surgery who are frustrated and annoyed and want to know what is happening to so i think i am being honest. to know what is happening to so i thinki am being honest. absolutely andi thinki am being honest. absolutely and i appreciate that. that is why we talk to the family of gps on this programme. how are you communicating that to your patients? if you are concerned about being overrun, especially with the flu vaccine, and more are getting in touch because they want this, how are you able to communicate that to your patients and when might you have a clear idea of getting a handle on it? we will have a clearer idea when boris johnson handle on it? we will have a clearer idea when borisjohnson says he will get these 20 minutes test and whenever the test sentences —— centres open again and when we get the flu stocks so we can rule out the flu stocks so we can rule out the programme. also we are reassuring our patients are saying that we are here and open, please come and talk to us. saying to our patients that this is unprecedented and these are times that we have never dealt with before. 0n and these are times that we have never dealt with before. on top of that we will have the seasonal flu and historically general practice a lwa ys and historically general practice always comes under pressure during flu season. in the public —— public are fantastic but we are frustrated in general practice because we are still dealing with patients with symptoms that hang around and that is impacting work and finances. this will be a struggle overwinter is impacting work and finances. this will be a struggle over winter and we are trying to do as much as we can to prepare for that. you are trying to prepare and the message the government is trying to get a message through, one of the problems when it came to testing that was flagged by the health secretary and by borisjohnson was that people without symptoms were asking for test. have you experienced that and what do you make of that direct instruction if you do not have symptoms, do not ask for a test?” think that is clear. if you have no symptoms, please don't go because we have finite resources and we need to ration those resources. but i have not come across any people myself, patients orfamily not come across any people myself, patients or family or anyone in not come across any people myself, patients orfamily or anyone in my community asking for test without symptoms. it is when they do have symptoms. it is when they do have symptoms and the issue is that the symptoms and the issue is that the symptoms are vague because it is now a low—grade temperature. they will be on the phone asking for a test because everybody is desperate to get back to work and desperate to get back to work and desperate to get their children into school, business needs to thrive, we are also trying to get people to come into our prep as is and we want to ease out of lockdown and it is trying to find that balance which is a struggle at the moment.” trying to find that balance which is a struggle at the moment. i do hope it gets easierfor you. a struggle at the moment. i do hope it gets easier for you. it is good to talk to you. i didn't mean to complain this morning i am so sorry idid. complain this morning i am so sorry i did. dig complain this morning i am so sorry i did. dig it is refreshing. you are the gp who sees us and that is why the gp who sees us and that is why the point, that is why we talk to you. i am a mother with three children and there are five of us in the rule that has suddenly changed andi the rule that has suddenly changed and i know many parents out there need to pick an extra one person and ican need to pick an extra one person and i can understand why the government is doing it but ijust feel slightly frustrated as a gp and as a mother. because we are doing as much as we possibly can and the goalposts keep shifting. so i hope i am not alone in voicing that. we will be talking to the transport secretary later on this morning as well and to jane harris and try to clear this up. that was one of our regular gps. harris and try to clear this up. that was one of our regular gpsm you do have questions along those lines, and that doctor is pretty tuned in, absolutely. how does it work out in practice, the rule of six, if you have questions, let us know and we will try to clear up any confusion. i am so delighted. 21 minutes before seven and look over there. hello! i know it is far away but is so good to have you here. my first time here since march. i can almost smell charlie's aftershave. 0r almost smell charlie's aftershave. or maybe it is yours? mine? look at charlie wanting to throw something at me. it was done in fondness, mike. anyway, the back page of sport is bayern munich reflecting what is happening in the rest of sport and there is a lot of fear on the back pages about what might happen if fans are prevented from returning. this was the scene yesterday a donkey stop. hold your horses because 2500 fans there, not allowed in for the rest of the meeting to bold headlines here. sports's £1 billion crisis because the brakes have been put on that review about fans returning to sport. the government has a number of fans allowed into events at 1000 and plans to admit larger numbers from october one could put on hold. it is under review again. last month, 2500 people watched differently between brighton and chelsea to see how it all could work and it was the first time that fans have been allowed into a time that fans have been allowed intoa premier time that fans have been allowed into a premier league ground in six months. all matches will be played behind closed doors from the start of the season on saturday. the chief executive of the league says it is absolutely critical that that ends as soon as absolutely critical that that ends as soon as possible. like every other industry, football has been impacted already by covid and it is common knowledge that we lost around £700 million from the economy last year and there will be matches this season without fans inside the stadiums and further losses will be incurred. it can go on forever. we have to get back to fans inside the stadium. that is the big thing that is missing, economic or otherwise to we need fans back inside the stadium for all sorts of reasons. jurgen klopp says he is not even thinking about last season's title triumph. it is gone, forgotten and moving forward as they start their new campaign against leeds united on saturday. nothing inside me is remembering becoming champion last year. what i am thinking about is how can we play against leeds united. we finish here and ijump into the next meeting. that is how the things go and we are completely in the situation. we don't dream, we don't think too farahead. far ahead. serena williams had another three setter but she is now through to the semifinals so her quest for a record equalling 24th grand slam final is on track. her yorkshire puppy tucked away there in her handbag. she lost the opening set however before making it through to last four meeting. she said her opponenfs to last four meeting. she said her opponent's strategies of throwing her off. you have to wonder about the nerves and what they are like now in the men's draw with novak djokovic out and a great opportunity to rent when the title. the top seed left now is the number two, dominic tea m left now is the number two, dominic team who defeated the australian in straight sets in a semi—final meeting. we are now getting to the critical stage of the us. open but it is great to be back and to see you only a few metres away. it is 6.42 you only a few metres away. it is 6.112 and that means we can chat to matt who is not here in the studio but he is welcome anyway. mostly. most times. always a pleasure to be here and you know that. morning to you all. a lovely start to the thursday out there for many with the latest of our photos here from pall mall and a beautiful sunrise on the goa mall and a beautiful sunrise on the go a short while ago. if you are about to step outdoors it has been quite humid and muddy and much fresher start. here's a selection of cool spots this morning. aberdeenshire around one degree at the moment. many places away from towns and city centres are in single figures. a slightly warmerjacket this morning as you step out but it should be a fine start for many. most should be a fine start for many. m ost pla ces should be a fine start for many. most places are dry with sunny spells. it is the north and west of scotla nd spells. it is the north and west of scotland whether showers become a bit more frequent into the afternoon and a few into northern ireland as well. many will spend the day dry with a bit more cloud this afternoon, some good sunny spells, wind light in the south, is developing across the north—west of scotla nd developing across the north—west of scotland and that will make it feel on the cool side still this afternoon to 18 or 19 degrees towards the south—east corner, down towards the south—east corner, down to touch on what we saw yesterday did it this evening and overnight showers to begin within north—west of scotla nd showers to begin within north—west of scotland but they will merge into longer spells of rain as we go into the start of tomorrow morning to most of you again a dry night, partly clear skies and a few stars every now and then and temperatures are down into single figures in the countryside to as we go into tomorrow we have an area of low pressure in iceland and that will impact whether in the north of the uk and we will see outbreaks of rain spread across scotland, northern ireland during the day with heavy bursts moved mixed in. some showers later and it could touch 15 mile an hour gusts. rain arrives in the end of the afternoon and the further south you are the more predominantly dry you remain with temperatures in the upper teens, perhaps in the low 20s. into the weekend, the week with a front pushes southwards through friday night into saturday, just a zone of cloud as we start saturday. there will be clouded time in southern and eastern areas and maybe the odd light shower here but the bulk of the rain will be towards the north—west again, especially later in the day with western scotland and into northern ireland. between those areas, afair into northern ireland. between those areas, a fair bit of sunshine and temperatures as they will be over the next few days in the teens did through saturday night and sunday, the rain is relentless across parts of the north—west of scotland and we will see a real risk of minor flooding here as we go through the weekend. still somewhat weather around on sunday but not as wet as we have seen on saturday so increasing amounts of sunshine the further south you go and note the temperature is starting to climb up. pleasa ntly warm temperature is starting to climb up. pleasantly warm day for many on sunday and as we go into the start of next week, the wranglers away from northern scotland celebrated a here on monday but what we will also see is increasing amounts of warmth building up and by then temperatures could get back to 20 degrees and parts of scotland but it is across england and wales where we could see them in the mid— maybe high 20s. that will not last too long. a little taste of summer again. looking forward to that. one of the most common scheme looking forward to that. one of the most common scheme complaint and many say it has had the effect. the expert society says people have suffered the condition. most people when they get up in the morning, before they start getting ready, they get on with the day and make they get on with the day and make the bed. most days i change all of the bed. most days i change all of the bedding. having a shower can be an unpleasant experience and sometimes quite painful so it is important to have enough time to use the medicated products properly and give them the time to work. these are some of the selections i need to ta ke are some of the selections i need to take ona are some of the selections i need to take on a daily basis. the single most important thing you can do is to keep your skin moisturiser and hydrated. changing the bed, having a shower, applying medicine. it takes an average of 1.5 hours stop that is just basic everyday life. i like wearing make up but it is just not possible to wear it every day so i tend to wear it when i am going out. luckily, i do work from home. i can get away from wearing my pyjamas all day. she is so brave for being on screen day. she is so brave for being on screen and talk about it, just putting up with people staring and wondering all the time about what it is like. we can talk to her now. she joins us with the chief executive of the national eczema society. how difficult was it? when we asked you to do that filled and also exposing and showing yourself to viewers? how time consuming eczema can be inaudible... time consuming eczema can be inaudible. .. we time consuming eczema can be inaudible... we will try time consuming eczema can be inaudible. .. we will try to get. we are having a problem with the line. we will try to stabilise it. we can talk to andrew proctor.” we will try to stabilise it. we can talk to andrew proctor. i think one of the things we learned from that field, how brave she is to come forward and talk about it but also we are hearing more about the other problems that come with the condition and how it affects lives. we hear it every day on our hotline. that is why we wanted to do this survey to highlight and demonstrate how tough it can be and how it can affect almost every aspect of your life from your friendship, relationship, career, job prospects and to the way you and others see yourself. it can be a profound thing difficult to deal with. clearly, there are the practical elements about what they can do and what you have to do to help ease the condition to a degree but then there's the psychological effects which may be even more damaging? yes, most people have heard of eczema and seen yes, most people have heard of eczema and seen someone yes, most people have heard of eczema and seen someone with red or inflamed skin but what is not always understood and recognised is that eczema fracture how you feel about yourself, your self—esteem. nine out of ten adults in our survey said that it had affected their mental health and 60% of parents and their children's mental health had been affected. it is a huge thing. we surveyed over a thousand people so it was very large. it was surprising to us, in some ways, just how many people are affected and how sick difficultly they were affect. these times now, we are being asked to wear masks in enclosed spaces. using hand sanitiser, more than perhaps more you would have done. how is that impacting on people who have the condition? as you heard at the start of the clip, a lot of time and effort goes into managing your skincare routine to make sure you are doing all you can to keep your skin fully moisturised and protected, and washing hands with soap — site can be an irritant to skin. hand sanitisers naturally have alcohol most of them and dry out the skin so they can be a real problem ina skin so they can be a real problem in a day—to—day situation. just walking into a store and they ask you to use sanitiser, they can be a challenge if your hands are red and raw with eczema. we could not re—establish the line but we saw her explaining her experiences and the battles she has with it. if you own a dog who is territorial or aggressive, the best way to protect postal workers is to simply keep the front door close but that may not be enough. since 2015 more than 600 posters have been bitten by dogs. the high court has ruled that owners can be fined or sent to prison if they do not take steps to stop that sort of attack, even if they are not at home when they happen. helen is a postal worker from darlington. at home when they happen. helen is a postal workerfrom darlington. you have been the victim of one of these attacks. can you set the scene for us? i had a puzzle to deliver to a customer one day and when the lady came to the door, she opened the front door but there was. to the porch behind her which she had not closed properly so the dog came bounding out, and bit me on my side. the lady was very apologetic and got the dog back in the house. i had to ring my manager. we rank the police. but due to the time my attack happened, there was no legislation in place that nothing could be done and we just had to advise the lady to be more careful next time when she answered the door so that it did not happen again. how did it affect you? i have a permanent scar, puncture wound scar. it is a psychological scar as well because i am very psychological scar as well because i am very nervous around psychological scar as well because i am very nervous around dogs now. i am very nervous around dogs now. i ama am very nervous around dogs now. i am a dog lover and i have am very nervous around dogs now. i am a dog loverand i have my am very nervous around dogs now. i am a dog lover and i have my own dogs but when i am at work, i am always more cautious and whenever i hear a dog bite, always more cautious and whenever i heara dog bite, i always more cautious and whenever i heara dog bite, lam always more cautious and whenever i hear a dog bite, lam nervous always more cautious and whenever i hear a dog bite, i am nervous that the customer will be able to get the dog safely away. posted get to know their patch quite well. —— postal workers. had you had any contact with this dog previously? did you know it was aggressive? no, even the lady has said he had never done that before. i was fairly new to the job when that happened so it was a fairly new round but yes, now i know where the friendly dogs are and where the friendly dogs are and where the friendly dogs are and where the aggressive dogs are but sometimes there are dogs behind a door that you cannot hear and they door that you cannot hear and they do not bite. i haven't quite a lot of colleagues that have had an injury is to their fingers and hands just through the letterbox. injury is to their fingers and hands just through the letterboxm injury is to their fingers and hands just through the letterbox. it must be really frustrating. i am looking at the high court ruling and, in theory, it means that people could be taken to task if they do not take cautions. what do you say to people. it does not necessarily mean the dogs are bad. you are a dog lover yourself. a dog here is that noise, letters coming through or a puzzle. what do you say to owners of dogs who react like that? you need to ta ke who react like that? you need to take the extra time to make sure the dog is secure before you answer the door. even if you are not there, you can put a cage on the back of your letterbox. you can get letterbox put on the wall outside. there are ways to protect postal workers and protect yourself. are you going out this morning? i am, protect yourself. are you going out this morning? iam, i protect yourself. are you going out this morning? i am, i will be. good luck with that and thank you for taking time. what time is your round? around nine o'clock. all right, i hope it goes smoothly. thank you. lovely of helen to be up so thank you. lovely of helen to be up so early. i imagine it takes ages to sort out the mail. they don't have to deal with that, do they? it is time to find out what is happening wherever you are. see you with the headlines at seven o'clock. good morning from bbc london, i'm sonja jessop. a cyclist, who was stopped and searched by the police last year, during a ride to promote diversity, has had a complaint against the officers upheld. footage of mani arthur being searched was widely shared on social media. the complaint was upheld by the police watchdog the iopc. figures show, if you are black, you are four times more likely to be stopped and searched in london. it was quite humiliating. it was a degrading experience. i have so many obstacles to already go through to then have to wonder whether the police are on my side is another layer. london's ambulance service is the first in the country to employ violence reduction officers to try to protect paramedics. there've been 260 physical assaults on staff since april. the new officers will also push for tougher sentences for those who carry out attacks. bbc london has learned that some boats will be allowed to pass under hammersmith bridge from tomorrow. the bridge was suddenly closed in august after faults were found in its structure. some boat owners, who've found themselves stranded down stream, say it'll be good to get on the move again. iam not i am not saying the place where we are is bad but we are stuck in a pin turned and are not able to move. i am not going to think about the rest going under the bridge. i'm going to think about going back home. the largest ever bronze age haul ever discovered in london is to go on display at the museum of london docklands from tomorrow. the havering hoard includes axe heads, spearheads and other unusual objects. it was discovered on a building site in rainham two years ago. it will be free to go and visit. let's take a look at the travel: we have severe delays on the dlr — there's been a signal failure. minor delays on the piccadilly line— eastbound between acton town and cockfosters. and there's no waterloo and city line. onto the roads then and this is vauxhall bridge which is still closed for works — it'll stay that way till december and some more wroks to be aware of in holloway, that's on the a1 holloway road at the junction with hornsey lane 3) time for the weather. here's kate kinsella. feeling a little fresher. we lost the humidity overnight and a bright start. a little more cloud as we head into the afternoon. bright spells with the sunshine. temperatures reaching around 18 or 19 celsius. it is feeling cooler than the last couple of days. overnight conditions remain similar. clear spells but also a bit of cloud with minimum temperatures in the suburbs is around eight or nine. central london staying around 10 celsius. conditions remain the same tomorrow. and for saturday as well. sunday, we start to pull in warmer airfrom the continent so the temperature is going to rise. lots of sunshine and perhaps the high 20s on monday. i'll be back in around half an hour — you can check out more stories on our facebook and instagram. now it's back to charlie and naga — bye for now. ‘s good morning and welcome to breakfast. our headlines today. strict measures on gatherings could remain in place until spring is borisjohnson sets out what he calls the rule of six. the reason we are doing this is precisely because we wa nt are doing this is precisely because we want to prevent a wider lockdown, and wider damage to the economy. the prime minister says he wants a huge increase in covid testing which lea ked increase in covid testing which leaked documents suggest could cost up leaked documents suggest could cost up to £100 billion. the sky turns orange over california as wildfires continue to burn along the west coast of america. good morning. the future of food shopping. supermarket salesjumped future of food shopping. supermarket sales jumped during lockdown future of food shopping. supermarket salesjumped during lockdown with future of food shopping. supermarket sales jumped during lockdown with a big move towards online. lower prices could be on the way, will that be good for shoppers and bad for business? i will talk to the boss of morrison's. good morning. no fa ns boss of morrison's. good morning. no fans cheering on the favourites here at doncaster later today after yesterday saw the first crowds of a british horse racing fixture. it has been forced to make a u—turn and close the gates once again for spectators. i will find out what that means for the industry. and another cool start there with holly and doncaster as it is for many of you this morning but largely dry day in store. forecast coming up here on brea kfast. in store. forecast coming up here on breakfast. good morning. it is thursday, september ten and our top story is that borisjohnson has said it breaks this heart to ban gatherings of more than six people in england but insists that the measures are necessary to avoid a second lockdown to the prime minister outlined an ambition to increase testing to millions of people's day which would cost tens of millions of pounds according to lea ked of millions of pounds according to leaked documents. our correspondent is in westminster for us this morning. good morning. the first time, prime minister recognising that there have been confusing m essa g es that there have been confusing messages and now we have the rule of six but we also have a long side that some huge ambitions. that is right. the rule of six he thinks will be much more simple although there will be some exceptions to it for example attendance at weddings and funerals at the moment if you thought the previous rule was confused there is not this question ofa confused there is not this question of a rule of six, gatherings of more than six people effectively being illegal and people putting themselves at risk of a fine indoors or out if they are gathering greater numbers than that but also there will be stronger enforcements. what he cold covid marshals in towns and city centres as well to try and encourage social distancing. businesses which are not covid secure businesses which are not covid secure will be shut down and all of this sparked, effectively, by a recent and rapid increase in the transmission of the disease especially amongst 17—29 —year—olds and there is a fear that they may affect people more vulnerable later down the line. that is why they are taking action now. he also said that effectively we will all have to take more responsibility for our own hills. the trouble is that people who think they can take responsibility for their own health and take their own risk are misunderstanding the situation to it is not just misunderstanding the situation to it is notjust the risk to yourself, alas, that at any age you could be a vehicle, a vectorfor the alas, that at any age you could be a vehicle, a vector for the disease. and so young people, as you rightly say, are overwhelmingly now getting it as the graph shows, but they are more than capable of transmitting it to the much more vulnerable older generation. i think what boris johnson was saying there is trying to strike some fear into younger people about the consequences of their actions but he also put it up asa their actions but he also put it up as a politician who likes to give us hope and he talks about the sunlit uplands of normality coming back again through a probe gram of massed testing, he called it operation moonshot, something that tries to achieve the impossible. we don't know if it will be possible but perhaps up to 10 million tests have been talked about a day and perhaps people who are negative can go about their business in a pre— covid way in due course. we should stress and his own chief scientist is stressing this as well is that we are in the foothills of this ambition at the moment it is a trial stage and an attempt to get quicker test, regular testing being trialled in salford. at this stage we do not know if the technology will patch up with the prime minister ‘s ambitions. technology will patch up with the prime minister 's ambitions. we will be speaking to the transport secretary at 7.30 so if you have questions about the rule of six, how it will apply in your situation, let us know this morning. we are in the business of trying to clarify that for you. senior ministers will hold emergency talks with eu officials today about the government's plans today about the government's plans to override parts of the brexit withdrawal agreement. borisjohnson urged mps to support the bill some senior conservatives have warned that trust in the uk will be if the plans go ahead. the latest round of negotiations on securing a post—brexit trade deal with the eu are also due to take part today. president trump has defended his decision to play down the danger posed by coronavirus at the start of the pandemic saying he did not want to create a frenzy of panic stop he first made the admission to veteran journalist in a recorded interview. his election rival has accused him of knowingly and willingly lying to the american people to wildfires are still morning at —— burning out of control along with part —— along the western coast of the united states. more than two dozen blazes are burning across the states of california oregon and washington. this is san francisco in the middle of the day. the city by the bay almost unrecognisable. look at the golden gate bridge, the same colour as the dark orange skies surrounding it. smoke and ash blocking out the sun, making it feel like the end of the world. 11:15am. crazy. 11:15 in the morning and it is like the middle of the night, almost. they're saying it is coming all the way from oregon, which is hundreds of miles away. and it looks like the apocalypse right now. it's like nighttime in the daytime. in los angeles, the sky is a more normal colour, but the smoke is still there, a hazy mist enveloping much of the city, and this is the reason — just one of the fires burning out of control, here, in california and also further north. this was a trailer park in the town of medford, oregon. there's not much left of it now the fire has ripped through it, destroying property, destroying lives. sheriff's coming through, going, "level three, get out, get out," and, yeah, grabbed some papers... grabbed some papers and stuff and this is it. this is what i've got. what you are wearing right now? this is what i've got... i'm so sorry. for oregon, this has been described as a once in a generation event, and it is a similar story for neighbouring states. this fire season is unprecedented, the flames continue to burn. tim allman, bbc news. ronald ‘khalis‘ bell, a founding member of the soul funk band kool & the gang has died at the age of 68. he passed away at his home in the us virgin islands with his wife by the side according to his publicist. he started kool & the gang with his brother robert, and had hits including celebration, summer madness and jungle boogie. it is eight minutes past seven and time now to find out what is happening with the weather. there is hot temperatures coming our way but i know you are starting in san francisco because it has been horrendous there. the smoke turned the sky dark orange and people have died in the fires. exactly. because the smoke has been so thick it has turned the sky orange. you can see it that tan colour here on the chart it that tan colour here on the chart it extends 1000 miles out to the west in 1000 miles from north to south as well, equivalent to edinburgh to barcelona and there is more smoke to edinburgh to barcelona and there is more smoke to come over edinburgh to barcelona and there is more smoke to come over the next few days as fires continue to burn. back to our part of the world there is some warmth on the way but today a little bit cooler with a fresh start out there this morning. temperatures across many part are close to, if not in single figures particularly away from towns and city centres. so it is probably something a little bit warmer if you are about to step out the door but for the but vast majority it is a dry and sunny start to thursday fourth there are a few showers across parts of north—west england and late to the scotland will see more showers for many it will see more showers for many it will be dry. sunny spells in the channel islands and a bit more sunshine today across southern counties of england compared to yesterday, the sun will come and go in wales with a small chance of one or two isolated showers but wind will be light and temperatures in the mid to high teens. cooler further north as the breeze picks up and it is across the western half of scotla nd and it is across the western half of scotland whether showers will be more frequent during the afternoon and temperatures here around 11— 13 celsius. showers replaced by long parts of —— long spells of rain but elsewhere you stay dry. into thursday and friday morning it will be another start and the full forecast is coming up just before quarter to eight. it is ten past seven and more than 2000 horse racing fans went to don castilla's today for the first day of the festival. today, no fans. the decision to hold the rest of the meeting behind closed doors was barred by the government new restrictions on social gatherings. holly is there for us this morning. so, holly... one moment they thought they were going towards a place where there would be crowds and it is beautiful there, what a glorious day you have, but there will be none today, it has all changed. almost a shame when you look at the stunning day here but as you say, over 2500 fa ns were day here but as you say, over 2500 fans were here yesterday cheering on their favourites, felt like a little bit of normality, the first crowds ata bit of normality, the first crowds at a british horseracing fixture in over six months to still drop in the ocean when you consider that over the next three days we are expect and maybe 6000 today but that has all changed now. we know the government has announced that the on venues like this will now be 1000 people. that after pressure from public health officials asking them not to go ahead with this has led them to make a u—turn here in doncaster and that means the gates have closed once again to spectators in the race here will have to continue behind closed doors. and what does that mean for the industry? let's speak now to mark spencer, the managing director at the racing division here. i suppose it is disappointment? absolutely. the team have worked so hard and everybody who was here yesterday worked with us in the code of conduct, everyone was well behaved and we had a great day, a proper racing day of racing fans, not some groups. just real disappointment. when did you realise that this would no longer be going ahead? early in the morning, mid morning we had a call with the council to get their statistics about ten o'clock in the morning. the statistics for the previous 24—hour is had gone up fivefold which made the public health doctor nervous and he changes from the government the night before really m ea nt from the government the night before really meant that two of the ten things outside of our control meant that they took away our capacity for crowds. so we have a certificate but not the public. there were over 2500 here yesterday and you said that it has been successful from what you can see so has been successful from what you can see so far. a lot of social distancing and images of the fans wearing masks. it could continue in that thread? we had a full debrief with the council and they are happy with the council and they are happy with the council and they are happy with the protocol, it was a successful pilot. so we have learnt a lot it is just a successful pilot. so we have learnt a lot it isjust a shame successful pilot. so we have learnt a lot it is just a shame we have been unable to do it for the next three days but we understand that the residents of doncaster must be kept safe and healthy. the government has said the cat will now bea government has said the cat will now be a 1000. an event like this, a four day festival when you expect crowds of 56,000, it is a drop in the ocean. it is in the bigger sites will find it harder than smaller sites. we are about to finish the season in the next eight or ten weeks and then we go into the jump season where crowds are smaller so for some of the smaller sites, 1000 is workable and manageable. but the big side it will be much more difficult because we realise —— rely heavily on revenue from attendees. thank you for your time this morning. there are two pilot races still to go ahead this month and the government has said it will reconsider everything in october but at newmarket, the couple still be at 1000 and people have to remember social distancing will be in place but it will be interesting to see what does happen after that. we discussed this morning, 1000 people ata discussed this morning, 1000 people at a huge event like this does not seem very at a huge event like this does not seem very much right now, does it? that it is important to be safe. doncaster race is not the first sporting venue to welcome back fans temporarily. the world snooker championship became the first indoor live sport in england to have a crowd since lockdown. around 300 people attended the final at the crucible. fans were then allowed back to the cricket including at the ovalin back to the cricket including at the oval in surrey, edgbaston and birmingham and at the end of august around 2500 football fans watched a friendly between brighton and chelsea. the new premier league season begins this weekend but no fa ns season begins this weekend but no fans will be admitted to matches before october at the earliest although the league's chief executive says it is critical to bring them back as soon as possible. like every other industry, football has been impacted already by covid—19. it is common knowledge we lost something like £700 million last year and there will be matches this season without fans inside the stadium and further losses will be incurred stop it cannot go on forever. we must get back to fans inside stadiums. it is the big thing thatis inside stadiums. it is the big thing that is missing, economic or otherwise, we need fans back inside stadiums for all sorts of reasons. let's talk to people who are keen to open up venues. very good morning to you both. let's stay with the sporting theme. give us a snapshot at your club. we all understand that the government strategy is for local targeted action predicated on individual responsibility and we are working closely with council around that and lots of clubs have been socially responsible for the communities. we deliver around 5000 meals to vulnerable people. that aspect is taken as is about perspective. but we suffer badly, especially down to the lower legs with the percentage of income that relates to the gate is probably close to about a third. in our particular case it is about 25%. for us it means that for every thousand supporters you get through the gate we get about £10,000 for that and another £4000 for the auxiliary from food and beverage. it is damaging but like other industries, the thing that makes it worse is trying to plan in uncertainty. we have a rule of six so we had to commit salaries for the previous season. it has been a missed opportunity to adjust the salary market but we have had to ta ke salary market but we have had to take those players on because they cannot be on furlough. until we get back to paying gates, we will have problems. transmere back to paying gates, we will have problems. tra nsmere have back to paying gates, we will have problems. transmere have built up some reserves and we will manage thanks to that. the manager of a theatre in west london, you have tried to get people back in in a socially distant capacity for performances. how did that go?m socially distant capacity for performances. how did that go? it is not without its challenges we have converted a 250 capacity show now. from 1250. the finances are terrible but we're taking the positives and being able to open safely and getting customers back at work to continue business. matt hancock yesterday was talking about his passion for the theatre and following andrew lloyd webber‘s comments saying the theatre has been at the heart of the arts and the a nswer at the heart of the arts and the answer is going to be with testing. considering what we know in terms of government ambitions and the reality of testing right now, how optimistic are you about theatres and entertainment getting back into business? it is questionable whether testing he's talking about will be activated in time for us to open without distancing in place for long—term. notjust without distancing in place for long—term. not just venues like ourselves but nightclubs, for any venue you ourselves but nightclubs, for any venue you want to be able to trade with distancing a browser close without. obviously, the testing would be absolutely incredible but i am not filled with confidence. would be absolutely incredible but i am not filled with confidencem would be absolutely incredible but i am not filled with confidence. it is to be chief executive of the fa and know the football world. do you think it is inevitable some clubs will not survive? football club is a fairly resilient but the major problem is there are lots of ways they have solved the cash problem over the summer will come home to roost. people present for repayment of debt built over the summer so in the next few months, that is the area where potential help from the government would be looking at the debt. everybody is living hand to mouth in this game and i think the real danger is when fellow starts to. —— furlough. real danger is when fellow starts to. -- furlough. thank you very much for coming to talk with us. mike will have spotted in about ten minutes. labour leader sir keir starmer has expressed his support for the new rule of six. the shadow foreign secretaryjoins for the new rule of six. the shadow foreign secretary joins us for the new rule of six. the shadow foreign secretaryjoins us now. there is a rule of six which will clear things up. in england. much more clear? i think they are real problems with the clarity about what the government is doing but i think they are right to say we need further restrictions and we certainly support that approach. we have seen a rise in infection rates in many parts of the country, a significant rise in recent weeks at most of the public to understand that, all as difficult as this is, we need to make sure that as we go into winter and as the nhs is preparing for winterflu into winter and as the nhs is preparing for winter flu and other ranks, we had to make sure the nhs is protected. you agree the government is doing the right thing? they are absolutely right to bring further restrictions but what is causing confusion is yet again way instructions are brought in. real issues about the fact we have a weekend coming before restrictions come into force. police have had challenges trying to enforce lockdowns and restrictions taking place and there is confusion about exactly what people can and cannot do under these measures. the need to get out and explain this to people. it gives businesses, restaurant bookings, certain galleries walked up bookings, certain galleries walked up to groups of 30 so that time to happen and for others to be postponed or cancelled. the government, when it comes to policing, they are introducing covid marshalls. do you know much about that? not a huge amount. we have been trying to get the government to go out more regularly and explain what they are doing. pelissier have been saying to me that they are quite concerned about the fact that they need more support, more public guidance and clarity. most people wa nt to guidance and clarity. most people want to do the right thing but they also need to understand what that is and police in wigan are taking a large approach, try to support and explain to people why they should follow the rules but part of the frustration is that we do not have that from the government. people understand why they asked to do thing largely they will do it. and that's of the police from taking a heavy—handed approach. that's of the police from taking a heavy-handed approach. what is more important, people gathering for christmas traditionally as a family or sticking to groups of six and keeping everyone safe?” or sticking to groups of six and keeping everyone safe? i think keeping everyone safe? i think keeping people safe has to be the overwhelming priority and this is obviously about individuals and your own family but also about the fact that if you do not have the right level of restrictions in place the nhs can become overwhelmed and the consequences of that can become really seriously. i think we have to pay attention to the emotional and mental effect of this as well. people want to feel as if there is some kind of light at the end of the tunnel. the vaccine developed in oxford has given people hope but they can take a few years to develop. we have been pushing hard to get the minister to develop the test trace. other countries have moved much more quickly and have been able to open up the restrictions and allowed people to see theirfamilies restrictions and allowed people to see their families more quickly and thatis see their families more quickly and that is what we need the government to focus on now. the government has made clear that mass testing is the strategy for the way forward and there are targets of billions per day, 3 million by christmas per day. that is the plan. when it comes to spending, should there be a cap on this or spend whatever is needed to get this testing out there people back into work and entertainment venues? i think most people accept this has to be the priority for the country. there is a huge knock—on effect for the economy, and the fact we have been so slow to get test, trace and isolate more quickly has had an effect. the problem is, the prime minister yesterday could not even explain how he was going to fix problems in the system that we have been wanting him about since the fourth of august. if you cannot acknowledge that a problem in the system, many people, including many in my constituency, who cannot get tests until having symptoms, have real anxiety about it and it is sad to see how he thinks he can get 10 million tests per day at the cost of £100 billion especially because of the late papers overnight —— leaked pressures , the late papers overnight —— leaked pressures, seems to say that the government is not learning from their mistakes in the public have problems understanding things on the ground. the government still seemed to be shutting local health and governments out of the system. it seems to be a void of medical content. seems to be a void of medical co nte nt. we seems to be a void of medical content. we need to start learning the lessons as to how we got this wrong before so we can move the country wrong before so we can move the cou ntry forward wrong before so we can move the country forward more quickly. thank you very much. we will be speaking to the transport secretary in a few minutes' time. time out for the news, travel and whether you. good morning from bbc london, i'm sonja jessop. a cyclist, who was stopped and searched by the police, last year, during a ride to promote diversity, has had a complaint against the officers upheld. footage of mani arthur being searched was widely shared on social media. the complaint was upheld by the police watchdog the iopc. figures show, if you are black, you are four times more likely to be stopped and searched in london. it was quite humiliating. it was a degrading experience. i have so many obstacles to already go through to then have to wonder whether the police are on my side is another layer. london's ambulance service is the first in the country to employ violence reduction officers, to try to protect paramedics. there've been 260 physical assaults on staff since april. the new officers will also push for tougher sentences for those who carry out attacks. bbc london has learned that some boats will be allowed to pass under hammersmith bridge from tomorrow. the bridge was suddenly closed in august after faults were found in its structure. some boat owners have found themselves stranded down stream since then. i am not saying that the place where we are is bad, the largest ever bronze age haul ever discovered in the capital is to go on display at the museum of london docklands from tomorrow. the havering hoard includes axe heads, spearheads, and other unusual objects. they were discovered on a building site in rainham two years ago. it will be free to go and visit. let's take a look at the travel: the dl are is now travelling fine. minor delays on the piccadilly line eastbound, between acton town and cockfosters. and there's no waterloo and city line. onto the roads then and this is vauxhall bridge, which is still closed for works — it'll stay that way till december and the north circular is pretty slow westbound from the a10 at edmonton towards palmers green. time for the weather — here's kate kinsella. good morning. well, it's feeling a little fresher out there this morning. we lost the humidity overnight. under clear skies as well, the temperature dropped but it means we have got a bright start this morning. plenty of sunshine around at least first thing but we will notice a little more cloud moving through as we head into the afternoon. still some bright spells there, with the sunshine. just glimpses of it a little later. and temperatures today reaching around 18 or 19 celsius. we may get one or two spots at 20 so it is feeling cooler than the last couple of days. now, overnight, conditions remain very similar. we've still got some clear spells but also a bit of cloud around as well. the minimum temperatures in the suburbs around eight or nine. central london probably staying around 10 celsius. now, for friday, we've still got some sunny spells around. tomorrow, conditions really remain the same. temeperatures similar and for saturday as well. but for sunday, we start to pull in warmer air from the continent so actually the temperature is going to rise. we're looking at mid—20s on sunday with lots of sunshine. perhaps the high 20s on monday. i'm back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. plenty more on our website at the usual address. now though it's back to charlie and naga. bye for now. hello. this is breakfast. it is 7:30. returning now to our main story. new restrictions on social gatherings of more than six people in england. we have the transport secretary grant shapps. we have a new message from the government that has conceded, i think for the first time, that they have put out in the past confusing messages. a rule of six. the prime minister says he can do this in a single sentence. and you? the rule of six is going to be straight forward and is a number people are familiar with from previous parts of the response. you talk about the complexity of these things, the original lockdown was obviously extremely straightforward because people knew that theyjust had to stay home if it wasn't for one of four specific reasons. and then as you unlock and you try to ta ke then as you unlock and you try to take in different circumstances, you do end up with layers of different numbers of people who could be inside as two families in a restau ra nt inside as two families in a restaurant but then six people separately and it becomes more complicated. as we have seen numbers increase across europe and the world, and numbers start to pick up here we just want to make sure it is absolutely clear and simplify the whole thing so it is easier for people to follow. the rule of six is the way to do that. six people inside, outside, in a restaurant, in a pub, it is straightforward and eve ryo ne a pub, it is straightforward and everyone can follow that and we will make it enforceable. why was the number six chosen? why not eight or five? what is the reasoning behind that? we had some extensive discussions with the chief medical officer and the chief scientific officer advising us on this. to a nswer officer advising us on this. to answer your question it is not that we looked around the world and found that this country has used a specific number. countries use different numbers and overlay different numbers and overlay different types of rules. what we know is that the more people mix, the more the virus will spread. we have got to balance that against people being able to practically go about their lives. we do not want there to be a second lockdown, that is not what this out —— this is. we wa nt to is not what this out —— this is. we want to avoid that and the rule of six, we found, is likely to be the right balance between the two based on advice from people like the chief medical officer. but i do not want to pretend there is a magic solution to pretend there is a magic solution to any of this. the reality is you need to set some rules and you need to stick to them and live by them and as long as everybody is doing that, what the experts are saying, the medical officer in the scientific officer are saying, is that if you do that the reproduction rate will drop back low one and the thing starts to shrink away again whereas at the moment we know for certain it is somewhere above one because it is growing. a question from a viewer this morning. we are a family of five with two adults and three children. my main support and childcare are my parents. is the rule of six really stating that seven of us from two households cannot spend time together without leaving someone at home, that but i can go fora leaving someone at home, that but i can go for a meal with five individuals from five households. this is my family position as well, there are five of us in the family and if! there are five of us in the family and if i want to see both my parents at the same time, i cannot do that. i cannot have seven people inside my house or outside my house or to go for dinner with them somewhere else either. even if it is an established support model. so there are just a couple of exemptions on here, one of which is a support bubble which is a genuine support bubble. so you will recall that if somebody lives on their own, for example or perhaps with children but an adult on their own who would otherwise be isolated in their own existing support bubble but, broadly speaking, and we gave an example that springs to mind, family in terms of number, it is now the case that if all five of us were at home i could not have both my pa rents over at home i could not have both my parents over at the same time. we do have to have a limit and we do have to have clear rules and rather than saying households and that sort of thing which was leading to the situation getting stretched and perhaps confusing and complicating, the rule of six is very straightforward. you cannot have more than six people, whether they are from different households or not. a question about someone who gets together with a fitness class ina gets together with a fitness class in a village hall which is more than six people. is that deemed to be a social gathering or is that a workplace estimate how does that sit within the rule of six? we want to make sure that you don't have to lockdown the economy again and people have returned on the children are returning to school people are getting out and about. so in schools you can have in an organised format you can have in an organised format you can have more than six children ina you can have more than six children in a classroom, obviously, or in workplaces you can have more than six people and in organised events you can have more than six people. what you cannot do is decide to go toa what you cannot do is decide to go to a restaurant and have more than six people there. so... in that setting i described for you then, i think we understand a bit about pubs in those environments but in a less formal setting, say a gathering of people who do an art class or a fitness class which is not a professional thing, it is a gathering of people, so that is out, is that right? so in the business they would put measures in to be covid secure, that was one of the things we said yesterday, we want to make sure that every business understands the requirements under the guidance. so a business can be covid secure, professionally organised thing would be suitable. but we do ask people to be very sensible and smart about not gathering in groups of more than six where it is not in a formal covid secure environment where it is not in a formal covid secure environment like a business, like an organised sporting event which would be ok or school and education, universities and those things. can you talk to me then about marshall's. prime minister mention for the first time these marshall's who will be helping, as i understand it, helping the police with enforcement to how many marshals are in place was to mark these rules kick in on monday and todayis these rules kick in on monday and today is thursday. how many marshals are in place as we speak? the prime minister outlined a series of different things that we will be doing, not all of which come in from monday. another example would be simplifying the passenger locator form. butjust first on the marshall's. not everything is coming in on monday but what he has said is what we should have is covid secure marshals assisting in places like town and city centres to help remind people of the rules and support police in doing that. so local authorities will be helping to get that in place. to give you an example in my local area, we have people who are called street wardens and they would be very good people to help perform this activity which is not something i think they are doing right now in my local area stop it is something that they could clearly be quite easily moved to doing. the idea is to have more people who can be covid secure marshals but the housing secretary of state who looks after that area will be outlining details in due course along with a number of other things, set changes and other things mentioned there that the prime minister flagged mentioned there that the prime ministerflagged in his speech yesterday. wires the prime minister, in his speech yesterday, talking about the moonshot idea of this mass testing when many people are telling us, as you will know over the last few days, they cannot get a test today stop they cannot get a test tomorrow and even if they have symptoms. why are we even talking about what might happen at the end of the year or in the spring, i think as the prime minister suggested, when there are immediate problems now? there is pressure on the testing system now but that is not because we do not have a huge amount of testing. looking at the figures we are doing 1.2 million tests a week right now and have done 17 one half million in total. that is more than in france and germany and italy and other places to but there are pressures on the systems and the reason is we have schools returning and sometimes now we need to test perhaps an entire class or have a situation where we need to test a n have a situation where we need to test an entire year group and universities are returning and as was said earlier in the week, there are was said earlier in the week, there a re pressures was said earlier in the week, there are pressures on testing right now, even though we can perform 300,000 a day. we will bring that up to half a million tests per day and we have a test centres in newport and charnwood and that will take our conventional style of testing, what we are used to doing with people turning up to one of 400 turn up and be tested sites plus the home testing. so that is expanding anyway. but the problem here, as you are well aware, is that every time we ask this question we get the numbers and you say they will be escalated to 500,000, what is the point in saying that if, today, you cannot get a test when you should be getting one? if people are being told to go way out of their own area told to go way out of their own area to get a test, potentially carrying the virus with them. i do not see the virus with them. i do not see the point of talking about numbers in the future when there clearly is a problem now for which there is a p pa re ntly a problem now for which there is apparently no explanation to there is pressure on testing right now and we don't deny that. but on the other hand the average distance people have to travel is 6.5 miles to get a test and we are carrying out record numbers of tests, as i mentioned. and in the very short—term. so is not some distant future, by the end of october we will have 300,000 a 2/2 a million tests per day based on those new centres opening. that is the short term issue which is, to say, it is being addressed. in the medium term and this is what the prime minister was talking about, and why do we say this? the prime ministers and leaders point out that we are ambitious in trying to sort things out for the future as well and what he was saying is that we will have a moonshot attempt, something that does not exist at the moment and we will have to work on science and technology but the idea is to have a test that can be carried out at the location, a bit like a pregnancy test provides a quick result and that would com pletely quick result and that would completely revolutionise things. if a test does not have to go back to a lab and you could test in the millions on a daily basis, then you could open up testing in a way that it does not exist at the moment. but you would be aware already that many people in the medical community is saying that this is not possible to do at present. if i may like to get onto another issue. we are told young people, and this is fact, those with the fastest rise in infection rate at the moment. we also know that young people are most likely to be asymptomatic. so will show no symptoms. but we are simultaneously being told by the government that you shouldn't go and get a test if you do not have any symptoms. there is a problem there isn't there? if a young person is trying to do the right thing and make sure that they do not pass it on to an older generation, under the current government instructions they should not get a test. so we're talking about two sides of the same coin here. in a sense, if we had the thing which doesn't exist at the moment which is unlimited testing in a very fast way and, as you say, the science is not quite there yet, there are some prototypes and i heard the chief scientist talking about this yesterday, there are prototypes of this but there are test at the moment we can rely on which is why they are announcing this moonshot to try and get them. on the other hand even though we have an extraordinary amount of testing, 300,000 test per day, 1.2 million available at the moment, nonetheless we need to make sure we prioritise that for people who do have symptoms and so everyone else, the 17-24 have symptoms and so everyone else, the 17—24 —year—old age group in which it is most prevalent at the moment, but also for the rest of us, the whole of society, we ask people to wash their hands, keep their hands away from the face. so what would you say, what would you say to a 19—year—old who is thinking that they are worried about going to see their grandparents, they have no symptoms but they like to get a test before they go because that would be a responsible thing to do. what do you say to them? i literally have a 19—year—old in the house in that situation and what i'd sailed him is what i will tell you. wash your hands, do not touch your face and spread it and maintain space. and then you can go and see my mum and dad and whatever you do, maintain that space and take sensible precautions, for example, meet them outside rather than inside. don't get too close. and it is the same for all of us. there is no magic solution. the science has not changed although we do know a lot more about coronavirus. hands, face, space remains the most important advice that is possible until we get to the day when we can systematically, as you say, either test everybody every day in some future scientific breakthrough and it is important that we invest in trying to get there all we get the vaccine and, again, no country in the world has done more to try and find things which help such as render severe, a treatment, and to have created so many tests that can be done, dare i mentioned, in an additional test capacity. there is no magic solution but i am telling you it as it is. we appreciate your time this morning. thank you very much. it is quarter to eight and thank you for being with us this morning. bye for now. a little burst of cyber worms into the start of next week. not quite for everyone. however, at the moment, a lovely start here. a fresh a few days to get through. these are some of the cooler spots across the uk. aberdeenshire is the coolest of all. a lot of sunshine though to go with it so quite a pleasant start to your thursday. isolated showers in wales and north—west england and northern scotland. becoming more frequent as the breeze picks up. maybe one or two in northern ireland. even though temperatures have dropped relative to yesterday, quite a bit of sunshine around and feeling quite pleasant. it is here in northern scotland where showers will be replaced by longer spells of rain. most will have a dry night. in the clear slots, temperatures will drop down into single figures. tomorrow morning, a little on the fresh side. further north fresh because of the stronger winds. more persistent rain here as well. a band of heavy rain through northern ireland and across southern scotland, clearing by the afternoon. went pickup with sunshine and showers in their wake. the further south you are, you will stay dry through friday. temperature is fairly similarto through friday. temperature is fairly similar to today. friday night and into the weekend, warm weather front pushing in. night and into the weekend, warm weatherfront pushing in. nothing more than a band of cloud in northern england and isolated showers in southern england and east anglia. a few showers in north—west england. across northern ireland and west scotland cloud thickening to bring heavy rain. temperatures similarto bring heavy rain. temperatures similar to friday but i thoroughly wet start to the night across parts of scotla nd wet start to the night across parts of scotland and the rain going even into sunday. from glasgow, southwards, we expect sunny skies for many on sunday and temperatures are starting to rise, up to the 20 is more widely as we go through sunday afternoon. the potentialfor some flooding into the north—west island pushing northwards and suddenly winds will dominate and will bring norther air. by monday, temperatures could head to 28 degrees in the south—east corner but how long that lasts still a little bit of uncertainty. cooler air pushing through the west during the week. there is always but. with me there is. spending lockdown with a box of biscuits and hand is not always good. kieran amos is here at the start of the pandemic. he weighed in at 21 stones after injuring his ankle and having a poor diet. he started playing football for his local nonleague team scoring an injury time winner on his first outing after losing some weight. who was in charge of the camera! good morning. it was a young lad called jesse, and i think they got a little bit excited as the goal went in. we saw the before and after pictures of you. at the start of the season, you had let yourself go for quite a long period of time? about seven - eight years. what sort of condition were youin? years. what sort of condition were you in? not a great one, if i am honest. at the start of lockdown, my brother was out running every day and going to the gym and he said to me, do you want to come out for a run with me and if i am honest i was thinking, no, not at all but i decided to go with him and i did one kilometre with him and i must've stopped four or five times and that kind of says where my fitness was added. but you decided to persevere. we have spoken to people who have done the couch to five k and it is really ha rd to done the couch to five k and it is really hard to get into something like running. what motivated you to stick with it? a couple of things. i have coached football and i have been involved with all the boys at the club and i was always watching games thinking i could play forgot myself it. i spoke to the manager at the start of lockdown and told him i was trying to get myself it and he was trying to get myself it and he was very was trying to get myself it and he was very supportive and told me to set a target of losing five stone and then you can start training with the team in pre—season if and when that arrives. injuly the team in pre—season if and when that arrives. in july i the team in pre—season if and when that arrives. injuly i had lost the five stones and plus a little bit more and started training with the boys. he signed me up and told me it was now up to me. that was the first motivator and the second one was having my friends and families around me, asking me howl having my friends and families around me, asking me how i was getting on and just cheering me on, really. congratulations because you have clearly achieved a great deal ina have clearly achieved a great deal in a short space of time and what an immaculate kitchen. can ijust say your kitchen is absolutely immaculate! that is my mum and dad, nothing to do with me. they will be pleased to know that, thank you. they have done themselves proud and so they have done themselves proud and so have you. well done. thank you very much and we have the next round on saturday at home so we're forward to it. good luck, good luck. thank you, guys. see what you can do. many supermarkets have benefited during lockdown because pubs and restau ra nts lockdown because pubs and restaurants were closed out so we we re restaurants were closed out so we were shopping and eating more at home. we are going to talk to one of the players? in some ways supermarkets with a big covid winners. scenes of big queues and empty shelves have disappeared but spending is still much higher than pre— pandemic levels and also how we have been spending has changed. some have been spending has changed. some have moved to on line shopping but not everyone has embraced home delivery. run family, they have been going to the shop in stock for one week. we were having quite a few deliveries missing items and also giving alternatives that we were not going to eat so we decided to go backin going to eat so we decided to go back in store and picked up the items we wanted and we would eat and we are probably shopping less but trying to get everything done in one shop. you get drawn into the office so we are shop. you get drawn into the office so we are spending a bit more, the biggest impact was the kids being home but i think we may have spent marginally more than on line shopping but you get what you were looking for. with my dad being poorly, he comes out shopping with us once a week and so he would be heartbroken if we stopped and went back to shopping on line. the highlight of my week going shopping. we spoke in march and the headline in yourfigures, revenue up significantly, 8.7% profits down significantly, 8.7% profits down significantly 28%. that is not a good picture. we are very relaxed about that picture because we have taken about that picture because we have ta ke n costs about that picture because we have ta ken costs to about that picture because we have taken costs to get that revenue going and to play our part in defeating the nation and the british public probably recognises what is going on. we will see those costs not continuing. on the revenue line, there is a blending going on. consumers are spending time shopping and we would have doubled the on line sales during the first six months and we have increased capacity by five times. as society changes, we can change as well. we have to remember that, since march, food retailers have been one of the few lifelines, one of the few businesses that have been open for the british public. one thing we know is that as the economy has been getting smaller, the recession and job losses increasing at the end of the furlough scheme, people will see prices drop on essential items and up prices drop on essential items and up it on other artists. i can say that no prices were increased in morrisons in the first half. it's a very important categories like fruit and vegetables, if we look ahead to christmas, i can promise and commit to the 451 most important items, judged by consumers, will on average be around £20 each week cheaper than in 2019. what about guaranteeing other prices will not go up? the market is very competitive so none of the retailers set out to do that andi of the retailers set out to do that and i think you could see this week that we have dropped prices very meaningfully on customer favourites which is a chunky part of our volume and they are the biggest price scores we have done since i have been here in the past six years. so it is up to the consumers to keep an eye on the products. you took on 45 you and temporary staff over the covert period. —— new. only a quarter have got contracts. two the rest deserve a bit of loyalty from you? they have all been brilliant. we could not have fed the nation without them. many people who joined us clearly wanted work. they were followed and it suited them while they were returning to their work. —— furloughes. our staffing levels have risen to over 125,000 in the second half and a significant number of those are furloughed as we extend the business... just to be clear, of the business... just to be clear, of the 25,000, if they want a staff contract, you cannot necessarily offer that to all of them at the moment? to be very clear, we are in fa ct moment? to be very clear, we are in fact offering permanent contracts of around half of that number and for the rest it sues them and it suits us to see how that goes. —— suits. this is a very important employment story as the country is facing some economic challenges. a question on face coverings. lots of people telling us not everybody is adhering into guidelines going into supermarkets. what are your staff encouraging customers to do?m supermarkets. what are your staff encouraging customers to do? if we see customers who had forgotten or they haven't chosen to wear a face covering, we remind them of the guideline and we go from there. to be honest, peer pressure often works and we have not really had in morrisons many incidents and i have been around the stores and i have seen very been around the stores and i have seen very few people, very few members of the public who have not adhered to... ok david potts, many thanks. in that report a return, an implication that people are buying more on small convenience stores on the high street. using the high street as a lifeline and that will be one of the consumer legacies of covert mate. the headlights coming up covert mate. the headlights coming up in covert mate. the headlights coming upina covert mate. the headlights coming up in a moment. good morning and welcome to brea kfast. good morning and welcome to breakfast. the headlines today. stricter measures on gatherings could remain in place until spring as borisjohnson sets out what he calls the rule of six. the reason we are as borisjohnson sets out what he calls the rule of six. the reason we are doing this is precisely because we wa nt are doing this is precisely because we want to prevent a wider lockdown, wider damage to the economy. the prime minister says he wants a huge increase in testing which leaked documents suggest could cost up to £100 billion. the sky turns orange over california as wildfires continue to burn across the west coast of the united states. there are fears of a financial meltdown in sport if fans are shut out again. small crowds of 1000 people will be allowed at some pilot events this month but all of this is now under review after the rise in infection rates. and a fresh start to thursday but for most of you, a dry day today and even more warmth returning on the horizon. iwill and even more warmth returning on the horizon. i will have all of the details here on breakfast. good morning. it's thursday the 10th of september and the top story is that in the last half hour a senior cabinet minister has outlined the government's ambition to revolutionise testing for covid—19. ministers want to increase testing capacity to millions a day which would cost tens of billions of pounds according to leaked documents. in the last half hour, the transport secretary grant shapps admitted the technology does not yet exist. we will have a moonshot attempt, something that doesn't attempt, something that doesn't attempt —— exist at the moment and we will have to work on the science and technology but the idea is to have a test that will be carried out at the location, a bit like a pregnancy test provides a quick result and that would completely revolutionise things. if you imagine the test doesn't have to go back to a lab and you can test in the millions and on a daily basis, then you can open up testing in a way that doesn't exist at the moment, perhaps opening up larger sporting events perhaps opening up larger sporting eve nts o n perhaps opening up larger sporting events on that sort of thing. this comes events on that sort of thing. this co m es after events on that sort of thing. this comes after borisjohnson announced stricter rules on social gatherings banning more than six people getting together and we can talk to the deputy chief medical officer for england, doctorjenny harris, in westminster and good morning and thanks for your time this morning. this mass testing, the numbers are ambitious, the costs will be significant. what is realistic, say, by christmas, by the end of the year? as everybody knows, we are living in unprecedented times and having ambitious plans to try and get a sore back to a degree of normality is actually really important for us —— get us all back. there are two aspects, the economic side, the cost is for politicians and ministers to weigh up the benefits of that, but on the technical side there are a number of tests already in the pipeline and they are being evaluated currently, so they are being evaluated currently, so the fact that there will be technical solutions, if you like, to provide a test and relatively quickly in some cases is reasonable. i think perhaps, and some of my professional colleagues have highlighted this, that the implementation of that is quite challenging as well. so the idea that you get up and have a test, and you might have some sort of lateral flow kit, it's not unreasonable at all i would say months, but in a reasonably short timeframe. the difficulty is how you implement that to make sure that issues like false positivity is all false negative rates allow you to deliver what you're trying to do, so effectively keep the population safe. i don't think these are comparable to the sorts of tests we have on a routine basis. it may well be that having been identified, if you are positive, you might have to come back into the normal system because we need to prevent disease transmission. i wasn't asking you whether money should be spent on the test, i was trying to get from you the number of tests that can realistically be done by the end of the year and a realistic idea of how much it will cost, regardless of who makes the decision to spend the money. i can't give you that number precisely because we are talking about two completely different testing approaches. the tests we have for clinical decision—making if you like, now, the routine nhs test and tray system is one type of testing and the one the prime minister referred to as a mass population test system and they are quite different. shall we talk about the mass population one, because thatis the mass population one, because that is the one the prime minister said would help us get back to some sort of normality or at least closer to the normality we knew before lockdown began. that's the one where a20 lockdown began. that's the one where a 20 minute or 90 minute test could be done before major events or people getting back into the office, that's the one which is being targeted for millions to be done. exactly, and the points i made earlier were very much about the tricky thing with this is not so much the technology, which i'm sure we will have, in a short while, in weeks or months, the issue is how it gets used in practice so that if you have, for example, a false negative test but you feel assured that you do not have the disease you don't end up going back into the workplace, which brings me back to why it still so important that the critical measure here, although testing is really important, whether it be mass testing or routine nhs test and trace, but if people have systems —— symptoms they need to come out of society to prevent transmission and these are adjuncts including the mass population testing, they are adjunct to managing the pandemic. do you have an idea ora managing the pandemic. do you have an idea or a picture you can paint when it comes to increase testing when it comes to increase testing when there are still reports that people are unable to get tests locally or people have been given error messages when it came to getting tested and being told not to call the helpline. i'm not the logistics person behind that but i can understand and appreciate the frustration. i heard of a family being asked to take a child over 100 miles, and as a parent, previously, that's not a practical thing to do. there will be glitches and i think there have been comments from nhs test and trace, but the fact is that the uk, unlike back in march, now has one of the most prolific testing capacities, even now, certainly in europe by head of population so we are actually in a very good position to be testing while recognising there are glitches in the system from time to time. i think one of the things that has been happening recently is with the increased understanding of testing and where we are seeing rises in rates, there has been the opportunity to move testing to those sites, so for example, there are plans for all sorts of institutions, before schools go back, orfor care homes, where we have very specific asymptomatic testing which is designed and focused at staff and residents in order to manage outbreaks and prevent them in care homes wherever it can. asymptomatic testing? yes, for very specific groups, and that was my point. if you take for example care homes where we have very vulnerable populations, we know that the transmission is not simply residents. we know this from hospitals as well and it is very much about working between residents and staff and actually often in these places it is very much to do with the social side of things, it's where we let our guard down and start socialising and that is of course why the prime minister has announced that the rule of six in relation to gatherings in social areas. it's interesting you talk about asymptomatic testing because we brought this up with grant shapps, and when it comes to stu d e nts shapps, and when it comes to students and younger people and we saw the graphs yesterday showing the infection rate amongst younger people, thinking mid to late teenagers in particular. so with asymptomatic testing, could this be used say in university or sixth form environments because at the moment the message from the government is if you don't have any symptoms, don't get tested, but we know with younger people they are more likely to be asymptomatic and suffer less with the symptoms of the virus. that is true. for young people, they also socialise the most, it's part of your lifestyle for most young people and is an important part as well, so for absolute clarity, these are older young people, if you like. 17 up older young people, if you like. 17 up to 21, not school—age children where transmission rates tend to be much lower. again, we have the same problems, and property not able to explain in detail in the short time we have, but where we have a low background level of infection you can, with testing, pick up as many false positives as true positives and that has an impact for closing down bubbles or workplaces, so we have to be really clear what the benefit is if you put in asymptomatic testing. sorry, if there are so many false positives, concerning a number of false positives, what's the point of testing if you can't rely on the results ? testing if you can't rely on the results? well, at a very low background population rate, that's an important question, but because it relates partly to the prevalence of the disease in the population for well—founded and well—known statistical reasons, but as you get rising rates, as we've seen through the pandemic, it's absolutely critical that people are being tested, and you are right, the people we want to come forward for testing are those who have symptoms or if they have been told by a health professional to be tested or by nhs test and trace, we don't want people routinely to come forward for asymptomatic testing, only in the areas where we know it will be beneficial and prevent disease in vulnerable populations.” beneficial and prevent disease in vulnerable populations. ijust want to make clear that i've understood you correctly. up to 50% of the results could be false positives? is that correct? that's not what i said. what i'm saying is, when you get down to very low background prevalence rates you can have an equivalent number of low positive test but you're talking about where they might be one case in a very large population, so that's not where we are at the moment. we want people to come forward when they are symptomatic, have the test, and then link up with nhs test and trace. what i'm saying is, the reliability of testing in asymptomatic populations very much depends on the background prevalence of disease and the benefit that would come out of it which is why we are absolutely focused on, for example, protecting people in care homes and there is a specific time to testing regime for carers, for example, in care homes to make sure that we are protecting those who are most vulnerable but if you applied that across the whole population i mean, for example, in scotland, there were 17,500 test done one day and only two were positive and you can see how that true positive might dissipate the capacity to really manage the people who need to have testing and for clinical management. very briefly then, if you have students who are asymptomatic but in an area of low prevalence, the advice is don't get tested, or don't test in those areas for asymptomatic symptoms, so they could be at risk of taking it back to families and grandparents because they are told not to get tested. there are two things there. generally, asymptomatic testing u nless generally, asymptomatic testing unless there is a well evidence—based reason for doing it is not something we would do without understanding the consequences of that. some universities are looking at how that might work for their populations, and absolutely, if there is an indication, for example, that a local health protection team is working with a university because there has been a case, the likelihood of you finding more cases is higher, so the really important m essa g es to is higher, so the really important messages to be guided by the health professionals and from protection teams as to when that is a useful intervention teams for example in ca re intervention teams for example in care homes or outbreak situations, but routinely, the thing to do is, if you are symptomatic we encourage you to get a test as quickly as possible but isolate yourself as well because then you cease to become a transmission risk, and work with nhs test and trace to control any potential risk. jenny harris, deputy chief medical officer, thank you for your time this morning. that ta kes you for your time this morning. that takes us to 8:13am and i think matt is going to look over some pictures with us now and we're going to talk about the weather in a moment, but these are the images coming out of these are the images coming out of the us this morning, the city of san francisco, just extraordinary. we know about the major fires burning in parts of oregon and washington as well but it's creating this extraordinary haze over the city. incredible site. very eerie, and i've been caught in wildfire smoke before and it drops the temperature markedly and think of it like sunrise and sunset because there we re sunrise and sunset because there were bits of particle from the fires up were bits of particle from the fires up in the air, it splits the lights into different colours and you see mainly orange, hence the eerie look and you could see the wildfire smoke from space yesterday, this dirty brown colour here which extends around 1000 miles from north to south and east and west, the equivalent of edinburgh to barcelona. at least in the next few days the winds in the air will ease a touch and that might help fight those fires a little bit more. back to the uk whether and the winds have eased through the night to leave us with a bit of a fresh start to the morning and most places will have a dry day but temperatures still in many parts around the single figures values as we step out so you might need something a bit warmer, but sunshine overhead will warm you up and not a bad start to the day with plenty of sunshine around. a bit more cloud in the west and one or two isolated showers but through the day, north—west scotland will see more showers develop and the odd shower in northern ireland for a time and the breeze will pick up and in the south with lighter winds we will see temperatures get to around 19 or 20 degrees in one or two spots, down on recent days but pleasa nt spots, down on recent days but pleasant enough with light winds and sunnier moments. isolated showers in wales, north—west england but most will be dry and the main shower risk this afternoon will be across the north and west of scotland. he the winds will pick up and it will feel cool at 11 to 13 degrees in the showers replaced by longer spells of rain across western scotland and temperatures will drop again, probably cold is tonight across england and wales with countryside temperatures down to single figures. thanks very much. time now is 8:15. from monday people in england will only be allowed to meet in groups of up only be allowed to meet in groups of up to six or face a fine. the new rules were introduced after a sharp rise in cases. we have been to swindon, one of the area is being watched closely by public health officials to see what people they are thinking. we are simplifying and strengthening the rules. rules are set in downing street but how do they go down on the high street? heart—wrenching. it is really upsetting. hannah is desperate to get all the generations of her big family back together again but now she fears it won't happen. christmas is going to be really challenging because they are used to being around family and seeing everyone. so explaining to them why they can't see so explaining to them why they can't see granny at christmas and stuff is going to dramatically affect them.” think it's a good thing. retired bin man alan told me it's about time the rules were tightened. well i think all these gatherings between 24 years old and 34 years of age and they don't take any notice and just carry on doing it, kissing one another, shaking hands. a limit of six, what was your response? happy, well done. it's in the atmosphere, it is not visible but still people are feeling it doesn't matter. what we are feeling it doesn't matter. what we need now is for everyone to work together to enforce the rules of six and get the covid back down. it's really confusing, no one understands what they are supposed to be doing are not supposed to be doing. the government says they are trying to make it simpler now. they say that, they say a lot of things, the government, don't they?” they say a lot of things, the government, don't they? i don't think anyone is going to listen to it. abby and megan say they will keep to the restrictions but what about others? people don't care. they feel comfortable going out, opening up places again. sol they feel comfortable going out, opening up places again. so i don't see opening up places again. so i don't see why it's going to be different. what do they want us to do is to mark this woman doesn't know how the new rules would be pleased to have a £100 fine will be enforced. where will you get the money to pay for it and where will the oaps get the money to pay for it and where are all these young ones, where are they going to get the money from to pay the fines? i like to hug my kids. i love to hug my friends. and i can't do that now. so it will break my heart. it breaks my heart to insist on these restrictions. jon kay, bbc news, swindon. really interesting hearing how people in the real world, interpret what is being laid down, and from monday in england, we keep repeating that. that's get some questions you're asking this morning. to help answer them are joined by professor sian griffiths, an expert in how diseases are spread and our medical editor fergus walsh. good morning to you both. lots of people have been getting in touch. loan has been in touch on twitter and asks, i want to know why sex? i have two daughters and their partners and three grandchildren between them, so we can't continue to meet. because that totals eight. she says she feels safe with them but now she will have to see each family separately or not at all —— mike six. fergus. so this is down to trying to simplify the rules in england. the prime minister admitted yesterday that people had found the rules confusing and i certainly have lots of people saying to me they got confused so it's an attempt at clarification and simplification and its a response to rising cases and the fear is that if those cases continue to rise, hospital numbers, which come at the moment, are still quite low, will follow the pattern in france and spain and start to rise and we get an increase in deaths. there was a art of criticism early on that we didn't lockdown early on that we didn't lockdown early enough. well, this is an attempt to take action before it has an impact on hospitals. a pick-up question on the number six, which goes to the heart of this. will it make any difference? the rule of six will make a difference if we stick to it because obviously if six people are meeting together, the chance of infection is less and more than 30 would be worse, so mathematically the rule of six should make a difference. it would be good to understand how the number six was arrived at. and hopefully in the next few days there will be some understanding of the thinking of how much less six people meeting will affect the spread of disease than if they were 30. fergus, let's pick up with another one from sheila. she says... that's a very interesting one because educational and training establishments are exempt from this and, as are covid secure venues, so i think it will be worth double checking on this. i can't give an absolutely clear response. i think if they meet in a hall where they are covid secure they might be ok, but i would hate to have them all arrested or fined £100. but i would hate to have them all arrested orfined £100. i would check first. if they rate it as a training or education i think they might be ok. who would they check with, fergus? well, i've been on the guidance this morning and there is a very lengthy guidance on the uk website for the government, and i'm afraid it doesn't talk about art groups meeting and social holes but does say training and education and covid secure venues such as restau ra nts covid secure venues such as restaurants where you can have groups of up to six people and more than one table of six, but they are exempt. we have had complaints of the rules being too complicated before. and the idea that six is an easier rule to follow as a message from the government. is there more clarity this morning on what is and isn't allowed? i think it is much, much simpler. you cannot meet indoors or outdoors in england from monday in groups of more than six. there are exceptions to that. if you live in a household which is larger than six, if there is a to be living together in one household, then you will be exempt and also if you are ina will be exempt and also if you are in a support bubble with another single person household, that will also count as 0k, as well, but then you won't be allowed to meet anybody else. it is trying to clamp down on things where people were having barbecues with 20 neighbours and there were complaints from other residents. the police could not intervene but now they will be able to. it will be much simpler. for these covid marshals and the police to intervene if they are outside and they see large groups of people meeting up and being able to say to them, you don't live together, you have to stop. a question from john. he says... no, it doesn't. the wording as it could be advised and, as yet, shielding hasn't resumed and the main focus as fergus has been saying is that it is six people gathering and no more, and i think people who wear shielding before can interpret that as they need to be very careful to stick below that six number and also to take the precautions that they should be taking in their homes in terms of hygiene and hand washing. fergus, this one is for you. lots of people asking about children's birthday parties. and i suppose part of this is because some of the rules which apply to masks have been different for children than adults and people asking whether children's birthday parties in any way are exempt, so do we know about that from monday?” in any way are exempt, so do we know about that from monday? i hate to break this to any six—year—olds who may be watching and we are planning a big party in a week's time, for their friends, they a big party in a week's time, for theirfriends, they do a big party in a week's time, for their friends, they do count. children count towards the number six, soi children count towards the number six, so i suppose if you are a pa rent six, so i suppose if you are a parent and you have got a soon to be six—year—old, they could have three friends around for a party, so a very small party, but the rule of six applies across the board. ok. fergus, it's almost as bad as saying christmas is cancelled for some. let's talk about mass testing. we spoke tojohnny harris earlier and you may have heard the conversation. how practical is the mass testing on a huge scale and how realistic and achievable is it what the prime minister wants? i presume you're talking about the routine test and tray system and because we have to be careful because he announced the move a shot of tests which were calculated to cost us £10 billion to have millions of tests, but leaving that on the side, just getting track and trace working and up to half a million by the end of october is a big ask because at the current time we big ask because at the current time we have heard frequently over the la st we have heard frequently over the last few days about the problems test and trace are facing in getting the logistics right, so hopefully if people use test and trace correctly, meaning if you go for a test if you are recommended to have a test, don't get it tested just because you don't get it tested just because you do like getting a test, the capacity to cope will be fine but at the same timel to cope will be fine but at the same time i believe the lighthouse labs are coming online, but whenever anything comes online there could be initial glitches. hopefully, the mass testing will continue to develop and we really need it in place to enable us to get back to break the rule of six and we need to have a better testing system in place. fergus, explain this phrase moonshot, and i had to google it yesterday. it's actually a term matt hancock has been using a lot. it's about trying to shift to a situation where you could notjust test people who have symptoms, but test anyone at any point, so for example, the dream is that you would have a situation may be with saliva tests, where people go into work or the theatre could spit in a cup, the test would be done and we will get the results back ten minutes later, and then you could have no social distancing at all. you could go back to normal. but patrick vallance and professor chris whitty yesterday we re very professor chris whitty yesterday were very cautious. patrick vallance said this is not a slam dunk. there are these tests available but they haven't been validated yet, and i was down in southampton a few months ago where i sat with a family who all did ago where i sat with a family who alldid a ago where i sat with a family who all did a saliva test, they spat on all did a saliva test, they spat on a cup, and then they put the test tube in, sent off, got the results back a day later and that pilot project worked quite well but it's one thing doing it with a few thousand people but another scaling it up toa thousand people but another scaling it up to a whole city or indeed on this new moonshot idea, millions of people a day, and that's a long way off. fergus, always good to talk to you. and you, professor sian griffiths, epidemiologist, thank you both for your expertise. time right now is to get the news, travel and weather where you are. good morning from bbc london. i'm sonja jessop. a cyclist who was stopped and searched by the police last year during a ride to promote diversity has had a complaint against the officers upheld. footage of mani arthur being searched was widely shared on social media. the complaint was upheld by the police watchdog the iopc. figures show, if you are black, you are four times more likely to be stopped and searched in london. it was quite humiliating. it was a degrading experience. i have so many obstacles to already go through. to then have to wonder whether the police are on my side or not, it's another layer. london's ambulance service is the first in the country to employ violence reduction officers to try to protect paramedics. there have been 260 physical assaults on staff since april. the new officers will also push for tougher sentences for those who carry out attacks. bbc london has learned that some boats will be allowed to pass under hammersmith bridge from tomorrow. the bridge was suddenly closed in august afterfaults were found in its structure. some boat owners have found themselves stranded down stream since then. the largest bronze age haul ever discovered in the capital is to go on display at the museum of london docklands from tomorrow. the havering hoard includes axe heads, spearheads and other unusual objects dating between 800 and 900 bc. they were discovered on a building site in rainham two years ago. it'll be free to visit. let's take a look at the travel. we still have minor delays on the piccadilly line — it‘s after a signal failure— it's slow between northfields and heathrow. and there's no waterloo & city line. onto the roads then. firstly just to show you vauxhall bridge because that's closed for works till december. and in neasden, the north circular is down to two lanes westbound at apsley way for works. the queues are back towards brent cross. and on the m25, it's slow anti clockwise heading towards junction 25 for enfield. there's been a breakdown at the holmesdale tunnel. time for the weather. here's kate kinsella. good morning. well, it's feeling a little fresher and there this morning. we lost the humidity overnight. under clear skies, as well, the temperatures dropped, but it means we have got a bright start this morning. plenty of sunshine around at least first thing. but we will notice a little more cloud moving through as we head into the afternoon. still some bright spells, though, with sunshine. just glimpses of it a little later and temperatures today reaching around 18—19. we may get one or two spots at 20, so it is feeling cooler than the last couple of days. now, overnight, conditions remaining very similar. we've still got some clear spells, but also a bit of cloud around, as well. the minimum temperature in the suburbs around eight or nine. central london probably staying around 10 celsius. now, for friday, we've still got some sunny spells around tomorrow. conditions really remain the same. temperatures similar. and, for saturday, as well. but, for sunday, we start to pull in the warmer air from the continent so actually the temperature is going to rise. we are looking at mid 20s on sunday with lots of sunshine. perhaps the high 20s on monday. i'll be back in around half an hour. you can check out more stories on our facebook and instagram now it's back to charlie and naga. bye for now. this is breakfast. good morning. the time is 8:31am and we are turning now to a campaign forjustice which we followed closely on breakfast about the death of a young motorcyclist called harry dunn. we will speak to his mother charlotte ina will speak to his mother charlotte in a moment. a reminder of what happened. he was aged 19 when he was hit by a car outside aria crowd and in northamptonshire and that was last august driven by the wife of a us intelligence officials. she was interviewed by the police but two weeks later left the uk on a us air force plane and later issued a statement saying the crash had left her devastated. shortly before christmas, anne sacoolas was charged in the uk with causing death by dangerous driving and injanuary this year, the us formally rejected an extradition request for anne sacoolas. that prompted andrea leadsom the family mp to call for a virtual trial via video link. harry's virtual trial via video link. ha rry‘s charlotte virtual trial via video link. harry's charlotte charles and the family spokesman rod seegerjoin us from banbury and good morning to you both. we should explain to people that you are in a bubble, which is why the two of you are standing next to each other and it's important to point these things out. charlotte, what came out of the meeting that you had with the prosecution service? pretty much nothing, to be perfectly honest. we were invited to london under the pretense that we would be a lot further forward than what we actually are. we have been led to believe that a virtual trial was pretty much imminent and that the obstacles had been cleared to have that done and in fact we are no further forward. the us have that done and in fact we are no furtherforward. the us are have that done and in fact we are no further forward. the us are still not playing ball, so needless to say, i'm extremely angry, really angry. my anger has been reignited as much as it was when we found out that the fco allowed her to leave and lawfully, and that has bubble to the surface again because if they had not let her leave and if they had not let her leave and if they had not let her leave and if they had not withheld information from the police then we wouldn't need to be stood here today and we would not have ourcampaign be stood here today and we would not have our campaign for justice, be stood here today and we would not have our campaign forjustice, and i'm just really angry, clearly, with the us government thinking that they can still overrule everything that the uk suggest. maybe it's a good chance for you to fill in the gaps in terms of where we stand with the legal process and charlotte's and it is clear to see. there is still some kind of a process occurring. can you tell us exactly where it stands as we speak now. charlie, good morning, and to follow on from charlotte's comments, the parents were invited to london yesterday and we genuinely we nt to london yesterday and we genuinely went with the expectation that the americans had changed their position and that the idea of a virtual trial, which would be unprecedented, was under active consideration. but what we in fact learned was the americans had not shifted their position at all and the administration are saying that anne sacoolas will not face the english justice system. so in those circumstances, what the americans are in fact proposing and this was the director of public prosecutions's own words, that this wasjust a show prosecutions's own words, that this was just a show trial to go through the motions to show that they are trying to deliver some sort of justice, but it's not something that he is going to agree to, not withstanding the pressure he is coming under because itjust would not deliverjustice for harry. in the legal sense, we genuinely thought that this was a meaningful way forward and we are really grateful to the dpp for saying no to that. the other big development that came out yesterday was that he confirmed to us that it is the crown prosecution service's view that anne sacoolas did not have diplomatic immunity at the time of the crash and that is the very reason that they went on to charge her with causing death by dangerous driving. he said to the family yesterday that if she did have diplomatic immunity at the time of the crash, the cps could not have charged, so dominic raab has real questions to answer this morning. is there on an island on his own because our legal team and the cps have both concluded that anne sacoolas did not have diplomatic immunity and yet he effectively is misleading the nation and misled the house of parliament ina and misled the house of parliament in a statement in october when he said that she did have diplomatic immunity, so and he must go palu —— back to parliament to urge me to explain how he is, as i said, on that island on his own. tragically, charlie, this family went down to london yesterday seriously thinking thatjustice was in reach only to have those hopes dashed and you cannot tell this morning but their mental health is at stake and we need to move this on very quickly now. charlotte, what do you want to happen next? we just now. charlotte, what do you want to happen next? wejust want now. charlotte, what do you want to happen next? we just want things to move forward. we need either her to come back. she has got a choice to come back. she has got a choice to come back, she's not being held there by the us government. there is still a tiny hope that she will find some sort of moral ground, some moral... i don't know, show some sort of affection to us and come back, or the us government play ball or the back, or the us government play ball orthe uk back, or the us government play ball or the uk government actually stand up or the uk government actually stand up and do something about it instead of just saying that they are trying to do something about it. you know, we need a trial to take place. it is the most important thing. without our trial we cannot even have our inquest so we still do not know the last hour of harry's life. we have got one hell of a jigsaw puzzle to still put together and as a mother and asa still put together and as a mother and as a set of parents, not knowing what your boy or‘s last hour of life held is more than mentally damaging. it makes you hurt morning, noon and night, every day and the longer we have to wait for a trial, the longer we have to wait for our inquest, thatis we have to wait for our inquest, that is downright not fair. charlotte, thank you so much for talking to us this morning. i know it's such an important campaign for you and i know it's not easy for you to talk about these things, so thank you so much and thank you for your time this morning. thanks for having us. we will of course follow the story and see what happens next. mike is back in the studio this morning, lovely to see you. you are talking lots, and we had the conversations earlier we were having about tranmere rovers and getting sporting events, and dong caster, the racing yesterday there were funds allowed to watch and today they are allowed, and it's at the practical way of getting it done. they are allowed, and it's at the practical way of getting it donem is all under review and that's the concern for a lot of sports this morning. the longer term financial impact on sportive fans continue to be shut out after the latest review of things because of the rising infection rates. the government has capped the number of fans allowed into the test events, so plans going forward to admit larger numbers as planned from the 1st of october could be put on hold. it is all under review again and we will have to watch this space. last month, 2500 people watched a friendly between brighton and chelsea to see how it could work and this was the first time fans had been allowed back into a premier league ground in nearly six months. all matches will be played behind closed doors from the start of the season on saturday and the league's chief executive says it is absolutely critical that that ends as soon as possible. like every other industry, football has been impacted by covid—19 and it's common knowledge that we lost around £700 million in the premier league economy last year and there will be matches this season without fans inside the stadiums and further losses will be incurred. it can't go on forever. we have to get back to fans inside stadiums. it's the big thing that is missing, economic or otherwise, we need the fans back inside the is for stadium all sorts of reasons. away from the main story, serena williams‘s dreams of a 24th grand slam title is alive despite a scare at the us open and she had a bit of company as she arrived at flushing meadows for her match. a little yorkshire terrier called chip, tucked away and looking around at all that was going on. she lost the opening set before making it through to the last four meeting with victoria azarenka and she says opponents keep changing tactics and she takes time to adjust. some of these matches, you are playing serena williams, so it's like, close your eyes and hit as hard as you can and it doesn't matter sol your eyes and hit as hard as you can and it doesn't matter so i have to adjust to that. i started to adjust to that later because now you know what will happen, sol to that later because now you know what will happen, so i have to go into matches knowing that that this is going to happen and just kind of adjust to that earlier. you also have to wonder about the nerves are like in the men's draw with novak djokovic out on a great chance for one of these to win the title with dominic thiem winning to earn a semifinal meeting against daniel medvedev. some formula 1 breaking news this morning, sebastian vettel has moved to aston martin, that has been confirmed and he is in the midst of a troublesome season with ferrari, the four—time world champion, who has been deemed surplus to requirements so he will com plete surplus to requirements so he will complete the rest of the calendar with them beforejoining complete the rest of the calendar with them before joining with lance stroll at the aston martin team which is funded by his dad, the canadian billionaire lawrence stroll. what a way to mark your first start in the rugby union premiership. 19—year—old alfie barberry was the star of the show, scoring a hat—trick of tries as wasps thumped leicester 54—7, running in eight tries to keep their play—off bid on track and they are currently fourth in the table. 11 stages down, tend to go in the tour de france and primoz roglic is the man to beat. today it is the holiest stage of the race after the flat stage of the race after the flat stage which produced the closest sprint finish so far. caleb un won it with sam bennett second. he leads the green jersey as competition and today's stage saves the worst to last with a hundred kilometres on the flat, but then you start to climb after 100 kilometres in the saddle and it gets steeper and steeper right to the top. that is what training is for. exactly. i'm talking proper hills. we were talking proper hills. we were talking to ciaran earlier about losing seven stone in lockdown and how difficult his first one kilometre run was, and you know this, it's never easy starting out. the first bit of training is always the worst and then you get more used to it and gradually build it up. that's the way to do it. can i just say i've thoroughly enjoyed your presence. lovely to see you in the fresh. —— the flesh. presence. lovely to see you in the fresh. -- the flesh. it lifts the whole room. virtual hug. it is 8:43am. for many older people the long months of self isolation during the height of the pandemic were made more bearable by the thought of spending quality time with their grandchildren once the lockdown was over. that's become a bit more difficult in england, particularly for largerfamilies. tim difficult in england, particularly for larger families. tim has difficult in england, particularly for largerfamilies. tim has been to meet some of them. like so many grandparents, isabel has found twe nty20 grandparents, isabel has found twenty20 incredibly tough. how important is it to interact with your grandchildren? very. you are going to make her cry now. yes, it's very important. i don't see my grandchildren in suffolk very much because they are in suffolk and it's not always that easy. isabel's daughter lucy and her husband andy live in basingstoke. as lockdown restrictions have eased, she's been able to visit more often but from monday, for this family, gatherings involving more than one grandparent won't be possible. because they are a family of five, so to more people, that pushes it over the limit. and i think that's a great shame because the children in syria —— enjoy seeing all of their relatives and for the moment that will have to stop. and i really do feel for all of those families that it's just not going to be able to happen again. hi, dad. yes, i'm good, thank you. lu cy‘s hi, dad. yes, i'm good, thank you. lucy's dad trevor is exasperated at the actions of many younger people. do you think you are suffering because of the actions of maybe younger people who aren't taking the role seriously? most definitely. i've seen it first hand where i live here in stowmarket, i see gatherings of youngsters going up and down the street on a friday and saturday in the early hours. i always see groups coming back from the pubs or whatever, and they are all youngsters. and that's going to happen, so it is probably going to get worse before it gets better. what impact do you fear the restrictions can have on your family and your ability to see each other? its necessary precautions to ove rco m e its necessary precautions to overcome the virus and i think everybody gets that and everyone should add and listen to the advice that the government has given us, but i think, you know, a lot of people aren't mentally prepared for this type of situation. you know, christmas, birthdays, family get—togethers, they are what fill your year and that's how you kind of build memories as a family, so without that there is quite a significant impact. i'm happy to crack on with any rules we need to adhere to to get rid of this virus, basically. at the end of the day, i don't want my kids and my elder family members to be at any risk, so we are family members to be at any risk, so we are fine tojust do it. family members to be at any risk, so we are fine to just do it. jenny lives in york and has three young children. we are not happy about these changes at all. i'm feeling really frustrated and a little bit angry and! really frustrated and a little bit angry and ijust really frustrated and a little bit angry and i just feel like the government has got its priorities on the economy and not families, and that's a real problem for me. we are just going to be isolated and stuck. grandparents just going to be isolated and stuck. g ra nd pa rents really just going to be isolated and stuck. grandparents really need to see them, so day to day, it will be massive, just completely change the way we live our lives at the moment. they are really worried about the youngest with her only being two, they are worried they will forget them and skype is not the same when you speak to them, and you know, she's just started getting you speak to them, and you know, she'sjust started getting back you speak to them, and you know, she's just started getting back to being used to them and not being scared of them and thinking who is this stranger, and now we won't be able to see them in the same way and have the family meetings we have been having. so they are really worried about that part. from monday in england, the rule of six will kick in. gatherings of seven or more will not be allowed at peoples homes and many families will once again have to rethink the way they interact. i'm sure that something many people will be able to relate to, families, getting their heads around, in england, the new rules which come into effect on monday. what will weather be like for the next few days? the man that the answers is here. good morning. lovely picture. i gave it a big build—up there. good morning. a lovely view from up here. looking over ullswater in cumbria, a bit of cloud around, but a bright start for many of you. a bit on the chilly side this morning so bit on the chilly side this morning so far. temperatures on the rise of the moment but even now we still have temperatures as low as 4 degrees in eastern scotland. but it's a dry start for the vast majority, one or two isolated showers in the west. showers will become more frequent and heavier into the north and west of scotland as we go into the afternoon. the breeze picking up here. temperatures around 11—13. away from that, more cloud for some of you compared to what you've had so far today but with lighter winds further south, not the humidity of the recent days but pleasant enough in the sunshine, 19-20 at the but pleasant enough in the sunshine, 19—20 at the highest in the south—eastern channel islands. as we go into this evening and overnight, showers in the north—west of scotla nd showers in the north—west of scotland to begin with will actually start to be replaced by longer spells of rain into tomorrow morning and a stronger wind and the breeze picking up in the northern half of the country. varying amounts of cloud. starry skies particular further south and east you are and this is where temperatures will drop the ferrous, 7—8. low pressure will bring a different day in scotland and northern ireland. some will start dry but very wet weather in the north—west highlands to begin with and the rain spreads southwards to northern ireland in the second half of the morning. southern scotland, early afternoon and then the far north of england through the second half of the day. a windy day in scotland. sunshine following on from the rain in the morning. lighter winds further south, varying amounts of cloud. a dry outlook for many in the south, even this weather front which will move out to north wales through friday night into saturday, won't have much rain on it by the stage. one or two showers potentially. some rain across parts of western scotland continuing through the day particularly in the highlands and cloudier, damp afternoon across northern ireland, as well, but many parts of england and wales are staying dry as will northeast scotland. temperatures similarto northeast scotland. temperatures similar to friday. the rain relents in the western half of scotland that they could be minorflooding into they could be minorflooding into the start of sunday before further bursts return to the second half of the day, but during the day, brighter skies develop. northern ireland, southern scotland, southwards, longer spells of sunshine around. temperatures rising more widely into the low 20s. that's a sign of a brief glimpse of a return to summer warmth as low pressure to the rest of us, high pressure to the rest of us, high pressure southerly winds, 11 direction at this time of year. temperatures could peak around 28 celsius, 82 fahrenheit, in the south—east corner. how long it'll last uncertain but fresh air will move back into the west through the week. that's how it's looking and back to you. lovely, thank you. from africa's elephants to the turtles of costa rica, populations of animals across the world are falling at a rapid rate and this is according to a new report by the conservation group wwf. it says the nature around us is in freefall during human activity and our correspondence clear marshall has this report. wildlife is dying out at a rate which has never been seen before in human history. according to today's report. from the arctic to the warm seas of the caribbean, to the gardens of britain, it's happening faster than all the predictions and its global. the living planet report carried out every two years assesses more than 20,000 creatures all around the world, species in all groups of animals on every continent are being lost. what we have seen is are being lost. what we have seen is a wholesale destruction of some of our most important natural assets in the space of one human lifetime, 50 yea rs. the space of one human lifetime, 50 years. and this is a trend only increasing and accelerating and that's why we have to stop now and actually start to address it. intensive agriculture is one of the key drivers. these are huge banana plantations in ghana and its monoculture. wildlife is being driven out, so people around the world can eat the fruit whenever they like. it's the same story elsewhere. in the amazon, a football pitch of rainforest is lost every minute, claire disgracing for beef cattle and to plant soy which goes into animalfeed. cattle and to plant soy which goes into animal feed. and cattle and to plant soy which goes into animalfeed. and a third of their food produced into animalfeed. and a third of theirfood produced in the into animalfeed. and a third of their food produced in the world for human consumption is lost or wasted. but it is possible for food to be intensively produced working with nature and that's what's happening here in wiltshire. it's a very good hunting ground for birds of prey. this farm isn't organic but still haven for wildlife. the grey partridge, he filmed in a different location, has declined by 85% since 1970 but is thriving on his farm. it's a matter wildlife habitat. he believes agriculture has to be balanced with nature. if we have no fertility in our soil, if we have poorair fertility in our soil, if we have poor air quality, if we have poor water quality then we are not going to have high yields of crops and we are not going to have healthy animals and healthy food and that directly feed through to people. oil pours from a tanker ship wrecked off mauritius last month. this is about people destroying systems that we ourselves depend on rather thanjust wildlife. humans are managing nature for their own benefit, whether it's for their own benefit, whether it's for grazing animals or for for their own benefit, whether it's for grazing animals orfor building on and it's having a dramatic impact all over the world. scientists say we can see this now by the pandemic we can see this now by the pandemic we are living through. research suggests the emergence of covid—19 could be linked to bats. we are fairly confident that the driving forces which have led to the spread of that virus came through a combination of expansion into habitats, illegal wildlife trade, the removal of wildlife, and we are going to see those threats increase, so going to see those threats increase, so we've had a clear warning that impacts on wildlife overseas directly affect us at home. about the report says we can stop and even repair the damage but it will need unprecedented conservation action and radical changes in how we produce and consume food. claire marshall, bbc news. let's speak to doctor robert freeman, the head of indicators and assessments unit at london zoo. he worked on this report. good morning to you, doctor freeman. let's get it out of the way first, we can see all the penguins behind you which is a glorious sight this morning and notwithstanding the subject matter, you are in the penguin enclosure at london zoo? this is the penguins which are classed as vulnerable so still at risk of extinction and these are the humble penguins at london zoo in regenfs humble penguins at london zoo in regent's park. you say they are one of the animals at risk of extinction? yes, humble penguins, we don't have great evidence about the current population numbers but expect that they are in decline so they are classed as vulnerable and tend to live on the west coast of south america, and in the living planet report will be look at terrestrial populations in south america we see a 94% decline in general so they live in a place most impacted. tell us more about why it's such a problem for them? populations in general i think when we look at the threat wildlife population space we see a combination of things. the most significant threat is habitat degradation, deforestation, building dams, but things like exploitations, overfishing, overharvesting. when you hear the chief executive of wwf saying nature is in freefall, what does that mean to you? when you hear something is in freefall, it feels almost hopeless? do you feel we are at that stage? so i think that we compiled these statistics constantly and we've added 25% more data to the number this year and we see a more significant decline of 68% and i think that despair is not helpful and it's striking and alarming and we should clearly be worried, but it should motivate us. whether that is to write to your mp, join a volunteer organisation, get out and do something is what i would encourage people what has changed? for years, we have spoken about certain species at risk of extinction in the list gets longer. of course, we don't want species to die out, but why would the reaction to the message change now do you think? it's a good question. in addition to the risk of extinction, this report talks about the population we have and their decline, so it's about population trend. i think what we have managed to do with a big collaboration of co—authors is look at what's likely to happen in the future. for the first time we've brought these statistics together with scenario modelling, looking at different possible futures, and seeing that, if we keep business as usual, we will see things decline but if we have a concerted effort to conserve land and species but also change the way we consume we can see these populations turn around and that should give us hope. doctor freeman, it's been lovely talking to you this morning and we have been listening to every word you have been saying very carefully but our attention has been drawn to the humble penguin behind you. i won't lie, we have all been very engaged in the frolicking this morning. come and see them. they are wonderful. i saw one with an itchy tail feather which amused me, the way they were dealing with it and one chewing it flipper. the camera got in tight for us. look at the way they are grooming. beautiful things at risk of extinction, you've got to love them. they know how to showboat. you are watching breakfast at the time now is 8.59. this is bbc news with the latest headlines. calls for a huge increase in covid testing. operation moonshot aims to do ten million daily tests by early next year. the idea is to have a test which would be carried out at the location, a bit like a pregnancy test that provides a very quick result, and that would completely revolutionise things. do get in touch with us. at 0930 we'll be putting your questions on all the latest coronavirus developments to virologist dr chris smith. you can get in touch with your questions to me on twitter @annita—mcveigh or by using the hashtag #bbcyourquestions. senior uk ministers will hold emergency talks with eu officials later over the government's plan

Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20201015

get in touch with me place at 10:15. i suppose there will on twitter @annita—mcveigh or by using the #bbcyourquestions. be meetings with other leaders in the welsh government will provide lancashire and the government as well today was that the focus is on free school meals for children those areas where the risk is seen who can normally claim them during school holidays to be greatest and those that need until the summer term next year. to be greatest and those that need to be, in the view of the a curfew for paris and eight other scientists, shifted into tier three as soon as possible. but there is big cities in france will come into force on saturday — political knock—about and push back between 9pm and 6am. on arguments was that we have heard eu leaders are gathering in brussels from mr burnham repeatedly over the for a two—day summit, last few days that he doesn't think where they'll discuss post—brexit trade negotiations for the support package for those the first time in months. regions put into tier three is adequate enough. similar noises have and coming up this hour... been made in lancashire about a lack of support, as well. here is the he'll never walk alone — the 11—year—old liverpool fan who wrote tojurgen klopp about his response from the government to that worries and got a winning reply. this morning, here is the business minister. it's not only the two thirds of the wages that's there, there's universal credit as well. there's help on housing, as well. we've put £6 billion into those local areas that have had to take those additional local measures, so, you know, we've done... as i said, £200 billion into the economy to support jobs. we will continue, as the chancellor said, we will make sure no one hello, a very good morning to you. is left without opportunity, welcome to bbc news. either for a job or to be talks will be held today about whether lancashire able to actually get and greater manchester should be moved into tier three — through in their current job and come out the other end. the highest level of coronavirus restrictions in england. the stricter rules would mean pubs being closed and households something that is very interesting banned from mixing. the labour mayor of greater about all of this is we are seeing a manchester, andy burnham, has threatened legal action much bigger space for devolved if the limits are imposed. it comes as mps in london are set voices to be heard. is that a sign to meet this morning to discuss of things to come? i think it is. it's interesting, isn't it? i think possible further restrictions in the capital as well, for the last ten or 20 years, for after london mayor sadiq khan said political nerds like me who sort of changes could be made as soon as this week. love to spend my spare time reading most of england has been put on tier books about the structure of government, because i am so sad! we one, or medium level, have seen, for those of us are where the rule of six and 10pm hospitality curfew both apply. following it, changes in the way the the tier two high level uk is governed but it hasn't been vastly noticeable on a day—to—day of restrictions means no level until now, until this pandemic household mixing indoors, and does that we have seen in the last six months, as far as the devolved the rule of six applying outdoors. administrations beyond england are then the most severe level of tier three is called very high, concerned, edinburgh, cardiff and meaning no mixing of households, belfast, and we are now seeing it as indoors or outdoors. far as the english regions are and pubs and bars will close concerned, particularly those areas unless they provide what's called with a directly elected mayor. the a substantial meal. the health secretary, matt hancock, will make a statement argument made by those who always to mps later this morning. thought directly elected mayors are a good idea, you have a prominent our political correspondent, nick eardley, reports. figure who is a household name in their local area but also has the how much longer will these pubs be open? there's real concern capacity to command the national about the spread of coronavirus stage. we are seeing that very much in manchester and today, in the context of these discussions there will be further talks and negotiations and i think what we on whether it should be will see and are already seeing from in the highest tier of restrictions, closing pubs which don't serve meals and banning people mixing with other government is firstly, recognition of the political reality of that. households in most places. secondly, an attempt to bind in more restrictions could be coming, those leaders into the too, on blackpool pleasure beach. decision—making process to ensure local leaders in lancashire think there isn't, if you like, something they're also heading for the highest ofa level of restrictions. there isn't, if you like, something of a grievance culture, as some but some, like the mayor critics might see it, of those of greater manchester, andy burnham, are worried. outside of westminster in politics a lwa ys outside of westminster in politics always inclined to blame westminster when things go wrong. said, it's worth emphasising there is real they say there isn't enough evidence for more restrictions anger particularly in greater and that the economic support manchester and the north—west is what they see as a lack of proper on offer doesn't go far enough. the leader of bolton council agrees. if government is mindful not interaction between westminster and to listen to the local voices leaders in that region. you are and take us into tier three, never sad, chris. keep leaders in that region. you are neversad, chris. keep on leaders in that region. you are never sad, chris. keep on doing what you are doing and reading those then we then have another battle, books. thank you very much. chris which is to ensure that we have mason at for us. in the north the same conditions as we had in the lockdown joining me now is dr david at the end of march. ratcliffe, who has been working on covid wards since march, and i realise there isn't at salford royal hospital. a bottomless pit of money, he is also the clinical but these businesses lead for urgent care for the greater manchester are on the brink of closure social care partnership. it is really good of you to give us and they are desperate and we need to help them as much some time this morning. thank you as we possibly can. very much. manchester very much in the final decision over what happens here is one for politicians the news today. what are you seeing and the government wants the backing in a&e and other parts of the hospital right now and how does that and help of local leaders, but other compare to march? let's begin there. parts of england could follow, with health officials wanting restrictions extended elsewhere too. good morning. if we start in march, london is currently in the bottom tier but there could be march was very much like a major a change coming here too — one which could see households incident, where the focus was on the banned from meeting indoors. the mayor, sadiq khan, potential for a disastrous influx of believes a move to tier two patients and the need to get is increasingly likely in the coming days. capacity for those patients and i would support that, definitely i would. 00:05:00,218 --> 2147483051:39:14,823 i mean, i have to be really careful 2147483051:39:14,823 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 myself because i'm not... ensure the safety of those patients. in doing so, we enacted, effectively, a highly focused approach and this was, clinically in terms of working in the emergency departments, this was something i had never really seen before, where we worked together really well. the positives in it, we were activated together and worked well as a team but the focus was on those very sick patients who came in and that 6—8 week period who were very sick and needed a huge amount of focus. but my concern during that time was about the unintended consequence of the focus on covid. in any major incident, you look at the usual care of patients and try and ensure that is also being covered. so the difference now is the number of patients with covid are starting to climb and we are starting to see a real increase in the workload again, not similar to march but a real increase in the workload. i worked on saturday, sunday, monday and wednesday this week and you are seeing this ramp up of work of consent is not the other part of this, where the whole system has come together really well, is in terms of the other work at the other patients, the other emergencies and the other urgent work that needs to be done. so we set aside methodology to do that safely, to make sure the elective work carries on and make sure other emergencies coming in, andi sure other emergencies coming in, and i can't emphasise enough how important it is that people feel they are not wasting our time, that we are only focused on covid, so other emergency conditions, patients with chest pain or who think they might be having a stroke, they must be coming to us. we have capacity to deal with them. matter absolutely, thatis deal with them. matter absolutely, that is a message we have repeated over and over again in the last number of months on the news channel. we very much heard that. it isa channel. we very much heard that. it is a positive. you are coping with the covid demand and the other medical demands as well at the moment, but clearly the pressure is on, the pressure is there from rising numbers of cases. the political and economic discussions are continuing about whether your area should move to tier three, the highest level of restrictions the coronavirus. from the clinical, medical point of view purely do you think it already should be in tier three? i think that politicians have a job three? i think that politicians have ajob and it three? i think that politicians have a job and it is theirjob to decide these things. we have a job to support patients and the politicians‘ job is to support us doing that and ourjob is to ensure we do ourjob properly. so in terms of the ramping of work in the moment, it‘s clear the doubling time for weekly admissions has accelerated somewhat. the curve is still, it‘s going up at the curve is still, it‘s going up at the curve is still not as steep as it was. i think the real responsibility, whether it is tier three or a circuit breaker or whatever, the real responsibility is on all of us to look at the basic things we should be doing and we should be doing them all the time. i think if we did those things all the time, then some of this argument would be rather moot. we have to see this as a different way of being for the next six months or longer. we have to do it with at least restrictions as possible but being as safe as possible. it is beholden on all of us possible. it is beholden on all of us to look at washing our hands, beholden on all of us to keep our social distance and where our masks. if we did all that properly and understood the systems have change for a while, then some of these arguments wouldn‘t become like waves washing into the shore and changing all the time, they would be more consistent. so it really is that back to basics message, you know, wash your hands, give yourself space, give other people space and so on, cover yourface, space, give other people space and so on, coveryourface, of space, give other people space and so on, cover yourface, of course, with your mask. in terms of how you are dealing with covid itself right now, do you think the nhs is better prepared for this news surge, in terms of ppe, treatments and so on? i think one of the things that has been very positive in terms of how we have confronted this challenge is we have confronted this challenge is we have confronted this challenge is we have confronted this challenge both internally and greater manchester is a system, so in the hospitals we are working as teams really well. the different specialities are supporting each other really well. social care and health care have joined together extremely well in greater manchester. we have almost daily meetings together. we look at the capacity and we look at the lessons we have learned from before about working in silos. so i think we‘re better prepared, we have better information, data, live data, and we have a better idea of how to share that workload and make it safe for all. so the equity in this is better thanit all. so the equity in this is better than it was in the first wave. there are real challenges. i think impact on inequalities already existed are quite horrendous, really. ithink on inequalities already existed are quite horrendous, really. i think we will feel those four years to come. i think will feel those four years to come. ithink in will feel those four years to come. i think in terms of the focus on making things safer, people will notice that their urgent care and emergency care is delivered differently. hospitals will have more than one door. when people arrive at the emergency department, they won‘t always go into the emergency department, they may go to other parts of the hospitals that we are going to try and really focus and make sure any system we put into place is welcoming for people who are disadvantaged and find it hard sometimes to work their way through the system. in terms of social care, we are the system. in terms of social care, we a re really the system. in terms of social care, we are really focusing on safety within social care and making sure there enough capacity to do their work safely. 0k, doctor david ratcliffe, thank you for talking to us ratcliffe, thank you for talking to us and thank you for your time today. from salford royal hospital and clinical need for urgent care. eu leaders are in brussels today where they‘ll discuss post brexit trade negotiations for the first time in months. in a phone call last night, borisjohnson told the eu commission president that he was disappointed that negotiations hadn‘t yet progressed further. let‘s get more now from our correspondent in brussels, nick beake. make a break a few weeks ago but i think stock—taking is the word that you hear quite a lot here in brussels when it comes to the summit of the remaining 27 leaders of the eu. borisjohnson actually said that today would be a very hard deadline for getting a trade deal. he said this at the start of september and that if one wasn‘t agreed today, that if one wasn‘t agreed today, that would be it. downing street‘s decision has changed over the last few weeks or so and the very latest we hear from number 10 few weeks or so and the very latest we hearfrom number 10 is the prime minister will listen and reflect on what is agreed between eu leaders are maybe not a lot is agreed between those leaders and then he will say something tomorrow about the future steps that the uk will be taking in terms of trying to get a trade deal. 0k, taking in terms of trying to get a trade deal. ok, so a shifting deadline. and, you know, realistically, you are talking about band width earlier, with so much going on with dealing with covid etc, do you think it is inevitable these negotiations will actually shift further still, despite the protestations and the declarations that they won‘t? protestations and the declarations that they won't? people might not have much faith when i say that there is a very hard deadline when it comes to brexit. that is the fact that when we get to the 31st of december, the uk is leaving this transition period we have been in this year, where we have been following the eu‘s rules even though the uk has left the eu. 0n the 1st of january, that period the uk has left the eu. 0n the 1st ofjanuary, that period ends the uk has left the eu. 0n the 1st of january, that period ends and so they have to get a deal before that. it's they have to get a deal before that. it‘s not just they have to get a deal before that. it‘s notjust a case of signing it at 11pm on the 31st of december. there needs to be time for a draft to be written, for it to be translated into all the different languages of the eu and crucially for it to be passed in the british parliament but also the european parliament but also the european parliament to stop so they can‘t leave it too late. it‘s really difficult but what we are hearing from senior eu sources here is that it could slip, actually, to the start of next month, the start of november or possibly mid november for a trade deal to be agreed because, don‘t forget, both sides insist they do want one but they just say they won‘t make a deal at any just say they won‘t make a deal at a ny cost just say they won‘t make a deal at any cost if it means giving up things that are really sacred to them. but as you are intimating, the covid figures in so many european capitals have really gone in the wrong direction in the last 24—48 hours. that is first and foremost in the minds of these leaders are meeting today. 0k, nick, thank you for that. no doubt we will hear more from you later. germany and france have announced new coronavirus control measures — in france, there will be a night—time curfew for paris and eight other cities. germany has recorded its highest number of infections since the start of the pandemic, and bars will now be forced to close early. there will also be limits on people meeting in areas with rising numbers of cases. simonjones reports. two leaders with two announcements, but one shared message — there are difficult times to come. in germany, there‘s a warning that the disease is growing exponentially. there will be new restrictions in areas with high transmission, including a curfew for bars and limits on people meeting. translation: i'm convinced that what we do and what we don‘t do in the coming days and weeks will be decisive for the question of how we get through this pandemic, because we can see that the curves of the infection rates are pointing upwards, in parts, quite steeply. germany has recorded more than 6500 new cases — a record figure for a single day. translation: we are much closer to a second lockdown than people would like to believe. if we look at how the numbers are developing, then it's high time, maybe not even five to midnight but rather the stroke of midnight, to set the right course. in france, a state of emergency has been declared. there‘s real concern that hospitals and intensive care units will become overwhelmed. to try to stop the spread of the virus, there‘ll be no more late night dining in paris. people there and in eight other major cities will have to stay indoors from 9pm to 6am. the curfew will come into effect from saturday and last for at least four weeks. president macron appeared on tv with a sobering message, accompanied by a rallying cry. translation: we have not lost control. we are in a situation which is worrying and which means we shouldn‘t remain inactive, but we shouldn‘t panic. we cannot get through this if everyone doesn‘t play their part, doesn‘t do their bit. an example of this in the czech republic — police raid a restaurant which was supposed to be closed. they found the guests had moved to a cellar to carry on drinking and partying. and in the netherlands, a last hurrah. bars, restaurants and cafes are closing. the warning there, like in many other european countries, is that if the coronavirus rates don‘t come down, more drastic measures may be needed. simon jones, bbc news. 0ur correspondent in paris is hugh schofield. we can find out more about what is going on in france. the night—time cu rfew going on in france. the night—time curfew sounds pretty dramatic but not as dramatic as a full lockdown. tell us about the rationale behind this plan and the reaction to it? well, i mean, as you say, it‘s not as drastic as a fully fledged lockdown, which they pledged not to repeat. so in a way, this is going as far as they can in restricting people‘s activities and movements without that nuclear option of shutting the place down again, with all the damage to the economy that would incur. so because we have a greater knowledge now than we did backin greater knowledge now than we did back in march, april about locality, regionalisation, the kind of people who are getting infected, because testing is now happening on a massive scale, it means they have decided to direct this measure to this it is, in particularly those cities like paris, marseille, lille and lyon and others which are at maximum alert level, where it‘s clear the problem is in young people in their 20s clear the problem is in young people in their20s and clear the problem is in young people in their 20s and 30s socialising and not heeding the call is to keep apart. this measure is, i‘m sure, directed primarily at are meant to stop people who had been going to bars, if bars were shut then going to their homes and having lock ins and house parties and so on and spreading the virus that way. it is to stop that. that is clearly the primary aim of this measure and it means that from saturday, there will be, the streets will be empty, from 9pm at night. what is the reception to this plan? we‘ve been talking a lot about support, economic support, the sectors that are particularly affected by these sorts of measures. what sort of support is there in france? well, there's plenty of support in france. 0f france? well, there's plenty of support in france. of course, the restau ra nt support in france. of course, the restaurant trade is suffering terribly and they have said that this was going to be cataclysmic for them. but they measures that were in place before are still in there, in other words, the french furlough is in place and will be until new year for restaurants and the entertainment business so salaries are paid by the state. there is that to buoy up incomes. as for the reception, of course, people are unhappy, of course the restaurant trade is extremely unhappy about warnings of people uprising against all this have not come to pass and i very much doubt we‘ll come to pass. there is a lot of complaining and misery and miserable nurse as winter comes in but i don‘t see people doing anything than getting on with it. ok, thank you very much. hugh schofield, in paris. donald trump‘s wife, melania, has revealed that their 14—year—old son, barron, also tested positive for covid—19. she said he was a strong teenager and had suffered no symptoms. in a personal statement, the us first lady described her own symptoms as minimal, but said she‘d suffered from aches, a cough and tiredness. researchers have suggested that long covid — the long—lasting impact of coronavirus infection — may not be a single syndrome, but up to four different ones. the national institute for health research says the condition could be caused by the effects of being in intensive care, permanent organ damage of the lungs and heart, post—viral fatigue, as well as continuing covid symptoms. the review says coming up with a working diagnosis would help people access support. hundreds of under—65s died from heart problems like strokes and cardiac arrests as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, a leading charity has warned. according to the british heart foundation, there have been more than 800 "excess" deaths from heart and circulatory problems among those aged under 65 since the start of march. it blames delays in asking for help and reduced access to routine tests and treatment. the nhs said it had continued to offer treatment for urgent and routine heart problems. covid—19 has created a perfect storm for heart and circulatory patients. we know that having heart and circulatory disease or its risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension, is itself a risk for the more severe covid—19 and death. but this new data and analysis shows that patients are dying in excess of the numbers expected. a former government adviser on homelessness is warning that the country faces what she calls a "period of destitution" where families "can‘t put shoes on their children‘s feet". the treasury has promised to pay two thirds of wages for workers if their employers are forced to close under tougher covid restrictions from november first. but speaking to the bbc, dame louise casey said that the reduced level of support was "not going to cut it". the thing i‘m really worried about is what is happening in families. it‘s less visible but i am really concerned about this latest change now which is taking even more income from these families and my own view and i use this word carefully, is that we are looking at a period of destitution and the government should consider how to deal with a rise in destitution, notjust two—thirds here or free school meals over summer, but something much more coherent, about how you make sure you keep people not hungry and not stuck in homelessness. free school meals are being made available throughout the school holidays, to all eligible children in wales. the welsh government said it was spending an extra £11 million to reassure families at an uncertain time. manchester united footballer marcus rashford, who successfully campaigned on the issue, welcomed the plan. he will also launch a petition today, calling on the government to expand access to free school meals in england. earlier this morning, the conservative chair of the education committee, also called on the uk government to step in on this issue. we know that in england, 1.9 million children are facing food insecurity. there are 2.2 million children on free school meals and families, during covid, have had a drop of income of 32% and food insecurity amongst those families could rise by over 300,000. so, i‘d like the government, the prime minister to set up an urgent task force with people like marcus rashford and the food companies to deal with child food hunger and we need to start off by making sure that we provide free school meal vouchers during the half term and christmas holidays for those children who just don‘t have enough food to eat at home. some retailers have made the decision to ban glitter ahead of christmas. shops including waitrose and john lewis have announced they won‘t be using it in own—brand products because the tiny pieces of plastic can wash into the environment, harm wildlife, and get into the food chain. it‘s part of a wider push by retailers to reduce festive plastics pollution. now, the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. the weather over the next few days will be very similar, in that we are looking at a fair bit of cloud, some sunny spells and also some showers. of course, not all of us seeing the showers. today what we have is just that scenario. quite a lot of bright skies, some sunshine, cloud moving from the east during the day westwards and cloud producing rain in east anglia, kent and heading towards the channel islands. it will be accompanied by a brisk wind. the wind using a little as we go through the night, with still a fair bit of cloud around. some clear skies in the west where it will be colder and here we can see some fog forming. tomorrow, we start off once again with quite a bit of cloud around, still producing some showers, some drizzle across parts of eastern scotland. if you are though showers may drift further west but they are going to be fairly hit and miss and our temperature range, nine in the north, 13 in the south. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: northern leaders hold talks with downing street this morning about whether lancashire and greater manchester should join liverpool in the highest tier of coronavirus restrictions. meanwhile, london‘s mayor warns the city could move to the second—highest tier of restrictions this week. the welsh government will provide free school meals for children who can normally claim them during school holidays until the summer term next year. a curfew for paris and eight other big cities in france will come into force on saturday between 9pm and 6am. eu leaders are gathering in brussels for a two—day summit where they‘ll discuss post—brexit trade negotiations for the first time in months. and coming up.... he‘ll never walk alone — we‘ll be speaking shortly to the 11—year—old liverpool fan who wrote tojurgen klopp about his worries and got a winning reply. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here‘s mike bushell. juergen klopp managing more than just football, by the sounds of things. more on that later. that is a lovely story. england manager gareth southgate says he has total belief in harry maguire, after the manchester united defender endured a wretched evening in england‘s 1—0 defeat to denmark in the nations league. he was sent off after just half an hour. elsewhere, scotland and wales kept their good form going, while northern ireland lost again to norway. ben croucher rounds up the action. it‘s that time of year for autumnal colours. this is england in blue. this is harry maguire receiving a yellow. receiving another one. the combination of yellow and red wasn‘t so pleasant for the centre half. the other one, kyle walker, was still on the pitch and also fouling danes. this led to a penalty which christian eriksen duly dispatched. an uphill climb from there on in, but england‘s mount was close to equalising. commentator: what a save! mason failing to breach the danish wall. if you thought the final whistle would spare gareth southgate any more pain, top right, reece james, red card number two. the first time two england players have been sent off in the same game. modern history was made in glasgow. it had been 32 years since scotland last went eight without defeat. it took just six minutes for ryan fraser to set them on their way against the czech republic. six minutes from time, 0li mcburnie almost settled it beyond doubt. stephen clark‘s side held on to achieve something no scottish team has for a generation. an early goal in glasgow. in sophia, wales had to wait until the 85th minute to beat bulgaria. a williams special — neco with the cross, jonny with the finish, everyone with the celebration, as wales went top of their group. unusually, being in oslo for northern ireland too, these are fans in a football stadium. they saw norway win through an odd goal—scorer in northern irishman. beyond daniel ballard‘s dive was stuart dallas. back—to—back defeats, now bottom of their nation‘s league group. for northern ireland, not a pleasant fall. ben crutcher, bbc news. project big picture is dead in the water, after premier league clubs voted unanimously to reject it. this was the plan to shake up domestic football and give more money to the football league. but there were big concerns — it‘d give too much control to the so—called big six teams. well, there is another idea. premier league clubs have agreed to work on a strategic plan for the financing of english football. they‘ll also offer a £50 million rescue package to leagues 0ne and two, to make sure clubs don‘t go out of business during the pandemic — that‘s on top of more than £27 million already paid in solidarity payements. football league clubs will discuss the proposals today. it looks like conor mcgregor is coming out of retirement, again. the former two—weight ufc champion says he‘s agreed a date to fight the american dustin poirier in texas next year. the 32—year—old had announced his retirement in june, but that was his third retirement in four years. he says the fight will take place on 23rd january, 2021. and hollie doyle has broken her own british record, for the number of winners ridden in a year by female jockeys. her 117th win of 2020 came on a filly, called state 0ccasion, at the meet at kempton yesterday. she‘s currently fourth in the jockeys‘ flat racing championship standings and she‘s got a great incentive to try and move further up those standings because she‘s one place behind her boyfriend, tom markwand. now, just before i go, i wanted to show you a world‘s first. two cliff divers have taken their sport to the extreme by becoming the first people to dive in underground caverns. if you haven‘t got a head for heights, this might not be for you. this is constantin popovici diving into the depths of the salina turda. it‘s one of the oldest salt mines in the world and 120m beneath the ground in north west romania. he was joined by four—time cliff—diving champion rhiannan iffland from australia. the water is so salty, it‘s 70% denser than the sea. that must make the impact with the water even harder than normal. that is all the sport. so dramatic, looked amazing. rather than than me. i would would not want to do it either, but well done to them. yesterday, northern ireland announced the toughest restrictions yet in the uk. the scheduled half term break will be extended by a week and pubs and restaurants will have to shut unless they offer a takeaway service. places of worship and gyms will be allowed to stay open under the plans. let‘s speak now to graham gault, a school principal and president of the national association of head teachers in northern ireland. also, i‘m joined by david courtney, virologist at queen‘s university belfast. welcome to both of you and thanks for joining welcome to both of you and thanks forjoining us today. let‘s begin with you, graham. do you welcome the extension to the half term holiday? is it extension to the half term holiday? isita extension to the half term holiday? is it a logical step? i can understand of course why the chief medical officer has been asking for a break in activities across northern ireland. school leaders and teachers are really disappointed because we have worked so hard at mitigations against risk within our schools and we have created environments that are as safe as they can possibly be and we are really disappointed that r rate and the trends of transmission of this disease across society have risen so dramatically that the government has had to take this step. and that it has the knock—on impact on children who have already missed out so much face to face teaching this year. nonetheless, given the r number is what it is, is this the least disruptive way to do it, tack it onto half term? can you make up the five days elsewhere by perhaps cancelling inset days elsewhere in the academic year? yeah, one of the myths the academic year? yeah, one of the oing the academic year? yeah, one of the myths going around social media is that this is an additional holiday for the children. that is not really the case. we had the half term break here which is fortuitous timing but also the government seems to be moving other school closures from later on in the school calendar to extend this period. these days will be made up for the children, that is the hope. i will come back to you. going to david courtney, virologist at queen‘s university. interested if he would break this down for us because we know the chief medical 0fficerfor northern because we know the chief medical officer for northern ireland talked about four up to six weeks needed for the maximum impact of measures. we have the four weeks for the hospitality industry. shops are staying open. schools are closed for two weeks. how do you think the different durations will interplay to try to get the result everyone is hoping for, the number of cases down? yeah, mostly about trying to find a balance between we know the kids have been off school for six months already this year and they wa nt months already this year and they want to reduce that —— for kids. so adding a week onto half time, good timing. ideally, you want this six week window which is what we are seeing with the restaurants and pub sector because the two week window we quarantine for after people are positive, that is more of an average and we want to make sure, especially quarantining ina and we want to make sure, especially quarantining in a household, if you get infected tomorrow, the restriction start, you go on to infect another member of your household, you in fat than for a week, —— you don't in fact them for another week... it is not enough to have a simple two—week lockdown, it will not affect the numbers too much. the question therefore is, is this going to be enough do you think to make a difference and turn the course of the virus in northern ireland? course of the virus in northern ireland ? very course of the virus in northern ireland? very much focused on the hospitality sector, we are seeing that in france as well with a night—time curfew in big cities. is that where the main issue lies, as opposed to in schools or shops, which will remain open?” opposed to in schools or shops, which will remain open? i think the issue remains anywhere we are social with others, in workplaces, in restaurants and pubs, and in schools as well. we have to make a decision, they don't want the kids not going back to school, something else has to give. that is why you are looking at these restrictions on pubs and restaurants, but you still want people working in office jobs and i am hopeful the numbers will start coming back, the numbers are scarily high in northern ireland and really concerned that deaths will start going up as well. a lot more hospital admissions too. i am hopeful by bringing in partial restrictions for a few weeks, it should at least cause some dampening on the numbers, i hope it is enough. graham, arlene foster in the assembly yesterday gave a very clear message to parents and children, please try not to socialise. i wonder, are you adding another layer of messaging onto the children? you talk to them about what they should and should not do in school, are you hammering home the message to them as well? our children have been excellent. they have risen to this very difficult challenge extraordinarily well. the problem here is our schools and our children are here is our schools and our children a re really here is our schools and our children are really victims of the trends we see in wider society. i want to see our schools open, our children need it, our teachers want it. across wider society, people need to follow the regulations, where face mass, distance and selves, we need schools open again. a word about the stu d e nts open again. a word about the students doing gcses and a—levels next summer, this is... it must feel like a very uncertain time for them already. what more is being done to help them through this period now when they have this additional week away from school? this is actually a question driving school practitioners, particularly those in post primary, school principals, to distraction. we are begging the government and the examinations body he had to look again at this because we are surely no in a different world to the one we were expecting injune. we have to be planning for the contingencies for these examinations because, the truth is, our children are missing school and thatis our children are missing school and that is inequitable across society. some children will be missing, as lockdown happen in various places, in some areas are not others. we need them to look again at the proposals because what is on the table at the moment is not a fair reflection of the reality. we must leave it, thank you very much, interesting to hear what you have to say, graham gault and david courtney, thank you both very much. the british pub group marston‘s hasjust announced it will lay off 2,150 staff as a result of coronavirus restrictions. the company said that rules, including mandatory table service, the 10pm curfew and limits on group sizes, were hugely disappointing. let‘s speak to our business presenter, sima kotecha. what more can you tell us about these job losses? yeah, dismal news, i‘m afraid. inevitable we will hear more about job losses as the days and months move forward. marston‘s say they will cut 1200 jobs, they say the workers were furloughed. we know the furlough scheme is being wound down at the end of the month, the government paying 80% of people‘s wagers. in places like liverpool where marston‘s have pubs, the government will pay two thirds of the salaries of workers or businesses forced to close down as the harsher restrictions take place. it is inevitable we will hear more people in similar situations like this as the scheme is wound down at the end of the month. talk to us now about cash. in the pandemic, something we have all been using less, but clearly, people still want access to it from time to time. absolutely. yes, we all like a bit of cash. 80% of us like to use notes and coins for various reasons, they don‘t like digital banking, they find they can save more and keep an eye on savings by having tangible coins and notes. today the government is proposing getting cash in shops without us having to buy anything. at the moment, you go in and get cash back if you need it. they are saying they are hoping what will happen as you would be able to go in and get cash without having to purchase anything. natalie is the independent chair of the community access to cash pilot. shejoins me now to talk about the proposals the government has put forward. thank you for coming on. can you explain how important it is for particular demographics that notes and coins are still accessible? around half of the uk population is perfectly happy being digital. but there are 8 million adults in britain who need cash and it is for a wide variety of reasons. it might be, as you mention, if you are on low incomes, being able to budget better, keeping control of money. if you earn less than £10,000 a year, you're14 control of money. if you earn less than £10,000 a year, you're 14 times more likely to want cash than if you earn over £30,000 a year. you might be physically disabled really struggle to use digital payment. you might rely on a character do shopping and it is safer to hand over notes than a credit card —— rely on a carer to do shopping. people have been worried in the pandemic about germs on notes and coins, how do you overcome that perception? there has been very mixed evidence about the danger of handling notes and coins. lots of ways you can do this safely. i have seen shops near me in cant find ways of putting money in a box and checking it slightly at a distance —— in kent. technology is coming out where you can put money in a box that will print you a note that can be taken to the town. i don't think there are big transmission risks if you handle things safely but the key thing is we have 8 million people in britain who need cash so we need to find ways of allowing them to keep using it and allowing them to keep getting it because the digital world does not yet work for everyone. but is it not inevitable that cash will become extent as people use digital? —— extinct. possibly, but not the next 10—15 years. i led a major review a year ago which said although cash use will decline, it will still be around for the next 10-15 will still be around for the next 10—15 years at least. that is a conclusion shared by government and the bank of england. there are bigger issues than people's ability to use cash. what about when power goes down? how resilient is digital? we can use cash when there is no power, if the system was hacked. there is also quite significant issue about the control of the national currency. in sweden, further ahead on this journey than the uk, there have been debates in swedish parliament about, what do we do when we are hacked by the russians? have we privatised the money supply? bigger questions about keeping cash viable and simply about people's ability to use it. —— than simply about. these are just proposals. how important is it for this to happen and do you believe it will happen because the government made a commitment in the budget in march? i have been talking with government extensively since the commitment in the budget. i think the proposals today are very welcome, to now tangibly consult on the detail of legislation. the legislation will guarantee access to cash across the uk. helpfully, they have named a regulator to take the lead, which is great. at the moment, really unclear who is in charge. specific proposals around innovation such as cashback are also very welcome. i think it is a welcome step but the test will be when we get legislation to protect cash infrastructure. thank you so much, natalie. talking about the importance of cash, coins and notes for particular demographics in our society who are still very dependent on them. thank you very much, business presenter. some breaking news. london mps, vicki young says, have been told by ministers that capital will have a tear to restrictions from this weekend. —— tier two. no household mixing indoors. the rule of six applies outdoors. london mps in a call with ministers this morning, that is a result of that, as suggested by london mayor sadiq khan, he said he thought restrictions would be brought in within the next few days. london mps have been told by ministers that capital will have tier two restrictions from this weekend. that means no household mixing indoors and the rule of six applies outdoors. more on that. right now... an 11—year—old liverpool fan has had his anxiety over moving to secondary school eased after receiving a letterfrom his hero. lewis wrote tojurgen klopp in the hope of getting some advice on how to deal with nerves, and the liverpool manager didn‘t disappoint by responding with a heartfelt note. we can speak now to lewis and his mum, milena. welcome to both of you. thank you for joining welcome to both of you. thank you forjoining us on bbc news. let‘s begin with you, lewis. i know you area begin with you, lewis. i know you are a huge liverpool fan, you have the shirt on, but why did you take the shirt on, but why did you take the next step of writing to juergen klopp? in the summer, i was at my uncle‘s and my aunty‘s house and i was nervous about starting my new school, so my uncle said, why not write to liverpool? yeah, that‘s a good idea. i picked juergen klopp because he is more experienced because he is more experienced because he is a manager. i wrote to him and, basically, it took quite a long time to get back, eight, ten weeks. i did not think he would get back. but he did! yes, he is a manager, he has to deal with all sorts of things on the football pitch and off with his players. a really good idea, maybe he could help you manage your nervousness about starting secondary school. what were your big worries, lewis?|j what were your big worries, lewis?” was worried about meeting the teachers and starting because the school looked really big when i went on the tour. i was also a bit nervous making new friends because... but now, the teachers are really nice, i have new friends, and the school does not seem really big no to me. brilliant. i can remember going to secondary school for the first time and it seemed really huge. that was a while ago. so pleased it is going well and you have settled in. tell us more about whatjuergen klopp said in a letter? you have got to show us, haven‘t you? yeah. in a frame, as it deserves to be. could you weed out your favourite part of the letter to us? -- read out. one of... i like this bit. it says, your support means a lot to me and to everyone at lfc so i hope this letter shows we support you too. i have a copy here andi support you too. i have a copy here and i love the beginning. he says, cani and i love the beginning. he says, can i start by telling you a secret? i get nervous. to be totally honest, i would be worried if i did not get nervous because it gives me a chance to turn the energy into something positive. i think that is a brilliant thing to say. it is true. what a lovely response to get from your gun what a lovely response to get from yourgun club, milena. what a lovely response to get from your gun club, milena. what difference has it made to lewis? -- juergen klopp. as he said, i don't think he thought... i did not think he would get such a personal response from juergen klopp. he was overwhelmed, we all were, by the latter. the first thing we had to do was put it in a frame for him. he keeps referring... it is in his bedroom, he keeps looking at it. it has helped him and it will help him in the months and years to come. has helped him and it will help him in the months and years to comem will be a treasured possession. he wrote tojurgen klopp, you got a reply, you have done a brilliant interview on live tv, you can do anything, you don‘t need to be worried. thank you. thank you for talking to us. what a lovely story. some well on the news just broken that london will enter tier two restrictions. 0ur political correspondent ian watson is there. london mps having a core with ministers this morning and that was the outcome of that call. it is indeed. they were talking to other health and social care minister and also the deputy chief medical 0fficerfor england also the deputy chief medical officer for england jenny harris. presented with some charts, information, about the rising rates of infection in london, up 7% in one borough in one week. although the data is not uniform across the capital. some london mps were arguing it should not be blanket restrictions, but we are told matt hancock, health secretary, will announce at 1130 that the whole of london, more than 8 million people, will be subject to tier two restrictions from just after midnight tomorrow night. the tier two restrictions, let‘s be clear, no household mixing unless already in a support bubble indoors, it is not the tier three restrictions which local authority leaders have been resisting, for example greater and lancashire... inaudible liverpool city region at the moment... moving up from tier one up to tier two. pubs and hospitality remain open with ten o‘clock curfew. household is not allowed to mix indoors with other households. new restrictions will take place effectively just at the start of the weekend, a minute past midnight tomorrow night. thank you very much for that update. more on that and discussions going on about whether other parts of the country including greater manchester and lancashire should be in the highest level of restrictions, tier three. now the weather forecast. over the next few days and into the weekend the weather will be fairly quiet. having said that, still times when we have areas of cloud across us, but equally some sunny skies. however, some will see showers and we could see drizzle. today we have high pressure to the north of the uk and around that pulling in brisk north—easterly winds, chilly direction, you will notice that on the coast. bringing in more cloud and showers. further west, the coast. bringing in more cloud and showers. furtherwest, drierand brighter and some sunshine. brighter skies in south—west england this afternoon. channel islands, kent, east anglia, showers. further north, northern england, showers, northern ireland, western scotland, largely dry with sunshine. the cloud in the east of scotland drifting west in the afternoon. temperatures tempered by the north—easterly wind. evening and overnight, still will have a fair bit of cloud and also showers. some clearer skies in the west. we could also see patchy mist and fog forming. temperatures falling to 3-8 . forming. temperatures falling to 3-8. in forming. temperatures falling to 3—8. in rural areas, temperatures falling lower, especially under the clear skies. tomorrow, once again, cloud coming in, perhaps more cloud in parts of scotland. drizzle in the east. england, wales, northern ireland, a mixture of bright spells, areas of cloud, sunny skies, a few showers. in the lighter winds, not feeling quite as cool as today particularly on long the north sea coastline. saturday, a slight change, looking at a difference in the wind direction, more northerly. the coast of the north, some showers coming in. furthersouth, drierand brighter. large areas of cloud. some sunny spells at times. temperatures 8-14. sunny spells at times. temperatures 8—14. sunday, very similar. 0nce again, fair bit of cloud, some sunshine. later in the day, some rain in the north—west. beginning of the week, turning more and settled. —— unsettled. this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. london mps have been told the capital will move into higher restrictions from midnight on friday, meaning no household mixing indoors. it means nine million people now face tighter restrictions in the uk‘s capital — london‘s mayor had been calling for stronger measures to be put in place. meanwhile, leaders in northern england hold talks with downing street about whether lancashire and greater manchester should join liverpool in the highest tier of coronavirus restrictions. do let us know your thoughts — do you think these areas should be facing tighter restrictions? get in touch with me on twitter @annita—mcveigh or by using the #bbcyourquestions.

Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News Special 20200320

right now. school is out, the gates are last nights figures, scotland released higher cases and there were close this afternoon on schools across close this afternoon on schools a cross m ost close this afternoon on schools across most of the uk, but some will only 322 and northern ireland has stay open for the children of key 80, wales is 170 but what stands out workers. after gcse and a—level is london, that big blob and you exams were cancelled, the government would expect london to have more says grades in england will be based cases and the rest of the country on mock exam results and teacher because it houses 16% of the population so there will be some assessment. no end in sight to panic concentration but actually, it is buying. front line health workers 40%, of the cases in london, they make a desperate plea for people to be less selfish. people are just are occupying a disproportionate number of cases and they are pulling further ahead of the rest of the stripping the shelves of basic country, last friday they were ticking just under a quarter and foods. you just need to stop it! they are nowjust ticking just under a quarter and they are now just ticking ticking just under a quarter and they are nowjust ticking over a third. london is notjust taking most of the epidemic, it is getting faster and faster. thank you very much for now. as we have been reflecting, gps are among the people on the front of this crisis and many are finding themselves under unprecedented pressure. they have had a change working practices and procedures to try to deal with the the government is preparing to announce a new emergency outbreak and jim reed has package of measures, procedures to try to deal with the outbreak andjim reed has been procedures to try to deal with the outbreak and jim reed has been to a practice in watford. find out how aimed at protecting millions ofjobs during the coronavirus pandemic. they are getting on. come over to in what would be an unprecedented they are getting on. come over to move, the state would step in the window. i will hand you the to help pay the wages of private mask. come around the site. across sector companies to stop thousands of them going bust the country, gps have had to change during the shutdown of much way they the work. here a patient of the economy. it's understood that the workers involved will also be exempted with possible virus symptoms is from having to pay income tax. passed through the window. without in other developments... testing, which they cannot do in letters are being sent to 65,000 surgeries, we cannot know if she has retired doctors and nurses the virus. each surgery has a in england and wales, asking them to return to work to help deal different way of working. here, patients are told to self—isolate with the coronavirus crisis. and go to the nhs website. if they today is the last day at school need an appointment it is limited to for most children in england, just five minutes. the heart rate is scotland and wales until further notice. the government has now published its list of key workers who can keep sending their children to school — they include quite fast, actually. have you felt your heart racing? try not to cough health care workers, police and food delivery staff. is causing it. ok. i am going to get in the last few minutes the government has released its plan you seen is causing it. ok. i am going to get you seen by the medical team at the for grading in england after gcse hospital. this may or may not be and a—level exams were cancelled. coronavirus, we cannot say for certain because you have underlying the grades will be based on mock exam results and teacher assessments. asthma, on your chest you don't sound wheezy at the moment but you the government say that "clear are quite short of breath so i want robust guidance" will be provided to get you seen just because of the to schools and colleges observations, i am slightly worried. in due course. i want the medical team to see. the the government has been advised that policies to limit the spread patient is sent to hospital. she was of coronavirus would need to be later given a blood test and an in place for "at least most of a year" to prevent intensive care x—ray but no test for the virus and she was sent home to recover. while units being overwhelmed. some other gps have stopped around the world, the death toll face—to—face work, this launch practice has split itself into three from coronavirus now stands floors. on the ground floor, in the at more than 10,000 — so—called hot zone, a small team see with 167 deaths in the uk. patients only with coughs, fever or we'll get the latest the shortage of breath. we are on the impact on business, working downstairs here and treating but first on the current situation this like almost a&e, nursing for the nhs, here's our health correspondent lauren moss. patients with flu, cough, those a rallying call to return to work. illnesses and a second team or the letters are being sent to thousands cold doctors and we are trying to keep them clean on a second floor and they see the normal bread and of retired doctors and nurses butter gp staff we see every day. lumps, bumps and back pain. the in england and wales to boost the ranks while cases of the coronavirus continue to climb. staff in the section expect to get the letter will explain the virus at this point. the idea is what they need to do because they may need a refresher to then replace them with clean and we've got some online refresher courses and there will be some put doctors from the cold zone upstairs, in place where they need or those working from home. the to physically be there. message they want to get across to and then, also, critically, the public is to stay calm. for making sure they are trained most, this virus, if you catch it, especially in the areas that we need is mild and recovery should be straightforward. people need to look for dealing with coronavirus outside themselves and think about their neighbours, see if your local neighbour needs looking after who because this is a respiratory has dementia or is on their own, if illness, disease. medics who have left the profession there ever was a time for the big in the last three years are also society, it is now that we can do being urged to reregister and final year students could be asked to work something together. defeating this outbreak will take effort from all during the outbreak. some people have already sides. to do with what has been contacted me, many people have already contacted me and we got called the biggest challenge to the lots of people wanting to support us health service in its 70 year and wanting to come back. we are writing to them, they will get that this morning, we will then make sure that they are able to complete history. the necessary forms to get them back on the register and we will invite them back into our hospitals in the next few weeks. a large proportion of those being written to our general practitioners or specialists. nearly half are aged between 45 and 64 years old. and one third are are asked to return to work under the age of 1m. as the health secretary reassures but not everyone is enthusiastic nhs staff that they'll about being asked back to work. have the protective gear they need. after three years out in terms of getting the protective equipment out, the masks i feel very out of date. and the other protective equipment, i would not be able to keep up that is a massive operation that is ongoing right now. with the it, the science, the general changes in nursing care and i would feel unsafe and i think schools out: the gates closed this that would not be a position afternoon on schools across most of the uk — i would want to put any patient in, but some will stay open having an unsafe nurse caring for them. for the children of key workers. the way we go about our lives after gcse and a—level is certainly changing. after today, school gates will close exams were cancelled — the government say grades in england to most no one knows how long for. will be based on mock exam results and teacher assessment. and from monday, rail companies will be running much reduced services. and supermarkets take measures despite limiting the number of items to prevent shortages caused shoppers can buy and dedicating by people stockpiling goods certain hours for older customers, supermarket shelves are still being stripped bare. during the coronavirus outbreak. hospitals have been asked to free up beds and manufacturers to scale up ventilator production for patients who may become very unwell. let's ta ke let's take a few minutes to talk the race is also on to get protective equipment about one of the key issues on all out to nhs staff. we are seeing far too many health of this. it goes without saying workers infected in italy that these are anxious and it's just heartbreaking. times for all of us. we've been getting lots of questions so many of them are dying as well. sent to us about the impact do not let this happen in britain. on our mental health of self—isolation and social health workers, they keep on talking distancing — as well as the impact about them in military terms on mental health services. like they are the front line, we're going to do our best now they are not soldiers. to answer some of them now — the government is in negotiations on bbc your questions answered. to buy a new antibody tests to detect if someone has a ready had the virus and become immune and in a month, it's hoped 25,000 patients every day will also be able to be tested. uk scientists have today said some social distancing measures may need to be in place for most of the year to avoid overwhelming the nhs in what they've described is an incredibly fast moving and developing situation. i'm joined by profjo daniels, psychologist looking how people can lauren moss, bbc news. deal with the stress and from the university of bath and abby dunn, a research fellow at the university of sussex — she worked on the paper: "how to talk to children this just to clarify on those figures, about covid—19. only in the last few minutes as nhs england updated the figures that thank you forjoining us. let's we've been talking about. in its latest statement saying that a start with a question i think that is quite representative of an awful further 39 people who had tested lot, what do parents tell their children now? i havejust told my positive for coronavirus in england, seven—year—old but she could be off i must stressed this is in england, school for weeks and she is have died. so the total number of absolutely devastated. how can we, deaths in england is 167, that is as parents, ease our children's the latest figure from nhs england. fears while we ourselves are also feeling uncertain. that is perhaps worth mentioning as well interesting, is trying to hide it that in terms of the latest number from a children in a way.|j of deaths, people who have lost interesting, is trying to hide it from a children in a way. i think their lives to this virus are aged that we are dealing with a difficult time for both parents and children. between 50 and 99. we will keep you up—to—date if we get further details we need to come back to the core ways in which we support and engage on that. that latest from nhs with our children's emotions anyway. england. we are also very much for ca ley with our children's emotions anyway. focused this afternoon what we are for caley here, it is about giving her space to express what she is likely to hear from the chancellor, feeling and for mum as well. it can rishi sunak, in the next hour or so. perhaps that package of measures be really difficult. we say this to which we will believe it is going to pa rents be really difficult. we say this to announce more support for companies parents in a clinic all the time, and employees. it has been described but when you are with your child, put a front on it, keep your emotions back and share them elsewhere when she is not around. as unprecedented, many companies have been warning they will collapse and then explore with a bit of with huge numbers ofjob losses. self—employed people and anyone on a curiosity, have a bit more of an zero—hours contract is of course already struggling. more from our understanding. when i think about this question, i think the child is economics correspondent andy verity. devastated, could we think, what it is about? is it the lack of social this is the normally busy victoria quarter in leeds. this is the centre of cardiff. contact, will she really missed her and this is glasgow. friends, for example? if you explore that with her, there might be some opportunities to think up a solution most companies can cope with a with her to deal with that. but it normal recession spot for thousands is about supporting her and her of companies hit by antivirus measures, it's up to 100%. this is uncertainty, putting a little bit of a mask on your own for the moment and taking your uncertainty and oxford circus, normally one of the busiest places in the world but sharing it elsewhere. your thoughts today, just like other shopping areas around the country, there is on that as well? i echo those hardly anyone in the shops. if you're a business, it is simple, if sentiments, it is important for you're a business, it is simple, if you don't have customers, you don't have an income and can't afford to adults, where they can, to manage ifhe —— pay wages or service debts their own anxiety. we know anxiety does transmit to children as well. and if that keeps up you will have to let people go and declare adults need to find their way of managing stress and anxiety in the home as well. and some of what we bankruptcy. have already said, abby you touched business groups say the health emergency has now become an economic one. on some of this, another question threatening to push thousands about people, who themselves have a of companies into bankruptcy mental health condition, who are and hundreds of thousands having to or are worried they will of people onto benefits. have to self—isolate. it is a grim businesses across the uk thought at the best of times, not need to see action now. being able to see anyone at all, the we need to see an immediate suspension of vat, national uncertainty of the duration, how do insurance and business rate payments that are coming up next week. and we also need to see a form people who are already in a somewhat of income support as well. fragile state deal with self for those businesses that isolating, even if they know it is are going to be inevitably the right thing to do? self disrupted or have to close during the coming weeks. it's notjust shops and restaurants isolation is a brutal thing for who are most obviously hit everybody. anybody who is at home at by emergency measures, the moment i cannot get out, it is this manufacturer makes mechanical and electronic parts really difficult. for people who are for industrial customers, feeling vulnerable, who are feeling high levels of stress and have it's still busy from orders placed mental health challenges, that will before the crisis struck be even more taxing and social but will struggle if the shutdown goes on for months. like every manufacturer we have isolation can be a really powerful the same concerns if we start pa rt isolation can be a really powerful to see significant drops. part in maintaining these struggles. in relation to people. that's the simple case we have to think about how we can for all manufacturers. it really is then see what direct government intervention we can see come as a community, try and engage to help make sure we protectjobs with each other. also to support and livelihoods so we come people and using technology they out the other side, have never used before. there is a fit, well and strong. government help for firms wage bills will cost tens of billions partnership in my local mental but won't help the self—employed. health trust, we are moving to try to speak to patients on video, this woman is a freelance theatre director, with no performance checking on them by phone. even so, as her income has plummeted. and people are at home and they for me personally it has involved quite a sad transition from closing don't have the ability to contact the building that i love to work out, others can try and reach to on at the moment with a core team them. jo, i am interested on your and all of us are self employed ta ke them. jo, i am interested on your and we have no idea what that means take on that, but whilst i in terms of our income. absolutely accept what abbey says, job security. people are not interconnected in whether we can pay their homes, they don't have a our rent next month. laptop, they don't have broadband and we have no idea when any shows or work will start though they have a rubbish signal. again for any of us. not everyone is in a robust the emergency measures situation with technology, and then will effectively put how do they deal with it? it is an the government on a war footing, going into debt to help pay millions of private sector wages. important point. i guess we know the cost is huge. people who have a history of mental but the cost of not health problems may find it doing so both economic and human, could be greater. difficult at this time. it is a time andy verity, bbc news. where we come together as a let's talk to our political community. like it has already been correspondent nick eardley in downing street. said, the nhs is offering skype and telephone as options and most people everyone has heard so many stories do have a telephone. it takes for us now about people losing theirjobs to watch out for the people in the already, people suffering real community to see who are vulnerable and may need help. and those who do hardship. we have to hear something pretty substantial later, haven't we? absolutely and i suspect we have mental health problems, think about strategies for them and who will. i think the government is can be in contact and get in contact aware of those stories that we've with the gp if things feel too all heard now about people being laid off, about ours being cut, overwhelming. it is where we come together as a community, think of businesses are facing imminent those around us and try to support closure as a result of the collapse them. there is a couple of in footfall that so many areas are seen as a questions, i should say that echo in footfall that so many areas are seen as a result of this crisis. we don't know exactly what the this. sharon is worrying about her government is going to do, but i mother, who has very bad panic think it's looking likely it will attacks. if we go into lockdown, involve some sort of package to help what she meant to do because being on her own is not an option? it businesses pay salaries and help echoes a question from nigel, who those individuals who need top ups says he has complex mental health to their wages. around westminster there is a lot of pressure on the issues, including anxiety and government to go far with this. self—harming. i don't know how to labour are saying that the deal with the panic buying in government here should do what we've supermarkets because it is hard seen government here should do what we've seenin government here should do what we've seen in many other countries and enough for me to leave the house, i potentially have the state promising am paraphrasing, but he doesn't know to pay up to 90% of salaries for how to cope with this. you are both some lower paid workers on a graded nodding profusely, abbey, your scheme that would see the state also pay the high earners as well. we thoughts on this because there is have had the snp talking about the some linkage in those questions? one idea of a universal basic income so that everybody around the country thing to do as much as possible, in has a guaranteed amount of money coming in every month to get them this phenomenally trying time is to through the next few weeks and months. and exactly what the package come back any strategies that we have, any tools we have. people who that the chancellor has up his have, any tools we have. people who have complex and mental health sleeve this afternoon will involve, challenges, parents struggling with we are not totally sure. we should maintaining boundaries with their kids, we do have any resources and know that within the next couple of hours. but it is also worth bearing we need to use them. but i agree, in mind how quickly these packages are emerging. i was standing in the there are some people for whom this street just over a are emerging. i was standing in the streetjust over a week ago for are emerging. i was standing in the street just over a week ago for the budget, and the amount of money that couldn't be a more destabilising was thrown at this issue then was situation to be in. i think that is seen as was thrown at this issue then was seen as huge. we've seen rishi sunak back again on monday with another about where the services around them are trying to provide the support. i package for business, and as i say, and a couple of hours, we will know don't think there is a clear answer what the next package is to try to on how we can support the most help individuals around the country vulnerable people at this time. i who are facing those problems with wish there was, but it is about wages and unemployment. exactly, you using the skills you have already, took the words out of my mouth, did if you have them. i want to talk they government think, given we've about the strategies, if you have a had two big statements from rishi mental health difficulties or not, there are practical things to look sunak in the not—too—distant past, it has it been taken by surprise by the number of people who have already lost work? did theyjust not after our emotional well—being. stick to routines, get up at the fathom it? what is driving today's same time, have structure, but variation within that so watching announcement? different tv programmes or doing there has been some political criticism that the government should different tv programmes or doing different activities. sleep is so have gone further and quicker. the important for our mental health. i would recommend people go to bed at view of number ten is they need to the same time, get up at the same move on things when they start time. they are basic things, but it happening. think how things have helps dampen down the anxiety changed in our daily lives since last wednesday, when the budget was. response. exercise is great for so many of the government raqqa adrenaline, for those feeling anxious. we can still do it at home measures that have been brought in, and we talking about the community as the government says, on science. coming together, there are free online exercise classes for all the government is reacting to that. kinds of different abilities. one of there is an element of the fact that the main thing is we should do, it is easy to see this as a you have had that advice earlier this week to say pubs, cafe is and catastrophe, but actually there can be some positives and benefits and other service —based industries opportunities within this. we can telling people to stay away from them, perhaps a bit quicker than engage in positive activities that can raise your move, things that are some people had anticipated. that meaningful and connect with people has had a huge impact on the ona deeper meaningful and connect with people on a deeper level that you haven't economy. and the government has said been able to before. interesting you consistently, it will do whatever is necessary to support businesses but mention exercise, because perhaps there is a perception there might there is also a view in number ten come a point when lockdown means we that they are asking businesses and individuals to make huge changes to cannot leave our homes. but even in their daily lives and they need to countries where they have had be supporting them in an economic sense to make sure that is lockdown, you are entitled to leave manageable, i suppose for everybody. your house for the purposes of all right, thank you very for now. exercise. there is a recognition that will be important for the we will be back and talk more to obvious reasons and for our mental nick eardley when we get those health. exercise is one of the most details from the chancellor later on important things we can do for this afternoon. physical and psychological health. in the uk we have the national trust opening all the gardens which is a fantastic opportunity to connect the government has released with nature. we know from the the list of key workers evidence connecting with nature and whose children will still be able to go to school from monday. exercise helps our mental health and it includes... it also helps us to shift our focus onto more positive things, to not be thinking about the coronavirus all nhs staff, all front line health of the time and engaging with the ca re nhs staff, all front line health care staff and those working in the outside world. abbey? i am thinking medical supply chain. also teachers, who will look after the teachers who about children who are feeling very anxious at this time. getting them will go to school and nursery. also, to do some exercise, it has the same public safety and national security impactand to do some exercise, it has the same workers including the police, impact and the same association of stress and anxiety as in an adult. i military and police prison officers. am in self isolation at the moment transport workers count as essential with two children and i have been workers. that includes transporting driving into the middle of nowhere freight as well as public transport. in sussex and letting them run food workers, including people in across fields, to let off some food production, processing, stea m. across fields, to let off some steam. if you do starjumps in the distribution, sale and delivery. living room with kids, just getting them to burn off some energy because also people working in essential financial services will be able to it will help them manage their send their children to school and anxiety as well. goodness, that is a people working in public service broadcasting are also classed as key lesson to all of us. a quick, final workers. just worth telling you that thought if it is possible to be that full, comprehensive list is swift. robbie says, he is concerned available on the government website if you think you are within that that the mental health toll of this category, contact your employer. across the country in the coming weeks is going to be greater than that is the advice. but the full list is on the government website, coronavirus itself. what are your as you might expect. we are talking thoughts on that and perhaps what we can be doing in some form of about that of course because this afternoon schools up and down the uk preparation, abbey first? it is such are closing, with the exception we just touched on. a large question but i know collea g u es a large question but i know colleagues in mental health certainly are working as much as let's speak to our education editor branwen jeffreys. they can to be present now and we have had a lot of focus on exams prepared for the future. i think the basics we've been talking about for because if the schools are closed, everybody to take some responsibility for trying to manage so because if the schools are closed, so many children in such tricky circumstances, your heart goes out their own health and well—being... to them? it has been an anxious few ina way, days forfamilies, to them? it has been an anxious few their own health and well—being... in a way, we don't know what is going to happen, that is one of the days for families, anyone sitting fundamental aspects of the a—levels, gcses and btec, are all uncertainty. but the will of the cancelled because schools are closed and they have to concentrate on the mental health service is certainly co re and they have to concentrate on the core work they have to do over the there. jo, your thoughts? one is i next few months. we have had a few details, the gcse and a—levels, we would say that worry and anxiety at expect teachers will be asked to this time is really normal, we submita expect teachers will be asked to submit a grade for each people for should be self compassionate and acce pt should be self compassionate and each subjected exam board. that will accept it as a worrying time. be combined with the other secondly, we are fantastically information in the exam board might adaptable creatures, that's a really unique thing about us. the third have. in a—levels, they can look at previous gcse results. for gcses in thing, to protect us from those england they can look at end of mental health difficulties to some degree, talk about your feelings, it's really important to talk to one another, talk about those fears, it primary sats test. they hope to helps get things in perspective and issue a grade by the end ofjuly. so improves our mental health. there will be some uncertainty for professorjo daniels and abby done, i appreciate your time, thank you children and their families. very much. there will be some uncertainty for children and theirfamilies. he there will be some uncertainty for children and their families. he will be able to appeal, that is being worked on. and also the promise that they will be a chance to resit, set let's bring you some breaking news an actual exam when schools reopen from our health editor, hugh pym — ata a "critical incident" has been an actual exam when schools reopen at a later date if you want to and feel the grades you have been given declared at a north london hospital because it no longer has don't reflect reality. scotland is the capacity to treat covid—19 patients. working on something very similar, a combination of teacher assessment based on mock exams, past northwick park hospital has coursework. they haven't spelt out exactly what they are going to do raised its alert status to this about appeals or exams happening at level as part of its continuity about appeals or exams happening at a later date. but some certainty for families there. very difficult time planning, for situations when it no longer has enough beds for some fine families. lots of to treat seriously patients. childrenjust finishing for some fine families. lots of children just finishing their term, rash—mac to treat patients. —— to they year perhaps, when they didn't expect it. things will look very treat patients. an nhs source has told the bbc different on monday? indeed, not evenin different on monday? indeed, not even in wartime happy scene all that there are plenty of available schools close to most children. the beds at nearly hospitals message for monday morning is clear, and that there are precedents for sending patients to other hospitals during periods children should be at home, if at of heavy winter pressure. all possible, parents should try to make other arrangements as long as that relates to northwick park they don't include spending time hospital which is in north london. with their grandparents, who are the that is all we know so far. as soon most vulnerable group. those key workers you spelt out should be able as we get more details we will bring you more on that. to get a place at school and also also this afternoon if you have been vulnerable children and children who watching, good afternoon, you will have recognised, more serious know we are waiting for more details special needs. it is going to be tricky, head teachers are going to from the government, and we think we are going to get a new emergency have to see how many teachers they have to see how many teachers they have on monday morning and then package of measures aimed at protecting millions ofjobs during decide. it may be up to them to the pandemic. prioritise, looking at that list, as in what would be an unprecedented move, the state would step in to who gets in. they have to make a to help pay the wages of private sector companies to stop judgment call as to how many thousands of them going bust children they can safely have on the during the shutdown of much school premises with the stuff they of the economy. know they have available to them on andy verity is with me now. that day. they will be working their we think we will hear from the way down, expect front line nhs chancellor in the next little while. staff in critical services to be top we've reflected a lot here about the of the list because that is difficulties businesses our faces, life—saving. of the list because that is life-saving. just to clarify, that people in the gig economy who have decision is up to the head teacher? lost theirjobs, people in the gig economy who have lost their jobs, what yes, they have been given a set of people in the gig economy who have lost theirjobs, what could we get here from rishi sunak? briefly, the priorities. we have had guidance from the unions, the head teachers problem they are addressing that you unions this afternoon, the national have mentioned there isjust problem they are addressing that you have mentioned there is just a sudden drop in income, the like of association of head teachers, which represents a large number of the which has not been known really in primary heads is saying, we suggest modern times, certainly in 100 you will have to work your way down yea rs. modern times, certainly in 100 years. a drop in income notjust of the list. we can give you some guidance, but you have to make a 10% or 20%, which most businesses judgment. are you able to stay open, can deal with by shedding staff are cutting costs in a normal recession, how many children can you take? i this isn't a normal recession, this expect over the next weeks we will economic shock is much more sudden see more centralisation within each and deeper than anything we've seen in our lifetimes. so they are trying area, each authority coordinating to address that because if firms do how many schools are viable to stay not have the income, they can't pay open, schools and pupils moving the wages, they can't service the around with transport available just costs a nd the wages, they can't service the costs and within a few weeks they to keep the basic child care and will either have to declare crucially, they are asking schools bankruptcy, they will certainly have to stay open through the easter to let some staff go. we have seen holidays. yes, so no easter break some concrete examples today with for the staff. we are going to talk pret having to reduce staff because the principle of a primary school in just a moment. while you are here as they have had a 75% drop in income. well, a quick thought about what does it mean for childminders, similarly saying they need wage nurseries, what is being said about subsidies to employ people. so what we expect rishi sunak to do is what that sector? they are also being asked to close apart from to those mps were calling for yesterday and we've had calls from business groups key workers. childminders in for today, that the government particular, they are self—employed should step in and pay most of the and runa particular, they are self—employed and run a small business. many of them are very worried. although they wages of private sector companies are being offered business rate who have run into trouble. they might do this by throwing the tax relief for a year from april, they are being told they will have system into reverse, so fair pay as government funded i was, most rely on parents paying. many are asking you earn arrangements are used to pay money for the government, the money comes back on the other pa rents, on parents paying. many are asking parents, and some nurseries as well, direction. we don't know the exact can you keep paying something. a lot mechanism and we are expecting to of families don't know where they hear that in a few minutes. because stand financially over the coming people listening to that will weeks and months. of course, thank absolutely understand the need for it but the question is also, where you very much. our education editor, is rishi sunak finding it but the question is also, where is rishi sunakfinding the money? it's also noticeable, this changes branwen you very much. our education editor, bra nwen jeffreys with you very much. our education editor, branwen jeffreys with the latest on how that is meant to work. let's everything. everything we've been talking about for the last ten or 12 talk to someone who is on the front yea rs, talking about for the last ten or 12 years, i would never imagine i would line of making those decisions. be sitting here saying we are going to nationalise the banks, know what iimagine the steph field is principal to nationalise the banks, know what i imagine the government would pay private sector wages, which is even of busilljones primary school in bloxwich near walsall — bigger, it's an even more serious they're staying open to children of key workers in the area. step for the government to make, thank you for your time. i hope you which would once have been regarded are able to hear what brangwyn was as counts by most conservatives. but saying because i think there will be people watching this this afternoon, they may also do other things when we have the announcement, such as people watching this this afternoon, people listening to everything she was saying and thinking, my goodness thatis was saying and thinking, my goodness extending tax holidays so employers that is one heck of a task for don't have to pay any national someone that is one heck of a task for someone in your position, to work insurance. there is no point handing through what you are going to do someone money and at the same time next week to try to provide some way trying to take it off them. what they are also —— what there also of safety and refuge for children of key workers. what work are you doing needs to be vitally is help for self people. the people hit hardest by right now on this? you are absolutely right. it has been a this crisis are people on low difficult week, having messages late incomes, gig economy workers or in the day as well so we have had to people who are self—employed. many of them have no income at all and they have never had to experience make daily decisions to support this and it could never have been families and the community. today, reasonable to ask those people to we have been prioritising the list, anticipate something like this. this using and following the guidelines isn't their fault. therefore the that have been published and yes, it government can step in and boost the is trying to provide the care a benefits system or provide some other means of support so that the place for those children and vulnerable children next week. we economic shock they are going through doesn't translate into a have been creating a rota of staff second wave of redundancies caused and making sure we can put staff in by people spending less because safely make sure we have they'd have got less money. safeguarding in place and health and by people spending less because they'd have got less moneylj by people spending less because they'd have got less money. i am slightly boggled by the scale of safety is all in place these this, perhaps i'm right to be, children. as things stand today, how because it is unprecedented circular it is, you are right to be boggled, confident are you going into monday that you have enough teachers and anyone who is not gold is not helpers and everybody you need to saying! for example, how quickly make the system worked, how is it could money get through to looking for you? it is looking individuals? we all know people who really positive for me. i am not have already been laid off, there sure about other schools in the are people who right now, of last area, but my team have worked week, cannot pay the rent for much exceptionally hard this week. as we more than another month or the are part of an academy, our schools mortgage or can't feed their children, this is already happening. are part of an academy, our schools are in constant contact with each other so we are like a hub for each there is an announcement this other so we are like a hub for each other so we can rely on staff from afternoon from the financial conduct other so we can rely on staff from other schools within our academy as authority about those three month mortgage holidays, they are saying well. i am really positive about next week, i have a good team of the lenders should do them in a staff on rotors and on standby and i com pletely the lenders should do them in a completely uncommercial way, so never mind if somebody is telling have back—up staff, just in case the you they don't have any income to inevitable happens and over the pay the mortgage with, you should still let them have a payment weekends, families have to go into holiday. you should defer the self isolation. yes, of course. what repayment of interest until later. are your teachers saying to you the government is asking banks to do about the fact that they are something that they wouldn't certainly going to have to work normally do and did away, that is through the holidays, no easter payback time for what 12 years ago. breakfor them, through the holidays, no easter break for them, not the full number of weeks they might have been all right! well, thank you much, expecting? that is true. we had to andy verity. we will be talking a plan in advance as to what is going little later as we hear four —— mike to happen. some of us will have our moore from the chancel. in advance of the prime minister's news break to happen. some of us will have our brea k early to happen. some of us will have our break early and then we will switch conference, jeremy corbyn has been so break early and then we will switch so temp staff will come in. it means speaking to journalists in the last little while, outlining what sort of support measures he feels are needed some teams will be on self in the next little while from the isolation, some will be on holiday and some teams will be working in chancellor. he's got to do a great deal and he's the school and then we will rotate got to do it very, very quickly. it. we wish you and your team all there are people losing theirjobs now, just —— notjust those on the very best and fantastic work he zero—hours contracts were not being will be doing. but all the very best called in to work but people in work to all of you and thank you very being given notice their work is much. wejust had a little bit of finished. in pubs, clubs, break—up as you might expect and you restau ra nts, finished. in pubs, clubs, restaurants, factories, hotels, they would appreciate we are talking to are not getting the protection they wa nt are not getting the protection they want and there are others who are all our guests via the internet, via webcams now for obvious reasons and self—employed, doing odd jobs, maintenance work, plumbing, electricity and so forth, who cannot broadband is not what you might want. but i think we got the essence afford to stay home and do nothing because they have families to feed. of what work principals of schools they cannot live on £90 per week, are doing now to try and give which is all statutory sick pay will offer, so they are going out to somewhere for children of key workers to go next week. work. so if they are carrying this disease they are putting us all at nhs workers are at the front line risk. it's up to the government now of the efforts to tackle the virus — to guarantee the economic security the peak of the outbreak could be weeks or months away, but staff of the entire population. that means are already under huge strain. this report from charlotte rose begins with one exhausted nurse dramatically raising statutory sick who broke down after being unable pay, to somewhere near the level of to buy food at the end of her shift, average earnings, doing that and asked people to remember those immediately, extending benefits to those that are not eligible at all who are caring for the sick. at the present time, there are too many of those, but also recognising i'm a critical care nurse. there are people who have no ability i've just finished 48 hours of work, to work and many others who are i just wanted to get some stuff actually very frightened at present, in for the next 48 hours. there's no fruit, they are either stuck at home frightened to go out and their there's no vegetables. ijust don't know how i'm supposed to stay healthy. social interaction is complete the and those people, people loss. though community response is who arejust stripping very important. and there are a lot the shelves of basic foods. of people all over the country who with many nhs workers dealing with an unprecedented workload, are of people all over the country who a re really of people all over the country who are really responding in a wonderful way, supporting friends and the strain is starting to show. neighbours who are going through stress. it is a very stressful time. health secretary matt hancock this morning urged people jeremy corbyn speaking in the last to stop panic buying. little while. let's just turn our sobbing: just stop it! please! attention for a few moments to the i hope the video itself shows world of sport. that has been so very badly affected as well over the people the consequences of being irresponsible last few weeks. the olympic flame has arrived injapan, but there are with what you buy. growing doubts as to whether the there is a perfectly adequate supply of food in this country. games will go ahead as scheduled in it is not a problem and it's not tokyo. plans for the torch relay have been scaled back but up until going to be a problem. now the organisers of the olympic games and the paralympics have that is not the only concern. resisted calls to postpone them. many front line staff say rupert wingfield—hayes has more. there are not getting the protective equipment they need to stay safe. what we haven't had is anything to protect us from aerosol there may not be much surf transmission of the covid—19 virus. for her to show off in today, and that would be but for nao omura, every day now ffp masks and hoods. which are in short supply. in the water counts. mr hancock said lorries took now she has her sights set new supplies to 150 hospitals last on a medal in the first ever night and deliveries to gps olympic surfing contest. and social care providers at least that was the plan would follow this weekend. until the virus arrived. but there are those showing their appreciation for nhs staff. offering places to stay translation: right now, i'm afraid. i don't know what's going to happen. and delivering food. we are doing longer hours. shops may shut earlier. the olympics is a dream for me, but we don't want to have a bad i know a lot of the shops have got olympics, so maybe it's better a lot of schemes for nhs staff to have the olympics as well as vulnerable and elderly when the fear has gone. people which is brilliant and we are being looked after. but it's just people, people need to stop panic buying. here injapan, you could be forgiven for thinking the health secretary is today asking there is no global pandemic. 65,000 doctors and nurses to come out of retirement to help to deal schools are closed, with the crisis, saying but apart from that, "your nhs need you." life is going on pretty much as normal, and it is the same with the olympic games. but many already working feel the japanese government insists they need more help too. it is full steam ahead for the opening ceremony onjuly 24. charlotte rose, bbc news. but there are now some prominent voices here saying as we've been hearing — that is denying reality. nhs england hasjust said that a further 39 people who tested in central tokyo, the brand—new positive for coronavirus have died, olympic stadium is ready. taking the total number $30 billion has been spent preparing the city. of deaths in england to 167. but the former governor of tokyo three more have also died in wales. says the chances of holding the olympics this year are now tiny. the latest cases bring the total normally, just 10%. number of deaths in the uk to 184. unfortunately now. that's it, you know. that is the latest figure we have but cancelled, or postponed, 90%. from the health authorities. we have been talking a lot about the fact a that's awful here, i dare to say. sizeable number of retired doctors japan looks like it has the coronavirus under control. and nurses are being contacted now by the government to ask whether they can come back to work to help this was the popular omotesando district of tokyo today. ata time there was no sign of the social distancing or public panic that has they can come back to work to help at a time of such extraordinary demand. let's talk more about this. been witnessed across europe. our correspondent but experts say that does not mean richard galpin is here. tokyo 2020 can be held safely. it is quite a request and some will even if you could be successful have retired recently, but perhaps in controlling the disease injapan, some not. it is people who have if other regions like europe retired since 2017, so there is a and africa were suffering specific cut—off. it is a huge call from infectious diseases, up specific cut—off. it is a huge call up and they are talking about 50,000 nobody could come to japan, because of the risk of infection, so we have to have a control nurses and 15,000 doctors. they are injapan, and we have to have control of the infectious also talking about getting medical diseases worldwide. stu d e nts also talking about getting medical students in, student nurses. so now, is it likely? very, very big numbers. ithink students in, student nurses. so very, very big numbers. i think that i doubt. gives you an indication ofjust the many athletes both here injapan scale of the problem that this and around the world, country and the world faces. these are now asking for an end to the uncertainty. like like nao—chan, they all desperately want the olympics to go ahead. recruits, there has been a mixture if it can't, they need of responses, but essentially they to be told soon. would be assessed for what roles rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, tokyo. they could play. if necessary, there would apparently be some training if they needed it, if they needed to get up to speed with some of the we were talking just five or ten minutes or so ago about that issues. what nhs officials are critical incident declared at saying is that they would make more northwick park hospital in north ofa london. it's worth telling you, that saying is that they would make more of a difference than ever before. has been stood down. in fact, it this comes also as the chief nursing officerfor england transpires the critical incident this comes also as the chief nursing officer for england has said the status that was declared at the this comes also as the chief nursing officerfor england has said the nhs is facing the greatest threat it has hospital did indeed last for 24 ever faced. richard, we will talk to hours but it was declared yesterday evening because there simply wasn't you again later. we will stay very enough capacity at the hospital. but much with that. that has now been stood down. it didn't last for 24 hours, but no helga rhein is a retired gp and joins me now via webcam. longer in force at northwick park hospital in north london. we are what are your thoughts? are you keen to try to back? i am so willing to still waiting for the news come back. i retired a year and a conference at downing street. more details on the government's efforts to deal with the coronavirus half ago, i am and 67,1 pandemic. come back. i retired a year and a half ago, iam and 67, i have come back. i retired a year and a half ago, i am and 67, i have got some health problems, a bit of a let's talk to our political lung problem, buti correspondent nick eardley. some health problems, a bit of a lung problem, but i certainly could be at the end of a phone line. i've we have reflected a lot already, but just received the e—mail from the i guess we can't really underestimate the scale of what we gmc today, which points out what might be hearing over the next couple of hours? no, you're your reporter just gmc today, which points out what your reporterjust said, that doctors and nurses are called back absolutely right. we have heard from and that we would get a temporary so many people over the last hour or so many people over the last hour or so about these massive changes that registration, because that is the are taking place when it comes to biggest hurdle, we are not registered any longer. so a the health sector, when it comes to business, and today is about trying temporary registration with a licence to practise. and an to address some of those issues which individuals are facing, with induction, then hopefully... a their salaries, their pay packets and more broadly with businesses who perhaps are struggling to pay channelling and what is the most salaries for staff members. we don't know what the figures are suitable work we can do. and many of going to look like, we will find them out in the next few minutes but us suitable work we can do. and many of us would be prepared to stop what i'm very struck by what you said at i think we can expect a significant the beginning, that you could perhaps play a role giving advice to package from the chancellor, who has people on phone lines. you are not acknowledged the fact it is a huge the first medical professional i've economic challenge. we have talked heard saying that today. is that about the health challenge but the economic damage is going to be huge about your level of confidence, is as well. we all know somebody who it about what you feel your best has been directly impacted, whether placed to do? just interested why it is reduced hours at work and some people being laid off. it will be i've now heard a number of medical interesting to see how far the professionals make that point and chancellor goes in saying the state say that other active practising is going to help pay the salaries of members of staff right now could be people who work for private released to the front line, if you companies, to make sure the economy like. yes, yes. it's a combination. keeps ticking over, over the next it is ourage, like. yes, yes. it's a combination. it is our age, we are obviously in a bit of a higher risk group than few weeks and months. there is a lot people who are 30. and it is of political pressure on this as well. labour, the snp and other opposition parties have been meeting with the prime minister and other senior ministers, to say to them possible, medical conditions which we have, i have a lung condition, that we have got to get this right. it's not a major thing but it is just speaking to politicians today, something, bronchitis. sol there is a fear that some people will basically go broke, not have it's not a major thing but it is something, bronchitis. so i don't enough cash. but there is a huge really... i actually tend to be fear about the unemployment rate, look at what is happening on the quite good on the phone. and when continent as outbreaks of coronavirus progress. a real worry in westminster at the political world more broadly, that the you doubtless have been following unemployment rate could reach this, as indeed has the entire unprecedentedly high levels and nation in the last few weeks and you urging the government to do reflect on the fact that of the year something now, to make sure the ago, you would have been absolutely impact of that is mitigated. we will out the front line of what medical find out exactly what those measures are in the next few minutes. yes, professionals a re out the front line of what medical professionals are dealing with up and down the country, i'm curious what thoughts you have had about the once we know the policies and the sums, there will be questions about nhs, the staff, its ability to cope, how quickly help can be got to how it has approached this, the people. because there are businesses existence of enough protective that have already shut up shop, equipment. what have been your people have been laid off. speed it thoughts as you have followed the coverage like everybody else has? will be one of the questions that is on everyone's lips? yes, you are i'm a very keen supporter of the nhs, i really think it's a fantastic absolutely right. it is worth bearing in mind there has been a lot system. and i therefore have hope announced already, such is the rapid progress with which the government that we all can pull together. it feels it has to keep updating its feels like florence nightingale plans. it was just over a week ago stuff. but i'm also aware it has when we had the budget, the £30 been run on a shoestring four years billion stimulus to try and mitigate some of the impacts of this crisis if not decades. and that is a on the economy. then on monday, problem. so i think of all the further measures from the chancellor we re further measures from the chancellor were announced in a press conference finances which have been released officially in the news, so much at number ten. we know already businesses are going to get rate should go to the nhs straightaway to relief, loan is made available but we have had so many people saying get people tested and so on. you that isn't enough. it doesn't go far have had the discussions around this. so testing staff is really a enough, it's not enough to keep employees on the box when suddenly bars and main thing. there is something i employees on the box when suddenly bars a nd restau ra nts employees on the box when suddenly bars and restaurants and hotels are seeing footfall absolutely plummets. wa nt to they need more, they say. that is main thing. there is something i want to say which i feel is missing exactly where the government is so want to say which i feel is missing so far, which is some advice on going to be looking over the next half an hour or so. it will be interesting to see what else the people's personal things which they prime minister has to say. a lot of could do. because apart from hand conversations are happening about whether people are heeding the washing and social distancing and advice to stay away from places like avoiding crowds etc, we can also bars and restaurants. certainly in look after our own health better, so london, i walked to work today and a that our immune system, our own lot of restaurants and cafe is open, defence to the virus, is in best some of them fairly busy despite the warnings. labour are saying, for shape. and one big factor in that is example, you might need to ramp it up example, you might need to ramp it up and eventually in the capital ban that the whole of the uk, or many some of those places from opening people in the whole of the uk, are altogether. also questions about the timing of this crisis, with the deficient of vitamin d. so this is prime ministerfacing not only for bones and muscles, but timing of this crisis, with the prime minister facing questions about turning the tide in 12 weeks. it is now well researched that it the scientific advisory group that plays a major role in the immune advises the government, we have heard some of the social distancing system. i've been campaigning for measures may have to be in place for that for some years, for the around a year. there will be a sense recognition that we have a problem with deficiency. so this is of getting clarity out of the prime minister on all the issues, measures something people can look up and for employees and the measures for ta ke something people can look up and take themselves as a supplement. i'm wages. for how long this crisis sorry to cut you off, it is so good might last and for what is being to talk to you, thank you very much done to make sure the social indeed so much for your time. a distancing measures the government retired gpjoining indeed so much for your time. a is urging us to do voluntarily, retired gp joining us indeed so much for your time. a retired gpjoining us there indeed so much for your time. a retired gp joining us there from edinburgh. good afternoon, you are whether they will do more to force people to do it, quite frankly?” watching bbc news. later on this whether they will do more to force people to do it, quite frankly? i am wondering if you have been talking afternoon, we are expecting to hear to politicians perhaps from any more details from the chancellor, rishi sunak, who is believed to be party, anything actually, pubs, bars and party, anything actually, pubs, bars a nd restau ra nts party, anything actually, pubs, bars and restaurants should have been ordered to close? what business is announcing emergency measures aimed at protecting millions ofjobs during this pandemic and what would going to close down perhaps unless be an unprecedented move. the state they are told they have to. they need to make money? absolutely, you would step in to pay the wages of private companies to try to stop thousands of them from going bust. couple that with the economic impact we are waiting for those details, and companies are struggling to stay for that announcement, we hope to afloat. you can see where that hear more from the chancellor in the conclusion comes from. we had the next little while, alongside the prime minister, boris johnson, boss of wetherspoon is saying he is next little while, alongside the prime minister, borisjohnson, at the daily news briefing. we will be not planning on closing at the hearing from them and as soon as moment because he doesn't think he that starts, we will bring that needs to, quite frankly. that is not straight to you. the view in government, that is not the view in government, that is not the view in government, that is not the view of the experts. the view of with me is adam marshall, director general of the british chambers of commerce, the view of the experts. the view of one of the uk's leading the experts is, stay away from business organisations. places where potentially large groups can gather. but there is a thanks for your time. what are you momentum amongst some in the hoping to hear in the next couple of political world that firmer action on that front needs to be taken. we hours from rishi sunak? we would had from the shadow health secretary, john ashworth, saying like him to come up with some bold and decisive moves to support our exactly that, maybe the time has business communities. there are many come now. all right, thank very much. tough decisions being taken up and let's cross live to downing street. down the uk and businesses and we have to get cash to the front and today i am joined by the chancellor quickly. so many firms have of the exchequer rishi sunak and chief medical officer. yesterday i employees and suppliers they need to pay and they are not seeing where the revenues are going to come from said the mission of this government to turn the tide of coronavirus over the coming weeks as we go into within three months and i want to a period of shutdown and social distancing. they are in need of that repeat that determination today. we support and we'd like to see the are going to do it with testings, chancellor bringing that forward medicines and digital technology soon. that will help us to see the disease also i'm joined byjohnny kelly, who runs the fir trees hotel in stra bane. as it is transmitted and thereby the hospitality industry is so badly eliminating it, to stamp it out. hit, we know, just explain first of above all now, we are going to defeat this disease with a huge, all for our viewers what your situation is right now. yes, national effort to slow the spread by reducing unnecessary social absolutely the hospitality sector has been absolutely devastated here contact. i want to thank everybody right across the north of ireland. for following the guidance we issued on monday, to stay—at—home for seven our situation right now is that we days, if you think you have the are preparing for closure. we have symptoms, 14 days if anyone in your household has either of the informed all our 55 staff over the symptoms. a new, continuous cough or la st 24 informed all our 55 staff over the last 24 hours that the doors will a high temperature, avoid pubs, bars close for a temporary period tomorrow morning. we will further and clubs and restaurants, work from communicate over the course of home if at all possible. keep tomorrow exactly the impact on washing your hands. i know it has been tough and i know it has been staff, wages and remuneration going inconvenient, but these actions that we are all taking together or forward. so we too await the helping to take the strain off our chancellor's communication tonight, nhs. bit by bit, day by day, by your and as already indicated, we do believe that it needs to be bold, it actions, your restraint and your needs to be exceptional, it needs to sacrifice, we are putting this country in a better and stronger be caring, as the government has position where we will be able to articulated over the course of this save literally thousands of lives of week. just to clarify as well, are you having to lay off staff, have people of all ages. people who don't you having to lay off staff, have you already done it? what is your deserve to die now, people whose approach to your employees well, my lives can, must and will be saved. approach to your employees well, my approach to your employees well, my approach to the employees has been and as we take these actions together and as we make these consta nt approach to the employees has been constant communication over the course of this week, we have sacrifices, we can see the impact on indicated the need for closure. that the real economy already. fantastic need has been brought about by the british companies already under huge everdiminishing need has been brought about by the ever diminishing business, primarily since the government announcement strain, big and small. workers, finding that theirjobs are under for all patrons to avoid public threat or going through no fault of places such as pubs, restaurants and their own. and to all of them, we, hotels. the industry has completely depleted over the course of this in government say, we will stand by week. it has happened at a very, you. i say that two companies, remember ourjoint objective to beat very rapid pace. therefore at this point in time, we do not have the this virus. and we will do business coming through our doors to everything in our power to help and sustain a profitable operation. so injusta minute, rishi is going as faras we sustain a profitable operation. so as far as we are concerned, as from everything in our power to help and injust a minute, rishi is going to explain how we are going to help tomorrow morning, all of our workers of all kinds to get through employees have been informed that this crisis, supporting you directly they have been laid off from their ina way this crisis, supporting you directly in a way that government has never done before. in addition to the employment for a temporary basis. we package that we've already set out have indicated to them this could go for business. of course, these on for a period of 12 weeks. we say 12 weeks because the prime minister measures are intended, the steps yesterday indicated that's how long that we are taking are intended to be temporary. and of course, i am this particular situation could confident that in time the uk prevail for. we hope it is shorter economy is going to bounce back. of course it is. but i must be than that. and to make it very, very absolutely clear with you. the speed clear, we have had a very strong and of our eventual recovery depends profitable business and we hope to entirely on our ability, our get back there directly after the collective ability to get on top of period of 12 weeks. the market the virus now. and that means we hasn't gone away, the market has have to take the next steps on scientific advice and following our been suspended, for this period of uncertainty. adam marshall, that is plan, we are strengthening the measures announced on monday which typical, sadly, for those workers of so typical, sadly, for those workers of you will remember. already people so many businesses across the uk. have made a huge effort to comply that is why this is a major with those measures for avoiding challenge for the government, isn't it? how does it pay for all this? unnecessary social contact. but we need now to push down further on absolutely right because what we are that curve of transmission between seeing in so many businesses, they have seen no seeing in so many businesses, they have seen no source seeing in so many businesses, they us. and so, following agreement have seen no source of income and they still have all these outgoings to pay. one thing the government could do extremely quickly and between all the four nations of the extremely simply would be to suspend united kingdom, the devolved some of the payments that businesses administrations, we are collectively need to make to the taxman. telling cafes, bars, pubs and companies are coming up on vat restau ra nts telling cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants to close tonight as soon payments, pay as you earn payments, as they reasonably can and not to national insurance, business rates, we need to spend those payments for open tomorrow. though, to be clear a period because all businesses that can still maintain themselves as a going concern would much rather be they can continue to provide take out services. we are also telling paying their employees and their suppliers rather than be paying anyone else at this particular moment. because that's what's going nig htclu bs out services. we are also telling nightclubs theatres, cinemas, gyms to keep the economy going. johnny and leisure centres to close on the kelly, what about those measures the chancellor announced a few days ago, and lots of loans on offer, was that same timescale. these are places package of any use to you and other where people come together and hoteliers you know? well, to be indeed, the whole purpose in many quite frank, i think a lot of this cases, of these businesses, is to notion of providing cheap money bring people together. but the sad thing is, i am afraid for now, right now, i do not believe it will physically we need to keep people help a lot of businesses. there is apart. i want to stress that we will no appetite out there in the current review the situation each month to climate to increase the levels of borrowing. what companies need right see if we can relax any of these now is support to pay their measures. listening to what i have workforce will stop the previous just said, some people may, of speaker was absolutely right, the government can do more things to course, be tempted to go out tonight. i say to you, please don't. suspend bills such as tax exposure you may think you are invincible, but there is no guarantee that you orto suspend bills such as tax exposure or to defer tax exposure, but the reality is now that most companies will get mild symptoms and you can wa nt reality is now that most companies want to know how to treat their long 00:41:49,467 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 serving employees, how still be a carrier of the disease and pass it on to others. so that is why, as far as possible, we want you to stay at home. that is how we can protect our nhs and save lives. to repeat, i know how difficult it is and how it seems to go against the freedom loving instincts of the british people. and i also know, i also know how much right now workers and businesses deserve the financial reassurance we are giving you. but we will get through this, we will get through it together and we will beat this virus. and to ram that point home, the more effectively we follow the advice we are given, the faster this country will stage both medical an economic recovery in full. thank you very much, i am going to pass now to rishi, who will explain some of the financial support for workers. thank you, prime minister. good afternoon. the economic intervention i am announcing today is unprecedented in the history of the british state. combined with our previous announcements on public services and business support, our planned economic response will be one of the most comprehensive in the world. let me speak directly to people's concerns. i know people are worried about losing theirjobs, concerns. i know people are worried about losing their jobs, about concerns. i know people are worried about losing theirjobs, about not being able to pay the rent or mortgage. about not having enough set by for food and bills. i know that some people in the last few days have already lost theirjobs. to all those at home right now, anxious about the days ahead, i say this, you will not face this alone. but getting through this will require a collective, national effort with a role for everyone to play. people, businesses, government. it is on all of us. to meet our efforts, i am announcing measures unprecedented for a government for this nation. our plan forjobs and incomes will protect people's jobs, offer forjobs and incomes will protect people'sjobs, offer more forjobs and incomes will protect people's jobs, offer more generous support to those who are without employment, strengthen the safety net for those who work for themselves and help people stay in their homes. the first part of our plan is to protect people's jobs. this week, the government has taken unprecedented steps to fight the coronavirus. we have closed schools, we have told people to stay at home to prevent the spread of infection. we are now closing shops, restau ra nts a nd we are now closing shops, restaurants and bars. those steps are restaurants and bars. those steps a re necessary to restaurants and bars. those steps are necessary to save lives. but we don't do this lightly, we know these measures will have a significant economic impact. i have a responsibility to make sure we protect, as far as possible, people's jobs and incomes. protect, as far as possible, people'sjobs and incomes. today, i can announce that for the first time in our history, the government is going to step in and help to pay people's wages. we are setting up a new coronavirus job retention scheme. any employer in the country, small or large, charitable or nonprofit, will be eligible for the scheme. employers will be able to contact hmrc for a grant to cover most of the wages of people who are not working but are kept on payroll rather than being laid off. government grants will cover 80% of the salary of retained workers up to a total of £2500 a month. that is just above the median income. and of course, employers can top up salaries further if they choose to. that means workers in any part of the uk can retain theirjob, even if their employer cannot afford to pay them and be paid at least 80% of their salary. the coronavirus job retention scheme will cover the cost of wages, backdated to march the 1st and will be open initially for at least three months and i will extend the scheme for longer if necessary. iam the scheme for longer if necessary. i am placing the scheme for longer if necessary. iam placing no the scheme for longer if necessary. i am placing no limit on the amount of funding available for this scheme. we will pay grants to support as many jobs scheme. we will pay grants to support as manyjobs as necessary. and can! support as manyjobs as necessary. and can i put on record, my thanks to the trade union contracts, the cbi to the trade union contracts, the cb! and other business groups for our constructive conversations. we said we would stand together with the british people and we meant it. we have never had a scheme in our country like this before and we are having to build our systems from scratch. i can assure you that hmrc are working night and day to get the scheme up and running and we expect the first grants to be paid within weeks and we are aiming to get it done before the end of april. but i know many businesses are hurting now. i have already —— already taken extraordinary measures to make cash available to businesses through loans, grants and guarantees. i can announce the coronavirus business interruption loa n coronavirus business interruption loan scheme will not be interest free as previously planned for six months, it will be interest free for 12 months. thanks to the enormous effo rts 12 months. thanks to the enormous efforts of our critical financial services sector, those loans will now be available starting on monday. and i will announce further measures next week on top of those the governor and i have already taken to ensure that large and medium—sized businesses can also access the credit they need. i'm also announcing today for cash flow support through the tax system, to help businesses pay people and keep them in work. i am differing the next quarter of vat payments. —— deferring. no business will pay any vat from now until the end ofjune and you will have until the end of the financial year to repay those bills. that is a direct injection of over £30 billion of cash to businesses, equivalent to 1.5% of gdp. let me speak directly to businesses. i know it is incredibly difficult out there. we in government are doing everything we can to support you. we are paging —— paying people's wages up to 80% so someone can be furloughed rather than paid off, to protect thejobs, deferring over £30 billion of taxes until the end of the financial year, lending unlimited sums of money interest free for 12 months, abolishing business rates altogether this year if you are in hospitality, retail and leisure, we are providing cash grants of £25,000 for small business properties. the government is doing its best to stand behind you, and! is doing its best to stand behind you, and i am asking you to do your best to stand behind our workers. we are launching in the coming days a major national advertising campaign to communicate the available business support for businesses and people. please look very carefully at that support for making any decisions the lay people off. it is on all of us. we are starting a great national effort to protect jobs. but the truth is, we are already seeing job losses. and there may be more to come. i cannot promise you that no one will face hardship in the weeks ahead. so we will also act to protect you if the worst happens. to strengthen the safety net, i am increasing today the universal credit standard allowa nce for the universal credit standard allowance for the next 12 months by £1000 a year. for the next 12 months, i'm increasing the working tax credit basic element by the same amount as well. together, these measures will benefit over 4 million of our most vulnerable households. and i'm strengthening the safety net for self—employed people too by suspending the minimum income floor for everyone affected by the economic impact of coronavirus. that means self—employed people can now access, in full, means self—employed people can now access, infull, universal credit means self—employed people can now access, in full, universal credit at access, in full, universal credit at a rate equivalent to statutory sick pay for employees. ta ken a rate equivalent to statutory sick pay for employees. taken together, i'm announcing nearly £7 billion of extra support through the welfare system, to strengthen the safety net and protect people's incomes. and to support the self—employed through the tax system, i'm also announcing today that the next self—assessment payments will be deferred to january 2021. as well as keeping people in work and supporting those who lose theirjobs and work work and supporting those who lose their jobs and work for work and supporting those who lose theirjobs and work for themselves, our plan forjobs and incomes will help keep a roof over your head. we've acted already to make sure homeowners can get a three month mortgage holiday if they need it. i'm announcing today nearly £1 billion of support for renters by increasing the generosity of housing benefit and universal credit so that the local housing allowance will cover at least 30% of market rents in yourarea. the cover at least 30% of market rents in your area. the actions i've taken today represent an unprecedented economic intervention to support the jobs and incomes of the british people. a new, comprehensivejob retention scheme and are significantly strengthened safety net. unprecedented measures for unprecedented times. let me close with one final observation. now, more than at any time in our history, we will be judged more than at any time in our history, we will bejudged by more than at any time in our history, we will be judged by our capacity for compassion. our ability to come through this will notjust be down to what government or businesses do, but by the individual a cts businesses do, but by the individual acts of kindness that we show each other. the small business who does everything they can knock to lay off their staff. the student who does their staff. the student who does the shopping for their elderly neighbour. the retired nurse who volu nteers neighbour. the retired nurse who volunteers to cover some shifts in their local hospital. when this is over, and it will be over, we want to look back on this moment and remember the many small acts of kindness done by us and to us. we wa nt to kindness done by us and to us. we want to look back on this time and remember how we thought first of others and acted with decency. we wa nt to others and acted with decency. we want to look up —— might look back on this time and remember how in the face of a generation defining moment, we undertook a collective national effort and we stood together. it is on all of us. thank you. thank you very much, rishi. jenny, is there anything you want to say at this stage? perhaps you could help us field any questions from the scientific and medical point of view as they come. alex forsyth from the bbc? thank you very much. the measures you've announced will have a significant impact notjust on business but on people's lives. can you tell us, what has changed that has made you introduce these measures now? how long, if you can, do you see these measures lasting and how do you plan to enforce them? chancellor, you talk about unprecedented measures you are taking, how can you be sure the tax and welfare system can cope to ensure the support goes to the people who need it and needed quickly? alex, what we are doing todayis quickly? alex, what we are doing today is really enforcing what we set out in the fourth part of our advice on monday. i think people made a huge effort in the last four or five days to comply. we saw big reductions in people attending some pubs, a lot of pubs across the country, a lot of efforts were made by people to reduce unnecessary social contact. but it was becoming clear that in order to drive that curve down, to reduce the unnecessary social gatherings by 7596, unnecessary social gatherings by 75%, which is what the science tells us we need to do to have an impact on that curve, then we need now to be making it absolutely clear that we are going to enforce these closures, and so that's the pubs, clu bs closures, and so that's the pubs, clubs and bars and so on i mentioned, in addition to gyms, leisure centres and so on. now, how are we going to enforce it well, clearly, there are licensing arrangements that will make it relatively simple to do, should that really be necessary. i think in reality, and we will enforce it strictly, but in reality i think everybody can see the imperative of doing what is necessary of protecting our nhs and saving lives. rishi? alex, you're absolutely right to ask the question. when i here earlier i said it's easy for me to stand here and announce things, but i want to make sure the help i'm announcing can get to the people that we want to benefit from it. so that's why, as we have thought about what we are doing, there are various ways you can design job support schemes and there are various ways we can get extra money into our welfare system to strengthen the safety net. we have deliberately focused on scheme design and particular policies that we know are easy to operationalise quickly. there are many ideas that people have about how to do all these things and we've been looking through all of them but i would put unrecognised thanks to the staff at hmrc and the department for work and pensions. they themselves will be under enormous operating pressure under enormous operating pressure under the coming weeks and months, like all of us and every business, so we as i said, we specifically designed this scheme to work in a way that minimises the operational complexity, and similarly with the welfare interventions we've made, we have deliberately picked those that are absolutely the easiest and most straightforward and require the least manual intervention. the daily mail? thank you, prime minister. could we get to a stage where nhs workers have to choose who to try and save because there are not enough ventilators? and it is mother's day this sunday, are you urging people to stay away from your mothers, and will you seeing yours? on the first question about clinical judgments, doctors in the nhs and clinicians already have been making very difficultjudgments, but our objective and the want of this whole campaign is to make sure we flatten the curve, as we've been saying repeatedly over the last couple of weeks, but also that we lift up the line of nhs resilience and capability. that means there is a massive effort going on right now to ensure that we do have enough ventilators, enough i see you —— enough intensive care units. that is why it is vital that people follow the measures we have outlined. as for mother's day, i think my advice would be that people should really think very carefully, irrespective of whether they are visiting their mothers, any elderly person who may be in mothers, any elderly person who may beina mothers, any elderly person who may be in a vulnerable group, it doesn't matter if they are necessarily over 70, the issue is whether they are in one of the vulnerable groups, think very carefully about the risk of transmission of the virus, and follow the advice, look at the medical advice. our follow the advice, look at the medicaladvice. ouradvice follow the advice, look at the medical advice. our advice is that elderly people, people with serious underlying health conditions, people in the later stages of pregnancy, you have to be careful about the transmission of the virus. and i'm sure people will handle that advice accordingly. and i'm in regular contact with all members of my family. but i will be working very ha rd family. but i will be working very hard on sunday, i can tell you that much. i will certainly speak sending her my very best wishes and hope to get to see her. prime minister, there has been an escalation in the measures you have been recommending and advising and now ordering. are we going to get to a stage when there are further measures you are considering, including potentially limiting transport and movement of people around the country? and to the chancellor, will this wage protection scheme cover those on zero—hour contracts heulwen ar y maes fory! if so, given that so many of them do not have a set salary every month, how will the witches be determined and who will determine them? on transport, i don't know if you were here yesterday, transport is fundamental to our ability to deliver vital public services. i was pretty clear that we don't want to immobilise the tube or major transport networks. it's just too important for the delivery of crucial public services. and on those, everyone who is covered by this scheme, covers everyone who is on the pay as you earn system through a company. we are publishing guidance shortly. depending on your particular contract, it might be different depending on who you are, zero hours covers a variety of different situations but it may be that you are on a pay as you earn scheme and have a set of regular earnings and it will be covered depending on your circumstance. i cannot generalise for the employment status of everyone but in general, our desire here is to cover as broad a range of people as possible, wanting to make it as compare heads ofa wanting to make it as compare heads of a scheme as possible for those in employment, which is why we haven't limited it by company, sector or size of business, we targeted it to do it as wide as we can. chancellor, he have announced an extraordinarily large package today. do you have a sense of how much it'll cost per month and i presume it will be funded by borrowing? so can you guarantee this package will be available up to 18 months, which some of the scientific study suggest is the duration we might be facing? millions of children broke up today for the last time from school, could you be crystal clear about what children should and should not do from monday? can they go to the park, go to the playground and have play dates with their friends, i know there is a lot of confusion out there? prime minister, sky news has talked to a senior medical emergency consultant in a hospital in south london today and he is warning of the dangers ahead, the fact they are not set up for the huge amount of ventilators needed. the disbelief they feel with the queues outside supermarkets with people too close together. they are worried we could be ina together. they are worried we could be in a situation worse than italy and upset at the falsely placed optimism they see from some politicians. what is your message to that? it is a significant intervention and our intention is to finance the package through the government's normal debt management operations. as we have already amounts to, the debt management office are to publish a comprehensive update to the guild financing remit and that will be donein financing remit and that will be done in april. and the dmo and treasury and bank of england are coordinating closely. treasury and bank of england are coordinating closelylj treasury and bank of england are coordinating closely. i think there should be some guidance published today from the department for education which has had clinical and scientific input. the basic strand running through these measures is about social distancing and reducing the totality of our social interactions. it applies to children, just as the rest of us, but also there is a balance between maiming physical and mental well— being when we maiming physical and mental well—being when we are going through quite a stressful period for all of us. for children who are at home, a family or household group usually has the same sort of exposure risk. but nicely, it is ok for them to play together in their own home environment, kick a ball around play together in their own home environment, kicka ballaround in the garden, if they have one. we're not saying don't go outside but we are saying, if you go outside go in are saying, if you go outside go in a way which reduces your social contact. for children, there is a safety issue the safeguarding one. we don't want to suggest a small charge to go off on a solitary walk across the park, but with appropriate supervision, budding children, keeping two metres apart, go out for a bike ride and that is fine. in many ways, we would encourage that. but there are some simple principles, make sure you hang on to your own bike, your own equipment and wash your hands regularly and if you have a cough and sneezes, use a tissue. all the things we have encouraging people to do. the weather is getting better, we want children to be exercising but to do so not in groups. one of theissues but to do so not in groups. one of the issues is, where you have team games, for example, it is notjust the game itself which can be problematic, so i would not encourage those, but it is the social element around it. if everybody turns up in shared cars, thatis everybody turns up in shared cars, that is not the thing to do. but if everybody tried to go to a cafe or re sta u ra nt everybody tried to go to a cafe or restaurant afterwards, not a good thing to do. cut down on the social connections. sam, on your last question, i don't think anybody in government can be accused of underestimating the scale of the crisis this country now faces. it is perfectly obvious when you look at the gradient of the disease that we have a real threat now to our country, to the ability of our nhs to manage it and unless we get this right, we are going to see thousands of lives lost needlessly. but we have an opportunity, as i have said, to get on top of it and make sure we turn the tide. and to do that, we have got to follow the advice we have got to follow the advice we have been given. that is why we are taking the measures we are today and thatis taking the measures we are today and that is why we are vital that people do avoid unnecessary social contact. on that is why we are closing the pubs and bars in the theatres and so on, because we need now to stop the velocity of circulation of this disease. i made it very clear to the country we will take exceptional measures to do that. but we are also taking exceptional measures to help and compensate those who are adversely, economically affected by what we have to do as a country. i think everybody understands the two halves of this. everybody understands that people in employment, businesses, workers, everybody is making a huge sacrifice now to protect the lives of people who are vulnerable to coronavirus. it is absolutely vital and right that the government should stand behind those businesses and those workers as well. that is what we are doing today. on your second point about supermarkets. i answered that yesterday and i make the same point again, ithink yesterday and i make the same point again, i think people should shop reasonably and considerately. we do have fantastic supply chains and we are having another meeting with the supermarkets tomorrow. i am chairing another meeting with the supermarkets tomorrow. they are very confident they can get the stuff from farm to fork, as everybody should just shop reasonably and be considerate of others. francis elliott, the times? rishi sunak, you mentioned shops, will they be forced to close, didn't appear on the list that was mentioned by the prime minister? and jenny harris, that was mentioned by the prime minister? andjenny harris, can that was mentioned by the prime minister? and jenny harris, can you update us on how we are doing with protective personal equipment, that is something that is deeply concerning. mrjohnson, is something that is deeply concerning. mr johnson, can't is something that is deeply concerning. mrjohnson, can't you just say in simple terms, what you think about people who are ignoring the advice, he resisted the temptation yesterday to say they we re temptation yesterday to say they were behaving immoral. do you think if people are not following this advice, they are behaving immoral? just very specifically, the less the prime minister gave and jenny outlined as a specific list, i was talking in general terms but there isa talking in general terms but there is a category places where social contact happens which is significant to the spread of the virus. i meant very specifically the places that she and the prime minister had referred to already. yes, it is very much those areas where people are gathering for social reasons. in many ways they are encouraging the spread of the disease by virtue of those establishments. restaurants, cafes, bars are where you are meeting but we recognise how difficult it is for people's lives. so having take out facilities means food supplies will continue and that applies very much to supermarkets obviously and other shops. it is leisure centres, if you are exercising outside, that is fine. but inside is not appropriate so their leisure centres will close. it is areas where you can imagine purposely for social gathering, which are the ones we are most keen to reduce the social interactions. so, the country has a perfectly adequate supply of personal protection equipment at the moment, it encompasses gowns, masks, gloves and all sorts of things. there have been, ithink and all sorts of things. there have been, i think some differential deliveries, if you like, in some areas which has caused a degree of concern recently and that is resolved now. what we have done in the last 36 hours is set up an entirely separate ppe oversight and supply chain which allows hospitals, but we need to be clear, there are other workers in the care system who are equally important and will allow that appropriate management to ensure that the supply and demand is there. i think we do need to be really clear, this is an unprecedented health event for this country. so it is not unlikely we will have found pressure in the early days were an individual hospital, or individual trust organisation has had to suddenly mmp organisation has had to suddenly ramp up its demand. at that supply is there and running alongside that is there and running alongside that isa is there and running alongside that is a call to arms of ventilators and testing as well to make sure we are exploring every avenue and opportunity to keep those supplies coming through. on your moral point, i don't want to get into moral name—calling and so on, but i do accept what we are doing is extraordinary. we are taking away the ancient right of free bone people of the united kingdom to go to the pub. i understand how people feel about that, but i say to people who do go against the advice we are giving, the clear advice we are getting from medical and scientific experts, you know, you are not only putting your own life and the lives of yourfamily putting your own life and the lives of your family at risk, you are endangering the community and you are making it more difficult for us to get on and protect the nhs and save lives. if you comply, if people comply, as i say, we will not only save thousands of lives, but we will come out of this thing over faster. tom newton dunn, the sun newspaper. thank you, prime minister. by closing pubs and restaurants, is there not a considerable risk what you will do immediately is push many people into their own homes, they we re people into their own homes, they were just have big parties, you will not ban parties, or are you? what is your advice to young people not to gather in groups of a hundred and in the same amount behind closed doors? and chancellor, the one element of society you missed out with this is charities, the voluntary sector. although you are covering their wages, charity income is down 40% since the start of this in only a couple of weeks. they have asked for a bailout as well, will you consider that? thank you, in terms of support for the charity sector, the significant business rate relief schemes we are operating in the last week or two will certainly benefit them. iam week or two will certainly benefit them. i am sure it will give them direct cash flow benefit and they are direct cash flow benefit and they a re covered by direct cash flow benefit and they are covered by today's intervention. which i would underscore, is significant. more support for volu nta ry significant. more support for voluntary groups, which is something iam voluntary groups, which is something i am actively talking to the secretary of state for communities about and as we try to look after the most vulnerable in our communities, we will increase funding for local voluntary groups to help with that. it is something we are actively looking at. but to underline more broadly, the scheme i have outlined today is unprecedented in scope and scale for a british government and it is an enormous commitment by us to british jobs and workers, this is going to be difficult but we are with you through this and we are doing absolutely everything we can to support yourjobs absolutely everything we can to support your jobs and absolutely everything we can to support yourjobs and support your income is through this time. and on your point about young people, obviously we cannot forbid every form of socialising between human beings. of course we are not doing that. but on the other hand, what we are saying is that the risk is, not just for young people, but the risk is they will become vectors of the disease for older relatives with potentially fatal consequences. we ask people to think about that. that's why we are taking the steps that we are taking, the decisive steps we are taking, despite places that invite people to socialise and that invite people to socialise and thatis that invite people to socialise and that is why we have issued the strong advice we have. i really hope everybody takes it. we are going to have to wrap up now because we have more things to go away and do. two important things i hope you will ta ke important things i hope you will take away from today, two important bits of news. yes, we are telling pubs, bars, restaurants, clubs to close, gyms and leisure centres, we are telling them to close. it is a huge wrench to do that. everybody understands that. it is heartbreaking to think of the businesses that will face difficulties as a result of the measures this country has had to take. but that is why we are also, simultaneously announcing a quite exceptional package of support. not just for businesses, but for individual workers. and our message to business is, we will stand behind you and we hope you will stand behind your workers. and to the country, this time it is different. we all remember what happened in 2008. this time we want to make sure, as we heal the economic damage this is causing, that we put the people first. thank you all very much. extremely wide ranging announcements from the prime minister and from the chancellor, significant announcements tonight. some social and some financial. if you are just joining us here, that evening. a lengthy news conference and some very important announcements. let us recap briefly those key points announced by boris johnson. recap briefly those key points announced by borisjohnson. in terms of social measure has come up. restaurants across the country are going to close. borisjohnson said the measures will be reviewed on a monthly basis. although outlets will be able to offer home delivery services. theatres, cinemas also affected, night clubs, gyms and leisure centres, also told they must close. this is having a huge economic impact in an effort to plug the gap in the economy. the chancellor announced the creation of the coronavirus job retention scheme. this will allow employers to apply for a grant, they apply for it via hmrc and it will cover wages. the grants will cover 80% of an employee's salary, up to a maximum of £2500 a month. those are the key points. let's talk to our political correspondent nick eardley in downing street. size of business, we targeted it to do it as wide as we can. a quick thought about the social issues, pubs clubs and restaurants to shop. the prime minister was asked what has changed the means you are now telling businesses to close? we didn't really get an answer on changed, but it is happening. absolutely. there has been a lot of pressure for that to happen, certainly in london, if you walk around the streets just now, a lot of restau ra nts a nd around the streets just now, a lot of restaurants and bars are still open, still have a number of people in them. clearly the government now thinks it has got to a stage where to halt the spread of the virus it is essential to tell them to close completely. we do have a full list roughly of who is going to close. food and drink venues, pubs, bars and clubs, cinemas, gyms, casinos, museums and galleries, a huge change to how the economy is going to work. you might have heard the chancellor mentioned shops closing. that's not the case, that's not happening, i think that was a slip—up, number ten have been very clear that shops are absolutely not closing. but clearly, mixture of the scientific advice saying we need to do more to flatten the curve, to stop the spread of the virus, and some of the pressure to make the advice clearer rather than just say to people please don't go to pubs and restaurants, now saying to pubs and restaurants, now saying to them, you can't do it, they are closing. also a clear message from the government that they don't want people to go out tonight for a final point or a glass of wine, the message is that comes in right away. for now, we will leave it there, we arejust going to for now, we will leave it there, we are just going to stay with that theme because talking about all the pubs and restaurants that must close across the country immediately. we can speak to our correspondent helena wilkinson who is in central london for us. i think you are in leicester square? if people don't know, it is a key tourist area, very busy. how many people have you seen? the prime minister said please don't go out for a last—minute friday night drinking session before all these rules come in. yes, it feels very strange to be standing in the middle of leicester square, the heart of london, on a friday evening and it is nearly deserted. there are some bars that we've seen, some pubs around this area where there are still people in there and they are drinking, they clearly haven't heard the latest news. but there are a lot of venues, you can probably see the cinema just behind us, that is shut, it has been shut for a while now. there are lots of other restaurants and pubs around here which are com pletely and pubs around here which are completely closed as well. so it is very quiet indeed walking around the streets of london, and pub owners, restau ra nt streets of london, and pub owners, restaurant owners who haven't shot already are going to be digesting this news tonight and are going to have to follow the government's advice. we heard borisjohnson saying that he is telling, tonight, pubs, bars, restaurants and cafe is all too close to night as soon as possible as they reasonably can unknot to open tomorrow. and also worth repeating as well, night clu bs, worth repeating as well, night clubs, theatres, cinemas, gyms and leisure centres also to close on the same timescale. this is going to be devastating financially for all these businesses, of course. and also people around this area trying to digest these latest extraordinary restrictions that have been announced in the last ten minutes or so by the prime minister. and a sign again, really, that these latest restrictions are an indication of just how the impact, the staggering impact that this virus is having on all of our lives. absolutely. helena, thank you very much. helena wilkinson in a deserted leicester square in central london. let's hear the reaction from business now, and i'm joined by rain newton—smith, chief economist at the cbi. that scheme to pay the wages of employees up to 80%. well, your thoughts first of all about some really big changes there? look, it's a huge moment for the country. and i think first and foremost this is about protecting as many lives as possible. we've seen our health services and everyone getting behind the measures that the prime minister set out. but what i think is so important is what has happened over the past few days is businesses around the country, the treasury, the bank of england, the trade unions, what we've been doing is absolutely focusing on protecting as manyjobs absolutely focusing on protecting as many jobs and livelihoods absolutely focusing on protecting as manyjobs and livelihoods as we go through these coming weeks, and that is what you've seen. these are people standing together to make sure we protect jobs, people standing together to make sure we protectjobs, and the treasury will now be paying 80% of people's salaries. if businesses are ina people's salaries. if businesses are in a position where they cannot keep them in full—time work. so 80% of their salaries will be paid. that is hugely important. we are also absolutely working with the banks, with uk finance, with the bank of england, to make sure that finance is available for every business, no matter what size you are, from a very small shop and cafe to the very big businesses. we are all standing together to make sure the health of our economy comes out of the other side of what we know is going to be a challenging time. as i understand it, there is no time limit on this, imean it, there is no time limit on this, i mean you will know more than me, but is the chancellor announcing something that could go on for months? i think for the moment, the support for people's salaries is for three months but i think what's been very clear from the action the chancellor has ta ken very clear from the action the chancellor has taken is that he is prepared to do whatever it takes. that is sensible to have those measures in place for now because we have to see what happens with the virus and how long these social distancing measures need to be in place. i think for now, three months is enough. he's also been very clear, that will cover payroll from the 1st of march, obviously everyone will work hard to get the system up and running as soon as possible. the cbi and running as soon as possible. the cb! and others will play a huge role in that campaign to communicate to everyone, and that's what i would say to everyone whether you are a small business or a very large one, you can go to your bank and the government is backing ways in which you can find the finance you need to make it through these coming weeks, and we are going to help to communicate how those different mechanisms work. and in terms of getting that 80% of salary paid, it is done by the employer applying to hmrc for a grant. do we know yet, is it clear, what about those people who have already been let go? we all know there is plenty of them, reg retta bly. know there is plenty of them, regrettably. if you are on the payroll as of the 28th of february and then you have been let go in that period since then, the company can apply for you on your behalf. so anyone who was employed as of the 28th of february who is on that company's 28th of february who is on that compa ny‘s payroll. so 28th of february who is on that company's payroll. so i think they have really worked hard to make sure they are protecting people who have already faced some really challenging times just because what businesses are facing at the moment. rain newton—smith, thank you so much. there is so much more i could ask you. i apologise, time is tight because we are heading up to the six o'clock news. the view of the cbi there. let's get some closing thoughts from our political correspondent nick eardley. just your thoughts, talking now about the financial package, about the scale of this, the nature of this, a conservative government paying at least 80% of the wage bill for private companies. it is colossal, isn't it? something you would never expected from this government. clearly, the chancellor and the prime minister have decided that suchis prime minister have decided that such is the unprecedented nature of the coronavirus crisis that they have to take this really radical action. huge state intervention, basically taking on the payroll of potentially hundreds of thousands of people across the country will stop saying to them we are going to stand behind you to make sure that companies can try and keep you on their books for as long as possible. it is worth briefly mentioning some of the other things that were in there as well as the salary announcement. big increase in the amount of money going into the social security budget, more money for people on universal credit, and also a bit more support for businesses on tax relief, on vat deferrals and things like this. this isa deferrals and things like this. this is a massive intervention from the government. nick eardley, in downing street. in addition to all those measures announced by the government in the last little while, there has been tonight a stark warning from the world health organization, which is saying that young people are not taking this outbreak seriously enough. speaking in the last few minutes, now director—general of the who said that young people are not immune to the virus. one of the things we are learning is that although older people are the hardest hit, younger people are not spared. data from many countries clearly shows that people under 50 make upa clearly shows that people under 50 make up a significant proportion of patients requiring hospitalisation. today, i have a message for young people. you are not invincible. this virus could put you in hospital for weeks. or even kill you. if you don't get sick, the choices you make about where you go could be the difference between life and death for someone else. i'm grateful that so many young people are spreading the word and not the virus. as i keep saying, solidarity is the key to defeating covid—19. solidarity between countries, but also between age groups. that was the head of the who. you can find out more about the symptoms of coronavirus and how to protect yourself, it is on the bbc news app. and of course our website. much more full analysis of all those extraordinary announcement coming up on the six o'clock news. full analysis of that huge package of measures announced by the chancellor, rishi sunak, and also the prime minister, borisjohnson, saying that many, many businesses now simply must close across the uk. pubs, cabbies, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres must all close. more coming up shortly. —— pubs, cafe is. look at the weather now. not that much to talk about in the weather over the next few days, because we have got high pressure dominating the scene. the weekend looking pretty glorious but it will be chilly, a cold night and a cold breeze. the reason for it, the area of high pressure that will move across scandinavia and the baltic states, bringing this fairly fresh easterly breeze. it will be strongest across eastern and southern coasts. this is where we will see temperatures most impacted. across the south, we have a weather front, it will tend to bring some further cloudy, drizzly weather the devon and cornwall police in dorset. also the channel islands. further north, clear skies, another cold one with a touch of frost, maybe not quite as cold as the previous night. we start off cold but bright, lots of sunshine for saturday. further south, the breeze will be strongest here. the cloud will tend to clear away from the south—west. a fine day for most places. temperatures reaching highs of 11 or 12 celsius across the west but cooler across many eastern coasts. through saturday night, staying dry, clear skies, we could start to see some low cloud rolling in the north sea coasts. a bit of cloud perhaps into the south and for northern ireland. where we have the cloud it is going to be frost free. further north, a touch of frost once again. another chilly start to sunday. starting off with some grey weather across the east coast. that should clear away through the day and most places will be dry and sunny. a bit of cloud. quite a breeze blowing in from the east and the south—east, it will be cooler along southern and eastern coasts. high pressure still dominating into the start of next week, but we start to see france trying to push into the north—west, bringing increasing cloud into the north and west of scotland, outbreaks of rain later and turning windy with gales photo elsewhere, another try one with plenty of sunshine. temperatures ranging from around 8 to sunshine. temperatures ranging from around 8to 10 sunshine. temperatures ranging from around 8 to 10 sources. staying fine and settled throughout the week with the influence of high pressure, many places seeing the sunshine. it will remain on the cool side with chilly nights to come. the devasting effects of coronavirus — pubs, restaurants and gyms are ordered to close as an unprecedented rescue package is unveiled for workers and businesses. the government will pay all employees 80% of their salary up to £2,500 a month. the chancellor said it was one of the most comprehensive set of measures in the world. today, i can announce that, for the first time in our history, the government is going to step in and help to pay people's wages. life as we know it is changing dramatically, with the prime minister urging people to stay at home.

Transcripts For BBCNEWS Breakfast 20200330

and is expected to go into production next week. was coronavirus the final straw? brighthouse, the largest rent—to—own retailer in the country, is close to collapse. 2,500 jobs at risk. we look at the pressure the pandemic is placing on some businesses. england captain harry kane fears the current premier league season won't be completed. kane says if it's not finished by late june, it's time to move on. advice on how to keep calm and carry on from someone who knows — we catch up with d—day veteran and fund raiser harry billinge. remember the good days and that you've got a lot to be thankful for. yesterday, only three places in the uk got into double figures in terms of temperatures. today, a few more well, it's going to be cloudy and cold but not quite as windy. i will have more of it at my new time at 25 past. it's monday 30th march. our top story. 20,000 former nhs staff have returned to work to help the fight against coronavirus, according to the prime minister. borisjohnson, who's self—isolating after contracting the virus, made the announcement in a video online. it comes after one of the government's top medical advisers warned it could be at least six months until life in the uk returns to ‘normal‘.this morning we'll hear from the social care minister and we'll be looking at efforts to support nhs workers as they prepare for the challenges ahead. rich preston has a round—up of the latest developments. it's been a week since boris johnson first said life in the uk will have to be severely restricted but the message from britain's deputy chief medical officer at sunday's downing street press briefing was clear. we need to keep that lid on and then gradually we will be able to hopefully adjust some of the social distancing measures and gradually get us all back to normal. so i think three weeks for review, two or three months to see whether we've really squashed it, but about a 3—6 months, ideally, and lots of uncertainty in that. tweeting from isolation after testing positive for the virus, borisjohnson said the policy was still to delay the spread of the disease and to reduce the strain on the nhs. we are going to do it, we are going to do it together. one thing i think coronavirus crisis has already proved is that there really is such a thing as society. the uk coronavirus death toll passed 1,000 over the weekend. on sunday, it was announced 209 people died in a single 24—hour period. british households will get a letter from the prime minister this week in which he'll remind people to stay at home and protect the nhs and with one clear message — things will get worse before they get better. the uk government has promised to ramp up virus testing in the uk, particularly amongst nhs staff amid pressure to ensure adequate protective equipment for those on the frontline. downing street says measures are in place to keep supplies going to the nhs using the armed forces when needed. the scottish government says it's delivered 3a million items of protective equipment to hospitals across the country and eight weeks‘ worth are going to be delivered upfront to gp surgeries this week. this 750,000 people have volunteered to help the nhs during the coronavirus pandemic, three times the original target. as work continues on the emergency nhs nightingale temporary hospital at london's excel centre. and the news that easyjet and virgin have written to some of their staff to ask them to work at the medical facility. with hundreds of flights cancelled, the airlines say their staff, many of whom are first—aid trained and who've already had security checks carried out on them, can provide vital, nonclinical help to hard pressed nhs staff. rich preston, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent jessica parker is in westminster for us now. jessica — with the prime minister and the health secretary both working from home having being diagnosed with coronavirus, what impact will that have on the government's response this week? we are getting an indication some of this may be be going on for months. interesting to see borisjohnson posting that video from self isolation at his downing street flat, wearing a suit and tie, trying to make the point that despite having tested positive, he is up and about, co—ordinating the government's response. we've seen images of him chairing meetings remotely. we've seen downing street press briefings. likely to see something similar as well. more broadly, looking to the week ahead. this focus on testing. michael gove sang the top priority would be to test those frontline nhs workers, it's going to be a focus on personal protective equipped as well for those people. that letter as well that boris johnson those people. that letter as well that borisjohnson has sent households across the country, that's going to be landing on doormats across the uk, warnings things will get worse before they get it up. the government could look at further restrictions if it thinks it is necessary in something we learned yesterday from the deputy chief medical officer, jenny harris, at the downing street press briefing, restrictions of some kind she said could be with us for about six months. she was stressing that asa six months. she was stressing that as a moving target, it depends on oui’ as a moving target, it depends on our behaviour. she is not saying it's going to be a total lockdown to the period stop could see measures adjusted, lifting the lid here and there. the overall message was that these restrictions could be with us for some time stop we'll be talking to the social care minister at 7:30am this morning. at 7:30am this morning. the spanish government has told all non—essential workers to stay at home for the next eleven days, as part of tighter coronavirus restrictions. 6,500 people in spain have died — more than in any country except italy. 0ur reporter gavin lee has been monitoring the situation across europe from brussels. gavin what's the latest? across europe, there are 380,000 people testing positive for coronavirus. of those, 100,000 are cases in italy in 10,000 people have 110w cases in italy in 10,000 people have now died in italy. at the moment it's hard to detect actual rate given these are confirmed cases because of testing the death rate appears to be 10%, huge and frightening but the good news about italy is the spread of cases today and the number of people being killed per day is, despite its height, slowly reducing. health officials there and in spain and france believe in the next 7—10 days, we will start to see if fall of the peak. 10,000 protective medical suits have arrived in midline from the czech republic, a specialist in biological and chemical weapons, they've already sent last night 10,000 to spain. spain, the doctors there had a huge webcam sharing conference with other doctors around the world and described the situation in that seminar is really distressing and struggling to cope. we're talking about six and a half thousand people dying there, the highest rate yesterday 838 in one day. the hope that spain will start to turn the curve ina that spain will start to turn the curve in a few days' time. you mentioned a few seconds ago, they are closing non—essential businesses, areas like food, journalists, telecommunications, the energy sector. that is the only real thing that will stay open apart from the medical industry and in germany, cases in the last four days have jumped from 30,000 to 60,000. we are starting to see those countries the smaller number really leaping up over the weekend. thank you very much for the latest. speak to you later. a breathing aid that can help keep coronavirus patients out of intensive care has been created in just a few days. the device, which has been developed in collaboration with the mercedes formula one team, delivers oxygen to the lungs without the need for a ventilator. here's our medical correspondent fergus walsh. it's a small device that could make a big difference. known as continuous positive airway pressure, or cpap, it pushes oxygen into the lungs, keeping them open, making it easier to breathe. they're already used in the nhs but are in short supply so a team modified and improved an existing design in less than a week which has now been approved for use by health regulators. normally medical device development would take years and in this instance we've been able to do it in days because we've cleverly thought about how we can go back to existing devices and models, reverse engineer them and then engage with our industry partners to manufacture them at scale. this demonstration was done at university college london hospital, which is now using the device to treat covid—19 patients. i sincerely think it may actually save many lives by preventing patients from needing to go onto a ventilator and again saving that vital resource for the very, very severely ill. every second counts in motor racing. here, mercedes formula 1 partnered with doctors and healthcare engineers on a medical device that could be mass produced. this is a great example of how the nhs, universities and industry are working together at extraordinary pace to meet the challenge posed by coronavirus. if the trials of this device go well, then mercedes formula 1 says it can produce up to 1,000 of these a day. in italy, around half of covid—19 patients given cpap have avoided the need for intensive care, and unlike mechanical ventilators, this there's no need for them to be sedated. fergus walsh, bbc news. just after 6:30am we'll be speaking to dr amir khan, and answering some of your questions about coronavirus. you can email us at bbcbrea kfast@bbc. co. uk or share your thoughts with other viewers on our facebook page. and you can tweet about today's stories using the hashtag #bbcbrea kfast or follow us for the latest from the programme. there is often a healthy discussion. i love the way you describe it. healthy discussion. that's on facebook. i'd also you can watch it on the bbc iplayer later if there is something you missed. we've given you the picture from the uk and across europe. donald trump has announced that the restrictions imposed in the united states to limit the spread of coronavirus will be extended until the end of april. the president had previously said he hoped america could reopen for business at easter. now mr trump says the country will be well on the way to recovering byjune 1. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. this is how america's normally bustling city centres look today. chicago, empty. philadelphia, deserted. and new york city, unusually quiet. everyone ordered to stay at home except essential workers like nurses. and this is how it's going to stay. no more talk of getting back to work by easter. now president trump says social distancing guidelines will be extended to the end of april to slow the spread of covid—19. the peak, the highest point, of death rates, remember this, is likely to hit into weeks. nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won, that would be the greatest loss of all. but many more americans expected to die in the weeks ahead. anthony faucl die in the weeks ahead. anthony fauci, the head of the president's task force, says the disease could kill more than 100,000 people in the us. the idea we may have as many cases played a role in our decision to make sure we don't do something prematurely and pull back when we should be pushing. the president's advisors say it could have been much worse with up to 2 million americans at risk of dying if drastic measures hadn't been taken. if we could hold that down, as we're saying, to 100,000, it's a horrible number, maybe even less, but to 100,000, so we have between 100 and 200,000, we all together have done a very good job. new york is still the epicentre of the outbreak in the us where some health workers are saying there is a desperate shortage of medical supplies. president trump has accused hospitals of hoarding vital equipment such as ventilators which he said should be released for wider use. peter bowes, bbc news. meanwhile, president trump has said the us will not foot the bill for prince harry and meghan‘s security amid reports the pair have moved to the us from canada. mr trump tweeted he was "a great friend and admirer of the queen and the united kingdom", but he added, "they must pay!" the couple responded saying they had no plans to ask for publicly—funded security in the us. british tourists who've been stranded in peru due to the coronavirus outbreak will arrive back in the uk this morning. the government has chartered a further three british airways flights with additional connecting domestic flights to rescue those stuck in the country's lockdown. over 170 people arrived back last week. a lot of people are keeping fit at the moment by following instructors, likejoe wicks or the green goddess, on tv or computer screens. i was going to ask you this, actually. but some residents of hamburg, in germany, can enjoy a live class simply by looking out of their window. let's smile, perfect! ready, ready? 19—year—old fitness instructor pato cervantes is leading a 30—minute workout in the street every morning, in all weathers. 0h, oh, i 0h, ilove oh, i love it. he said he was inspired after seeing his neighbours drinking wine on their balconies and he thought they would prefer some aerobic exercise instead. there are some lovely things going on among the slight madness. you do more exercise than normal. i think i might be doing more exercise than normal indoors, but yes, there is a real kind of crunch going on. we're all changing in so many different ways and trying to in our house about what might be the future and what changes will stay. you know what? and it has only been a week, hasn't it? not even a week, because it was monday, wasn't it? nearly a week. from our children's point of view, it's been a great week. we have done all sorts of things at home, building dens, sleepovers and getting some schoolwork done as well. sleepovers, in your own house? with our own children, yes. they built a big den and slept in it. with our own children, yes. they built a big den and slept in itm is extremely hard as well. incredibly difficult. and we think about this this morning, those stories coming out yesterday about not being in the state of lockdown, however you describe it for six months, things not returning to normalfor six months. that concern you and make you worried and anxious, what will things be like in two or three mark months is do not get in contact with us, any questions or concerns, we have a gp interview coming up as well. if there is anything you really want to get to the bottom of this morning we will try to get to that for you. we've all seen the images of empty supermarket shelves and queues snaking outside supermarkets. demand for food has skyrocketed, and farmers are warning they're facing huge pressure to keep up. so, how are producers coping behind the scenes? 0ur correspondent sian lloyd has been to meet those working hard to keep food in the shops. keeping livestock moving. markets like this play their part in the food supply chain, but it's not business as usual. restrictions have been introduced in line with government advice and have been further tightened since we filmed here. hello. access is controlled and farmers are being told to do things differently. they're very dyed in the wool traditionalists but we are asking them to drop the animals, leave them to us and go, so that we are restricting the amount of people even more. we don't want to be locked down, that is the last thing. it's got to be kept going to keep the public basically fed. those working on the land are facing unprecedented demand. lambing has just begun on this farm with more newborns arriving every day. but the family business is also trying to keep up with a huge increase in demand for potatoes grown here. one of bill's concerns is how future crops will be harvested, and across the agricultural sector there are calls for british people to fill the gaps that will be left by seasonal workers from abroad to keep farming moving. those opportunities are evermore here. it's a bit like the war. the war, farming was kept going by young women, the land girls, and old men. and they kept producing food to keep our boys fed on the front. this site in hereford supplies poultry from its farms to large supermarket chains. the company produces 11.5 million chickens, turkeys and ducks a week. they've been working with their customers to ensure supplies are held up. it was necessary for everybody to get together and say, how do we really be as efficient as we can, so we've worked very closely with our customers to say what we do we need to do quickly? we started making those changes three weeks ago, we're seeing those changes come through the system, and although clearly it's been difficult with the level of demand that retailers in particular have seen, there is plenty of supply coming through, the system is not any less supplied than it was. the current pressure on the supply of food is unparalleled, but the sector recognises there will be further challenges to come. sian lloyd, bbc news, hereford. let's take a look at today's front pages. there is so much to talk about as well. the telegraph leads on that comment by the deputy chief medical officer for england, drjenny harries, who said that a return to normal life could be six months away. you may have seen her speaking yesterday at a press conference. it also has a picture of a drive—through covid—19 testing facility for nhs staff. the daily mirror reports that an nhs consultant in derby has died with coronavirus. amged el—hawrani, 55, passed away on saturday. and if you were wondering what it might take to knock coronavirus off the front pages, the mail leads on president trump saying that the us will not pay for the security of the duke and duchess of sussex, amid reports the pair have moved across the borderfrom canada. 0nline, the huffington post also leads with a story about president trump. he has suggested that hospitals in the us must be losing protective masks "out of the backdoor" after he was asked about dwindling supplies. supplies of personal protective equipment is something we are talking about on this morning's programme. an the ongoing delivery slot. have you tried? i have given up. ithink slot. have you tried? i have given up. i think people needed more than me. and the boss of morrisons is going to be here. that is at 7:50am. jonathan and jason shouting in my area. this is related to supermarkets, this is from the mail. things that people have left out for the dust in to pick up stop these bananas for example, perfectly good then and is —— good bananas and quantities of bread have been dumped and gone out of debt before they could be eaten. a lib dem counsellor has shared a series of images showing rubbish bins overflowing with discarded food. bread, chicken, they were thrown away after going past their sell by date. that provoked a furious response from people calling out the behaviour of stopovers people calling out the behaviour of sto pove rs a cross people calling out the behaviour of stopovers across the country. there are people who cannot get food because there is no food in the supermarkets, then there are other people leaving food i need an outside in their bins. so disappointing. —— food uneated outside. we will be speaking later toa outside. we will be speaking later to a married couple helping to spearhead campaigns about feeding nhs staff with restaurants. they will bejoining us later, finding out what their individual lockdown is like as well. have you seen this about harry kane? if they can't get the season finished by the end of june, they may need to call it quick. interesting for football fans, even if you want that interested in football, there is some appetite for it. people are starting to think about how it might work, whether you can get it finished at a certain time, harry kane is saying if it isn't finished by the end ofjune, it will have such a knock on effect for next year, for the euros and world cup in 2022, he says at some stage they will have to be scrapped and move on. i don't know if that will be the a nswer on. i don't know if that will be the answer but i'm sure they will try to fit it in somewhere. maybe next year. a baby boom is being predicted for early next year. laughter we will see. there will be so much coming out of all of this. maybe that will be the good news? we will find out. there is the clock. it is 6:24am. we are getting news on so many different things. let's return to our top story now and the announcement that it could be six months or more before life in the uk returns to normal. let's hearfrom england's deputy chief medical officer who was speaking at the government's daily coronavirus briefing. i thinkjust to be clear on what i have actually said, i don't think i have actually said, i don't think i have said we will be in lockdown for six months, just to be clear, i also haven't said we would definitely be in the best place possible in two or three weeks, the important thing is this is a moving target. if we do well, it moves forward and comes down and we manage all of our air through our health and care systems sensibly in a controlled way. that is what we are aiming for. the issue about the 2—3 weeks is there is a time lag between when somebody gets the disease and becomes somatic and potentially transmits it, and then very sadly for those people who become ill, they will usually be for a period of time ill and then deteriorate in their health status and sadly some of them will end up dying. and there are time periods for that. so, one dying. and there are time periods forthat. so, one for dying. and there are time periods for that. so, one for how well we do our intervention. if we all stop shopping on monday, we would not expect any of this data to change on tuesday. we would expect to starting a football drop over the first week, we would see new infections dropping over the next week and we would see deaths dropping over the following week —— footfall drop. certification there is, and bay minister's letter is, expect numbers to get worse over the next week, possibly two, then we are looking to see whether we have managed to push that curve down —— prime minister ‘s clatter. the issue about the timeframe is really in port and about the timeframe is really in portand —— about the timeframe is really in port and —— important, this is not to say we would the incomplete lockdown for six months but as a nation we would have to be really, really responsible and keep doing what we're doing is we can gradually start lifting various interventions which are likely to be spaced, based on the science and our data instill we gradually come back to a normal way of living. that may mean that we have a few bumps on the way rather than the nice curves that you seen in graphs in the media or on our charts. it's really important we do that together. we will not have succeeded in we get right to end of this outbreak and we understand how the disease transmits. as we get more information in due course about the pattern of transmission, then we will have more insights in how to manage that tail end of it and we can provide more information then. we talked a little bit about changes, so we are making a few changes, so we are making a few changes to the programme. curra will be on ata changes to the programme. curra will be on at a new time, there is no regional news, you will get regional news later in the day. you can catch up news later in the day. you can catch up if you want to when your local radio or online as well but carol has new times. haven't you, carol? this is now, this is the carol time. anyway, carol, the good thing is, we have you! 0h, oh, it's lovely to be here with you both as well. good morning, everyone. the weather this week, while it will be cloudy for many of us, yesterday, only got above double figures and certainly today we are really struggling with our temperatures as well. not quite as cold as it was yesterday and it won't be as windy either. there are still some wind and showers in the hmmfi still some wind and showers in the forecast was not high pressure is dominating our weather, there is a subtle change in that it has drifted a little bit south and where it was yesterday and that has changed the wind direction. instead of coming from the arctic it is coming from the atlantic so it is not quite as cold. but having said that there is still a fair bit of cloud around and we still have some showers. at the moment, a lot of them in the north—west, if you have them in the east, but more of them will put westwards as we go through the day. and you can see the extent of the cloud, but nonetheless, too, we will see some sunny skies. use —— if you are exposed to the wind it will feel nippy. these light circles indicate the average wind speeds. there will be gusty winds elsewhere, particularly gusty across the channel islands. that will feel much cooler than it suggests that generally we are looking at about 8— 10 degrees. and through this evening and overnight, still a fair bit of cloud around, still some showers coming in, the wind is starting to ease a little bit and there will be some breaks in the cloud. it's going to be too cloudy or too windy for us to be too cloudy or too windy for us to have issues with rust. you might see the odd pocket here or there in the shelter but that will be the exception rather than the rule. it will still be a cold night, temperatures 2—4d. then we start off with that same scenario tomorrow with that same scenario tomorrow with some cloud around, a few showers knotting around as well, not as windy, so it won't feel as cold as windy, so it won't feel as cold as in previous days. our temperatures as we go through the course of tomorrow, still nothing to write home about. we're looking at between 8—9, or 10 degrees. as for the rest of the week, well, subtle changes i would say, it will be brighter in the south on wednesday, still a lot of cloud for many of us, a weather front across the north of the country introducing some rain, but once again, just breezy rather than windy. you will notice something if you are on this east coast, it won't be as cold. temperatures will also be that bit higher at 11 degrees instead of 7—9. then, as we head on towards wednesday and thursday, a weather front bringing the rain in across the north sinks south. isobars tighten and we start to pull in colder conditions. so there goes our weather front, here comes the colder air. also pretty windy across the north. and although we started with showers in the north, later in the day as the cold and digs in it will turn more wintry. we have a chilly start this week, also looking at some rain and snow in the north as we go through the week, the latter pa rt of we go through the week, the latter part of the week, but it will be milder in the south later. it might ta ke milder in the south later. it might take a wee bit longer to come than we originally thought. as louise and dan both said, i have new times for the weather. the next one should be around 57 minutes to. passed! thanks carol, we will make sure at three minutes to...? i can't imagine carol, we will make sure at three minutes to. . . ? i can't imagine we will get gold stars on the time but we will do our best. thank you, carol. the reason for that is for the foreseeable future, there are no regional bulletins. this because of changes, what is happening with coronavirus right across the tv schedule. you will have seen changes made across all channels. do get your information, it will come in the lunchtime and evenings. this is breakfast with dan walker and louise minchin. we'll bring you all the latest news and sport in a moment, but also on breakfast this morning: just keep going, remember the good days and you've got a lot to be thankful for. we'll have a message from the wonderful d—day veteran harry billinge, who's looking on the bright side of life in isolation. last time he was on breakfast marcus rashford was learning sign language — today the manchester united ace will be talking to us about protecting children on free school meals during the coronavirus crisis. and we'll speak to celebrity couple damian lewis and helen mccrory about a new campaign to get hot food to nhs staff on the frontline. good morning — here's a summary of today's main stories from bbc news. 20,000 former nhs staff have returned to work to help the fight against coronavirus, according to the prime minister. it comes after one of the government's top medical advisers warned it could be at least six months until life returns to ‘normal‘. more than a thousand people have now died with coronavirus in the uk. yesterday it was announced 209 people had died in a single 24—hour period. frontline nhs workers in england are to be tested to see if they have coronavirusit comes after criticism from medics over a lack of screening. previously, only seriously ill patients in hospital were being tested for the virus. critical care doctors and nurses will be tested first. the roll—out follows similar schemes in wales and scotland. a breathing aid that can help keep coronavirus patients of out intensive care has been created in just a few days.the device, which has been developed by technicians at university college london and the mercedes formula one team, delivers oxygen to the lungs without the need for a ventilator. if trials go well, production of around a thousand machines a day could begin next week. so after the announcement that it could be six months or more before life in the uk returns to "normal" what steps can we take to make sure we stay fit and healthy? yes, so many questions following that announcement. let's speak now to gp amir khan. let's be thank you so much for joining us. so much to talk about. from your point of view, a people changing their behaviour, are you noticing that people are not going out as much, and listening to what the government is saying? good morning. people are changing their behaviour. we ceded our gp surgery as well. that weekend where we saw the scenes of people out and about. it felt different this weekend. as we know, it will take a couple of weeks before we see the effects of that but people are starting to take it seriously. what impact does it have on your surgery. is that a good thing? surgeries around the country are changing the way they work. we are changing the way they work. we are doing a lot of remote consultations. we are doing video consultations. we are doing video consultations and telemetry consultations and telemetry consultations and telemetry consultations and only seeing the sickest people and as of this week, a lot of areas across the country, single entities will no longer exist and will be working in primary care networks. we will have hot sites, surgeries dedicated specifically to people with potential coronavirus symptoms. people will still need to talk to a doctor. what sort of thing should they be contacting? we are still open for business. we have a higher number of calls coming in. people still get sick with other things. we are seeing people worried about symptoms of potential cancer, mental health in particular, in the situation we are in and we're still talking to them, bringing them surgery if necessary but really for their sake, as well as ours, we are trying to do things over the phone. the normal things are still coming through that we would have seen before this crisis. it is important that people do contact you because you don't need them to get worse. you don't at the end want a whole influx of people who have been holding onto potentially serious symptoms so if you are worried about anything really healthwise, do call yourgp anything really healthwise, do call your gp surgery, expect a phone call or video call in the first instance and if we do need to see you, we will have you in the surgery. you mentioned mental health, these are ha rd mentioned mental health, these are hard times. there are so many different suggestions. it's hard to people who have existing health conditions, depression, these kind of things. it will make things worse but also people who haven't had a history of mental health problems before will find they are suffering. life is different now but try and maintain some structure to your day because it's the loss of control that sometimes gets people's mines going, particularly people with anxiety. try and wake up at the same time, have breakfast at the same time. try until sometime. try and get some exercise if it's safe to do so within government guidelines and ta ke so within government guidelines and take regular meaningful breaks from use of the virus. don't use your phone to find the latest thing, limit the time to a couple of hours a day at the most. a couple of practical questions you may not be able to answer. william. can the droplets of coronavirus stay in the airfor droplets of coronavirus stay in the air for three droplets of coronavirus stay in the airfor three hours droplets of coronavirus stay in the air for three hours and droplets of coronavirus stay in the airfor three hours and can droplets of coronavirus stay in the air for three hours and can they specifically stone cardboard for 2h hours? there is lots of research yet to be done. it was initially thought a droplets spread virus which means when you cough or sneeze, the droplets come out contain the virus. there is some evidence in only laboratory conditions that it can be airborne which means it can be suspended in the air and not drop down through droplets by gravity up to three hours but i must stress, thatis to three hours but i must stress, that is only in ideal laboratory conditions, it's not really thought to be able to do that in the normal world. cardboard is a difficult thing. they are still looking into that there is some evidence it can stay on several hours. i'm not sure about 24. the best thing you can do, still getting packages and is taking things from supermarkets. if you can, wear gloves and then disinfected with a white before opening it and wash your hands as officers —— often as you can. opening it and wash your hands as officers -- often as you can. david sent this and says how do you know if you fought off covid—19 and when it's safe to mix with other people, such as nhs workers or family. good question and there will be testing for nhs workers to see if they delivered —— developed the antibodies. we know about the fever and the cough 80% of cases and above that anything, shortness of breath, sore throat, loss of sense of smell is certainly something that's coming through now. if you've developed any of them, you must be seven days clear before returning to work. seven days clear of the symptoms? the only thing that it is, the cough can persist for three weeks but you won't be shedding the virus. if you are seven days into the honest, that's when you stop shedding the virus. seven days from the first day. mary, a primary school teacher, says there will be lots of people feeling different ways. i have on and off temperature, muscle pain, aching body and today i woke up with less muscle pain, strong bone and joint pain. i've never had this before, could it be it? yes, i think she should resume it is it because it's such a myriad of symptoms, it affects people in different ways. fatigue, aches are common symptoms. she's got that as well as a temperature, you should presume it is the coronavirus and should be socially isolating. the personal point of view, i know you've got otherfamily point of view, i know you've got other family working for example in accident and emergency. are they getting equipment they need? my sister is a consultant in bradford. she lives with family and my elderly mum because of all this, she said to move out of the family house, into an empty friends house. she doesn't wa nt to an empty friends house. she doesn't want to put my mum at risk of the virus. she is living on our own, going to work. that's the reality for a lot of nhs workers. the problem is, up until now, the only thing she said to protect yourself from potential coronavirus patients isa from potential coronavirus patients is a paper mask and a pair of rubber gloves. that doesn't offer the right protection and 11 people in her department are off, including three of the consultants with viral symptoms. she is well at the moment tha nkfully symptoms. she is well at the moment thankfully but we're assume it's a matter of time, unless she gets proper protective gear. public health england —— public health england says a&e workers will get the full protective gear but there are the full protective gear but there a re lots of the full protective gear but there are lots of frontline workers including gps were seeing patients who won't be offered that protective gearandi who won't be offered that protective gear and ijust who won't be offered that protective gear and i just offered who won't be offered that protective gear and ijust offered the muscular gloves which really doesn't protect us gloves which really doesn't protect us from anything. there is one thing needing to be protected and also our testing might help people get back to work. testing, thankfully they are offering the now to the intensivists from the hospital and will roll it out to the wider team. it's really important because household contacts, if that had a temperature or a cough, we are then supposed to isolate for 14 days which takes a lot of people off the front line. at our surgery last week, we had five doctors off for that very reason. if they could have got tested, they could have come back to work earlier, and relieve the pressure on the nhs workers. thank you so much for your time at such a busy time. we really appreciate it. good to speak to you. and thank you for all the questions you sent in. to let you know what is happening timing wise, so it 7:10 a.m., looking at the issue of testing which the doctor was talking about and then at eight 10am, looking at those various schemes run bya number of looking at those various schemes run by a number of people trying to support nhs staff wherever they might be in the country so do send in your questions and queries about those two subjects have got the health minister here at 730, helen whately, talking to us about the government's response and the chief medical officer of wales is going to be here at 8:30 a.m., doctor frank atherton. we have a care minister. 0ne we have a care minister. one thing we certainly do is catch up with the sport, of which there is much. sally has the headlines. good morning to you and everybody at home. we not reporting on sport that is actually happening at the moment but i can bring renew developments from the world of sport. we have had last few hours from harry kane, something quite remarkable. he said there is a real chance of this premier league to not be completed. he said it shouldn't happen at all. kane said "we need to try to finish the season, but there needs to be a point where enough is enough." he thought the limit was probably the end ofjune and that if the campaign wasn't completed by then, the premier league should just look forward to the next season. italy's sports minister is planning to extend the ban over there for games and all competitions in the country through all of april. the current nationwide lockdown is due to expire on friday but is likely to be extended. vincenzo spadafora said that talks about restarting serie a football on may 3rd were unrealistic with some clubs pushing to restart training as soon as this week. spadafora says he's hoping serie a officials will now show "a serious desire to change." meanwhile, barcelona say they've delivered 30,000 masks to the catalonia government to help fight coronavirus. the masks were ordered from china via one of the club's business partners and will be distributed to nursing homes. the british boxer anthony yarde says his father has died after contracting coronavirus. the 28—year—old light—heavyweight has urged people to stay at home, saying his father had been "fit with no health issues" before becoming ill. yarde was due to fight lyndon arthur in april, but the event has been delayed untiljuly. there was that wonderful moment last week when we all stood on our doorsteps and applauded the nhs. well, now some of golf‘s big names have paid tribute to all those involved in the fight against coronavirus. this is their tribute to all of those doing their best at the moment. this is a message to all of you at the moment. i am not your hero. our heroes other doctors and nurses. doctors and food producers. our heroes are cleaning our streets and keeping us safe. they are all of the essential workers that we take for granted. please help our heroes and follow the advice of the world health organization and respective governments around the world.“ health organization and respective governments around the world. if we can do that, we can save lives and become heroes. brilliant to see from them, wasn't it? now we know keeping fit under lockdown is a real challenge and even harder if you have kids in the house. take a look at this for some inspiration, maybe. double 0lympic gold—medallist max whitlock has the answer. look! just what you need. he's recruited daughter willow into his regular indoor exercise routines. willow looks to be quite enjoying herself. maybe she is part of the kit a bit. i think this might need a little more testing if you have teenagers, but great to see. and coming up later in the programme we will be talking to marcus rashford after 8:30am this morning. i love those pictures. that's absolutely adorable. thank you, sally, for bringing a little bit of i°y sally, for bringing a little bit of joy to the programme. if you are keen on those online exercise classes there are all sorts of options available. there really are. so, it is 6:48am. one of the biggest problems faced by hospitals, care homes and other buildings during the coronavirus pandemic, is cleaning rooms properly after someone has tested positive. 0ur reporter duncan kennedy has been given access to a company which is carrying out coronavirus deep cleaning across the uk. he sent us this report. when its buildings, not people, that need to be cleaned, this is how you kill coronavirus. a special chemical spray that destroys all biological matter, including covid—19. we were given access to a small team from hampshire that has become one of the uk's leading units working against the virus. by using the fog fogging system with micro misting 49, we are sanitising the entire building and any bio hazards. we are currently getting two or three callouts every single day so important is the whole idea of safety. even is going to his workshop here requires protective clothing. jim demonstrated how the droplets no wider than a human hair must reach every pa rt wider than a human hair must reach every part of a room. and what does this involve? applying formula 49, we are saturating the environment as it falls into every surface. 0nce the fogging is finished, rooms can be opened to people after ten minutes. the chemical production will keep the virus at bay for up to five weeks. what we do to prepare to go to work... the team members who create and spray the formula are fully aware of the dangers of coronavirus. it is very frightening. the work has kind of taken over the whole world. but when we go into a job, we are wearing the very best year you can possibly get. i archly feel safer going to work than i do walking out on the street. in the past week, the team have been everywhere from a london hospital to a portsmith care home. 18 hour days, driven by professionalism and pride. to be out there with the thought we are actually protecting people and helping to stop this virus is actually quite a proud thing for me to do, yes. covid-19 leaves its mark on people and places, this team says they will only stop when the virus has been removed. duncan kennedy, bbc news. the rent—to—own company brighthouse is reportedly on the brink of collapse — the latest business victim of the coronavirus pandemic. nina's been looking into this for us. what's going on, nina? good morning. i'm getting used to my new position now, i quite like the isolation, actually. i don't know about you, but in the old world, one of my favourite things to do was to get a potter on the high street. but we just can't do that anymore so there is an inevitable impact on businesses. we are starting to see the ramifications. we're talking about brighthouse here — the largest rent—to—own company in the country. so customers pay a weekly fee to rent things like tvs, fridges and sofas. eventually they own it outright. it allows people access to products even if they can't afford to buy them outright but does mean they pay lots of interest. like the majority of retail businesses — all the brighthouse stores are currently closed. plus of course with thousands of people facing a drop in their incomes — they will inevitably be facing problems with some customers keeping up payments. but it has been in trouble for a while. in april last year the amount of interest a customer could pay on a product was capped at the value of that product — meaning brighthouse couldn't make as much money. great news for consumers. plus, they are also in the midst of paying hundreds of thousands of customers compensation after authorities said they had been irresponsible with some of their customers. coronavirus appears to be the final straw. as it does for many companies. we expect the company to say it is going into administration later today. that means they will either look for a new buyer or shut down completely. so what does that mean for customers? customers locked into deals will continue to pay those weekly fees but the money will go to administrators. as the people taking compensation claims as they might not get the full amount, that will be down to administrators. the company does also employ 2500 people, worrying times for those people, worrying times for those people, but if they can't find a buyer, it looks inevitable those jobs will sadly be lost, louise. and nina, there are other companies in trouble, aren't there? it is inevitable, because we can't get out there and spend money on the same way. so it will be a really difficult time for thousands of businesses, especially those who, like brighthouse were already in trouble. laura ashley has already entered administration. restaurant group chiquito has permanently closed. carluccio's is expected to follow. mountain warehouse which sells outdoor clothing says it is considering widespread redundancies. then there are the airlines. flights have been almost entirely grounded because of the virus. virgin atlantic and loganair have both said they're going to need government help. and that is in order to survive. the chancellor now has ruled that out so they will have to look at every other option possible. we do not know the full impact on the public health of this virus —— from this virus, and we don't know the full impact on the economy because of this virus. it's just like the prime minister said, how this virus. it's just like the prime ministersaid, how things this virus. it's just like the prime minister said, how things will get worse before they get better, it is probably the same with the economy. i think that is a fair assessment. thank you. it's hard to be certain about anything at the moment. we will be here 6am every morning as long as we possibly can. we will be here! and naga and charlie. with everyone over 70 advised to stay indoors, coronavirus has meant a huge change in lifestyle for older people. among them is 94—year—old d—day veteran and fundraiser extraordinaire harry billinge. friend of breakfast we can call him, i think. earlier this month he received an mbe for the tens of thousands of pounds he's raised for a memorial to the british veterans who died in normandy. tim muffett‘s been in touch to see how he's getting on. d—day veteran harry billinge, mbe, has faced formidable enemies before. at 94 years old he is at home in cornwall, keeping coronavirus at bay. hey, harry, how are you doing? um i'm feeling very, very well indeed. and i don't take any chances, i'm just sitting in my arms are, igot chances, i'm just sitting in my arms are, i got the fire on and some light reading, i got a lovely hotbed with a blanket, so i'm really co mforta ble with a blanket, so i'm really comfortable and quite grateful to everybody being very kind to me. normally, you are out fundraising. how hard are you finding it to stay indoors? it's been very difficult because i felt a bit guilty. i ought to be out and about. that's about £35, harry. the other day, i was doing well, in the army i was good at obeying orders. my mind is free, ican be at obeying orders. my mind is free, i can be anywhere. you've faced many enemies in your time. how would you rate coronavirus as an enemy? it's a very good thing to draw people together to realise we have got ourselves and other people, notjust ourselves. people who want isolation, whether it is shopping —— who are in isolation and want help, whether it is shopping, it's marvellous people are rallying about. it's like the war years, everybody mucked in, which is great. all of our breakfast view is want to wish you the best. do you have anything to say to them? don't get dragged down, stay positive. if you can't look after —— look with yourself, you can't live with anybody. from all of our viewers, very best wishes and stay well. the people from the bbc have been very kind to me personally, so thank you very much indeed. he is so great. so many great messages. remember the good days. and remember to be thankful as well. wise words as ever from harry billinge. there's a slight change to the programme this morning, there's no regional news. we don't know how long that will be. carol has the weather at 27 minutes past and 57 minutes past. we are late! better get cracking. there is afair bit late! better get cracking. there is a fair bit of cloud around today but not as windy as yesterday. we have some showers and more of us was the hours throughout the day. high pressure is in charge our weather and if anything it slipped a little bit further south. now, that has had a very subtle change in wind direction, so instead of coming from the arctic, it is coming from the atlantic, not quite as good a direction for us but don't be full. it will feel cold if you are outside. what we have is a fair bit of cloud, as i mentioned. showers across the north—west of scotland, showers and ease, if you already the west, and we will see further showers throughout the day. the wind is not as noticeable as it was yesterday except through the english channel, particularly the channel islands where we will only see highs of seven degrees today, so it will feel quite cold. these circles indicate the average wind speeds. gusts of course will be more than that. these are our temperatures of roughly 8— 11 degrees, and when you add on the wind if you are exposed to it, it will feel cooler than that. through this evening and overnight, still quite cloudy, a few showers around. if anything, the wind continuing to ease down a touch. there will be some clearance in the sky but we are anticipating any problems with ross because where we have the clear skies it will be windy and where we have the cloud, that will prevent the frost from forming. although we mightjust see the odd pocket in sheltered glands, for example. through the course of tomorrow it will still be fairly cloudy except for in the south, particularly in the south—east where we will see the lion's share of the sunshine. there will be a few showers dotted around the north and west of scotland. but with the wind continuing to come down, it won't feel quite as cold although temperature values will be similar and the temperature is actually below average for this stage at the end of march. of course by then we'll be heading into aprilfor wednesday and we are looking up again, a largely dry day, a lot cloud around, some breaks in the cloud, a weather front coming cloud around, some breaks in the cloud, a weatherfront coming in across the north of scotland will introduce some rain and temperatures picking up down this is closed where it has been so cold. as we had into wednesday from thursday —— and there you can see the weather front sink further south with some snow and ice bars really squeezing. —— isobars. there will be some snow and rain in the forecast, a little milder later but i will have more in half—an—hour. this we good morning. welcome to breakfast with dan walker and louise minchin. 0ur headlines today: 20,000 ex—nhs staff return to the service to help fight coronavirus — the figure is revealed by the prime minister in a message recorded from isolation. one thing i think coronavirus crisis has already proved is that there really is such a thing as society. his comments come as england's deputy chief medical officer warns it could be at least six months before life in the uk returns to normal. a breathing aid that can help keep coronavirus patients out of intensive care has been created in less than seven days — and is expected to go into production next week. in the us, donald trump extends social distancing guidelines to the end of april. the pressure builds on supermarkets to stay well stop can deliver efficiently. i will be talking to the boss of morrisons about what that means for their staff, customers and the company's future. it's monday 30th march. our top story. 20,000 former nhs staff have returned to work to help the fight against coronavirus, according to the prime minister. borisjohnson, who's self—isolating after contracting the virus, made the announcement in a video online. it comes after one of the government's top medical advisers warned it could be at least six months until life in the uk returns to normal. this morning we'll hear from the social care minister and we'll be looking at efforts to support nhs workers as they prepare for the challenges ahead. rich preston has a roundup of the latest developments. we'll also be it's been a week since boris johnson first said life in the uk will have to be severely restricted but the message from britain's deputy chief medical officer at sunday's downing street press briefing was clear. we need to keep that lid on and then gradually we will be able to hopefully adjust some of the social distancing measures and gradually get us all back to normal. so i think three weeks for review, two or three months to see whether we've really squashed it, but about a 3—6 months, ideally, and lots of uncertainty in that. tweeting from isolation after testing positive for the virus, borisjohnson said the policy was still to delay the spread of the disease and to reduce the strain on the nhs. we are going to do it, we are going to do it together. one thing i think coronavirus crisis has already proved is that there really is such a thing as society. the uk coronavirus death toll passed 1,000 over the weekend. on sunday, it was announced 209 people died in a single 24—hour period. british households will get a letter from the prime minister this week in which he'll remind people to stay at home and protect the nhs and with one clear message — things will get worse before they get better. the uk government has promised to ramp up virus testing in the uk, particularly amongst nhs staff amid pressure to ensure adequate protective equipment for those on the frontline. downing street says measures are in place to keep supplies going to the nhs using the armed forces when needed. the scottish government says it's delivered 34 million items of protective equipment to hospitals across the country and eight weeks' worth are going to be delivered upfront to gp surgeries this week. 750,000 people have volunteered to help the nhs during the coronavirus pandemic, three times the original target. as work continues on the emergency nhs nightingale temporary hospital at london's excel centre. and the news that easyjet and virgin have written to some of their staff to ask them to work at the medical facility. with hundreds of flights cancelled, the airlines say their staff, many of whom are first—aid trained and who've already had security checks carried out on them, can provide vital, nonclinical help to hard pressed nhs staff. rich preston, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent jessica parker is in westminster for us now. jessica — with the prime minister and the health secretary both working from home having being diagnosed with coronavirus, what impact will that have on the government's response this week? i think it's interesting, you noticed i'm sure how the prime minister in that video that we saw a clip of a moment ago, from self isolation in downing street. he was ina suit isolation in downing street. he was in a suit and attire, trying to hammer home the message that he is still up at about, still trying to co—ordinate the government's efforts to tackle the virus. he did sound a little horse of course but images over the weekend of him chairing government meetings remotely from within his downing street flat. the downing street press conference happens on a daily basis, we are not likely to see the prime minister ta ke likely to see the prime minister take that. a succession of other ministers, so that will continue today. more broadly for the week ahead, will be a huge focus on testing. obviously the government has been criticised by some brits approach to testing. the cabinet office minister ramping up testing. top priority to test those frontline nhs social care workers. also a focus on the distribution of personal protective equipped and for those same people. also that letter we heard about over the weekend. sent to households across the country. that will land on doormats over the coming days warning things are going to get worse before they get out of. the government making it clear they would consider further restrictions if they think it's necessary in one domain takeaway is from the weekend, you will be seeing it on the front pages of a lot of the papers this morning, is what the deputy chief medical officer said about how long the restrictions could last it's a moving target but it could be up to six months before we returned to normal. it depends on our behaviour. that could be some adjustments to measures. see what impact this has. the overall message is the restrictions to some extent could be with us for some time to come. that's it about less than half—an—hour. the spanish government has told all non—essential workers to stay at home for the next eleven days, as part of tighter coronavirus restrictions. six—and—a—half thousand people in spain have died — more than in any country except italy. 0ur reporter gavin lee has been monitoring the situation across europe from brussels. gavin what's the latest? around 380,000 people have now been confirmed to have coronavirus across europe and there is an old pattern which may give a sense of the advanced countries in terms of the number of cases and how far they are ahead. uk 20,000, france, 40,000, germany, 60,000, spain, 80,000 in italy, 100,000 cases. in italy, 10,000 of those cases have died. italian health officials have told bbc that peak will come to an end and drop over the next week within 7-10 and drop over the next week within 7—10 days. in spain, new meshes, similarto 7—10 days. in spain, new meshes, similar to what italy has. in food, in pharmacies, in medicine. then you have to stay at home. in france, the tgv has special trains running from the east, the worst hit, to the south, transporting coronavirus patients since yesterday and in germany, where they've gone, 30,000— 60,000 cases. authorities are debating whether to track where people are moving, if they have coronavirus, to pinpoint locations around them and quarantined them. it's been muted in some eastern european countries but critics say controversial, disproportionate and could amount to spying. very interesting to discuss as well. a breathing aid that can help keep coronavirus patients out of intensive care has been created in just a few days. the device, which has been developed in collaboration with the mercedes formula one team, delivers oxygen to the lungs without the need for a ventilator. here's our medical correspondent fergus walsh. it's a small device that could make a big difference. known as continuous positive airway pressure, or cpap, it pushes oxygen into the lungs, keeping them open, making it easier to breathe. they're already used in the nhs but are in short supply so a team modified and improved an existing design in less than a week which has now been approved for use by health regulators. normally medical device development would take years and in this instance we've been able to do it in days because we've cleverly thought about how we can go back to existing devices and models, reverse engineer them and then engage with our industry partners to manufacture them at scale. this demonstration was done at university college london hospital, which is now using the device to treat covid—19 patients. i sincerely think it may actually save many lives by preventing patients from needing to go onto a ventilator and again saving that vital resource for the very, very severely ill. every second counts in motor racing. here, mercedes formula 1 partnered with doctors and healthca re engineers on a medical device that could be mass produced. this is a great example of how the nhs, universities and industry are working together at extraordinary pace to meet the challenge posed by coronavirus. if the trials of this device go well, then mercedes formula 1 says it can produce up to 1,000 of these a day. in italy, around half of covid—19 patients given cpap have avoided the need for intensive care, and unlike mechanical ventilators, there's no need for them to be sedated. fergus walsh, bbc news. donald trump has announced that the restrictions imposed in the united states to limit the spread of coronavirus will be extended until the end of april. president had previously said he hoped america could re—open for business at easter. now mr trump says the country will be well on the way to recovering byjune the first. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports this is how america's normally bustling city centres look today. chicago, empty. philadelphia, deserted. and new york city, unusually quiet. everyone ordered to stay at home except essential workers like nurses. and this is how it's going to stay. no more talk of getting back to work by easter. now president trump says social distancing guidelines will be extended to the end of april to slow the spread of covid—19. the peak, the highest point, of death rates, remember this, is likely to hit in two weeks. nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won, that would be the greatest loss of all. but many more americans are expected to die in the weeks ahead. dr anthony fauci, the head of the president's medical task force, says the disease could kill more than 100,000 people in the us. the idea we may have as many cases played a role in our decision to make sure we don't do something prematurely, and pull back when we should be pushing. the president's advisors say it could have been much worse, with up to 2 million americans at risk of dying if drastic measures hadn't been taken. if we could hold that down, as we're saying, to 100,000, it's a horrible number, maybe even less, but to 100,000, so we have between 100,000 and 200,000, we altogether have done a very good job. new york is still the epicentre of the outbreak in the us where some health workers are saying there is a desperate shortage of medical supplies. president trump has accused hospitals of hoarding vital equipment such as ventilators, which he said should be released for wider use. peter bowes, bbc news. for the last week we've all been looking for ways to amuse ourselves at home, and justin bieber and his wife hayley are no different. the canadian singer posted a video on twitter of himself completing an assault course. he starts on the sofa — moves across several chairs — then on to a skateboard and then a foam roller. i wouldn't recommend that at home. the chances of falling off a high stop he ends his challenge by attempting to jump from a foam roller stop a foam roller onto his bed — and — misses. well he's got plenty of time to practise his tricks. another foam roller. he anotherfoam roller. he is also wearing a onesie, which i feel the need to mention. the big finish, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it. it's nice to know he's not perfect. there you go. hopefully that has put a smile on your face. there you go. hopefully that has put a smile on yourface. it is 7:15am. thank you for being with us today. frontline hospital staff in england are starting to be tested to see whether they have coronavirus. previously, only seriously ill patients in were being screened, leading to criticism from nhs staff that they were being left unprotected. from today, critical care doctors and nurses in england will be checked — if they show symptoms or live with people who do. tests for a&e staff, paramedics, gps and social care staff are expected to follow. frontline staff in scotland and wales are already being screened, while in northern ireland testing also begins today. joining us to discuss this is gp dr chaand nagpaul, the chair of the council of the british medical association and the president of the royal college of physicians, professor andrew goddard. thank you for spending time with us this morning. andrew, can we come to you first, professor gothard? the amount of workforce currently off because they are showing symptoms, how many is that? it's around 20- 30%, so one in four people. with testing, what difference would that make to those numbers particularly? i think would make a big difference when we get there. i have lots of collea g u es when we get there. i have lots of colleagues at the moment you are sitting at home with family members who have symptoms. they themselves don't have symptoms, they are trying to get back to work. so if we can get people back on the floor, that would be brilliant. and doctor nagpaul, what are you hearing about the difference when people are getting tested? as you heard, this is only now being announced, starting effectively today, so until now, what we have experienced in hospitals as professor goddard has said but also in general practice is significant said but also in general practice is significa nt staff said but also in general practice is significant staff shortages, and it isn'tjust doctors, its nurses, front—line staff, who have been self— isolating, front—line staff, who have been self—isolating, often feeling well, but a family member may have a cough or but a family member may have a cough ora but a family member may have a cough or a temperature but a family member may have a cough ora temperature and but a family member may have a cough or a temperature and unable to come to work because they haven't been tested. i think what is also important to remember is that this time of year there is a large number of patients who would ordinarily have a cough or temperature with nothing to do with covid—19. so, if we can test people... i can still hear you. if you can test people that would make a huge difference to the whole health service, will it? 0h, doctor nagpaul, we unfortunately can't hear you. but let's talk to professor goddard about that. how much of a difference do you think this testing will make on the whole service? patients will be seeing theirgp, service? patients will be seeing their gp, often talking to them on their gp, often talking to them on the telephone. but the crunch point is in emergency departments, ambulances and critical care. those are the three key areas to focus on to begin with. then hopefully, as we have heard, that will broaden out to other parts, adding social care as important. i think everybody is really feeling the pressure now. in my own hospital, wards are falling over like dominoes to become covert cohorts and their is hardly anyone in the hospital who isn't managing covid—19 patients in some form or another —— covid cohorts, so we can get everyone back in the regular roles as soon as possible, that would be best. we will try to get doctor nagpaul with us soon. there seem to be two tests, have a good coronavirus now, and have i had it in the recent past. in conjunction with each other, why are they helpful to enable us to buy this disease? they are two very different tests. how they got it now is the swa b test tests. how they got it now is the swab test you will see the swab to the nose and back of the throat. it stings a bit and it isn't very nice but is the most accurate test at the moment to see if you have got the virus at the moment. the other virus in our test being developed at the moment, it isn't widespread, just validating them to make sure they are accurate and works, that is a blood test which could be a pinprick. have you had an infection in the past, most likely in the recent past, that means we may be able to use them in a different way. it helps us to really understand how the virus is moving through our community. one of the things we learn in china was that we think the family unit, households, i really really important mechanism for spread. and it's the main reason why we have gone for social distancing and really strongly encouraging people to stay home. the more families mingle with each other, the more the virus will be spread. and i think the blood test is as much of a tool to understand that and help us fight it. professor, can i pick up a thought with you there as well. the information you have is if you have had it, that you shouldn't get it ain? had it, that you shouldn't get it again? but what do we know about it? we think that is very unlikely that you will get it again in the near future. who knows what will happen as time passes and how long that immunity people will have after the initial infection, how long that will last. getting occasional reports, literally a handful, from china where people may have been reinfected, having had it before, but this isn't a widespread phenomenon on, it isn't something we are getting occasional reports, literally a handful, from china where people may have been reinfected, having had it before, but this isn't a widespread phenomenon on, it isn't something we're phenomenon on, it isn't something we' re really phenomenon on, it isn't something we're really worried about. normal coronavirus, one in eight of us will get common cold every year, we get that each year, we get the common cold easier because our immune system cold easier because our immune syste m d ro ps cold easier because our immune system drops a bit and the virus changes a bit. so i think with this particular coronavirus that is causing covid—19, that is likely to last for a while and people should be immune against this current outbreak. very helpful advice there, professor. let's get back to nagpaul you has joined us professor. let's get back to nagpaul you hasjoined us after a professor. let's get back to nagpaul you has joined us after a few technical difficulties. we will be speaking to the uk minister helen whately in about ten minutes' time. whately in about ten minutes' time. what would you like to ask her? what would you put to her this morning around this testing issue?” would you put to her this morning around this testing issue? i would like to know when all healthcare staff will be able, so while this is beginning in hospitals, what we know isa beginning in hospitals, what we know is a large number of practices over the last few weeks have had very shortstaffed because the staff have had covid or were self—isolating. i would like to know when this will be extended to all sectors of the healthcare service because all of us are playing a part in trying to combat the disease. professor goddard, are you beginning to see a comeback in people coming back to service? no, i knowa lot comeback in people coming back to service? no, i know a lot of collea g u es service? no, i know a lot of colleagues of mine have stepped back and want to come back in, i am looking forward to that but we should see that in the next week or two. we need to get them up to speed because people will be a little bit rusty. they will need some of skilling but there are lots of processes in place in which hospitals at the moment however that so it's we shouldn't —— so it shouldn't take so long to get that upskilling. doctor nagpaul, scotland and wales mark, they have testing that has already started. why hasn't testing started earlier in england? i'd don't know, because on the 16th of march, two weeks ago, we heard that the government was ramping up testing and prioritising healthcare workers. the prime minister announced that and two weeks on we are now just announced that and two weeks on we are nowjust starting testing. in those two weeks we have really recognise just how much the nhs has suffered in terms of staff shortages. so i haven't got an explanation for the government but what i would say is it is really important not to delay this any further and make sure that this testing is available to all healthcare staff, certainly as i said earlier, while it is being focused at the moment and i understand why we are focusing on critical care staff, we do need this extended to all staff and certainly in general practices at the moment we're still waiting testing. so i have a lot doctors contacting me saying they want to get back to work. it is affecting the service because gp practices are small units. if you have two doctors help isolating and two nurses, it effectively cannot run. so some practices are having to body with others, patients are having to be managed by other practices. it is having a huge impact and i think it is really important we see this testing widespread and really as of this moment now. there is no doubt this moment now. there is no doubt this is having a huge impact. i know you and doctor adele al taylor has very sadly died. yes, i think it's fairto very sadly died. yes, i think it's fair to say that. we knew he was u nwell fair to say that. we knew he was unwell and was receiving support in leicester, so we were all hoping for the best, but in some ways we were prepared for the worst —— doctor adel altayar, it hit the trust a bit like a adel altayar, it hit the trust a bit likea train adel altayar, it hit the trust a bit like a train and it has brought home to everybody the seriousness of this outbreak and that the nhs and social ca re outbreak and that the nhs and social care workers outbreak and that the nhs and social ca re workers are outbreak and that the nhs and social care workers are literally putting their lives on the line to fight it. but we need to stick together about this. this is in some ways also a gelling moment and we will do this for him and continue to work as a trust and healthcare professionals to support our patients and fight covid—19. to support our patients and fight covid-19. and i'm so sorry all of you, and thank you as well, everybody who is doing incredible work. i suppose one last question, because we have talked about it so much, professor, are you seeing the personal protective equipment now? are you seeing that will protect all of you? yes, there are always concerns about shortages and in some areas we are running short. we know the government are doing the best they can to get that to us. they are trying very hard. there is a global shortage of ppe but it is important we get that and we need to keep that tingle does it is good to talk about ventilators in the news, that is exciting —— and we need to keep that — and it is good to talk about ventilators in the news. that is exciting and it is good to see that. thank you for your time here on bbc brea kfast. thank you for your time here on bbc breakfast. of all of the things that we are learning about, it is a lot, isn't it? the questions you have asked us is changing over the next few days and last few days, but one thing that has come out of all of this is our respect and understanding of the amazing job so many healthcare understanding of the amazing job so many healthca re professionals understanding of the amazing job so many healthcare professionals do. the more you speak to them, the more you understand what they are going through in the circumstances they are facing at the moment. you just realise their jobs are facing at the moment. you just realise theirjobs are so essential. there are some brilliant people working right across the industry. it is 7:27am. some news on the last few minutes or so, easyjet has grounded its entire fleet of aircraft due to the coronavirus pandemic. the airline had been helping to repatriate british passengers stranded abroad but the last repatriation flight landed on sunday, easyjet says it cannot be certain when commercial flights will be start. so, some breaking news for you this morning. if you havejust switched on bbc breakfast, there is a bit ofa switched on bbc breakfast, there is a bit of a change the way we had of —— to the programme this morning. 0ne —— to the programme this morning. one of the things which is changing from today is there is no regional news. we will no longer be sang for the moment —— saying during this programme, time for the news, travel and weather wherever you are, because you will have to get your regional news during this show either online, through the bbc website, or on local radio. instead, website, or on local radio. instead, we have carol at 27 past. this morning it is a chilly start of the day if you haven't yet ventured out. there is cloud around as well but it won't be quite as windy as it was yesterday. mind you, if you are exposed to the wind that is there, it will still feel cold. you can see as we have gone through the night, where we have had the showers, some of those have been wintry on mountain tops and as we go through the course of this morning we will see a very similar distribution of showers. still the chatter could be wintry in the tops the mountains but there is a subtle change in the weather. high pressure is still dominating but it has moved a little bit allowing the wind to come from the atlantic instead of the cold arctic where it has been coming from during the last couple of days. so a cloudy start, some breaks granted there will be some sunshine around as well. we have the showers across the north—west and they will carry on through the day across northern and western parts of scotland, and further inland you could catch one or two. for england, further inland you could catch one ortwo. for england, we further inland you could catch one or two. for england, we are not immune to those showers either, neither in wales, the midlands, east anglia or cairns. not all of us will catch those showers. temperature—wise, nothing to write home about. although it isn't as windy as yesterday, if you are in the wind, it is still going to feel cold. you will need to wrap up warmly if you are heading out to do your exercise. this evening and overnight, still a bit of cloud around, or two showers but the wind continuing to ease stop these are our temperatures, between 2—4d across the board. we aren't having any problems with frost, you might see the odd pocket in sheltered areas, but that is it, too much cloud or too windy tomorrow we start off, spot the difference. still cloud around, still a fair few showers, brighter skies across southern areas. particularly in the south—east, we are expecting to see some sunshine. temperature—wise, similarto some sunshine. temperature—wise, similar to today but not feeling as cold because the wind isn't going to be as strong. for wednesday, well, still a lot of cloud around, actually. there will be some breaks and sunshine coming through, different in that we have a weather front coming in across the north of scotland that will introduce some rain. if you are down the east coast, look at that temperature, higher than it has been for quite a while. and with less wind, it will feel much better as well. for thursday, a weather front sinks southwards, it's a cold one so we have cold air coming in behind it, showers to the cause of the day, the tops of the hills and mountains will turn wintry but had a bit there is still going to be quite a lot of cloud, some brighter breaks but temperature is a little bit better. we're looking at five in lerwick, still cold, but as we come further south, 10— 12 degrees. and as louise and dan were staying at the top of this broadcast, the weather timings have changed. i will be back in about an hour. we will try and keep to time carol. we will try and keep to time carol. we will try and keep to time carol. we will do our very best. hello, this is breakfast with dan walker and louise minchin. 20,000 former nhs staff have returned to work to help the fight against coronavirus, according to the prime minister. it comes after one of the government's top medical advisers warned it could be at least six months until life returns to normal. more than 1,000 people have now died with coronavirus in the uk. yesterday it was announced 209 people had died in a single 24—hour period. i thinkjust to be clear on what i have actually said, i haven't said we will be on lockdown for six months or definitely in the best place possible in two or three weeks. the important thing is, this isa weeks. the important thing is, this is a moving targets. we manage all our care through our care. sensibly ina our care through our care. sensibly in a controlled way and that is what we are aiming for. the issue about the 2— three weeks is, there is a time lag between when somebody gets the disease and become symptomatic and potentially transmitted and very sadly for those people who become ill, they usually are ill for a period of time and then deteriorate in their health status. sadly some of them will end up dying in their time periods for that. one flower well we do our intervention. if we. shopping on monday we wouldn't expect any of this started to change on tuesday. we would expect to start seeing footfall dropping. new infections dropping over the next week. good start to see debts dropping over the following week. implication there is we actually anticipate that our members will get worse over the next week. then we are looking to see whether we have managed to push that curve down and see a decline. issue about the timeframe is really important. this is not to say we would be incomplete lockdown for months but it means that as a nation we have to be really, really responsible and keep doing what we are all doing until we're sure we can gradually start lifting various interventions which are likely to be spaced based on the science and our data until we gradually come back to a normal way of living and that may mean we have a few bumps on the way rather than the nice curves you've seen in graphs in the media or on our charts. it's really important we all do that together. we will not have succeeded until we get right to the end of the site break. we understand how the disease transmits. about the pattern of transmission. we will then have more insight into how to manage that tail end and we can provide more information than. that was the government's daily press briefing yesterday. let's speak now to the care minister, helen whately, who joins us from her constituency in kent. thank you for coming live on bbc brea kfast. thank you for coming live on bbc breakfast. all sorts of questions to get through. a bit of clarity on the timeline yesterday, the lockdown measures. we could have restrictive measures. we could have restrictive measures in place for six months. certainly we know that we will need to be taking steps for some time. the whole aim is to control the spread of the virus and flat the peak so the nhs can cope and give life—saving care needed for those who need it. as we heard from doctor jenny harris yesterday, that means these measures may be in place for some time. we are learning all the time about the virus and that will influence how long and what we also know is that in two or three weeks, we will look again at the latest measures, and how that is making. the important thing now is that we have government guidelines. do you feel that there is a positive message to go along side that feeling? there might be a lack of normality. following those government guidelines, can have a real impact on the amount of time we all have to spend on the way we're spending it the moment. exactly. we will be looking at the effect of the government guidelines and the duration of them but i can't emphasise enough how important it is the people to stay at home, only go out when you have to, to get food and essential items like medicine if you can. avoid unnecessary activity and exercise once a day. really limit your trips outside and stay at home. i'd like to speak about the issue of testing. we are getting a lot of questions from viewers. they are all asking those same questions. we spoke to the chair of the council, and a professorfrom we spoke to the chair of the council, and a professor from the copier college of physicians and the point the pair of them made the minister said on the 16th of march, testing for healthcare professionals was a top priority in two weeks on, it's only really starting now. can you explain why there has been a hold—up? you explain why there has been a hold-up? workers been going on to increase our testing capacity. that's been absolutely flat out to get us to the point where over this weekend, we began to start testing front—line nhs workers and rolling that out across to more nhs workers and also to social care staff and other staff and front—line services. particularly focusing on the services in places where we've got higher absence rates and we know we can higher absence rates and we know we ca n test higher absence rates and we know we can test people and they test negative for coronavirus, they can come back to work. that will be the focus. within three weeks, we expect to be reaching 25,000 tests per day. how realistic is that? i put it out there and i said because it's something we actually believe we can achieve. we are working really hard because we know how much people want testing and what a difference testing and what a difference testing could make. not everybody comes back testing positive for coronavirus. with the guidance we got now, if you have the symptoms, 14 days. really hoping to identify those who do not need to be in isolation. while we behind other countries in terms of the testing we are able to do and the timing? what is the issue? we've done hundreds of thousands of test, one of the leading countries in the world for testing. we've made good progress. asi testing. we've made good progress. as i said, getting to a point to test front—line staff and rolling it out to other staff over the days and weeks ahead. in terms of those other staff, the gp was telling us, we understand why critical care staff need to be tested as a priority. the gp practices have been hugely affected. this is the chair of the council of the british medical association seeing their instances. when one gp is unable to work because they are awaiting tests, that has a huge impact on the gp service. whether it's in hospitals, pharmacies testing, care homes, home ca re pharmacies testing, care homes, home care providers. across the health and social care set the, employs organisations want testing, whether that would be a help. the party protesting is to make sure where there's lots of stuff off sick, to make sure we have enough staff to give safe care and keep people safe so that is the prioritisation. what are the questions we're getting from viewers is home testing kits. do you have any idea about how long the might take to be available. as well as the test of the moment which is to test coronavirus. we also want to have an ability to test our people have an ability to test our people have had it, the antibody test. they could be in much larger numbers and it could be a really good thing, lots of work going on to get that testing as well. lots of questions we're getting this morning about personal protective equipped into. we've been speaking to lots of front—line workers, talking about the gardens. healthcare workers have said the current guidance is not good enough and should be available for all staff working with patients. is that the guidance on ppe, something you are looking at changing? i pick up on the guidance and it is essential that those the front—line have the ppe they need from when they doing close contact clinical activities. we been working incredibly hard on that. 0ver clinical activities. we been working incredibly hard on that. over the last two weeks, 170 million items of ppe went out across the nhs and social care and gp providers and registered care providers, including 25 million masks. a huge effort going out. a logistical exercise. a huge call for that equipment. i know that you want to have very clear guidelines. we are looking again to make sure those guidelines are clear enough. i've heard from quite a few parts of the public services, and some businesses. when actually the activities as staff are doing, so we have to make sure the guidance is clear. where you do need it and you don't need it. what do you feel when you hear from gps don't need it. what do you feel when you hearfrom gps and don't need it. what do you feel when you hear from gps and those working across the healthcare profession that they are frightened to go to work because of potential for contracting the virus. some of them don't have that personal protective equipment they need, they feel, to do thejob to equipment they need, they feel, to do the job to the best of their ability while being able to protect themselves from this virus? firstly, we had to make sure those in the front—line have the ppe they need. i also want to say, a sincere thank you to all the doctors. social care workers who are at the front line. ca re of workers who are at the front line. care of the people with coronavirus and keeping those vital services going. a huge thank you because many people are working at home day in and day out, those healthcare workers are going to work sincere thank you to them for what they are doing. josie has contacted us saying, we have no masks at the local authority and stuff on the front line in home care, care and the community are asking whether they should wear masks or not during this 2— week period. i suppose that comes back to what you are saying about guidance. she says any advice would be help for. all registered providers of social care, registry and co providers of social care, registry and c0 see have over the last week received their drop, initial drop of personal protective equipment. they have a contact number to follow—up if they need further supplies. i would urge the employer she works quarter make sure they follow that. and as you say, hand—in—hand, we have to make sure the guidance is clear. we would refer her to the guidance that has been published on when you need to use ppe. i'd also like to talk to about ventilation. talking about testing and personal protective equipped winter. lots of questions about the use of ventilators. lots of manufacturers have expressed concern that they can't meet the deadline for the 30,000 ventilators, the figures set by the government. is that a reliable figure? at the moment, we got 8000 ventilators in the nhs and another eight thousand on the way and there was tremendous response to the prime minister ‘s call to manufacturers to make more ventilators, over 3000 responses to that. a huge national effort, phenomenal and exciting. it's great to see more ventilators coming on line. all this is part of increasing the nhs's capacity to look after those who need intensive care and need nhs care if they get a severe case of coronavirus. but this is one reason why the gardens are so clear to everybody, to stay at home if you can, unless you are somebody has to go to your place of work, stayed home as much as you can. this is all about flattening the peak. and looking after those who need it. we are talking about the collaboration between college hospital and formula 1 mercedes to try and make a breeding aid. the plan is to roll that out i think, there is a thousand who say they can produce every single week if it goes ahead. how effective are some of those technological advances potentially for treating the virus going forward ? before any new piece of equipment is released it is tested to make sure can do the job released it is tested to make sure can do thejob it is meant to. that is done hand—in—hand with staff who are trained to operate the equipment. 0n the other part of what is going on is boosting the number of workers in the nhs. we have had fantastic news now over 20,000 doctors and nurses and other healthcare professionals have registered to return to the nhs, to return to work. i like to say thank you to those stepping forward to do that. this is all about creating the capacity to help those who need it. we appreciate the time you spent with us this morning. we understand you have a busy day ahead. thank you to all of those questions you have been sending through on those main issues we looked out, on the issue of testing, personal protective equipment and some of those questions about ventilators as well. 0ne questions about ventilators as well. one of the issues is what is or isn't in the supermarkets. lots of pressure on them. however they coping? nina will give us a bit more. good morning. supermarket shopping is one of those activities we are still allowed to do. essential food shopping only, and before these new social distancing measures came into place, we had already increased the amount of food we we re already increased the amount of food we were buying from supermarkets. uk supermarkets were up nearly 20% for the week ending march 14. that was an extra 15 million food shopping trips at an increase of 10% on a normal week. things seem to have calmed down a little bit, whether or not you have been to a supermarket since those measures were put in place, but still an enormous amount of pressure on supermarkets and their staff. just how difficult is it? let's speak to david potts, chief executive of morrisons, the uk's chief executive of morrisons, the uk's fourth biggest supermarket. thank you for speaking to us at this incredibly busy time. i know you wa nt incredibly busy time. i know you want to make an announcement on food banks and we will come to that shortly. we have a question from a viewer first. are you doing enough to protect frontline staff members, notjust from the to protect frontline staff members, not just from the virus but also from the frustration of some customers, which at times is spilling out into abuse? well, to be honest, the public have been brilliant and so have our own people. of course in these times, social distancing is a real challenge and we call for patients from the public, and as i say, they have been subclass —— call for patience. the plans you have hand sanitiser at each till, it is meaningful for the public. there are some behaviours instinctive to shoppers. i saw someone then across to pick up an apple, look at it and put it straight down again. how do you stop people behaving in a way thatis you stop people behaving in a way that is irresponsible, but not really conscious? i think we can all play our part in the measures to contain the virus and do the very best by the nation. it's only by playing our part that we will ever become well as quickly as we can. there is no exaggeration to say your staff have become almost before the emergency service in some ways. do you think it's time for them to have protective clothing? our staff with ourselves, we follow the public health england advised, we listen quite closely to authorities and we provide the opportunity to be protective at the tills. we have closed down many of them and it has become more of a self—service business. washing your hands and taking all of the social distancing measures, that is the advice we follow. and we intend to do our very best to play our part in feeding the nation. but there is an inevitable transience with your workforce, isn't there? people going off sick and having to recruit people quickly. how hard is it to make sure you don't become an environment for spreading the virus? well, all of those measures and more and of course absence affects us the rest of the population. we continue to recruit, we continue to look for pickers and drivers and volunteers and our people have been absolutely top—notch. of course absence is up but that is why we are recruiting more people are not as wide we are taking the measures we are taking. it is very difficult at the moment to know for certain you are not recruiting somebody who is carrying the virus? yeah, and so we are doing the virus? yeah, and so we are doing the very best we can on what are very difficult circumstances. but as you say, the concept of being before the emergency services really something the company in the industry actually takes very seriously. we had an e-mail from jill who asked about deliveries, lots of our viewers have. we logged on to morrisons to try five different delivery addresses across the country, but we couldn't get a delivery slot in the next three weeks. you said you are recruiting more staff, that happened weeks ago. when will we know we can get a slot to get food delivered to our homes? well, we are making great progress with delivery slots, we are up 60% now from the situation before the virus, that is significant progress. we now have over 100 stores doing store pick and local delivery. so we are very store pick and local delivery. so we are very open—minded. we are trying to fulfil the needs of consumers and particularly those who are vulnerable in society. have a centre in bradford, a telephone sales operation —— telesales, and we had a food box programme. we weren't sure what the demand would be on day one but we sold 8004 hours. we have ramped up from 11,000 to 20,000 a day —— we sold 8000 in four hours. we are aiming to get to 300,000 of those boxes in the next two weeks. there we must play our part, but already there are very significant increases in both slots that are available and the way we will feel what i would call remote orders in the end home shopping, not having to be done by computer. time is of the essence, though, isn't it? competition was being relaxed. is it time to work more closely with other supermarkets, so sau and tesco could ta ke supermarkets, so sau and tesco could take a postcode and share deliveries —— say you? take a postcode and share deliveries -- say you? it is something we will ta ke -- say you? it is something we will take on very seriously and working with the authorities we have already worked together well in my view. so we could see more of you working with other supermarkets. let's talk about the food bank initiative. you are planning to relax the three items policy. how will that work? well, we have always had a variable maximum cap on restricted sales. that is part of it, but we our as food makers, providing £10 million of food into our 500 stores so our community champions can help restart the nation has ‘s food banks. for many people who use the feedback, thatis many people who use the feedback, that is their only store and this is a very important part of society. we will play our part so nobody is left behind. so if i am will play our part so nobody is left behind. so if! am a will play our part so nobody is left behind. so if i am a customer going in tomorrow and i want to buy an extra tin of baked beans, i will be able to do that and with that in a food bank designated area? exactly that. we have converted the cafes, which are currently operating into community hubs in parts to come and the pickup donation areas will be very visible from this morning in all of our stores. in the end it is the choice of the public, isn't it, if they are prepared to buy three, leave one, that would be terrific for the food banks, but as i say, we're putting in £10 million. relaxing four items into three, is that perhaps coming down a little bit, are they shopping in a more responsible way? i think it's a dynamic situation. we have taken around 10,000 items of the cup, but that leaves us with 5000 still on. very few items where we have gone from three to four, we have taken it off areas like canned soup and flower and we had increased wine from three bottles to six —— flour, but toilet paper, and milk, there are still maximum, so it is a fluid situation. it is a fluid situation overall, it is day by day, week by week, for everybody. what do you see the long—term impact on your business model being? is it too soon to say? yeah customers have been remarkable and people have been unbelievable. the british food industry will emerge stronger as a result from the virus. david potts, thank you to all of your staff, yourself and all of the staff working in supermarkets across the country. thank you very much. good to have information from the frontline of the supermarkets. we have to change the programme at the moment, we will have carol, three minutes to the hour at 27 minutes past the hour. that is because we won't have the regional news at those times anymore that you can get your original news online —— regional news online and on the radio and website. we have had to make some changes because of the coronavirus outbreak. we promised you carol at 7:57 a.m., but we are a bit early. yeah! it's nice to see you, good you, bit early. yeah! it's nice to see you, good morning. some beautiful weather watchers pictures in this morning. look at this from st andrews in five stop the forecast todayis andrews in five stop the forecast today is generally a cloudy one. it's not going to be as windy as it was it's not going to be as windy as it was yesterday but it still will be quite windy for some, and if you are exposed to that wind, it will feel cold. and we're at some scattered showers as well as we go through the early hours of this morning. and across the north—west of scotland and eastern areas, on the top heels of some mountains —— on the tops of hills and some mountains, we have had especially cold weather. the direction of this high pressure has sunka direction of this high pressure has sunk a little further south, allowing the wind to come from the atlantic rather than straight down from the arctic. so, a lot of cloud first thing this morning, we still have showers, if anything they will push further west as we go through the day even into the afternoon we have a mixture of dried spells, some showers and a fair bit of cloud across scotland. northern ireland, you could catch the odd shower as well but quite cloudy as well, same for northern england. one or two brighter breaks but, a fair few showers. and in central and south—eastern england as well. it's also worth noting the uv levels are moderate. if you are taking exercise today outside, do better in mind. temperatures are about 8— 10 degrees, but in the wind it will feel colder than that. through this evening and overnight once again it is fairly cloudy, still a few showers around. the wind is continuing to ease down and even though there will be some holes in this cloud, we are not expecting any widespread issues with rust. you may see one or two pockets but that is it, there is too much cloud and it is going to be too busy. tomorrow we start on that note, again, fairly cloudy, brighter skies for the longest tomorrow will be across the south—east of england. the wind continuing to come down and temperatures are similar to today but not feeling as cold because it will be as windy. 8— but not feeling as cold because it will be as windy 8— 10 degrees. as we had from wednesday to thursday, we're at against —— again subtle changes. we have some rain introduced, but a bit of cloud once again, not as windy, breezy conditions, but look at the temperature along the ease closed, 11 degrees. you haven't seen that very well. still not brilliant because wednesday is the first of april, of course, but better than it has been. for thursday, april, of course, but better than it has been. forthursday, ourweather front sinks further south taking the rain with it. it's a cold front and behind it we see a return to colder conditions. this showers through the course of the day are increasingly turning wintry on the hills and mountains. south of that weather front we back into cloudy skies, yes, there will be some breaks and bringing highs of 11—12 as we pushed to the south. but only 5— nine as we move further north. it looks like at the moment as we are heading into the moment as we are heading into the weekend, it will turn a little milder but at the moment it is looking like probably the latter pa rt of looking like probably the latter part of the weekend. i'll have more details in half—an—hour. good morning. welcome to breakfast with dan walker and louise minchin. 0ur headlines today. 20,000 ex—nhs staff return to the service to help fight coronavirus. the figure is revealed by the prime minister in a message recorded from isolation. one thing i think coronavirus crisis has already proved is there really is such a thing as society. his comments come as england's deputy chief medical officer warns it could be at least six months before life in the uk returns to normal. a breathing aid that can help keep coronavirus patients out of intensive care has been created in less than seven days and is expected to go into production next week. easyjet grounds its entire fleet of planes. the airline says travel restrictions across europe mean it is no longer viable to fly any commercial aircraft and there is no certainty when they will re—start. making a difference in a world without football manchester united and england forward marcus rashford talks to us about protecting children on free school meals during the coronavirus crisis. it's monday 30th march. our top story. 20,000 former nhs staff have returned to work to help the fight against coronavirus, according to the prime minister. borisjohnson, who's self—isolating after contracting the virus, made the announcement in a video online. it comes after one of the government's top medical advisers warned it could be at least six months until life in the uk returns to ‘normal‘. rich preston reports. it's been a week since borisjohnson first said life in the uk would have to be severely restricted, but the message from england's deputy chief medical officer on sunday's downing street press briefing was clear. we need to keep that lid on and then gradually we'll be able to hopefully adjust some of the social distancing measures, and gradually get us all back to normal. so i think three weeks for review, two or three months to see whether we have really squashed it, with about three to six months, ideally, and lots of uncertainty in that. tweeting from isolation after testing positive for the virus, borisjohnson said the policy was still to delay the spread of the disease and to reduce the strain on the nhs. we are going to do it, we are going to do it together. one thing i think coronavirus crisis has already proved is that there really is such a thing as society. the uk coronavirus death toll passed 1000 over the weekend. on sunday, it was announced that 209 people in the uk had died in a single 24—hour period. the uk government has promised to ramp up a virus testing in the uk, particularly amongst nhs staff, amid pressure to ensure adequate protective equipment for those on the front line. downing street says measures are in place to keep supplies going to the nhs, using the armed forces when needed. the scottish government says it has delivered 34 million items of protective equipment to hospitals across the country, and eight weeks worth are going to be delivered upfront to gp surgeries this week. 750,000 people have volunteered to help the nhs during the coronavirus pandemic, and 20,000 former nhs staff have returned to work. work is continuing on the temporary nhs nightingale hospital at london's excel centre, and news that easyjet and virgin have written to some of their staff to ask them to work at the medical facility. with hundreds of flights cancelled, the airlines say their staff could provide vital nonclinical help to hard—pressed nhs staff. rich preston, bbc news. we will be talking about that in about ten minutes. in the last half hour, the care minister helen whately told us the government was working hard to address the supply issues with protective equipment. 0ver over the last two weeks, 170 million items of ppe went out across nhs and social care, every hospital, every gp provider, to all registered care providers including over 25 million masks. a huge effort has been going out. it is a logistical exercise to get the stock to the front line when there has been a huge call for that equipment. and yes, i know that people want to have a very clear guidelines on when they should be using ppe, so we are looking again to make sure those guidelines are clear enough. 0ur political correspondent jessica parker is in westminster for us now. good morning. there are big demands on the government at the moment, particularly about testing and personal protective equipment, the impact on the government's response at the moment with the prime minister sending out videos from isolation, no health secretary, matt hancock also in isolation, and so is professor christopher t. the big hitters in government at the moment are currently out the equation. —— chris whitty. they may dispute they are out of the equation, we saw this video from borisjohnson equation, we saw this video from boris johnson yesterday, equation, we saw this video from borisjohnson yesterday, he posted it from isolation in his flat in downing street, dressed up in a suit and tie purposefully, his voice was and tie purposefully, his voice was a little bit hoarse but he was trying to suggest that he was still coordinating the government's effo rts coordinating the government's efforts from self isolation. we saw him pictures at the weekend of him chairing government weekends meetings remotely. three senior figures including the prime minister in self isolation, even if they are working from home, there will be concerns about what impact they will have. we will have the press briefing later today, the prime minister very unlikely to take that, a number of senior ministers have stepped up to take that in recent days so that will continue. two issues the government will be under considerable scrutiny for this week. testing, michael gove the cabinet office yesterday saying they are ramping up testing, prioritising front line staff, nhs and social ca re front line staff, nhs and social care workers, the government has faced questions as to whether it has produced in tests for those people and more broadly, and that personal protective equipment for those front line workers that the social care minister was talking about a moment ago on bbc breakfast. the other thing we will see in the next few days, boris johnson's thing we will see in the next few days, borisjohnson's letter that he has penned to households across the country, it will be landing on doormats where he does warn quite starkly that things will get worse before they get better. he talks about the possibility of further restrictions if the government thinks that is necessary. 0ne restrictions if the government thinks that is necessary. one of the other big takeaways from the weekend was, the deputy chief medical officer, jenny harry talking about how life could not return to normal for three to six months. she said it was a movable feast, not a straight timeline, it depends on our behaviour but you could see measures gradually readjusted and relaxed over that period. social distancing measures and restrictions could be with us for some time yet. thank you, much to digest this morning. a breathing aid that can help keep coronavirus patients out of intensive care has been created in just a few days. the device, which has been developed in collaboration with the mercedes formula one team, delivers oxygen to the lungs without the need for a ventilator. here's our medical correspondent fergus walsh. it's a small device that could make a big difference. known as continuous positive airway pressure, or cpap, it pushes oxygen into the lungs, keeping them open, making it easier to breathe. they're already used in the nhs but are in short supply so a team modified and improved an existing design in less than a week which has now been approved for use by health regulators. normally medical device development would take years and in this instance we've been able to do it in days because we've cleverly thought about how we can go back to existing devices and models, reverse engineer them and then engage with our industry partners to manufacture them at scale. this demonstration was done at university college london hospital, which is now using the device to treat covid—19 patients. i sincerely think it may actually save many lives by preventing patients from needing to go onto a ventilator and again saving that vital resource for the very, very severely ill. every second counts in motor racing. here, mercedes formula 1 partnered with doctors and healthcare engineers on a medical device that could be mass produced. this is a great example of how the nhs, universities and industry are working together at extraordinary pace to meet the challenge posed by coronavirus. if the trials of this device go well, then mercedes formula 1 says it can produce up to 1,000 of these a day. in italy, around half of covid—19 patients given cpap have avoided the need for intensive care, and unlike mechanical ventilators, there's no need for them to be sedated. fergus walsh, bbc news. we have some news that has emerged in the last hour. easyjet has grounded its entire fleet of aircraft due to the coronavirus pandemic. the airline had been helping to bring back british passengers who were stranded abroad but the last repatriation flight landed on sunday. easyjet says it can't be certain when commercial flights will re—start. in scotland a volunteer scheme for people who want to help the nhs battle coronavirus has been launched today. first minister nicola sturgeon announced ‘scotland ca res' yesterday, calling on former health and care staff to come forward, as well as members of the public, to act as community response volunteers. a lot of people are keeping fit at the moment by following instructors likejoe wicks or the green goddess on tv or computer screens. but some residents of hamburg, in germany, can enjoy a live class simply by looking out of their window. ready? ready! 19—year—old fitnesss instructor pato cervantes is leading a 30—minute work—out in the street every morning, in all weathers. he said he was inspired after seeing his neighbours drinking wine on their balconies and he thought they would prefer some aerobic exercise instead. i bet some of them have wine and exercise, possibly not at the same time! a combination! a great idea if you live in a block of flats, some can be downstairs. we are all in the situation at the moment where everything feels of the world is closing in a little bit, in terms of being in lockdown, we don't know how long that will last. and for some people come exercising is so important. for everybody at this point. yes, maintaining that mental and physical balance. there are so many opportunities, through your computers or on the street. it's like being part of a community as well. 11 minutes past eight. airline cabin crew are being invited to join doctors and nurses at the new nhs nightingale hospitals to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic. with all planes currently grounded, thousands of virgin atlantic and easyjet staff have been asked to swap the skies for scrubs, and join the volunteer effort. for more on this, we're now joined by england's chief nursing officer, ruth may, who's in colchester. good morning, thank you forjoining us. tell us a little bit about what's happening with virgin atla ntic what's happening with virgin atlantic and easyjet particularly. i'm very gratefulfor atlantic and easyjet particularly. i'm very grateful for not only all of our nhs staff working across the whole of england and the united kingdom, pulling out every stop, working and supporting our patients, planning for the are anticipating, but we have lots of people wanting to come and help us. —— the surge we are anticipating. i'm very grateful for the for the help. the latest help is from airline crew, and very grateful, if they volunteer, of course, that they will be part of ourteam, course, that they will be part of our team, supporting health care professionals to make sure we are able to care for our patients coming to our doors. so where might they do it and what might they be asked to do? so far, we have got about 100 also who have expressed an interest to come back and work with our health care team. our doctors, nurses and physios will be leading health care of patients but these people along with stjohn's ambulance volunteers, along with many other support staff, will be working as a team supporting at the nightingale hospital in london. it's not just our volunteers that nightingale hospital in london. it's notjust our volunteers that have a role to play, we all have a role to play in this fight against coronavirus. so thank you to those people, members of the public, to our population that are washing their hands and thank you to those who are staying at home. tell us a bit about the nightingale hospital, when will it be ready to be opened and starts taking patients? we are hoping to take patients this week, andi hoping to take patients this week, and i know that we have got many nurses, doctors and other professionals that are volunteering to come and work at the nightingale hospital. i am to come and work at the nightingale hospital. iam particularly grateful, my inbox has been full at the weekend of third year student nurses wanted to come back onto the front line to support the nhs and i have had a many student nurses wanting to come and work at nightingale london. it's a huge challenge, we are in a global health emergency. something that i have never seen as a nurse in my 30 odd yea rs never seen as a nurse in my 30 odd years as never seen as a nurse in my 30 odd yea rs as a never seen as a nurse in my 30 odd years as a nurse, but something which is huge, massive. it's not impossible, though. and in very many ways, they are incredibly brave because they are putting their lives on the front line. will these people who go into, for example, the nightingale, have the protective equipment that they need, and will they be protected from the virus?m is vitally important that our staff wherever they are working, have the right personal protective equipment. it's not just right right personal protective equipment. it's notjust right for them to be safe, but to feel safe. that's why we are stepping up our delivery of the right ppe to the right places. we have absolutely have had challenges, and i recognise that, but we are stepping up. we delivered millions upon millions of gowns, goggles, all sorts, gloves, we have delivered lots and lots. there is a still more to do and we are really stepping it up right now. you must be in touch with nurses all the time, you say your direct message box is full, are they scared going to work? it's a very big mixture actually, there's an enormous pride in our profession, you have to look last week, there was an enormous clap for art nurses. many of them are feeling extraordinarily proud to be able to support our patients right now and into the forthcoming weeks. but then there are some stupid behaviours. some real acts of unkindness to our staff and i want to urge every member of the public to respect your profession, to protect and respect my profession and others. nhs staff are my profession and others. nhs staff a re really my profession and others. nhs staff are really working hard so please, the kind to them because they may just be saving your life very soon. you talk about stupid behaviours, what kind of thing are you talking about? some people have been verbally abused in the streets, i know that some have been spat at in the street. it's not right, these people are working so hard, around the clock, they are getting ready for the surge that we know is coming and they are working, huge personal thanks to them and i believe the nation, owes a huge thanks to my profession and other nhs staff. thank you for your time this morning. thank you. communities secretary robertjenrick announced that the number of volunteers who have signed up to help the nhs during the crisis has hit 750,000, three times the initial target. ata at a daily government briefing yesterday, this is what he said. we have all been moved by the number of people who have signed up to be one of the nhs's voluntary responders. today we can announce an extraordinary three quarters of a million people have signed up to do that. in every city, in every town, in every village, there is going to be work to be done and in each of us, there is the power to do it. and so, please take part, please play your part, please consider your friends, your family, your neighbours when you are shopping, please call the elderly and support them. when this is done, and it will be done, we all want to be proud of the part that we have played together. extraordinary amount of volunteers, isn't it? let's speak to two people who are working with organistations that are supporting our nhs. alick varma, who's been providing staff with free hot meals, joins us from london, along with cassandra baiano who's been helping health workers with their daily tasks outside work. she's in dundee. good morning to both of you. cassandra, firstly, health ship, i think that's what it's called, give us an idea of how you set it up and why it works. by my medical student in scotland. a fellow student of mine and! in scotland. a fellow student of mine and i thought what can we do and what should we be doing in the next few months and we saw there was a potential for next few months and we saw there was a potentialfor an next few months and we saw there was a potential for an area to help health care staff on the front line by supporting them in their daily tasks like childcare, grocery shopping, things like that and we have a tech background so we thought we could do it by building a system that could coordinate that. tell us what's going on, fodder peeping helping with mostly? at the moment it's childcare, ba by—sitting. helping with mostly? at the moment it's childcare, baby—sitting. we are looking at expanding that into medicines pick—up, pet walking, things like that, whatever the front line needs. just be there for them. alick, tell us about providing the nhs with meals. for those who don't work in the nhs, lots of canteens are closed down and when you are on are closed down and when you are on a long shift, the need for hot food is essential. exactly, we set up meals for the nhs dot—com on saturday, i've been speaking to friends who are doctors and nurses in the front line and realised at the end of 18 hour shifts, going in to save lives, they were encountering canteens that a shorter empty vending machines and we realise you can't say the nation on an empty stomach and we wanted to bring together the local community to fund meals from local restaurants and catering companies that would go directly to front line staff. we are seeing lovely pictures of the meals arriving, tell us how many people have been able to get meals to? we've now sent meals to over 4000 people, 4000 meals in exactly the la st people, 4000 meals in exactly the last seven days. the maximum i had to wait was only ten minutes. 4000 bill so far however we've gone on to raise over £330,000 which will allow us to give out 160,000 meals across the country and tonight we will do the country and tonight we will do the first meal drops outside london which is really exciting. brilliant. you are helping thousands of people. cassandra, coming back to you, you started this in dundee. what is the response been like? as we understand it you're getting volunteers from across the uk and the republic of ireland as well, is that right? we lost about seven days ago as well. we got about 800 users on the platform at the moment so we decided to expand over to ireland as well. from devon up to over to ireland, people are getting involved. what the reaction been from people that you are able to help? everyone seems to be really appreciative. it's the little things that allow them to go on and do theirjobs. that was our mission. alick, i wanted to come back to you. when you think about the scale and the number of people who have wanted to volunteer, to help particularly the nhs, 750,000 people, that's half the amount of sta b people, that's half the amount of stab that work in the nhs have come forward in the last few days to say they want to volunteer and be of assistance. there is such an appetite to support our front line carers, isn't there? absolutely. there is a real opportunity for us, sitting at home right now, besides staying at home, to make a difference, to those people who are putting their lives at risk to save us. and we found the donations we have received had made a real difference, people sitting at home might have saved money from not commuting to work and they are giving us that money that will go towards making a difference but in the meantime, we had large donors coming in and offered to sponsor entire hospitals for the duration of the covid—19 crisis and last night we committed to having one hospital funded for seven meals a week, 200 meals a day for the entirety of this crisis so help is coming in small and big but adult an exeter prince. where is the food made? we partner up where is the food made? we partner up with local restaurants that are still providing services and local packaging companies so it's being made by local businesses, that's the second benefit we can bring, keeping local companies alive during this really ha rd local companies alive during this really hard time and what's great is we work with hospitals to understand their safety requirements, delivery requirements and we can fill that gap with local restaurants.” requirements and we can fill that gap with local restaurants. i was reading a lovely tweet from someone who said they were coming towards the end of the shift and 50 burritos turned up! and i know, in the scale of things, it's just a burrito turned up! and i know, in the scale of things, it'sjust a burrito but when you've been working that hard and you think i need food and maybe there is only a vending machine and a barof there is only a vending machine and a bar of chocolate available to you and you've got to work with some food in your stomach, that hot meal can makea food in your stomach, that hot meal can make a huge difference and also make you appreciate how people outside of the industry that you're working in our caring for you as well? i think that's absolutely the case. we've seen messages coming to us at 2am, 3am, in the morning, from doctors and nurses, saying how grateful they are. they can take a bit of a break, have a meal together, as a family, as we are doing in our hassles sol together, as a family, as we are doing in our hassles so i want to say thank you to them but thank you to over 6000 people so far who had donated to the fund. huge thanks across the board. cassandra, i can see very across the board. cassandra, i can see very briefly smiling, from you it's a big thank you as well? absolutely. the community coming together, its been amazing in support of the front line. it makes me quite emotional. that's lovely, thank you both very much and good work, both. thank you. it is important, isn't it, aside from bringing you the news and the numbers and statistics, i think something we really enjoy doing over the last few days just watching those smiles, it's just wonderful. thank you, it's nice to have a little bit of good news, actually. it makes a big difference when you can have that real tangible impact on other people. sometimes, like you say, a burrito at 3am can go a long way! especially if your name is dan walker. with everyone over 70 advised to stay indoors, coronavirus has meant a huge change in lifestyle for older people. among them is 94—year—old d—day veteran and fundraiser extraordinaire harry billinge. earlier this month he received an mbe for the tens of thousands of pounds he's raised for a memorial to the british veterans who died in normandy. tim muffett‘s been in touch to see how he's getting on. d—day veteran harry billinge, mbe, has faced formidable enemies before. at 94 years old he's at home in cornwall, keeping coronavirus at bay. hey, harry, how are you doing? i'm feeling very, very well indeed. and i don't take any chances, i've been sitting in my armchair, i got the fire on and some light reading, i got a lovely hot bed with a blanket to get into, so i'm very comfortable and very grateful to everybody that's been very kind to me. normally, you are out fundraising. how hard are you finding it having to stay indoors? it's been very difficult because i felt a bit guilty. i ought to be out and about. that's about £35 there, harry. the other day i was very good at giving orders, but when i was in the army i was also very good at obeying orders. idon't mind. my mind is free, i can be anywhere. you've faced many enemies in your time. how do you rate coronavirus as an enemy? when there's evil, it's a very good thing to draw people together to realise we don't live just for ourselves, but for other people, and that's what i've tried to do all my life. kids 8—years—old, 12—years—old, going out... if you're in isolation and want help, we'll fetch them. shopping or do anything for you. so everybody‘s marvellous, really, people are rallying around. it's like the war years, everybody mucked in, which is great. i know everyone on breakfast and all our viewers want to wish you all the very best. have you got a message for them? don't get dragged down, just keep going. remember the good days. remember, you've got a lot to be thankful for. you know, you won't get worried about living with yourself in your own home. if you can't live with yourself, you can't live with anybody. harry, thanks so much for talking to us. from all of us on breakfast, and i know, from all our viewers as well, very best wishes and stay well. all the people from the bbc have been very kind to me personally, and i'd like to say a big thank you. thank you very much indeed. thank you. it would like you to say thank you to harry for once again, particularly at this time, cheering us up. we talk about positivity, he a lwa ys us up. we talk about positivity, he always lifts your spirits. there's a slight change to the programme this morning, there's no regional news. the weather will be a 20 minutes —— 27 minutes passed and three minutes to the hour. carol, good morning! good morning everyone. the weather isn't replacing the local news, it's just a safety thing, less people in the building and that kind of thing. they're a bit of cloud around this morning, also not as windy as it was yesterday but if you are in the wind that we have today, it still will feel cold and we got scattered showers in the forecast as well. they've been following through the course of the night, some of them wintry on tops of the hills, some of them getting to the west, the north and east we are seeing them, that process will continue through the day. high pressure still driving the weather but its likely change position, that means the wind is coming from the atlantic, it's a milder direction for us and the arctic where it was coming from this weekend. we got a lot of cloud to start, showers in abundance, some of them getting over towards the west of the uk through the day, even into the afternoon across scotland. still some showers. not everywhere but wintry over the hills. you could catch the odd shower in northern ireland and northern england and there will be one or two brighter brea ks there will be one or two brighter breaks like we had this morning. but for wales, through the midlands, east anglia, the south of england, channel islands, you could catch a shower. these temperatures are eight -11 shower. these temperatures are eight — 11 degrees, below average for the time of year. as i mentioned earlier the wind is lighter than yesterday, if you are in it it will still feel cold. as we head on through the evening and overnight, again looking ata evening and overnight, again looking at a fairly cloudy night, showers around, the wind continuing to ease and there will be holes in the cloud. we are not anticipating any widespread issues with rust, you may see some pockets in sheltered areas but there will be too much cloud or it will be too breezy to have any real issues. tomorrow we continue with a fair bit of cloud around, still some showers as well, the brightest skies the longest period likely to be in the south—east, we will see some sunshine. temperature wise, similar to today but because the wind is lighter than today, it will feel a little bit better. by the time we head into wednesday, we have a slight difference in the weather fronts coming our way. have a slight difference in the weatherfronts coming our way. it's heading on across the north of scotland, introducing some rain. as you can see ahead of it, cloud around, not as windy. look at these temperatures on the east coast, 11 degrees, we haven't seen that for a little while, pleasant respite if you are heading out perhaps to do your exercise during the course of wednesday but for the rest of us, nine or 10 degrees you can expect. by nine or 10 degrees you can expect. by the time we get to thursday, this weather front will be slipping steadily southwards as a cold front, some rain in it, behind it it turns colder and it will be fairly windy as well. particularly in the far north. as you can see, turning colder, showers turning wintry over the tops of the hills and mountains. ahead of that weather front, for much of england and wales, southern parts of northern ireland, we hang on to the cloud. 0ne parts of northern ireland, we hang on to the cloud. one or two brighter brea ks on to the cloud. one or two brighter breaks and temperatures between 11 and 12 degrees. it's fairly quiet weather—wise this week, high pressure in charge. carol, thank you. see you in 30 minutes. can't believe you've gone all the way on to 8:31am. honestly! you've gone on forfar to 8:31am. honestly! you've gone on for far too to 8:31am. honestly! you've gone on forfar too long! do to 8:31am. honestly! you've gone on for far too long! do you know what, you never throw to me on time, i never know when i am on. we nearly got there on time. i tell you what, with our new rules, it's slightly more likely! i'm not holding my breath! always nice to have you on the programme. thank you. hello, this is breakfast with dan walker and louise minchin. 20,000 former nhs staff have returned to work to help the fight against coronavirus, according to the prime minister. it comes after one of the government's top medical advisers warned it could be at least six months until life returns to ‘normal‘. more than 1,000 people have now died with coronavirus in the uk. yesterday it was announced 209 people had died in a single 24—hour period. frontline nhs workers in england are to be tested to see if they have coronavirus. it comes after criticism from medics over a lack of screening. previously, only seriously ill patients in hospital were being tested for the virus. critical care doctors and nurses will be tested first. the roll—out follows similar schemes in scotland and in wales. let's speak now to the welsh chief medical officer, dr frank atherton. thank you very much, really good to speak to you this morning. can i ask you first of all, coming to the issue of testing, we heard of the deputy chief medical officer yesterday, as part of the government's briefing here, talking in westminster about this six months until we can return to something like normality. does that fit in with this timescale that you have in your mind as well? yes, good morning. it does, we have always been saying across the four nations that as we get into these social distancing measures, the aim of thoseis distancing measures, the aim of those is to reduce the transmission of the virus, to stop the community spread. 0nce of the virus, to stop the community spread. once that has happened, there's always a risk that when you lift this restriction too quickly, the disease will bounce back and cause a large spike in cases again. the art of removing the restrictions that have been put in place will be a difficult one and will take a number of months. and have you seen a change in the number of people out on the streets? we saw pictures of attacked snowdon last weekend, —— a packed snowdon, when thousands of people went to enjoy the welsh countryside. have you seen a change in that in wales in the last few days, people paying attention to the advice? i have, it's very important, it isa advice? i have, it's very important, it is a sea change in public behaviour in the last week or so. i went out for my short run on saturday in the streets were extremely quiet even in the middle of cardiff. so it's good to see that people are taking note and it's important that we all do. if we are to break this current chain of transmission, if we managed to do that, the impact on our nhs will be much less than if we only have partial observance of these measures. just a difference in the behaviour of humans in the current period of time, people and the way that they behave, is going to make an enormous difference to the duration of the wave of this infection and the pressure on the nhs. all the health care professionals talk about the issue of testing. we hope that will be happening in england, it's already been taking place, started last week in wales. what has been the impact on testing in the medical profession? we have been testing health care workers and others for a couple of weeks now. obviously, we don't have as much testing as we would like, we have been increasing the amount of testing here in wales. we currently have a capacity of 1100 tests a day and we increase that every day. we took a decision early on that the first priority for testing would be patients, those falling into problems in emergency departments and in intensive care units. the second line of testing was for health care workers who are perhaps isolating at home and who we re perhaps isolating at home and who were really important to the front line. those front line workers who we need to get back into care, we have been testing them for a while. as we expand that, we intend to move that be on health and into social ca re that be on health and into social care and into other services.” don't want to put words in your mouth, did you say that you asked people not to waste personal protective equipment, avoid wasting ppe? can i ask you to clarify? how is that... how can it be a waste in the current climate? if people are trying to use these items, face masks, gowns and protective clothing, to try and keep themselves safe in a time like this, surely they have got to use what they have got when they can? the issue of pp has been a very significant one in wales as it has been across the rest of the uk. there are three issues, one is the guidance, we need to make sure staff have absolute confidence in the guidance and very usefully the world health organization yesterday declared that the uk guidance is appropriate and it is useful in the right guidance to protect our staff who are our most valuable resource. there have been issues around procurement, local glitches, we do have enough ppe here in wales at the moment, we have been pushing personal protective equipment out into health and social ca re equipment out into health and social care but there have been local distribution issues. the reality is there is a global market for this equipment, everyone is trying to get hold of it globally. we need to use it wisely, so it is available to staff here in wales. it is used according to the guidelines and if we do it and cautiously and wisely, then we will have enough ppe to get through. and you are confident if someone working this morning is concerned about that, you can reassure them about that? there is enough ppe in wales for the current demand and the levels of demand that we are seeing, we are moving it out through the system, there have been some distribution issues which we are trying to improve. there is ppe available. the important thing is that people need to understand what the ppe is and what the requirements are for the work that they are doing, and along with other chief medical officers, in the uk, we are looking at the guidance, constantly revised and refined the guidance, and we can expect to upload that again this week. the third issue is communication. we need to get far better at communicating to staff so they really do know what their ppe requirements are, what they should use, where they can go if they need advice, where to go if they don't have the stocks they need. one more question, some of our viewers might have seen, there has been spike in one health board in gwent, one of the worst hit areas in the uk. have you been able to analyse why that is and what are you doing to try and scale down the problem in that area? as in the rest of the uk, we know that the coronavirus is circulating widely here in all of our communities. again, just as in england where london and birmingham in big cities have been the focal points of the infection to date, we are seeing the same pattern here in wales. so the gwent area seems to be a bit ofa wales. so the gwent area seems to be a bit of a hotspot for us at the moment, cardiff, we are also seeing significant of cases. it's just the way the disease is transmitting around the country, it tends to be more prevalent at the moment in areas of high density, and there is traffic out of london and communication channels from our cities into london. doctor frank atherton, the chief medical officer for wales, thank you so much for your time this morning, good to talk to you. it is 8:39am. within the past hour or so, british airline easyjet has announced it is grounding all its planes as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. nina is back with us in the newsroom outside. good morning. iwill tell you good morning. i will tell you what easyj et have good morning. i will tell you what easyjet have said this morning, as a result of the unprecedented of travel restrictions and the implementation of national lockdown is across many european countries, easyj et has is across many european countries, easyjet has fully grounded its entire fleet. it sounds dramatic and it is but the reality is that the only flights leaving the ground have been the ones that have brought people home. airlines are under lots of pressure, some like loganair and virgin airlines have said they need a lot of government support to survive but the chancellor has ruled that out. easyjet has said their business model is strong loan term but no certainty when they will come back to normal. we expect the rent to buy company brighthouse to go into administration today, they will need a new buyer or closing down completely. they were asked to buy hundreds of —— pay thousands of customers a lot of money last year after rules over the interest that they charge. the boss of morrisons told me earlier this morning that he is willing to work with other supermarkets in order to improve delivery times. at the moment, there is more than a three week wait to get the delivery slot with morrisons, but he told us that should be changing soon. we are making great progress with delivery slots, we are up 60% from the free virus situation, that is significant progress. we now have over 100 stores doing store pick and local delivery. so we are very open my how we fulfil the needs of consumers, particularly those who are vulnerable in society. we are opening a call centre in bradford, a telesales operation. that is an emergency hotline providing a basic food box, £30 for a box with £5 delivery, they are prioritising delivery, they are prioritising delivery for those and you don't have to go online to get it. undoubtedly supermarkets will continue to change the way they work a move will have more on that as the days and weeks progress. lots of things coming up, the green goddess, and damian lewis and helen mccrory arejoining goddess, and damian lewis and helen mccrory are joining an effort to get nhs staff hot food. and sally will be chatting to premier league and england star, marcus rashford, i believe we will do that now. yes, we are to do that right now. good morning everyone. with the premier league postponed, many footballers are using their new—found free time to help good causes. we are going to talk to marcus rashford now. you have been helping with a very specific way, helping children who would normally get free school meals, to make sure they still get food at the moment, even though all of the schools are closed. how did this first come to your attention and how did you get involved? good morning to you, sally. in the past i have done a lot of work with regards to children and basically, when i heard about the school shutting down, that means free meals for some kids, they're not getting them. when i was in school, i was on free meals and my mum wouldn't get home till 6pm so my next meal would have been a pm. but i was fortunate. there were kids in many more difficult situations that don't get a meal at home. when i had the schools were closing, i wanted to try and get a positive influence going and make sure these kids were getting the meals that they need. and how much of an impact do you feel like you might be able to have at the moment? is it possible to help every child? well, we have done as best we could. i think with the donations, people donating, they have done very well. we managed to get to 100,000, which means that we get to 100,000, which means that we get to 100,000, which means that we get to feed 400,000 children. so it has been positive. quite unusually, at the moment, the two manchester clu bs, at the moment, the two manchester clubs, manchester united and manchester city are working together. that's something we don't usually hear about, how is that going? i know, but i think when times are tough, it's important that two clubs that have huge social following, its important to show eve ryo ne following, its important to show everyone that we do come together and ultimately make a difference when things are bigger than football, like what's going on now, do happen. so credit to both club.” know that educating and feeding children is a cause which is close to your heart at the moment, and we have been working on poetry competitions that you have been judging for local schools in the north west of england, who educate children with hearing loss, how important is it to you? how important is it to you? how important is it to you? how important is it to help kids at the moment? it's very important. it's at the top of my to do list. 0ur generation, there has been a lot of positive and negative influences. so i'm just trying to impact the next generation in that positive way. so hopefully they continue this when they grow and get older.” hopefully they continue this when they grow and get older. i mentioned at the start, obviously everybody has got a different type of free time at the moment. how are you managing in isolation, how managing to stay fit? of course, an injured right now. it's just about patience. i've been working hard on the bikes, following the programme from the club. i've also been playing fifa and reading, reading different types of books, been on calls, face time with my friends. it's just important to keep time passing and stay in positive vibes and keep smiling. you mentioned the injury. i know lots of england and manchester united fans will want to know how that is at the moment? yes, just taking it day by day but i can say that i do feel ten times better than how i did feel. things are moving in the right direction. hopefully i'll be ready to play soon. the last time we met was in your kitchen. we were having a cup of tea, going three entries for the poetry competition that i mentioned. have you had the chance to go through the selection of poems that the kids send you? there seemed to be hundreds of them! there was a lot but yes, we've managed to go through them with a bit of help from my family. we managed to get through them. obviously with what's going on now it's not possible for that to continue. but as soon as this is finished i'm definitely going to go to the school and see the kids and definitely give them the awards for the competition. of course you have a bit more free time to continue working on your sign language skills. you are quite a bit better than me. how are you getting on?” definitely need more time but i am definitely need more time but i am definitely getting better but yes, it's things like that, this is what i have been doing in my spare time. you mentioned reading. i know you've posted a lot of pictures of you keeping your reading going. how important is it that you pass this message on to the kids that might be following you because they are football fans, to keep reading even though there are not at school? what books would you recommend to them.” read a lot of books on mentality, that's just because in my profession i feel like that's one of the key points. i always like to keep developing and keep improving in some way. physically, i obviously can't do that right now so their main way! can't do that right now so their main way i can do it as mentally. but for kids, it's definitely important to be reading. because i feel like there's so much knowledge in books and you don't really know that until you start reading yourself. marcus, how much are you missing football? yes, it's very difficult. even on the tv, there's nothing on tv, i've been watching old games in the premier league from yea rs old games in the premier league from years ago. little things like that. that's all i can do right now but yes, i know that me and the boys are missing football. finally, message to some of those kids that you've been helping at the moment, the kids who aren't getting fed at school. what message would you send to them at school? i would say there's people out there that are dry to help them. it's important for them to keep going, keep smiling. keep themselves active. and yes, the main thing is to keep your spirits high and keep smiling, everything will be all right. marcus, great to hear from you. hopefully we will meet up again soon. and finish judging that poetry competition. marcus ratchford, we wish you all the best, thank you very much indeed. there we go. little bit of positivity for you this morning. from marcus. keep smiling. absolutely wonderful to hear from smiling. absolutely wonderful to hearfrom him. and the fact he smiling. absolutely wonderful to hear from him. and the fact he was on free school meals, really inspiring as well. thank you. another person who is trying to make a difference, we need some more of that now. as nhs doctors and nurses in intensive care units across the uk battle to save as many lives as they can, teams of volunteers are working to ensure they get fed. the actors damian lewis and his wife helen mccrory are leading the "feednhs" campaign in partnership with a number of food chains which aims to provide free hot meals to nhs staff. let's speak to them now. not the best quality line we've had on breakfast but we are desperate to chat with you this morning. good morning to the peer review. we can't even see ourselves! sorry! good morning to you. i wouldn't say its perfect televisual magic but we will persist with this and see if we can get it to work. helen, tell us about this process, fight you wanted to sign up and what's happening? we have lots of friends that we know on the nhs front line in london at the moment. we were calling them, finding out how they were and one thing they said they needed was food so we send them pizza and then we made a phone call and they said that's lovely but actually st mary pennington doesn't have a canteen so some pizzas aren't going to do it. we love various places, we are really worried about care workers doing longer hours and how to feed staff, that's a real problem, so we phoned up an individual, john vincent, already wanted to be on board and he and his wife katie, damien and i, various people have been working hard to get the imperial trust, ucl h, those hospitals, and leon together to start providing. already this morning, it's 11:30am? start providing. already this morning, it's11:30am? yes, the first meals going out. the big news is can you still see us and heroes? i'm going to interrupt you, for we lost you. helen said the big news is what is it? well, you know, this started with this effort with thousands of members of staff. leon has been absolutely incredible. and we re has been absolutely incredible. and were going to start working today in london. quite rightly, people were wanting to donate and saying how can i help my local hospital in birmingham or manchester or liverpool? the news is we've got into cooperation with nhs charities together. the mothership. charity at the nhs. all the funds when you click on leon, it will go through to the central charity and they will disperse all of it to 145 charitable trusts around the uk. that's great news. we've managed to take it national now with the help of the nhs. we are hearing you well enough to hear that obviously you have managed, one thing we were going to ask you this morning is whether you've tried to nationalise this which is great news, you've managed to do that with the help of the charity. helen, coming back to you, we've spoken to so many people over the last few days, desperate to volunteer, to help ourfront line staff. in these difficult times, it's really encouraging to hear such positive stories about people who are willing to go out of their way to make sure they can make a difference to others? it really is. it's a call to arms that's happening i think at the moment in the country. we launch this on friday. we've had so many companies contacting us. lots of people calling and saying, what can we do? you solve it with the nhs. what everybody realises is that in times like this, we are only as strong as each other and people have really pulled together. and it makes you feel like you're at least doing something in such an overwhelming situation. i'm going to ask about this question. answer briefly. hold on, we heard that! very briefly, damien first, and then you helen, what is the best thing about isolation, damien? spending time with your family! doing group meditation. and forcing my children to read with me. helen? time with the family, easter holiday soon, home—schooling, we would be shot by 0fsted! —— we would be shut down. it's been so lovely to catch a glimpse of you at home, brilliant work that you are doing. thank you so much indeed and good luck with all the home—schooling. to all the people supporting them. talk about people supporting them. talk about people making a difference, shall we have our regular work—out? it's a gentleman this morning. —— it's a gentleman this morning. —— it's a gentle one. time now for one of our regular gentle home work outs with diana moran, better known as the green goddess. good morning, everyone, i hope you're feeling well. time to move a muscle or two. i think we'll do a bit of tuning up this morning, ready for you to get out and do some gardening, perhaps, that's what i'm going to hope to do later on. or maybe take yourself off for a walk. so, let's start, once again, by warming up our bodies. so, up off your chairs. and just start lifting those feet. that's right, just a little bit of a gentle walk. now, lift those knees higher, and start swinging your arms as well. this is intending to get your heart beating, get the body warm and ready to move a few muscles. come on, let's keep going. move those arms. lift those knees. yes! there we go. that's all right. let's just go down quietly now, just a little bit. 0k. fingertips together in front of your chest. and let's fling out the arms, work the upper body. fling, and fling. we could actuallyjust do a little press first of all. let's do that again, let's do a little press, press, fling, fling. that's a bit more fun. press, press, fling, fling. working the chest, working the back. and the arms. fling, fling. too much talking, diana, this morning! fling, fling. all right, that will dojust for a moment. so, what i want you to do now is stretch out the legs. so if you've been walking, running, even the gardening, the body is nice and warm, this is the time to improve your suppleness. so just on the back of the chair here, one foot behind and press that heel down. you should then be able to feel a nice stretch on the back of your legs. that's it, good. hold the stretch like that for about five to ten seconds. if i don't always show the work on the other leg, it's because you really wouldn't want the back view of me at all on this! so, anyhow. here's the other leg. push the heel down. this is only all to give you guidance and encouragement. you can always do more for yourself. that's it, good, push, push down. feel a nice stretch. that's good. finally today, we'll stretch out what we call the quadriceps. front thigh muscles. this is important because doing all these stretches improves our suppleness. stamping around improves your stamina. flings improve strength. this is suppleness. and you must do the other thigh as well. there we are for today. so, keep fit and carry on! we will, thank you very much for watching today. see you at 6am tomorrow. hello, good morning, how are you? welcome to bbc news, i'm victoria derbyshire with you until 11. we begin week two of our partial lockdown in britain. how's it going for you? let me know the challenges and also the positivies. send me an email victoria@bbc.co.uk or message me on twitter.

Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News Special 20200405

again at allowing outdoor exercise if people flout social distancing rules. are perhaps just a weary and if you don't want us to have to take questioning the merit of the the step to ban exercise lockdown —— the british government of all forms outside feel that now is the time. in the of your own home then you've got to follow the rules. the new labour leader, position that which she occupies in sir keir starmer, has accused this country to rally the nation and the british government of making ‘serious mistakes‘ in its encourage resolve and response to the pandemic. self—discipline. we are just over one of the uk's top scientific 2.5 hours away from that address. advisors says there is currently no thank you very much. precise exit strategy from the lockdown. the religious events. exit strategies from this were very problematic, were challenging. there are a number of ideas in play. to mark the events without family gatherings and public ceremonies. our middle east correspondent, yolande knell, has been speaking to religious leaders to find out how the faithful can get the most out in the united states, president trump warns of each holiday whilst his country to prepare observing coronavirus rules. for a big increase in the number jerusalem is shut, of coronavirus deaths. like cities around the world. new york state records its biggest although its holy sites should be at the heart of celebrations one—dayjump in deaths so far. for the coming holidays. and spain has reported a fall in its daily death toll for a third consecutive day. so i‘m asking religious leaders here how people can worship safely. they need to follow all the regulations of safety and to pray at home, especially as a family. and what do you say to your parishioners who are really worried at this time? we are celebrating the holy week, meaning the passion welcome to this bbc news special. and the death and resurrection of christ, which is a message in the next few minutes we'll cross in itself, a message to downing street for today's daily of hope that the darkness coronavirus news conference, will not last. today with the health secretary matt cleaning is going on as usual hancock and the deputy chief medical as families prepare to remember officerjenny harries. the jewish exodus but first, let's bring you today's developments. a further 621 people have died from egypt at passover. in the uk after testing positive for coronavirus. but there‘ll be no big seder meals with distant relatives and friends. in a certain sense, this is going back to the passover that we had originally in egypt because the way that scripture it brings the total to 4,934. plays it out is that each person was in his own home in scotland, the chief medical when god took us from this bondage and i think this year, officer, dr catherine calderwood, we‘re all staying at home and awaiting redemption in a very similar sense. the holy month of ramadan has apologised after a warning will also be more austere from police for flouting social but islamic leaders say that may distancing guidelines for visiting her second home. leave muslims able to there have been calls for her pray more and deepen their faith. to step down over the matter. the health secretary, matt hancock has warned that it‘s going be back to basics and it exercise out of the home could be banned if people ignore the lockdown might be also a reminder for all of us that what we take rules on staying at home and social distancing. and later tonight, for granted is not going her majesty the queen will deliver what's described as a "deeply to be always there. personal" television address. this contested holy city has seen many conflicts she'll thank front—line nhs over the centuries, often between people of different religions, staff and care workers, but now a common threat while recognising the "grief", could be an opportunity. "financial difficulties" and "enormous changes" the country is facing. more on those stories in a moment, there‘s a certain willingness to put conflict on hold but first, the scottish first and collaborate during minister nicola sturgeon has said these difficult times and i would say, why not? she will not be asking dr calderwood to resign. those days showed us clearly that we are one big human family. at her daily briefing, she condemned the chief medical officer's actions this challenge is a challenge in the face of strong criticism that affects everyone so universally, so equally, from members of the public. that i think it's a real opportunity to unite. however, she said scotland's cmo amid inevitable fears at a time of crisis, was learning from her error, such sentiments offer and that her advice and expertise a much—needed spark of hope. had been invaluable. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. dr calderwood herself spoke at the briefing and again apologised. i've already issued a statement this morning, apologising unreservedly for travelling away from my home while restrictions were in place. as well as this weekend, the global impact of this, 1.2 it's important to be clear, that i also was there last weekend million cases round the world. with my husband. 65,000 deaths. i did not follow the advice i'm giving to others, i am truly sorry for that. we now say goodbye to i've seen a lot of the comments from members of the public on twitter today, people calling me viewers on bbc world news. a hypocrite, people telling me about the hardships they have endured while following my guidance. you are watching bbc news. my office has also received e—mails from members of the public who are making clear to me their disappointment, and unhappiness at what i've done. people have told me that i'm irresponsible, that i've behaved as if my advice does not nearly one million muslims live in apply to me. bangladesh after fleeing from i want people to know that myanmar, many are unaware of the i have seen all of that, and i have heard the comments. dangers of coalition government. : what i did was wrong. i'm very sorry. it will not happen again. coronavirus is an infectious disease i know how important the advice booms a loud speaker, a small way to is that i've issued. get the message out n the world‘s i do not want my mistake to distract from that. largest refugee camp, where it is a i don't want to make challenge. it has been more than a week since a the jobs of the police, or my nhs colleagues any harder, lockdown began here but many don‘t and i apologise to them as well. know why. the bangladeshi government i have a job to do, blocked internet in the camps last as chief medical officer, to provide advice to ministers year, information‘s a precious on the path of this virus, and to support the medical profession, as they work night commonty. 37—year—old shares this and day to save lives. this was a mistake, human error, dholling with his family. like many and there's no excuses. i should not have done what i did. round the world he is home schooling his children. i'm very sorry about that. i've spoken to the police this morning about this, but he is not. we don‘t know about and i'm sorry for taking up their time on this when it coronavirus, he says. we heard that could have been avoided. having spoken with the first people can‘t stay close to each minister this morning, my intention is to continue to focus other, but our home is too small. if on myjob. the virus arrives in the camps we that was doctor catherine don‘t know how we will survive. calderwood, chief medical officer for scotland speaking in the last staying healthy is tough. his family couple of hours. get a limited supply of water. only a third of refugees in the camps have soap. the health secretary for england is warning the government could ban at the market outside social exercise outside the home if people distancing is nonexistent but they ignore the lockdown rules on staying need to buy food. this video shows at home and social distancing. matt hancock said the lifting of restrictions would depend on how people behave. it comes after reports of groups people how to sneeze safely. of people gathering outside during this weekend's sunny weather. our political correspondent for weeks ngos have been raising jessica parker reports. no sunbathing, say police in this awareness on basic hygiene. if the london park, and here, virus hits this densely populated the gates are locked, after large groups were seen. now, it's empty. area, they could spread with lethal speed. this is the temporary the government says you can take one form of exercise a day, alone, or with members of your household, isolation centre. ngos are working but basking in the sun like this? to increase beds but there isn‘t a against the rules, and a stark single ventilator in the entire warning of what could happen if too many people break them. my message is really clear. camp. if you don't want us to have to take the step to ban exercise of all forms outside of your own home, then you've got to follow the rules, and the vast majority of people are following the rules, and let's not have a minority spoiling it for everybody. the rohingya fled persecution in myanmar. stepping into the debate, stateless, they rely on aid agencies the new labour leader, who are only entering the camps for essential services sir keir starmer, hinting that to prevent the virus spreading. nurses, doctors, coronavirus the things that makes the rohingya key workers, deserve refugees so vulnerable is because they are dependent a pay rise in future. on external actors and humanitarian agencies but, for now, would his party for everything. support tighter controls? there is a real concern that not yes, we would. only will they have to face we do have to take whatever the consequences of covid—19, but they‘ll also steps are necessary. lack the protections that social distancing, staying indoors, is really difficult for people. were able to give them. it's particularly difficult if you don't have a garden, as the threat of the virus looms large, a plea — if you are in a flat, and i know there are many people dear corona, please stay away from rohingya refugee camps. in overcrowded accommodation, dear world, please save us. but we've got to get through this, rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news. and every time people break the guidance from the government, they put other people at risk because if the health service can't cope, people will die. he also said ministers should be this is it from the news special. clearer about an exit strategy, but a senior government scientific time for the weather with susan adviser said the way out is still being worked out. powell. hello there, there is a lot there are a number of ideas in play. of fine weather across the uk at the they certainly will rely on scaled up testing, moment. high pressure is to thank for that. so we have to get that in place, and it‘s been bringing a lot of sunshine to many gardens on sunday. but the precise strategy has not yet been formulated. this was cambridgeshire a little earlier. not to all, though — lanarkshire. it will be in the next week or two, hazier sunshine to the north it is the highest priority of, and west of the uk in general i would say, the whole scientific because we have got a frontal system and medical community. that is draping its way around so the lockdown goes on. the north—west of the high. and as people discover they can't notice how that cloud is kind live like they used to, of streaming its way northwards out of spain. everyone's under pressure to lead by example. a strong southerly air stream — jessica parker, bbc news. that is what has been the queen is expected to give "a deeply personal message" pulling in such warm air. when she makes a special address that is what has been and that strong southerly wind will continue through this to the nation tonight, evening and overnight. stressing the value it will, perhaps, ease back a little of self—discipline and resolve during the coronavirus pandemic. through the small hours. wet weather, though, courtesy of a weather front finally pushing its way into the west through the evening. she will thank front—line nhs some quite heavy bursts of rain for a while, the rain extends further east staff and care workers, across scotland into northern england through the small hours, becomes patchier further south, but we keep that and also recognise the grief, southerly airstream. financial difficulties and enormous so these are our overnight lows. changes the country is facing. our royal correspondent they are figures more typical nicholas witchell reports. of our daytime highs recorded at windsor castle at this point in april. on thursday, the queen's broadcast will, according to officials, be a deeply personal message, so a very mild start to monday. which will reflect her experience in other difficult times. broadcasts such as this by the queen are rare. they're reserved for moments of particular national significance. speaking about the situation facing the nation, the queen will say... to start the day. the wind is lighter than today. gusty towards she will pay tribute to all those the north—west. thanks to the change on the nhs front line, to care workers, and those carrying in wind i should mention behind that out essential roles, weather front for monday, and recognise the pain already we should have some clearer air in terms of pollen levels felt by many families, for england and wales so a relief as well as thanking those for those who suffer following the government with tree pollen. guidelines by staying at home. she will say... we look ahead into the rest of the week and the high pressure starts to bulge across us again from europe and what that, once again, will do is introduce much warmer air, aside from across the far north of scotland where a weather front mayjust come into play. it is a message intended both to reassure and to rally the nation's resolve. it will be transmitted at 8:00pm tonight. so our outlook for the week nicholas witchell, bbc news. ahead is one featuring a lot of settled weather, a lot of dry weather, a lot of sunshine and, if anything, and you can watch the queen's our temperatures will start to rise, perhaps even higher than they have been through the weekend, message here at 8:00pm this evening. across bbc radio, television and social media as well. you're watching bbc news. welcome to viewers joining watching bbc news. welcome to viewersjoining us watching bbc news. welcome to viewers joining us around the world now on bbc world news, as we late for the latest news conference from we are still getting thousands of questions downing street, the home and office from viewers about coronavirus. of the british prime minister and the latest update the british government will have for us on the extent of the coronavirus outbreak in this country. we‘re going to do our best now to answer some more of them with me now is our political correspondent chris mason. on the bbc, in your questions answered. who are we expecting to see at this joining me today, catherine glass. catherine is a gp and brian daily update? we will hear from matt mccloskey, who is the former, hancock, the health secretary for as i remember, a director. tell me what yourjob title was. england and alongside him will be doctorjenny harries, the deputy i was the director of global health for public health england chief medical officerfor and i worked for chatham house. doctorjenny harries, the deputy chief medical officer for england. what will hear from matt hancock is lovely. a repeat of the message he had this thank you both very much. and thank you very much for agreeing to answer the questions i have. this catherine, let‘s begin with you, julia. can covid—19 droplets infect our cells through cuts on our hands if we‘re not wearing morning on the andrew marr show, emphasising his willingness to step gloves ? up the nature of the lockdown in the uk if he feels that people are flouting the social distancing guidelines, and the obvious contrast that will be drawn out in the questions that will follow is this good afternoon, julia. news that doctor catherine so, no, there is no evidence calderwood, the chief medical officer in scotland, who has apologised unreservedly after two that the virus is weekends in a row visiting her holiday home some 50 miles away from transmitted via bloods. her principal address in edinburgh. it's primarily a respiratory virus the news conference we had from the which has the potential to also scottish first minister and doctor affect the digestive system. calderwood in the last couple of hours, you could see that although for a virus to attack the human body, it needs to locate and invade doctor calderwood apologised and the first minister condemned her host cells, which it uses to replicate itself. actions, one question after another as these host cells are located primarily in the respiratory tract, was focused on how doctor calderwood had issued the advice to stay at especially the lower part, the lung. and they're also found home and then flouted it. yes, i in the digestive tract. so in order for a virus to attach think it was the most to these host cells, it needs extraordinarily excruciating news conference i've ever watched, something called binding sites, because here is the very person who which are a type of protein. and these binding sites do not exist is the public face of the social in any cells within the bloodstream. distancing advice in scotland. she therefore, the virus cannot invade via blood or via any kind of blood transfusion. has been the person who has fronted 36 brian, this is a question the videos that are playing on from janice crouse who asks whilst queuing scottish television emphasising the outside my local supermarket, need to stay at home and to socially the person in front of me exhaled large clouds of vapor distance, yet she acknowledges that from an e—cigarette. how dangerous is this? for two weekends in a row she broke should it be banned? i think it‘s certainly unpleasant her own advice. nicola sturgeon and actually i would say it‘s quite acknowledging that she had made a rude and people in general shouldn‘t mistake, she was wrong, and she be vaping in situations where they wouldn‘t smoke knows that and has apologised at that supermarket. but in terms of coronavirus, unreservedly. the first minister believes it is in scotland's i don‘t think they‘re adding any great risk, though clouds interests that doctor catherine of vapor from e—cigarettes look quite dramatic. calderwood remains in post. it would appear that she did offer to resign they‘re probably not exhaling any more but the scottish first minister wa nted but the scottish first minister wanted her to stay in post, after particles than normal. so providing you stay, the scottish sun on sunday you‘re six feet away from them. photographed her and her family it won‘t increase your risk. the scottish sun on sunday photographed her and herfamily in fife at the scottish holiday home it is a bit rude and selfish. she has last weekend. she has even we‘re having to learn had a visit today from police a whole new etiquette, scotla nd had a visit today from police scotland reminding her of her own even though we‘re supposed to be such experienced cures. advice about social distancing. it could not have been more awkward for i have read reports that more than her today, and a statement from 60% of the people who died in china police scotland in the name of the from covid—19 had high blood pressure. are you considered a higher chief constable ian livingstone, risk if you suffer reminding herand chief constable ian livingstone, reminding her and the scottish from high blood pressure? people of the very advice that she has been giving to the scottish you are not considered high risk if you suffer from high blood pressure alone. people. in this downing street press of course, if you have associated heart disease, you are considered conference, as you said we will hear from matt hancock, health secretary at higher risk. there have been some unfounded media for england, who has been front and centre in the last few days having reports that taking certain blood recovered from coronavirus himself. pressure medications can change what about the prime minister, who the shape of cells and make them has also been affected? matt hancock more at risk of developing has also been affected? matt hancock has been at the news conferences every day for the last few days or being infected by coronavirus. since returning from his own this has been completely unfounded. self—isolation. the prime minister, those drugs include medications the latest to be had from downing street, is that he still has a temperature and has remained in like ace inhibitors. self—isolation, that is the advice, you're meant to self—isolate for a week, or until the symptoms subside. when i last spoke to downing street, so any medications they said he still had a temperature ending in —pril, and angiotensin two receptor blockers. and therefore he still was self—isolating in his flat in number 11. self—isolating in his flat in number ii. we self—isolating in his flat in number ii. we learned yesterday his fiancee carrie symonds has had the symptoms but as i say, this has been completely unfounded, said patients as well. she is pregnant and due to with high blood blood pressure alone and not known have their first child in the early to be at increased risk. but what i would say is if you did, summer. have their first child in the early summer. she hasn't had a test but you are unfortunate she has had the symptoms. we await enough to become unwell with coronavirus symptoms or indeed any update on the prime minister's with any other kind of illness it‘s best practice just to call health. matt hancock said this your gp, because if any patient morning that he was ok and he was who is on blood pressure medications continuing to work. we know that or other medications that matter, becomes unwell, they often yesterday he had a conversation with need to tweak the medications they take for a few days sir keir starmer, the new labour until they recover. leader. so the emphasis from downing street is that he has been continuing to be prime minister, continuing to be prime minister, continuing to be prime minister, continuing to work, albeit from self—isolation. but clearly has been unwell, albeit with mild symptoms. one issue for the government, as you mentioned, has been the worry that people might end up being outside more than they would like with this warm weather but this press conference will take place after the news they have been a further 621 deaths of people in this country with coronavirus. now, where have we got to in terms of perception of the government's handling of all this? the new labour leader sir keir starmer has had some pretty strong words. he has. it has been quite striking in the last 2a hours how the language from the opposition has stepped up. while sir keir starmer said he will not oppose for opposition's sake and wants the government to succeed because he said it is a national emergency and a global emergency, he says in an article written in the sunday times today that the british government has made serious mistakes in its handling of coronavirus. he says he welcomes the additional clarity that welcomes the additional clarity that we have had in the last few days about testing, this aspiration to reach 100,000 tests a day by the end of this month. to put that into perspective, there have been 195,000 tests in total since testing began. that should be happening in two days, ina that should be happening in two days, in a matter of weeks, and that isa days, in a matter of weeks, and that is a total that's been running for several weeks. he also says there has to be a clear exit strategy for how the uk gets out of the current restrictions and that that should be published, and he argues that there must be much more clarity about the delivery of personal protective equipment to front—line workers in health and social care. so, a pretty stinging criticism from him on that. the idea of publishing an exit strategy, we have also heard from one of the key scientists advising the government, that there isn't a precise exit strategy at the moment and that they would have to be a range of different scenarios depending on how cases arise and how many deaths there are and the extent of infections. and both he and others in the scientific community among the modellers have been keen to avoid the kind of language round an exit strategy and wanting to talk about what is going to be a staged process that could take some time. crucially make the argument that we are only a couple of weeks into this, and an exit strategy is a long way off, there is all sorts of ideas that have been floated about by the government about how you might do it. not least about this idea of an immunity certificate, that that scientists can say if you have had it you have some level of immunity. which feels like a long away way at the moment. you could have a situation where people were issued with some sort of documentary proof they have had it and crucially, cannot pass it on to anyone else. there are all sorts of questions about the extent to which what some might regard as a dystopian idea that half the population or a chief co nsta ble of that half the population or a chief constable of the population would ca rd constable of the population would card carriers saying they have a certain liberty to be able to do a greater range of things than others and of course, arguably you could in that situation have a scenario where people who feel they have been the most diligent in social distancing have their liberty restricted further, whereas others who perhaps haven't and have caught the virus as a result are able to travel much more freely. so there is massive political questions about how you would implement that if even if the science gets to the stage that is something you could do if you chose to do it. thank you to the moment. chris mason our political correspondent. we are waiting for the latest news conference from downing street, the daily news conference, the update on where we are, with coronavirus at which journalists will be asking question, so journalists will be asking question, so two part, both what the officials and the government minister present put forward and the questions after, so we put forward and the questions after, so we will cross live to it when we have it. in the meantime convenience shops have seen a surge in sales in the past few weeks as more people shop locally for essentials. many small stores in some air areaings have started delivery services but it is not the same for retailers in town centres or train stations. at this store in cambridgeshire it isa at this store in cambridgeshire it is a race to keep shelves stocked. sales are up 75%. as soon as we saw a small bit of up lift in sales and we are seeing what people are buying, we instantly said, one item percustomer, and please use your common—sense, we serve a lot of elderly and vulnerable people. check out screens, hand sanitiser and a queueing system should protect staff and customer, maintaining staffing levels is a challenge. just in the last week, we have lost three members of staff as a precaution, so we have had to isolate them. this ba kery we have had to isolate them. this bakery and spa shop says it has been like christmas eve every day with staff doing 16 hour days to cope with customer demand. more and more, they are using us instead of the supermarket. things like meat sales we have had seen 800% increase. we doa we have had seen 800% increase. we do a free home delivery or we have been doing a call and collect and we go out to the kerb with their shopping. had you ever done anything like that before? no. most of us are are still relying on supermarkets but convenience stores have benefitted as people stay home and shop local more often. it is not a universal boom though. stores in now empty city centres or near major transport hubs find that customers and business have suddenly disappeared. and those need help if they are going to survive. those businesses are akin to restaurant, pub, hotels, airline industry, where those industries were maybe three weeks' ago and there were facilities put in place and that same system applies to convenience stores who may find themselves having to close in the coming weeks. spa has stores in 49 different countries and that has helped inform its uk response we have tried to understand the italian buying behaviour, the times of day people will shop and we have also taken a lot of to protective measures we have seen taken a lot of to protective measures we have seen in the uk. stores like these say the government paying sick pay has been a lifeline and they hope many of their new frequent customers will stay when the pandemic finally goes. glasgow airport is converting a car park into an coronavirus testing facility, the long stay car park will become a drive through testing site for front line nhs workers only. here is our scotland correspondent. glasgow airport would usually be gearing up for the buzz of the easter holidays, but these planes are going nowhere. the check in hall is early quiet and the escalator is transporting no—one. but from today, the airport's 17 acre long stay car park has been transformed, into a coronavirus testing facility. it is one of a series of measures round the uk to increase the number of people being tested for covid—19. the secretary of state for scotland who himself developed mild symptoms said it will keep our front line who himself developed mild symptoms said it will keep ourfront line nhs staff doing thejobs said it will keep ourfront line nhs staff doing the jobs they are trained to do. allowing those who do not have the disease to go back to work, and treat those who are most in need of care. we are increasing nhs scotland's current capacity of 1900 tests a day to at least 3,500 tests a day, by the end of this month, at the latest. at glasgow airport those being asked to provide swa b airport those being asked to provide swab samples will feed an appointment and the centre is not open to members of the public. where do we stand with the nhs when we know those brand—new hospitals are already set up or in the process of being set up, continuing questions about protective equipment i think the striking detail that we keep getting now from the chief medical officers in the different parts of the uk and from ministers as well, are the core facts that i can rely on. one of the big challenges is the business of the lag, so the institute social distancing but the consequences don't play out in the figures for a couple of weeks after. what they can point to and they frequently point to, is the headroom that remains as far as to, is the headroom that remains as faras nhs to, is the headroom that remains as far as nhs capacity is concerned and matt hancock has done that for the last few days, pointing out how many critical care beds there are still available for covid—19 patients and then looking at the regional hotspots so london has been a regional hotspot for some time and the expansion of capacity coming at the expansion of capacity coming at the nightingale hospital in east london. yesterday it was striking there were references made to the situation in the midlands, there is concern in the english midlands of a spike in cases there, and the provision that is being created at the nec in birmingham to expand the headroom they would have as far as critical care is concerned. the percentage increases in the midlands are significant albeit from a relatively low base, as far as ppe is concerned, it is quite something, the amount of communication we have had at the bbc from people on the front line, not just had at the bbc from people on the front line, notjust in hospital, not just front line, notjust in hospital, notjust in gp practises but in care homes as well. the message from the health secretary has been this isn't an issue of supply, it is an issue of distribution and he did say this morning that there have been fewer calls to this hotline he set up, allowing medical practises to ring up allowing medical practises to ring up and demand more ppe and hopes thatis up and demand more ppe and hopes that is an indication that the problem isn't as significant as it was. and we will see him in hopefully in the next few minutes at this latest news c0 nfe re nce the next few minutes at this latest news conference from downing street. thank you very much. let us look at developments also round the world. despite another 674 deaths in spain, the country has seen another daily decline in president trump warns american to prepare for ‘the toughest week‘ with many worldwide cases have passed 1.2m, with at least 65,000 deaths. in italy there is also hope that the crisis has passed its peak. our europe correspondent jean mackenzie is in rome. we had encouraging signs not only has italy reached the peak of the epidemic but things could be starting to turn round so we had fewer deaths than the day before. 681, that is the first time deaths have been in the 600s for well over a week and a number of patients in intensive care fell. hospitals finally starting to see progress. the lockdown at the moment is to ta ke the lockdown at the moment is to take place until 13th april, so that is after easter, now there was some suggestion from italy‘s members of thejury psi suggestion from italy‘s members of the jury psi response team the other day —— emergency response team this could be extended into may. it is too early to say how long it will go on for, it depends what happens to the infection rate so over the coming weeks and the death rates because the authorities are desperate to prevent the likelihood ofa desperate to prevent the likelihood of a second outbreak or a a resurgence of infection, they are saying it is too early to ease restrictions the hands will be tight today. road blocks are being stepped up. police telling people to stay at home, no do what they would usually do on palm sunday which is visit friends and family, taking a traditional gift of anle live bran.. in the vatican the pope led a some liberal democrat service at a quiet st peter‘s basilica. the service did not include any public participation. instead, it is taking place behind closed doors as part of isolation measures that are in place. ? germany experts say measures taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus there have also started to show an effect. our correspondent in berlin explained why germany had such a large capacity for testing. political will. angela merkel‘s government recognised early that testing was key, so the political will and the government unity was there. all divides were thrown aside, straightaway the government threw itself into testing widely. germany‘s federal structure helps here because the way the health system is organised and the way government and, and administrative structures a re government and, and administrative structures are organised, it means lots of things are done locally so it does mean that because local authorities have a lot of power, they have budgets they have control of and decent budgets as well. that does mean that you know exactly where to locate the testing, and where to locate the testing, and where to locate the testing, and where to set up the structures. one example, down the street from here there is one centre opened a week ago. so these testing centres are springing up all over. it is not perfect because there are big queue, people have to wait a long time and there is pressure to increase that testing still more, but it certainly, germany is leading the way for other european countries looking at how to do the testing more widely, which is seen as one way to get out of this lockdown. president trump has warned people in the united states to be prepared for a big increase in coronavirus related deaths. new york state has suffered its biggest one day rise in the number of deaths so far, 630 people. there have been more than 300,000 cases and 8,000 deaths in the us in total. with new york accounting for more than 3,500 fatalities. on the lawns of central park a field hospital awaits the ill. overflow from new york hospitals which have run out of space. it is fully equipped and paid for by the christian organisation samaritans purse and will provide some relief ahead of the peak which the white house has predicted in the next six or seven days. queens is one of the cities worst hit neighbourhoods. paramedics... and we are interrupting that to go straight to downing street, and the health secretary for england and the deputy chief medical officer and their latest update. what is being done to address that critical problem, and more widely we understand three hospitals in the past few days have come close indeed, so running out of oxygen, what has been done to increase supplies to ensure that doesn‘t happen in the coming days and weeks, when clearly the number of patients will increase? yes, this is a very important operational question, we have adequate supplies of the oxygen thatis have adequate supplies of the oxygen that is needed in hospitals, we need to make sure that each hospital has that available, we have had an equipment failure, as i think you referenced, and we therefore had to divert some ambulance, but this is the normal operation of the nhs when there are things like equipment failure, of course interest is heightened because of the nature of coronavirus, but the supply, the quantity of ex general and supply of ex general is something we have been working hard on and we have a high degree of confidence in the supply of oxygen. i was going to add comments i think professor steve paris made, which is to signal this isa paris made, which is to signal this is a positive sign in most cases, if you have a whole system where it is unusual in the uk where we have a national health service, it means that we have a system of flagging, where there are potential risks or problems, before they actually become a significant problem. it is the strength of our system we have these flags going off at regular intervals and his comment back to the questions at the time was, this isa the questions at the time was, this is a positive thing, we flag them, we deal with them as they arise, but to reinforce what the secretary of state has said there is no insufficiency of oxygen and i think the public should not be concerned if they becomel and need a hospital admission that care is available to them. great. charlotte from talk radio. si thank you, mr hancock. you changed and updated the rules on ppe a few days ago. i was speaking to a doctor who said before these changes he was moving between treating david patients and cancer patients who had compromised immune systems and he was terrified that he would be deadly to them because it didn't feel it was adequate. —— covid. can i ask, was he correct to be scared and if he was correct to be scared why has something had to be changed? we have upgraded the guidance, so now in all instances it is at or above the levels of protective equipment recommended by the world health organization. but we have also upgraded it following more being known about the virus. as we have learned about the science of coronavirus over the last few months, so we will keep upgrading and improving guidance as we learn more about it. and so that was the main reason for the changes, to make sure that we reflected the latest that we know about the virus. i think the new guidance set out on thursday has been very widely welcomed and provides clarity about what protective equipment is needed in which circumstance. and then of course we have to deliver and make sure that that protective equipment thatis sure that that protective equipment that is needed according to the guidance gets to the front line. journey? just to support that, i don‘t know the individual case that you are describing, but clearly it wouldn‘t matter whether you were a cancer patient or a patient in another setting, we want to maintain good prevention infection and procedures and the bedrock of that through the nhs is a systematic practice and one reason why this country is very good. we don‘t get a lot of onward spread of infection in health care is settings because it‘s the basics, which we have been teaching the public, around good hand and respiratory hygiene in a systematic approach and using ppe carefully keeps that at bay. the new guidance, what it has done is it has reinforced the fact that our guidance previously was inconsistent with who guidance. it was endorsed. i think it was reported on the 27th by who and recognised. what we are seeing now is a slightly different prevalence of disease and we have adapted our guidance to manage that so adapted our guidance to manage that so there is a level of uncertainty and there is a level of protection which is higher in some high—risk procedures so the areas we are concerned about from the clinical perspective are what we call aerosol generating procedures under pressure, so generating procedures under pressure, so this is where you get a potential airborne spread and we wa nt to potential airborne spread and we want to make sure people have absolutely adequate protection there. the other issue is recognising the settings in which people are working. the most obvious one would be if we went back for months, very unlikely anybody in the emergency department would see anybody with covid—19. actually now in some of those settings where it is uncertain for professionals when they are first seeing patients and understanding them, it is important they have cover in anticipation of what might be a different prevalence of disease. so that‘s basically, i can give you more detail of the actual equipment, but that is effectively what we are trying to do, covering the changing circumstances. did you have a follow—up? circumstances. did you have a follow-up? i was just circumstances. did you have a follow-up? i wasjust going to ask, you talked about us knowing more about the disease now. knowing what we know now, should we have had these higher levels of protection from the beginning? were people at risk? the thing is that you can only make decisions based on the information that you have at the time. we are constantly looking for new information about this disease so new information about this disease so that we can improve the guidance that we have and the response that we have two it. the question we have in government and that i ask myself every day is are we doing the right thing now and what can we change to improve our response for the future? so you can have a debate about the past but you have to take decisions on the information that‘s available at the time, and i think the previous guidance was the best guidance possible on the information that was available at the time, and then we have upgraded it.|j that was available at the time, and then we have upgraded it. i think to support that, it is not so much... we are obviously learning all the time about the disease but the basic guidance was entirely appropriate and asi guidance was entirely appropriate and as i say endorsed by who despite some media reporting about differences. but the important thing is we are now operating in a slightly different environment. so it is the uncertainty that some clinicians, not all clinicians, find themselves in, that we have reviewed where that is to ensure that they feel safer in those environments. i think there are other opportunities we are learning from. so, for example, where we are finding that you can reuse masks safely, for example, with appropriate cleaning and technology, that‘s very helpful because of course we need to keep in mind that regardless of supplies and advice, the whole world wants personal protective equipment and it‘s really important that we all use it appropriately and judiciously, have it in the right places where it is needed but not be wasting it so that the people who are working on the front line, whether it be in care homes, domiciliary care, or in the front line ofan domiciliary care, or in the front line of an emergency department, they have the right ppe at the right time for the right clinical risk. that is what our whole basis of the guidance is based upon. thanks very much. jane marek at the i. how do you square what the queen says that about the nation's attributes of self—discipline with your warning of having to toughen the restrictions of people don't stop gathering in parks? that's to the health secretary. and to the deputy chief medical officer, what is the testing strategy for care homes and prisons, given that these are emerging as main hotspots for cases and sadly deaths? are prisons and care homes going to be next in line for massed testing after nhs workers?|j going to be next in line for massed testing after nhs workers? i think we are all looking forward to seeing what the queen has to say and watching her address and listening very carefully to it. i think the message from all of those of us across the board is very clear, which is that we need perseverance in the face of some great challenges. that also means the perseverance in following the rules, andi perseverance in following the rules, and i couldn‘t be clearer about my emphatic requirement of people, which is backed up by law to follow the rules set out and to make sure that people stay at home, that‘s the number one thing that you can do, and we have set out those four exemptions and people should stay at home unless they are going out for one of those four reasons and those four reasons alone. jenny. absolutely. you have highlighted two very critical domains, if you like, for public health surveillance and intervention. that‘s been recognised from the start of this incident and in fact is recognised before covid—19, we always keep a close eye on care homes and prisons because the setting in which people live is potentially problematic. for care homes you tend to have a collection, in the nicest possible use of the word, of potentially elderly or more vulnerable individuals. that‘s one issue. and certainly in prisons, you are intentionally, through a prison operation, holding people together. so both of those environments are very well recognised. in fact, public health england hosts the who collaborating centre for healthy prisons, so we have a lot of experience and advise other parts of the world, and i know the key co nsulta nts the world, and i know the key consultants there have been working with the ministry ofjustice and with the ministry ofjustice and with the ministry ofjustice and with the prime minister on establishing and looking at how those environments should be treated. you asked specifically about testing. testing in both prisons and care homes has always been on the priority list, so once we move from containment to delay, if you remember the categories of testing that we have, they are clinical care of patients in hospitals has an absolute category because that manages, that is how we manage the safety and the benefits of that health intervention. but what we then do is test in care homes and in prisons. what we do do, though, is we wouldn‘t necessarily test everybody because you want to test everybody because you want to test where there is going to be a positive advantage to doing the testing. i will stop in a moment. we usually test up to about five people, can vary depending on the setting, but to be sure that we have established what the issue is, it is usually quite possible in a setting like that to understand then on a clinical basis whether there is a case. it may not be laboratory confirmed but it would be a presumed clinical case. thanks very much. jim at the ft. sorry, you wanted to come back, jane. i wanted to come back on the question of testing, that is that they are next in line, but when will that testing take place given there are probably lots of people that are very concerned about their relatives in care homes and also the people who work in care homes and the people who work in prisons?|j the people who work in prisons?” perhaps didn‘t explain myself clearly. so, for any care home outbreaks, whether it relates to a worker or an individual resident, or a prisoner or somebody supporting him or her, those tests happen now. they are in the prioritised list already, so the groups of people who are routinely tested and have been ever since we have started responding to this incident include potential outbreaks in care homes and prisons. that‘s been going on right from the start. in terms of other workers, as we go forward for nhs workers in front line care workers and responders, clearly those are in the priority group because we recognise that those workers, we need to think of the ca re workers, we need to think of the care sector almost like the other arm. we talk a lot about the acute hospital sector but we often forget that it hospital sector but we often forget thatitis hospital sector but we often forget that it is the care sector who are operating in the community, community nurses and domiciliary ca re community nurses and domiciliary care workers who are equally important in ourdrive care workers who are equally important in our drive to manage this incident, so they will come within prioritised key workers. does that answer the question, jane?” think it wasjust that answer the question, jane?” think it was just to get clarity on when that testing would take place for those workers. if there is no specific timing... for those workers. if there is no specific timing. .. if the outbreaks happen already and the other workers fall into the expanding programme, which has been ramping up, as you have heard, and been reported on a daily basis this week. thanks. jim from the ft? secretary of state, could you please tell us yet on whether the government is preparing to take equity stakes on taxpayers' behalf in some of the large companies that have found themselves in major crisis because of the pandemic? and if so, do think richard branson's virgin atlantic is a worthy recipient of that kind of assistance given that in 2013 virgin sued the nhs after not being given a contract and richard branson lives asa contract and richard branson lives as a tech —— tax exile. niall ferguson suggested this morning there could be a staggered way of doing the exit strategy in terms of different sectors and regions coming out of lockdown before others. is that possible? i'm going to not a nswer that possible? i'm going to not answer the first question and then jenny can answer the second one. my response to the first question is this is an area which rishi sunak has been doing unbelievable work. he is recognised around the world for the first class economic response we have got here in the uk. overall, from the protection of workers, the protection of self—employed, right across the board, they have taken the right steps and i think done it with remarkable speed. of course, there is enormous economic consequences for businesses of all sectors of the decisions that we have had to take, and these decisions on social distancing aren‘t the sort of decisions anybody would want to take. that i think the way the prime minister and chancellor have responded on the economic front has been absolutely first rate and i will leave it to them to answer questions about the details of what might happen, or what might not happen, which they are best placed to do rather than me. jenny on the second question? the brief answer is all things are possible and it is important because right from the start we have driven the response from science and we have modelled, and neil has clearly been one of the key contributors to that modelling group and in understanding what interventions we need to put in at what time. i know there is a huge amount of work ongoing at the moment looking at both the individual packets of intervention that have gone in, so we staggered them in. some of them had significantly more impact on the way in and those are the ones that we put in at the time to give the maximum benefit. but clearly what we don‘t yet know, and i think this is critical, and i didn‘t hear neil‘s interview this morning, i apologise, but what we don‘t yet know is how the disease on a whole population basis has affected immunity, how many of us have had it and how many haven‘t. and that‘s important if we can find that information because it will give us an understanding then, as he has obviously described, by region, for example, so london has had a lot of cases here. if it was found that a large number of people we re found that a large number of people were immune, then it may be that different interventions could come off sooner or later. equally, if we find that there are areas where there have been less cases prevalent, then we need to be very mindful what would happen if the social interaction levels increased in those particular areas and what the impact might be. as you will have heard many people say before, the very last thing we want to do is have put in all of this effort with everybody trying to do the right thing, almost everybody, across the country, and then find we lift the lid too early and we have a second spike. it will waste the effort we have put in and we still need to get over that very first hump really of the epidemic curve and then look at the epidemic curve and then look at the detail but i can assure you there is a huge amount of work involved in that and neil clearly is contributing to it. thanks, jim. the next question from harriet at the pa. hi. many people have been social distancing will be wondering if it is safe for them to see family if they have been following the guidance over the easter weekend. are they safe to do that, if not can you explain why not? surely the chances of them having coronavirus are very very small and to dr harris, we know the testing isn't showing the true picture of the current red of the virus. how many people to you estimate have had or currently have coronavirus in the uk? thanks, harriet. the answer to the first question is really clear, which is that this virus can spread in all sorts of different ways, both from directly respiratory and also through objects and touching objects that others then touch. and the uncertainty over who has it especially before they have symptoms, means that the only effective way of bending the curve down, is to reduce that social contact, and that is why we came to the conclusions that we did, the difficult conclusions, that we have to have such extraordinary social distancing policies in place, and why we took the demore than a week ago to flip the basis of the rules from saying you can‘t do certain things to saying, you must stay at home unless you are doing one of a small number of thing, four thing, which we have been crystal clear about the rules and the evidence shows that a very high proportion of the public understand those rules, and a very high proportion of the public are following the rules and we need everybody to be following those rules, and that is why we keep, we talk about them, so much and the importance of following them. i might add to the comments on that, because i think sometimes people get, they are into the phrase family with household, and that is an important difference, so, in infection control or public health terms it‘s a household that is really important, so for example if you a group of students and you probably will be home with your family in one household, now, but previously, you might have had five stu d e nts previously, you might have had five students living in a flat, under one roof, sharing cooking, bathrooms, all sorts of thing, in infection control terms is a house hole, so the important thing is we know that households tend to have the same risks exposures so they tend to have the same opportunity to become infected from each other and that is one of the reasons we have to stay at home family isolation policies. it is is a household isolation policy. if your family is with you, the likelihood if one of you have had it, after you have worked your 14 had it, after you have worked your 1a days probably your risk is low, it is possible that one of you may have had it and not noticed anywhere symptoms, particularly, but if your family lives in a different town, they are an entirely different household, and mixing those two is not what we want to do generally. so, ithink not what we want to do generally. so, i think difference between family and households, so it is stay with the people that you live under the same roof with and keep doing that for as long as you can and safely, so that rally adds to that from an infection control perspective and i can‘t answer your second question and i am not going to try, because that is why we need to try, because that is why we need to understand the immunity, the picture across the population, obviously some countries are a bit ahead of us, somewhere like china, other countries, we learn where we can, from reports that they do, and we are looking, but there is no country in the world currently which has good population based testing for community to be able to say can confidence how many of the population have had the disease and which layer, which ages, which sexes or people with different characteristics, we need to understand that in the future. i won‘t hesitate to guess at this point. does that answer your question or explain why we are not able to answer it? yes, just to clarify, so people who have only been going to the shops or only going out for exercise are still at risk of having coronavirus, having picked up and aren't safe to travel by car to picked up and aren't safe to travel by carto go picked up and aren't safe to travel by car to go and see family or friends? that is right. i have a particular interest in this, having had coronavirus, and having come through it, obviously i have asked these questions for myself and as well as secretary of state, and we just, weave, the reason, the rules are there for a reason. even for those of us who have had it, where the science predicts it is likely that our immunity is hiring and our about to transmit the virus is lower, we are not yet confident enoughin lower, we are not yet confident enough in how much higher the immunity is and how much lower the likelihood of those of us who have had the disease transmitting it is to be able to change the rules so there is clarity on the social democrating rules for people whether they have had coronavirus or not. and the rules are the same for everyone, and will be until the science can give us confidence that we can say something different to those who have been through it. final question, paris from the scotsman. thank you secretary of state. in the past few hours we have learned that the chief medical officer of scotland dr catherine calderwood for the past two weekends has driven over a0 miles to a holiday home, taking with her on one occasion her entire family and on the other occasion her husband, how damaging is that to your efforts to convince the public to stay home and save lives? if dr calderwood worked for you would you have asked for her resignation, and can i ask dr harries, is she still an effective spokesperson for the public information campaign and do you have a second home that you visited since movement restrictions came into place. thank you. they are addressing the question that have been asked on scotland. these rules are there for everyone. we couldn‘t be clearer that the social distancing rules are there for eve ryo ne distancing rules are there for everyone to follow. i understand that the scottish cmo has apologised, and as far as i see it, thatis apologised, and as far as i see it, that is a matter for the scottish government to address. thanks very much everybody. that is it for today. and i hope that you, like me, will tune in to see the address from her majesty at 8.00 this evening, and thank you all very much indeed. matt hancock the health secretary for england giving the latest downing street news conference alongside the deputy chief medical officerjenny harry, if you were watching from the beginning you will have no titianed something different about this one. normally it starts with the government putting forward its latest update and questions from journalists but because of a technical problem at the source of the broadcast, the broadcasters did not receive that first part of the news c0 nfe re nce not receive that first part of the news conference so we came to not receive that first part of the news conference so we came to it at the time part way through the questions but we hope to bring you the beginning bit so you can see the pa rt the beginning bit so you can see the part that all the broadcasters did not receive later on. in the meantime chris mason is here. perhaps we can start where that news conference ended chris, because matt hancock was asked about the news that we had from scotland where the chief medical officerfor that we had from scotland where the chief medical officer for scotland has had to apologise after flouting her own guidance. an astonishing development. dr catherine calderwood the chief medical officer in scotla nd the chief medical officer in scotland who has regularly appeared alongside nicola sturgeon at the daily news conferences, she has been the face of the public information films demanding we stay at home and only leave the house in exceptional circumstances and the messages we have become used to over the last couple of weeks she received a telephone call last night from nicola sturgeon informing her that the scottish sun on sunday has pictures of her visitings her holiday home. we heard at the end of the news conference for two weekends ina row the news conference for two weekends in a row she visited her holiday home in fife, with her husband this weekend with her whole family, the weekend with her whole family, the weekend before, in direct contravention of the rules she has set out. there is an excruciating news c0 nfe re nce set out. there is an excruciating news conference featuring the first minister and dr calderwood in which profound apologies tumbled from the lips of the chief medical officer over and over again. crucially, nicola sturgeon, while saying yes, dr calderwood had ma made a mistakes and she was wrong and she knows she was wrong, wants to keep her in place. so she had to weather the entire news conference facing question after question about her own conduct. interestingly there, matt hancock while able to say it isn‘t his responsibility because clearly this is a devolved matter for scotland to make a decision on, he repeated, didn‘t he, these rules are there for everyone, and making the point earlier in the news conference or the bit we saw, that there is an emphatic requirement for people to stick to these social distancing rules, backed up by the law. it is important, because across the uk, people have severe restrictions on what used to be normal life, for all of us and people in many other countries are experiencing similar restrictions of which vary slightly but they have the same essence so which vary slightly but they have the same essence so the idea that the same essence so the idea that the people who give us this guidance, who put these in place will not honour them themselves. the simple reality, is while obviously the coronavirus crisis is one with deep clinical and medical concerns for lots of people, and particularly those who are ill, or who are recently breed. the experience for the mass of the population of this crisis is one of a restriction of liberty. that the reality, we are being told by medical officers across the uk and by our political leaders that is why these social distancing measures are essential. so when one of the figures who is tagg tasked with communicating that message is found and acknowledges she has twice ignored her own message, then clearly, that is something that is going to resonate and generate headlines, i suspect it will generate headlines in the uk and round the world. what a day she has had. not only has she had do that news conference standing alongside the first minister, we know from police scotland she had a visit this morning from police officers, who had to remind her of the very advice that she has been communicating to scottish people. and her apology was to everyone but particularly to nhs staff who are at the front line of dealing with this. in terms of the questions from the downing street conference, on a whole range of different things on the, the testing that might take place in prisons and care homes, co—clea rly place in prisons and care homes, co—clearly personal protective equipment is still an issue, the way out of the lockdown, there is a whole range of issues. there was. you began to see a sense in the range of the questions today, about how understandably nervous lots of people are, so just as we joined that news conference, midway through, a couple of questions in, from reportersjoining remotely, matt hancock was talking about the story we were bringing you yesterday round about this time yesterday, about the a&e at, in watford, being closed, and patients being diverted elsewhere. matt hancock making the point that is something that happens relatively often when you have an incident of equipment failure and it would only tend to generation headlines when there is a deep anxiety about the ability to cope. concerns about the provision of earn personal protective equipment, to people in front line public service, beyond those that often generate the headlines, so as you say in the context of prison staff, we have seen context of prison staff, we have seen it for a few days now, in the context of care homes and notjust gps surgeries and in hospitals, and i think adds long adds we head now into the third week of this lockdown, then the questions inevitably sharp none the direction of government, because as a country we are having to continue to live through the restrictions placed on our day—to—day life, and because of the lag that exists between implementing social distancing measure, and any potential consequence that has in driving down the infection rate, we are still seeing, aren‘t we, day—to—day very grim numbers round those who are hospitalised and those who are dying, a further 621 deaths in the uk announced in the last 2a hours. that means the total number of deaths is now edging close to 5,000, a93a. chris mason, thank you very much. at the beginning of holy week, all christian churches in the uk are closed to public worship because of the coronavirus. but one anglican parish in central london has designed a weekly online service — complete with prayer readings, homilies and hymns. what they didn‘t expect was it would be watched around the world. our religion editor, martin bashir, reports on how the parish of all souls church holds a sunday service when no—one is allowed through its doors. this is god‘s reminder that something is wrong. this is church during a pandemic. here is a virus we cannot see. and yet it might be anywhere. this rector in central london normally looks out at hundreds of congregants. now it is a single camera and online worshippers. you can get it without symptoms and yet it might kill me. god speaking to us reminds us our life is more fragile than we like to think. the music at all souls is world—renowned but the choir is now dispersed across the city. so how do you hold a sunday services when no a sunday service when no one can come to church? well, that was the challenge, martin. so we have been stitching together audio clips of people playing into their smartphones and tablets at home. here we go. clarinets and saxophones. here is the woodwind section. we have an organist, and then putting that together and making a split screen video with lots of people playing. just amazing. the sound you‘re able to get when combined together, it blew me away when i was editing it. i will give you a bit of eric singing on his phone. # no scheme of man. # ourjob is bringing god and people together, most of the time people think it is hard to meet god and now it is hard to meet people. hearing the a voiice and seeing aface is much more valuable a face is much more valuable than e—mail or text. it has been incredible to know that when you are watching, there are literally hundreds if not thousands watching the service in the morning and knowing that it is notjust london. people are watching all over the world and that would not have happened before this. this church has inadvertently stumbled upon a new era for worshipping and the local congregation has become a global one. martin bashir, bbc news. that report from our religion editor and in the studio now is our health editor hugh pym. you joined that, or dialled in, what of the term is, that a news conference at downing street which we didn‘t get the beginning of for technical reasons. matt hancock opened with repeating the key messages around social distancing, particularly in the light of his comments earlier that if people continue to flout the guidelines, that may be they will have to be tightened up, that exercising won‘t be possible. he talked about the preparedness of the nhs. and then came the opening questions. i asked nhs. and then came the opening questions. iasked him nhs. and then came the opening questions. i asked him about ventilators because earlier today, this equipment obviously very important for critical care. there has been a lot of debate about ventilators and how many there are. early in the day he said there were between 9000—10,000 ventilators in the system and he wanted to get to and could see a pathway towards 18,000. but it wasn‘t quite clear how many of those would be in place next week. that‘s when the peak of the demand on the nhs is expected to start. he said that he would get to, the system would get to 18,000 but it wasn‘t entirely clear how many would actually be in place next week. there was another question asked about oxygen supplies because over the weekend watford general hospital had reported a problem with oxygen and declared a critical incident. then the trust said that was down to a mechanical problem. it wasn‘t necessarily anything to do with overuse. but it was repeated by jenny harries, the deputy chief medical officer for england, that there was enough oxygen in the nhs to cope with a likely increase in demand. the point about ventilators ties into one about staffing and concern in the nhs that there are large numbers of doctors and nurses, and other staff who do support work in health care, who are either off sick, or having to be a way because someone sick, or having to be a way because someone in their household has symptoms. yes, there have been various figures put out there, the royal college of physicians said a week or so ago that 25% of doctors we re week or so ago that 25% of doctors were not at work because they are either looking after a member of their household or having to self—isolate or they were sick themselves. that was clarified during the week by the department of health saying for england it was about 7—8% of doctors who were off because of sickness, but nothing in terms of numbers was given in terms of those who had to be off because they were self—isolating. this is clearly a problem and varies in different hospitals in different parts of the health system. but yes, there is a worry, and doctor david oliver who is a consultant wrote a newspaper piece today about the apprehension and anxiety that many staff face and know things are coming down the track towards them in work which are going to be very difficult if demand picks up. that's why this whole question of where the peak comes and how high the peak will be is so important. the gap, or hopefully no gap, between that and the capacity of the nhs at that point in time. the predictions are pointing toward something in terms ofa pointing toward something in terms of a peak at least beginning next week but how long it goes on for is not clear. the whole point of the government policy so far has been to flatten that peak, to bring it down so flatten that peak, to bring it down so it isn‘t a spike but it could continue for a little bit longer. so no one is prepared to put any time on that, and of course the decisions about lifting restrictions will have to be made in the light of what happens through that period. but thatis happens through that period. but that is the expected time of maximum pressure on the national health service, whether it has the capacity to meet the demand which is expected. it was said in the briefing that there was a possibility that the caseload wouldn‘t be as high as what had first been predicted, although hospital admissions, we saw a slide, had picked up a bit in london and the midlands having been shown to have fallen a bit yesterday. though the point made was this was likely to bea the point made was this was likely to be a trend which was in line with what they‘ve expected. to be a trend which was in line with what they've expected. it was interesting to hear one of the key figures who has been advising the government, professor neil ferguson, talking about things reaching a plateau rather than a peak, which i guess might be worrying in terms of the fact that plateau might be quite lengthy and therefore you have that number of cases for a longer period than you might want. that is implicit in flattening the peak, that it goes on for a little bit longer. but neil ferguson and ministers have said it all depends on whether people observe social distancing. they will know by next week whether the tighter measures introduced have begun to have some impact sadly on the number of deaths and on the number of cases and hospital admissions. they will be watching that data very carefully to see where this is going and what effect government measures have had so effect government measures have had so far. hugh pym, health editor, thank you very much. technical problems meant the first part of the briefing from the health secretary matt hancock was not broadcast, and we can bring that to you now. the government is working through our action plan, which aims to save as many lives as possible by slowing the spread of the virus. protecting the spread of the virus. protecting the nhs and preventing it from being overwhelmed. our response is built upon the bedrock of the best possible scientific and medical advice so that we can take the right steps at the right time. first by slowing the spread of the virus across our society. and second, by boosting the capacity of the nhs so that we can always care for those who fall sick. sadly, that we can always care for those who fallsick. sadly, coronavirus continues to spread. i can report that through the government‘s ongoing monitoring and testing programme, according to the latest figures, 195,52a people have now been tested for the virus and a7,806 have tested positive. across the uk, the number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus symptoms is now 16,702 and of those who have contracted the virus, a93a have sadly died. we mourn their passing and we offer our profound sympathies to theirfamilies and we offer our profound sympathies to their families and their friends. i‘ve lost two people who i was fond of, so i understand what a difficult time this is for the country. this evening her majesty the queen will give a rare formal address to the nation. and i know that we will all be watching and listening to see and hear what she has to say on behalf of us all. i understand that people are yearning to know how long this will all last. and the answer is entirely dependent on how much people follow the rules on social distancing. following these rules is mission—critical if we are to protect the nhs, slow the spread and give the nhs time to expand capacity and so save lives. the more people follow the rules then the faster we will all be through it. so i say this to the small minority of people who are breaking the rules, or pushing the boundaries. you‘re risking your own life and the lives of others and you‘re making it harderfor of others and you‘re making it harder for us of others and you‘re making it harderfor us all. we have included exercise is one of the things you can leave your house to do because exercise is good for our physical and our mental health. but please do not bend or break this rule. we can‘t rule out further steps. but i don‘t want anyone to think that any changes to the social distancing rules are imminent because the vast majority are following the rules. and to you, to all those at home, to all those who are following the rules, i want to say thank you on behalf of us all. and especially on behalf of us all. and especially on behalf of us all. and especially on behalf of the doctors, nurses and other colleagues who put their lives on the line to care for you in the nhs. as well as working to slow the spread, of course, we are increasing the capacity of the nhs. last week we saw the completion of the nightingale hospital in east london. it was planned, constructed and fully staffed within nine days. it was humbling to see the nhs, the military and everyone involved in its construction pulling together in this time of need. and there are many more 19 girls to come across our entire united kingdom, including harrogate, immingham, manchester, glasgow, belfast and cardiff —— many more nightingales. these hospitals are on top of the expanding health ca re are on top of the expanding health care provision across the nhs. there are 2336 per critical health care beds in england and over 9000 ventilators are now available to nhs coronavirus patients across the country thanks to the national effort to ramp up capacity. —— spare. 300 ventilators arrive this weekend from china and we have seen uk manufacturers working at pace to develop new ones. of course, hospitals and ventilators are critical but our nhs is nothing without the people who work there. and it has been so encouraging to see over 27,000 former health care professionals signing up to return to the nhs front line. i want to say a great big thank you to each and every one of you. welcome back, and i hope that many more will sign up in the weeks ahead. this weekend, we also have launched our latest technology, a new coronavirus status checker. it asks people who currently have coronavirus symptoms to share their experiences to help us to share their experiences to help us in ourfight against to share their experiences to help us in our fight against the virus. and it will help make use of this information which will in turn help us information which will in turn help us to understand the disease. so we can, for instance, allocate resources like oxygen, ventilators and additional staff to where they are needed most. please do your bit. if you currently have symptoms. by going to www. /tasers —— status checker. the more people who use it the more informed our response will be and the smart use of data like this and digital technologies is one of the strongest bulwarks we have against coronavirus. because new technologies can help us to meet these new threats and allow us to gain the understanding and insight that we need to defeat this virus once and for all. technology is one piece of the jigsaw and an important piece, but ultimately the strongest weapon in our arsenal is if wejoin together and follow the rules that have been so i know what a challenge this can i really understand how eve ryo ne this can i really understand how everyone wants to enjoy the sunny weather. but the cruel thing is about the coronavirus as it thrives on social contact and the human bonds that bring so much to life. so we must show our resolve. all the things we miss now, going to the pub for a point with friends, or sitting in the park with a book, or hugging a grandchild, we will have these moments again and they will mean even more to us. but until then, the only way to protect yourselves, your loved ones and your community is to stay at home, protect the nhs and save lives. —— https://www. nhs. uk/coronavirus—stat— us—checker. https://www. nhs. uk/coronavirus—stat— us-checker. the health secretary for england matt hancock speaking earlier in downing streetjust after we heard the latest daily death toll of people who died after testing positive for coronavirus, which now stands at 621 in the last 2a hours. the health secretary saying he could understand how difficult this is for the country and he revealed he has lost two people that he said, "i was fond of." he had to remind on the guidance on social distancing and warning people that if they flout that guidance you are harming us all come in his words. chris mason, our political correspondent is here. that point about the guidance important because he has again warned, particularly on exercise, that people should not bend or break those rules. we are a couple of weeks into this new world we have been adjusting to, the weather is improving, the east holiday and bank holiday weekend are round the corner and perhaps people retiring of rattling round home more than they are used to so the temptation is to go out and spend more time than the guidance allows so what we were hering there was a repeat of a message we have become familiar. in blunt news terms we didn‘t learn a vast amount today compared with some of the news conferences of recent days, matt hancock repeating again something we have heard in terms of reassurance over the last couple of days about the headroom that exists within the nhs, there are critical ca re within the nhs, there are critical care beds that are still available, we haven‘t yet reached the point where the nhs is unable to cope. but then coming back to that central message about social distancing which is run through as a central theme through these conferences but was the key message today, just as it was yesterday and mr hancock saying this morning sitting in this very chair on the andrew marr show that he would be comfortable with the idea of stepping up the social distancing measures, maybe banning exercise outside our own homes. distancing measures, maybe banning exercise outside our own homesm has happened in other countries. pointing to france where people only leave home with documentation. he did say the vast majority of people are following the rules and thanked them. at this point he said the rules are for everyone, in answer to the question asked about the scottish chief medical officer, who has apologised after leaving her home to go to her second home on two occasions. the most extraordinary astonishing detail today, courtesy of the scottish sun on sunday with pictures of the scottish chief medical officer dr catherine calderwood at her home some 50 miles away from her principle home in edinburgh in fife, she didn‘tjust go there for one weekend, she went there for two in a row, in direct contravention of the advice she has been broadcasting daily from the stage standing alongside nicola sturgeon, she apologised once, again and over and over again, she remains in post, despite all of the opposition parties or principle ones in scotland calling for her resignation, suggesting her position is untenable given her capacity to i ignore her owned a vice, nicola sturgeon believes as things stand at least that scotland is best served by retaining her expertise, everyone if her embarrassment has been maxed out by a visit from the police and having to apologise over and over again in public. chris, let us hear again in public. chris, let us hear a little of what she said earlier, dr catherine calderwood, that this is what she said in that news conference. i have already issued a statement this morning apologising unreservedly for travelling away from my home while restrictions were in place. as well as this weekend it is important to be clear, that i also was there last weekend with my husband. i did not follow the advice iam giving husband. i did not follow the advice i am giving to other, i am truly sorry for that. i have seen a lot the comments from members of the public on twitter today, people calling me a hypocrite, people telling me about the hardships they have endured while following my guidance. my office has received e—mails from members of the public who are making clear to me their disappointment, an unhappiness. people have told me i a am irresponsible, i have behaved as if my advice does not apply to me. i wa nt my advice does not apply to me. i want people to know they have seen all of that. and i have heard the comments. what i did was wrong. i am very sorry. it will not happen again. i know how important the advice is they have issued, i do not want my mistake to distract from that. i don‘t want to make the jobs of the police or my nhs colleagues any harder. and i eh apologise to them as well. i have a job to do as chief medical officer, to provide advice to ministered on the past of this virus, and to support the medical profission profession as they work night and day to save lives. this was a mistake, human error and there is no excuses. i should not have done what i did, i am very sorry about that. i have spoken to the police this morning, about this, and iam police this morning, about this, and i am sorry for taking up that time on this when it could have been avoided. having spoken with the first minister this morning, my intention is to continue to focus on myjob. intention is to continue to focus on my job. deeply uncomfortable moment for her. most awkward excruciating news co nfe re nce for her. most awkward excruciating news conference i for her. most awkward excruciating news conference i have seen a public official have to give, there she is as the public face of public health in scotland, standing alongside the first minister of scotland, and acknowledging as we heard there that the police had knocked on her door to remind her of her owned a vice, and their legal obligation to remind her of all people, to stick to it is astonishing. earlier on today, the new labour leader has been making his first public appearance, interviews since being elected to his post, and he talked about the government, how in his view the government, how in his view the government has made serious mistakes, you have news in about his top team, the first announcement. mistakes, you have news in about his top team, the first announcementm the last couple of minutes keir starmer has announced some of the senior post, we haven‘t got the full list, we will get it in the next 2a hours so angela rayner who was elected at the deputy leader yesterday, will be the chair of the labour party, anneliese dodds will be the new shadow chancellor, replacing john mcdonnell. she is a former shadow treasury minister, the mpfor former shadow treasury minister, the mp for oxford east, former member of the european parliament. lisa nandy, one of the contenders for the leadership becomes shadow foreign secretary. nick thomas simmons, rachel reeves will shadow michael gove as shadow low chancellor of the duchy of lancaster and john ashworth will remain as the shadow health secretary, that team of names will form what happen he describes as a shadow covid—19 committee so will lead the opposition response do the government as far as the virus is concerned. what does that list of names suggest to you about the type of leader we will have? the most striking thing is the absence of those who were seen to be politically closest to jeremy corbyn, so away has gonejohn mcdonnell. he said he would stand down whenjeremy corbyn stood down. also gone barry gardiner, john trick kept and ian lavery and the last two we re very kept and ian lavery and the last two were very close politically to jeremy corbyn. no word on rebecca long—bailey, in the final three for the leadership, we are told that emily thornberry, who was relieved of her services as shadow foreign secretary will remain in the cabinet. we don‘t know in whatjob. nick brown remaining as chief whip, angela smith in the lords. we will see from keir starmer, an attempt in his casting of the shadow cabinet and the remaining posts to have a broader range of voices from the labourfamily, broader range of voices from the labour family, than just those associated with the left—wing under jeremy corbyn. he has been asked about whether he will bring back home who are blairites or brownites, people are keen to attach labels because we are searching for answers about the kind of thrust of direction. we are, because sir keir starmer was cautious in the way he approached the leadership campaign, he got off to a good start, he was very well—organised. he was quickly seen very well—organised. he was quickly seen to be the front runner, and then was quite cautious, because he wa nted then was quite cautious, because he wanted to ensure he was going to win and he was seen quickly, as the useful preceptable of votes of those who didn‘t want to see rebecca long—bailey win, who wanted to see the labour party learning the lessons of the last five years but asa lessons of the last five years but as a result, there is a lot about sir keir starmer politically in terms of his instincts we don‘t know. is he to the right ofjeremy corbyn? yes, he is. is he probably to the left of tony blair? yes, he probably is. but beyond that, he has been relatively circumstance spectrum and so who he puts in round his top table, and in the more junior ranks and then how he prosecutes the business of being the leader of the opposition, particularly in these unprecedented times will be fascinating. there will be continuity in thejonathan ashworth. yes. chris mason, thank you very much. more of what we heard earlierfrom you very much. more of what we heard earlier from downing you very much. more of what we heard earlierfrom downing street, because we brought you a clip a moment ago of matt hancock, the health secretary and now let us hear what jenny harries said. so, what we have here, i think we have got four slides to show what is happening over the last few days, i think it is important people can see the data, and what is happening from our intervention, and the first slide probably hasn‘t changed very much, but that is really good new, what it shows, is that our transport use is down and remains down, since early march, beginning back in february as well, and we are managing to sustain that, as the secretary of state has said, it is really important we continue to do that, despite the good weather, so thank you to the members of the public for observing that and please ensure we keep moving in that direction. next slide please. so, the second slide shows the number of new cases, now these are lab number of new cases, now these are la b test number of new cases, now these are lab test reported case, you will be aware our capacity is increasing all the time, on laboratory tests so we need to interpret this with a bit of caution. we are following to a degree an epidemic curve, we can see the rise and we will, of course, in due course be looking to see that level off, but you will notice that over the last 2a hours or so, there is an apparent big surge there, we just need to keep in mind we need to watch this for a trend over time, because as our testing capacity increases, inevitably we will find more cases. thank you, next slide please. and again, england hospital admissions for covid—19, so i think the critical thing here is again, looking at the data as it flows across, think of the trend across the points on the graph, not on an individual day—to—day basis, but nevertheless it gives an indication of how hard our different parts of the country are working, here it is hospital admissions so it is the nhs, but there will be comparative streams of health and care staff working in the care sector as well, as the number of cases rise. so clearly, london, we all know has been working super hard on the front line, as those cases continue to rise now with an increase over the last 2a hours in the north—west. we still, as the secretary of state said have capacity in all hospitals to manage these cases, and we are hoping in due course, if everybody continues to practise social distancing, that those cases will start to fall, clearly there is a delay in the number of hospital admissions, from one people contract the disease and become more ill and need more intensive care and so there will be a lag on some of this data compared with our social distancing measures. and the last slide please. and the last slide please. and again, this gives an indication of the global death comparison, now, again, as many of but colleagues have said before, —— my, this tries to give a direct comparison, even though some of the international comparative data is difficult to interpret, but i think it is important we continue to look and where necessary and where possible to learn from other countries, the uk in this slide is in blue, in the centre of that grouping, and these are the deaths which have all been calculated from a zero day, they have been brought back to who when the first 50 deaths were reported in the first 50 deaths were reported in the country. now for the uk these are covid—19 associated deaths, they are covid—19 associated deaths, they are all sad events, they will not all be a death as a result of covid—19, but certainly we need to be sure that we are counting everything appropriately, and being very clear and transparent on that, and so we will continue to track and monitor this, and learn from other countries where we can. jenny harris, the deputy chief medical officer with the latest update on how coronavirus is affecting people in england and other matter, she showed again that after london the next part of england with the highest number of hospital admissions due to coronavirus is the midlands and she was asked in the subsequent questions from journalist, about the mixing of families and people seeing their relatives and she the reality important way to think about it is not families, but households, that is the key thing, the people you live with and the necessity of noting your household with that of others. let‘s look ahead to tonight when there will be broadcast in the uk and around the world a rare message from the queen when she will issue a special address to the nation and commonwealth and i‘m joined by our royal correspondent nicholas witchell ahead of that in the studio. what are you expecting?‘ rare moment indeed, broadcast at the request of the british government but extremely unusual. we remember that the queen, queen elizabeth, is the longest serving head of state in the longest serving head of state in the world and this broad cat really will be without parallel throughout the 68 years of her reign —— broadcast. at a time when this nation and other nations are facing real peril. to find a parallel you really need to go back to 19a0 when, as princess elizabeth, just 1a years old, she broadcast at the time of 01:31:00,656 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 the blitz with her

Transcripts For BBCNEWS The Papers 20200502

and finally, the sunday mirror continues its campaign for people working on the coronavirus front line to receive bonus pay. it also reports on drug trials in the uk that could help ease the suffering of some victims. so, let's begin. let's start with the sun on sunday and the first interview from boris johnson about how his admission into hospitalfor johnson about how his admission into hospital for intensive care for treatment of coronavirus. i understand on pages four and five there is a reference to the 2017 political satire felt the death of stalin. you are on it now. you are on it now. yes, i think as nigel said previously, this is an interview full of boris isms. he talks about the indicators or monitors coming in the wrong directions and stuff like that. but underneath all of that boris blustar, it is clear that it was a very emotional time. a very emotional interview. he talks about a statement being prepared which shows how very gravely ill he was. he talks about how it was hard to believe how quickly his health deteriorated. and he also talks about and admits that he was in denial, that although he was ill and he was self isolating in downing street and working on video links and things like that, he carried on working even though in his words he fell com pletely working even though in his words he fell completely wasted. so i think it is quite revealing, revealing of him as someone who is always full of bluster and optimism and everything else, but i think he has faced reality, he knows he was extremely seriously ill, he knows it is luck but also the intense skill and care that he received which has obviously been honoured in the naming of the baby. but it is an interesting interview for sure. nigel coming to beat the sense from the interview of a changed man? actually i think we do. i certainly think that a brush with death has certainly changed him and he starts thinking in terms now of where he was very keen to get the economy started, restarted as soon as possible, and now he seems to be an awful lot more cautious. now that he has experienced what covid—19 can do. and of course we at least know i'iow do. and of course we at least know now and he was comparing himself to a comedy film, i am not a soviet dictator. she said it's all right on that one. my culture references have been fully updated in the last hour. let's go to the next newspaper and the sunday times with the lead story, set free healthy over 70 say doctors. the role college of gp says age alone should not determine people possibility to go out on their own lives —— of their lives. people in their 70s have been writing operas and doing ultramarathon. because they are over 70 does not mean they had nothing to contribute. had we effected that in? it is ridiculous and it always has been to lot people togetherjust because of their age. the british medical association says a blanket ban is discriminatory and is not equitable and there has been an awful lot of disgruntled bunt and more from very fit, active, healthy over 72 think why should they be trapped at home. and i think if we are going to manage a return to some sort of normal, new normal, the government will have to have time to handle this very carefully and it is utterly ridiculous at somebody who is fit and sensible and active and more than capable of behaving properly should be confined just because of their age when other people who may have underlying health problems or who are equally at risk are more at risk are allowed to go out and about. it is bonkers. soi to go out and about. it is bonkers. so i think this is a very important move and i think it will take a lot of the pressure off because the isolation of people and particularly older people who cannot see their grandchildren and cannot see their children, many people in their 70s have very active social lives as well and they are also useful members of the community. don'tjust write people awful is that we have seen what seven people in care homes over years and years of neglect which is now come back to haunt us literally. with a terrifying death figures in the government needs to get this right. and actually try and ta ke get this right. and actually try and take and treat people, not as homogenous groups but actually as individuals who are grown—ups and sensible by giving them information to make proper decisions. sensible by giving them information to make proper decisionslj sensible by giving them information to make proper decisions. i was struck when i spoke to over 70s who said we want to be out there and wa nt to said we want to be out there and want to contribute and want to understand why the government took decisions couple of months ago but there is a toll on them. decisions couple of months ago but there is a toll on themlj decisions couple of months ago but there is a toll on them. i think that's right. i think also she makes a very good point there, we should be treating people as individuals, not as a herd so therefore if you are over70, not as a herd so therefore if you are over 70, suddenly you have to be locked up for three months. and i think also as the science begins to improve on this, we begin to find out that people who have different reactions sojenny out that people who have different reactions so jenny harris the deputy chief medical officer was saying in the briefing today that there are some people who are taking anti—arthritis drugs who may have some protection from covid—19. now we did not know that a few weeks ago but the point she is making is there could be other reasons why the over 705 are perhaps even less at risk other people. we will go from the over 70s to i guess the under sevens. the sunday telegraph primary schools to go back injune. if you read the article does that sound physical —— feasible? read the article does that sound physical -- feasible? i think it is an aspiration. i think there is a great danger in coming up with dates. we have seen what happened to 100,000 coronavirus testing. you put a figure or a day on something and you are politician people will hold you are politician people will hold you to account quite rightly. it is an aspiration, has always been knocking around that they would if schools were going to go back that they would go back probably after they would go back probably after the end of may bank holiday half term. now there are several things here. they would not i'll go back in mass. they would be different classrooms and teachers and teaching and nonteaching staff would have to be clear and comfortable that sufficient safety and protection measures were in place. but i think there is also the question and again it comes back to how you manage the return, if you are going to care people with you to my parents have got to feel comfortable about their children going back to school and although obviously if you get young children back to school it frees up pa rents to children back to school it frees up parents to go back to work. but there is no point in doing it if pa rents a re there is no point in doing it if parents are not going to send their kids to school. we have got to handle this very carefully. and in that same article in the telegraph, the university of dundee is quoted and they are warning thatjust10% of pre—lockdown contact could risk a second peak. so you don't want to go back and then find that actually you have made things worse because then the lot and will be much greater. i mean at the moment it does not appear that children seem to be particularly susceptible to the virus itself but they are infection spreaders. they are little germ wa rfa re spreaders. they are little germ warfare on two legs. we all know that. let's go to the sunday express now and the pm plans to get britain working. markings for distancing and face covers and they have a number of proposals. i should say that when i read through all the proposals, they are exactly what this organisation has done behind me here. we have got one—way systems, we have got all over the floors. very briefly on this, you know what i say briefly in the second will be see all this in all offices? i say briefly in the second will be see all this in all office5?|j i say briefly in the second will be see all this in all offices? i think we are. and compare it to the bbc andl we are. and compare it to the bbc and i compare it to my local supermarket. who does it better? sometimes i have been lockdown. you will come back later i promise. you get a double go because i go back to you for the sunday mirror. the article on the front page reward our brae front line heroes is written by you. indeed, yes. we have been running this campaign on the sunday mirrorandl running this campaign on the sunday mirrorand i think running this campaign on the sunday mirror and i think there is general agreement that nhs worker5 mirror and i think there is general agreement that nhs workers and care home 5taff really do deserve agreement that nhs workers and care home staff really do deserve a pay rise. when this is over. the trouble is that a pay rise takes a long time to deliver. and what we are suggesting is we could deliver and given the reward now and base that reward on the operation allowance that our troops get when i go into war zones. and we have lost a petition now on the palmistry website to do just that. your reaction to this story?” website to do just that. your reaction to this story? i think it isa reaction to this story? i think it is a great campaign but i think ed davey the acting leader of the liberal democrats to suggest that some time ago so i hope he gets credit. it is perfectly sensible campaign that people who are working ridiculous hours in the front line of this terrible battle should be rewarded somehow. we did not catch your reply there. add that support oui’ your reply there. add that support ourcampaign. your reply there. add that support our campaign. going back to the sunday times and the scientists challenging number ten with travel advice on covid—19. this goes back to something that has been an issue in recent weeks. and many scientists to the government hear from? should there be more than one voice and does science speak with one voice? a few months ago them i have all said yes but now it turns out that there are many different scientific opinions. rather like economists. a few of them in the same room and they will not come up with the same answer. this is sir david king, a former chief scientific adviser himself to a couple of prime ministers. and he is setting up a rival group to sage to actually look at alternatives to what sage are proposing. now all they one hand there is an argument against this because to have two groups operating could be very confusing for the rest of us. however, i broadly agree with this. i mean, sage, i'm sure they are very well—meaning but i don't like the secrecy that surrounds them. we still don't know exactly who the membership is, we do know that dominic cummings has been listening into meetings and contributing himself to them. and so there is a bit of a question about their independence. bear in mind they all do work for the government. so broadly despite some reservations i will come once or david king is doing. we have often heard ministers saying we are following the science and then when you go on to the minute you find a lot of scientists say the scientists are a lot more complex than what we are following the sites is it worth having this rebel group? i think it is a very interesting move by sir david king because what they are doing is going to hold their first meeting on monday. and they are going to broadcast it live on youtube and i think this is go back to what nigel said about the secrecy around sage, and the fact that dominic cummings has been attending it and there is a quote from david king in the sunday times about dominic cummings is an adviser to the prime minister and the chief scientific adviser is an adviser to the prime minister and there are two voices but only one of them understands science. and i think we know who he means. the problem with science is it is very difficult for the rest of us to understand so quite often it gets written about and broadcast and talked about in bite—size chunks that are not necessarily the whole story. it is not lazyjournalism, it is just too complicated unless you have got the science editors & specialists. and here we are absolutely awash with science and i think what david king is doing is trying to the process for decision—making much more transparent. that is interesting. now to the mail on sunday which was a patient a lot of other have been running and we can now talk about it in the picture of the newborn son abortion chanson with a distinctive head of hair. and we understand —— his newborn son of borisjohnson. they have called him nick after doctors nick price and nick hart who looked after the prime minister and hospital i think is lovely thing to do. i'm going back to your original question about how this might changed the prime minister. obviously a near—death experience like this certainly has but it is great that is part of that, that these two names can live on in his new son. briefly your thoughts on that photo. we began with boris johnson and in with his son.” that photo. we began with boris johnson and in with his son. i think as chris mason was saying to you earlier, james, you could not really make it up, the life of a day in the week or a week in the day of the life of boris johnson. week or a week in the day of the life of borisjohnson. within days are coming out of hospital having been close to death, he has kept his newborn baby. extraordinary amount of hairfora newborn baby. extraordinary amount of hairfor a very new newborn baby. extraordinary amount of hair for a very new baby. but it isa of hair for a very new baby. but it is a lovely photograph and i think we all need cheering up and new babies are quite good for that. perhaps not for the mother and father who are awake at night. thank you so much. that's it for the papers tonight. my thanks tojo and nigel. the film review is next. goodbye for now.

Transcripts For BBCNEWS Coronavirus 20200516

fears the number of infections could rise. as one of the strictest coronavirus restrictions begins to ease, people in italy will be able to travel both internally and in and out of the country from the beginning ofjune. top—flight football is back in germany, the budesliga is the first major european football league to restart with matches taking place in empty stadiums. and good sniffer dogs be trained to detect coronavirus question mark a new government backed trial begins in the uk. you are watching bbc news. we will bring new life coverage of that latest news conference at downing street. that is coming up shortly. first, today's main developments. uk government and teachers unions should stop squabbling and agree a plan to reopen schools in england safety, that is the message from the children's commissioner for england who says disadvantaged children are losing out from schools being closed for so long. leaders met the government scientific advisers yesterday to seek assurances on safety, but cannot agree yet on how to assure safety. the government to set out plans to begin a phased reopening of primary schools in england from ist ofjune. the government is being urged to think —— of the public is being urged to think twice about heading to beaches and public parks this weekend. there are worries that they could be a surge in infections. department of health says a further 468 people in the uk have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus. that takes the total of deaths in the uk to 34,446. meanwhile, in a major step to reopen its economy, italy has announced plans to lift its strict travel restrictions. from the 3rd ofjune travel will be allowed to and from the country as well as between regions. football is officially back in germany. the budesliga has this afternoon become the first top—flight european league since before the suspension of play across the continent. all games are being played behind closed doors. wet as get more now on these plans to reopen primary schools with our political correspondence. pupils returning to school in france. in england a staggered plan to do the same from earlyjune in primary schools. butamid primary schools. but amid disagreement that women appointed by government to stand up for children says it is time to stop squabbling. positions have become entrenched. i fear that their best interests of children which is what we are meant to be looking at in this debate are being overlooked. i have raised the issue of that hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children that will be at risk outside school, they will not get education, they may have fragile home environments, and mental health will be suffering. she says opening things up again as a sensible and has called on the unions and government to find a way forward this on testing and controlling the risk. but parents will also be weighing up the situation. i am will also be weighing up the situation. iam not will also be weighing up the situation. i am not waving a flag saying put loads of children in a class and have it as a normal school day. i think there needs to be some kind of schooling in terms of some kind of schooling in terms of some kind of schooling in terms of some kind of non—physical contact at school. the government insists it is giving all the guidance schools need. safety measures include staggered brakes, smaller class sizes, no mixing between groups. that unions say more information is needed. we are calling on the government to set up are calling on the government to set upa task are calling on the government to set up a task force with the education unions to plan the safe way of going back to school. we want to get back. we have set out five tests which we think can be met. the government could meet them. parents would be fined if they do not —— parents will not be fined if they do not send children back so what will families decide to do? out of 28 children in my class there are ten responses think they will send their children but a lot of those parents have reservations. the government says its plan is conditional on the scientific data. it could be conditional also on how unions, teachers, parents and local authorities choose to act. we know then that children who tend to suffer —— children tend to suffer milder symptoms of coronavirus, but there are questions about how they may transmit. the government seeing it as following this science, can we recap what we do know about how children are impacted, and context regarding figures for children who have fallen ill. there is basically that gap that as you see, in the knowledge about how children are affected by this disease. it is rare that they are made very ill and in the vast majority of cases their infection is very mild. that is the good news. the scientific evidence is clear they are. the gap in the knowledge is about the role that children have in transmission. that is partly because they are generally mildly affected by the disease. because the show fewer symptoms and this is a respiratory disease and we know if you are coughing or sneezing you are likely to spread that —— if you are not coughing or sneezing you are likely to spread that disease less, children are likely to be less transmissible, that would mean classroom environments would be safer than work in finance with adults, but we do not know how much less transmissible they are. that is the open question and that is leaving a lot of doubt into their minds of parents. it does also mean that while we are living through this mass experiment, this observational study that is lifting lockdown and taking these gentle steps to get back to work and to open schools, that before there is a vaccine and place there will need to be social distancing in place. when it comes to working with smaller children those social distancing measures are very difficult. some teachers are pointing out that with very young children who are scheduled to go back to school under this government plan at the beginning ofjune that is almost impossible. that is what teachers are calling for is basically a plan for how you incorporate those social distancing measures, not just for how you incorporate those social distancing measures, notjust to make room for them but also to practically put those measures in place so that school environments can be as safe as possible. let us pick up on some of those points with our particle correspondence. of course this is an issue for parents. and in schools this is a political issue. we to hear more about this today from gavin williamson. iam sure gavin williamson. i am sure we will. schools will be the focus of today's news conference at downing street. the education secretary for england leading that briefing. there will be questions about exactly what their position of the government is and how far it is willing to accommodate the concerns and the request that we have been hearing about from the teaching unions in terms of whether it is safe or not as far as they are concerned for some children to return to school in england as early as the ist ofjune. to remind you, the government wants to see children in reception, year one and year six going back in limited numbers if possible from that date and also for some children in secondary school in year ten and year 11 to have some contact with their teachers before the end of this school year. the picture elsewhere in the uk is different with both the scottish and welsh governments and ruling out return as early as the ist ofjune. it seems that they are at the as well it is unlikely that children will go back this academic year, but after meetings between the unions and scientific advisers to the government yesterday there seem to be very little progress and the government i think is going to have to go further in terms of providing reassu ra nces to go further in terms of providing reassurances for teachers that things are going to be safe for them schools are to open as the government would like them to on the ist ofjune. and we have heard today the children's commissioner for england saying that the government and unions should stop squabbling and i agree a plan to reopen schools safely. yes. welcome to the viewers from around the world. the government and unions really have to stop squabbling and focus on what is best for children. the interests of children are in danger of being forgotten, in particular children from disadvantaged families, who are perhaps in a position to not get decent home—schooling, as others have been during lockdown since schools have been closed. she has called on the unions and the government to put in place measures which would allow children to come back, but whether that will have any effect in terms of speeding up the process, we will have to see. it does seem that there has been a little bit of a change in tone from the point of view of the unions in the last day or so. they initially called on the government to step back from that aim to go back from the beginning ofjune, but are now saying they do want children to be able to go back to school as soon as possible, broadly speaking, but do have concerns as to how that can happen. and yet, and one can absolutely understand that, because very few people can really give those reassurances, not the government and not anybody. as an longfield says, and we have got jenny harris coming out now for the press c0 nfe re nce . jenny harris coming out now for the press conference. gavin williamson is about to speak. welcome to the briefing from downing street. i am joined by doctor jenny briefing from downing street. i am joined by doctorjenny harris, the deputy chief medical officer. i want to update you on the latest data on the coronavirus response. 2,000,480 9000, 563 tests for coronavirus have fiow 9000, 563 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out. that is in the united kingdom. it includes 136,486 tests are carried outjust yesterday. 240,161 people have tested positive. that is an increase of 3451 cases since yesterday. 10,484 people are currently in hospital with coronavirus, down from 1296, hospital with coronavirus, down from 12%, from 11,872 this time last week. and sadly, of those testing positive for coronavirus across all settings, 34,466 have now passed away. that is an increase of 468 fatalities since yesterday. this new figure includes deaths in all settings, notjust in hospitals. before we begin questions from the public and the media, i wanted to remind people of details of the next phase of our fight against coronavirus. could we have the first slide please? in order to monitor out slide please? in order to monitor our progress, we are establishing a new covid—19 alert level system with five levels, each relating to the level of threat posed by the virus. the alert level will be based primarily on the r value. in turn, that alert level will determine the level of social distancing measures in place. the lower the level, the fewer the measures. the higher the level, the stricture the measures. throughout the period of lockdown, which started on 23rd march, we have been at level four. thanks to the ha rd been at level four. thanks to the hard work and the sacrifices of the british people in this lockdown, we have helped to bring the r number down, and we are now in a position to begin moving to level three in very careful steps. slide two, please. we have set out the first of three steps we will take to carefully modify the measures, gradually ease the lockdown and begin to allow people to return to their way of life, but crucially, avoiding a second peak that could overwhelm the nhs. after each step, we will closely monitor the impact of that step on the r, and the numberof of that step on the r, and the number of infections, and we will only take the next step when we are satisfied that it is safe to do so. step one from this week means that those who cannot work from home should now speak to their employer about going back to work. you can now spend time outdoors and exercise as often as you like. you can meet once a person outside of your household in an outdoor public place, provided you stay to metres apart. slide three, please. having taken the first step in carefully adjusting some of the measures and our advice to people, we have also updated what we are asking people to do, which is to stay alert, control the virus, and save lives. because if everyone stays alert and follows these rules, we can control coronavirus by ensuring the r number does not go above one, and reducing the numberof does not go above one, and reducing the number of infections. this is how we can continue to save lives, and livelihoods, as we begin as a nation to recover from coronavirus. i now want to turn to our plans for the wider opening of schools. at this time of year, gcse and a—level students would have been making final preparations for their exams, while other students would have been enjoying theirsummer while other students would have been enjoying their summer term. while other students would have been enjoying theirsummerterm. if while other students would have been enjoying their summer term. if you are one of them, as i have said before, i can only say how sorry i am that this has all happened to you this year. the sacrifices that you have had to make through no choice of your own, but the impact that this coronavirus has had on your life has made things so incredibly tough for all of you. it is now almost eight weeks since we asked schools, nurseries and colleges to close for all but a small number of children. once again, i would like to say an enormous thank you to all the school, college and childcare staff who have done so much, going above and beyond the call of duty, to care for small groups of children of critical workers, vulnerable children, as well as making sure that there are resources available at home for children to be able to learn and interacting with them, contacting them, making sure that children know that you are there for them. you have simply been outstanding, and we are so grateful for what you have done. we have been quite clear all along that we would only start inviting more children back into schools when our five key tests have been met. that position has not changed, nor will it, and it is what is guiding our all of our actions. but we do want to see children back in school because we know how much children grow and benefit from being in school. we can now start the planning for a very limited return to school for some pupils, potentially as early as next month. let me explain how this will work. i know that some people, including parents and teachers are very anxious about this. if rates are decreasing, rates of infection, it will give us a green light to get children back into childcare, and more back into school from the 1st ofjune. as part of a cautious phased return, those in reception, year one and year six will be allowed back into school in smaller class sizes. we are also planning to get some secondary school students back, those in years ten and 12, to make sure that they have the opportunity to come back to school ona opportunity to come back to school on a limited basis and have some face time with their teachers. we are prioritising these children because they stand to lose more by staying away from school. the first years of school are pivotal for children to develop social and behavioural skills, and to learn the basics that are going to have a huge bearing on how well they do in their life. students in years ten and 12 are facing the fact that they will be sitting exams next year, and it is vital that we do all that we can to help them succeed and help them do well. it is also particularly important for vulnerable and disadvantaged young people. there are some who would like to delay the wider opening of schools. but there isa wider opening of schools. but there is a consequence to this. the longer that schools are closed, the more that schools are closed, the more that children miss out. teachers know this. teachers know that there are children out there that have not spoken or played with another child their own age for the last two months. they know there are children from difficult or unhappy homes for whom school is their happiest moment in theirweek. and whom school is their happiest moment in their week. and it whom school is their happiest moment in theirweek. and it is whom school is their happiest moment in their week. and it is also the safe st in their week. and it is also the safest place for them to be. and it is thanks to their teachers and the support that their teachers give to them that they are safe, and that they are happy. the poorest children, the most disadvantaged children, the most disadvantaged children, the most disadvantaged children, the children to do not always have the support they need at home will be the ones who will fall furthest behind if we keep school gates closed. they are the ones who will miss out on the opportunities and chances in life that we want all children to benefit from, from what teachers do for them, and what schools can deliver for them. so we are asking some children to come back from the 1st ofjune. we are asking schools to adopt a number of strict protective measures. this includes reducing class sizes, making sure pupils stay within these small groups, creating a protective and small bubble around them. schools will be also rigorous about hygiene, cleaning and hand washing. school staff can already be tested for the virus, but from the 1st of june, we will extend that to cover children and their families if any of them develop symptoms. track and trace methods will then be used to prevent the virus from spreading. together, these measures will create an inherently safer system, where the risk of transmission is substantially reduced for children, their teachers, and also their families. my department has been issuing full and detailed guidance on how to implement these measures, and to prepare for wider opening. we have worked closely with the sector, listening to those who work in the classroom. we will continue to do so, to ensure schools have the support that they need. it goes without saying that we will be carefully monitoring the impact this first phase has, and will use this to guide us when we consider our next steps. this phased return is in line with what other european countries are doing to get their own schools, colleges and nurseries back. i know a lot of you will be worried about sending your children to school. every of us wants the very best for our children, and i know how this time has been for all families right across the country. i wa nt families right across the country. i want to reassure them that this approach is based on the best scientific advice with children at the very heart of everything that we do. education is one of the most important and precious gifts that we can give any child, so when we are advised that we can start to bring some children back to school, we should do so. so that they don't miss out on the enormous opportunities to learn, to be with their friends, to benefit from everything that their teachers and schools can offer them. we owe it to the children in order to be able to do that. i would like to now hand over tojenny, do that. i would like to now hand over to jenny, and then do that. i would like to now hand over tojenny, and then we will take some questions. thank you. this slide shows changing behaviours in social distancing since lockdown on the 23rd. it is taken looking back, indexed against travel earlier in the year, or in the case of rail, from last year, so we can get a good comparison of what we are doing now, and what we have been doing prior to lockdown. consistently, and thanks to the public support, you can see that in all forms of transport, we are now continuing to maintain much lower levels of travel. clearly, heavy goods vehicles, we can see, have been more active, and we would expect that in terms of supplying all our essential items. some movement now as people start to go back to work on light goods vehicles and cars. but consistently saying down, and that will continue to support social distancing as we go forward , support social distancing as we go forward, and it is important that we continue to maintain that. next slide, please. this represents our current situation on testing and new cases. on the right—hand side, the pink bar, you can see a sustained increase in testing capacity, or tests achieved, and the number on the left, 136,486 in the last 24 hours up to today, that is the highest that has been achieved since we started, and that will continue to expand so we are now very close to expand so we are now very close to 2.5 million test completed in total, and that is right across all the different types of testing, whether we are sending them out, doing them in the labs, orfrom satellite locations. the confirmed cases, despite that increase in testing capacity, and you might expect that we would actually find more cases as we were doing that, quite reassuringly, although we have had 3451 new cases confirmed, overall, that chart is still tending to trend downwards. it is a caveat because as our testing increases, we will find more cases, but still trending downwards, and our confirmed the total is now 240,161 cases in the uk. again, this is the data from hospitals, estimated at missions with covert sunni covid—19. there is a small delay in getting that data through and you can see on the slide on the right that we are maintaining a slow and steady downward trend. if we look back a week ago, those case numbers were at 971, and you can see on the graph that we were up in the thousands at the peak of the pandemic in the uk. that translates through to right across the uk on the bottom slide on the right, the percentage of critical care beds which have been occupied by covid—19 patients, again at the peak of the pandemic, over 50% of beds were being taken up, critical care beds, and on the 15th of may, that was down to 20%, again down around 5% from the week before, on average. this slide shows the number of people in hospital with covid—19 by region and uk country. we can see very clearly that the high peak in london, with a fairly sharp rise and fall, and in other areas, slightly different shapes to the peak of the epidemic as it came through. some are slightly flatter, all of them are slightly flatter, all of them are trending down slowly, so it's important that we still maintain, despite a slight listing in these measures, that we continue to practice good hygiene and socially distant and abide by all the advice and rules that have been provided. across every region and country, we have got movement in the right direction, and this week, 10,484 people in hospital today, or in the last 24 hours. that is down by about 1500 from this time last week. finally, sadly, 468 cases, deaths confirmed, where individuals have had a positive test with covid—19. we have seen over time that the daily death rate varies slightly, but overall, the seven day rolling average, the orange line, is coming down, indicating that the rate of deaths gradually as we come out of the pandemic in the uk is continuing to fall. thank you. first of all, we go to lindsay from gateshead. as a resident of gateshead, which currently has the highest rate of covid—19 infections in the uk, i think imminent reopening of schools in my area is risky, with potentially dangerous consequences. why aren't of the government taking a regional approach of the reopening of schools due to the significant differences in infection rates across each area of the uk? surely this would be a safer and more controlled way of easing lockdown? thank you, you lindsay for that question. the issue of schools reopening is vitally important for all children to have the opportunity to come back to school and have the opportunity to be with their teachers, but we are doing it in a very, very cautious and phased way. if there are concerns about the r rate, we will make sure that we look at that in great detail, and look at the rate of infection. we have five key tests, and it is only if we pass those five key tests that we will look at that phased return of schools with more children being able to attend. just to add to that, the joint bio—security centre which has been established is specifically to look at the granularity of the data and things like the r value and infection rates, and where those infections are happening. it is important to note that for most communities, the r rate is likely to be significantly lower than the national r, and that's because we recognise that there are numbers of infections generated in the health and care settings, all of which are being strongly addressed, but nevertheless, it perhaps gives a slightly different picture to the population of what the risks are in communities, and the r value has been modelled for about seven different return to school scenarios, and the one that is adopted gives a very small increase, and the design of that is to make sure that we can continue to keep those r values down to safe levels. but they will be reviewed with increasing granularity of data, as our surveys and testing comes back. next we will go to lee from maidstone. very happy to answer that question. i think the data which the nhs has put out is important data. what it was doing was looking at individuals specific diseases without perhaps taking into consideration some of the other risk variables, the other factor that each individual patient with diabetes had. for example, we know that individuals who are obese will have a higher rate of type two diabetes. we also know that they may have some other underlying health conditions, so they are more likely to have cardiovascular disease or ischaemic heart disease, for example. it is important that we put all these variables together to understand risk. the one that is coming through very strongly in our review of data as it continues to grow is around age, and we also know that diabetes, the proportion of the population with diabetes, continues to rise with age. in answer to the la st to rise with age. in answer to the last question about the shielded list, we are actually reviewing all of these different risk factors together to try and give a much more proportional representation of who might be at risk. actually, diabetes type two diabetes, not type one, is one which many of us in the population can do something about to reduce our risk so again, a plug from a public health doctor during this pandemic, do think about your diet and exercise and what you can do. next, if we can go to brandman from the bbc. the british medical association says cases are not dropping fast enough to reopen schools. if that is still there view injune, will you schools. if that is still there view in june, will you be schools. if that is still there view injune, will you be comfortable ignoring doctors in the uk, and where local councils are saying to schools they don't have to open, should school governors be listening to them, orto should school governors be listening to them, or to you? thank you. i will turn tojenny to them, or to you? thank you. i will turn to jenny too maybe to them, or to you? thank you. i will turn tojenny too maybe add some extra comments on this. we recognise how important schools are in terms of the important role they play in the life of every child. it is understandable then, when you are given the advice that there is an opportunity to start opening schools ina very opportunity to start opening schools in a very controlled, careful and phased way, because of the benefits, the enormous benefits that that delivers every single child, not just in terms of their education, but in terms of their emotional welfare, their physical welfare as well, we should be looking at doing that. but we will look at all advice that. but we will look at all advice that we get, and that is why we put different thoughts as to how we bring schools back to sage to ask quite clearly as to how that fits in terms of their modelling, and how that fits into the whole road map that fits into the whole road map that the whole government is doing in terms of notjust schools, but right across industry and everything else. it is notjust something that can be seen in isolation. it has to be seen in the totality of what is happening. i would be seen in the totality of what is happening. iwould hope be seen in the totality of what is happening. i would hope that any school, wherever it is in the country, actually puts at the heart of what it does is making sure we are delivering the very best for every single child in this country. making sure we do everything we can do to give them the opportunity to get back into school, get learning, having the benefit of being with their teachers once more. but we will be working, notjust with local authorities, not just will be working, notjust with local authorities, notjust with unions, but all representative bodies to work with them, make sure we help them to bring all schools back. as a doctor advising government, i am going to be disappointed if they are not listening to doctors, but that might be for me to cope with. the important thing is the government advisory group, sage, has input from advisory group, sage, has input from a huge amount of medical professionals, statisticians and modellers as well, and a very strong input from doctors both in clinical practice and in academic units. very considerable thought, modelling and consideration of behavioural aspects as well has gone into the advice around schools, with a number of very different scenario is modelled, for example on age and timing, all sorts of things. it is important that if other groups, whether it be at the british medical association, or other groups, have additional information that they feel may have been missed or needs to come into that consideration, i am sure that government would be keen to see that. i think the important message on the evidence that we have four children, there are two groups of potential risk groups. one of the children, and we know, we think that children, and we know, we think that children probably have the same level of infections, we are just coming through that data now, but they definitely don't get as ill. we very rarely see children in hospital in proportion to the older population, for example. and for younger children as well, evidence is still growing, but there may be some evidence there that they are less likely to pass it on. for teachers, again it is difficult because we have had a lockdown, but some high level signals, if we look at death rates, for example, the teaching profession, it is quite crude data, so we do have to look at it carefully, but the very low in comparison to a number of other different professions or work areas. sol different professions or work areas. so i think we have a number of signals that say this is a safe place to go, and then coming to the numbers of cases in our population, i think the perspective is, numbers of cases in our population, ithink the perspective is, we numbers of cases in our population, i think the perspective is, we do need to keep them down, we need to actually track them now as they are dropping and really get on top of it, it is a great opportunity, but the latest data suggests that last week there was about one in 400 people with infection, another couple of weeks, that is halving at our current reduction rate, so it will be half that rate. parents and teachers should not be thinking that every school is likely to be swarming with cases. we are moving in quite a different direction now. on that point about the school governors, they are going to be thinking about their legal responsibilities in terms of making each school safe. how are they meant to reconcile that conflicting advice that they are getting from you, and from local councils? our guidance has been quite clear. we have made it absolutely clear that there is a set of five tests that we are going to be judging as to the opening of additional year groups for schools, and if we pass those five tests, then we will look at opening schools up then we will look at opening schools up more from earlyjune, from 1st of june. but what we would ask them to do is look at the guidance very carefully and recognise the fact that we are there to provide the very best for every single child who goes to that school. the best way of doing that, the best way of protecting children, the best way of giving them the best opportunities in life, is actually to have them coming back into school, and this is a very small, tentative step in what i believe is the right direction if we i believe is the right direction if we pass those five tests, but it is being done incredibly cautiously with the welfare and the interests of children and those who work in schools absolutely at the heart of it. we heard yesterday that the r estimate had been revised upwards. can we get a guarantee that if there isa can we get a guarantee that if there is a spike in infections what is the r point you would consider revising the guidance? i will hand over to cheney on the r rate specifically, but we have a series. what we did was we asked sage and government scientist to look at different models that we were proposing to see what would have the least impact in terms of that r rate. that r rate published yesterday was under one. that rate is derived from a number of different modellers, each group will put in slightly different data, will process it in a different data, will process it in a different way, they are compared to come out with a broad consensus, all of that models were assured it was coming out under one, you are right it had gone up slightly, using that consensus model, from the previous estimates, but nevertheless, they have also been very clear, and i have also been very clear, and i have said frequently, we need to be careful what it is. we have got a number of different r rates. it is like seeing everybody in one area has the same sort of house. we clearly know that we all have different circumstances. the circumstances for r relates to where infections are most prominent and we need to understand the risks as to why infections are rising in certain areas and what we have there are predominantly three different r values, community, most people in their homes, that is household data, we have care homes, which have had high rates, they are starting to come down, and we have had hospitals. it is difficult, it is important we keep an eye on it. it is important that we understand how it is in different areas but it is also important we understand what the drivers are in the areas because it may well not be stopping children going back to school, it may be putting completely different measures in two perhaps a local hot spot, whether that be a hospital or a care home, as we get more information from the surveys going forward we will be able to do that increasingly. without putting ideas into politicians mouths i think it is important that we do understand that on a regional basis and look below that top level because we do not want to detract from the majority of children's education which will set them up for life and employment and actually predict their longer term health outcomes by clamping down perhaps just their longer term health outcomes by clamping down perhapsjust on their longer term health outcomes by clamping down perhaps just on a single area. would you like a follow—up question? single area. would you like a follow-up question? please correct me ifi follow-up question? please correct me iflam follow-up question? please correct me if i am mistaken but you did not rule out there might be a significant rise in infections if you open up schools. if you are getting an average r value based on the community is there a figure based on the community that if it surpasses you would consider reversing this strategy? the decision for reversal clearly will go back to ministers. we do the scientific advice. what i was trying to say is on the modelling the model that has been adopted, the suggestion of younger children going back to school, it is notjust because of the school environment, it is because of the behaviours that go with it. if you put back a load of older children they tend to get on buses, travel longer distances, have different social interactions, some of those social interactions are far more significant in moving that r value than actuallyjust going back to school. the important thing is we need to understand in each area what it is. if you had a region where the r value had not come down quite so much, if that was because there was a high population level of disease, then you may well wish to consider what social interventions, including education but also what we were doing in parks and all sorts of things, what you wa nted and all sorts of things, what you wanted to do, that is why the joint bio—security centre has been set up to be able to see that. what you would not want to do is for a very small change in r, which is predicted from opening up schools in the ways that they have, very small amount on top of this, you would not wa nt to amount on top of this, you would not want to stop the education of children when actually the right interaction would be to manage an outbreak in a care home, for example. and just to emphasise we have taken the most cautious and precautionary approach to this and the reason that we have set up their three alert level is to guide not just governments but the public to the challenges and changes as we fight this virus. two questions, if i may. with increased hygiene measures and decreased class sizes is the case that children in reception year one will not be expected to socially distance when they interact with classmates in the classroom? secondly, there will be millions of children who will not be going back to school for many months. what are you going to do to ensure national coordination and support to make remote learning more effective, to ease the burden which is currently falling largely on the shoulders of individual teachers and parents. thank you on both of those questions. what we are doing is proposing an entire range of different things that we want to see happening within schools. we want to make sure firstly we will not be bringing schools back and mice we have satisfied that five key tests. we have established a hierarchy of controls. making sure that people are staying at home if they are symptomatic of coronavirus, making sure that there is a proper hand washing and hygiene mechanism within schools, making sure there is incredibly thorough cleaning mechanism within all schools. but a key element of it is about minimising contact and minimising mixing. that is why we have gone in this initial stage of much reduced class sizes, down to a maximum of 15, and we have looked all the way across europe to see how this best works. we have seen some very good exa m ples works. we have seen some very good examples in nations such as denmark where it seems to have worked very well. what we are doing by doing all of these things is proper hygiene in place in terms of children and those who are working within the classroom, we who are working within the classroom , we are who are working within the classroom, we are creating a protective bubble around them, reducing the amount of mixing, making sure that those small groups stay together, almost like a family within a classroom. and by reducing the amount of contact that they have with other children and with other teachers as well we dramatically reduce the risk of them being in a situation and getting coronavirus and continue to keep transmission low. as you have said, and align all of these interventions are public health principles which we are all trying to do, reduce the number of social interactions we have need to do that in a balanced way. on the aduu do that in a balanced way. on the adult side we have said we can go outside more. we know that is a reasonably safe environment. for children in these environments you look and see what are these hierarchies of control that we can do? good respiratory and high gene are important. teachers are brilliant at getting kids to do things. more successful than parents in my experience, they can get them to wash hands systematically, this isa to wash hands systematically, this is a good educational learning place for hygiene interventions. importantly, for hygiene interventions. importa ntly, as the for hygiene interventions. importantly, as the secretary of state has said, this idea of having a small group where you have interaction, you will increase the level of interaction a small amount but it is contained, therefore children have benefited from that, it is not exponential if you like. even within a classroom, although we recognise small children will run round and interact and we expect them to, you can still distance. i know this is the plan. for example work desks can be distant. a child rushing past in a normal weight is not much of a risk but if they were sitting directly opposite each other ina sitting directly opposite each other in a small space close together for a long amount of time that might be more of a risk. all of the interventions are designed to minimise those while still allowing children to learn. and ifi can pick up children to learn. and ifi can pick up on your second question about how we are supporting children and families, again, to take the opportunity to thank so many within the teaching profession for the amazing work that they have been doing in terms of supporting children as they learn at home. there is no substitute for the child being at school and having the amazing opportunity to sit in front of their teacher, be inspired by their teacher, be motivated by their teacher. that is why quite understandably we want to see when the time is right for children to be able to return back to the classroom. but we have already seen a number of interventions that we have already made. we have set up a national academy. this is something that has only been going for three weeks and we have already delivered 6 million lessons through this national academy, a truly transformative experience, delivering brilliant education into the homes of so many. equally we recognise as children from disadvantaged backgrounds that may be do not have access to the internet or computer resources, that is why we are spending over £100 million making sure we can get la pto ps million making sure we can get laptops out to some of those children that have been suffering as a result of not being in school and not being able to learn and be supported by the internet. and we are looking at a package of other measures. we are looking at how we can support children to learn. whether the return to school, we are wanting to catch up on some of the things they have missed, or whether they are not in that position to be able to return to school. another great hope of your government was to level at the society. what does the future hold for children who go to special schools? is it reasonable to think that social distancing can be enforced? that social distancing can be enforced ? what that social distancing can be enforced? what help will there be for teachers to make up lost time and make sure these children are not left behind? will you run special classes for all vulnerable children in the summer? given that teachers are concerned about a return injune is there a possibility of considering starting the next year in early august? there are currently no plans to start the new school yearin no plans to start the new school year in early august. in terms of our fees, year in early august. in terms of ourfees, gradual cautious year in early august. in terms of our fees, gradual cautious approach to children returning to schools, this is something that i very much hoped teachers parents and children have confidence in. you raise an important issue. we got elected on an agenda of levelling up right across society. whether it is children or adults, and through education, education is the greatest leveller. and the department has been doing an enormous amount of work over the past few weeks about how we drive that agenda for birds, making sure that we do not miss out asa making sure that we do not miss out as a result of this crisis, making sure. “— as a result of this crisis, making sure. —— drive that agenda for birds. make sure they benefit from some of the best teaching in the world stop we are looking at different initiatives that we could maybe look at, rolling out during the summer period. but i will probably not divulge those at the moment as we have a little bit more work to do on them. i am not sure if there is a follow—up question. work to do on them. i am not sure if there is a follow—up questionm teachers are so worried that they refused to go back to classrooms is there a possibility they would face disciplinary action if gaps in the workforce could not be met, would you consider allowing head teachers to hire graduates to all those gaps? and because the government has said there those with important exams next year should go back first why is it year six that will not have exams next year are ahead of year five who are looking ahead to sitting exams? one of the key reasons that year six was chosen as they are a key transition year as many of those children will be moving on to their next phase of education by going to secondary school. we felt it was important for them to have the opportunity to go back to school, finalise some of their study, and be ready to move on to the next stage of their academic career. we are working with all the teaching unions across the sector to give people the confidence about the importance of returning to school. every teacher understands that there is no substitute for a child being ina is no substitute for a child being in a classroom being taught by them. they are the ones that make a difference to a child's life, they are the ones that inspire and motivate them to learn and want to learn, to be hungry for more, to be able to achieve the maximum. we will continue to do all we can to make sure that as many children as possible, only when it is the right time, get the opportunity to be in the classroom, and we will work across that sector for that and i look forward to working with pa rents, look forward to working with parents, children and of course teachers, to make sure that we get the very best for children. you made the point about the fact that the most disadvantaged children are the ones who are really suffering at the moment from not being at school. in your discussions with the union leaders who seem to not wish to return on the 1st of june are you worried that they do not understand that or that they are prepared to sacrifice that? i think everyone, and we have seen it over the last period, teachers going above and beyond in terms of supporting children, making sure that schools are open every single week, opened over the easter holidays, bank holidays, supporting children from some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable backgrounds. also supporting the children of critical workers. and every teacher i have every spoken to understands absolutely clearly, absolutely clearly, that actually a child in school, especially if they are from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, they achieve so much more about being in school, they absolutely thrive, they get so much more from life. this is one of the best places as part of their life in order to succeed and grow. i think teachers understand that so incredibly well. the one thing i would say, not just incredibly well. the one thing i would say, notjust to unions, but to all organisations that represent schools and governors, at my door is a lwa ys schools and governors, at my door is always open, i am always keen to listen and talk to them. i have been meeting both representative organisations of school groups but also unions every single week, not just since the schools were closed but before hand as well. and i a lwa ys but before hand as well. and i always wa nt but before hand as well. and i always want to talk. we want to find practical solutions to make sure that those children from most disadvantaged backgrounds do not lose out as a result of this crisis. could i follow that up and say, are you saying that from your experience the teachers, or many of them, do not agree with what the union leaders are saying and therefore you would like them to, you would appeal to teachers to go back to school and ina sense to teachers to go back to school and in a sense ignore what the union leaders are saying? teachers have been absolute heroes all the way through this crisis. they have been leading by example, they have been going into school, they have been running lessons, not in the classroom, but reaching out into peoples homes. they understand the importance of schooling, they understand the impact that can make on the lives of children. they understand and know the importance of what they are doing and how they can change the lives and life chances of all children, especially those who are most disadvantaged. but i would say to all teachers, thank you for what you are doing, please keep doing what you are doing, andi please keep doing what you are doing, and i want to work with you to make sure we continue to deliver the very best for all of our children. nigel, from the sunday mirror. primary school teachers are predominantly women. how will they be expected to go back to work when there will not be any childcare available? children will be allowed to take their own lunchboxes to school but not their own pencil cases, what exactly is the difference? you are absolutely right to highlight the important need for many teachers at primary school, across all school sectors have in terms of needing an education for their children and you will notice their children and you will notice the guidance that we have issued on 24th of march of this year which actually included teachers and all those who work in schools as critical workers. those teachers, those teaching assistants, those who work within the school environment, all have access to education provision for their children. that is quite an interesting question, i have not heard that one before. the basic public health principle is you want to keep everything as clean as possible at attached points, the normal things such as door handles, wipe down frequently. in a children's environment there are certain things that you can control pretty well which might include pencil cases and things that you use routinely during education. and by doing that schools can provide them and ensure that they are maintained and cleaned. the issue about lunchboxes as they are quite personal to the child is eating the lunch and i can almost guarantee that one child will not wa nt to guarantee that one child will not want to eat the lunch of the one sitting hopefully two metres distant from them and when you are eating you are also putting your hands up to your mouth and up to your face so there is a differential they are around risk, both on what individuals need and what that schools can supply, and managing the hygiene around it but for both of thoseit hygiene around it but for both of those it is important that both of them are kept as clean as possible and that good hand hygiene particularly, encouraging children to wash their hands before and after eating as well. thank you so much. thank you for taking the time to listen. stay safe. and thank you if you are still watching with us. let us recap. gavin williamson, education secretary, focused heavily on their plan to get pupils returning to schools in england as early as next month. he said the government wants more children back in school. he talked about wider opening in england as rates of infection start to decrease, starting with reception, year one and year six returning from the 1st ofjune. he stressed it would be small class sizes, that is despite those concerns from teaching unions. secondary pupils, particularly those in years ten and 12 will also be brought back on a limited basis to ensure, he said, that they get that face time with their teachers that is so crucial. he said they would be strict protective measures in all schools including extra hygiene, and pupils in small groups, creating what he called protective bubbles around them. he then went on to say that there will be a phased return of all pupils with close monitoring of all pupils with close monitoring of all pupils with close monitoring of all that goes, with any further return of pupils based on the best scientific advice. gavin williamson said testing of staff is set to begin injune with testing also available for pupils and families if they develop symptoms. those plans are for england, there are currently no plans to open schools and the rest of the united kingdom. let us pick up on some of those headlines with our political correspondent. i was also quite intrigued by the language. it struck me he talked about balance, the benefit of children being back in schools, talking about minimising risk. his tone was quite conciliatory, he did not rein back on anything he has decided that he was conciliatory and compassionate, stressing the need to get vulnerable children especially back into school. yes, it was fascinating to hear what gavin williamson had to say in that news conference. he was stressing over and over the benefits as the government sees it of getting children back to school as soon as possible, allowing them to mix with their peers and learn, not only develop in an academic sense but also in terms of protecting their mental health as well. again and again he was coming back to that. but there was no shift in the government position and they do want to see schools reopening in england for some children as early as the 1st ofjune. for some children as early as the 1st of june. that for some children as early as the 1st ofjune. that is still clearly the government's aim, even though unions still remain opposed to that, resista nce unions still remain opposed to that, resistance to it, they are not yet convinced it is safer teachers to go back into the classroom, or indeed for schools to do that. the education secretary stressed that the government had been listening to this sector aren't working closely with teachers and unions but he said the longer schools remained closed the longer schools remained closed the more children will miss out. again and again he also came back to the fact it would be disadvantaged children who would miss out the most if school is kept close for longer. particularly towards the end there seeing that his door was always open and that he wanted to talk and listen to the concerns of unions and find practical solutions. he went out of his way they are to sound, as you say, conciliatory, and not see anything that could be deemed confrontational or that could perhaps antagonise the teaching unions who the government is clearly keen to work with, whilst not shifting from its stated aim and purpose of being able to reopen schools. facing tricky questions as he might be expected. the bbc correspondence said who were schools supposed to be listening to because there was a dichotomy in terms of local authorities and the unions. yes that is a key question because there are mixed messages from the government, from unions, doctors, local authorities, from some schools who are keen to reopen. parents and teachers are in a difficult position. and as the question suggested they are going to be heeding different messages from different people and wondering who to listen to. both the education secretary and the deputy chief medical officer were trying there to see that everyone's opinion is valid but they have a central message that it is safe as far as the government is concerned and the best course of action to open schools on the 1st of july. and some interesting thoughts and comments from the deputy chief medical officer about different scenarios put to the sage committee advising government about how different approaches to opening schools might pan out, this one particular, having children reception, year one, year six, limited numbers, was judged reception, year one, year six, limited numbers, wasjudged to have more impact so there might be calls for more detail on how that conclusion was reached. just going back to that big picture, where do you think, having heard the press co nfe re nce where do you think, having heard the press conference today and what the government has had to say, where do you think it sits now in this entire crisis in terms of education? will this have allayed some of the fears and answer some of the questions? ido and answer some of the questions? i do not think that rowe has escalated. the education secretary was going out of his way to stress the benefits and make the case for bringing children back to school in a couple of weeks' time at the beginning ofjune but also clearly mindful of the fact that they need teachers on board and the unions on board if that is going to work and allow them to do that. practically towards the end they are interested towards the end they are interested to hear him saying his door was a lwa ys to hear him saying his door was always open and that he wanted to listen to concerns. whether the teaching unions want to sit down with the education secretary and thrash this out and hear more from him about the plans that the government has come up you will have to wait for the reaction but there was no talk about that national plan for social distancing or strict set of rules that the unions seem to be keen on from the government is being put in place. thank you very much. there was much talk in that press conference on the physical and the mental health of students. let us look at that impact then on students. some students physically being back in school. i am joined by the president of a children's mental health charity that provides counselling and mental health support and training. thank you for joining as. could you give us a sense of what you are heeding in terms of how lockdown has impacted on children, specifically primary school children? the impact it has had on children depends also on the communities where they are living. the impact on schools where we work, has been extraordinary, in terms of checking in regularly with the children, supporting the teachers, engaging on a regular basis with parents. because if the parents are feeling relatively at ease then that is ok but there are parents who are extraordinarily stressed so we need to think about supporting the pa rents to think about supporting the parents then better placed to support their children. parents then better placed to support their childrenlj parents then better placed to support their children. i would like to come back to that, in terms of coming back into school from the 1st ofjune, with your coming back into school from the 1st of june, with your councillors coming back into school from the 1st ofjune, with your councillors go back if they had concerns that many teachers might have? in one school i know they are considering all the different policies that they need to put in place. schools are conscientious about the needs and the state of the children. they are used to thinking of children's behaviour, emotional well—being and mental health. this willjust be an added strain on the teachers. but they know what the school and their children need. so they will put in place everything that is needed to ensure that the children are as safe as they can be. why tracker we have had many reports, one recently saying that we can expect a tsunami of mental health problems for children who might have already had challenges and now for children coping with this transition, again, back into schools. what can charities like place2be and schools do to help this transition for children to go back into that routine of education ain? into that routine of education again? a very good question. what we need to bear in mind is the impact of trauma and fear, fear is an enormously destabilising emotion that children feel. and they will feel apprehensive, they will feel frightened about going back, their friends, they disconnected, do they feel isolated, can they take up on those relationships that were so important to them? the school is going to be terribly important. but i think we need to bear in mind that we are looking at reception, year one and year six. we are also considering the children in primary and secondary school who are not going to be in school and how that very mixed economy is going to be managed by the school themselves. and they have to think about the mental health of the children that are not in school, as well as the children who will be in school. how capable... may be that's the wrong word, but how able are schools across england, did you think, at the moment, in supporting children with mental health needs? i know you are not in every school, so how able do you think schools will be, given all the other challenges that they will be facing? what we need to think about is the word collaboration. i don't think one single organisation has the answer to this and i don't think any of us can manage this scenario. we have to think about the individual needs and they are different in different communities in england, scotland, ireland and wales, and also in different countries, with different communities. we have to take into account the needs and the different behaviours of those communities. and make sure that we have in place the skills to address those. knowing that they are very different. when we think about domestic violence, there are areas where it is greater than others, and therefore the schools will need to be, and the professionals working in those schools, will need to be equipped and feel sufficiently skilled to address those different concerns and worries that the children are bringing to school every day. there are so many adults speaking at the moment in behalf of children. you area moment in behalf of children. you are a children's mental health charity, the president of. could you give us the voice of the children right now, the children that your councillors will be dealing with? what will they be thinking, how will they be feeling, and how will they be coping with lockdown? i don't know if you can share some stories with us, within the context of confidentiality, but how we can understand how children have been faring throughout?” understand how children have been faring throughout? i think we take the question of how children have been faring, let's think about the relationships that they had and will be missing, that sense of isolation and that real anxiety about how they are going to re—engage, if they can re—engage, and where that structure has been taken away from them. because we know that children feel safe within an organised structure, where they are known and they feel they are safe. so, there are many stories out there. i don't think for one in particular, other than there isa one in particular, other than there is a generalfeeling of one in particular, other than there is a general feeling of feeling isolated, and feeling lonely, but also feeling rather reassured because the teachers are doing absolutely tremendous job in enabling the children to feel they are not forgotten. however, we have to think about the communities in england, scotland, wales and ireland, and across the world, that don't have the it equipment. and therefore, there was particular, vulnerable children will feel incredibly isolated and alone. sorry to interrupt, we are slightly running out of time. may a thought for pa rents running out of time. may a thought for parents who are still at home with children who want to be going back. what would be your main advice for those who are concerned about how their children are coping? please reach out. there are so many organisations out there that are ready to listen and support parents. we cannot do this on our own. there should be no stigma to reaching out and saying we are frightened, anxious and don't know what to do with our children. what i would say to parents is please reach out and use the services available to them. thank you so much forjoining us. the president of the children's charity, place2be. thank you. let's speak to our science correspondent victoria gill. what were your main headlines? it was interesting to hear the education secretary repeat this almost mantra of how the reopening would take place. the repetition of phased, gradual and cautious. would take place. the repetition of phased, gradualand cautious. i think what that really kind of hammers home is the fact we are, essentially as we lift lockdown and reconnect gradually piece by piece those links that bind us back together but also allow the disease together but also allow the disease to be potentially transmitted, we have to do that extremely carefully because it's a big experiment. he also stressed, and jenny harries talked about schools under particular guidelines, the guidelines based on scientific evidence as being safe places to go. the education secretary pointed to denmark as a model where there are some very denmark as a model where there are some very specific guidelines in place for how those schools are operated and run, about the phased arrival and departure of children, staggered playtimes and protective bubbles that he mentioned. that's keeping children in specific groups and not having teachers move between different groups so people are not reconnected and we are not linking those networks very broadly. essentially, that's the big question thatis essentially, that's the big question that is still yet to be answered, that is still yet to be answered, that the science doesn't really hold yet, about what role children play in transmission. we know they can be infected, and we know fortunately they are much less severely affected by this disease, but in terms of whether they can pass it on, we really don't know and it's still a black box in this scientific question. i was interested in that point because she couched her language, doctorjenny harries, she said that children are very rarely getting ill as opposed to the older population, and she said there was some evidence that younger children are some evidence that younger children a re less some evidence that younger children are less likely to pass it on. she then went on to talk about teacher safety as well, and the data they had from the ons was very low compared with other professions. she did couch it but i thought it was interesting, again trying to say that science we think supports from a safety aspect for teachers, and one wonders whether it will be enough but i've found that interesting. she said that with younger children there is some evidence they are less likely to pass it on, one of the big, key questions. and that would chime with the fact that this is a respiratory disease. and if you are less severely affected and you are not coughing and sneezing then you are less likely to transmit it because that's a mode of transmission, that contact with droplets when we cough and sneeze. that's the reason for the social distancing measures we have in place and the distance we need to keep from each other. although that would make sense, that is the case and jenny harries has clearly suggested that is what the scientific evidence is pointing to, we are still in this experimental phase where we don't know the role children play more widely in the transmission, and in this network thatis transmission, and in this network that is this epidemic. and so, as schools are carefully and cautiously reopened, all these measures that are put in place to break those chains. good hand hygiene, covering their mouth and knows when they sneeze and cough, and keeping children and teachers within bubbles that don't reconnect with each other so we are not reconnecting those chains that will push the infection level and potentially set the epidemic off again. when we have it under control, its about keeping those measures in place until we have a vaccine to keep it under control. victoria gill, thank you. we'll turn italy now. italy has said people can travel in and out of the country from the 3rd ofjune. it's a significant change in a nation that imposed one of the world's most rigid coronavirus lockdowns, and suffered significant loss of life. more than 31,000 italians have died of covid—19 since late february, but the infection rate has fallen quickly. our reporter freya cole has more. italy is opening up. preparations are under way to welcome people back to the mediterranean for the start of the european summer. but there is still a lot of uncertainty. translation: with the measures that will be imposed, according to rumours, because we still do not know what they will be, we risk having 30—35% fewer umbrellas. tourist operators are planning as much as they can. everything could change if there is a second wave of infection. but from june 3rd, the government plans to reinstate free movement around the country. holidays will be allowed, and encouraged. translation: in two months, we have only had two overnight stays. this gives you an idea of the situation. the newly published government decree also reveals plans to open italy's borders. but it is unclear what restrictions will be put on international travellers. already at airports in rome, thorough cleaning is taking place, as well as temperature checks at customs. it is a gradual process. from monday, beauty salons, shops and restaurants are allowed to open, but business looks very different. tables must be two metres apart, and there is more cleaning than ever before. translation: the challenge is huge, so big it is hard to quantify, and most of all, there is uncertainty. but we are used to working hard, rolling up our sleeves, and providing the best for our customers. italians have waited more than two months to share their love of food with others, but the new era will come with new traditions. freya cole, bbc news. let's get more reaction to the education secretary's statement on reopening schools in england. with us is kevin courtney, the joint general secretary of the national education union. lets set out the stall for what your questions have been and whether they we re questions have been and whether they were answered in that press conference. we sent questions on four occasions known to the government asking for questions on evidence, how much children transmit the virus, how vulnerable they are, kawasaki syndrome, the questions around vulnerable adults, if a five—year—old lives with an 85—year—old grandmother. those sorts of questions and so far we haven't had any written answers to them, which we think is important if you are going to create a sense of confidence because other scientists need to look at them as well, we think. we met yesterday with some scientific advisers and that's a small step forward but we did not get a nswe rs small step forward but we did not get answers on those central questions. we want to get to school is open again as soon at it is safe to do so. we have five tests that the british medical association said on friday they agreed with those tests a nd on friday they agreed with those tests and we don't think the government has met them yet. we are encouraging the government to meet those tests so we can get back to school but we are not there yet. briefly, what are the five tests? the five tests we have suggested that the government should have in addition to their own tests, is that the case number needs to be low enoughin the case number needs to be low enough in the country that contact tracing can take place of some of the restrictions. maybe we are starting to get there, but the government is not telling us they yet have contact traces in place. the second test is you have to be able to have social distancing in schools will stop in schools in denmark they have that. they have set a two metre gap between each child in seating positions in schools in denmark. in playgrounds the children are in a bubble of five. our government is not suggesting that yet, despite the fa ct suggesting that yet, despite the fact that on wednesday when gavin williamson spoke to the house of commons he said we would parallel denmark. the third test is that testing itself needs to be available for teachers and support staff, some symptomatic testing for children in schools. the fifth test is possibly the most important, for reassurance. that's what happens to vulnerable people? what happens to people, staff, staff who live with people in these categories, and parents who are vulnerable? so bame people, people with diabetes, can we find ways of ensuring they are particularly infected? ways of ensuring they are particularly infected ? the ways of ensuring they are particularly infected? the bame community has told us they are particularly concerned and agree with that concern. and we need a case rate is low enough so contact tracing can work. having heard gavin williamson speaking, none of what you just said appears to be insurmountable. he said his door is a lwa ys insurmountable. he said his door is always open, so it doesn't strike me there is much between you because they did cover a lot of this stuff. doctorjenny harries talked about the rate of infection, she said one in 400 currently and that would halve. did any of what you hear give you any sense that another conversation might allay some of your fears and help you pass your own five tests? it is possible to meet the five tests, we have always said it is possible to meet the five tests. the question of when you meet it isa tests. the question of when you meet it is a really important question. jenny harries talked about the fact that the case rate is now halving every two weeks. that's a really important thing to know, and it's a really important thing to think through, how many weeks therefore we should stay getting that rate halving and halving again. the rate the ons talked about last week, the office for national statistics, they say it's roughly one in 370 in their figures, rather than 400, say it's roughly one in 370 in their figures, ratherthan 400, but say it's roughly one in 370 in their figures, rather than 400, but in one in 370, in a fully occupied primary school you would be pretty much guarantee that one person in that school had the virus. so if you are halving and halving again, if you took two, four and six weeks, each one of those makes a huge impact. we know that makes a huge impact coming in. if we had gone into lockdown a fortnight earlier than far fewer people would have had the virus in far fewer people would have died as a result. so those two weeks, they really matter. we think it's important scientists look at these questions as well. kevin courtney, thank you forjoining us to share your thoughts. in the past hour we heard from the education secretary gavin williamson at the downing street news conference. let's remind you of what he had to say. we have worked closely with the sector, listening to those who work in the classroom. we will also continue to do so, to ensure schools have the support that they need. it goes without saying that we will be carefully monitoring the impact this first phase has, and we will use this to guide us when we consider our next steps. this phased return is in line with what other european countries are doing to get their own schools, colleges and nurseries back. i know a lot of you will be worried about sending your children to school. every one of us wants the very best for our children. and i know how stressful this time has been for all families across the country. i want to reassure you that this approach is based on the best scientific advice, with children at the very heart of everything that we do. education is one of the most important and precious gifts we can give any child. so when we are advised we can start to bring some children back to school we should do so. so that they don't miss out on the enormous opportunities to learn, to be with their friends, to benefit from everything their teachers and schools can offer them. we owe it to children in order to be able to do that. let's recap on that briefing with the education secretary, gavin williamson which focussed heavily on the government's plan to get pupils returning to schools in england as early as next month. he said the government wants more children back in school in england as the rates of infection decrease, starting with reception, year one and year six returning from the 1stjune in small class sizes — that's despite concerns from teaching unions. secondary pupils, particularly those in years 10 and 12 will also be brought back on a limited basis to ensure they get some face to face time with their teachers. he said there will be strict protective measures in all schools including extra hygiene and keeping pupils in small groups — creating what he called ‘protective bubbles' around them. there'll follow a phased return of all pupils with close monitoring of how that goes — with any further return of pupils based on the ‘best scientific advice'. mr williamson said testing of all school staff is to begin from june, with testing also available for pupils and families if they develop symptoms. just a reminder, these plans are for england, and there are currently no plans to reopen schools in the rest of the united kingdom... i'll be back injust a moment with a full good evening. the education secretary for england says the governent‘s approach to re—opening of schools will be cautious and based on scientific advice — but he warned that the longer schools are closed, the more children miss out. it comes after teaching unions expressed concerns over plans to re—open schools in england from the first ofjune. the children's commissioner for england this morning called on the government and unions to agree a way forward.

Transcripts For BBCNEWS Coronavirus 20200523

uk businesses will be expected to pay a quarter of the wages of furloughed workers from the start of august. hello and welcome. ahead of the daily downing street news conference which is today led by transport secretary grant schapps. boris johnson's top aide dominic cummings is facing calls to resign after it emerged he had travelled more than 250 miles with his sick wife to be near relatives during the long term. downing street says mr cummings drove from london to county durham to ensure his young son would be properly cared for if he too became unwell. his actions were in line with the coronavirus guidelines. he told reporters he behaved reasonably and legally. helen kat reports. you're supposed to be more than two metres apart. dominic cummings at his london home, insisting he did not break lockdown rules. i behaved reasonably and legally. that's not a good look so is it, mr cummings? who cares about good looks. it was about doing the right thing. it's not about what you guys think. when he self—isolated with coronavirus symptoms in march, it wasn't here but more than 250 miles away at a family property in durham. dominic cummings should have done the right thing, he should have resigned but now that he hasn't, boris johnson must show leadership and he must remove him from office immediately. but we now know, from what's been said on the bbc this morning, that the government in london have been aware of this for weeks, so why have we not been told about this? why has borisjohnson not recognised that this is something that would be seen by millions of people as been unacceptable? mr cummings is understood to have left london, with his wife, who had developed coronavirus symptoms and their young son, after lockdown rules were put in place on the 23rd of march. under government guidance, anyone who lives with someone who has developed symptoms is told to stay at home for m days. durham constabulary says that: in a statement, downing street said that... downing street has also denied that mrcummings or his downing street has also denied that mr cummings or his family were spoken to about this by police. earlier this month professor neil ferguson quit his role in ligament‘s scientific advisory body, sage, after the telegraph reported he had broken lockdown rules by letting his married lover visit him at home. catherine calderwood resigned as scottish health adviser after visiting her second home twice. some conservative mps have come out in support of mr cummings. labour has said the country d ese rves a nswe i’s . either way, more questions are likely to be asked. iamjoined by i am joined by nick eardley. as helen says, lots of questions still to be answered ? helen says, lots of questions still to be answered? yeah, absolutely. i think there are big questions to be asked of the government on exactly what rules mr cummings was expected to follow and whether the government considers that he followed them completely. we have had that statement from downing street in which they are clear they think he acted within the rules. we have heard from mrcummings acted within the rules. we have heard from mr cummings himself saying exactly that. but the question is this. the guidance for people who are showing symptoms of coronavirus is to stay at home in all circumstances. now we do know that downing street is pointing towards some guidance that came from the deputy chief officer for england saying there may be circumstances where you need help with childcare. there are still those questions about whether that 260 mile journey from london to durham was completely necessary. there is also the broader question of what this does to the government message. i suspect there will be many people at home looking at this thinking, i followed the rules, i stayed at home, i would love to have done something similar at some point, and didn't. that is the question of the government has to a nswer the question of the government has to answer in the next few days. whether this undermines its very own messaging, which it's praised the public for sticking so strongly to. that is the heart of the question, the statement from downing street which says that dominic cummings behaved legally and reasonably. this may not be so much about the letter of the guidelines as the spirit? absolutely. it is about both. it is about whether the government was following its own rules in a way that the rest of us were. helen spokein that the rest of us were. helen spoke in her piece there about the chief medical officer in scotland, catherine calderwood, who was forced to resign. the scottish government initially defended her. but when nicola sturgeon had to face a barrage of questions from journalists, saying, hold on, this person stayed at home, this person missed a funeral, this person may stay wedding, all the while this was going on. in this case the prime minister past cheese —— in this case the prime minister's chief adviser was interpreting the rules in their way. it is about how the public react to this. senior ministers have been tweeting all afternoon saying he was right to do what he did. i suspect the big question now that is the public perception of that, whether it damages the government messaging, which is still that we should all stay at home whenever possible, and is still, if you have four owner virus symptoms, do not good. —— coronavirus. nick, we will come back to before the briefing. the british comedy is facing more questions over its plans to introduce a 14 day quarantine for people arriving in the uk. from june the 8th travellers will have to self—isolate for two weeks and could face fines of £1000 if they break the rules. france has said that visitors arriving from the uk will also have to self—isolate for 1h days from the same date. airlines and travel companies are worried it could damage their businesses even further. the uk government says the measures were designed to stop a second wave of coronavirus. simon jones is at heathrow airport and he sent us this update. to give you an idea of how heathrow is currently affected, they will be dealing with around 250,000 passengers each day. today they are likely to see 5000 to 6000 passing through. the boss of heathrow has this morning called for clarity about what happens next. he is questioning this blanket imposition of quarantine. he understands public safety needs to be the number one priority. but he feels there should be deals between the uk and other countries that have lower rates of coronavirus infections to allow the travel industry to open up. the call for clarity is being echoed by passengers. they are wondering if there's any chance they can get away for a break abroad this summer. the reality is even if are allowed to travel to say spain for a couple of weeks of sun and sangria, when you get back you will have that in two weeks of quarantine to do. the way it is going to work is you are going to have to declare before entering the uk where exactly you have spent those two weeks. if you don't you could face a fine of £100. if you don't respect the quarantine, if there is a spot check, you could face a fine of £1000 in england. we are waiting to hear if the other nations are likely to believe that. the reasoning by the government is that coronavirus cases are coming down here in the uk and what they don't want to do is risk a second deadly wave by importing coronavirus cases from abroad. but here at heathrow things are likely to be very different when flights to resume in big numbers. for example, it is possible you are going to have to have your temperature taken in the airport, you are likely to have to wear face masks and gloves on the plane. travel is likely to be very different for some time to come. that was our correspondent simon jones. uk businesses will be expected to pay a quarter of the wages of furloughed workers in the coming months. the chancellor said the scheme will be in place until the scheme will be in place until the end of october. companies will start sharing the cost from the start sharing the cost from the start of august. the scheme currently supports around 7.5 millionjobs. in the uk there is expected to be a big rise in the number of businesses unable to pay their rent when the next payments are due at the end of next payments are due at the end of next month. according to an accountancy firm, the economic shutdown has led to non—payment of a commercial rent. many landlords were struggling even before the virus took hold, so it's a difficult time for them and their tenants. katie prescott reports. this cafe has been in the family for a0 years, in the heart of the city of london. it shut up heart of the city of london. it shut up shop but the rent is still due. heart of the city of london. it shut up shop but the rent is still duel am left in a position where i am so vulnerable as a business, how can i pay? i don't have a bank account full of money to bankroll this. that's why it's closing with no revenue. all of the tenants here are in the same boat. the costs don't stop but the revenue dries up. that makes things pretty difficult pretty quickly and also pretty scary. there is no guarantee that we are able to reopen a store like this. there is i'io reopen a store like this. there is no footfall here. these offices are not returning any time soon and of those are the people we sell to. the city of london corporation, their landlord, were unavailable for comment but said... what's going on with rent at the moment is a real mexican stand—off. many businesses like these say they can't or won't tie. landlords argue they have got costs and also have stuff to pay. a lot of properties are owned by investment funds, so the rental income plays a really important part in paying people's pensions. it's an impossible situation. ideas have been put forward , situation. ideas have been put forward, such as asking the government to underwrite rents for closed shops or a nine month rent holiday. but so far nothing has changed. in some cases landlords may be much smaller businesses than the te na nts be much smaller businesses than the tenants that occupy their premises, and so the landlords may be left in and so the landlords may be left in an even more severe position than the tenants are. i think landlords need to be talking to their tenants, finding out what is going on with their tenants and their businesses, and seeing what arrangements can be made. because ultimately landlords don't want to find that at the end of this i have suddenly got a loss of this i have suddenly got a loss of their tenants and they simply no longer exist and haven't survived, because they will be left with a glut of empty properties, which is not going to have anybody. the government says it has put unprecedented support in place for businesses, including loans and rates relief. and it urges landlords and tenants to find solutions that work for both parties. so it's up to man “— work for both parties. so it's up to man —— so it's up to then. well, while we wait for the daily downing street news conference, which today is headed by the transport secretary, grant shapps, let's speak again to nick eardley. as you mentioned earlier, there have been lots of supportive messages from cabinet ministers for dominic cummings, but one imagine that grant schapps is probably bracing himself a little bit for the question is to come? yes, i suspect so because i have been calls from political opponents, the snp, the lib dems, for dominic cummings to resign. labour have not gone that far yet but they say there are crucial questions that need to be ironed out of his actions. to briefly tell you a couple of what they are. it's not just whether he followed the letter of the rules, it's whether he followed the spirit of them as well. remember, that message for people who had symptoms was not to leave the house. dominic cummings said he needed childcare and this was a way to ensure it by driving 260 miles to durham. there are questions about when he did that, whether someone he had travelled with had shown no symptoms, which suggests they weren't following the message as quickly as they could have been. the fundamental question for the government is, do they feel that this undermines their own message? does it make it harderfor them this undermines their own message? does it make it harder for them to persuade us all to follow it? nick, thank you very much. don't go away. you are watching bbc news. i'd like to welcome viewers joining us on bbc world. we are talking at the moment to nick eardley. we are waiting for the daily downing street news conference. fundamentally, it's about whether he followed the rules on whether he followed the rules on whether he followed the rules on whether he followed the spirit of the rules. because we have seen over the last few weeks the prime minister urging eve ryo ne few weeks the prime minister urging everyone to use their common sense and the question that has to be asked of downing street now is whether driving 260 miles to ensure that childcare was necessary. i'm going to stop you, nick. good afternoon and welcome to today's downing street press conference. i'm pleased today to be joined by doctor jenny harris. let me start by updating you on the latest information from the government's cobra data file. as of today, 3,000,3a0 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in the uk, including 116,585 yesterday. 257,15a people have tested positive. that's an increase of 2959 cases since yesterday. 9331 people are currently in hospital with coronavirus, down 1196 in hospital with coronavirus, down 11% since last week. and tragically 36,675 people have now died. that's an increase of 282 fatalities since yesterday and that's across all settings. this is notjust a list of statistics of course but a devastating reminder of the cruelty of coronavirus. our thoughts are with the friends and the families of the victims. as we start to relax the victims. as we start to relax the restrictions, we must plan our route to recovery. allowing people to resume their lives where possible, getting businesses up and running again and building beyond coronavirus. in the short term, we will need to bring back more public transport to keep family safe. that process has already begun. rail and tube services increased at the beginning of this week and the ramp up beginning of this week and the ramp up more next week. and to ensure that more buses, trams and light rail networks return to service, today i can announce new investment of £283 million to start moving back toa of £283 million to start moving back to a full timetable. however, i do wa nt to to a full timetable. however, i do want to stress this funding does not mean we can go back to using public transport whenever we like. remember, those who can should still work from home. those who can should still avoid all public transport. even a fully restored service will only be capable of carrying at best one fifth of the normal capacity. on social distancing is ta ken one fifth of the normal capacity. on social distancing is taken into account. so only if you need to travel and you can't cycle or walk or drive should you take a bus, tram or drive should you take a bus, tram or train. but please, avoid the rush hour. we are managing the transport network to make it as safe as possible. this week, we saw the deployment of nearly 3.5 thousand british transport police and network rail. these marshals worked with the public to prevent services from becoming overcrowded. from june the 1st at the earliest as we move to phase two of the unlock we will start to deploy twice as many marshals with the assistance of groups like the charity eye volunteering matters. these journey makers will help provide friendly assistance to commuters. the last time we did this at the 2012 olympics it was a great success. and while these are altogether more serious times, if we show the same public spirited concern for one another, we will go a long way towards helping transport and passengers cope. as i've said, it's essential we stagger ourjourneys and avoid the rush hour. that's why ata and avoid the rush hour. that's why at a recent roundtable we asked the tech sector to come up with innovative proposals to help passengers avoid congestion. one good example is passenger connect from birmingham start—up zip about. a personalised service that helps rail users how crowding may affect their journey rail users how crowding may affect theirjourney while providing alternatives in helping people to maintain social distancing. the service has been successfully piloted over the past 12 months and it will be rolled out soon. we are not just dealing it will be rolled out soon. we are notjust dealing with the immense challenges of the present, we are building for the future too. transport is not just building for the future too. transport is notjust about how you get from place to place but also shapes the places for good or bad. towns, cities and whole nations. we now have an opportunity to use the power of transport to improve long—standing national weaknesses and create something better. the uk's unbalanced economy is one such weakness. our mission is to level up britain. the covid—19 outbreak must be the catalyst to get it done, levelling up and speeding up. so while roads and railways are less busy, we are accelerating vital projects. take the north for example, this bank holiday weekend we are carrying out vital work to fix leeds station. continuing to build a new platform, installing new points and switches and improving the track to wake field. just part of a90 separate engineering projects happening around the country this bank holiday weekend. work that would normally take months of weekend closures are much quicker on these quieter railways. and we are getting on with plans to reverse some of the so—called beeching rail cuts too. doctor beeching wrote a report back in the 1960s which led to the closure of one third of our railway network. 2363 stations, 5000 miles of track identified for closure. many of the places removed from the map never recovered. that report was perhaps the origin of the left behind town but we are working to reverse beeching. the process has already started in blyth in the northeast and fleetwood in the north west. i visited injanuary and also took the opportunity to visit peterlee to see the station building work. they used to be a train station 200 yards away but it was closed on the town cut off by the beeching cuts. this new station will connect a community of over 50,000 people, improving their quality of life. and today, the next ten schemes to benefit are announced. its development funding but if they stack up then we are going to build them fast. amongst the many schemes is the reinstatement of the ivanhoe line in the east midlands, from leicester to burton via coalville and ashby. and branch lines on the isle of wight and a new station at wellington in somerset. but no matter how great we make the ra i lwa ys matter how great we make the railways in the future, millions will still rely on the car. that's why today i'm publishing the preferred route to complete the dual carriageway of the a66 from scotch corner to penrith. the first new or dual carriageway across the pennines in 50 years. this is a £1 billion programme that will transform the capacity by upgrading junctions and widening the road. these road and rail schemes will be the first of many, binding our country together, connecting people with jobs. many, binding our country together, connecting people withjobs. but many, binding our country together, connecting people with jobs. but it isn't just the balance connecting people with jobs. but it isn'tjust the balance between regions that we need to reshape, it's hard to see millions who, until a few weeks ago, commuted by train into manchester, london, birmingham every day will immediately go back to the same old ways. so we have to reshape our towns and cities too. the prime minister once said, cities are where inspiration and innovation happens because people can bump into one another, spark off one another, compete, collaborate, inventand innovate. that's when we get the explosion orflash of innovate. that's when we get the explosion or flash of creativity and innovation. and yet, with social distancing, it makes all that rather difficult. so we have to find new ways of making it happen. therefore, as conditions allow and not until july, we will be looking to support creative ways for businesses to reopen while maintaining social distancing. we know restaurants and bars we want to start trading again and you will work with them so they can enjoy an outdoor summer in a safe and responsible environment. for those who live too far to cycle and walk and must drive to major conurbations, we will re—purpose parking in places just conurbations, we will re—purpose parking in placesjust outside conurbations, we will re—purpose parking in places just outside town centres. so people can park on the outskirts and finish theirjourneys on foot or bike or even the scooter. ouraim with on foot or bike or even the scooter. our aim with these measures is not merely to get through the lifting of restrictions and then return to how things were but to come out of this recovery stronger by permanently changing the way we use transport. take the bike for example. previously, we announced the introduction of a scheme to help bring bicycles back into roadworthy condition. relieving the pressure on public transport and improving the nation's health. today, i can provide the detail of the new £50 bicycle maintenance voucher. available from next month, the scheme will help up to half a million people drag bikes out of retirement, speeding up the cycling revolution, helping individuals become fitter and healthier and reducing air pollution, which remains a hidden killer. clean air should be as big a priority for us in the 21st century as clean water was to the victorians in the 19th. the measures discussed today will help more passengers use trains, buses and trams safely. more commuters to take up active travel and more people to benefit from infrastructure improvements in the northern powerhouse and across the country. they give us all an opportunity to harness the power of transport, not just to opportunity to harness the power of transport, notjust to help us return to the lives in the post covid—19 world but to make our economy more resilient, our relation healthier and change our nation for the better. i'd like to turn now to doctorjenny harris who will take us through the site for today. thank you, first lie please. so we are going to have our usual look through some of the data that we are collating going forward through the pandemic and get some insights as to how the population is behaving but most importantly what is happening to the disease. so on the first slide, on the left you can see the insights which are gathered from google mobility data. it won't cover everybody and all user groups but it gives a good indication of what the population is doing and how they are moving around. and what we can see isa moving around. and what we can see is a very significant drop in usage to workplaces to transit stations and retail and recreation, which has been largely maintained through the pandemic. clearly in the middle we can see grocery and pharmacy people needing to use that and then the blue line in the middle with people starting to use parks more in line with the national guidance. the only thing i would say there is a people are using parks, it is good for mental health and physical activity, please do remember to maintain social distancing while using the so staying two metres away from people outside your household and just meeting with one of the person. on the right—hand side, you can see an ons opinions of lifestyle survey data so both of these sets of data go back to about a week ago and we can see that a significantly larger number of people, a1% of employed adults are working from home and that's compared to just around 12% last year. and we know that 86% of adults have left their home. we know that 80% of those are four basic necessities and around 71% for exercise, for a run, walk or cycle. again, all in accordance with national guidance which we would encourage. next slide please. so this is the slide showing the current situation with testing and new cases. so on the left hand side you can see the data in relation to testing and the top number there, 116,585, represents all the tests in all the different systems that have been completed or ta ken all the different systems that have been completed or taken or sent out, whether it be through lapse, in hospitals, wherever it maybe, up until nine o'clock on the 23rd of may. which brings the national total now to well over 3,3a8,000. and from that testing we can see that we've got 2959 new confirmed cases as of this morning and that brings our uk total to 257,15a. and the graphs on the right clearly show that. i think the right clearly show that. i think the important thing is that there is an important trend upwards in our daily testing, which we expect to continue as track and trace comes in. it varies a little bit over weekends but generally the trend is up. but very encouragingly, despite the increased upward trend in testing, we are maintaining a downward trend in new confirmed cases. next slide please. so this slide gives a picture of both the activity in our hospitals and also of some of the important life—saving equipment, which was one of the issues we were very equipment, which was one of the issues we were very concerned about at the start of the pandemic. so on the rights we can see that there's been a steady but continuing slow downward trend in new daily admissions to hospital in england from covid—19, right down from a peak which reached over 3000 around the first week of april. and that tra nslates the first week of april. and that translates in numbers to 675 estimated admissions on the 21st of may, again down from 736 on the 1ath of may. and then on the bottom part of may. and then on the bottom part of the slide, on the right—hand graph, right across all the uk countries we can see that the demand for mechanical ventilator beds was high againjust for mechanical ventilator beds was high again just after that peak, as people went through significant illness. about the middle of april. and that has now come down in all countries. and when we look over at the statistics on the left—hand side we can see that 12% of the mechanical ventilator beds are occupied with covid—19 patients, so significant capacity which was never breached and is fact down by 5% on the week before. next slide. so when we look at the number of people in hospital with covid—19, 9331 people in hospital now and that's down by over 1000 from this time last week. and we can see in slides, despite the varying shapes across the different uk countries and regions, that this is a downward trend in all areas. it varies, different places have had different peaks and at very slightly different times but generally right across the uk the number of cases is coming down. next slide please. and then finally and sadly, over the last 2a hours we have had 282 reported deaths, which have had 282 reported deaths, which have been confirmed with a positive test, which brings our total to 36,000 675. however, on the only positive note from the is that we can see that the deaths are starting come down. the bar chart here always depicts a little bit of a reporting change over the weekend period but the rolling average, so we are looking to see on average what's happening, that is continuing to come down and we will be looking to expect that come down further. jenny, thank you very much indeed. we are going to turn out questions, we are going to start with questions from the public. it is worth mentioning, we don't know the questions are going to be asked. they are picked by an independent polling company and we will turn first of all to gordon from gosport. how is the government going to prevent travellers staying in the irish republic after the holidays to bypass the uk's ia day quarantine? bypass the uk's 1a day quarantine? thank you very much, gordon. well, i think the point that people may not be aware of is ireland has a travel ban effectively as well. so they also at the moment have quarantine in place. so it is the case that that may change in the future, of course we will keep our system under review in the future but the time being whether somebody travels to dublin or somebody travels london, the same essential quarantine would apply. can i turn to sarah from newbury and i think this is a text for me to read. you currently test people with symptoms from the age of five and over, will there be some guarantee that this will be extended to under fives once early years settings open? if not, how are we supposed to justify to our staff members and wider community that it is safe to open? and probably one for you, jenny. thank you. yes, it is very important that when we are doing tests we are doing test with that we know will give true answers, have high sensitivity and high specificity. and so always looking to find new tests going forward. for the time being, this is for over fives and most of the children going back will be around this age. clearly, often we have slightly different ways of approaching medicines for example or testing with young children because it's very important that the tests, the results of the medicines of the treatments are calibrated to grown children, if it's medicine, or are interpreted correctly for a small child. and of course you are right in the sense we are still learning about some of the disease in children but what we do know is that children but what we do know is that children rarely become very ill with this and there is a suggestion and lots of data i think in the public domain now where we are getting a signal that the transmission from children is also potentially reduced. so for children over five, it will be ready for schools to use and for their families as well and for the teachers stop for children under fives obviously we will progress at going forward. jenny, thanks very much indeed. we will turn out to journalists and ian watson of the bbc. i suppose it's quite appropriate you've got the transport secretary with you today because i was hoping you and doctor harris could clarify some guidance and travelling. it seems the it is pretty clear actually, if you have symptoms you self—isolate for seven days and the rest of your household stays at home for 1a days. but is the advice now parents that if you don't have your own extended family nearby, even when you are ill with covid—19 symptoms, you are allowed to live at home, travel many miles across the country and i slid closer to your extended family? and a specific question to you mr sharp's, did the prime minster know that his —— grant shapps, did the prime minster know that dominic cummings going to travel during the lockdown and did he consent to this? i value jenny's advice specifically on whether parents who are ill can leave their home to go closer to their extended families isolate. so their extended families isolate. so the scientific and medical advice behind the self isolation is odyssey to ta ke behind the self isolation is odyssey to take people who are symptomatic out of the public domain and anybody who maybe likely to develop that and households tend to have the same exposure so we know there is a greater risk. so as you say the advice is you self—isolate at home, yourfamily advice is you self—isolate at home, your family self—isolate with you and that's very clear. i think built into that guidance, along with all of our other guidance, so for example for elderly people or those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and are advised set home and they have accepted and wanted to ta ke forward and they have accepted and wanted to take forward that advice, there is a lwa ys take forward that advice, there is always an element which says safeguarding. so we don't want an elderly person sitting at home without their medication because they feel they can't come out if there is a safeguarding issue and there is a safeguarding issue and the child for example is significantly ill and has no support thatis significantly ill and has no support that is equally another issue. but those, the interpretation, that is the clinical advice around that. there is always a safeguarding clause in all of the advice, whether it is this offer clinically extremely vulnerable. the interpretation of that advice is probably for others. and you asking for the prime minister knew. the important thing is that everyone remains in the same place whilst they are lockdown which is exactly what happened in i think the case you are referring to with mr cummings. so the premise will have known he was staying put and he didn't come out again until he was feeling better. i'lljust come back to you. but he did travel 250 miles from his london home where did he not? and again to you and doctor harris, you seem to be very clear about when people can go, doctor harris. that is for example if they are seeking food, medical supplies, caring for the vulnerable. let me give you one specific example, if someone is ill and the other parent is not at that time showing symptoms and they have a young child, should they leave their home when ill to go to another home 250 miles away? is that in line with guidance? i'll go first. in the guidance says if you are living with children, keep following this advice to the best of your ability. however, we are aware that not all these measures will be possible, depending therefore on circumstances. i'm adding those last few words. in other words, if you're ina few words. in other words, if you're in a position where you have got a young child, in this case four years old, and you are worried about the welfare of that child and your ability to throw around the wider network of support, and you are clearly being somewhere where other members of the family can assist, by which i mean in this case younger other members of the family. that might be the best place for you to settle and stay throughout the time that you are ill. and i think that that's all that is happening this case. and you asking part of the question forjenny so i will throw back to her. i was simplyjust going to repeat what i said before. i think we have always said in the guidance what we don't want to do and it relates to people being treated in hospital and staying out of hospital as well, we don't want to cause harm through advice which keeps people at home when they are at risk. that doesn't, that's not directly referring to any current issues, it's the clinical and technical advice which is, we want people to come out of circulation. we wa nt people to come out of circulation. we want them to self—isolate the minute they have symptoms and to stay out of circulation if there is a critical issue, a safeguarding issue, regardless of whether it is child, an elderly person or anyone else. then there is, there needs to be some sort of safeguarding place. thanks very much, ian. we will turn out to sky. so to stay, how can you personally be sure that by driving halfway across england and it cummings didn't infect anyone else on the way or while he was there or, frankly do not think it would have mattered? and frankly do not think it would have mattered ? and what frankly do not think it would have mattered? and what you say today is all those people who are unable to say goodbye to their loved ones or go to the funerals because they were observing the letter of the rules, seemingly unlike the pm's top eight. and tojenny seemingly unlike the pm's top eight. and to jenny harris, seemingly unlike the pm's top eight. and tojenny harris, you said if adults were unable to look after small children they might resort to other family members. small children they might resort to otherfamily members. numberten small children they might resort to other family members. number ten say that this is analogous to the situation involving dominic cummings. but is it really is one of the two parents doesn't have coronavirus as the number ten statement does seem to suggest, how can you pre—empt the situation by travelling halfway across the country in order to seek further protection? where did you say that was within the rules in previous press conferences or in guidance? sam, thanks very much. i think for everybody who has lost loved ones, eve ryo ne everybody who has lost loved ones, everyone has been impacted by this crisis and everyone has done their best to try to do the right thing. asi best to try to do the right thing. as i read out before, i won't repeat guidance again but it does essentially interpret it as taking practical steps to ensure that you follow the measures as best as possible in order to prevent for example in this case for your child from ending up without having the necessary support that a four—year—old would point odyssey require. so that was the decision taken in at situate. and i understand what you're saying, mr cummings is in the public but the reality of the matter that for your child's welfare is the important thing, parents would ask themselves what they would do if they have no other support around. and eventually would either have to turn to external support, not from the family, or try and external support, not from the family, ortry and be external support, not from the family, or try and be close enough to family to provide that care, which is what happened in this case here and i understand that his sister and i think in these, the younger generation, were able to provide food and bring things to the property they were staying in, which was not inside is parent's house. so i think it was a straightforward arrangement that meant he stayed in the same place and prevented the possibility of the child in this case from not having support around him. and your second point was to jenny. i will reiterate probably what hedger said which is the public health‘s advice is take yourself out of society, if you like, as soon as you have symptoms, stay at home, stay at home with your family. i don't know the details of this specific case and i'm commenting on the technical and medical advice. i think the point, i haven't got the detail of the comment from a previous press briefing but i think the question i was asked was if two adults were ill and unable to cope or care for a small child who was totally dependent on them, was that a reason to seek external support. and i would just go back to say all of the guidance has a common—sense element to it, which includes safeguarding around adults or children. so i think that would account for that answer. sam i just wa nt to account for that answer. sam i just want to give you chance to come back. secretary of state, could you just clear up factually what went on? so mrcummings just clear up factually what went on? so mr cummings went to a durham property and he stayed inside that with his wife and child all at the same property and members of their family delivered food to their doorstep? why did not necessitate that journey 260 miles? doorstep? why did not necessitate thatjourney 260 miles? why doorstep? why did not necessitate that journey 260 miles? why couldn't he have done that in london? that is where his family was. that is the simple answer. that is where his sister was and the knees. as we all do in moments of crisis, we a lwa ys all do in moments of crisis, we always seek to have our family, those who can assist us around us. that is what has happened in this case. i'm afraid i don't know the personal circumstances, the extent to which a support network could have helped. he only came back to london for work, which is obviously allowed as one of the four reasons when fully better and after the required period of time. thank you sam. dave wood of itv. thank you, secretary of state. throughout this lockdown, particularly phase one, people have been making some very difficult choices about how close they get to their family, who they see and where they stay. sometimes in the most heartbreaking of circumstances. should those people have been using their own interpretation of the stay at home message? thanks, david. look, i think the reality is that people should of course follow the guidance. i won't bore you by reading it again, but it very clearly says that you should follow the guidance to the best of your ability. and follow the measures as much as possible. and then it is for an individual to make the decision, how do i make sure i've got enough support around? how do i make sure i've got enough support around ? particularly how do i make sure i've got enough support around? particularly in the case that you are referring to. with the potential of both parents ending up the potential of both parents ending up being illand the potential of both parents ending up being ill and having a young child to look after. how do you have that support network around them? the decision he was to go to that location and stay in that location. they didn't then move around from there. and so it would be for each individual to work out the best way to do that. which is what has happened here. can ijust check then,is happened here. can ijust check then, is the message you are giving us this evening that anyone who becomes ill with this, if they can go close to family, no matter how close —— go close to family, no matter how close — — for that go close to family, no matter how close —— for that is, they can do and family members can provide food and family members can provide food and not friends who live locally? dr harries, what are the risks of travelling if you have the virus and would you recommend it? on the first point of the rules have subsequently changed anyway. you can now travel if you are not symptomatic any distance in order to, for example, exercise. that is something which people are aware of. if you had of these symptoms, could you travel as faras these symptoms, could you travel as far as possible to stay closer to relatives? as i thinki far as possible to stay closer to relatives? as i think i already explained, you have to get yourself locked down and do that in the best and most practical way. i think that will be different for different people under whatever circumstances, their particularfamily people under whatever circumstances, their particular family differences happen to dictate. that is all that has happened in this case. he was he stayed there and it is the same a nswer stayed there and it is the same answer each time. the second point tojenny. the key public health message from a pub —— professional perspective is a people have symptoms they should self—isolate immediately and stay in their homes. the only exception around this is around risk. that is the issue of safeguarding for children and adults. i think i have said that. in relation to the risk of travel, clearly in travel advice that we are giving, if you are in a private car, transmission within a vehicle, because it is an enclosed space and you're relatively closer together, it's probably higher risk, but if you are within a household group the exposure is usually the same. and if you travel from a to b and not meeting anybody else, there is no possibility of the risk of passing on, which is why in the guidance we say if you are travelling, travelling in your own car. if people are going to have a test taken, they people are going to have a test ta ken, they can't people are going to have a test taken, they can't go on public transport, they go in a car. that is the simple answer. david, thank you. let's turn to chris hope from the daily telegraph. may i ask quickly, you said that there that the pm knew mrcummings was you said that there that the pm knew mr cummings was staying put. when did the pm now he had gone to durham? and can i ask dr harries, did you know he had gone to durham and does the fact he went this far during lockdown undermine the stay at home message which you have done so much to publicise?l at home message which you have done so much to publicise? i am sorry to disappoint you, chris, i don't know exactly the answer to when the pm knew. i know the pm knew that he was u nwell knew. i know the pm knew that he was unwell and that he was locked down. the pm of course was also unwell during the same period. i can tell you the pm provides mr cummings with his full support. and mr cummings has provided a full statement. i think it is perfectly right that questions are asked, whether asking the same questions or not. there we re the same questions or not. there were some significant transport state m e nts were some significant transport statements made to make peoples lives better. i appreciate that. but ido lives better. i appreciate that. but i do think it is important to note that questions were asked, quite rightly, and the questions have been a nswered rightly, and the questions have been answered because mr cummings has produced a statement which you will no doubt have read. i think the second point was to jenny. yes, so in the same way that as a doctor i wouldn't comment on the clinical position of an individual, i have no detail in this particular case and i am not going to comment on that. but in relation to the advice to the public, absolutely clear that the public, absolutely clear that the public health guidance is that if you are symptomatic you stay at home, take yourself out of society as quickly as you can with your family and stay there. unless there is an extreme risk to life. and that is an extreme risk to life. and that isa is an extreme risk to life. and that is a really important message. people have been really good at doing that. but it's vital we continue to do that going forward because that also underlies the track and trace system as well, and we are going to be asking people to do that. chris? one final question. can you clarify whether anybody from durham constabulary spoke to any memberof mrcummings durham constabulary spoke to any member of mr cummings family? literally reading from his statement, no stage was he or his family spoken to by the police about this matter. does that mean the police are not telling you what happened straightforwardly? i'm not sure where the confusion comes in but we have got it in black and white in this statement. chris, thank you very much indeed. can i turn to david wooding? secretary of state, we have already had two resignations from senior aides who have broken the rules in niall ferguson and north of the border catherine calderwood. so the public could be forgiven for thinking there is one rule for us and one rule for the rest of them, and even aides may be thinking there is one rule for us but one for the downing street aides. what is different about dominic cummings and other people who have resigned in senior positions over their movements? david, thank you. look, ithink positions over their movements? david, thank you. look, i think what most people would probably be thinking what if this is, what would idoin thinking what if this is, what would i do in this situation? i have got a young child, my wife is unwell, i am worried about the ability to support the child as a father. do you then end up saying, we will take the best possible option in order to provide the ongoing care for that child, and therefore go to where there is a network but not go inside the house? that is obviously the question they have to ask. i would draw this distinction. it wasn't visiting a holiday home or go to visit someone. this was to stay put for 1a days, to remain in isolation, to get over what i understand was quite a significant bout of illness from coronavirus. and then to be able to return to london only went well and properly doing a job that couldn't be done from elsewhere. there is a difference, to answer your question directly. i know you are not being evasive on the question of when and whether the prime minister knew about this, but i think that's an important question that needs answering. if you are unable to answering. if you are unable to answer that, then i think the public to have a right to know what the prime minister knew about the visit by mrcummings and prime minister knew about the visit by mr cummings and when he was told about it? as i say, i think the prime minister was, at least for pa rt prime minister was, at least for part of this, in hospital. i haven't matched the exact dates but i do know the prime minister knew that he was quite properly staying put in one place with his family, which is the right thing to do, not leaving after doing that. all the right things to do. as i said, the prime minister gives mr cummings his full support. can i turn ge own use? secretary of state, my question is what measures are being taken to protect the front line workers? some communities have suffered quite a lot and there in the nhs and other essential services. great question because i'm very concerned to make sure that the right equipment is with everybody under the right circumstances. so on the transport network if you are, for example, a train driver and you are in a cab, then quite clearly, you are not in co nsta nt then quite clearly, you are not in constant contact with other people. on the other hand, in other forms of transport, buses and so forth, you could be in close contact. what we absolutely have to do is make sure we have the right level of protection for people in different circumstances. on the subject what i have done is to write to the transport operators, hand—in—hand with public health england, to make sure that they are aware of all the correct equipment that should be in place, procedures, processes, things like cordoning off and also thinking about the flow of passengers and that type of thing, in order to protect their transport workers. i should say that very sadly 53 transport workers have died during coronavirus. we don't know all of the circumstances or if it was necessarily connected to their work, but it is of great concern. and it's worth saying that we have asked professor fenton worth saying that we have asked professor fe nton to worth saying that we have asked professor fenton to carry out research because, i am very concerned that people from bame communities seem to be affected more. men are affected more. obesity seems to play a part. and professor fenton's initial report on this from public health england will be available at the end of this month. cani available at the end of this month. can i invite you to come back in? do you want to come back in again? i think we may have lost the line. can you hear us? yes, yes. did you want to come back in again? yes. people are very concerned within these communities, within the national service. a lot of people have died and there are real tragic stories. people who get in touch with us, indians, pakistanis, bangladeshis, have suffered a lot. my question is, this government are preparing or thinking of probably maybe be announcing some compensation or some other support for these families who have suffered, you know, the people who have lost their lives and left their families. they find this situation very difficult to make ends meet. absolutely. it's heartbreaking to see how this virus developed. many of the people, as you mention, on the front line may come from ethnic minorities. we don't know whether that is because of the propensity for people to be on the front line from bame backgrounds or if there is something else happening, and that is what professor fenton will help to get to the bottom of. it's certainly the case that in the nhs, the care world, there is a package that the health secretary announced previously of support, where there isa previously of support, where there is a deceased member of the family. there is also in work service pay—outs in other circumstances as well, though not quite the same way. and so we are very, very concerned about people from all sorts of different backgrounds and you will have heard in the last couple of days that we have also changed the rules to make sure that people can have rights to stay if a member of the family was working particularly in the nhs, and then sadly died through coronavirus. so that's a means of residence for those individuals. a range of different measures. absolutely at the forefront of what the government wa nts to forefront of what the government wants to do to get to the bottom of this and make sure that all the right lessons are learned. there are some unusual groups, including people from ethnic minorities, but also the way this has tended to impact on men, people with obesity and other categories as well. we will absolutely get to the bottom of all of those things. thank you very much. i wanted to conclude by saying that we have come a very long way through this disease and we are taking a whole range of different steps which i was describing from a transport point of view. to try to make sure that transport can be safe and secure for people to travel on going forward. but it's absolutely crucial to remember that the transport system will not be able to ta ke transport system will not be able to take the normal numbers of people. so please look for alternatives, please consider not travelling at peak and ideally travel by walking, cycling or indeed driving instead. finally, it's a bank holiday weekend. i'm so pleased to look after everybody and stay alert. that is the transport secretary grant shapps, bringing to an end a fairly turbulent briefing this afternoon. all the questions really come apart from one, to do with the prime minister's adviser dominic cummings. let's talk to nick ea rdley. cummings. let's talk to nick eardley. nick, why do you think that got us in terms of quite what happened with dominic cummings? got us in terms of quite what happened with dominic cummings7l suspect those who have questions will still have them about mr cummings and his specific case, whether or not he followed both the rules and the spirit of those rules. i thought it was interesting to hear the deputy cmo for england, drjenny harries, saying that anybody showing symptoms should take themselves out of society completely, stay at home. that doesn't seem to have happened in this case. we know mr cummings travelled to durham, he says, because his wife was showing symptoms and he was worried he was about to get the same thing too. it doesn't seem like he met that criteria. she did however add that the guidance has an element of common sense issue about it, safeguarding and making sure that anyone at risk can be protected from that risk. she mentioned for example an extreme risk to life. that is at the very least open to interpretation. she didn't talk about whether she thought mr cummings had broken the rules. she has been quoted on a number of occasions as somebody who suggested this might be within the rules in some sort of permissible sense. grant schapps, the transport secretary, making clear that in his view the government view, ministers are backing mrcummings. view the government view, ministers are backing mr cummings. saying that he travelled because he wanted to make sure that his kids weren't left without a care and saying, you know, most people do the exact same. most interesting from mr sharps was him saying it is up to individuals now to make sure that they are safeguarding people within their household or themselves for that matter. and i suspect some people will wonder how that matches up with what the health secretary, matt hancock, said when he told everybody this isn't a request, it's an instruction that you follow the guidelines. clearly the government believes that this can be explained within the rules. i suspect those who have suggested to the contrary won't be won over by that. it's interesting because the cabinet has really rallied around dominic cummings. iwas really rallied around dominic cummings. i was looking at a tweet by the foreign secretary saying the issue has been politicised, it is just about two parents with coronavirus, although as you say, in the downing street statement, it appears mrcummings did the downing street statement, it appears mr cummings did not have coronavirus at the time, anxiously taking care of the young child. the question put a couple of times to grant schapps was, what did the prime minister now and when did he know it? did we get anywhere with that? no is the short answer. grant schapps telling us that the prime minister knew that mr cummings was ill and that he was locked down, but not answering the question of whether he knew that his chief adviser travelled 260 miles from london to durham. not completely clear what boris johnson london to durham. not completely clear what borisjohnson knew london to durham. not completely clear what boris johnson knew and when. that question certainly is not going to go away. forgive me for looking at my phone. i'm doing it for a reason. something has come through from the labour party. they have said consistently they want questions answered. i'm not sure they feel they have got those a nswe rs they feel they have got those answers from the press conference. labour writing to the cabinet secretary in the last few minutes calling for what they say would be an urgent enquiry into these allegations. the snp have done the same thing. clearly the pressure is not going away on this. standing back from those —— that press conference, not sure where that further forward in understanding exactly what went on here beyond the fa ct exactly what went on here beyond the fact that ministers are clearly backing mrcummings fact that ministers are clearly backing mr cummings without necessarily getting into the details of what happened and exactly how this moves forward. what's so difficult here is that inevitably there are politics involved. the labour party writing to the cabinet secretary, as you said. the snp has said mrcummings secretary, as you said. the snp has said mr cummings should resign. but we are in the middle of a public health crisis and the fear it must be that the public health messages area bit be that the public health messages are a bit muddied by what has happened? yeah, you're absolutely right. cummings spoke briefly to journalists this afternoon and he said it was a question of doing the right thing, it is what —— not what journalists think. mr cummings and number 10 have had a combative relationship with the media. in many ways it is not about what we are saying. it is what is the right thing. and what the public perceive it to be as well. one of the questions that all —— always comes up questions that all —— always comes up when there are these questions about how you interpret the rules about how you interpret the rules about whether someone has interpreted them in a difficult —— different way, is does it undermine public confidence in the message? jenny harries was not quite getting into that when she was asked about it at the press conference. but i suppose that is the fundamental question. does this story, does dominic cummings travelling from london to durham, 260 miles, when it seems that his wife was showing symptoms of coronavirus, does that undermine the message that we have all been hearing, that stay—at—home message at the time? but also, crucially, that message which stays in place if you have coronavirus symptoms, you are supposed to stay at home and take yourself out of society unless there are extreme cases where there is a risk to individuals and people need to be safeguarded. nick, many thanks. nick ea rdley. safeguarded. nick, many thanks. nick eardley. thank you. we are joined now by the snp's westminster leader ian blackford. thank you forjoining us. you will no doubt listening to all of that. what did you make of it? well, it is quite shocking. we've had no real defence as to why dominic cummings travelled all the way to durham, no acceptance that what he did was wrong. you know, when you hear dr harries, she made it very clear, if you have got covid—19, you should be staying at home. it's obvious that this was a journey which was not necessary. this has put at risk the whole public messaging that the uk government has had over the last few weeks. we are talking about an individual who is the closest adviser to the prime minister that ona adviser to the prime minister that on a prima facie basis seems to have broken the rules that the government has put in place. he ought to have resigned by now. but it's quite clear after that performance today by the transport secretary that there is no real defence and that dominic cummings should now be sacked by the prime minister. you seem very sacked by the prime minister. you seem very clear about whatjenny harries, the deputy medical officer, was saying, but she did also say that people need to use their common sense, and if it is about looking after a four—year—old child there has to be, she may not quite have put it this way, but there has to be some room for interpretation? well, if it comes to looking after a four—year—old child, let's not forget the prime minister was also very clear about this that grandparents should not be brought into that situation. grandparents should be protected. i'm sorry to cut in but we don't know there was any cut in but we don't know there was a ny co nta ct cut in but we don't know there was any contact with the grandparents. we are told that they stayed self isolated in the house? in the house on the estate of the grandparents, whatever that is supposed to mean. the fact is there is no explanation as to why dominic cummings wrote more than 250 miles when the evidence, the basis of the evidence, is that people should be remaining at home. people have raised the issue of catherine calderwood. there issue of catherine calderwood. there isa issue of catherine calderwood. there is a difference. catherine calderwood, when she appeared at the daily press conference after the user had broken about her visiting her second home, apologised. and very quickly thereafter resigned. we should have been hearing from the prime minister today. i wrote to the cabinet secretary several hours ago with a cabinet secretary several hours ago witha numberof cabinet secretary several hours ago with a number of questions that need to be answered. the prime minister needs to come clean about when he knew about this. whether or not he authorised at this and why he has not ta ken authorised at this and why he has not taken his responsibilities in asking dominic cummings to resign. he should sack him. this man has undermined public messaging that the uk government has sought to deliver. ifi uk government has sought to deliver. if i may say so, if you think of the millions of people that have had to make sacrifices, that have lost loved ones, they have not been able to grieve in the correct manner, people can't visit their grandparents, grandchildren are losing out on that, grandparents can't visit their grandchildren, family events have not happened. and yet here we have an individual that has driven from london up to durham, almost the length of england, to the estate of his parents, it simply is not right and he should accept responsibility. you are talking about the prime minister there. it has been pointed out that nicola sturgeon also took some time before calling on catherine calderwood to resign when this similar sort of situation arose. i wonder what you think about the public health message? you are calling on dominic cummings to resign. it would be a big political scalp for you. but what's more important, surely, is what's more important, surely, is what this does to the public health message in the middle of a crisis like this. the public health messages undermined by dominic cummings staying in office. we face the difficult challenge in scotland of the loss of a chief medical officer. that was done within 2a hours of the information coming to life. we had the writings of dominic cummings wife mary wakefield talking about the two of them being in isolation in london. we need to get to the truth of what has happened. where were they and when? quite simply, dominic cummings has to acce pt simply, dominic cummings has to accept that what he has done is undermine what the government is seeking to do, and borisjohnson should not be waiting to get that resignation. he should be sacking dominic cummings and doing it right now. ok. good to talk to you. thank you so much, ian blackford, the snp leader in westminster. we can speak now to our health correspondent, anna collinson. anna, thinking about this trip that was taken, 260 miles from london to durham, what risks, if any, from london to durham, what risks, ifany, did from london to durham, what risks, if any, did they risk posed in terms of the spread of the virus? it's a really important question. i think we got a real sense of the anger and the need for answers in that briefing. so yes, dominic cummings, as we know now, drove from london to durham at the end of march and at that time, if we go back to that time, government advice was pretty clear about what they wanted people to do, particularly if they had symptoms. they appeal to the public to stay at home if they had symptoms for at least seven days. i've had a look through the guidelines published then. the government did say if you had symptoms you could move so—called vulnerable individuals to stay with friends or family, but children one specifically mentioned in that category. at a similar time the government medical adviser, drjenny harries, said ifan government medical adviser, drjenny harries, said if an adult is unwell and unable to care for a child, that child would also be vulnerable. dominic cummings obviously claims that his trip was essential and that is why he had a life drove 260 miles across the country so he could be with his family in durham, so their young child could have childcare if needed. it is not clear if he stopped at any service stations along the way, for example. when asked about it in the briefing, grant schapps confirmed dominic cummings self isolated in a property away with his wife and his son, and the only interaction with his relatives was them leaving food on his doorstep. he is encouraging people to follow the rules as best as possible but says when people are critical of the dominic cummings situation, this involved the welfare ofa situation, this involved the welfare of a four—year—old child. drjenny harries, who had talked about this previously, said she wouldn't comment on an individual case but she said all this guidance has to be used with common sense. that may be true but there is going to be a lot of people, and i know there is because i have spoken to them, who have adjusted their behaviour, have not had a child care, who have struggled with coronavirus, because that's what they thought the rules we re that's what they thought the rules were and they thought it was the right thing to do. we have heard of heartbreaking stories over the months of people doing their bit, including not seeing loved ones when they are dying, because they think thatis they are dying, because they think that is the best thing to be doing during lockdown. to try to tell them that common sense is needed, i think, it will be very hard for them to swallow. really interesting. anna, that briefing was dominated by the dominic cummings story but we did learn some more details about where we are in terms of the epidemic? absolutely. we have actually got some slides. during that briefing we got the latest figures of the uk death toll. tragically, 282 more corona deaths we re tragically, 282 more corona deaths were recorded, bringing the total now to more than 36,600. this total figure includes some deaths in care homes and the community. but this data is still criticised by some because it does not include the overall death toll because our testing has not reached that capacity yet. the government would argue that testing is improving. grant schapps called these figures a devastating reminder of the cruelty of coronavirus, however, there is hope if you look back. three weeks ago, the death toll was 621. today it is under 300. so they do suggest we are very it is under 300. so they do suggest we are very much beyond the peak. we also have a second slide, if we have time. this is google mobility data from the beginning of march to the 16th of may. as you can see there has been a drop in activities when the lockdown was brought in, particularly retail and workplaces. most people don't need to be told they've spent the last two months in their homes. one thing that was really interesting was the concern about parks. there is a growing increase there. in england, for example, you are allowed now to be in the park sunbathing or picnicking, but you are supposed to be keeping social distancing in place. only meeting with one other person outside your household. there are concerns that as more people going to the park, though social distancing measures are going to be harder to abide by. it would be tempting to hang out in big groups and the concern is always, we need to keep the spike down. so yes, that isa to keep the spike down. so yes, that is a concern for the scientists going forward. thank you so much. anna collinson, our health expert. i am joined now by sonia souder, a columnist for the guardian and the observer, and former adviser to ed miliband is leader of the opposition. and also by dan hodges, a political commentator at the mail on sunday. thank you forjoining us. news. you will have been watching that briefing. with very close attention i am sure. grant shapps was at pains to describe this as a personal story of a father who is trying to do his best for his family and his child. what did you make of it? iand i'm i and i'm sure lots of other people watching felt extremely confused. the governors had a choice today. it could either admit that dominic cummings has broken government guidance. i think it is clear he has, and sack him, as they have done other advisers who have done the same thing. why the government could try and protect dominic cummings and tell us he didn't break the guidance. that is what it has chosen to do and in doing so it has undermined its own public health advice. jenny harries was really clear in the press conference. if you develop symptoms, you and your household must stay at home unless there is an extreme risk to life. grant shapps seems to say, well, it isa grant shapps seems to say, well, it is a decision for individuals, whether you have enough support around you. really what the government is doing, what cabinet ministers have been doing all day and coming out and defending dominic cummings. the health secretary has said what he did was right. what they are doing is undermining their own guidance and by doing that they are putting lives at risk. i think it is really quite shocking. i think people will be quite confused. is it 0k people will be quite confused. is it ok now to travel across the country when you are in a couple, one of you is sick, one isn't, you might have worries about childcare? is it ok to travel 260 miles, to travel to see your extended family? it really wasn't clear from that press conference. huge confusion. i think it is incredibly damaging and i think it shows that the government have chosen to prioritise one of their colleagues and saving the career of one of their colleagues over being clear about the guidance. does it muddy the message, dan? no, actually i took completely the opposite from that. i think in a way to some extent it draws a line under the issue. ithinkjenny to some extent it draws a line under the issue. i thinkjenny harries and grant shapps were very clear and jenny harries specifically, it is clear that the government's advice is in these circumstances, if there are other vulnerable individuals involved and i don't think anyone would argue that a four—year—old child whose parents are not in a fit state to care for them would not qualify as a vulnerable individual thenit qualify as a vulnerable individual then it is perfectly legitimate to use discretion and what jenny harries termed common sense. i thought it was interesting in the introduction to this, your own correspondent pointed to that very specific advice in the official government guidance. i think it is this common sense element that is the key to all this. i think anybody dispassionately looking at this in this scenario you did have a situation which they and their partner were unable to look after a four—year—old child because they have an onset of this illness would do whatever it took to ensure the child was put in a safe place. i would do that, i assume you would come and most people watching this programme would. from what has been said, that dominic cummings did not have symptoms when he got on the road to go up to durham will stop i think that is where the question comes. if everybody in a family with children, as soon as one person in the family fell ill with covid—19, decided it was ok to travel across the country just in decided it was ok to travel across the countryjust in case they required childcare, that would really pull the rug from underneath government guidance. indeed we know that dominic cummings... a source close to him in number 10 has said that dominic cummings and his immediate family were socially distance. they didn't actually require that childcare. that is not the extreme risk to lifejenny harries is talking about. i think up and down the country people have had to make incredibly difficult decisions and lots of people will have said, right, we must abide by the government guidance, even if that means we can't be with loved ones, we can't say goodbye to them for the last time. they are going to be really angry that a top government adviser seemingly flouted the advice in that way. itjust does not hold up. dan, can i put another potential difficulty for the government, which is that dominic cummings' wife, a seniorfigure on the spectator magazine, herself put out an account of what happened when they had coronavirus. in that account she suggested that she became ill and then he became ill the day after and that both of them we re the day after and that both of them were really quite stricken by this. one wonders how that squares with the statement now given out by downing street. well, to be perfectly honest, i have heard a lot about... dominic cummings, i am perfectly honest, i have heard a lot about... dominic cummings, lam not interested in what his wife writes. that is a matter for her. i am interested in what dominic cummings say. it is about them both, what happened to them then. but... as i said, the important thing is what dominic cummings says and what the government said. to reiterate, just pick up on the point, in those circumstances in which a partner is sick and another may feel they were becoming sick or had a fear they we re becoming sick or had a fear they were becoming sick and didn't have alternative childcare arrangements, what are they supposed to do? wait until they are both sick and incapacitated and then try to sort out childcare? jenny harries was very clear, your correspondence was very clear, your correspondence was very clear, your correspondence was very clear at the start of this piece on what the advice was. in those circumstances, a young child would be classified self—evidently asa would be classified self—evidently as a vulnerable individual and it would be perfectly legitimate for individuals in those circumstances to secure assistance. frankly... i mean, i cannot believe we are actually sitting here passing the details of official government advice. remember, we are not talking about any laws being broken. we are talking about advice. we are talking about the public‘s understanding of the guidance. it is clear government guidance. this is notjust minor advice. it is instructions that the government issued to us in order to protect the nhs and save lives. i am afraid that dominic cummings, in breaking that guidance, which i think it is very clear he has done, it reeks of breathtaking arrogance and likely has a disregard for health care workers' lives. it is not likejenny harries was very clear, she said stay in unless there is an extreme risk to life. i think it will come as a huge surprise to pa rents it will come as a huge surprise to parents up and down the country, particularly if you are a single pa rent particularly if you are a single parent and you might be worried about how you will care for your child if you get seriously sick. the idea that in those circumstances you could take up across the country, drive for hundreds of miles to be with your extended family, that's just does not sit with the guidance and the instruction. with respect... that ligaments have given us four weeks. with respect, this is the complete lunacy we have got to. dominic cummings quite clearly did this. whether he was right or wrong, people can form a view. he clearly did this because his primary concern was the welfare of his four—year—old child. we now have sonia coming on saint, actually, this is an example that he doesn't care for the health of care workers. implying he wants health care workers to die. of care workers. implying he wants health care workers to diel of care workers. implying he wants health care workers to die. i don't think she was implying that. health care workers to die. i don't think she was implying thatm health care workers to die. i don't think she was implying that. it is precisely this sort of dialogue that has got us in the absolutely disgusting situation where, as you pointed out, we as a society have set out to protect ourselves for this disease, we will have a situation where children are allowed to die alone or people cannot attend other people is a. dan... we weir saying a man should be sacked for looking after his child. we are going mad! can ijust comment? it doesn't matter who dominic cummings is, doesn't it? he is at the heart of government, one of the architects of government, one of the architects of this message that a lot of people have interpreted much more strictly than he appears to have. with respect, you are now saying he is the architect of this message. remember what the criticism of dominic cummings has been entirely up dominic cummings has been entirely up until this point. he was a buzz to be the guy he wasn't the architect of this, didn't want lockdown and wanted herd immunity through the country. that was not a criticism directed at him until this. the reality is that dominic cummings is an adviser. i and other cummings is an adviser. land other people have spent months if not years attacking and criticising and condemning the status that dominic cummings has in government. rightly so. he is an adviser, not a politician, not an elected politician. this is not... other advisers have had to resign for breaking guidance and rules and i would argue far less serious breaking of the rules. but do you think... really... people on the government payroll need to be adhering to the advice or it isa need to be adhering to the advice or it is a message to people in the country that they do not need to comply. i think if everyone had done what dominic cummings chose to do, more lives would have been put at risk. it sends the message that if you have a four—year—old child and you have a four—year—old child and you are concerned for the child's welfare , you are concerned for the child's welfare, you have to put the welfare of the child first before government advice, and that is common sense and thatis advice, and that is common sense and that is absolutely right! if you are not doing that then frankly you need your head examining! he stayed socially distant. how do you know what the circumstances where? what was he doing? why was he doing it, why was he driving 250 miles? to taking the view, he wanted a bit of scenery? he wanted get out for a bit? of course that is what he was doing! why else? can ijust ask bit? of course that is what he was doing! why else? can i just ask you both briefly one question? we have members of the cabinet rushing in to be supportive and protective of dominic cummings. do you think he will survive this? no. ithink dominic cummings. do you think he will survive this? no. i think he will survive this? no. i think he will be strung out —— it will be strung out but eventually he will have to resign. dan. yes, he will stay. thank you very much indeed. thank you both. let's look at some other elements of the coronavirus crisis. the worldwide tourism industry has been badly affected by coronavirus, and many popular destinations are now trying to find ways to welcome visitors back. italy is planning to reopen its airports from the 3rd ofjune, and international charter flights to popular locations in greece are due to resume injuly. our correspondent in athens, quentin somerville, explains. greeks have been able to come to the beaches for a couple of weekends now. but what about the rest of us? well, from the 15th ofjune, the greek authorities are going to welcome tourists back from all over the world without a quarantine. there will be some exclusions, though — countries with high infection rates, and at the moment that looks like britain, russia and the united states. greece has been very successful in controlling the pandemic, fewer than 170 deaths. so it wants to tread very carefully. it needs to reopen its beaches, and as of monday, the greek islands will reopen again, too. but it has to take a very cautious approach to this. it realises business won't be the same as before, but just these small, incremental changes, letting people get back to the beach, get in the sea, is very important to regaining that life we once had. for those of us still holding out hope for some form of holiday this summer, our options are of course looking very different. yesterday the government announced that all those travelling to the uk will need to self—quarantine for two weeks. so what will travel look like once that quarantine comes into effect? joining me to discuss that is the traveljournalist alison rice. where do you think this leaves us? hello, there. oh, it is hugely disappointing news for everyone who went into lockdown thinking, well, at least in the summer we can have our normalforeign at least in the summer we can have our normal foreign holiday and at least in the summer we can have our normalforeign holiday and it at least in the summer we can have our normal foreign holiday and it is catastrophic for the travel industry. not just the catastrophic for the travel industry. notjust the airlines, who have been very vocal about this, but the tour operators, travel agents, hotels, museums, attractions, and all the little people, the small businesses who make their money from tourism. notjust in our favourite holiday destinations abroad but also here in britain. who is going to girl? who is going to be able to go with their holiday injuly, august, and then come home and self—isolate for two weeks? may be people who work from home and the young, who a lwa ys work from home and the young, who always think they are immortal anyway. maybe they will engage in revenge tourism, they have been locked up so long they are going on holiday regardless. there is a pent—up desire for holidays, but there is a very large proportion of there is a very large proportion of the country that is newly risk averse and will not have two weeks to spend after their holiday, you know, to self—isolate. to spend after their holiday, you know, to self-isolate. i wonder what you think people should do psychologically. should theyjust decide, right, that's it, we are staying in the uk this summer? that isa staying in the uk this summer? that is a good question. i think a lot of people will do that, certainly ones who are worried about what the airports, the air flight will be like. you know, will it be a four hour check—in? what the situation will be in the hotels and on the beaches, how will you self distance? i think the newly risk averse will definitely be worried and will stay at. there is talk of what they call health corridors and air bridges, which is where two country is happy with each other‘s position on covid—19 agreed to drop the quarantine and these quarantine free pacts have been talked about. i don't know if our government will have them. we are going the other way, we have introduced a 1a day quarantine and so has france. you would need to spend six weeks taking a two—week holiday! would need to spend six weeks taking a two-week holiday! unless you are retired and... i don't see how you can do it! four of those weeks of course will be in your own home or where you choose to self—isolate, or two of those weeks will. indeed. it isa two of those weeks will. indeed. it is a very difficult situation and the second largest tour operator in this country, jet2, is determined to open its programme of flights in july. ryanair has said it will open a0% of its schedule, although that could just be that if the flight ta kes could just be that if the flight takes off they don't have to pay money back to anyone not on it! so those who are booked may well get their holiday if they still want to ta ke their holiday if they still want to take it abroad. but you heard last night that shearings, part of a big group, the company that is over 100 yea rs old group, the company that is over 100 years old and has 2500 staff, went into administration last night. i sadly don't think it will be the first and i think we all go hopefully on holiday easily next year, it will be a very different market. the tourism industry will be different industry. we will have to see. very good to talk to you. thank you. the channel island of guernsey has become the first part of the british isles to remove virtually all its lockdown restrictions. guernsey has had no new cases of covid—19 for over three weeks and all schools will be going back to normal there with distancing measures from the 8th ofjune. but their bank holiday beaches have no visitors, and the islands must now weigh up whether to reopen their borders. robert hall reports. in a guernsey garden eight—week—old charlie flood is meeting his widerfamily. until now his grandparents have only had glimpses of him at a distance. today the family can hold charlie and hug each other for the first time since lockdown began. we are so fortunate because in england they can't do that and it must be so difficult for them. we are just really, really lucky. it feels absolutely amazing, it has been a long time coming, and it feels so nice. lcan't put him down. on the 16th of may guernsey moved into phase three of the lockdown exit plan. guernsey families and friends can meet up under what is called a bubble system, gradually widening their contacts. guernsey's success against covid—9 is down to a community effort. guernsey's success against covid—19 is down to a community effort. social distancing combined with testing and tracing has brought new cases down to zero. in a week's time most lockdown measures will disappear completely. at the peak of when we were seeing most of our cases we were regularly doing up to 100, 126, some days up to 180 tests a day. in uk terms that is over 100,000 tests per day. injersey to the curve of new cases has flattened close to zero and life injersey too the curve of new cases has flattened close to zero and life looks almost normal. shops, businesses and outside eateries have reopened, but social distancing measures remain in place and islanders have been advised to use masks if they can. beaches, though, remain mostly deserted, and that sums up the dilemma now facing island governments. getting covid—19 figures down to or close to zero is a cause for celebration, but the celebration might be short lived. the channel islands know that they cannot remain within a sealed bubble indefinitely, they must open their borders if they are to slow the decline in their economies. latest figures from jersey show the island losing £120 million a month from its economy. increases in testing and tracing might replace quarantine, but even a gradual return of sea and air links could reverse the progress made. to keep it in a bubble and to keep cases low, but at the same time if you don't have immunity, you don't really know what is going to happen as things open up. i think we should sit it out, but then you've got to test people coming in and that is going to be the problem now. as politicians and health experts debate their next moves, islanders are savouring their freedom. robert hall, bbc news, in the channel islands. thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of madrid in cars and motorbikes to protest against the spanish government's handling of the coronavirus crisis. they're calling for the prime minister pedro sanchez and his deputy to resign over the country's strict lockdowns and the damage they've inflicted on the economy. tough restrictions remain in place in madrid and barcelona, though they've been relaxed elsewhere. our correspondent in madrid is guy hedgecoe. these demonstrations today have been called by the far—right vox party, which has called on people notjust in madrid but in cities across spain to take to the streets in their cars so that they can maintain social distancing, and vox and its supporters are protesting against the leftist coalition government of pedro sanchez, which they say has handled the coronavirus crisis in an incompetent way. they say that it has also abused its use of a state of emergency which has been in place since the middle of march. now the government of pedro sanchez rejects those accusations, and it points to the statistics which show that daily deaths, for example, from coronavirus are well below 100 and have been below 100 for the last few days. new infections have also stabilised, and the government is now embarking on what is a very gradual lifting of the lockdown. as countries around the world try to come to terms with the number of lives lost to the coronavirus, attention is already focused on the best ways to avoid second or even third waves of infections. what are the prospects for doing that? our reality check correspondent chris morris reports. well, history certainly warns us to be on our guide. will there be a second wave of covid—19 infections? well, history certainly warns us to be on our guide. as far back as the middle ages, the black death came in waves. so too did later outbreaks of bubonic plague. a century ago, it was spanish flu that devastated populations. and while exact numbers are hard to come by, it's generally agreed that the second wave of the pandemic killed substantially more people than the first. health care systems were of course not nearly as good as they are now. nor was medical or information technology. more recently, second outbreaks of dangerous viruses like sars or mers have, by and large, been avoided, partly because they were less infectious than covid—19. but other big flu pandemics like the swine flu have had second waves. so what does that mean for us now? for starters, no two viruses are exactly the same, and no epidemics or infectious diseases behave in precisely the same way. but we know infectious diseases spread when people who have the infection come into contact with people who don't. an outbreak will continue to grow as long as the average number of people infected by a person with the virus is greater than one. that's what's known as the reproductive — or r — number, and keeping it below one is critically important, which is why measures such as social distancing and contact tracing will be part of all our lives for some time to come. we also need to know more about how long any immunity for covid—19 might last amongst people who have already had it once, and we need to find out whether there's any significant seasonal variation in the way the virus spreads. experts have warned of the danger of coronavirus re—emerging during the winter flu season in europe and the united states when health systems are already under huge pressure. they're also watching closely to see if the virus mutates to become more or less lethal. so there are a host of factors to take into account when trying to plan for a potential second wave. it's not certain that one will happen, and the early development of a reliable vaccine would be a game—changing moment. but until then, if mistakes are made when changing control measures, the virus could spread rapidly all over again. that was chris morris. uk businesses will be expected to pay a quarter of the wages of furloughed workers in the coming months. the chancellor's said the furlough scheme will be in place until the end of october with companies to be asked to "start sharing" the cost from the start of august. the scheme currently supports around 7.5 million jobs. the french government has said it will mirror the 1a—day quarantine that britain is introducing for people arriving from abroad. the measures will apply in the uk from 8thjune. the government in paris said it would take reciprocal action against any european country that required its citizens to self—isolate. let's take a look at some of the key points from today's coronavirus briefing from the government, today led by the transport secretary grant shapps. questioned about whether the pm's top aide, dominic cummings, had been breaking lockdown rules when travelling from his london home to self—isolate nearfamily in county durham, the transport secretary said it's important "everyone remains in the same place whilst they are in lockdown", and re—iterated that mr cummings has the full support of borisjohnson. the deputy chief medical officerfor england, drjenny harries, said that when someone develops symptoms, it's extremely important to "take yourself out of society", but there should be a "common sense" element surrounding safeguarding. the death toll in the uk has risen to 36,675 — an increase of 282 deaths in all settings in the past day. and grant shapps announced a series of measures to improve transport infrastructrure across the uk, saying the coronavirus outbreak must be a "catalyst" for better transport. coming up in a few minutes, i'll be back with the weekend news bulletin on bbc one, but we'll leave this coronavirus special with questioning from the bbc‘s political correspondent iain watson at the briefing, who asked transport secretary grant shapps and drjenny harries, england's deputy chief medical officer, to clarify the rules around lockdown and travel as the pm's chief adviser has faced criticism for travelling to durham from london. it seemed to be that the guidance was pretty clear — if you have symptoms you self—isolate for seven days and the rest of your household stays at home for 1a days. but is the advice now to parents that if you do not have your own extended family nearby, even when you are ill with covid—19 symptoms, you are allowed to leave your home, travel many miles across the country and isolate closer to your extended family? a specific question to you, did the prime minister know that his adviser dominic cummings had travelled 250 miles away during lockdown? did he approve this? thanks very much. did you mean the first question tojenny? for both of you, actually, but i would value jenny's advice specifically on whether parents who are ill can leave their home to go closer to their extended family to isolate. the scientific and medical advice behind the self—isolation is to take people who are symptomatic out of the public domain and anybody who may be likely to develop that in the household and who have the same exposures, so we know there is a greater risk. as you say, the advice is isolate yourself at home, your family self—isolates with you and that is very clear. built into that guidance, along with all of our other guidance, so for example along with elderly people or those who are clinically vulnerable and who are advised to stay at home and want to take forward that advice, there is always an element which says safeguarding, so we do not want an elderly person sitting at home without their medication cos they feel they cannot come out if there is a safeguarding issue and a child is significantly unwell and has no support, that is equally another issue. but the interpretation, the clinical advice around that, there is always a safeguarding clause in all of the advice, whether it is this or for clinically extremely vulnerable people. the interpretation of that advice is probably for others. you are asking if the prime minister knew. look, the important thing is that everyone remains in the same place whilst they are locked down, which is what happened in the case you are referring to with mrcummings, so the prime minister will have known he was staying put and he did not come out again until he was feeling better. but he did travel 250 miles from his london home, did he not? again to you, jenny harries, you seem to be very clear when people can leave their home, for example if they are seeking food, medical supplies and caring for the vulnerable. let me give you one specific example. if someone is ill and the other parent is not at that time showing symptoms and they have a young child, should they leave their home when ill to go to another home 250 miles away? is that in line with the guidance? i can go first. in the guidance it says if you are living with children, keep following this advice to the best of your ability, however we are aware that not all of these measures will be possible depending on circumstances. in other words, if you are in a position where you have got a young child, in this case four years old, and you are worried about the welfare of the child and the wider network of support, then you are clearly going somewhere where other members of the family can assist, in this case younger other members of the family, then that might be the best place for you to settle and stay throughout the time that you are ill. i think that is all that has happened in this case. boris johnson's most senior adviser, dominic cummings, faces calls to resign after he travelled hundreds of miles — with his wife who was sick with coronavirus syptoms — during the lockdown. mr cummings insists he's done nothing wrong and that he behaved " reasonably and legally". who cares about how it looks? it's a question of doing the right thing. it's not about what you guys think. the government defended him — saying he wanted to stay with family to ensure he had childcare if he got symptoms of coronavirus. mr cummings is, you know, in the public eye but the reality of the matter is a four—year—old child's welfare i think is the important thing. businesses will be expected to pay a quarter of the wages of furloughed workers — from the start of august.

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