Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20200409 : vimarsana.com

the latest headlines. the government's cobra emergency response committee meets to consider whether restrictions on people's movements should be extended. these measures will remain in place until there is any decision to change them, and that is not coming this easter weekend. the prime minister spends a third night in intensive care at st thomas‘ hospital in london. his condition is said to be improving. a warning from a leading economic think—tank that the pandemic will have far—reaching consequences for people's health in the uk due to the impact on the nhs and the likely financial downturn. italy warns the eu could fail as a project unless it better co—ordinates its response to coronavirus. and premier league footballers get together to help generate funds for the nhs. good morning and welcome to bbc news. ministers are to discuss a review of the uk's coronavirus lockdown to consider whether the current measures should be extended. the government's emergency cobra committee will look at evidence from scientists on the impact of measures brought in two—and—a—half weeks ago. in this morning's other developments... the prime minister, borisjohnson, has spent a third night in intensive care, where he's said to be stable and improving. in his current position as first secretary of state, dominic raab will chair the meeting, which will also include heads of the devolved nations. in wales, it has already been confirmed that lockdown measures will remain in place. there's a warning from a leading economic think—tank that the crisis will cause far—reaching consequences for people's health in the uk, because of the impact on the nhs and the likely financial downturn. meanwhile, the organ transplant network could be forced to shut down, partly because of the current pressure on intensive care beds. and liverpool captain jordan henderson and tottenham's harry kane are part of a group of footballers launching an initiative which will raise funds for the nhs from the pockets of premier league players. we'll be live from outside the hospital where the prime minister is being treated in a moment, but first, this report from charlotte rose. a picture of lockdown britain, but for how much longer? our lives of been changed unimaginably in the 16 days since the government brought in measures to slow the spread of coronavirus. later today, foreign secretary dominic raab will chair a cobra meeting with leaders in scotland, wales and northern ireland to discuss a review of the current rules, due to take place next week. but has the decision already been made? in wales, they say the lockdown will continue. i must be plain with all members — these restrictions will not end then. we will not throw away the gains we have made and the lives we can save. while scotland and northern ireland are moving in the same direction. it gives us hope... but speaking at the briefing yesterday, the chancellor would not be drawn on whether the uk government would follow their lead. we committed that there would be a review in and around three weeks — that review will be based on the evidence and the data provided by sage, which will only be available next week, but i think that rather than speculate about the future, we should focus on very seriously on the here and now and the present. but it seems any relaxation is increasingly unlikely, as the number of deaths in the uk in the past 2a hours reached 938, the highest daily figure yet. there were nearly 5,500 new cases reported yesterday, a rise on the previous two days. but ministers are keen to stress that thisjump is due to many more people being tested than before. hi, folks — quick update from me... facing his own personal test, prime minister boris johnson, who spent his third night in intensive care at st thomas‘ hospital in london. the pm is now said to be improving, sitting up in bed and engaging positively with his medical team. but his own personal battle against this illness shows the country still has a long way to go to defeat the virus. charlotte rose, bbc news. we can talk now to our assistant political editor, norman smith. how worried are ministers going into this meeting today about people actually sticking to the lockdown this easter weekend, and crucially, andi this easter weekend, and crucially, and i think this is the question eve ryo ne and i think this is the question everyone wants an answer to right now, are we going to get a decision out of the meeting today about when those lockdown measures might start to shift? we're not going to get a decision today, but i think what we will see is the language from ministers beginning to change. frankly, it will be much less circumspect about the lockdown being extended, which frankly seems pretty inevitable, and i think today, they will want to start the process of softening up public opinion to, as it were, prepare them for the likelihood that it is going to be rolled over when it is decided sometime next week, probably thursday. and really, that has been the experience of pretty much every other european country which has had lockdown is in place. they have after two or three weeks found it necessary to continue with them. i think it was very significant that yesterday, when we heard from the chancellor, the minister who obviously is going to be most concerned about the damage to the economy, he himself said, look, we have in effect got to put their health emergency before the economic emergency. and in any case, if you just look round the uk, the mayor of london, sadiq khan, saying yesterday, look, london isjust nowhere near ready for a lifting of the lockdown. and london has been the lockdown. and london has been the epicentre of the virus. similarly, in northern ireland, the health minister there saying it needs to be continued for the near future. and the first minister of wales, mark dra keford, future. and the first minister of wales, mark drakeford, saying, we are not going to lift it next week. an interesting that this morning, we heard from the health minister of wales, vaughan gething, who was saying that the welsh government took the view that it was important took the view that it was important to make this announcement before the bank holiday weekend, so that people didn't get the idea that somehow it was ok and that they lockdown was going to be eased and they could relax over the bank holiday. we have had a range of evidence from our chief scientific adviser on health, and indeed our chief medical officer, that some progress is indeed being made as a result of the lockdown measures and social distancing. and that's, of course, really important, to slow down the rate of infection. we've also had very clear advice that if we lifted those measures at the end of this weekend, then we could expect those rates to go back up, and our hospitals, that are filling up in the south—east corner of wales, are going to be filling up rather more quickly across the country. so, the gains that we have made because the public have followed the rules would be lost and thrown away very quickly. we think it's really important to be straight with the public. the action you've taken already has made a real and positive difference to our nhs and saving lives. we need you to carry on for a period of time longer, because we really do understand this is making a difference, and we'll be straight and honest, when there is more evidence about what the direct impact has been and indeed if there is a path to removing lockdown measures. meanwhile, the uk government are saying they are going to wait until they get the latest medical advice from sage. that is not due until next week, but listening to the culture secretary, oliver dowden, this morning, it is clear that they are viewing that as the final bit of the jigsaw before it seems they give the jigsaw before it seems they give the go—ahead to extending the lockdown. we have been absolutely clear about this. this guidance remains in place. people should be staying at home this weekend in order to save lives and protect the nhs. we've always said, though, that we would review these measures on a periodic basis. cobra will meet today to determine that process, what evidence to consider. but i think you will have seen from, for example, the presentation just yesterday at the daily press conference, these measures are starting to work, and now is not the time to be changing course. so, the message is clear — stick with it. but, of course, we said that on a rolling three week basis, we would keep it under review. but these measures are in place, and will remain in place until there is any decision to change them, and that is not coming this easter weekend. i need to, i mentioned the experience in other european countries, and it is worth saying that in a number of other european countries, not only did they decide to roll over the lockdown, they actually intensified the lockdown. now, so far, there is no indication that the government is going to go down that witch, but, of course, a lot will depend on what happens this bank or they weekend. norman, thank you very much. our reporter helena wilkinson is outside st thomas' hospital in london, where the prime minister remains in intensive care. good morning, helena, how is he doing? any news from overnight? annita, we haven't had any updates since yesterday, as far as we are aware, the prime minister remains here at st thomas' in intensive care. you might be able to make out a couple of police officers just behind us, guarding every entrance to the hospital. perhaps some positive news that we heard yesterday from the chancellor at that daily briefing — he used the words about the prime minister's condition and said his condition was improving. that's the first time that we have heard that word being used. up until then, that we have heard that word being used. up untilthen, we that we have heard that word being used. up until then, we were hearing that the prime minister was in a sta ble that the prime minister was in a stable condition and in good spirits. we also heard that the prime minister has been sitting up in bed and engaging positively with clinical staff. and then we got that other update from downing street at around seven o'clock last night, which said it was a simple statement, saying that the prime minister continues to make steady progress. but remains here in intensive care. now, in terms of the treatment, the prime minister has been receiving, we are told he has been receiving, we are told he has been getting standard oxygen treatment and he has been breathing by himself. crucially, he hasn't needed to be put on a ventilator. a ventilator being that complex machine which, to put it very simply, takes over the breathing process so simply, takes over the breathing process so the patient can then be given time to try and recover from the virus. it's important to stress that not every patient who goes into intensive care ends up on a ventilator. but at the moment, as far as we know, the prime minister remains in intensive care here, he is improving, he has been sitting up in bed and engaging with clinical staff, and we expect, annita, to hear the next update about the prime minister's health probably at around lunchtime when there is that daily briefing given to journalists lunchtime when there is that daily briefing given tojournalists by downing street. helena wilkinson, thank you very much. italy's prime minister has told the bbc that the european union project might collapse unless it acts decisively to help countries worst—hit by the coronavirus outbreak. giuseppe conte told our rome correspondent that italy wants a coordinated economic response from the bloc, by allowing countries to share debt. he said the eu needs to rise to the challenge of what he called "the biggest test since the second world war". the prime minister also suggested that italy might start to lift some of its restrictions by the end of april. elsewhere, a bleak warning from a un study into the financial and human cost of the pandemic, which found that poverty across the world has increased for the first time in 30 years. meanwhile, the un's world health organization has been forced to defend itself after facing criticism from president trump for the way it has managed the spread of the virus. more from across europe and elsewhere in a moment, but first, here are those comments from italy's prime minister, speaking to the bbc‘s mark lowen. translation: it's a big challenge to the existence of europe and to the history of europe. we're notjust writing pages in the books of economics, we're writing pages in the history books. this is a big appointment with history and we cannot miss it. myself and other european leaders need to rise to the challenge. and there's no doubt that if our response isn't strong and unified, if europe fails to come up with a monetary and financial policy adequate for the biggest challenge since the second world war, for sure, not only italians but european citizens will deeply disappointed. if europe does not rise to this challenge, would the european union risk failing itself? translation: there is this risk. if we don't seize the opportunity to put new life into the european project, the risk is real. that's why i won't allow it to materialise, i want to banish it. the world trade organization has also warned that international trade could decline sharply and that governments should take urgent steps to protect people's livelihoods. the warning comes amid fears that the fallout from the pandemic could lead to an economic collapse as severe as that of the 1930s great depression. matt graveling reports. while europe's death toll continued to rise, most of its stock markets were in decline. the world trade 0rganixation warned the pandemic will cause the deepest economic recession in living memories. the bank of france said the nation's economy contracted 6% in the first quarter, putting it in recession. one of spain's biggest football teams, real madrid, has said its players will reduce wages by up to a fifth this year to support the rest of the club's staff. spain has the most confirmed cases of covid—i9 in europe, with a death toll exceeding 14,500, but while the country remains in lockdown, others are taking a different approach. belarus has seen its cases rise above 1,000, with 13 deaths. their president questioned the benefits of introducing a lockdown, suggesting the country should focus on resolving economic issues instead. translation: spouting quarantine, cu rfew, translation: spouting quarantine, curfew, it would be a piece of cake, we could do it within 2a hours. but what would we? italy has seen a slowing in coronavirus deaths, prompting fears people may ignore the lockdown restrictions on the easter weekend. while austria's chancellor has announced plans to start easing some of the restrictions, despite this being against world health organization guidance. but while the fight to preserve human life continues, europe's economic health is deteriorating, the european central bank saying £i.3 trillion will be required to tackle the crisis. matt graveling, bbc news. spain's prime minister says the latest coronavirus data suggests the country is "close to the beginning of a decline in the epidemic". pedro sanchez told parliament... "the fire starts to come under control." ahead of a vote on the extension of a state of emergency by another two weeks. almost 15,000 people have died in spain and the country has more confirmed cases than any other in europe. the headlines on bbc news... the uk government's cobra emergency response committee meets to consider whether restrictions on people's movements should be extended. the prime minister has spent a third night in intensive care at st thomas's hospital in london, where his condition is said to be stable and improving. there's a warning from a leading economic think—tank that the pandemic will have far—reaching consequences for people's health in the uk, due to the impact on the nhs and the likely financial downturn. let's get more now on the economic fears around the fallout of the pandemic, and particularly business concerns here in the uk. this morning we've had the latest gdp monthly estimate from office for national statistics and it showed that economic growth was already shrinking in february, before the lockdown began. with me is michelle ovens, who is the founder of organisation small business britain and chair of the small business charter. and also i'm joined byjo bevilacqua, who owns and runs a small business. good morning to both of you, so good to have you both with us. beginning with you, michelle, business doesn't like uncertainty, we know that from the brexit negotiations, here we are in another period of huge uncertainty, what information would make a difference to small businesses right now? erm, 00:19:07,1000 --> 00:19:09,106 your com pletely businesses right now? erm, your completely right, uncertainty is not a great thing and other word unprecedented is very overused at the moment, but it is exactly where we are. we know from our research this week that 55% of small businesses have not reached out for support yet. and this is our big concern for the sector, is that, businesses are isolated, people are isolated, and they‘ re businesses are isolated, people are isolated, and they're not getting the support that is available. actually, the wider community, the business community, government, big companies, have all really stepped up companies, have all really stepped up to offer support but actually what we're finding is a lot of small businesses either don't know about it or can't access it or actually kind of feel, as we all do, a huge level of fear and panic. so, we're talking a lot this week, we're launching the big support, which is about getting businesses to reach out for help. this is both business and support help and critically, mental health support as well. because we're seeing, as is for the whole economy, but for small businesses that have been massively hit by this, over 70% think their revenue is going to drop by more than 50%. so when you're seeing your future disappearing, there is a big mental health issue as well. and so we wa nt mental health issue as well. and so we want to address both the business support side and the mental health support side and the mental health support side. 10 bevilacqua, tell us about your business? so, i have a hairand about your business? so, i have a hair and beauty salon in peterborough, and we have basically had to shut the doors to our salon. we took the decision to do that a couple of days before lockdown actually was recommended ordered by boris himself. so, our revenues have completely stopped from the salon. obviously, we work really closely with people, we touch them, the two metre social distancing does not work in our industry, so unfortunately we have had to shut the door, and when you've got 40 employees, that's a really worrying time. and have you reached out for any of the support that michelle was talking about? yes, michelle runs an amazing campaign with small business britain, with loads of advice, which is great. we were lucky enough because we do have a premises, that we have got the £10,000 grant, which isa we have got the £10,000 grant, which is a huge help. obviously the 80% following scheme, the job retention scheme, was really important to us in us actually being able to keep our staff employed, because if we didn't have that, we would have had to make them redundant because there isjust no money coming into the business. so, michelle, 10 as we have just heard is accessing that financial support which is out there, are some businesses adapting better to this uncertainty than others? because you have said not eve ryo ne others? because you have said not everyone is taking advantage of it yet, plus, you have those concerns about people reaching out for advice on how to make their businesses resilient, plus, the mental health concerns? yeah. so, it's a hugely varied picture. 5.8 million small businesses, to say, this is what small businesses are doing, is very difficult. we find that businesses break into a broadly four groups, one break into a broadly four groups, u break into a broadly four groups, one group which is kind of 0k, and then you have kind of got your flight, then you have kind of got your flight, your fight and your frozen group. the fight group is engaging, and not breaking it down necessarily into who can or cannot get the grants, but the businesses which are looking to find a way through and trying to keep hope and optimism in what is an incredibly different situation. the real challenge is the businesses who are either frozen or who have kind of given up. and part of that is because we don't have an end date for this, which is very difficult for businesses to plan for. so... and we know from the government, michelle, that they don't have the scientific data yet, they say, to start to begin to talk about when that end date might be, when restrictions might start to be eased, so, in that limbo, what is the key piece of advice that you would give to anyone, a small business owner right now, who, unlikejo, business owner right now, who, unlike jo, hasn't accessed the support yet? so, you've got to come and talk, you've got to talk to people, talk to a business adviser, a coach, a mentor, come and look on our website, there is some great stuff out there. the business helpline that we've got is incredibly helpful, they are a great first stop. enterprise nation is doing some really great help and advice. all of this is completely free, by the way. bt skills for tomorrow, digitalskills free, by the way. bt skills for tomorrow, digital skills are incredibly important. come and have a chat with us, have a chat with them, find a way forward for yourself. and then once we start to get through this, we can start talking about a back to business campaign, getting people back on their feet. but for now, we campaign, getting people back on theirfeet. but for now, we really wa nt to theirfeet. but for now, we really want to just help businesses to keep a little level of optimism to try and keep them going and try to keep them away from the panic and the fear, which we know can be incredibly overwhelming. optimism is a really important word right now, isn't it, michelle. jo, on that note, reading about your business, i know that you have a creche in your salon so that people can come and get their treatments and have their children looked after at the same time, which is a fantastic idea, i think. you also describe yourself as a mum—preneur. i think. you also describe yourself as a mum—preneur. i guess think. you also describe yourself as a mum—preneur. i guess the motivation is to keep the work—life balance going. how important do you think it is that small businesses get through this incredibly difficult period in that they are at the help of so many communities around the uk, how important is it that they manage to survive this?” think it's really important, i think this is going to be a time where everyone is going to use it for reflection and i think that's really important. as a small business owner, you're almost like a hamster ina owner, you're almost like a hamster in a wheel, you're always doing something, there is always something to think about, and most of the time, as business owners you're very reactive. but i think this is going to give everybody a really good time to give everybody a really good time tojust sit to give everybody a really good time to just sit and to give everybody a really good time tojust sit and be proactive, to reflect and to be proactive, so, how can we come out of here running? so it's notjust can we come out of here running? so it's not just about surviving, can we come out of here running? so it's notjust about surviving, it's about how we are going to use the time to thrive. and as you said, i runa time to thrive. and as you said, i run a community called the unique mum—preneur, where we encourage people to start businesses and to run that business as well. we have seen it coming out of the business industry, with the clapping for the nhs and people supporting each other, with supplies, but actually, don't forget that as a business owner, you're not on your own. and so owner, you're not on your own. and so many times i speak to people and they do feel like they're on their own, but they don't need to be, there's lots of free campaigns, which michelle was talking about, get yourself a coach or a mentor or pa rt of get yourself a coach or a mentor or part of the community where people are feeling the same as you. they are feeling the same as you. they are coming across the same hurdles as you. because actually, there's nothing more powerful than having that business support, and that is what we are here for. great to hear from both of you, sounding so positive about this, with lots of ideas about how to get through the crisis. jo bevilacqua, salon owner, and michelle ovens, founder of small business britain, thank you very much. there are fears that people in need of a vital organ donation could miss out as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. the number of people needing intensive care as a result of falling ill with the virus means there are fewer beds available for both potential donors and recipients, as our health correspondent dominic hughes explains. we just want to know what's happening. i think it's the unknown that's the scary thing. getting weaker every day. in desperate need of a liver transplant, anna rose is shielding herself, but the coronavirus epidemic poses a terrible dilemma. if she was offered a transplant, should anna rose risk infection in hospital or miss out on a life—saving operation? having to go into hospital while there are coronavirus patients in there on the same ward even, it's very worrying. and the longer that i'm not being monitored, the longer i leave it, i could just get sicker and sicker. it is a matter of life and death. data from nhs blood and transplant, the body that oversees the uk's organ donation network, shows the number of transplants carried out each day has plummeted through march. this time last year, more than 80 transplants a week were being carried out. now, only the most urgent operations are still happening, such as liver and heart transplants, and of 23 kidney units in the uk, only four are still operating. none of them in scotland, wales or northern ireland. the decline in transplants is linked to the pressure covid—19 is placing on intensive care beds. organ donors and recipients both need that high level care, so fewer families of potential donors are being approached. and doctors don't want vulnerable transplant recipients with suppressed immune systems alongside infectious covid—19 patients. when i hearfrom other countries who have been at the centre of this covid pandemic, they have got to the point where no transplant is possible in certain regions at all. and we may get to that point in the next days or weeks, but we are working very hard to keep organ donation and transplant open for as long as possible. in this training exercise, staff go through the delicate process of broaching organ donation with a family. the parents are played by actors, but this is a very familiar scenario for amy preston, a nurse specialising in organ donation. her other organs are working well enough that she could potentially help save the lives of maybe seven or eight other people. we recorded this 18 months ago with amy, but since coronavirus, she spends half her time as an intensive care nurse. it's unprecedented times. it's not how i ever expected my role to look. but we're just doing the best we can to try to ensure that when there is an opportunity for donation, when it can go ahead despite all the odds, when it does happen in these times, it's even more miraculous. so we just concentrate our efforts to make the most of the opportunity that arises. even in a normal year, around 450 people will die while waiting for a transplant. the sad reality is that number will probably rise this year as transplants come to a halt. anna rose and thousands like her fear they are at risk of becoming the unseen casualties of the coronavirus. dominic hughes, bbc news. the town is exactly half past nine. we have sport coming up for you in a couple of minutes. —— the time is exactly how past nine. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt hello. another dry day across most of the uk but with temperature contrasts. the cloudy and damp sta rts contrasts. the cloudy and damp starts tend to be across central and western scotland. heavier bursts of rain towards a hebrides later, sunshine through eastern scotland but after a frosty store, temperatures 6—7d, sunshine continuing in the south, 23 or 24 celsius is possible. within that there will be big temperature contrasts, the wind from the chilly north sea, the eastern coast of northern england nine or 10 degrees, the wind in the land coming in from the wind in the land coming in from the east, temperatures possibly into the east, temperatures possibly into the low 20s in the west. evening out as we go through the weekend, plenty of cloud around scotland, northern england, showered daughter brown, dampened conditions in 0rkney and shetland. not as cold tonight to ta ke shetland. not as cold tonight to take us into good friday in the north, all of us forestry into good friday, largely dry day away from scotland, some heavy showers there but one in the south as it will be formally on saturday. hello, this is bbc news with annita mcveigh. the headlines... the uk government's cobra emergency response committee meets to consider whether restrictions on people's movements should be extended. we said that on a rolling three week basis, we would keep it under review but these measures are in place and will remain in place until there is any decision to change them and that's not coming this easter weekend. the prime minister has spent a third night in intensive care at st thomas' hospital in london, where his condition is said to be stable and improving. there's a warning from a leading economic think tank — that the pandemic will have far—reaching consequences for people's health in the uk — due to the impact on the nhs and the likely financial downturn. the italian prime minister is warning the eu could fail as a project unless it better co—ordinates its response to coronavirus. premier league footballers have launched a charitable fund to raise money for the nhs. for all the details, from the bbc sport centre, here's mike bushell thank you and good morning. main talking point this is this. premier league footballers have launched a scheme to help generate funds for the nhs during the coronavirus crisis. led by players like and managers harry maguire and jordan henderson. players had faced widespread criticism for a perceived lack of action. the reaction so far has been pretty positive. former liverpool player john barnesjoins me now. thank you so much for your time this morning, joining us from home. your reaction that was shared by at least 150 players last night, launching this initiative? it was in the pipeline for premier league players to do something. apologies it did not surprise me at all. i'm afraid, john, we have a bit of a break—up on the line, we will see if it improves, trying to give it a chance to improve to work on the technology, so for the reaction has been positive. gary lineker saying it is what he was expecting from the premier league players, gary neville is well and the health secretary matt hancock who last week was asking for the players to take a wage cut and do their part, he said this was very welcome, big gesture and he has commended them for doing their bit. let's try again withjohn barnes, john, can you hear us at all? i can hear you perfectly, i don't know if you can hear me.” all? i can hear you perfectly, i don't know if you can hear me. i can indeed, give us your reaction again, we had a bit of a break—up on the line. it doesn't surprise me, i knew the footballers were always going to do something. they want to make the right decision, and make sure the money goes to the right place. taking their time. john, i'm afraid, you can hear us, but we cannot really hear you clearly enough, it keeps breaking up in reason, i am so sorry, we will have to leave it there but we will try and speak to john barnes later. mike, thank you very much, sorry we weren't able to bring you that interview withjohn barnes, hopefully we can get some detail of that to you very soon. now, farmers say they are having to pull away thousands of litres of fresh milk after a big drop in demand with cabbies, restaurants and hotels closing because of coronavirus, some dairy farmers fear they will go out of business. and they will go out of business. and they won it a milk shortage in the future. alex forsyth reports. it's based on so many levels. fresh milk and all the work it took to produce it, literally down the drain. some farmers are having to pull away thousands of litres of perfectly good mill, because it's not being collected from their farms and it can't be stored. it's quite heartbreaking, to be honest. seeing it come out of the pipe and into the drain. especially when we work so ha rd drain. especially when we work so hard for so little at the moment. my father is 70, he's been farming his whole life, he's never dumped milk in his life. having a massive effect on the bank account but also everybody is down in the dumps. the dairy farms affected like this one near birmingham produce milk that was destined for cafe is, hotel chains and airlines but that demand has dried up and those businesses have slowed right down or shut completely. but of course, the cows keep producing and need milking, two or three times a day. the former here had to throw away four and a half thousand litres earlier this week after being told it would not be picked up for processing and he's worried about the on his income. it's devastating, devastating, for us, the whole industry. it's in freefall at the moment. with not knowing how long this is going to carry on and where we are going to end up, if we make it. too when things reopen, you know? potentially, the banks could foreclose and that would be the end of my dairy farm and there won't be any milk to supply, once things get back to normal. there is work going on to try and redirect some of the milk meant for the hospitality industry, places like copy shops and get it into supermarkets instead. the government says it's talking to farmers and the firms which pick up and process the milk, to work out what support the dairy sector needs. but it's not easy to change supply chains quickly and there could still bea milk chains quickly and there could still be a milk surplus. many dairy farmers were already struggling, some have seen the amount they are paid for a milk cart so there is a fearfor paid for a milk cart so there is a fear for the future. the implications long term is that when the market returns to normal, those forms may not be there to supply the market. so actually, we will either become more reliant on imports into the uk because we are not self—sufficient in dairy products as it is at the moment and the fact that we could actually see shortages again, when demand picks back up. many dairy farms are seeking support so they don't become another casualty of coronavirus and to stop the situation getting worse. a temporary hospital able to treat up to 500 coronavirus patients will openin to 500 coronavirus patients will open in birmingham tomorrow come the second so—called medical hospital to be built for the first of 4000 bed intensive care facility opened in london earlier this week. similar field hospitals are due to be built in bristol, and in harrogate. passport office staff have accused managers of putting their lives at risk by asking them to return to work in buildings around the uk next week. documents leaked to the bbc show a home office scientific officer telling them that most people would get covid 19 and they couldn't hide away from it forever. as thousands of holidays and flights continue to be cancelled across the uk, many people are having difficulty getting refunds from airlines and travel agencies. so, what sorts of problems are people facing? and how can people ensure they get their money back? with me is finance and consumer affairs journalist, felicity hannah and sally wroblewski. she had her honeymoon cancelled by tui and can't get the money back. let's begin with you, sally, congratulations first of all on your wedding, which was on the 15th of march but the honeymoon cancelled, tell us more about what happened. we got to the point we weren't sure we wa nted got to the point we weren't sure we wanted to go anyway because the situation with covid 19 was escalating. 0n the 17th we got a call from the travel agency, saying they needed to cancel, that was absolutely fine and we were getting absolutely fine and we were getting a refund in 3—5 days. tui said it could take a little longer, 7—10 and we still haven't had any money. we tried contacting them on the phone, it's very difficult to get hold of them, their website actually says don't call and message us, we are really busy, we've tried facebook messenger. we've tried e—mailing them, we filled in online complaints to say where is our money and we are not getting any response, we had a response from papist messenger and it said there is a really big queue, we'll get back to you. —— from facebook messenger. you've been trying it. let's see if felicity has any advice, what are your thoughts on the particular issue that sally has? it's a really difficult position but they want to be sure their money is safe, a cost several thousand pounds for a honeymoon, they want to know that a honeymoon, they want to know that a honeymoon, they want to know that some are safe and there is concerns that travel providers might go under during this time. the trouble for the travel providers, companies, they don't necessarily have the money ready to refund, a lot of them are waiting on refunds themselves and so they might not be able to pass cash back to everyone but what some people can do if they are sure they want to reboot, they may want to put the travel off to later this year or next year is get a credit note and if their original booking was protected under schemes they will still have the protection on future booking so even if the provider went under, they would have some security that eventually they would get their cash back and they would have a holiday to look forward to. if they need their money back now they are just going to have to do something that will raise them above the general hubbub and clamour of people wanting their cash back, they should start putting things in writing, e—mailand start putting things in writing, e—mail and don't wait on a phone call and talk about the small claims court proceedingsjust call and talk about the small claims court proceedings just so creditors can get their money returned to them. sally, what do you think of what felicity says? presumably at the moment, you would like, in addition to your money back, you would in the first instance like some communication, proper communication from tui in this case? yes, i understand what felicity says, we could actually go to the credit card provider and ask the credit card provider and ask the credit card provider to do a chargeback on what we paid and the credit card but we paid part in the credit card but we paid part in the credit card but we paid part in the credit card in part from the normal bank account so we wouldn't get all of our money anyway. i understand about adult protection, if the travel company goes under that's a possibility as well. and of course to be have taken a bailout from the german government, they put it on their linkedin page yesterday. —— ato l their linkedin page yesterday. —— atol protected. why are they holding onto the money, that's our concern. it's been a month, why are you hanging on to our money? we would like it back on our bank account, please. felicity, can i ask you about another question we are hearing more about from people, who are told they had to make a final payment for a holiday that they know, are pretty certain it will be cancelled, or they will lose their right to have a deposit refunded. what advice would you give people in that instance? people have got to think about what's best for the circumstances and what they can afford to do. people who have only made a small deposit, you can lose that amount, maybe just a nominal fee, maybe it's time to think about that but when you don't make your instalment payments, when you don't pay any money that is due, you are effectively cancelling your booking and you are cancelling your entitlement to any money back under any scheme, any refund. your ending that contract so if you want to get it back you will have to keep making any payments that are due and just trust in the atol protection or your travel insurer. you might decide to cut your losses, everybody has got to make their own decision. felicity, thank you for your advice and sally, good luck in getting your money back. hopefully you will get to go on your honeymoon before too long. take care and thank you very much. let mejust long. take care and thank you very much. let me just tell you what tui uk is saying in response to this, they say we'd like to apologise to these customers for the delay in processing their cancellations. this is due to the large volume of customers impacted, combined with temporarily reduced staffing across the business and limited teams available due to our retail shops and contact centres offices currently being closed with many of our colleagues working from home. we appreciate this is frustrating for our customers and we would like to assure you that a head office teams are working behind—the—scenes as quickly as possible. now on bbc news, it's your questions answered. i'm join now by gp dr rosemary leonard and by drjenny rohn, who's a cell biologist at university college london. good morning to both of you, let's try to get through as many questions as we can this morning. the first one from diane who asks what is the percentage of people that have caught the virus and survived after admission to hospital? diane asking that. rosemary, do you have any statistics, jenny, would you like to pick up on that, perhaps? as far as iam aware, pick up on that, perhaps? as far as i am aware, jenny may be able to confirm this, we don't have statistics on that yet, there are still a lot of people who've got covid 19 infections who are still in hospital but they are recovering. jenny, presumably it's going to be some time until we have the full picture? it's a rough estimate, people are thinking about four or 5% of people admitted will sadly die but again, this is a moving target, we are not completely sure how it's going to pan out, ultimately. without the full figures are people who had the virus, and recovered at home, wejust who had the virus, and recovered at home, we just cannot work out accurate percentages at this stage and may not ever be able to? diane, sorry, not a complete answer to your question. the next one from alan. jenny, i will ask you. what treatments or medicines are helping to make people like the prime minister recover? there aren't really any treatments in the pipeline that had been approved yet. the prime minister will be on oxygen and he will be receiving the best possible care but there aren't any medications yet specifically designed for covid 19. ok, rosemary, on that? designed for covid19. ok, rosemary, on that? exactly. there are drug trials going on, i know there's been a lot in the news about drugs that have been used to treat malaria but one of the problems with this is it's a very, very toxic drug so there are people who have been given it and they've had to stop it because of the side—effects and they have become seriously ill with side effects so there are clinical trials going on but at the moment, all the therapy, the treatments we have are what we call supportive treatments, helping the body organs to keep going while the immune system fights the virus. ok, helen, for you, rosemary, helen is an nhs key worker and writes i had a test for covid 19 and writes i had a test for covid 19 a week ago. i was told 72 hours for the result but i'm still waiting, so why the delay? that is unacceptable, particularly now. she should have been told. the nhs workers tests are either being done, some of them are being done in hospital laboratories where people were, otherwise they are going to central processing laboratories such as the big one in milton keynes. she should have her, the best thing to do is go to whoever organised the test which would have been her nhs trust and say, where is the result? yes, she's going to have to hassle some people to try and get the results, clearly, asa to try and get the results, clearly, as a key worker, it's really important she knows. jeff asks my partner who lives about a mile from me has had symptoms, temperature, coughing and slight difficulty breathing. it's ten days since she began to show signs and has not had a high temperature for four days although she still has an occasional cough. we haven't met forfour weeks. is it now 0k cough. we haven't met forfour weeks. is it now ok for us to meet, that's the question from geoff. what would you recommend? unfortunately, i think it's probably too soon, the who recommends two weeks after all symptoms cease. gives you the all clear. and i think if your partner still has symptoms now it's probably not a good idea, unfortunately. two weeks after all symptoms cease. rosemary, you want to come in on that? can i also say on this if you are living in different households, andi are living in different households, and i know this is a really, really tough time but if you are in separate hassles you should not be meeting at all. you need to stay with the people you are living with. this was the argument about couples who live apart. it all came up at the beginning when we had to socially isolate. you should not be going to your partner ‘s house and i know that's really tough, you should be staying within your own home. it's so, so important as we try to protect people, especially the most vulnerable, especially the nhs and other key workers. to really stick to these restrictions. because you know, if we don't we know what the consequences could be. robin asks it seems that the uk has almost the highest ratio of deaths cases. is there a specific reason for this? rosemary, on that point, the figures yesterday, number of deaths, very grim total, the uk could end up being the european country with the highest number of deaths because we haven't reached the peak yet. the thing you have to look at is the right of testing. in germany, for instance, nearly everyone who gets symptoms gets tested, in this country we have only been testing those who had been admitted to hospital. so there are vast numbers of cases of the covid 19 virus, people who are out in the community, isolating at home, you've got the virus but they are not coming up in statistics. we actually don't know how many people in this country have been infected. because we have not been infected. because we have not been testing them. and we will only know our death rate, and this is going to take probably years, when we have an antibody test, that is the test to see if people are immune. and then we will be able to work out the number of cases in the community and then we will have general death rate per cases. the death rate looks high because it's only the hospital admissions and they of course are the sickest of all. yes, there are a number of measures, the only measure we have now, you are saying, it looks high, rosemary, but it may take a very long time to get the true measure? yes. 0k. jenny, ross asks i came to my parents home to see, this is awfulfor my parents home to see, this is awful for ross, my dying father on the 6th of march. he passed away on the 6th of march. he passed away on the 9th of march. i had been here for five weeks now. the 9th of march. i had been here forfive weeks now. can i the 9th of march. i had been here for five weeks now. can i travel back to my primary residence 300 miles away, any time soon as i have not prepared to such a long absence. i live alone. the car has a full tank. this is a terrible situation for ross. people who have seriously ill relatives, family members who have died. during this outbreak. first of all, i'm very sorry for your loss. i see no reason why you couldn't return home, you currently are not exposed to anyone who has the virus. however, this is a matter for the government policy, i'm not sure where this falls in government policy but personally, i don't think there's a problem with you returning home provided you keep up social distancing, once you get there, i don't know if rosemary has an opinion. it's a very grey area and actually, i would agree. if you haven't seen anybody else where you've been and you're going back to your own home and you're going to be on your own, it's a grey area and i think you have to decide what's best for you. i would think you have to decide what's best for you. iwould hate think you have to decide what's best for you. i would hate to be pedantic about it and say no, you've got to stay put. it looks like from what ross has written, he intends not to encounter anyone else on the journey. he says i live alone and the car has a full—time, it doesn't sound like he's planning on stopping anywhere. the only argument i can see someone making it as if he had, i know this has been used as an argument, if you have an accident you are taking front line accident workers away from caring for covid 19 people but it so difficult, very, very difficult situation. ross, our sympathies for the loss of your father but thank you for sending in question. carol asks this. i'm still working, as i am a bank manager. we are on reduced hours but my husband who is older than me, is stuck at home as he is 75. am i putting him at risk going into work, i do not have the option to work from home? rosemary, your thoughts. shejust has to take great care. so many families like this, someone has to go to work and there is a more vulnerable person at home. what you have to do is practice social distancing when you go out, be absolutely meticulous about hand hygiene and when you get home, the first thing you should do again, wash your hands, put on hand sanitiser. actually try and keep your distance at home. as well. make sure you have separate towels, bath mats, and if possible, i know this is impossible for a lot of people come asleep in a separate bed. carol, i hope that answers your question. difficult situation for many, question. difficult situation for any question. difficult situation for many, many people to be in. michael asks, jenny, i appreciate it may ta ke asks, jenny, i appreciate it may take five days for someone to develop symptoms but if the lockdown are supposed to be working, why after nearly three weeks of lockdown, are we getting large spikes in new cases recorded? there is this inevitable lag period, people going around who are infected who don't know it. there is a lag in reporting. i think what we are seeing now is reaping, basically, the reality that we did not lockdown until when we did so if we had lockdown a week earlier we would maybe be further along in the curve. i know it's frustrating, these curves are difficult to interpret, they go up and down but until we have seen at few weeks of a trend we can't be absolutely certain what's happening. people have got to hold the line, be patient, not be tempted to think, i can take a chance on this. absolutely. i did a supermarket shop this morning in the nhs workers and everyone was keeping their distance. but those trolley handles could be covered in virus, somebody who has not yet developed symptoms. instance. wear plastic gloves, that's what i've been doing on might want shop that i've done. another question for you, rosemary from joseph. my wife works in a coronavirus ward and i am working on a care home, he had 14 service users and 20 staff but my fears are the high possibility of me passing on the virus. should i take time off work? the answer is it's difficult. but no, unless you specifically are an at—risk person, then you cannot just stop going to work. what you have to do, if she is on a coronavirus ward she will be wearing full protective gear, she will be donning and taking it off, and are very, very organised and safe fashion. but again, she is more likely to be the dangerous one, she should come in, be very careful about hand washing, using sanitiser if you have got it and in your care home, if you are working in a care home, if you are working in a care home, a lot of care homes have stopped having visitors and again, it's all to do with distancing and taking really safe and as many safety measures as you can.” taking really safe and as many safety measures as you can. i think i've got time for one more question, dorothy says my usual walk has been totally ta ken over dorothy says my usual walk has been totally taken over by runners, joggers and bikers, open and panting. it's difficult to stay two metres apart but when i have to stand in the path to wait for joggers and riders to pass i feel at risk. should we do what paris is doing and restrict these more energetic exercises to an am and pm slot to give us elderly walkers a chance? what are your thoughts, jenny? the chances of catching covid 19 in the open air are relatively slim. i know it feels scary when someone passes you and there is a slight risk but honestly, it's nowhere near the danger that you would encounter for example in a supermarket where it's all closed. so perhaps we should consider exercise slots in more congested areas of the country but i think, you shouldn't worry too much about outdoor exposure. i'm just asking my producer and director have a good time for one more or not? are we out of town? very, very quickly, rosemary, gillian says pharmacy staff on the front line dealing with daily abuse. we have only some gloves and aprons for ppe, if one goes down, everyone does, what's going to happen at the public don't get their prescriptions? we feel like we've been forgotten. that's a concern. it is a concern, we have come up from our local schools, dulwich college have been making masks and visors, we have given some of the supplies to a local pharmacy. they are absolutely on the front line. they are getting infected. people need to be aware of it and be nice to them and keep their distance in the pharmacy. we are out of time, rosemary and jenny. thank you both very much and thank you for your questions. the weather now with matt taylor. hello. another dry day across most of the uk. temperature contrasts out there. cloudier spots across central and southern scotland. heavy bursts of rain towards the hebrides later. sunshine in the north—east of scotla nd sunshine in the north—east of scotland but after a frosty store, temperatures 65 and 7 degrees, sunshine continuing in the south. 23 or 24 degrees will be possible. even within that there will be big temperature contrasts, the wind from the chilly north sea, easterly coast of northern england minor 10 degrees, went from the land coming from the east, temperatures into the high teens or 20s. that will even out as we go through the weekend. plenty of cloud around tonight, across parts of scotland, northern england, showers daughter around, dan kissed in 0rkney and shetland, not as cold at night to take us into good friday across the north of the country. all of us frost free into good friday. largely dry day away from scotland, heavy showers there about war in the south as it will be for many on saturday. this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk government's cobra emergency response committee meets to consider whether restrictions on people's movements should be extended. we said that on a rolling three—week basis, we would keep it under review, but these measures are in place and will remain in place until there is any decision to change them — and that is not coming this easter weekend. borisjohnson spends a third night in intensive care at st thomas' hospital in london. his condition is said to be stable and improving. italy warns the eu could fail as a project unless it better co—ordinates its response to the coronavirus. countries across europe are cautiously starting to ease their lockdown measures, as infection rates slowly decline. a un study reveals black and ethnic minority groups around the world are disproportionately affected by the virus. and premier league footballers get together to help generate funds for the nhs. good morning and welcome to bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. ministers are to discuss a review of the uk's coronavirus lockdown to consider whether the current measures should be extended. the government's emergency cobra committee will look at evidence from scientists on the impact of measures brought in two—and—a—half weeks ago. in this morning's other developments... the uk prime minister borisjohnson has spent a third night in intensive care, where he's said to be stable and improving. in his current position as first secretary of state, dominic raab will chair the cobra meeting this afternoon, and it will also include heads of the devolved nations. in wales, it has already been confirmed that lockdown measures will stay in place. there's a warning from a leading economic think tank that the crisis will cause far—reaching consequences for people's health in the uk, because of the impact on the nhs meanwhile italy's prime minister has told the bbc that the european union project might collapse unless it acts decisively to help countries worst hit by the outbreak. he said the eu needs to rise to the challenge of what he called "the biggest test since the second world war". mr conte also suggested that italy might start to lift some of its restrictions by the end of april. in spain, the prime minister says the country is close to the beginning of the decline. pedro sanchez said that the fire was starting to come under control. where the prime minister is being treated, but first this report from charlotte rose. a picture of lockdown britain, but for how much longer? 0ur lives of been changed unimaginably in the 16 days since the government brought in measures to slow the spread of coronavirus. later today, foreign secretary dominic raab will chair a cobra meeting with leaders in scotland, wales and northern ireland to discuss a review of the current rules, due to take place next week. but has the decision already been made? in wales, they say the lockdown will continue. i must be plain with all members — these restrictions will not end then. we will not throw away the gains we have made and the lives we can save. while scotland and northern ireland are moving in the same direction. it gives us hope... but speaking at the briefing yesterday, the chancellor would not be drawn on whether the uk government would follow their lead. we committed that there would be a review in and around three weeks — that review will be based on the evidence and the data provided by sage, which will only be available next week, but i think that rather than speculate about the future, we should focus on very seriously on the here and now and the present. but it seems any relaxation is increasingly unlikely, as the number of deaths in the uk in the past 24 hours reached 938, the highest daily figure yet. there were nearly 5,500 new cases reported yesterday, a rise on the previous two days. but ministers are keen to stress that thisjump is due to many more people being tested than before. hi, folks — quick update from me... facing his own personal test, prime minister boris johnson, who spent his third night in intensive care at st thomas' hospital in london. the pm is now said to be improving, sitting up in bed and engaging positively with his medical team. but his own personal battle against this illness shows the country still has a long way to go to defeat the virus. charlotte rose, bbc news. let's talk to our assistant political editor, norman smith. norman, hello again to you. fundamentally, and i think this is the question most people want the a nswer the question most people want the answer to, are we going to get any clear indication from the government's cobra committee today on weather or when lockdown measures might be eased? i think we will get a pretty clear indication, not a confirmation, but an indication, that yes, the lockdown is going to be extended. i think we will see the language change and they will begin the process of trying to soften up public opinion so we can all get our head round the fact that next week, probably next thursday, they will decide to roll over the restrictions. the formal decision will await the advice from the government scientific advisory group, sage. but when you look at the data over the past few days, yes, there have been some encouraging signs, but the death toll is still very, very worrying, it reached 931 yesterday, and although that is a lagging indicator because those people were probably infected maybe two weeks ago or so, it could go further. and some of the other numbers, too, they really haven't settled down. i was looking at new hospital admissions, that was up at new hospital admissions, that was up by at new hospital admissions, that was up by 5% yesterday, an increase on the previous day, when it wasjust 296. in the previous day, when it wasjust 2%. in east anglia, up by 16%. so there is a lot going on with the numbers andi there is a lot going on with the numbers and i don't think the scientists will be satisfied that we are in the place yet where we can be absolutely sure that we are about to pass the peak of the disease. and in any case, we are seeing the welsh assembly, for example, their first minister, mark drakeford, saying very clearly yesterday, we are not going to lift a lockdown next week because to do so would jeopardise all the progress we've made. and listening to their health minister this morning, he seemed to be saying that he rather hoped dominic raab would come out and make the same sort of statement ahead of the bank holiday weekend, so that people could have clarity about the fact that these restrictions were going to last and people should not be tempted to come out if the weather turned out to be nice. we have had a range of evidence from our chief scientific adviser on health, and indeed our chief medical officer, that some progress is indeed being made as a result of the lockdown measures and social distancing. and that's, of course, really important, to slow down the rate of infection. we've also had very clear advice that if we lifted those measures at the end of this weekend, then we could expect those rates to go back up, and our hospitals, that are filling up in the south—east corner of wales, are going to be filling up rather more quickly across the country. so, the gains that we have made because the public have followed the rules would be lost and thrown away very quickly. the other thing i thought was striking was listening to rishi sunak, the chancellor, yesterday, the man in charge of our money and the man in charge of our money and the economy, if you like. if anybody in government was going to be super anxious about the impact of the lockdown on the economy and our livelihoods, then it was going to be rishi sunak. and yet when pressed, hea rishi sunak. and yet when pressed, he a few times in effect said, we have got to put their health emergency before the economic emergency. so, ithink emergency before the economic emergency. so, i think that is a pretty clear indication where ministers are going, although they are at the moment not being explicit, at least the culture secretary, 0liver dowden, wasn't, when he was interviewed this morning. we have been absolutely clear about this. this guidance remains in place. people should be staying at home this weekend in order to save lives and protect the nhs. we've always said, though, that we would review these measures on a periodic basis. cobra will meet today to determine that process, what evidence to consider. but i think you will have seen from, for example, the presentation just yesterday at the daily press conference, these measures are starting to work, and now is not the time to be changing course. so, the message is clear — stick with it. but, of course, we said that on a rolling three week basis, we would keep it under review. but these measures are in place, and will remain in place until there is any decision to change them, and that is not coming this easter weekend. later today in street, we'll have the day the daily covid—19 meeting, where ministers will discuss exactly how they frame their approach to the lockdown, if you like, how they sell the idea of an extension to the public. and then this afternoon, of course, we have the news conference, i think it will probably be dominic raab who is fronting it, and it will be interesting to listen to his tone and his language because i think he will be bracing people for the fact that the lockdown is going to have to continue. and certainly, if you look at what has happened in other european countries who are a few weeks ahead of us, and have also had lockdowns, when they have got to the two or three weeks, they have invariably rolled them over, indeed, a few of them have actually tightened the restrictions. there does not seem to be any momentum at the moment behind tightening the restrictions, but i think the likelihood is that we will be in for perhaps a three—week rollover of the norman, thank you very much. 0ur reporter helena wilkinson is outside st thomas' hospital in london, where the british prime minister remains in intensive care. what is the latest news, helena, about how he is doing? well, annita, we haven't had any updates since yesterday, we were not expecting anything unless there was a significant change to the prime minister's health. there are police officers patrolling around this hospital, which is less than a mile from downing street, across the river from the houses of parliament. we know the prime minister remains in intensive care at this hospital. he was admitted to, of course, on sunday. 0n he was admitted to, of course, on sunday. on monday he was moved from a ward into intensive care as a precaution, we were told, so he could be near a ventilator. the latest we have is that he remains in intensive care. some positive news yesterday, the chancellor saying in a news briefing yesterday afternoon, the prime minister, he said, his condition was improving. that's the first time we've heard that word being used about the prime minister's health. we also heard that boris johnson minister's health. we also heard that borisjohnson has been sitting up that borisjohnson has been sitting up in bed and has been engaging positively with clinical staff. in terms of the treatment that the prime minister has been receiving, we know from downing street and from the hospital that he's been getting what they describe as standard oxygen treatment. he's been breathing by himself, and crucially, he hasn't needed to be put on a ventilator. that is a very complex bit of machinery that basically ta kes bit of machinery that basically takes over the breathing of the body and lets the patient try and recover in its own time from the virus. but at the moment, the prime minister remains here in intensive care and there is no hiding from the fact that intensive care is the place in hospital where the sickest of the patients are taken, where they need often complex care and they are monitored around the clock. but i think we are going to get a further update, annita, probably around lunchtime, when there is that regular news briefing to journalists from downing street. helena wilkinson, thank you very much for that update. italy's prime minister has warned that the future of the european union project is at risk unless it acts decisively to help countries worst hit by coronavirus. italy is pushing for a coordinated economic response from brussels by allowing countries to share debt, an idea opposed by germany and the netherlands. giuseppe conte also spoke to the bbc‘s mark lowen about when restrictions on movment could be lifted in italy. translation: experts are confirming that the curve is starting to decline and stabilise. the number of infections is decreasing. we're confident that if we continue this way, we will overcome the worst phase. but we cannot lower our guard, we cannot go from a lockdown to liberalising our economic activity. liberalising all economic activity. we need to do it gradually. when will the easing of actions begin? translation: it's likely that if scientists confirm it, we might begin to relax some measures already by the end of this month. does italy feel let down by the eu? translation: it's a big challenge to the existence of europe and to the history of europe. we're notjust writing pages in the books of economics, we're writing pages in the history books. this is a big appointment with history and we cannot miss it. myself and other european leaders need to rise to the challenge. and there's no doubt that if our response isn't strong and unified, if europe fails to come up with a monetary and financial policy adequate for the biggest challenge since the second world war, for sure, not only italians but european citizens will deeply disappointed. if europe does not rise to this challenge, would the european union risk failing itself? translation: there is this risk. if we don't seize the opportunity to put new life into the european project, the risk is real. that's why i won't allow it to materialise, i want to banish it. as mr conte alluded to, europe is struggling to agree on a recovery package to manage ifferent countries' debts in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. here's our europe correspondent gavin lee in brussels. we've had 16 hours of talks between finance ministers up until five o'clock in the morning yesterday, they could not come up with a package, because on the 100, some countries already ha rd—hit package, because on the 100, some countries already hard—hit by debt are saying whatever they borrow there, they will have to pay back, and you have the dutch particularly holding firm and saying no, we need to trust you that you will pay this back. so we want progressive commissions. there was a term used called, the bonds, so all countries and say, yes, we will offer this together. i think that is dead. the ministers are meeting again this afternoon at five o'clock, and ultimately i think it will go to an emergency european summit online next week. the headlines on bbc news... the uk government's cobra emergency response committee meets to consider whether restrictions on people's movements should be extended. the prime minister has spent a third night in intensive care at st thomas' hospital in london, where his condition is said to be stable and improving. the italian prime minister has warned the eu could fail as a project unless it better co—ordinates its response to coronavirus. a leading think—tank says the pandemic will have far—reaching consequences for people's health in the uk because of the impact on the national health service and the likely financial downturn. the institute for fiscal studies suggests that wide—scale job losses could deepen inequalities, while the knock—on effects of cancelling non—urgent operations may take years to reverse. the hardest hit will most likely be older people and there is are the —— those who are the least affluent and least healthy to start with. let's now speak to ben zaranko, a research economist for the ifs, who co—authored the study. how far have you been able to assess the measure of the likely impact of this pandemic on people's health and financial well—being, at this stage, it isa financial well—being, at this stage, it is a pretty big ask? it is a big ask, clearly at this very moment we don't know how the pandemic is going to play out, we don't know how long lockdown measures will be in place. what we can do is look at evidence from the past to give us some sort of ballpark figure, the magnitude we might expect. previous estimates, for example, of the effect of the employment downturn after the great financial crisis of 2008 suggested that about half a million people of working age in the uk had a new mental health condition. and if we saw a mental health condition. and if we sawa similar mental health condition. and if we saw a similar downturn in employment this time, you might expect something of a similar magnitude. these effects will notjust be for a few months, they can take years or decades to fully dissipate. and what you say in your report is that this latest pandemic is going to exacerbate disparities that already exist? that's right. so if you think about the fact that the nhs is redeploying significant amounts of resources towards treating coronavirus patients, quite rightly, and cancelling operations, we know that the people most likely to use that the people most likely to use that care older, and average, and they tend to be more deprived, lower income, on average, too. so if there are disruptions to that cow, we worry about the groups who will be most affected, and since those groups are already likely to be least healthy, this is going to exacerbate inequalities across age and income but also place, too. so this relates to the prime minister's levelling up agenda, it is a really tricky policy problem which will require a great deal of thought to address. looking at policy, then, should all of this be taken into consideration when the government begins to think about how it can manage easing restrictions, is they're going to come appoint when they're going to come appoint when the government needs to say, yes, we could continue with some restrictions for longer, but that would have impacts which outweigh in other areas? i think that is an incredibly important and difficult question that the government will have to grapple with. to take one pa rt have to grapple with. to take one part of that — we talked about delaying nonurgent operations, and we have also seen huge downturns in the number of people going to a&e departments, for example, with symptoms of a heart attack. so people themselves are delaying treatment. and in some sense, that is storing up problems for the future, and the longer these measures go on, the bigger the problem will be in a few months‘ time. in the immediate term, we should be really worried about families with young children, and where the mother is pregnant because we know that economic conditions in that part of your life have really long—term, far—reaching, important consequences for what happens to you. and so there is scope for policy to be better targeted to help those groups. a lot has been done for lots of those groups, but not all. by better cushioning people from the downturn, the government can reduce the long—term impact on peoples is health. it seems clear that in addition to the huge financial packages already announced by the chancellor at the outset of this pandemic, we‘re talking about large sums of money potentially needing to be spent who knows for how long into the future, to try to address some of the inequalities that are being emphasised by this pandemic and to deal with all of those physical and mental health conditions and so forth?” those physical and mental health conditions and so forth? i think that‘s right. i think the government deserves credit for being so quick to act, quite a generous package to try and support people, particularly those who are vulnerable. but a necessary side effect of doing it so quickly is that some people are going to fall through the gaps, so i think there is scope to make sure that those people are protected. looking forward, i think there is going to be a big argument for how much we should be spending on the nhs, whether the nhs was well enough prepared for a situation like this. and i think the government will have to grapple with big questions about, how much should we spend, and how should we pay for it? there might be increasing support for the nhs at the moment, the question is whether that translates into support for tax rises to fund it. good to talk to you, ben zaranko, one of the authors of that report from the ifs. the united states hasjust experienced its worst death toll in a 24—hour period as a result of the coronavirus. almost 2,000 people lost their lives on wednedsay. yet despite that, president trump has said he believed the country was ahead of schedule and could be opening up for business again sooner rather than later. he also delivered another withering assessment of the world health organization‘s handling of the pandemic, accusing it of being biased towards china. here‘s our north america correspondent david willis. new york remains the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic here. wednesday‘s death toll, the highest in a single day, nearly 800 people. but amid the gloom are some encouraging signs. the curve of new infections is finally starting to flatten, prompting the president to proclaim america may soon be back in business. it would be nice to be able to open with a big bang and open up our country, or certainly most of our country, and i think we‘re going to do that soon. you look at what‘s happening, i would say we are ahead of schedule. mr trump is now pinning the blame for this crisis on the world health organization, and earlier in the week, the president took to twitter to declare, the who really blew it. as well as calling for an investigation into the organisation‘s response to the pandemic, he‘s threatening to withhold millions of dollars in us funding. the united states, $452 million compared to $42 million, that‘s to the world health organization. that‘s not good. not fair. not fair at all. and other countries, as you know, also gave very substantially less than the united states. and the world who, world health, get it wrong. health, got it wrong. they got it very wrong, in many ways, they were wrong. they also minimised the threat very strongly and... not good. the head of who has responded to the criticism, urging the president not to politicise the coronavirus crisis. no politicising, no need to use covid—19 to score political points. no need. the white house is now facing charges that officials were warned about the spread of the coronavirus as early as last november, yet ignored predictions by the intelligence community that it could amount to a cataclysmic event. the president told reporters the first he learned of such concerns was injanuary. when i learned when i started... when i learned about the gravity of it was some time just prior to closing the country to china, when we closed up the flights coming in from china and various other elements. and then as you know, we closed up to europe. i don‘t know exactly, but i‘d like to see the information. the president struck a triumphalist tone in his response to the news that hospitalisations in new york are finally starting to flatten out. for all the president‘s optimism, health officials say letting the guard down too soon could lead to a second wave of the coronavirus, one that might prove all the more deadly than the first. david willis, bbc news. australian police have raided and removed the black box from the cruise ship the ruby princess, which is behind nearly a tenth of the country‘s coronavirus cases. a criminal investigation is looking into why thousands of passengers were allowed to disembark from the ship last month. overall, australia has been relatively successful in combating the virus. the number of new infections has dropped significantly and there have 50 deaths so far, which is fewer than many other countries. i‘m joined by raina macintyre, professor of global biosecurity at the university of new south wales. very good to have you with us. just bring us up—to—date on the situation in australia right now with regards to the number of infections. we‘ve mentioned the number of deaths, but how successful has australia been, in your estimation, in dealing with this pandemic thus far?” in your estimation, in dealing with this pandemic thus far? i think australia has done reasonably well. we had a very strong early response with travel bans that were done in a timely way, and then further travel bans at the beginning of march. we‘ve seen flattening of the curve for the last couple of weeks and a decline in cases, and that‘s the impact of the travel bans on italy, iran and south korea, that were rolled out between fifth march and tenth march. so, where we go from next week onwards should give us more information on whether the community transmission is under control. social distancing measures, though, have been more gradual, haven‘t they, in australia, than in other countries? they have, they have been a bit by bit approach, and schools are still open. so it is a partial social distancing. so, what explains the relative success of australia in dealing with the virus, is it due, for example, to the lower population density in some parts of the country? i don't think so, because most of the population is still concentrated in the coastal cities. sydney is a city of nearly 7 million people, for example. so, i think it is more that we have had strong border control and travel bans. the social distancing impact we will start to see in the next few weeks, it is still a bit early to see the impact of the social distancing. 0f see the impact of the social distancing. of course, the easter weekend is a concern and the crew ship mishap with the ruby princess, also, we may see the fallout from that in the coming weeks. —— the cruise ship. so, from what you're saying, you believe the travel bans, controls on people moving into the country, those have been absolutely crucial in dealing with this? they have, the majority of cases, about 60% of the cases we have seen to date have been in return travellers. so, after those bans were brought in, the cases started to drop within two incubation periods of that ban. of course, as the northern hemisphere approaches summer, australia is approaching its winter, the flu season, is that going to have any impact do you think on your health service‘s capacity to deal with cases of the virus? well, i think the flu season probably will be milder this year because of the social distancing, because people, a substantial proportion of people, are not moving around as they normally would. it will also reduce the amount of flu. but nonetheless, the amount of flu. but nonetheless, the impact of covid—19 will probably be more significant than the impact of flu this year. professor, thank you very much. england‘s premier league footballers have launched what they say is a collective initiative to help raise funds for the national health service amid the coronavirus pandemic. around 150 players posted this letter on social media last night. the initiative promises help for frontline night. the initiative promises help forfrontline nhs night. the initiative promises help for frontline nhs staff, night. the initiative promises help forfrontline nhs staff, volunteers and coronavirus patients. against all odds, a recovery from coronavirus has been made by 97—year—old joyce goldstraw from staffordshire. the great grandma, who served in the women‘s raf during the second world war, has shown that she hasn‘t lost her fighting spirit, as kevin reide reports. at 97 years of age, everybody feared the worst when joyce goldstraw contracted coronavirus, but now she is back at home, safe and well. i coughed a bit. that‘s all. i used to cough, but i‘ve stopped coughing. she has been a widow for 21 years. her two children spend a lot of time caring for her, but apart from that, she is still going strong. she‘s gone through some good times and bad times, like everyone of her generation, but she pulls herself together and gets on with it and that‘s her philosophy — get yourself pulled together and get on with it. oh, it's brilliant, it's brilliant, and we can't thank the nhs staff enough. we phoned every day, they've kept us up—to—date with what's happening and we were just totally amazed and blown away that she came through this. and has come home. it's really good. joyce has six grandchildren and seven great—grandchildren, and they are now already planning her 100th birthday. if it goes like they say does, i shall be able to go out. but right now, i don‘t want to catch another cold or something. that‘s enough! that's the best advice we've had all afternoon. kevin reide, bbc news. hello, this is bbc news with annita mcveigh. the headlines... the uk government‘s cobra emergency response committee meets to consider whether restrictions on people‘s movements should be extended. we said that on a rolling three week basis, we would keep it under review but these measures are in place and will remain in place until there is any decision to change them and that‘s not coming this easter weekend. the prime minister has spent a third night in intensive care at st thomas‘ hospital in london, where his condition is said to be stable and improving. the italian prime minister has warned the eu could fail as a project — unless it better co—ordinates its response to coronavirus. countries across europe are cautiously starting to ease their lockdown measures, as infection rates slowly decline. and premier league footballers get together to help generate funds for the nhs. uk charity working with military children has said it has seen an increase in families needing support since the coronavirus outbreak. increase in families needing support since the coronavirus outbreakm is calling on the ministry of defence to set aside funding like it is done for veterans. around 9000 british troops are currently serving overseas, many stuck in countries on lockdown and have had leave cancelled or deployments extended meaning they don‘t know when they will next get home. the charity little troopers says the impact, especially on children is huge. rachel stonehouse reports.” especially on children is huge. rachel stonehouse reports. i miss him tucking me into bed every night. it feels scary. frustrating. i don't know when i'll see him again. why is it frustrating, iris? because it's like he not part of your family any more, he's been gone for so long. the family had been looking forward to their dad returning from cyprus this month but he stuck there because of coronavirus. they just haven‘t got that relationship with him at the moment which is really tough, not knowing, they haven‘t that end date to look forward to. we‘ve got no family here, were not even part of a unit welfare because their welfare is in cyprus. of course you moved here because you we re course you moved here because you were expecting george to start a job in wiltshire. he has his next job, in fulford, just at the road but that posting has been put on hold so we don‘t know when he‘s going to leave cyprus, when he‘s coming home or even if he‘s going to get the job or even if he‘s going to get the job or if he will go to anotherjob. or even if he‘s going to get the job or if he will go to anotherjobm you‘d have known what we know now about lockdown do you think you would have made that move, out of living in military life on a base? no, probably not and if i‘d known this was probably going to happen i would have gone to cyprus. there are currently around 9000 uk troops deployed abroad but with countries across the world in lockdown, flights grounded and leave cancelled, many now have no idea when they will next see their loved ones. a charity working with military children says they‘ve seen an increase in people reaching out for support because of the uncertainty. you know, we often don‘t have exact days but we know roughly when that separation period is going to come to an end and we have an end point that we are reaching for. at the moment, there is just no reaching for. at the moment, there isjust no time reaching for. at the moment, there is just no time scales, you know, people are coming to us saying, six—month deployment is looking like it‘s going to be a year—long deployment. for children, to have a pa rent deployment. for children, to have a parent absent from the family home, forup toa parent absent from the family home, for up to a year, is just absolutely, really difficult for families to be coming to terms with. they are now calling on the mod to help families, like amy, whose husband is in the raf and working in nigeria. we were supposed to be seeing him injune but that‘s now been cancelled because of the current crisis. how do you feel about it being cancelled? bit gutted, to say the least. we were really looking forward to it, especially the children. but obviously, we don‘t know what‘s happening. we don‘t even know if he‘ll be able to get a flight back. because nigeria is not now on lockdown as well. in response ministry of defence says it acknowledges the extra pressure on military families and is stepping up support. but in the meantime, fort lily, iris and buck, the long wait to see their dad continues. new data from hospitals across england has shown that the number of people being seen in hospital with a suspected heart attack has halved since the start of the pandemic. with me to discuss this further is dr sonya babu—narayan who‘s the associate medical director at the british heart foundation. very good to have you with us to talk about this extremely serious side effect of the pandemic which is that people who think they might be having heart problems aren‘t going to hospital, presumably because they think the hospital might be too busy or because they are worried about catching coronavirus? what would you say to them? i would say please, if you think you might be having a heart attack, call 999, the nhs is here for you, despite the extra activity, we need to put in place to treat the surge of covid—19 cases. you are quite right. we have seen in the month of march, in the state, around emergency episodes, how many people are coming to the emergency department with symptoms of a suspected heart attack, that has precipitously fallen. it‘s half of what we think the number of people should be, based on some modelling. that‘s such a dramatic drop—off, isn‘t it, and really worrying? the evidence is if people had the symptoms and they get to hospital quickly enough, there is a much better chance of their survival and have them continuing to do very well, in fact? absolutely and we know how to treat heart attack, research over many decades has shown us what is the best and effective treatment and in addition to looking at this emergency data, we were very concerned to hear from cardiologists, that the number of people attending for emergency procedures from a heart attack has also fallen. so if we talk to the london centre, six out of seven replied, about the kind of heart attack where you need an emergency procedure to open up the narrowed, blocked coronary artery that‘s causing the heart attack and potential for heart damage. that‘s where many people have heard about the need for balloons and stents, that‘s the most effective treatment for a heart attack, we start with london, that has been the earliest and most severe head part of the country with covid—19, we have seen at 38% reduction in numbers of people attending for this emergency procedure and this concerns cardiologists but it‘s notjust london. at the british heart foundation we have done a survey of cardiologists across the uk, all our nations and we had 167 cardiologists replying to the survey which is a large number of a very short period of time. it covers every region in our uk distribution. and they are saying 84% of them say they have seen a reduction in people attending for this procedure. 71% think it‘s fairof coming into for this procedure. 71% think it‘s fair of coming into hospital because of covid—19. which is a really important thing we need to tell people about. because we can safely treat you, the treatment is really effective and it saves lives. that's a really, really important message to get across. 0f a really, really important message to get across. of course, some of the symptoms of covid—19 are also symptoms of problems with the heart, aren‘t they? the breathlessness, chest pain. what should people be looking out for if they are concerned that actually, this might bea concerned that actually, this might be a problem with my heart, rather than, you know, a symptom of covid—19 or a symptom of something else, perhaps? you're absolutely right, this is a really confusing period for everybody, we are all feeling anxious, we all don‘t want to bea feeling anxious, we all don‘t want to be a burden on the nhs, nearly half of the cardiologists think that also mediates this behaviour. can‘t you hear that chest pain and coughing can be a symptom and breathlessness, a symptom of both things but if you get a chest pain in the middle of your chest. if it feels heavy or tight and you didn‘t use the word pain or you felt like an elephant sitting on your chest, if it goes into your left arm or into your jaw if it goes into your left arm or into yourjaw or to me, if you feel sick or dizzy, this is a heart attack and you need to call for help immediately. the other reason you need to call 999 immediately is paramedics can promptly diagnose if you are having the kind of heart attack that needs an emergency invasive procedure and take you to the right hospital. ok, really good, sorry to interrupt you, doctor. really good advice. if someone thinks they are having a heart attack, should dial 999, get seen by attack, should dial 999, get seen by a paramedic to get to hospital as quickly as possible. and you will be safely treated. you will be safely treated. safely treated. all very important messages. doctor, thank you very much. from the british heart foundation. there are fears that people in need of a vital organ donation could miss out as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. the number of people needing intensive care as a result of falling ill with the virus means there are fewer beds available for both potential donors and recipients, as our health correspondent dominic hughes explains. we just want to know what‘s what‘s happening. i think it‘s the unknown that‘s the scary thing. getting weaker every day. in desperate need of a liver transplant, anna rose is shielding herself, but the coronavirus epidemic poses a terrible dilemma. if she was offered a transplant, should anna rose risk infection in hospital or miss out on a life—saving operation? having to go into hospital while that there are coronavirus patients in there on the same ward even, it‘s very worrying. and the longer that i‘m not being monitored, the longer i leave it, i could just get sicker and sicker. it is a matter of life and death. data from nhs blood and transplant, the body that oversees the uk‘s organ donation network, shows the number of transplants carried out each day has plummeted through march. this time last year, more than 80 transplants a week were being carried out. now only the most urgent operations are still happening, such as liver and heart transplants, and of 23 kidney units in the uk, only four are still operating. none of them in scotland, wales or northern ireland. the decline in transplants is linked to the pressure covid—19 is placing on intensive care beds. organ donors and recipients both need that high level care, so fewer families of potential donors are being approached. and doctors don‘t want vulnerable transplant recipients with suppressed immune systems alongside infectious covid—19 patients. when i hearfrom other countries who have been at the centre of this covid pandemic, they have got to the point where no transplant is possible in certain regions at all. and we may get to that point in the next days or weeks, but we are working very hard to keep organ donation and transplant open for as long as possible. in this training exercise, staff go through the delicate process of broaching organ donation with a family. the parents are played by actors, but this is a very familiar scenario for amy preston, a nurse specialising in organ donation. her other organs are working well enough that she could potentially help save the lives of maybe seven or eight other people. we recorded this 18 months ago with amy, but since coronavirus, she spends half her time as an intensive care nurse. it's unprecedented times. it's not how i ever expected my role to look. but we're just doing the best we can to try to ensure that when there is an opportunity for donation, when it can go ahead despite all the odds, when it does happen in these times, it's even more miraculous. so we just concentrate our efforts to make the most of the opportunity that arises. even in a normal year, around 450 people will die while waiting for a transplant. the sad reality is that number will probably rise this year as transplants come to a halt. anna rose and thousands like her fear they are at risk of becoming the unseen casualties of the coronavirus. dominic hughes, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news, the uk governments cobra committee has been meeting to consider further restrictions on people‘s movements should be extended. the prime minister has spent a third night in intensive care at st thomas hospital in london. his condition is said to be stable and improving. and the italian prime minister has warned the eu could fail as a project, u nless the eu could fail as a project, unless it better coordinate its response to coronavirus. as we heard earlier, almost 2000 americans died in a single day on wednesday. more than one third of them in new york which had a death toll of nearly 800. state flags will be flown at half mast indefinitely to honour those who have lost their lives. we have this report on how new york‘s low income and minority communities in the area known as the bronx have been hardest hit. the coronavirus has changed everything about life and now it‘s appending the rituals of death. darlene lost her 83—year—old father william to covid—19 on the eve of her birthday. and now she must say her final goodbye without a traditional funeral service. the loved ones go in. that‘s it. funeral service. the loved ones go in. that's it. you don't get to see them no more. even though you make an arrangement, you are being told you cannot open the casket. you cannot have the services, really. how does a person get closure? her father was supposed to be buried in north carolina alongside his mother and sister. instead, he will be cremated. is if the circumstances weren‘t cruel enough, darlings mother is still in the hospital after also being infected by the virus. the family has broken the news of his death to her yet.” don‘t want them to tell my mum at that. i‘m afraid that if they tell my mum, she might regress. they‘ve been married 62 years. marks and funeral homes are so overwhelmed the families in some cases are having to wait a week or more to bury their loved ones. coronavirus deaths hit record highs this week in new york. and where they happen, this tells a larger story. the death toll starkly illustrates the inequalities in american society. low income communities here in the bronx are separated by a riverfrom manhattan, they might as well be a world away. death rates here dwarf that of their wealthy neighbour. 0k. death rates here dwarf that of their wealthy neighbour. ok. more than ever these communities need support. organisations such as world central kitchen or delivering meals to public housing projects to make sure no one goes hungry. when you‘re in one of the poorest communities in the country, it already was a challenge. small businesses, they cannot wait weeks for the fed to help them, they needed in days and so, what people are watching right now, is what happens when you don‘t invest in addressing poverty for generations. there is hope that cases of infections may have peaked after the deadliest week yet. but until the threat is gone, the city remains on a war footing. the united nations is calling for more action after it found black and ethnic minority groups around the world are disproportionately affected by the virus. research into the first critically ill patients with covid—19 in the uk found 35% of patients were from minority backgrounds, despite them only making up 13% of the population. the figures are even starker in parts of america. african americans in chicago for example, account for half of all coronavirus cases in the city. more than 70% of deaths, despite only making up 30% of the population. let‘s talk now to dominique day, who is the vice—chair of the united nations working group of experts on people of african descent and says now is not the time to neglect our biases. and kamlesh khunti, a professor who researches health trends in black and minority ethnic populations who says anecdotal evidence suggests cultural differences could explain infection trends in some bame communities. some grim statistics there, why are we seeing black and ethnic minority groups disproportionately affected by coronavirus? thank you for having me. i think there‘s three major reasons for this. we see the distribution of risk, is racialised. disproportionately in the united states and also some other states, we see people, the carers, delivery people, home health aides, grocery delivery people, helping all of us, are disproportionately people of african—american descent. living conditions are densely populated urban communities, a lot of this has a historical basis. even problem—solving disproportionately distributes the risk to people of african—american descent. we have seen french doctor suggesting africa asa seen french doctor suggesting africa as a testing ground for the vaccine, the black city of detroit recently has a disproportionate percentage of infections but also a disproportionate percentage of deaths of people of african descent, going to be the site of a massive critical trial, the first clinical trial with a certain drug. the distribution of risk is racialised. the distribution of responses racialised, we still lack representation of african descent amongst the high—level decision—makers, there is a lack of expertise, lack of visibility in the worst case scenario. we see a real disregard of the same sense of the rationalisation of our response, of the research that shows doctors and others are impacted by racial bias in their decision—making and things like stress, speed exacerbate this. sorry. i want to bring in the professor if i may. i will come back to the point that you are making in just a moment. but professor, you began to gather evidence in your area after colleagues started to say to you, started to notice, a disproportionate number of people of south asian origin being affected by coronavirus. tell us more about what you discovered? well, we had some anecdotal reports that south asians in particular were disproportionately represented in terms of care units. this was just rumours. but we were very fortunate that the first report on ethnic differences, a good quality report came out from the intensive care unit audit. that, for the first time, showed that black minority ethnic groups were disproportionately represented, as you mentioned, 35% in the population in intensive care units. this reason had been explained but i don't think we should make this a racial issue. there are a number of reasons that these populations may be disproportionately represented in terms of the coronavirus infection. this data is very early, we need good quality data to see what are the key reasons why these people are more likely to be affected. are you suggesting some communities may be predisposed to certain health conditions which make them more susceptible to covid—19? conditions which make them more susceptible to covid-19? absolutely. we have free access for everyone, unlike the us. even in a free health ca re unlike the us. even in a free health care system, we have seen these differences so i don't think this is a racial issue at all. there are a numberof a racial issue at all. there are a number of issues that may predispose black minority ethnic health populations and these include the social factors that have been already conversed, they come from low socioeconomic areas. they have poor housing but also we have major cultural issues as well. we may not be following the guidance on social distancing and self isolation. also, a lot of studies that have come out from italy and china have shown that people who have the severe disease are more likely to have certain conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension. professor, let me put some of those points back to dominic. do you recognise some of those explanations that the professor is making? he says this is not about race, do you maintain that it is? of course it's about race. it is absolutely true we see certain underlying health conditions among people of african descent, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, lupus but we have a good body of research that links these pervasive physiological conditions to be navigating a chronic racial stress that people of african descent and people of other races must traverse every single day of their lives. there‘s a reason, our working group we travel around the world and we look at people of african descent globally. we see many similar conditions place to place, which the professor himself has acknowledged and some of it has to do with an historical context in which our mindset and our expectation, who is available, disposable, valuable is in of data being gathered on covid—19 patients? we gather data on age and gender but what about race? is that being collected, we are nearly at a time, brief response, if you please. 0nly haphazardly we need more data collection. the british folks are doing a greatjob, some places in the us collecting data but we need a segregated database. professor, that they you‘re collecting, how useful will it be going forward? the uk has the best data in terms of co—morbidity and a number of groups in the uk including ours trying to look at this. ok, thank you both very much for your time. we are going to say goodbye to viewers on bbc world. you are watching bbc news. right now time for a look at the weather. here matt taylor. hello. some big temperature contrasts across the uk today. most places, though, will be dry once again. the main exception being from this area of cloud, it is a weather front stretching across scotland bringing a few spots of rain or drizzle, particularly in the west. the odd heavier burst towards lewis and harris later on. sunshine to the north—east of scotland continues but after a frosty start, chilly day here at 6—7 degrees and sunshine further south, like yesterday, 24 celsius is possible. with the wind coming off a chilly north sea, which is just a 7 degrees at the moment, low temperatures on those eastern coasts, compared to the west. there could be a few showers to end the day in north wales, northern england, but very, very isolated. with more cloud here and the milder air pushing northwards, nowhere near as cold to start good friday as it was this morning. 0n good friday, plenty of cloud across northern areas. one or two isolated morning showers for northern england but it is mainly across scotland where we will see the showers. turning sunnierfrom the south later on. with more of a westerly wind starting to develop, the eastern coasts, nowhere near as cold as they will be today. similar temperatures in the south on saturday, with high pollen levels. the greatest chance of cloud and showers will be across central and western scotland and northern ireland. temperatures continuing to climb to the eastern coasts thanks to the south—westerly wind. changes afoot to the second half of eastern weekend. low pressure pushes off to norway. this other one comes in from the west. it allows some more clouds on sunday, particularly for england and wales. many will stay dry but there is a greater chance of a few showers. drier for scotland and northern ireland. but here, temperatures will start to drop. in fact for all of us, temperatures down on what we‘ll see over the next few days, but still above average for the time of year across the south. 0n easter monday, colder air coming in from the north or north—east, making eastern coasts cold once again. plenty of cloud at times, too. temperatures way down on what we will see over the next few days. this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk government‘s cobra emergency response committee meets to consider whether restrictions on people‘s movements should be extended. we said that on a rolling three—week basis, we would keep it under review, but these measures are in place and will remain in place until there is any decision to change them — and that is not coming this easter weekend. borisjohnson spends a third night in intensive care police in manchester have released a map showing more than 1000 parties and gatherings that have been taking place, breaking lockdown rules. borisjohnson spends a third night in intensive care at st thomas‘ hospital in london. his condition is said to be stable and improving. italy warns the eu could fail as a project unless it better co—ordinates its response to the coronavirus. countries across europe are cautiously starting to ease their lockdown measures, as infection rates slowly decline.

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