up to a fifth of the uk workforce could be infected by coronavirus, says the government as it lays out its action plan to deal with it. if the virus becomes widespread here schools could be closed, police would focus on just the most serious crime and sporting events could be cancelled. it's the elderly who are most at risk, says the government. for most people, the virus would just be a mild to moderate illness. in italy, almost 500 more cases in the past 2a hours as the world health organisation warns of a global shortage of medical equipment to tackle the virus. the number of people infected here has risen to 51 today. we'll have all the latest on the government's plans. super tuesday — a big night in america. can bernie sanders be beaten in his bid to take on trump

for the white house? and the impact of rising temperatures on antarctica's extraordinary marine life. and coming up on bbc news: can liverpool bounce back from that shock premier league defeat? they play chelsea in the fifth round of the fa cup tonight. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the government has published a detailed plan of what would happen in the event of a widespread coronavirus outbreak. ministers say a fifth of workers could be off sick, during peak weeks, schools could be closed and the military may be called in to support civilian health services. ministers say it's likely the uk will be ‘significantly

affected' in the coming weeks. for most people — they say symptoms will only be ‘mild to moderate'. but the government says the elderly will be most at risk. the evidence from other countries suggests that 1 per cent of those infected could die. today the government announced the number of confirmed cases in the uk to be 51, of which 12 are known to have fully recovered from the virus. our first report this evening is from our political editor laura kuenssberg. # wash your hands... #. asimple # wash your hands... #. a simple instruction to us all. as catchy as the song that inspired this class in belfast. wash your handsis this class in belfast. wash your hands is still the mantra, but the government is now outlining a lot

more. this is complex. the prime minister appearing with the experts alongside. i fully understand public concern, your concern. keeping the country concern, your concern. keeping the cou ntry safe concern, your concern. keeping the country safe is the government's overriding priority. the plan does not set out what the government will do, it sets out the steps that we could take at the right time and on the basis of the scientific advice. are you telling people today that sooner or are you telling people today that sooner or later all of our lives will be disrupted somehow? the a nswer to will be disrupted somehow? the answer to the question is, i'm afraid, at this stage, i think it is just too early to say. to the chief medical officer, what is your best guess, if you can, of how many people will actually get this disease? it will not go above 8096. for planning purposes, of course, we go for planning purposes, of course, we 9° up for planning purposes, of course, we go up to the highest rated reasonably could, but in reality, the proportion of the population who

get infected is likely to be lower than that and probably a lot lower than that and probably a lot lower than that. with more than 50 cases round the country now, officials here are working notjust on plans to contain the spread but emergency laws in case the worst should happen. there is a sense in government now, it is a major practical and political challenge. if, or maybe when, we get to the stage where it can no longer be contained, to the health service, the economy, all of our lives, there could be major disruption for several months. within a few weeks, the government might put limits on people gathering at big events like concerts or football matches. if large numbers of officers take ill, the police might only focus on serious crime and keeping order. the army could step in if they are overstretched, and all in all, one in five workers could be absent from work. no surprise, then, the bank of england governor admits it could hurt the economy in a big way. the bank's role is to help uk businesses

and households managed to run economic shock that could prove large but will ultimately be temporary. different businesses and different age groups won't be affected in the same ways. at this bingo hall in great yarmouth, they are already doing temperature testing. and the elderly are the most vulnerable. it puts people's minds at rest, really, especially those that go into places like this. we get flu every year, with so we've just got to do what they say. whether it's a school closed in devon or concerns in dundee, plans are being prepared in all corners of the country. it's a serious situation, but it is being treated seriously, with well established plans being activated, and we are not powerless in the face of this. you might soon see one of these, like in sutton coldfield, pods for patients who suspect they might have the infection to stop them walking the infection to stop them walking

the virus into a&e. the authorities hope that the best laid plans could avoid the worst case for us all. laura kuenssberg, bbc news. if the virus becomes widespread, some non—urgent hospital care may be delayed to focus on treating those who are infected, while recently retired doctors and nurses may be called back to work. our health editor, hugh pym, has been looking at some of the key measures for the nhs, and the challenges they might pose. ministers and officials think the virus can still be contained, but they are clear that if case numbers accelerate, new measures will be needed, such as school closures. the key thing then is to get the timing right for managing the virus. we really wa nt right for managing the virus. we really want to implement whatever is necessary at the time, depending on how the epidemic goes. at the right time, over a 12 week period also is probably what is going to be needed to do it, so we don't want to go to early. what might that mean for nhs staffing? recruiting retired doctors

and nurses to the health service is pa rt and nurses to the health service is part of the plan, along with volunteers. this consultant in glasgow thinks he would work on after retirement if needed, and others would return to work if they we re others would return to work if they were fit. i think the good exist till it might world that exists is very strong, and i think you would have a significant number of people who would return to help out during a crisis. but not all medical professionals feel the same way.|j don't want to come back to work, and i don't think any of the health care professionals that have retired should be asked to come back to work. i don't think we would be safe. i think the logistics would be almost impossible, to retrain people toa almost impossible, to retrain people to a safe level. there are plans for medicines at hospitals. under the direction of health officials, stockpiles of key drugs and protective clothing held by manufacturers would be distributed across the nhs and social care, supplies built up to cover a possible no—deal brexit last year

will be used. the world health organization today warned of shortages. if patient numbers increase in hospitals, nonurgent planned operations would be cancelled to free up beds for care of the most ill. across the population, who is most at risk? experts say around four out of five of those who get the virus will experience only mild or moderate symptoms, rather like seasonal flu, but what about the rest? some of them will need hospital treatment. the risk of severe illness caused by the virus is higher amongst the elderly. that's also the case for people with underlying health conditions. particularly cardiovascular diseases, so heart disease in people who have previously had stroke, but also people with respiratory problems, so long—term lung conditions, and also people with diabetes, because we know people with diabetes also have immune systems that are not as strong. one of the aims of the government plans is to delay the peak of any viral epidemic. that at

least buys precious time to continue researching new drugs and vaccines. in italy, the total number of coronavirus cases has increased to more than two and a half thousand, an increase of nearly 500 on yesterday. the number killed by the virus there is now 79. of any viral epidemic. that at least buys precious time to continue researching new drugs and vaccines. hugh pym, the new quarantine zone around the northern city of considering a new quarantine iran has announced another big leap in the number of cases of coronavirus. the official figure now stands at more than 2300. 77 people are known to have died from it, though the real figures are believed to be bigger. it's the highest number of fatalities outside of china. the south korean president moonjae—in has put the country into what he's called a state of war to tackle coronavirus. he's ordered all government departments to operate 2a hours a day. south korea is the worst affected country after china, with more than 5000 confirmed cases — and more than 30 deaths. and in france, where more

than 200 people have now been infected, the government says it'll take control of the production and supply of face masks, and all existing stocks, in order to distribute them to health professionals and french people affected by coronavirus. included in the government's plans today were measures to help businesses which might get into trouble over the coming weeks and months. but already there are signs of issues in the supply chains of some uk companies, and shortages in some key products like hand sanitiser. our business correspondent emma simpson reports from coventry. looking for a looking for a everyone is. they are out of — it seems eve ryo ne is. they are out of — it seems everyone is. they are out of stock at with the next best thing. we can't get any hand sanitisers at all. the demand has been really, really high, a shortage nationally. we are looking at 50—60 people a day looking for a particular hana hand sanitiser is. local businesses have been looking to buy them. taxi

drivers, hairdressers. the chancellor washing his hands small pharmacy in coventry, and they are filling the gaps with the next best thing. we can't get any hand sanitisers at all. the demand has been really, really high, a shortage nationally. we are looking at 50—60 people a day looking for a particular hand sanitiser is. local businesses have been looking to buy them. taxi drivers, hairdressers. the chancellor washing his hands today the messagethe message is getting through and hand sanitiser is flying off the shelves. are we stocking up on anything else? has coronavirus changed what you are buying because might know. this is usual? yes. if we are going to die, we will die anyway, so what's the difference? we had not changed anything, really, may be washing our hands a bit more. that's about it. i don't think there's any need to panic. some shoppers may well be buying a few more extra bits and pieces. supermarkets say there is no real need. like other businesses, they are making contingency plans to keep us fed, and to keep stores open. we are not seeing any change in consumer behaviour at the moment. it is business as usual, supplies are good, supermarkets are well stocked, so we are not seeing any problems. one supply chain expert told me supermarkets might have to

do things differently. retailers are ready from a supply perspective because they were ready for brexit. the difference here is labour availability. they might need to think a bit out of the box in terms of how they collaborate with each other and share resources, and perhaps increase channels like home shopping. they don't want customers to panic, either. right now, we all wa nt to to panic, either. right now, we all want to keep clean, and for some, there is always an opportunity to get customers in. the us central bank has slashed interest rates at an emergency meeting in response to mounting concerns about the economic impact of the coronavirus. the 0.5% cut is the biggest by the federal reserve since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago. the bank's chairman, jerome powell, said the bank believed the rate cut would help strengthen consumer and business confidence, and keep money flowing. olympic bosses insist they are still expecting the 2020 games in tokyo to go ahead as planned, despite suggestions from japan's olympic minister that they might be postponed because of the coronavirus.

more 260 people have been infected injapan and 12 have died. our sports editor, dan roan, is at the ioc headquarters in lausanne, switzerland. the olympics is almost five months away, still a long way off. that's right, but such is the scale and the cost of the olympics, with billions of pounds having been spent and over 11,000 athletes involved, the ramifications of what would be an unprecedented delay to tokyo 2020 are almost beyond imagination, they are almost beyond imagination, they a re colossal, are almost beyond imagination, they are colossal, and that is perhaps why today here at the ioc headquarters in lausanne, they seemed so reluctant to even contemplate such a result. the ioc president giving an unscheduled statement, insisting it was still business as usual, urging athletes to carry on training. but in truth, he had been forced into that statement by comments earlier in the day from the japanese olympics

minister, who said that as a result, as part of the contract the country has with the ioc, a delay until later in the year could be possible. the president didn't mention what plan b might be, or indeed how late a decision could be made, and this concern extends well beyond the olympics, of course. for example, the euros this summer, in 12 host cities across the country and hunt —— the continent, they were talking about contingency plans, playing matches behind closed doors in the event that governments ban mass gatherings. the world health organisation says we are in uncharted territory as far as the coronavirus is concerned, and there are varying estimates about its fatality rate. and it's still not been declared a pandemic. the last time that happened was with swine flu in 2009. our medical correspondent, fergus walsh, looks at how coronavirus compares to flu outbreaks over the past century.

it was a new virus which swept across the world. swine flu emerged in mexico in 2009 and quickly became a pandemic. there were dire warnings about what could happen here. swine flu is now too widespread to be contained. but it was such a mild disease for most, it had a limited impact on the nhs and daily life. the swine flu virus shows how wary we need to be of predictions with new diseases. in 2009, the reasonable worst case scenario was 65,000 deaths in the uk. in fact, there were 457. there were three pandemics in the 20th century which had a far bigger global impact than swine flu. asian flu, in the late 50s, caused between one and 4 million deaths, as did hong kong flu a decade later. both had a mortality rate of around

0.2%, that is two in every 1000 people infected. spanish flu in 1918 killed up to 50 million people, more than died in the first world war. it had a death rate of 2%. the best estimate of the death rate for the new coronavirus is 1% of those infected, but there is huge uncertainty. it's likely huge numbers of very mild cases are being missed, which would lower that figure substantially. it's essential to keep some perspective about this new virus. the total number of deaths worldwide since december is now more than 3000. another infectious disease, tuberculosis, tb, caused by bacteria, kills 40,000 people a day, despite there being an effective treatment. our medical corresponent, fergus walsh there. and there's more about the symptoms of coronavirus, and how to protect yourself against it, on our website.

that's bbc.co.uk/news. and on the bbc news app. the time is 6:16pm. our top story this evening. up to a fifth of the uk workforce could be infected by coronavirus. a government action plan could see schools shut and sporting events cancelled. and still to come... more than one in 10 shops in town and city centres is vacant. so, what's the future of the high street? coming up on sportsday on bbc news: as coronavirus continues to cause problems for sporting events across the world, we go inside the hotel where a group of top cyclists have been quarantined. voting has begun in the super tuesday primaries in the united states. it's a key stage in the presidential race to see which democratic candidate will take on donald trump in november's election.

78—year—old bernie sanders is in the lead, but prominent figures in the party have rallied behind his main rival, former vice presiden joe biden, who's 77. our north america editorjon sopel reports from mr sanders' home state of vermont. it's a long and seemingly never—ending road to the democratic nomination. this is a lake we are driving on. the search for voters ta kes you driving on. the search for voters takes you way off the beaten track. here in vermont, a bernie sanders frozen backyard, there is an icefishing competition going on. he is the most left—wing and oldest candidate in the race, and some are hooked. i am supporting bernie. why? because i believe in his message, and i'm kind of tired of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer and the middle class getting squeezed. i think a lot of americans

are ready to vote for bernie sanders andl are ready to vote for bernie sanders and i think that is in response to a real disgust with the ohl —— oligarchy. but for a lot of these hunting, fishing and shooting types, he is anathema. are you a bernie supporter? no. i don't believe in giving everything i work for a way. you think that is what bernie would do? oh, yeah, 10096. it's what he's done his whole life. from here in this remote frozen wilderness in the east, bernie sanders has built a grassroots organisation that plans out across the whole us. it's impressive. his supporters talk about feeling the burn. where we are now, it would be nicejust to about feeling the burn. where we are now, it would be nice just to feel a little warm. but the person who has caught fire these past few days is the moderate, joe biden. he won south carolina and two of his big name rivals have pulled out to throw their weight behind him. i'm delighted to endorse and supportjoe biden for president. and i think you

know you have a home with joe biden for president. and i think you know you have a home withjoe biden. bernie sanders came home to vermont to vote today. he is still the frontrunner but he is feeling the pressure. but a complicating factor is the uber wealthy former new york mayor, mike bloomberg, on the ballot for the first time. he has spent an eye watering near half $1 billion of his own money on tv adverts alone, and who knows what impact he will have. i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message. £3.58. here on the lake, they are announcing the winner. it's taken a weekend fishing to decide. if only the race for the democratic nomination would be resolved so quickly. is it going to be you guys this year? by the time that has been decided, the ice will have long gone. jon sopel, bbc news, vermont. in the last hour priti patel has sent an e—mail to the home office staff route —— expressing

regret over the decision of sir philip ruttn to resign as the department's permanent secretary. she's been accused of bullying behaviour by sir philip who made a series of allegations about her at the weekend and i am joined by jonathan blake. tell us more about this e—mail. jonathan blake. tell us more about this e-mail. this is the first we have heard from the home secretary, priti patel, in response to the surprise resignation by the most senior official at the home office so senior official at the home office so philip ruttnam at the weekend. it's been sent alongside the acting permanent secretary and the pair expressed their regret for sir philip's decision to resign, saying he had a long and dedicated career of public service for which we thank him. the e—mail does not specifically address accusations of bullying against the home secretary, which he denies, but it does talk about the need to value the work of staff at the home office, to look out for their well—being and also the importance of candid confidentiality and courtesy and i think it will be seen as an attempt

to address accusations of a pattern of behaviour against the home secretary. she denies the accusations against her and is under investigation by the cabinet office to see if she has broken the ministerial code, but she still enjoys the support of the prime minister and this indicates she has no intention of leaving her post. thank you. high streets across the uk are continuing to face challenges with the rise of online shopping. more than one in 10 shops in town and city centres is vacant, according to research for the bbc. today, we're launching a year—long project looking at the future of the high street through one town's experience in the north east of england. sarah corker reports from bishop auckland. this is bishop auckland in county durham but it could be many high streets anywhere in britain. durham but it could be many high streets anywhere in britainm durham but it could be many high streets anywhere in britain. it is a bit daunting coming and seeing the shop empty. every time i walk past, i'm drawn to look into it. most of the big retailers are long gone and the big retailers are long gone and the smaller ones that are left are struggling. if it gets lower than this, they will bulldoze the place down.

archive: the main shopping centre at bishop auckland... in the 60s and 70s, the town was bustling. once at the heart of the coal industry, but decades of industrial decline have left their mark. now many of the big—name chains have gone. what once was prime retail space has been left to decay. and almost one in every four shops here is empty, that's nearly double the national average. bernadette rush closed her bridal shop in december after more than a decade of trading. she didn't want to sign a new nine year lease so she didn't want to sign a new nine year lease so now she didn't want to sign a new nine year lease so now she works from home. i haven't got the overheads here as i had in the shop. we looked at moving further into the marketplace, and we were talking about thousands of pounds a month, rather than hundreds. across the uk, more than 17,000 shops are forecast to close this year, that is up 9% on 2019. but

this town has something others don't, a multimillionaire who is building new tourist attractions and restoring auckland castle. and now, independent retailers are investing as well. i used to work for nissan in sunderland. martin is putting his life savings into a new cafe. this isa life savings into a new cafe. this is a massive career change and a bit ofa is a massive career change and a bit of a leap of faith. oh, completely. like you said, there is one empty next door to me, one the other side empty, so it is a little worrying. i hope that by opening this, someone else might be encouraged to open up a gift shop next door, and that hopefully has a domino effect. people need to take the town back for what it should be. the view here is that our high streets are not dying, they are evolving, finding a new place in peoples lives and this town is at the start of its journey. sarah corker, bishop auckland. antarctica recorded its highest temperature earlier this month. it reached more than 20

degrees centigrade. it's bad news for the extraordinary marine life that lives in the icy waters of the world's coldest continent. our chief environment correspondent, justin rowlatt, recently returned from antarctica where he met some of the marine biologists leading research into the impact that the changing antarctic environment is having. antarctica is the most extreme continent on earth. few animals can survive the bitter cold. but one antarctican environment is surprisingly stable — the ocean. but it is cold, minus two celsius. it is the coldest place on earth that marine animals live. the water is right around the freezing temperature of sea water all the time, year—round. so the temperatures are very, very stable. it's actually very difficult to function at freezing temperature of sea water because everything goes so slowly so they've optimised their metabolisms for that temperature and they have never seen anything warmer than that in millions of years. her team is studying how these animals, sea spiders, manage to survive and breed

in such cold water. all right, here goes. like everywhere else in the world, the antarctic environment is changing. in some places, the water is already warming. a huge challenge for animals that have never experienced any change. so, some of the incredible antarctic animals are in this tank. anne todgham is a marine biologist and you have been studying these animals for years. so they have antifreeze proteins inside of them that keep them from freezing. they have different red blood cells that are in fact not red. they have compensated for the cold so they can go about their daily lives and actually thrive in an environment that most animals would find very stressful. the big question for anne is how well these extraordinary creatures will be able to adapt. the results so far are not promising. i'm actually pretty worried. i wish the data was wrong.

i wish i didn't have to be worried but there are lots of things that are going to change in the ocean and these animals are being stressed to their max. you may wonder why we should worry about the fate of a few unusual species but the scientists here say we should think of what is happening as a warning. if these animals can't survive in ourchanging world, what does that say about our future? justin rowlatt, bbc news, antarctica. time for a look at the weather. here's stav da naos. hi there. thanks very much. good evening. a day of sunshine and showers and some of the showers were quite heavy in places and here is a characteristic cumulonimbus indicating heavy showers taken by one of our weather watchers in hampshire. the cluster of showers affecting central and eastern areas tending to move into the north—east this evening and a few affecting the north of scotland but elsewhere it

will be mainly dry with clear skies, light winds, so it will turn cold, and a white spread frost and there will be some eyes to watch out for as well. but temperatures will recover a cross as well. but temperatures will recover across the south—west because we will see an area of low pressure moving in bringing thick cloud, outbreaks of rain and increasing breeze initially to south—west england, then wales, then pushing into the midlands, southern england i may be northern ireland and there will be snow on the hills. north of this, scotland and north—east england should stay bright and chilly, some showers affecting the west of scotland. most of us will find it on the chilly style but something a bit milder in the south—west, 11 degrees and sunshine and showers following in. the area of rain will push further into southern scotland but it will spread into the south of the uk during thursday. it does look like most of the rain will stay across into the near continent but it could be wet for the channel islands and the fringes of the southern coastal areas through the day and more of a breeze here but elsewhere, largely dry, variable cloud, sunshine

breaking through and a few showers affecting the west of scotland and these will be wintry over the higher ground. again, another cool day. similar story on friday with showers spreading west to east with sunshine in between but as we head into the weekend this is where we see a change, a deeper area of low pressure bringing wet and windy weather on saturday followed by blustery showers - cooler on 00:00:00,000 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 ugig—sczfzjégfia‘tnj, 7: